ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
DNF'd @ 26%
There's nothing wrong with the book, I just don't feel very invested in theARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
DNF'd @ 26%
There's nothing wrong with the book, I just don't feel very invested in the story or the characters. Even for YA, this series feels quite young. The empyreals are interesting, but other than that not much is hooking me, and I'm honestly not looking forward to when Talon and Darling meet again—the moments they spend thinking about each other are enough indication of the drama levels I can expect, in my opinion....more
“Myriad Virtues, why have you done this?” “For sorrow,” she said. “For grief, and for remembrance. Humans don’t understand grief, not like a neixin does.”
I think this is my favourite installment so far (I know, I've said this before, but new books means new insights okay).
This is compelling because it really zooms in on Chih as a character, in a way that the previous novellas haven't done. We're at their home, getting an in-depth look at their upbringing and the people they care for, all while tackling what it means to lose someone, and how a person can be different things to different people in different phases of their life.
The writing is absolutely stunning, as always. I've really grown to love this novella series in general, and highly recommend it.
“Myriad Virtues, why have you done this?” “For sorrow,” she said. “For grief, and for remembrance. Humans don’t understand grief, not like a neixin does.”
I think this is my favourite installment so far (I know, I've said this before, but new books means new insights okay).
This is compelling because it really zooms in on Chih as a character, in a way that the previous novellas haven't done. We're at their home, getting an in-depth look at their upbringing and the people they care for, all while tackling what it means to lose someone, and how a person can be different things to different people in different phases of their life.
The writing is absolutely stunning, as always. I've really grown to love this novella series in general, and highly recommend it.
McKillip's writing always sucks me in so completely. She has such beautiful turns of phrase—not just in the sentences on their own, but also how some McKillip's writing always sucks me in so completely. She has such beautiful turns of phrase—not just in the sentences on their own, but also how some paragraphs follow the same rhythm, or how she uses repetition to emphasize something. Sometimes I find myself distracted from the actual story she's telling because I'm too busy admiring the way she tells it.
Despite how short this book is, McKillip still managed to weave a complete story. It follows the standard narrative beats of a quest plotline, with a cnite (the intentional misspellings of words we know takes some getting used to, I'll admit) going on a quest to save a Damsen in distress, but McKillip quickly subverts it. There are no battles, no beasts to be slain, just different characters he encounters on his journey. The conclusion is what I've come to expect from McKillip, and all in all this did not disappoint....more
I think it's safe to say that I'm completely hooked.
I had no idea that this second volume would have a trope I love ((view spoiler)[deaging (hide spoiler)]), but I was squealing with excitement when I got to that part. It's a pretty thick book, and yet I found myself flying through it. I love the characters and the development we got in this installment, with both Mo Ran and Chu Wanning coming to realize things about themselves and their past behavior. I also really loved the side characters—Xue Meng continues to grow on me, and the moments where Chu Wanning acts more as a shizun towards his students made me melt.
There are so many moments that stood out to me, and I made sure to highlight them all so I can revisit them later. The past timeline continues to fascinate me—I'm still so curious about how Mo Ran and Chu Wanning got to the point where cuddling was happening, but I'm guessing it'll be a while still before I get the answer to that question. I'm not complaining, though.
We do get more glimpses into why Mo Ran is the way he is in this volume (I spent a couple of chapters fuming at his shizun for past injustices). They both still suffer from lack of communication, and there are times when I just want to lock them up somewhere and not let them out again, but for some reason it doesn't bother me the way I would expect it to. There's just something about the romance that has me by the throat, and I can't wait to read more....more
This is exactly what it says on the tin—a xianxia YA romantasy (ignore the comparison to Dark Heir, that's not what you're getting here). I thought this was well-executed in general. The pacing was really good, with drama at the right moments to keep it all flowing nicely. A lot happens in the last 25%, and it did feel a bit rushed, but not enough to be bothersome.
I've seen some reviews call the relationship between Xian and Zhen insta-love, and while I agree that they very quickly developed feelings for each other, it read more like insta-lust to me, personally. I really liked the beats of the romance. It's sweet and fun, lies and betrayal notwithstanding.
The side characters are also a highlight. The relationship between Qing and Zhen, and Xian and Feng, kind of mirror each other, in that both are found family at its core. The budding romance between Qing and Feng was really cute, too.
I'm not familiar with the original myth, so I have no idea how big of a departure this retelling is, but it gave me exactly what I was expecting, and I had a lot of fun reading it....more
I don't know what it is about Emily Wilde. Just like the first book, this CWs:(view spoiler)[Gore, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail (hide spoiler)]
I don't know what it is about Emily Wilde. Just like the first book, this sequel drew me in so easily. I read it in two sittings because I just wanted to spend more time with these characters rather than do something else.
Everything that was so good about Encyclopaedia of Faeries is expanded on here. Emily and Wendell's relationship is more of a focus—their banter is cute, there are aww-worthy moments, but also times where Emily struggles with what a future for them might look like. Wendell, of course, doesn't really help with any of that, either, but the way he cares about Emily is heartwarmingly adorable.
We get introduced to a couple of new characters as well, which means more time watching Emily learn how to interact with people. There are plenty of nasty faeries with nasty surprises, once again making for a very compelling story, and I can't wait to see what Emily and Wendell will get up to next. ...more
I love it when authors write retellings where a lot of things gCWs:(view spoiler)[Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Murder (hide spoiler)]
I love it when authors write retellings where a lot of things get flipped around. A genderswapped Holmes, a genderswapped Watson, hints at a possible slow burn romance—honestly, a winning combination. I don't think this is one where the reader can unravel the mystery before Charlotte does, but I had a great time following her deductions. The characters have very distinct voices, and I'm really intrigued by the setup for Moriarty.
I highly recommend the audiobook by the way, the narrator is fantastic. ...more
This volume is mostly setup, but I'm definitely intrigued by where this is going. TheCWs:(view spoiler)[Gore, Panic attacks/disorders (hide spoiler)]
This volume is mostly setup, but I'm definitely intrigued by where this is going. The art is great, and I enjoyed the humor and the characters. The dynamic between Sunny and Erza is already fun, and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops further....more
Scrolling through my Kindle highlights to write this review just made me want to rerCWs:(view spoiler)[Rape, Torture, Suicide, Murder (hide spoiler)]
Scrolling through my Kindle highlights to write this review just made me want to reread it, and honestly I think that probably tells you more than the actual review will. I'll still write it, though.
I want to start by saying that, out of all the danmei I've tried so far, this one hooked me the fastest. Meatbun's writing just clicks with my brain, and I think the translators have done a fantastic job in making it flow as well. But the story itself can't be ignored when it comes to intrigue. There's a whole first timeline that we don't know about, but we get to see tantalizing snippets, and there were moments where I needed to know how Mo Ran and Chu Wanning got from point A to point Z.
And then there's the reincarnation timeline, with its slow burn romance and damaged characters, and I was honestly eating it all up.
That said, Mo Ran and Chu Wanning are both idiots, so I can already tell this will be a very slow build with a lot of pain before the eventual payoff. But I have faith that it'll be worth it. ...more
There will be no other men. There will be no other lovers, there will be no other great romance. There will merely be this, between us, this recognition of the perfect hurt and pain that honed us into blades, so we could cut each other free.
I don't know when I forgot how much I like messy characters, but I'm so glad books like these are getting published and reminding me that I do. Is Alexey a terrible human being? Absolutely. He was grooming Dimitri and went on to groom Ivan, he was abusive and manipulative, and there wasn't a single moment where I was rooting for him. But getting to read things from his perspective was fascinating.
I really like lovers to enemies as a trope, and seeing how Alexey and Dimitri broke apart through flashbacks was great. There's a scene where Alexey hits Dimitri, and instead of taking it, Dimitri hits back, and let me tell you, I was cheering him on.
The juxtaposition to all that toxicity is the romance that blossoms between Dimitri and Vasily. It goes from friends with benefits to lovers in a way that felt like a very natural progression, without ignoring the fact that Dimitri is dealing with a lot of trauma. Vasily was probably my favourite perspective to read—I like reading about clever people being clever, and watching him maneuver his way into Alexey's court as a spy was exciting.
The first 40-50% is pretty slow-paced, but the last 30% is absolutely wild. So much happens that I couldn't have predicted, and I loved the roller coaster it took me on. I will say that I had some minor issues with the ending—(view spoiler)[for a group that's supposedly fairly smart, I truly don't understand how they saw a demon fly off with Alexey and decided they didn't need to follow up on that (hide spoiler)]. But it's a minor gripe when I had a really good time with the book.
One thing I will say is that, even though the author does not list this as an inspiration in any way, I couldn't help but compare Alexey and his Holy Science to Zionism. There are specific references to Alexey poisoning and slaughtering innocent people, using kids as shields, etc. It hits differently when we're witnessing a genocide against Palestinians where a lot of the same things are happening. It took me a while to figure out where the discomfort was coming from, but once I'd identified it, it ceased to be an issue....more
If this is your first foray into danmei, I would honestly recommend putting this down until you have a few other volumes onto your belt, because it's a weird one. The story hits that weird spot between seriousness and ridiculousness to the point that I could almost call this satire. There's psychological ebola, two supposed straight men trying to outdo each other in homophobia, and then there are the moments where one of said men smells the other's hormones.
It is still really well-written, and it takes some side tracks where it discusses mental illness and the abuse of patients, which is good because there' really not much to latch onto when it comes to the romance yet. I did end up finding He Yu and Xie Qingcheng constantly going "no I'm more homophobic!" a bit tedious/laid on thick towards the end, and I'm really hoping the next volumes tone that part of it down.
Not a favourite so far, but I am open to trying a second volume to see where it goes....more
I can't say that this isn't a reimagining of Macbeth, but it's not what I was hoping for.
I've always had a certain fondness for Lady Macbeth as a character. She is the driving force behind Macbeth's ambition, she's cunning and manipulative, and she has so much agency in that story. With this being a version centering her, I was hoping to see all of that amped up to 11. But that's not the route the author chose to take, and unfortunately, I ended up being disappointed. I came here hoping to support women's rights but, more importantly for this particular play, women's wrongs. But instead of all the enjoyment of seeing Lady M gaslighting gatekeeping girlbossing her way to the top, I got Roscille.
Roscille (aka Lady Macbeth) is seventeen, and incredibly naïve. She thinks much of her own intelligence and cunning, but every plot she hatches throughout the story inevitably fails one way or another, because she didn't account for something. All of the agency that Lady M is supposed to have is stripped away, and rather than being the driving force in the story, Roscille is dragged along by the whims of the men around her. Where the original play has her verbally abusing Macbeth and bullying him into action, here she is submissive and timid around him. He is the one in control, and she just goes where he pushes her. I do think the last 20% of this was interesting, and the writing is beautiful as always, but this could've been a really good story if it hadn't been a Macbeth retelling. I don't think it's particularly feminist, either.
The other issue I have is the portrayal of Scots, and particularly Scottish men. In one of the first chapters, we learn that Roscille has been unjustly feared by men her entire life. They call her a witch because she has strange eyes, when there's no evidence to support this. But instead of her then acknowledging that people have prejudices and that they are usually unfounded, she states with confidence that Scots are brutes, that the men all rape women, and more along those lines. I can acknowledge that, based on the time period and the prejudices running rampant, this could have been her opinion, but it could also have been challenged within the narrative by the author, which doesn't happen. From their first meeting, she's deathly afraid of Macbeth, to the point that she tries to arrange his downfall before he has even shown himself to be anything, brute or not. And the story supports her conclusions, in the end, but she couldn't have known that initially. To be clear, it's not just Macbeth who is portrayed this way. All the Scottish men surrounding her are bad, except for one—Lisander, the half Scottish/half British son of Duncane. This painting of Brits as better than Scots felt problematic to me, especially because there is still a lot of prejudice against Scottish men.
Also, the author seems to be promising dragonfucking in this book, so just to spare people the disappointment: it's not in dragon form....more
I honestly didn't catch much of the audiobook—I started it during a flight, and found myself dozing off. But the parts I did catch didn't DNF'd at 18%
I honestly didn't catch much of the audiobook—I started it during a flight, and found myself dozing off. But the parts I did catch didn't inspire much confidence that I would end up enjoying the book. This mostly had to do with the way Ariadne comes across as a character. One scene that stuck out to me was her conversation with Daedalus, where she was asking him for help to rescue Theseus. He said that people had died before and she didn't save them then, did she want to save them now just for one boy? And her answer was yes.
Sounds like a case of naïve instalove to me, so I've decided to put it down. ...more
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is one of those books that I'm happy I read, will absolutely recommend t3.5 stars
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is one of those books that I'm happy I read, will absolutely recommend to people, but other than that, don't really have a lot to say about. It's a cozy, wholesome fantasy, with a cute romance, and plant companions that make for some really adorable friendships. It's about finding your place in the universe, and helping people and the world for the sake of kindness. There are merhorses, merbabies, cats with wings, and a lot of other fun elements. The nature descriptions are lovely, too.
A big part of the story is Kiela figuring out how to survive in her old home, and setting up a spellshop/jam shop, so you get parts that are just her figuring out recipes for both. It didn't quite hook me in the way Legends & Lattes did, but that may also just have been my mood. It does start off quite slow, but by the time I was halfway through, I was pretty into it.
The romance between Kiela and Larran is sweet, even though I initially thought there was a bit too much dislike for very little reason on Kiela's part. But that smoothed itself out as well....more
This was me dipping my toes into danmei, and I think it was successful? I will say that it's necessary to keep the glossary nearby initially—all the characters have multiple names as well as titles, and there's not a lot of hand-holding in general, which makes sense.
The chapters are very long, and I personally think that drags down the pacing of the story, especially when one of the chapters is a very extended flashback. But the characters are fun to follow. Wei Wuxian is an absolute chaos gremlin, and his antics made me laugh. I can't wait to see how both the story and the romance develop....more
Of course the stories with Damen and Laurent are my favourite, but I really enjoyed the others as welThis is the epilogue I needed after Kings Rising.
Of course the stories with Damen and Laurent are my favourite, but I really enjoyed the others as well for various reasons. The hijinks with Charls made me laugh. Summer Palace was completely swoon-worthy and also healing. I think I was least interested in the one with Aimeric because fuck him, but even then Pacat manages to intrigue me....more
‘How’s your shoulder?’ Damen said. ‘My shoulder and I,’ said Laurent, ‘are waiting to be shown a real fight.’
This gave me everything I wanted, although did Pacat need to end it there instead of giving us maybe 50 more pages at the end, for some quality time with Damen and Laurent?
There's a lot of tension, angst, and pining, but also a lot of reveals that made me feel so validated at all the hints I thought I'd been seeing in the first two books. I really appreciate Pacat's subtle hand here. The dynamic between Laurent and Damen continues to be amazing. There were scenes that had me gnawing on my fist—Damen is such a romantic, and Laurent is an absolute badass, and anyone who underestimates him deserves what they get. But I also love that we get to see a softer side to Laurent. He remains such a fascinating character.
I think I'll end up re-reading this series regularly. If you've been hesitant to pick it up, I highly recommend it! I regret waiting as long as I did. Pacat has quickly become a favourite author....more
I've now reached the part of the series that hasn't been adapted yet (well, CWs:(view spoiler)[eating disorder, self harm, homophobia (hide spoiler)]
I've now reached the part of the series that hasn't been adapted yet (well, mostly). This had some cute moments between Charlie and his family, but it's mostly an in-depth look at his struggle with mental illness. I loved seeing the way Nick is there for Charlie, and how much he cares about helping.
The bonus teacher comic was really cute as well....more
I can genuinely understand why people love this series so much, but I'm also realizing iCWs:(view spoiler)[eating disorder, self-harm (hide spoiler)]
I can genuinely understand why people love this series so much, but I'm also realizing it's not really what I look for. It's a bit too on the nose with what it wants to say. I can't quite suspend my disbelief enough to buy into how the relationships are progressing.
I understand the focus on positivity, but the main characters all act like semi-perfect people who have never felt the bite of hormones. It's especially jarring in contrast to the adaptation, I think. Tao is a prime example. In the adaptation, he reacts in a pretty predictable way when he finds out that Charlie has been dating Nick, and everyone knows but him. He's sad, and he lashes out in anger, which, to me, is perfectly normal behavior for a teenage boy. In this volume, when he finds out, he's still sad, but he also tells Charlie it was probably the right choice. They both mope about it for a bit, make up, and everything is right as rain. It feels a little bit like forced positivity to me, if I'm being brutally honest....more
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