evaorbit's reviews
91 reviews

This was so short that there’s not a lot I can say about it. I was expecting more of Cardan’s perspective through big Cardan/Jude moments- like their first kiss or when she was taken to the undersea. Maybe I should just got to ao3 for that. I’m usually bored by established couples so I can see why I didn’t gravitate towards this as much as the original trilogy. The snippets from his childhood are interesting. I never felt very connected to Aslog or the stories told, but it was a fine read and I liked the pictures a lot.

Yellowface is one of the few books I’ve read with an undoubtedly morally repugnant protagonist. She is just so dislikeable and I think Kuang did an excellent job at tapping into the liberal white woman’s “but I voted for Obama” psyche. I feel like I learned so much about Kuang through this book on a personal level- frankly I didn’t know she was so tapped into pop culture after reading Babel and The Poppy War. It was almost freaky how spot on her hater observations were and the hater in me ate it up. This is a much different book than Babel, one of my favorite books ever. I’m curious what audiences will think of Yellowface in 50-100 years. R. F. Kuang’s versatility is unmatched and I devoured this book in days. 

A very enjoyable book. I really liked Alex as a character, how head strong and complicated she was. I also loved the setting and the Grays. The reveals and false reveals kind of gave me whiplash towards the end. I liked how Darlington had such a big presence throughout the book even though he wasn’t there. I liked just being in this ghost world and I’ll definitely read the next one.

I should’ve known that I don’t really like Emily Henry books anymore before I picked this up. I’ve read them all, and after People We Meet On Vacation, I don’t think they’re for me. This one had some really corny moments. I liked that Daphne worked to make the city something she loved and I liked her friendships. I think Miles needed more depth. It is exactly what it promises to be- a cheesy rom com. It’s missing depth and some actual stakes stopping these two people from being together. 

This book really failed to wow me or capture my attention. I love all of the other Leigh Bardugo books I’ve read, so I don’t exactly know what about this book didn’t work for me. The love story wasn’t entirely believable because I couldn’t understand their connection or the quick escalation of their romance. I also felt that the whole “pure” virgin flower with a centuries old man thing was weird. Couldn’t get behind it and the way her “purity” was written. I liked Valentina and wished we got more time with her character. The story just seemed to lack depth and while the inquisition parts were interesting, I felt like I always knew where the story was going.

I felt like the world building and conversations both lacked a lot of depth. Just couldn’t get into the world!

What an amazing finale. I could not put it down. At first I was weary about the choices Jude was making and her stubbornness as well as Jude and Carden’s seeming inability to have a full conversation. But that changed and I ended up loving the ending. Would love to have heard a little bit more about Carden’s

serpent escapades

, but I am satisfied nonetheless. I feel like the last chapter needed just a couple more pages- it was a bit rushed. Madoc was an especially intriguing character during this book, and I loved Grima Mog way more than I expected, and I even ended up liking Taryn lol. My favorite parts were Jude and Carden’s one on one moments, as always. Their pasts making it so hard for them to open up was done really well. I will be reading Carden’s POV book very soon. 

Aghhhhhh omg. This had so many twists and turns and I fell in love with Jude and Carden’s characters more and more. My favorite parts were their conversations together- I always wanted more. I can’t believe it ended the way it did but it also makes sense. I’m absolutely going to read the next one. 

I’m in pain. I need to read the sequel now. The first third of this book was build up with lots of worldbuilding. Once the action started I was hooked. Nothing went where I expected it to go. I’m so interested in both Jude and Cardan as characters- they got so much more interesting the more I read. Again, I’m in pain.

I liked the depth of most of the characters- especially Wendy and Jonah. I loved Jonah a lot and I liked how emotional his and Violet’s storyline made me. I feel like there was a lack of real world connection from these characters, if that makes sense. They were pretty much all living rich or pampered lives and I feel like there wasn’t enough commentary on that for my taste. I also thought the David/Marilyn relationship was a little one noted, maybe it’s because I’m not enough of a romantic (even though I love romance, but I need some tension. The Gillian story was not interesting enough to me). I feel like this book was about 200 pages longer than it should’ve been, and Grace was unnecessary, but I enjoy family sagas and this definitely hit that mark.