Picked this one up from the library based purely on the cover (and then the cover copy) but I'm setting it aside around 80 pages in. Very romantasy, bPicked this one up from the library based purely on the cover (and then the cover copy) but I'm setting it aside around 80 pages in. Very romantasy, but the romance isn't compelling for me (the meet-cute was tremendously bland) and the worldbuilding is being revealed in ways that leave me scrambling to make sense of it all, and the author keeps making dramatic reveals out of things I had already assumed to be true. (I can't grasp the lived reality of the world, which makes the characters feel like flimsy dolls posing dramatically.) So, not for me, but someone else might have a blast with this dark fantasy romance....more
A fantastic resource for parents, educators, and others. Simple, supportive, but also unflinching and full of truth and genuine autistic voices. For mA fantastic resource for parents, educators, and others. Simple, supportive, but also unflinching and full of truth and genuine autistic voices. For me, it's a big bonus to have the Australian viewpoint in an area where most book resources are UK- or US-based....more
As ever: delightful, thoughtful, thought-provoking, emotion-causing. This one felt sort of like... not a coda to Network Effect, because it's more andAs ever: delightful, thoughtful, thought-provoking, emotion-causing. This one felt sort of like... not a coda to Network Effect, because it's more and bigger than that. Possibly the sequel to that book's scene, using structure as analogy. The processing of the previous action. The consolidation of the growth. Necessary, but perhaps quieter (while also being chock full of action, because hello, Murderbot). And I really enjoyed that reflection and consideration. Plus, even deeper reflection on the importance of stories, representation, identification in self-determination, which I really love as the throughline on this series....more
Rarely have I felt more like I was reading a completely different book to everyone else. The ratings and reviews for this one are almost uniformly so Rarely have I felt more like I was reading a completely different book to everyone else. The ratings and reviews for this one are almost uniformly so glowing, and I was swinging between unmoved and downright irritated. I had reasons for reading and persisting outside the book itself, but also I kept going partly because surely, surely, the book would soon get itself into gear and deliver all the things that everyone else loved so much, right? For me, it never did. (Though a patch around two-thirds was much more engaging, and the ending gives a big shift to things that honestly just irritated me more, because it's so much more interesting and why couldn't we have been in that earlier?)
An awful lot of my irritation is that it's got (for me) the most annoying parts of YA with the least interesting parts of epic fantasy. It's first-person (and present tense), limiting the exploration of the world and the depth of the plot complexity, but without delivering anything particularly interesting through that first-person narration. I never felt like I was learning more about Vis through what he was telling and how. (Though partly this may have been because Vis was a personality-free zone, but more about that later.) But the story also moved at far too leisurely a pace to hit that YA immediacy and urgency upon which first-person-present builds. There was a lot of space given to description and moving through the world, and particularly the first half of the book just took so long getting to events and reveals - which serves a worldbuilding purpose, but could have been done while other things were happening (and usually is in YA, where pace is king).
I found the emotional pacing particularly glacial. Plenty of things happened, there's quite a bit of action (though still spaced more generously than it could have been), but the number of them that actually meant more to Vis than physical peril (for me, the least interesting sort of tension) was pretty minimal. And partly that was because Vis lacked emotional hooks. Sure, he's an orphan and on the run and in a pinch, but none of that seemed to particularly give him any driving ambitions, or impediments. He's pretty self-sufficient. He's good at everything. He's canny. He's never panicked. His one flaw seems to be that he loses his temper, but only ever when he's the victim of unfairness. (Oh yeah, and he's seventeen.) He does plenty of interesting things, but I did not find him an interesting character. (I have seen a lot of comparisons between this book, and Vis, to Name of the Wind and Kvothe... and in this regard, yeah, I see the similarity. I also didn't enjoy that one, for similar reasons.)
There are some really interesting special-physics-and-consequences worldbuilding elements in here - a literal manifestation of capitalism and the resultant systems of oppression, and the flow-on effects to the elite educational institution - but it was hard, in the circumstances, not to compare this rendition with other, snappier deliveries (like Novik's Scholomance). And then, as I mentioned, the epilogue blows things wide open in a fascinating way, leaving me just outright irritated that I had to wade through 600-odd pages of preparation-and-school-shenanigans when all of this was right there.
So anyway, I am utterly disgruntled, this book was a great big cup of not-for-me, but more power to all of those who love it to bits, I guess....more
For much of this, I thought I was heading for a three-star rating. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't that bad. The worldbuilding was sort of iFor much of this, I thought I was heading for a three-star rating. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't that bad. The worldbuilding was sort of interesting (it takes a decent stab at a rainforest/tropical setting) but it did tend to default to fantasy-generic (with touches of post-apocalyptic) and I did very much roll my eyes at the heroine, who is supposed to come from a country that is majority desert, being pale and blonde and blue-eyed. The prose was fairly bland and the pacing leant too heavily on physical action for my tastes. (So many fights, so many rescues, sigh.) The politics was interesting, but rather static, more worldbuilding than plot. And the romance had a good emotional line for the heroine (the hero's is a little weak; I'm honestly not sure his POV added anything to the overall book) but the connection really wasn't built enough to be as compelling as it needed to be when so much of the book is held up by it.
(Sidebar: this one is probably a me-problem. I've noticed that a lot of books that aren't actually romance, but fantasy with a very strong romantic line, tend not to lean into the emotional/physical/meaning development like an actual romance. The intimate scenes tell us what's happening, but it often feels quite external, and lacks the internal power that I see a lot in romance. I find these intimate scenes as boring as I find fight or other action scenes, though from the "wow, hawt" comments on a lot of such books, not everyone has this problem. But I find intimate scenes in romance novels are compelling for the meaning and the emotional resonance. Possibly this is a facet of my asexuality. But I find it really interesting. Anyway, this one was a describes-what-happens sex scene. I skimmed.)
But all of that was cast down into a fiery sea of grumpy when I hit the big twist into the finale sequences, and it leaned hard on my least favourite romance crutch: the failure to communicate. It fills me with blistering frustration when the big problem could be solved by the main characters just having a damn conversation (unless the reasons not to are really damn good, and I don't think this book did enough work there). When it's a romantasy and the fate of multiple nations are also riding on this miscommunication, I simply lose all respect for the characters involved. (Oh no, what if he doesn't like me when he learns the truth? What if everyone in two countries dies??)
It made reading the final chunk of the book an absolute slog, because the doom that was coming was obvious. There wasn't going to be a happy-ever-after, at least not in this book, and all of the progress that was being made was a hollow lie that simply annoyed me. I forced myself through it just to get the thing done and out of my life. I'm certainly not picking up the second book, because there wouldn't need to be a second book if they'd just had a fucking grown-up conversation....more
Picked this one up as additional info / different angle from other "classic" ADHD books (largely focused on presentation in boys and men). While it's Picked this one up as additional info / different angle from other "classic" ADHD books (largely focused on presentation in boys and men). While it's very useful for the topic, it's not really a general-audience book. Many of the chapters have a heavy skew toward an audience of professionals / clinicians working with girls with ADHD, and the chapter on the school system in particular is extremely specifically UK-focus. But there's also an emphasis on hearing the stories and voices of the girls themselves, which I really liked....more
I think my overall take-away from this book is that Hall's work is very good - charming and kind but unafraid - and not for me. This was frolicsome anI think my overall take-away from this book is that Hall's work is very good - charming and kind but unafraid - and not for me. This was frolicsome and fun, but Hall's style is a little too heavily whimsical for my personal preferences. The plot was gentle but thorough and even implacable in the pursuit of the central pairing's happiness in themselves and with each other, but the external elements just sort of bumbled along without any particular urgency, stakes or ineluctability. The exploration of gender performance and expectations through all characters, but particularly the leads, was canny and thought-provoking, and if the overall shape of things turns a little to the fairytale-ish, that needn't be a bad thing. I found myself wanting a little more drive, a little more zing, but that's entirely personal taste, and this is an excellent romp of a Regency romance....more
A charming addition - and conclusion - to the series. While the physicality of the pairing was not as compelling as the others in the series (and indeA charming addition - and conclusion - to the series. While the physicality of the pairing was not as compelling as the others in the series (and indeed I felt the consummation was a little... underhanded? in a way that would have benefited from just a smidgen more shading to make it irresistible) the emotional connection and individual journeys were absolutely smashing. And the side-character romance was also adorable....more
I really enjoyed this - a great and intricate character study in a complex and nuanced situation, with a solid and moving romance.
But the ending, partI really enjoyed this - a great and intricate character study in a complex and nuanced situation, with a solid and moving romance.
But the ending, particularly on the American side, just... (view spoiler)[in the time that has passed since this was first written and published, or maybe it's just my current bleak outlook, but honestly, the hopefulness of the election result literally hurts, because it feels so far from reality. So impossible that America, let alone Texas, could be won over by those circumstances. Could view that Republican behaviour as unacceptable. Could do that.
Overall, it's so sweet, but that poked me right in a bitter bruise. (To be honest, the film version worked better for me, in that Alex had put in a lot of hard work on the ground to shift Texas, but also in that the film felt intentionally further away from reality. The book is so detailed, so close.) (hide spoiler)]...more
A tremendously fun romcom with a solid romance delivered through two complex lead characters. It's about 80% banter by weight, which is both a plus - A tremendously fun romcom with a solid romance delivered through two complex lead characters. It's about 80% banter by weight, which is both a plus - it's good banter, Bront, pacey and revealing and aware of all its sharp edges and inflections - and a minus, inasmuch as everything else feels rather flimsy. (For instance, I had almost zero idea of how anyone looked, including the two leads.) The depth of the personal issues and development, and the sharpness of the narrator's voice, definitely make me keen to try more of Hall's work in the future....more
This is creepy as heck, wildly atmospheric and really engaging with it. (Way too close to horror for me to pick up normally, but I figured since this This is creepy as heck, wildly atmospheric and really engaging with it. (Way too close to horror for me to pick up normally, but I figured since this was YA it couldn't get too awful...) Not the sort of story I'd usually go for, but I heard the author speak at a convention and was really interested in the own-voices First Nation Queensland mob element. Turns out it was even closer to home for me, set in a regional area not far from where I grew up - the settings described, from home to school and the bush surrounding, and the slang used, could all have been lifted directly from my own youth. (That made it all ring like a bell for me, but might also make it more difficult for foreigners, though I feel like everything is used in meaningful context that helps make sense of it.) The big strength here for me is a glorious emotional complexity to the whole book - from our main character's relations with and feelings about her twin, to the emotional repercussions of an unflinching finale. Nothing's simple, everything's twistily real, and the book is the richer for it....more
I'm going to say up front: this is not my sort of thing. I find "hard" sci-fi very difficult to engage with, the concepts mentally slippery, the intriI'm going to say up front: this is not my sort of thing. I find "hard" sci-fi very difficult to engage with, the concepts mentally slippery, the intricacies eluding my grasp, and therefore the story lacking in hooks; and I often find space opera similarly bewildering. But for Reasons, I wanted to push all the way through this. It's a wild panoply of hard sci-fi and space opera action, zipping between nestled universes in alien-engineered spacecraft, bursting with intricate imagined substances creating outlandish constructions. (All of this was somewhat lost on me, but would be a bonanza for someone who liked that sort of thing!) Already floundering a bit, I found the very sprightly pace and heavy weighting of action difficult to engage with, and while the characters were a fascinating array, and a lovely interlocking crew, I really wanted to spend more time exploring them.
So, all in all, not for me, but a vibrant explosion of a space opera for someone more into stuff like that!...more
Well outside my usual range, but this was recommended by a wider-read and music-loving buddy, and I'm glad I took a swing at it because this was a reaWell outside my usual range, but this was recommended by a wider-read and music-loving buddy, and I'm glad I took a swing at it because this was a really fascinating look at the developments of art in the 20th century, through the lens of art music. Occasionally it got too deep into the musical theory weeds and I got lost for a paragraph, but the author noted in the opening that he had tried to keep things accessible, and largely I think he succeeded. It was particularly interesting to consider the pressures on art, from history and geography and politics and society, and how all of those push "new" art in different directions. And around the edges of the specific movements and philosophies and shifts, there is always the larger question - what is music, what should it be doing, how should we engage with it, what makes it "good" or "bad"....more
I learned a lot, I enjoyed reading, and Mikhail's writing is very nice. Indeed, there are two good books in here - one a biography of Ottoman Sultan SI learned a lot, I enjoyed reading, and Mikhail's writing is very nice. Indeed, there are two good books in here - one a biography of Ottoman Sultan Selim (the Grim), and one an interrogation of the minimisation of the impact of Muslim influences and agents on Western history, particularly Reformation / age-of-exploration history. I'm not convinced either was best served by smashing the two together, and the shifting between the two focuses often felt jarring or contrived. Often the connections were tenuous or general, and while the two themes offered interesting context for each other, they never really felt like they were building each other, or working together to something bigger. (The final chapter, titled "American Selim", mentioned Selim only the once in a reference that felt like a significant reach, but instead talked a lot about Muslims in general in America. I really don't know that the two are conflatable.)...more
I don't know that it's all that and a bag of chips (and not at all "the last book on novel writing you'll ever need") but it's full of very useful tooI don't know that it's all that and a bag of chips (and not at all "the last book on novel writing you'll ever need") but it's full of very useful tools for considering the overall structure of story, with a justifiedly heavy emphasis on theme and transformation....more
Setting aside 60-odd pages in. This is very cozy, very small-life-crossed-with-cliche-fantasy-adventure, but certain elements of the characters (and tSetting aside 60-odd pages in. This is very cozy, very small-life-crossed-with-cliche-fantasy-adventure, but certain elements of the characters (and their interactions) tilt a little too silly for my tastes. It also seemed to be developing quite a questy sort of plot - go here, meet this person, do this, get the next clue for the next place to go - which is a structure I really struggle with. But for another reader, this might be a fun and warming read....more
This is a big story, in a big world, with a whole lot of big concepts embodied in it. But honestly, for the first half of this volume I was almost entThis is a big story, in a big world, with a whole lot of big concepts embodied in it. But honestly, for the first half of this volume I was almost entirely lost. I'm unsure how much is my fault - I'm not a frequent comics reader, so I have trouble vibing with the episodic pacing here, and my visual literacy isn't great (by which I mean I don't always do well at gleaning information from images, especially when there are words as well; I over-emphasise the words) so I might have been missing some stuff that a reader more attuned to the medium would've picked up. But also, this felt like it was coming in hard and fast and in medias res. If it were a novel, I'd have been all over that, but as a graphic novel, I found it much harder to parse.
More importantly for the will-I-read-on question: I'm not big into eldritch horror-y stuff, and this is. No more for me, but I'm glad I had a go at this, it's a fascinating piece of creation.
Merged review:
This is a big story, in a big world, with a whole lot of big concepts embodied in it. But honestly, for the first half of this volume I was almost entirely lost. I'm unsure how much is my fault - I'm not a frequent comics reader, so I have trouble vibing with the episodic pacing here, and my visual literacy isn't great (by which I mean I don't always do well at gleaning information from images, especially when there are words as well; I over-emphasise the words) so I might have been missing some stuff that a reader more attuned to the medium would've picked up. But also, this felt like it was coming in hard and fast and in medias res. If it were a novel, I'd have been all over that, but as a graphic novel, I found it much harder to parse.
More importantly for the will-I-read-on question: I'm not big into eldritch horror-y stuff, and this is. No more for me, but I'm glad I had a go at this, it's a fascinating piece of creation....more
I was looking forward to this one for the fun title and seeing these two get their time to shine. And it came together in a mostly satisfying conclusiI was looking forward to this one for the fun title and seeing these two get their time to shine. And it came together in a mostly satisfying conclusion (though I'm getting a common theme in Shupe's work of the characters having big emotional blockers, and then not really resolving them, but deciding ~*love is worth the risk*~ and she gives it solid juice, but... maybe I'm just too persnickety and rationality-heavy to feel fully satisfied with that).
But for me it felt very shaky and occasionally half-baked along the way. Sizzling start, but then the early part felt jumpy and piecey, especially on emotional resonance (the whole point, arguably). I was never really sold on Nellie's Great Hate--it felt a bit pasted on--and Lockwood playing coy through the middle, even in his own POV, about his intentions seemed similarly flimsy. Nellie's external storyline was a late starter and seemed largely there for plot-convenience. All this combined with several instances of repetition and clunky elements makes me wish that the author had taken (or been given) a little longer to smooth this one out properly. (But gosh do I know how that goes.)...more
A solid and spicy romance after an opening I found slightly shaky. (For a couple of reasons. For one, the heroine comes across as quite silly having hA solid and spicy romance after an opening I found slightly shaky. (For a couple of reasons. For one, the heroine comes across as quite silly having her very first conversation with her arranged fiance about the precise details of the wedding. For two, the heroine comes across as quite interfering, sitting there deciding what art she's going to hang in his office once they're married, before she's even had that first conversation with him. Now, point two turns out to have been a small mishandle - she's not bossy and interfering, she's just all about Dat Art. Point one remains kinda a bit of a plot contrivance but eh whatever.)
A thing I'm really noticing in this series is the significance of jealousy as a plot beat, and sometimes I find it rather cheap. (Like, when the dude is literally lying in post-coital discussion with the lady is a hilariously ridiculous time for him to be having a pang of jealousy about another dude that does not connect to self-reflection. But it's always about the punching, with Shupe, not about the what-I-want, and I find that sort of jealousy-manifestation kinda tedious.)
Kit remains a fave, and the Duke remains hilarious. Unfortunately there's a wait on the fourth one from my library, but I'm keen to see how it all pays off....more
Oh yes, this was much more fun. I was already predisposed to like the hero because of his introduction in the first book of the series, and the full rOh yes, this was much more fun. I was already predisposed to like the hero because of his introduction in the first book of the series, and the full realisation of him and his internal life did not disappoint (though I felt (view spoiler)[his "not the marrying type" needed a little more weight and connection, as the late-stage conflict, with his long-term conflict of self-image, which was very well developed and weighted (hide spoiler)]). And the heroine was so charmingly realised, with such a believable problem and a great arc that really left her poised to do just fine, but even better with the hero.
I will add: - lol the Duke; the title of the fourth book in this series just gets funnier as I go - for my tastes, Shupe's sex scenes are slightly too... mechanical? I'm not sure. Something! - binging her works is really showing the words and terms that she uses over and again, especially in the intimacies...more