aksmith92's reviews
138 reviews

 This was nice! Spice! Overall I enjoyed it. The main female character was borderline immature and quirky - the conundrum I find in some romance novels, but overall I thought this was a fun little read. 

I've sat on this review for quite some time and honestly haven't been able to stop thinking about this book and its impact since I put it down. Therefore, it will be added to my 6-star reads for 2024. I was nervous to read this book - it received a lot of hype, and some said it was slightly challenging to follow (writing style-wise). But, this book WORKED for me. I doubt I'll be able to articulate why and how it did in the best way, but it's truly a phenomenal book.

The plot: We are thrown into chaos on page one - Loretta Thurwar is introduced by way of having to kill another inmate named Melancholia Bishop through Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (CAPE), which is a top-rated "extreme sports program" that takes inmates from the private prison industry and turns them into...gladiators of sorts. Colloquially, they are known as the Chain-Gang All-Stars, and we walk through Thurwar's life in CAPE and plenty of others, including Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker. The CAPE program is heavily explained because Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah wants you to understand how thought-out this program is, and we see, in detail, how the characters get to CAPE and what they have to do while they are in CAPE. We intimately meet these characters and their lives while getting doses of "regular" folks on the outside immersed in this dystopia-like world. In the process of reading this fictional story, we also get to read some footnotes about the mass incarceration system in our current world and reckon with what it means to be in an unchecked capitalist society.

What I loved: Everything. This was poignant, devastating, and brutal. There is no way around it - the book contains incredible violence. However, what is ALSO incredibly sad to read is the thought processes of those in the prison system who have learned that CAPE is the only way, who then adopt this violence-like mindset. There is a little bit of Stockholm Syndrome here - the stars of CAPE get used to the fame and "fortune" in this program (the further you get, the better food and clothing you have, etc.). While distant from what you just read, every chapter is connected in some way, and it's interesting to read about inmates, protesters, spectators, and even those involved in the CAPE program. Everyone you read about feels exceptionally human. The inmates are never portrayed as fantastic or good people, but they know this is an awful program.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was masterful in his storytelling - a perfect example of "what could be" in our current society. Even on page three, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah decided (likely strategically) to connect the game contractually to mention the Super Bowl; it made me laugh, not out of actual laughter but because I can actually imagine that happening. There are mentions of "Whole Market" and other brands that we can assume and infer....this novel seemed like a dystopia but was entirely too relatable. There are incredible juxtapositions that just had me thinking. For example, we get chapters from someone named Emily's point of view - just a regular ole' white married woman who seems not to love CAPE and the games but somehow can't look away. One night, she's watching an episode of the Chain-Gang All-Stars on her smart refrigerator (just in case you can't get to your TV in time!). Emily is watching LinkLyfe, where cameras follow Chains/Links into nature and watch them "March." When the camera comes to Hurricane Staxxx, she covers her face with her arms that have "Xs" tattooed on them for every death she causes. The Xs on her arms align perfectly with her eyes, and she sticks her tongue out, pretending to be a dead cartoon character. We see this from Emily's point of view from her Fridge TV, and the irony of it all is just palatable.

One of my favorite parts is how connected I felt to the characters. Some who've read this book have mentioned that the chapter structure and how the story is told could be better, leading to them forgetting about the characters or not feeling as connected. I disagree; I don't know how Adjei-Brenyah did it, but I was fully immersed in all the characters and their stories. 

This is satire, though. We must remember that this is told from what we view as "an extreme." However, you can't help but feel its relevance and its importance. 

What I didn't like: I liked everything. Literally, everything was important to me, and this book had an incredibly profound impact on me. It's an essential conversation starter about our current US system regarding justice and rehabilitation. I loved it so much, in the worst way possible. To love this book means that you likely hated it and were uncomfortable. It was the point. It is NOT a cozy read by any means, and the ending will stun you somehow. But I cannot recommend this book enough. 

Sometimes, there is nothing better than a book about books!

The setup: The novel follows two sisters, Esther and Joanna, born and raised in a magical family - those who can read magic from books and cast certain spells. While Joanna can produce this magic when reading it, Ester seems untouched by the magic. When she reads the books, nothing happens. More perplexing, magic seems to have no impact on her. Esther and Joanna's family is complicated, and we are met with many fascinating tales about mothers, fathers, stepmothers, and overall familial ties.

In addition, we also travel alongside the tale of someone named Nicholas and his bodyguard, Collins. We know little about Nicholas and his ties to Esther and Joanna's story, but he lives in The Library, a heavily guarded magical library in London. Nicholas is a Scribe, meaning that he writes magical books.

Throughout the novel, we learn of the characters, the magic, and their connection through many ups and downs.

What I liked: I found this novel quite innovative and original. The theme of magical books has no doubt been done before, particularly in witchy settings, but I just thought this one was unique. Additionally, the writing style and prose were just lovely. I found it atmospheric but still grounded in modern times, which was an interesting touch. To me, this seemed to sway to the side of magical realism versus fantasy, but it is about magical books and spells, so I can see why it wouldn't necessarily be too close to real life. Either way, I just thought it worked so well. There were also a couple of twists and turns throughout this novel that I didn't see coming, which I always LOVE!

What didn't hit the mark: The beginning was slow, and while I loved the character development, once the connection was there between plots, I felt some things were a little rushed. That said, I gave this 4.5 stars, so it didn't impact my overall reading experience and love for the book.

I recommend this as a nice in between of magical realism, contemporary literature, and fantasy. It was super readable, yet poetic at times, and I loved the plot. I look forward to checking out this author's other works in the future!

What an interesting tale!

The setup: We follow Anequs, a 15-year-old from Masquapaug, the fictional island (known as Mack Island to white people) in the world Moniquill Blackgoose set up for us - FYI the map is very cool. I highly recommend you check that out in front of the book and the pronunciation guide.

Anequs is on Masquapaug with her lovely family when she sees a dragon, something improbable since dragons haven't been around for a long time on Masquapaug. The following day, she heads towards where she saw the dragon and finds an egg, returning it to her village. Next thing you know, it hatches and imprints itself onto Anequs. Anequs finds herself in a difficult situation - either she connects with the young Kasaqua (what she names the dragon) on her home island, or she leaves to go to the closest dragon school (yes, imprinting dragons are a thing, and there is a whole school for it!). She decides the latter since she needs to better understand how to communicate and work with her dragon - the art of doing so was lost on the island when their dragons left them some centuries ago. So, Anequs finds herself on an adventure to learn everything about controlling her dragon's breath - an essential piece of the dragon education system - but also finds herself in a very different and cold environment than the one on Masquapaug.

What I liked: I absolutely LOVED the world-building and plot in this novel. At times, it might have been a little dense, especially when Anequs was at school learning about components of the dragon's breath. But I loved every second; it was beyond innovative! This was the type of world-building and fantastical elements that I love to see. It was complicated. It was unique. It was original. Ugh, I had a blast. I also loved the characters. No two characters were alike, which I appreciated. They were all layered and dimensional, even the ones that you didn't necessarily love (I'm looking at you, Martha!). This book could, at times, be somewhat challenging. It incorporated deep racist threads to our world when it came to the Indigenous community, alongside colonialism, since this took place in the "1800s." (In quotes since this is what I would argue be a parallel world to our own history). But, while it was hard to read, it was essential to read.

What fell a little flat: This was not an action-packed book, in my opinion. There was some action near the end, but it was more of a narrative. There was a LOT of telling and only a little showing or doing. The writing style was sometimes like "I went to stand by Kasaqua to watch the clouds." "I went up to my room to read." And then, that was that. It was a VERY different writing style than I was used to, but it was still engaging. It didn't sway me too much since Blackgoose was no doubt trying to make this a YA novel, build the characters, and share a lot of the world-building in this book in a series.

Additionally (and lastly), I will say that while I loved Anequs's character (her uniqueness, candidness, and authenticity), there were times when I felt that it was unrealistic that she would say all of those things back at colonizers and not somehow get in more trouble. Anequs sometimes felt perfect and unwavering. While this certainly worked for the story and made me love Anequs in many ways, I thought it was occasionally unrealistic. It wasn't too big of a deal because I enjoyed reading about Anequs and her story. 

Overall, this was a fantastic read. I have yet another dragon book that outweighs some other books I think may be a little overhyped (*cough cough iykyk*). I am looking forward to continuing this series when more are coming out. 

After reading each of the books in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series in June and July 2023, I moved on to Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass series, where I read books 1-3 and the prequel in July 2023 (I sure was on a roll). I got about 11 chapters into Queen of Shadows and realized I was not in the headspace for any more Sarah J Maas *at the moment*. It was, simply put, too much SJM and too many formulaic words on the page. I should have taken a break before starting this book. So, while I started this book in July 2023, I picked it up again in December 2023.

I am thankful for the break because it also allowed me to review SJM books more critically. SJM is one of the more prominent authors in the social media, where many familiar tropes and themes are checked in pretty little boxes. The fandom is beyond massive. All of which to say: SJM is talked about A LOT. Good and bad. I was interested in starting this reading journey in her series because I was so curious about it. To discuss SJM and her series in general on this review for Queen of Shadows seems silly, as it will likely fade away in Storygraph's abyss, but it has been on the top of my mind. Therefore, I will keep it brief.

Upon reflection and the SJM break, plus reading other novels, particularly in the vast spectrum of fantasy, literary pieces are missing from the books I've read so far. It may be because of plot holes or missing world-building aspects. Or, it may be because the characters are less dimensional than I like. Reading some of her books (I haven't read the Crescent City series yet!) is a bit TOO YA-like for me (the drama!). Regardless, I must admit I've been struggling with some of these books, even though, oddly, they are incredibly straightforward, and the prose is quite readable. It's a conundrum that I can't figure out. I've rated most of her books 3ish stars because while I fly through them, get their premise, and understand the prose, something needs to be added, and it's hard to pinpoint/articulate. It may have to do with the dramatics, something I struggle with A LOT within the Romantasy category. For instance, "Rowan waited, knowing she was gathering the words, hating the pain and sorrow and guilt on every line of her body. He'd sell his soul to the dark god to never have her look like that again." I mean....I roll my eyes at this. Of course, no one wants to see someone they care about in pain, but selling his soul? It's so dramatic. I think this is what I get for reading a more Young Adult book than anything, and I understand to an extent that this is a me thing. But it's so pronounced everywhere in her books that I sometimes roll my eyes. It's not just that, though; there is more to my conundrum that I cannot pinpoint.

BUT here we are, another review for another Throne of Glass series book. For starters, I became immersed in this novel, similar to how I felt in Heir of Fire. It's very readable, albeit cringy, for me at times since I am now 31 years old. I always have questions about the plot, how the characters got to where they were, and overall, just world-building. However, I generally let that go for a little and flow with the story because while the plot may have some holes, I am interested. 

Here is what worked for me: Lysandra's character development (excellent!!!!!!) and the new friendship with Aelin. Yay! Hopefully, this one sticks! I also still enjoy Chaol and Dorian. Chaol is a ding dong, of course, but I enjoy his character; he's realistic in a realistic, fantastical kind of way, but I get him. Poor Dorian jeeeeeeeeeeeeeez, but I liked the overall Valg plot point in general, and I think it was an interesting magical system. 

Here is what didn't work for me: Aelin. She's so annoying. The epitome of a "chosen one." I know this was written in 2015 or something, and it was the time for this type of character, but there are only so many times we can hear about how ruthless and extraordinary she is at 19. Also, I wouldn't say I liked Rowan's chapters - I liked him much better without the POV. As a spoiler,

I know that Aelin and Rowan become romantically involved because of how much is shared on social media, so I already knew what's in store. Therefore, I didn't mind their relationship that much, but like the quote above in my review;

Rowan seems possessive, and Maas suddenly decides this is an okay thing to do by calling it fae territorialism or something like that nonsense. Once again, it was so dramatic. 

It's fine! This book was interesting at times, but I still have my qualms. It's a solid 3.5 for me.

This is how you write a YA novel that also appeals to 31 year old :)

In these first 10 pages, I was the most confused I've ever been about a book, but thankfully, that passed, and I was swept away in this novel.

We follow a couple of different characters throughout this book - Lazlo Strange, Sarai, Feral, Sparrow, Eril-Fane, Azareen, and Thyon. However, primarily, it's told from a third POV of Lazlo and Sarai. The book is broken up into parts, and the first part is exclusively for Lazlo, a timid and shy librarian who is fascinated with a distant land called Weep. Weep was called something else years ago, but no one can seem to remember the name. So Lazlo buries his mind into other aspects of the land besides the name - its history, the language, and the culture. Suddenly, he finds himself in an opportunity where he can go to Weep and immerse himself even further.

Sarai is a godling(like) who has a power where she can immerse herself in peoples' dreams. She lives in Weep but at the Citadel, which is high up in the sky. Without spoiling anything, the only thing you know about Sarai and four other godlings is that they are kept a secret from Weep citizens due to a slaughter of the gods fifteen years prior. Sarai and the others must keep their identities secret, but they stumble upon an obstacle when Weep citizens and others brainstorm ways to remove the Citadel from the sky.

The only way I can describe the writing is gorgeous, and I absolutely loved the plot and premise. This is a fantastical world that just had me dreaming like those in this novel. The adjectives were vivid, and the characters were beautiful and never perfect in the best way possible. As typical in YA novels, the main characters were a little angsty. I wished Taylor portrayed them as a little bit older (my common qualm, per usual), and I think the love story was a tad bit rushed, but overall, I absolutely loved it. I cannot wait to read the next one in the series/duology!

I understand that I will never be a "dark romance girly," but here are the reasons that I think NO ONE should read this book:
(1) romanticization of abuse and rape
(2) overuse of smut to appeal to the BookTok and social media world, trying to make folks forget that this is a story riddled with ABUSE
(3) ABUSE!!!!

I don't care if the author included trigger warnings in the beginning - this book makes rape a fetish and it's so, so gross. I couldn't do it, I won't finish it, and I hope that people seriously see how problematic this book is, regardless of how you feel about dark romance. 

Also the plot and writing are also not even that good. I can't believe I was tricked into even thinking about reading this from social media. I was unprepared.

Here is the setup: we follow Agnieszka, a 17-year-old girl living in a small community. Every ten years, some dude named The Dragon comes to their town and takes (but nicely) one girl to go with him to the tower nearby. The reason is very fuzzy for everyone. They know that he never kills them, as they come out of the tower ten years after they were taken, but never return to stay at home, and all the women say that he never touches them. But, everything else is unknown. 

We have some haunted woods, a potentially corrupt kingdom, and even a dash of a love story. I don't want to give away too much, so I will leave it at: Agnieszka figures out she isn't just some village girl who set out to do very village things like marry and have babies and work. We watch Agnieszka really develop throughout this book, alongside the VERY interesting plot.

Here is what I liked: I loved this magical system. I truly felt like Novik did a good job at setting up the world. I think it would have been very cool to see a map and some other features of the country and the Wood, but nonetheless, I loved it. It gave some great fairy tale vibes (I think this was semi-influenced by a fairytale-like story). Additionally, I enjoyed the majority of the characters. I thought Agnieszka was fantastic, even for a supposed 17/18-year-old. I also LOVED the relationship she had with her best friend Kasia, who was a prominent character throughout this novel. Their friendship felt like found family and made me so happy throughout. I also didn't mind the added romance sub-plot as much as others, BUT I do have a qualm, which I outline below. Lastly, while I still think it had some Young Adult elements (e.g., the main character is a bit angsty, can do a lot of things without trying, etc.), it didn't feel overly Young Adult to me, especially in the world-building and plot development, which is ALWAYS a nice surprise.

Here is what I didn't like: I know this was written in about 2015. This means that it was the time of teenagers and love interests who were centuries older. Yuck. That is the case here, and I just think it is so unnecessary to have that huge age gap difference, even in a fantasy world. If you are going to do the big age gap because a character is over 100 but looks 25-30, FINE, but make the other character older and more mature, preferably more than 25! It's very grooming-like, and I simply didn't like it. Thankfully, the romance in this is NOT the main story at all and is quite honestly only on a couple of pages. The main male character was also mean to Agnieszka for about 98% of the book, but for some reason, I was able to read through the lines on that one (which is odd for me; I'm quite literal when it comes to grumps). However, I could see why people didn't like the romance in this novel. 

Lastly, the pacing felt a tad bit off. While I LOVED the action in this book, it did seem like there was ALWAYS action, leading to the inevitable doom of other character development and world-building. I think I still had a few questions about the world and what happened after I finished about 90% of the book, and I felt like Novik spent maybe just too much time diving into the action scenes and not enough time on some other development. This was just a minor qualm since I think she still managed to do everything pretty well. 

This read like 3-3.5 stars for me throughout the majority of the book because of the pacing, but I really, really enjoyed the ending. It was maybe just a teensy bit rushed, BUT I enjoyed it a lot - a connection with nature and trees and just ah! It was really fun. So, I decided to go up to a 4. Plus, I was immersed the whole time, waiting to see what would happen. I truly did enjoy this, minus some minor qualms, and I look forward to reading more from Novik. 

I will come back to this book! I just wasn't in the headspace for it since it pretty dense.

How did Alix E. Harrow manage to get me to cry and be deeply moved in a 30-page short story? I don't know, but this is truly one of the best things I've ever read.