zoeelizabethk's Reviews (642)

Royal Assassin was a great second book in the Farseer trilogy. I liked getting more in depth with Fitz and the Fool and get more scheming and political in this one. Robin Hobb's writing style has quickly become one of my favorites. It's so soothing for me and a great way to unfold her stories and really explore the characters.

I enjoyed Network Effect, but I think because of the previous novellas, I think I just found the story dragging on. It just kinda felt like we had several things going on and when one of them kind of wrapped up, it felt a little like a false ending. The action, as always, was superb and Murderbot was its usual quirky, but growing self.

Serpent & Dove was a fun YA fantasy/historical fantasy/alternate history fantasy. If you like enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, and an city setting, you will probably enjoy this one. The characters are a little annoying at times, but also kinda lovable. I'm not sure that I'm interested enough to continue but it was fun enough.

The City of Brass is a stunningly creative and detailed world. I found the characters really compelling and complex. The novel is very political, and the characters often have biases, blind spots, and goals, which shift, are challenged, and change throughout, which I really appreciated. There's great commentary about the treatment of immigrants, mixed populations, and the lower classes. All that said, I found this book pretty confusing. I used a chapter-by-chapter summary at times to help me keep up and also did a little reading on the wiki to try to understand some of the political and geographic eccentricities that end up being a central part of this book. Granted I was listening for most of the book, but it was a bit confusing and took work to untangle some of the conflicts going on. It's also pretty slow, and fairly long. But once we got to the last bit, it really picked up and the setup paid off. The next book ended up being easier because I wasn't spending most of the book trying to figure out the politics. I would say 3.5 stars I think, but I was definitely compelled and wanted to continue.

I enjoyed this dual timeline, atmospheric, slightly fantastical mystery set in London. I'm usually not a big fan of dual timelines, but I thought they were brought together well. It's a fun, fast read, good for a reading slump.

The audiobook is narrated by Lorna Bennett, Lauren Anthony, and Lauren Irwin, and I enjoyed the audio.

The Queen's Thief is consistently one of my absolute favorite series of all time. I read it with my mom growing up, and we're both still big fans. Gen is such a fun (and often annoying) character, and I'm down for all his tricks and scheming, and ultimately his dedication to those he loves. I'm constantly in awe of Megan's writing. It's easy to read, but so clever, and she uses forshadowing masterfully. You read the end of the books, find out the twist, and then immediately have to go back and try to figure out what you missed. These books are just always such a fun, engaging read. I love the setting, the Greek-inspired mythology that is not a copy but it's own thing, and the characters are just so well done. These books are a little on the slower side, they're more political, but the characters are interesting enough and the twists good enough that I think anyone can get into these. While The Thief is not my favorite in the series, I'll just always love it for being the very beginnings of our stories with Gen.

This is the first time I’ve reread Lord of the Rings in about five years. And wow Tolkien’s prose is just stunning. I know it’s not for everyone, but it’s beautiful.

I’m particularly captivated by Aragorn this time round. We don’t see the quest from his perspective usually, so we don’t get to see inside his thoughts but the moments other characters see him for who he really is are stunning.

I’m also struck by Tolkien’s pacing. The prose is lyrical and beautiful, but there is very little wasted space. The plot moves along quite quickly and doesn’t dawdle. Some people find him too descriptive, but I find the pacing pretty balanced. Places where you linger - like Lorien - are I think intentional; Tolkien is saying that there’s something very important here.

I find myself tempted to listen to the audiobook but honestly I just want to soak in all the beautiful moments.

Dear Ann was such an atmospheric historical fiction about the 60s and 70s. The way it was told was really interesting, and Mason does a lovely job of examining topics like the city/country divide, love, and family.