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typedtruths's Reviews (1.8k)
2.5 stars
I don’t know why it is always me that ends up disliking the hyped books but 2017's hottest new release, Warcross, is my latest disappointment. From the very first page, I knew I was in trouble with the writing. I have no idea why so many people rave about Lu’s style! The amount of telling - rather than showing - did my head in. I found the way she tried to slip information into the narrative clunky and jarring. It was never natural or even remotely seamless. There were no explicit info-dumping sessions, which is always a relief, but I cannot say that I found the world-building anything but disengaging. Lu’s descriptions, in general, were quite bland. The visual imagery that everyone is raving about did nothing for me. Also, the fact that certain objects/characters had specific descriptive words used every single time they were mentioned got tiring fast. Ultimately, I felt like the writing did nothing to add the story., just worked as a vessel to state its story. Its blandness made me feel distanced from the characters and plot, especially for the first 100 pages or so.
Emika was a pleasant enough protagonist. Her narration was fine. She had some badass moments but she also had a lot of Special Snowflake qualities that did nothing for me. I didn’t dislike her, I just didn’t like her all that much either. The secondary cast was much more intriguing, especially Roshan and Tremaine. Hints about their relationship being explored in the sequel have me in high spirits. I did love the effortless diversity, particularly that was had some on-page and prominent disability rep. They all could have been a little more nuanced, though. Ren, in particular, seemed like a waste of potential to me… and Hideo. Oh, how I wish Hideo had been written better. He was the typical Broody Hot Guy with a Tragedy Backstory™. Nothing we have not read ten billion times before. He had so little spunk, so little personality, I don’t even have words.
The romance? Again, I do not see why everyone is raving about it. It was rushed and lacked chemistry. Emika and Hideo were pushed together. They barely had a foundational relationship before everyone was shipping them in their irl lives. We completely skimmed over the fact that Emika was a fan of Hideo’s for years before meeting him; that kind of throws the power dynamics of their relationship off a tad. It is a little scary that Emika went into their relationship knowing so much about Hideo and Hideo knowing so little about Emika. I wanted that to be explored or at least talked about. They just jump straight into a relationship and it felt so… fake, I guess? Unrealistic. Rushed. Unnecessary. I obviously didn’t ship (or at least, I could ship it yet). I needed more time, more development, more nuance.
On a plot and world-building level, I was pretty satisfied. There is an air of realism to Lu’s predictions about the future. I did have my questions. I was a little weirded out by how contradictory the technology felt but the Warcross game itself as a quasi-Olympics tournament was so much fun, I could mostly forgive it. The pacing was also a tad off. The beginning was not captivating and certain events could have been elaborated on. I especially wanted more gameplay and bonding sessions with Emika’s crew. The mystery element added another layer of intrigue, and I did find it engaging to let myself become invested in the conspiracy’s revelations. I just wish that the very obvious reveal had been, well, less obvious. The last fifty pages were definitely my favourite. I liked the direction the story took. It set up a very promising sequel.
Other thoughts:
• I thought that the incorporation oftelepathic communication devices, particularly the ‘shared emotions’ ruined how realistic the rest of the world felt. I actually scoffed out loud when I first read that section. It definitely spoiled the vibe of the world-building for me.
• Emika really was a Special Snowflake at times. I found it hard to believe she was as talented at being an Architect as we were told. Where did she find the time to develop her skills? I thought that was the whole reason she had a low level.
• I wanted to know more about Keira. How is she?
Overall? I did not love this one as much as I expected. Lu’s writing style is not for me. It bothered me a lot. The characters were okay but I did not find them particularly memorable or engaging. The romance was completely unnecessary and ugh.
I don’t know why it is always me that ends up disliking the hyped books but 2017's hottest new release, Warcross, is my latest disappointment. From the very first page, I knew I was in trouble with the writing. I have no idea why so many people rave about Lu’s style! The amount of telling - rather than showing - did my head in. I found the way she tried to slip information into the narrative clunky and jarring. It was never natural or even remotely seamless. There were no explicit info-dumping sessions, which is always a relief, but I cannot say that I found the world-building anything but disengaging. Lu’s descriptions, in general, were quite bland. The visual imagery that everyone is raving about did nothing for me. Also, the fact that certain objects/characters had specific descriptive words used every single time they were mentioned got tiring fast. Ultimately, I felt like the writing did nothing to add the story., just worked as a vessel to state its story. Its blandness made me feel distanced from the characters and plot, especially for the first 100 pages or so.
Emika was a pleasant enough protagonist. Her narration was fine. She had some badass moments but she also had a lot of Special Snowflake qualities that did nothing for me. I didn’t dislike her, I just didn’t like her all that much either. The secondary cast was much more intriguing, especially Roshan and Tremaine. Hints about their relationship being explored in the sequel have me in high spirits. I did love the effortless diversity, particularly that was had some on-page and prominent disability rep. They all could have been a little more nuanced, though. Ren, in particular, seemed like a waste of potential to me… and Hideo. Oh, how I wish Hideo had been written better. He was the typical Broody Hot Guy with a Tragedy Backstory™. Nothing we have not read ten billion times before. He had so little spunk, so little personality, I don’t even have words.
The romance? Again, I do not see why everyone is raving about it. It was rushed and lacked chemistry. Emika and Hideo were pushed together. They barely had a foundational relationship before everyone was shipping them in their irl lives. We completely skimmed over the fact that Emika was a fan of Hideo’s for years before meeting him; that kind of throws the power dynamics of their relationship off a tad. It is a little scary that Emika went into their relationship knowing so much about Hideo and Hideo knowing so little about Emika. I wanted that to be explored or at least talked about. They just jump straight into a relationship and it felt so… fake, I guess? Unrealistic. Rushed. Unnecessary. I obviously didn’t ship (or at least, I could ship it yet). I needed more time, more development, more nuance.
On a plot and world-building level, I was pretty satisfied. There is an air of realism to Lu’s predictions about the future. I did have my questions. I was a little weirded out by how contradictory the technology felt but the Warcross game itself as a quasi-Olympics tournament was so much fun, I could mostly forgive it. The pacing was also a tad off. The beginning was not captivating and certain events could have been elaborated on. I especially wanted more gameplay and bonding sessions with Emika’s crew. The mystery element added another layer of intrigue, and I did find it engaging to let myself become invested in the conspiracy’s revelations. I just wish that the very obvious reveal had been, well, less obvious. The last fifty pages were definitely my favourite. I liked the direction the story took. It set up a very promising sequel.
Other thoughts:
• I thought that the incorporation of
• Emika really was a Special Snowflake at times. I found it hard to believe she was as talented at being an Architect as we were told. Where did she find the time to develop her skills? I thought that was the whole reason she had a low level.
• I wanted to know more about Keira. How is she?
Overall? I did not love this one as much as I expected. Lu’s writing style is not for me. It bothered me a lot. The characters were okay but I did not find them particularly memorable or engaging. The romance was completely unnecessary and ugh.
My immediate reaction after finishing this book: I have forgotten how to breathe.
I was so overcome with emotions, with the weight of the story and the characters, I was a mess.
I still am.
Because of that, I think it’s fair to say that Wintersong is, without a doubt, one of those books that you just can not review.
I have no words to describe the subtle beauty of this story. The exquisite writing was beyond belief. I am still wrapping my mind around the complexity of these characters and how much I came to adore the Goblin King. This world, this lore, was perfect. I know the story was slow in parts - my only complaint about this story concerns the pacing - but I do not want to dwell on that, not when the rest of the story was so gorgeous.
I just… I desperately want to reread it already.
I was so overcome with emotions, with the weight of the story and the characters, I was a mess.
I still am.
Because of that, I think it’s fair to say that Wintersong is, without a doubt, one of those books that you just can not review.
I have no words to describe the subtle beauty of this story. The exquisite writing was beyond belief. I am still wrapping my mind around the complexity of these characters and how much I came to adore the Goblin King. This world, this lore, was perfect. I know the story was slow in parts - my only complaint about this story concerns the pacing - but I do not want to dwell on that, not when the rest of the story was so gorgeous.
I just… I desperately want to reread it already.
#2) Smoke in the Sun ★★★☆☆
4.5 stars
This story has received a lot of mixed reviews but, personally, I adored it. I did not expect anything much but this story just worked for me in so many different ways. I adored the writing style. I know it bugged a lot of other readers but it the right amount of blend of poetic and fluid. It perfectly captured the setting, which was so lush and gorgeous. It was incredibly easy to fly through in a single sitting.
The characters were some of my favourites. I mean, Okami !! The romance was such a guilty pleasure. It was so cute. I loved it. I was not disappointed in Mariko like a lot of other readers. I thought she was resilient, if a little naive, and I was 100% supportive of her. Was she as smart as Ahdieh kept emphasising? Probably not, but it just did not bother me like it seemed to bother everyone else.
I do feel the need to talk about Kenshin, though. He seems to be universally disliked but I kind of appreciated how he was so unlikable??I know that doesn’t make sense but, if you think about, Kenshin grew up in an incredibly elitist family. He was of a somewhat high rank and he grew up socialised into their views of honour, responsibility, status, and worth; that is awful in itself but the fact that he had these views and had to work through them, to get past the internal prejudices, was something I really appreciated seeing. A lot of historical YA stories had characters with very twenty-first-century views - to suit the contemporary audience, I know - but it was nice to see Kenshin have that very realistic internal battle, even if it made him wholly unlikable. I also liked how awful he was at diplomacy. I have read the ‘perfect soldier’ trope so many times before. It was nice to see a warrior character with clear strengths and weakness.
My only minor complaints are about the structure - the POV switches were done in such an abrupt, jumpy way - and the lack of magical lore. I am so incredibly confused about the witch, the fox, and the black-and-white world. I wish we had more answers about that or that there had been a clearer distinction between the fantastical elements and reality. Hopefully, this will be touched on in the sequel? Also, the romance was the teeniest bit rushed. It was such a slow-burn relationship at first but it went from zero to sixty a little too quickly. I wish that slow-burn had lasted throughout the rest of the story, and the romance been more of a focus in the sequel. Something like that.
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Unpopular opinion time: when I think of this book, all I can think of is how nauseated it left me.
I know that You’re Welcome, Universe has connected with a lot of readers; for a lot of people, it was the first time they had seen themselves represented on the page. The power of that is not something I would ever want to take away but oh boy, this was so not for me.
My problems mainly stemmed from my dislike of Julia.
If you know me, you know that I adore flawed or morally grey protagonists. It isn't something I find off-putting. Usually. But Julia? God, Julia rubbed me the wrong way for a lot of different reasons. She was brash and rude and judgemental with little to redeem her.
I'll admit that the YP situation fucking bothered me. A lot. Maybe it hit a little too close to home. Maybe I just have zero tolerance for friendship not based entirely on trust and support. Whatever it is, I would have had no problem with Julia calling her friend YP - short for Yoga Pants - if it was a funny nickname that she was in on too. The fact that Julia does not know her friend’s real name and actively avoids learning it honestly makes me want to cry. Scratch that. It did make me cry. Irl. Which is not like me at all. I am beyond understanding how this is meant to be affectionate. Is something going over my head? It doesn’t scream friendship to me at all. In fact, it broke my heart.
The other thing that bothered me was her relationship with Jordyn. Friendship breakups are rarely touched upon on in YA so I was excited to see it unpacked. The sheer maliciousness of Julia's revenge had me rattled, though. Jordyn was not a good friend,, she was was not even a nice person but that by no means negates Julia's action. It certainly doesn't make up for it.
I know that disabled characters - when written by able-bodied and/or neurotypical authors - often get portrayed as a Sickly Sweet. I truly appreciate the stereotypes that this book tackled. I do. But overall? This book touched a couple of personal nerves for me. It isn't very often a book can get such a diverse physical range of reactions from me. I only wish they had been more positive.
🍂 Rep: Julia (mc) is Deaf and Indian-American; both of her mums are Deaf and one is Indian; Jordyn (sc) is deaf; YP (sc) is in recovery for an eating disorder.
🌻 Trigger warnings for ableism, racism, bullying, and mentions of an eating disorder.
I know that You’re Welcome, Universe has connected with a lot of readers; for a lot of people, it was the first time they had seen themselves represented on the page. The power of that is not something I would ever want to take away but oh boy, this was so not for me.
My problems mainly stemmed from my dislike of Julia.
If you know me, you know that I adore flawed or morally grey protagonists. It isn't something I find off-putting. Usually. But Julia? God, Julia rubbed me the wrong way for a lot of different reasons. She was brash and rude and judgemental with little to redeem her.
I'll admit that the YP situation fucking bothered me. A lot. Maybe it hit a little too close to home. Maybe I just have zero tolerance for friendship not based entirely on trust and support. Whatever it is, I would have had no problem with Julia calling her friend YP - short for Yoga Pants - if it was a funny nickname that she was in on too. The fact that Julia does not know her friend’s real name and actively avoids learning it honestly makes me want to cry. Scratch that. It did make me cry. Irl. Which is not like me at all. I am beyond understanding how this is meant to be affectionate. Is something going over my head? It doesn’t scream friendship to me at all. In fact, it broke my heart.
The other thing that bothered me was her relationship with Jordyn. Friendship breakups are rarely touched upon on in YA so I was excited to see it unpacked. The sheer maliciousness of Julia's revenge had me rattled, though. Jordyn was not a good friend,, she was was not even a nice person but that by no means negates Julia's action. It certainly doesn't make up for it.
I know that disabled characters - when written by able-bodied and/or neurotypical authors - often get portrayed as a Sickly Sweet. I truly appreciate the stereotypes that this book tackled. I do. But overall? This book touched a couple of personal nerves for me. It isn't very often a book can get such a diverse physical range of reactions from me. I only wish they had been more positive.
🍂 Rep: Julia (mc) is Deaf and Indian-American; both of her mums are Deaf and one is Indian; Jordyn (sc) is deaf; YP (sc) is in recovery for an eating disorder.
🌻 Trigger warnings for ableism, racism, bullying, and mentions of an eating disorder.
1.5 stars
Without a doubt, the thing which has let down both books in their pacing. Dear God, this series is painfully tedious! I struggled to find even the slightest thrill to keep me going. This one, in particular, dragged on and on. It is probably due to the amount of time the characters spend caught up in mundane drama, most revolving around their love lives. The actual war between the siblings rarely took the main focus and when it did, it was an incredibly mild, watered down version of what I hoped for. It is obvious that the sisters could have killed each other quite easily - particularly Mirabella - if they had been allowed but Blake holds back. All of the fight scenes felt forced as a consequence. You know when you start a TV show late - one that already has like twelve seasons out - and there is a near-death experience in the first season. You don’t even blink because you know that the character has to be in the next eleven seasons: they were never going to die. This entire book had that feeling. There was no sense of urgency… and I was completely disengaged. If Blake does not want the sisters to fight to the death, fair enough, but maybe pitch the story a little different? I’m here for the battle to the death, not the romantic drama.
The fact that this series is championed for its characters continually boggles my mind. I could not connect or stand the majority of them. In fact, I would have happily cheered on the executions of most of them… which is morbid but not untrue. Arisone and Billy were literally the only characters I cared about. Billy was genuinely sweet. I think his affection for Arsinoe was a little too much at times but he had a great character arc that I appreciated. Arisone was the only sister I thought had a consistent voice and genuine personality. If this series focused on her - and her alone - I definitely would have enjoyed a hell of a lot more.
I just cannot understand the appeal of Jules. She was constantly riling people up with her temper and acted so recklessly. Her constant complaining about Joseph also made me rage. If she cannot come to terms with his mistakes (which I don’t blame her for, I still am not okay with it myself), she should have left him. I know it is slightly more complicated than that but it felt like Blake kept them together just to create drama between her, Joseph and Mirabella in otherwise dull plot points. It was infuriating. I have no idea why so much time dedicated to her subplot. The other secondary characters were kind of a blur. I found it hard to remember who was who - particularly Mirabella’s friends - but that is probably more to do with my memory than anything. I did really dislike Madrigal, though. I felt like we spent way too long focusing on her as well.
Katharine was a disaster. She had such potential to become this eerie villainous tyrant but she just… acted so strangely. It was not thrilling. I was not interested. I am trying to keep this vague but her, let's call it development, was an amazing idea that just did not get met. If it is still not tapped into in the sequel, I will scream. Speaking of which, Pietyr made we want to scream and then claw my eyeballs out with frustration every time he appeared. He had literally no personality! All he said was how much he loved Katharine, that was it. I just… why. I have no patience for such repetitive banalities. I was also just not okay with Nicholas. He was such a creep! He showed all the warning signs of an abuser. Ugh.
Overall?
I had hoped that One Dark Throne would be a step above the disaster that was Three Dark Crowns but I set my expectations too high. I still liked Arisone and Billy but all of the other characters irritated me, particularly Jules and Joseph. Katharine could have had potential but I felt like we barely got to scratch the surface with her. The plotline continued to play it safe and devote too much time to drama and romance for my tastes. I wanted more action, more blood, more conflict. I do not have high hopes for the following sequels since this was originally meant to be a duology. I am not even sure if I can push myself to read them anymore...
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Without a doubt, the thing which has let down both books in their pacing. Dear God, this series is painfully tedious! I struggled to find even the slightest thrill to keep me going. This one, in particular, dragged on and on. It is probably due to the amount of time the characters spend caught up in mundane drama, most revolving around their love lives. The actual war between the siblings rarely took the main focus and when it did, it was an incredibly mild, watered down version of what I hoped for. It is obvious that the sisters could have killed each other quite easily - particularly Mirabella - if they had been allowed but Blake holds back. All of the fight scenes felt forced as a consequence. You know when you start a TV show late - one that already has like twelve seasons out - and there is a near-death experience in the first season. You don’t even blink because you know that the character has to be in the next eleven seasons: they were never going to die. This entire book had that feeling. There was no sense of urgency… and I was completely disengaged. If Blake does not want the sisters to fight to the death, fair enough, but maybe pitch the story a little different? I’m here for the battle to the death, not the romantic drama.
The fact that this series is championed for its characters continually boggles my mind. I could not connect or stand the majority of them. In fact, I would have happily cheered on the executions of most of them… which is morbid but not untrue. Arisone and Billy were literally the only characters I cared about. Billy was genuinely sweet. I think his affection for Arsinoe was a little too much at times but he had a great character arc that I appreciated. Arisone was the only sister I thought had a consistent voice and genuine personality. If this series focused on her - and her alone - I definitely would have enjoyed a hell of a lot more.
I just cannot understand the appeal of Jules. She was constantly riling people up with her temper and acted so recklessly. Her constant complaining about Joseph also made me rage. If she cannot come to terms with his mistakes (which I don’t blame her for, I still am not okay with it myself), she should have left him. I know it is slightly more complicated than that but it felt like Blake kept them together just to create drama between her, Joseph and Mirabella in otherwise dull plot points. It was infuriating. I have no idea why so much time dedicated to her subplot. The other secondary characters were kind of a blur. I found it hard to remember who was who - particularly Mirabella’s friends - but that is probably more to do with my memory than anything. I did really dislike Madrigal, though. I felt like we spent way too long focusing on her as well.
Katharine was a disaster. She had such potential to become this eerie villainous tyrant but she just… acted so strangely. It was not thrilling. I was not interested. I am trying to keep this vague but her, let's call it development, was an amazing idea that just did not get met. If it is still not tapped into in the sequel, I will scream. Speaking of which, Pietyr made we want to scream and then claw my eyeballs out with frustration every time he appeared. He had literally no personality! All he said was how much he loved Katharine, that was it. I just… why. I have no patience for such repetitive banalities. I was also just not okay with Nicholas. He was such a creep! He showed all the warning signs of an abuser. Ugh.
Overall?
I had hoped that One Dark Throne would be a step above the disaster that was Three Dark Crowns but I set my expectations too high. I still liked Arisone and Billy but all of the other characters irritated me, particularly Jules and Joseph. Katharine could have had potential but I felt like we barely got to scratch the surface with her. The plotline continued to play it safe and devote too much time to drama and romance for my tastes. I wanted more action, more blood, more conflict. I do not have high hopes for the following sequels since this was originally meant to be a duology. I am not even sure if I can push myself to read them anymore...
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Shadow Girl was a poorly paced borefest. I do not understand why this is being pitched as a paranormal mystery when it was so clearly not. The supposed ghost lore is mentioned only a handful of times, and even then, it is not a focus of the story. It was not remotely spooky. There are a few bumps and wails in the night, but they could - and were - easily explained away. It was mostly driven by the fact that Ella, Mei’s student, claims her room is haunted by a ghost. I need way more suspense and atmosphere and haunting shenanigans to keep me interested than that. The entire subplot was messy and disjointed, thrown in without planning or consideration, and making little sense. We barely know the identity of the ghost - if there even was one - let alone anything more about this world’s ghost lore. I wanted to be spooked. I don’t necessarily mind an open ending, in fact, I would have liked it if the story had left us wondering whether it was real or all in Ella’s head. I just needed the story to choose whether it was a paranormal mystery or not and commit to delivering that story, not half-assing it like it did.
The fact that we follow the petty drama of the Morison family, rather than the ghost story, could have been perfectly fine if I had actually cared about the family. But I didn’t. Their lack of personality made it hard for me to empathise with their situation. Henry was stereotypical and dry. His romance with Mei was rushed, awkward and unnecessary. I did like Ella but Vanessa, Jeffery, Mei’s mother, Doris and Mr Morison were all shallow and underdeveloped. I was also confused by the Jeffery drama. They clearly state was is happening halfway through the book - or imply it so heavily, so clearly, that it is obvious to everyone - but the fact that it is a Thing was a big twist at the end? I did not even realise it was meant to be a mystery!
I wish I could say that I loved the narration but I honestly did not even enjoy Mei as a protagonist. Her internal monologue revealed how she hid her rude and judgemental self under layers of over-the-top politeness and fake smiles. I found it difficult to care about her when I was so frustrated with her. She made Henry out to be this snobbish rich boy for no good reason. He was sweet with his sister and kind toward her. Her antagonism was off-putting and just judgemental.
Liu does have a very simplistic writing style. I loved how well the story flowed and how it was so easy to flick through the whole book in a single sitting. I wish she had focused on developing her character more, however, or at least given us a creepy atmosphere for the ghost elements to shine.
I did like that Liu did highlight the microaggressions faced by a lot of Asian-Americans in their daily lives. Obviously, I cannot speak for the representation myself - Mei is Chinese-American - but I loved how well the cultural differences between Mei and Henry were woven in. It was a nice touch.
Overall? Very disappointing. There was nothing substantial that I enjoyed about this book. At all.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
The fact that we follow the petty drama of the Morison family, rather than the ghost story, could have been perfectly fine if I had actually cared about the family. But I didn’t. Their lack of personality made it hard for me to empathise with their situation. Henry was stereotypical and dry. His romance with Mei was rushed, awkward and unnecessary. I did like Ella but Vanessa, Jeffery, Mei’s mother, Doris and Mr Morison were all shallow and underdeveloped. I was also confused by the Jeffery drama. They clearly state was is happening halfway through the book - or imply it so heavily, so clearly, that it is obvious to everyone - but the fact that it is a Thing was a big twist at the end? I did not even realise it was meant to be a mystery!
I wish I could say that I loved the narration but I honestly did not even enjoy Mei as a protagonist. Her internal monologue revealed how she hid her rude and judgemental self under layers of over-the-top politeness and fake smiles. I found it difficult to care about her when I was so frustrated with her. She made Henry out to be this snobbish rich boy for no good reason. He was sweet with his sister and kind toward her. Her antagonism was off-putting and just judgemental.
Liu does have a very simplistic writing style. I loved how well the story flowed and how it was so easy to flick through the whole book in a single sitting. I wish she had focused on developing her character more, however, or at least given us a creepy atmosphere for the ghost elements to shine.
I did like that Liu did highlight the microaggressions faced by a lot of Asian-Americans in their daily lives. Obviously, I cannot speak for the representation myself - Mei is Chinese-American - but I loved how well the cultural differences between Mei and Henry were woven in. It was a nice touch.
Overall? Very disappointing. There was nothing substantial that I enjoyed about this book. At all.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
This did so many things right and so many things wrong.
• The Indian rep. was everything.
• Menon has such an engaging and subtly gorgeous writing style. I would honestly read anything she wrote just for that.
• Rishi is little a pure little cinnamon bun that I wanted to hug and protect.
• Dimple's feminist attitude was so empowering.
• ... there was legit no coding? What is this false advertisement?
• The whole plot was... iffy. It was too much romance, too little everything else.
• I didn't even ship the romance that much. Ahhh. I know! I mean, they were so cute together... but I also just loved Rishi too much and wanted them to, idk, experience life a little more. It felt a tad forced.
• I felt that there were a few too many plot threads.
• It had its laugh-out-loud moments.
• For some reason, it kinda gave me Raise Your Voice vibes... maybe just 'cause I grew up on that movie.
• Contemporary arranged marriages are given justice.
Full review to come.
• The Indian rep. was everything.
• Menon has such an engaging and subtly gorgeous writing style. I would honestly read anything she wrote just for that.
• Rishi is little a pure little cinnamon bun that I wanted to hug and protect.
• Dimple's feminist attitude was so empowering.
• ... there was legit no coding? What is this false advertisement?
• The whole plot was... iffy. It was too much romance, too little everything else.
• I didn't even ship the romance that much. Ahhh. I know! I mean, they were so cute together... but I also just loved Rishi too much and wanted them to, idk, experience life a little more. It felt a tad forced.
• I felt that there were a few too many plot threads.
• It had its laugh-out-loud moments.
• For some reason, it kinda gave me Raise Your Voice vibes... maybe just 'cause I grew up on that movie.
• Contemporary arranged marriages are given justice.
Full review to come.
I literally feel like my heart is going to spontaneously combust. I can't.
#1) Flame in the Mist ★★★★☆
🍂 Rep: Japanese cast.
🌻 Trigger warnings for classism, misogyny, slut-shaming, grief/loss, death, murder, torture, blackmail, imprisonment, physical assault, branding, kidnapping, loss of autonomy, drowning recounted, and poisoning.
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