zoeelizabethk's Reviews (642)

I feel bad leaving a negative review given the subject matter, but at least I didn't DNF it. Did Not Finish really just didn't deliver. It tried to do way too much way too quickly. I accept that romances are fast paced, but there was just not enough time for any sort of development either for the characters, the romance, or the plot. Go read Book Lovers instead to get your publishing/writer romance fix. 2.5 stars.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and to Netgalley for the audio ARC of Did Not Finish. The narrators did a fine job, but the audio sounded fuzzy and electronic. I've had this problem on Netgalley before so I assume it's not the audiobook's fault.

Way too much going on, way too much promised for such a short book, and nothing was really delivered on. I don’t have much good to say unfortunately. I had high hopes cause it had some potentially cool ideas, but this was a total miss for me. 

I really liked Easy to Hate You! I’m here for all the cultural expectations, working through trauma, respecting deep wounds, romances! It’s also closed door sex scene which matched the tone and difficult themes to not get too hot and heavy suddenly for a sex scene. Definitely check the content warnings but this is a worthwhile read plus very sweet.

Wishtress is a wholesome, heartwarming (and sometimes heartbreaking) YA book. I liked our characters, especially the side characters, Anouk and Runt, though I will say that I didn't necessarily connect with Myrthe that much. I really loved this what this story did, the conclusions, and the growth our characters went through. I was not a huge fan of the pacing or the romance, but those were minor quibbles. This is a good, clean, inspiring YA to pick up if you want a slower story and characters wrestling with good and evil. 

Wishtress was about 3.5 stars for me, rounded up to 4, but I'm looking forward to reading more books by Nadine since some of those premises call to me more.

Thanks to Nadine Brandes, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for the giveaway eARC!

Thistlefoot was simultaneously what I want out Russian fairy-tale-inspired books, and also not what I expected. I think that this is a book that will hit really powerfully for some and be super annoying to others. I think that it's best to go in with as little context as possible and to suspend your disbelief. But also be prepared for a book that is worthwhile to read and well crafted, but also not entirely enjoyable. This is not a disney fairytale, this is a Grimms' original, cut off your foot to fit in the slipper, type of fairytale. It deals with hard things, but I think in the end it does its topics justice.

Most of this book is positives for me. I think the narrative structure of Thistlefoot is brilliant. I can't say too much because of spoilers, but the way different stories are broken up and told opposite and in front and in back of each other is well done. If you have any familiarity with slavic fairytales it will feel familiar but also clever. I also loved the prose and the narrative tone of the book. Nethercott is also a poet, and that definitely comes across in her writing. It's very suited to a liminal fairy tale. I really liked the discussion of the power of story, remembrance, and generational memory. I wrote my college thesis on Russian generational memory surrounding WWII, so it's a topic that I've spent a good amount of time with, and I thought that Thistlefoot was a really good vehicle to explore that topic.

The few negatives for me that I noticed, but didn't necessarily impact my enjoyment of the book. Occasionally the prose got a little unwieldy in my opinion and the book could have been shorter. I thought the minor romance that develops came out of nowhere and did nothing; I'm not sure that it even served as a plot device. I think there's good development for Isaac and Bellantine, but don't expect the side characters to be really well fleshed out. I thought they were sufficient for this story, but this might bother character driven readers. The settings felt often very vague despite seeming vivid to the characters. It was very hard to remind myself that this was taking place in modern day. Finally, I think the ending was probably the right choice thematically, but it was not necessarily satisfying, particularly for our characters. 

Overall, I am really glad I read Thistlefoot. I'm looking forward to what Nethercott comes up with next, because I really appreciated what she created here. If you are a fan of slavic folklore/fairy tales, I think that this is definitely worth picking up. The blub likens it to Spinning Silver, and I don't disagree, but I think it is more similar to Deathless by Catherynne Valente. If you enjoyed Deathless, Spinning Silver, or the Winternight Trilogy (which I had serious problems with), give Thistlefoot a try!

Thanks to Netgalley and Anchor Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. I also listened to the audiobook narrated by January LaVoy, who overall had a terrific narration.

Hotel Magnifique was fine. Unfortunately it wasn’t particularly memorable, and by the end I really wasn’t that invested, but the vibes were cool and I enjoyed myself most of the time. A magical hotel that’s hiding a dark secret. The vibe feels like a mix of Caraval and Spirited Away. 

The Aurelian Cycle was so good! Furysong was a really great ending to the series and had so much to love. Annie has my heart particularly and Rosaria Munda delivered some gut wrenching emotions during this book. The use of literature and poetry and the weaving of (even small) events from the previous books was well done. I do wish we could have dug into the affect of putting children through what this book puts them through. It wasn't glossed over by any means but I think I would have liked a bit more. I also think that - for me - I preferred the pacing and themes in Flamefall just a little bit more. That book had me in so many tears and feelings and it was hard to read but so good. Your mileage may vary, but regardless this is a really well written series. I will definitely be getting physical copies for my shelves and rereading in the future, and I highly recommend.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Christian Coulson, Candice Moll, Aidan Kelly, Anthony Mark Barrow, and Steve West. The audiobook is excellent! I personally had trouble understanding Delo's character narrated by Anthony Mark Barrow, but it might have had something to do with my speed settings. Candice Moll is particularly excellent!

The Veiled Throne has - thus far - been my favorite of The Dandelion Dynasty! I know that's unpopular, but it's the truth. Why did this book work so much better for me? I think for one it had the advantage of having 1500 pages of previous worldbuilding and character building to start with. I didn't struggle as much with lots of names and places, etc. I also think TVT didn't try to do quite as much as some of the other books - to its great benefit I think. We got to spend more time with characters, more time with plot points, more time with reflection, and all of these things were just much more satisfying for me. It still was slow, but I felt like that slow time was spent well. I really don't mind Liu's hands-off writing style, but I loved that here he was able to still put more time into making me really invested in everything. I feel like the first two books had so much to introduce us to and their own plots to manage, but TVT was able to take a step back and relax and do what it needed to do without having to juggle so much. On the one hand I don't feel like it should have taken me 2500 pages to feel completely invested, but I am definitely invested now and loving it!