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beth_loves_books's reviews
130 reviews
The Family that Finds Us by Phoenix Blackwood
4.0
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Overall I really enjoyed this book! It was a uplifting story about found family and has a great diversity of characters. I found the book really easy to get into and engaging from the start which is probably why I finished it in two days! Many of the topics covered in the book were quite sensitive and dark but I felt they were handled very well. The amazing friendships displayed meant the book still felt uplifting to read and there were lots of very heartwarming moments. One small criticism is that I struggled slightly to get a sense of the characters' personalities and connect to them until a good way into the book but this didn't really affect my enjoyment. I also found the writing style relatively simple but this is common in YA books. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read books with diverse characters. I think both readers who do and do not relate to the experiences of the characters in the book will be able to get something out of it, whether that's feeling represented or being able to understand LGBTQ+ experiences better. I would also recommend this book to anyone who struggles to get into books as this one jumps straight into the plot. Overall, a really engaging and uplifting book which I would definitely recommend!
Overall I really enjoyed this book! It was a uplifting story about found family and has a great diversity of characters. I found the book really easy to get into and engaging from the start which is probably why I finished it in two days! Many of the topics covered in the book were quite sensitive and dark but I felt they were handled very well. The amazing friendships displayed meant the book still felt uplifting to read and there were lots of very heartwarming moments. One small criticism is that I struggled slightly to get a sense of the characters' personalities and connect to them until a good way into the book but this didn't really affect my enjoyment. I also found the writing style relatively simple but this is common in YA books. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read books with diverse characters. I think both readers who do and do not relate to the experiences of the characters in the book will be able to get something out of it, whether that's feeling represented or being able to understand LGBTQ+ experiences better. I would also recommend this book to anyone who struggles to get into books as this one jumps straight into the plot. Overall, a really engaging and uplifting book which I would definitely recommend!
Carousel by Sarah McKnight
4.0
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I've been trying to get into reading horror for ages and this was the perfect book to do it! It was a relatively short read but a lot was packed in. I loved the main characters and the romantic element of the book. It's really nice to see representation of an LGBTQ+ relationship without it being the main focus! I thought the plot was very good and it was far from predictable. There were definitely a few plot points that surprised me! While I didn't find it massively frightening, the plot kept me hooked and I raced through the book within a day! I thought there was a good ammount of horror and gore throughout the book: it was enough to feel like a horror book but without going overboard. The author painted a good picture of the scene without any long or boring descriptions and I could really picture everything that was happening. The book was really engaging all the way through and I thought the ending was really satisfying. I would definitely recommend this book, particularly for those like me who haven't read much in the genre and want a good book to get started!
I've been trying to get into reading horror for ages and this was the perfect book to do it! It was a relatively short read but a lot was packed in. I loved the main characters and the romantic element of the book. It's really nice to see representation of an LGBTQ+ relationship without it being the main focus! I thought the plot was very good and it was far from predictable. There were definitely a few plot points that surprised me! While I didn't find it massively frightening, the plot kept me hooked and I raced through the book within a day! I thought there was a good ammount of horror and gore throughout the book: it was enough to feel like a horror book but without going overboard. The author painted a good picture of the scene without any long or boring descriptions and I could really picture everything that was happening. The book was really engaging all the way through and I thought the ending was really satisfying. I would definitely recommend this book, particularly for those like me who haven't read much in the genre and want a good book to get started!
Teach Them How to Dream by calamitoustide
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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
so i think part of the reason the ending of the book didn't terribly affect me was that as the story was told through Patroclus' eyes, we saw more of how he viewed and obviously loved Achilles than vice versa. we never saw Patroclus' death through the eyes of someone who was grieving for him. this isn't a flaw in the book, just an explanation for my reaction to it. secondly, the ending was far from a shock. there was a lot of foreshadowing such as: ‘And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth, when another is gone.’ (for some reason i can't put proper quotes in a spoiler 🤷♀️) this was again definitely not a flaw and the inevitability of their deaths in a way made it sadder.
moving on from my emotional reaction to the book; the writing style was just beautiful. i'm often a person who cares about plot more than the actual writing, but i was concious throughout the book of just how poetic the writing was without it every feeling tedious or overly descriptive. another thing i loved about this book was the amazing job the author did of showing rather than telling how Achilles and Patroclus loved each other by the sacrifices they made for watch other etc. i'm fairly sure their love was never started outright (i could be wrong) but it was very apparent.
yet another thing i really liked (there are quite a few) were the moments where we were reminded that the main characters, although royalty and involved in war were just humans, and quite yound for much of the book. i think this quote demonstrates it well:
a (probably) final comment about the book: prior to reading this i knew next to nothing about greek mythology and for the first few chapters i was confused with all the names and wondered if i would struggle with all the characters. while for most of the book i couldn't completely keep track of who was who, i don't really think it affected my enjoyment of the book.
in summary, i would completely recommend this book. whether or not it leaves you crying, it's a beautifully told story that has left me desperate to reread it and also to Circe, another popular book by the same author.
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aaahhh. this will probably be quite a ramble because i have a lot to say about this masterpiece.
ok just to start by saying i loved this book and now i completely understand why it is so popular. despite that, it wasn't what i expected. i'd gone into it expecting to find it really sad and thought it was likely to make me cry. i say this as someone who has cried at quite a few books. i finished this book though, without any threat of tears. i did however feel sad in a heavy kind of way and i immediately wanted to restart the book. (i didn't but i think i will reread it at some point) i haven't been able to get the characters out of my head since i finished it (a few hours ago) and i feel like it will be hard to get into a new book because i'm still emotionally attached to Achilles and Patroclus. i'll put the next part as a spoiler, but if you know about greek mythology it won't spoil anything and it's not a spoiler that i think will affect anyone's enjoyment of the book.
ok just to start by saying i loved this book and now i completely understand why it is so popular. despite that, it wasn't what i expected. i'd gone into it expecting to find it really sad and thought it was likely to make me cry. i say this as someone who has cried at quite a few books. i finished this book though, without any threat of tears. i did however feel sad in a heavy kind of way and i immediately wanted to restart the book. (i didn't but i think i will reread it at some point) i haven't been able to get the characters out of my head since i finished it (a few hours ago) and i feel like it will be hard to get into a new book because i'm still emotionally attached to Achilles and Patroclus. i'll put the next part as a spoiler, but if you know about greek mythology it won't spoil anything and it's not a spoiler that i think will affect anyone's enjoyment of the book.
moving on from my emotional reaction to the book; the writing style was just beautiful. i'm often a person who cares about plot more than the actual writing, but i was concious throughout the book of just how poetic the writing was without it every feeling tedious or overly descriptive. another thing i loved about this book was the amazing job the author did of showing rather than telling how Achilles and Patroclus loved each other by the sacrifices they made for watch other etc. i'm fairly sure their love was never started outright (i could be wrong) but it was very apparent.
I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell, I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came as his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.
yet another thing i really liked (there are quite a few) were the moments where we were reminded that the main characters, although royalty and involved in war were just humans, and quite yound for much of the book. i think this quote demonstrates it well:
"So, which of the suitors would you have picked?"
I shoved him, and he laughed.
a (probably) final comment about the book: prior to reading this i knew next to nothing about greek mythology and for the first few chapters i was confused with all the names and wondered if i would struggle with all the characters. while for most of the book i couldn't completely keep track of who was who, i don't really think it affected my enjoyment of the book.
in summary, i would completely recommend this book. whether or not it leaves you crying, it's a beautifully told story that has left me desperate to reread it and also to Circe, another popular book by the same author.