It's better than Romanov. You can't compare the two.

I didn't expect much, but Fawkes delivered all the same. I loved the protagonist, Thomas, and it was refreshing seeing the story through the POV of a teenage boy who actually reads like a teenage boy. He was a delightful mix of cleverness and indecision, skill in his survival as well as that silly childish chivalry that just makes you sigh deeply and love a character even more. He battled his fears and self-doubt, but in the end he was brave and did the right thing. Emma is great too. At first I thought she was just your average Strong Female Character thrown in for the sake of having a Strong Female Character Who Is Better Than All The Boys. But as the story progressed I grew to love her strength and warmth. She let her guard down and showed that she was just as human and frail as Thomas was, and that she was fighting for the right to just BE.
Guy Fawkes was also an interesting character, and his rocky relationship with his son handled well. My heart ached for Thomas, who was so in need of his father's love and affirmation, but could never measure up. He was just so ...lost. At the same time Guy struggled so much in his relationship with Thomas. He went through so much, and he didn't deal with it well at all, but it was HUMAN. It was realistic. And it hurt. (Okay, and the scene of his death... just heartwrenching.)

The plot was interesting and the twists were...okay. I saw a few of them coming, but they were rendered with enough skill to keep me invested all the same. It did feel like it was dragging a bit, but whatever. I still enjoyed it very much (and it helped me get out of the reading slump I was in when I started it).

My greatest complaint, though, is with Brandes' style.

It's not ALL bad, don't get me wrong! I did like some of the dialogue (a few quotes in there are just WHOA) and some of the descriptions. However, there are these...similes and metaphors that just made me groan aloud. Simplistic and melodramatic. Words are also used that didn't even exist during that time period (or at least weren't used the way Brandes employs them). All this chips away at the otherwise pleasingly vivid image of early 17th century London, its vice and filth and crime not glossed over or euphemized.

That being said, I'm going to end on a positive note, because overall I really did like Fawkes. Kudos to Brandes for the creative magic system. Loved it.

This is one of those books that everybody should read.
A moving portrayal of people born in the wrong place in the wrong time. People who long for something more than life has given them, something not even they know for fact exists. So they tell stories. At times funny, at times absolutely heartbreaking, these stories reveal a vast yet repressed inner world, populated by elements of a scattered and confused culture. This is a work so descriptive, so insightful, that it's natural to give it the name of "generation-defining" (as the Guardian indeed did!) The characters, their memories, their hopes and dreams and fears are all achingly real.
An absolutely gripping read, wildly detailed yet to the point. I finished it in one afternoon. This is an absolute tour de force, at once depressing and...oddly uplifting?
Do yourself a favor and read it. NOW.

Whoa. Just whoa. Prepare to be blown away and have this thing on your mind for weeks. It's easy to find free online - READ IT.

Phew, finally done! This book took me soooo long to read. I just,,,, plowed through it. Wanted to DNF it several times, but Dickens is my homie and I don't do him dirty like that~

Anywho, lemme just say off the bat that I have every respect for Oliver Twist. It's a great work, and its message was definitely needed in the time and place in which it was published. As my friend put it "like...he wrote it to save kids and stuff, which is like, #goals". So yes, I respect it and am thankful for it; like Uncle Tom's Cabin, it was a wonderful work of propaganda that started changes for the better in the world.

But that's exactly what it reads like- propaganda. It is extremely preachy. And while I wholly understand why, I didn't enjoy it.
The good guys are all pure as the driven snow, the bad guys are all ugly and dirty and horrid. Except for Charley Bates, but he's a background character. Out of them all, the only truly complex character was Nancy. I love that girl. But like...we all know what happens to Nancy. *heavy sigh*

Imma just say that if you're a hardcore Dickens fan, you should probably try to read this. But if you're trying to get into Dickens... don't. If it's the first Dickens you read, it'll put a sour taste in your mouth.

Whoa. Just whoa. My heart was twisting over and over again the entire time. It is so good. So real. Every illustration perfectly on point, the protagonist so REAL. This award-winning story was perfect for a graphic novel adaptation and I love every bit of it. It's just...ugh. it. Is. So. Real.

I didn't like it, but I recognize its quality all the same.
See, the story in itself is a good one, with plenty of comical misadventures, witty observations on life and work and whatnot, as well as some insightful quotes that do deserve a mention. However the protagonist (also the narrator) is...how to put this politely?
He's a freakin jerk.
Completely detached from reality, Jake Donaghue cares only for his own wants and needs, his own beliefs, his own feelings. He treats his friends poorly and indifferently, not caring too much about their struggles, but rather fixating himself on his own thoughts and his poOr brOkEn hEaRt. It wasn't pleasant to read for me because I wanted to slap him across the face for the entirety of the book. He chases after this woman, Anna, and feels he's entitled to her love and trust despite being such an ass. I just...ugh.
There's not even much of a plot. It just...meanders, and not in a good way. It isn't as funny as it's cracked up to be (though that's just my silly personal opinion) and there's just this pervasive pretentiousness about the style. I suppose that's also due to Jake's being the narrative voice, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

The Secret Garden has been enchanting children with its tale of magic and healing and growing things since the day it was published. Today, it enchanted me.
There was something about the story that kept my heart swelling constantly- this is fluff and sweetness at its finest and it is absolutely my thing. The cutesiness might have been a tad sappy in certain instances, but I don't care. We all need a little sugary floss of a story in our lives every now and then - and at this particular time in my life, it hit the spot just right. This is the story of two very damaged children slowly finding joy in life again through the "Magic" of sunshine, of flowers, of birds and trees and all living things.
I loved the characters! All of them! Stern, no-nonsense little Mary; Dickon the "animal charmer", and the very dramatic young Colin all worked their way into my heart and they are there to stay. Mary and Colin both find healing and restoration within the secret garden as well as within themselves, within one another, and it is wonderful to read. Emotional and heartfelt, this little masterpiece is a classical tale for all ages.

It's not bad, but not great either. I like it, but it's no masterpiece. The characters are eh, the style is eh, I liked the Russian elements, there are some really good scenes, but the pacing was poor and not? much? happens...?? I enjoyed it, nevertheless, and it didn't offend me on a personal level, so I will be pushing through with the series. Yay! (Also, P.S., why on EARTH do people ship Alina with the Darkling???)

Oh whoa.
If you know me, you know I don't read crime, I don't read thrillers, and I never read Anthony Horowitz. But I picked Russian Roulette up at the recommendation of a very good friend and, well, I'm glad I did.
Yassen is just...such a great character. He's so ALIVE. And the story of his early days in Russia absolutely captivated me. I was expecting the russian stuff in the story to be culturally inaccurate, maybe even insensitive, as I've often found it represented in a disappointingly large amount of western literature- but no. Russian Roulette FEELS russian. There were many little details of life in Soviet Russia that could only have come to Horowitz's knowledge through speaking with natives. He did his research, and though I tend to be bored and creeped out by his writing, well... this book is the exception.
I didn't enjoy the second half of the novel nearly as much as I did the first, but that's only a matter of taste. Guns, fancy cars, expensive hotels, assassinations, martial arts- not my cup of tea. It was suspenseful, I'll give it that. If you're a fan of the genre you'll certainly enjoy it.
To sum this up, Russian Roulette will break your heart, and then amp you up with this...morally twisted anxiety for the story to go WELL. Yassen is a killer. Killing is bad. And yet the story is written in such a way that you still...sort of... WANT his missions to go well...? *shakes head in admiring disgust*
Can Yassen Gregorovitch be called the hero of his own story?

The Metamorphosis is weird as hell, and yet...strangely relatable? Is it okay that I relate to Gregor Samsa?? Someone validate that