Published: Tue 25 April 2023
In Misc .
tags: book review
Bonds of Brass (The Bloodright Trilogy, #1) by Emily Skrutskie
An easy-to-read space romance. The mutual pining starts strong from the start and it was just fun to read. The worldbuilding is super interesting and I really, really enjoyed how the politics and moral dilemmas are slowly introduced and explored. What life is like when your country was conquered and colonised. There are no good compromises and you can feel how sick it makes the narrator feel, that no matter what decision they make people will get hurt and die. The Found Family vibes were excellent whenever they popped up but then again, see: moral dilemma getting in the way. Looking forward to the next volume after that ending! Not exactly a cliffhanger but certainly opens up a lot of interesting possibilities.
Frédéric Cendrevent: L'autre côté des ombres, T2 by Noëmie Auke
J'ai eu quelques difficultés au début à me remémorer les règles de ce monde tout en absorbant les nouvelles informations qui nous sont données, mais une fois tout mis en place (et qu'Allowin nous refait sa première apparition !) l'histoire m'a complètement absorbée. L'intrigue politique est intéressante mais c'est surtout l'évolution de Frédéric et de sa relation avec les autres (son loup, ses nouveaux cercles, et bien sûr Owin) que j'ai trouvé prenante. Voir sa volonté de décider de sa vie par et pour lui-même s'affirmer, et réaliser peu à peu que ce ne sont pas juste les autres qui lui mettent des bâtons dans les roues mais aussi lui-même. J'ai beaucoup aimé découvrir de nouveaux recoins de cet univers fascinant, rencontrer les autres personnages et leurs relations, entendre des explications d'événements mentionnés dans le premier volume sur lesquels je ne m'attendais pas à en apprendre plus (bonne surprise!!), et généralement voir tout ce petit monde faire de leur mieux pour se protéger les uns les autres a été un véritable plaisir. J'ai trouvé la conclusion très réconfortante. Enchanteur !
A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1) by Naomi Novik
A magic school without teachers or staff that is infested with monsters that kill many of the students before or during graduation... And where learning is a matter of survival. Incredible, fascinating worldbuilding. The characters are endearing in somewhat unusual ways, due to the kind of environment they are operating in. And seeing the outcasts and weirdos sort of slowly gravitate toward each other had a kind of found family vibe that I eagerly absorbed. It's hard work getting there though!
Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required by Kristy Shen
I found the methodical, systematic advice on how to choose (POT) very good and would recommend the method to all students or people considering a career change. Overall, very engaging writing style. As always, the concrete advice is north american-based (includes Canada this time, though!) and doesn't apply to different tax system, but the general advice ("The past doesn't matter") and other anecdotes and stories were all interesting and thought provoking.
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
This is two stories in one, because someone is reading a book inside of it, and that book is about the poet Rumi and Shams of Tabriz. I admit I found it difficult at first to feel compassion toward Ella, the modern narrator who is reading book - until we get more of her perspective and suddenly I understood her better, and she broke my heart a little bit.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Although I prefer character-driven stories, I really enjoy Andy Weir's books. The characterisation is a bit weak in this book as well, in that despite the different backstory it feels like exactly the same main character as the other books, tone-wise, especially The Martian. But I actually don't mind the wry, sarcastic, self-deprecating American-type humour so it works for me. I think that covers what I thought were the weakest parts but then again, it's not the kind of story it was meant to be either. This is more plot-driven? Mystery-driven? And damn if that part isn't impeccably done, I was hooked right from the start. Slowly figuring out together with the protagonist what the hell is going on was really, really well done - and you have two storylines in a way, the current one and the flashbacks from back on Earth. There's always something you're wondering about, and the more you learn the more questions you have, but in a really fun and gripping way.
A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, #2) by Arkady Martine
There is a large cast of characters for this book and it took me a while to find my bearings especially since it had been a while since the first book. As before, if you enjoy political intrigue you'll get your fill here, but the worldbuilding and character relationships are what sells this book to me just like its predecessor. The language aspect is still wonderful, the way speaking another language forces you to think differently, but even more so the... I'm not sure how to call it. The longing and fear and conflicted admiration for an Empire that would destroy you and your entire culture given half a chance is just fascinating and so well done, I really enjoyed it.
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams
I really enjoyed it.
Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1) by Tamsyn Muir
It's a difficult book to review. The writing style is so dense and the atmosphere so grim. I mean, necromancers have an aesthetic to preserve I suppose, even necromancers in space. But so many dense descriptions of skeletons and darkness and grime and black veils and... it's tough. It's tough and yet the narrator Gideon has such a great voice. She's not untouched by the grimness of the setting but she still always feels - out of place, out of place in a way that fits. So you'll read a beautiful description of a rotten space platform half-falling apart and in the same breath Gideon will describe the necromancer standing on it as having a "resting bitch face" and I'll be snorting but it doesn't pull you out of the story because it's Gideon so it works.
The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2) by Naomi Novik
I really enjoyed it.
Any Way the Wind Blows (Simon Snow, #3) by Rainbow Rowell
I really enjoyed this conclusion to the trilogy. It's an easy read, great for my still pandemic-fuddled mind but I also liked the plotlines. The first book was all prophecies and Chosen Ones, the second book more about running away from your problems (road trip!) and facing new ones, and this third book... well, it's about what happens once the prophecies are done and dusted, once the characters have to face the end of their lives as they knew it and the trauma that goes with that, and come to terms with it. I quite liked it. The cast of characters is varied enough to keep the story engaging even if you don't like everyone as much and the glimpses into the worldbuilding were fun as well.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
Really interesting outlining method based on screenwriting techniques, using beat sheets. The first quarter of the book explains the method, then the meat of the book shows how it can be applied to different genres by breaking down well-known books into their beats. You can't help but start looking at movies differently after reading it because the beats become very noticeable.
Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2) by Tamsyn Muir
I'm a little bit torn as to how to review this book. I found it really difficult to get into. The prose is just as dense as in the first book, but a lot of the fun characters are either dead or MIA and that leaves only the grim, cynical, psychopathic, paranoid, backstabbing or generally unfun ones around. A couple might be okay but they know much more than the protagonist and the handwaving about "you couldn't understand" is as frustrating for the reader as for the protagonist - even as I recognise that they are right. I wouldn't have understood. I can't even begrudge the other characters for being like they are (except maybe for the backstabbing one, who I still feel furious with) because the world is grim and everyone has seen some shit (tm).
Binti (Binti, #1) by Nnedi Okorafor
A short story about grief, finding your people without disavowing your roots, building understanding across cultures. I enjoyed it.