roseleebooks's reviews
212 reviews

I've been in a YA Fantasy reading streak lately and this was a strong addition to the list.

It was a fun read overall and the narrator was amazing on the audiobook. The pacing is fast, with flashbacks and reveals of past events to help build context and understanding of motives. 

I did feel that some of the twists seemed a bit forced at the end.

Also a death that just seemed to be very sudden and did not really add to the story.

I also would categorize the romance as a side plot.

The style of storytelling still worked for me and despite some flaws I would recommend this book.

I overall liked this duology. Going back to the world of the Folk of the Air series was comforting in a way. Holly Black embraces morally grey in her characters which I always appreciate. No one is truly admirable in her stories, but she writes in a way that lets you empathize and care about characters who are making bad decisions.

I liked that the POV in the first and second book change from Ren to Oak, it helped to keep me guessing what was going to happen next. I'm thinking I let too much time pass between reading book one and book two, though, as I had forgotten some details.

Similar to Folk of the Air, the romance is there but the plot really focuses a lot on the politics and power plays happening in the world. The family dynamics were great,

but I did wish Taryn was given more characterization on page instead of once again being a victim of tragedy that is barely acknowledged by the others

.

Overall I thought the duology was ended well and liked the flow and format of the book. The audiobook for both the first and second books had outstanding narrators as well.

This book had a lot of elements I enjoy in a YA fantasy. The mythology retelling, the worldbuilding, and side characters were definitely strengths. I think my favorite scenes were all ones in which Mina was interacting with someone who wasn't the sea god or Shin. The family dynamics and flashbacks as a way to build connections and explanations were also a key part of the story and helped to make Mina's character more dimensional.

The plot and the romance aspects of the story were rushed throughout. I appreciate that there was a lot of story to cover in a relatively small number of pages, but as a reader it felt like I was expected to accept this as part of the story without any of the background that was built in for other relationships. 

Overall I enjoyed the story and read it very quickly. The fantasy retelling and family dynamics were my favorite aspects. I think as a teenager I would have had no complaints about this book.

Just could not get into the story, probably would have stopped sooner if it wasn't an audiobook

Writing just seemed to get worse and worse as the story went on. Setup was interesting but characters were annoying.

I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into when I started this book, but was impressed by the merging of regency with fantasy and a little bit of horror. 

There are two POVs in this book, Cordelia and Hester. Their age differences and personalities allowed for the story to feel like the reader has a broader view of the world they are in. However I think the side characters are what really made the story work. I won't give too much away, but the book is at its best when we have the cast of characters interacting and working with (or against) each other.

The pacing starts a little slowly, but builds up quickly without feeling rushed. The content is dark and the villain somewhat one-dimensional, but Kingfisher is able to infuse a lot more comedy than I was expecting and found myself appreciating. 

This is not a cozy fantasy in content (I recommend reviewing the content warnings), but at times it can feel like one. Things wrapped up almost too neatly at the end, but I was invested enough in the characters that I didn't mind getting some closure for each of them.

As a standalone this worked for me, and I enjoyed the writing.

This book was unique and challenging in a way I was not expecting but that I enjoyed. It follows two apprentices who take up the mantles of their forebears in a time of crisis for their home.

The setting is not clear at first, and the reader is given only necessary details. However by the end you realize that much of this reflects the gaps in the protagonists knowledge. We get small reveals of information at times which feel like puzzle pieces being set into place.

It is a book where you have to embrace and accept the ridiculous and not go in with any expectations about what it is going to be. There are some body horror elements in it which I recommend being prepared for.

I wouldn't say that I felt emotionally invested in the characters, but the story itself was interesting and the ending satisfying.

Overall a read that I found interesting and enjoyed overall, but that was a bit difficult to get into at the beginning and had some elements that took me out of the story.

This book is outside my usual genre choice, but I'm so glad that I read it. 

It is a contemporary YA novel about a high schooler, Noor, whose life is upended in her last few months senior year.

I listened to this on audiobook and really loved the narration. It immerses you in the story. Noor is unflinching in her willingness to stand up for herself and others, but the consequences are not hidden from the reader. We feel her rage, her sorrow, her hope. It is a story filled with hope, but as Noor states, "hope is a verb" and should lead to action.

The book speaks directly to book banning and censorship, as well as the politics that push for those things. Ahmed's writing does not hold back from showing what the impacts of trying to control what people read are, as well as how standing up against those types of policies can be met with anger and violence.

I could not stop listening to this. I loved the references and quotes from commonly banned books, and the statement it makes is so effective. Highly recommend if you are at all inclined to read YA stories.