bklassen's reviews
759 reviews

Maame by Jessica George

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I will admit, the first 50 pages or so did not grip me, and I thought it was going to be a rather formulaic chick lit style book with the tried and true plot points of a late bloomer coming into her own. There’s nothing wrong with those books, something I think I should make abundantly clear. However, I sometimes find myself looking for something deeper, something that resonates and makes me feel something.

Thankfully, Maame more than delivered. There is so much packed in this book: life as a black woman living in a predominantly white society, dating as a black woman, grief, trauma, people pleasing, dating mishaps, boundaries, feeling both isolated from and by your culture, relationships (friends, family, romantic, roommates, etc), and more.

This book is less of a romance novel and more of Maddie (called Maame by her family) figuring out who she is, what she wants, and how to get it. At the beginning of the book, Maddie almost doesn’t feel like a full character, but you later come to realize that it’s because she has hidden so much of herself away to make life easier for everyone else. Eventually, the true Maddie emerges as she experiences a series of firsts to varying degrees of success. I especially loved the inclusion of therapy and Maddie’s emerging personality as she wades through her experiences that made her lock away her true thoughts and feelings.

Absolutely incredible and highly worth the read, especially if any of this resonates with you! 

Akata Woman by Nnedi Okorafor

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Instead of focusing on Leopard Knocks, the kids get some real world education when Sunny and Chichi must go on a journey to retrieve something stolen from Udide, the spider goddess from the previous book. Of course Orlu and Sasha join and they experience so much more than they thought they ever would.

I breezed through this book – as with the other two, Okorafor’s world building and use of Nigerian mythology/folklore blew me away. It is highly refreshing to not have the slightest clue where a story was going to go, and I loved the journey that the 4 kids go on. Absolutely incredible and highly recommended. I wish I had written this right after reading instead of jumping into another book so that I could give more detail, but I think it’s safe to say that this is a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy and that if you liked the first two, you like this one as well. 

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I can’t wait to see what else Nnedi Okorafor has in store because this sequel is an excellent continuation of the first. As with the first, I love the exploration of Nigerian mythology, the continuous surprising, the character development, the adventure, and how the characters all feel so different from each other. Honestly I plowed straight into Akata Woman so I can’t fully remember what happened in this book vs the third, but what a ride it was, and well worth it.

The one thing I didn’t love was the love triangle between three characters, but it at least felt realistic to the characters involved, and it didn’t take up a ton of plot. 

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 This was more of a sad book than a sexy book, which is ok! The book can be that and still be good! This is more of a heads up for readers because you may go into a book expecting one thing and receive another.

I love Kwan and was hoping his story would get more fleshed out, but still, it was nice to get an in-depth character study of Anna, essentially.

There’s a lot to unpack, between familial and cultural expectations, high standards of perfection, people pleasing, burnout, late age neurodivergence diagnoses, dating, and more. I really felt for Anna and was pleased to see that she messed up and had to repair the relationship, which feels more real and balanced than men always groveling (nothing wrong with the trope, but I do love subversion of tropes, or character decisions that feel real and less contrived).

Like I said, there is much less sex or even sexy times in this book than in the Kiss Quotient because the book focuses more on Anna’s acceptance of herself and growth, as well as the fraught relationship she has with her mother and sister, and her guilt and conflicting feelings regarding her grandpa. 

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really wanted this book to be for me, but it really wasn’t. I do think there were elements that drew me to the book, but plot points or writing style put me off.

This book is chock-a-block full of ✨ whimsy ✨, but at one point, I realized it was just too much. I think it was a combination of adding things for the sake of adding things, the flippant tone became too flippant, and the book didn’t seem to follow its own internal logic.

Things in books don’t always have to follow “real world logic” (see other weird or wild books like Neverwhere, pretty much any Terry Pratchett novel, or The Library at Mount Char, to name a few), but they do have to follow their own logic. It’s tough for this book since it plays with a lot of historical Victorian conventions, norms, people, and events, but then twists them for this story, but at least follow your own logic.

A big example that kept popping up was that the lady scoundrels would talk about being a proper lady, etiquette, and rules, which follow traditional Victorian beliefs and customs. These included not talking about murder at the dinner table, unmarried women not being alone with a man to maintain their reputation, not swearing, and classic Victorian ideas about sex and nudity. And yet Cecilia manages to be alone with Ned practically all the time and no one bats an eye, Cecilia will mention murder at the dinner table at one time and be scolded, then the Aunt will go on about murder later at the table, and also Ned has to retrieve a key from the vagina of an older lady in society. Yes, you read that correctly, right after he fishes the key for her chastity belt from her bodice. My jaw dropped to the floor and that scene solidified that I couldn’t follow this path the book had laid out.

Flippancy was the name of the game of this book – the women would rob everyone blind and there were never repercussions. And it wasn’t secret, and all the townspeople were afraid of them and yet continued to live in a place occupied by a group of women who thieve constantly? And good god, the amount of banter in this book was too much to bear, and I say that as a person who *LOVES* banter. I think because it was constantly used, didn’t make me laugh beyond a couple of times, and didn’t further the plot or show us any insight into the characters, because they were already telling us how they felt all the time.

That was another thing – the women joke about being scoundrels and basically murdering and pillaging, except we all agree that murder is quite bad and taking someone’s life is worse than taking their things, so while everyone talks a big game about being these badass women who wreak havoc, no one goes farther than stealing. They’re just robbers.

All the men in this book are bumbling idiots except for the love interest and his hot friend who is the love interest in the next book.

Ned himself was CONSTANTLY thinking about boning Cecilia to that point that it got distracting and not sexy or fun for me. He also seemingly fell in love with her at first sight, which is annoying for me in any book.

The houses flew – but why? There wasn’t that much world building that explained why that was how magic worked, why no one could use magic beyond flying houses…

There’s a character who is 16, lies to a guy about her age and hooks up with him (he is 19), and when he gets mad about it, the book laughs it off and says “but look how stupid he is! He’s a guy!” It all felt a little icky to me.

There’s no stakes or character development – Cecilie remains snarky and pretty deluded about what she wants in life (until of course her love interest has to pursue her relentlessly despite her regularly telling him that she won’t be with him), and the “twist” at the end was seen from 300 miles away. The villain was not intimidating or powerful in the slightest, and part of that stems from his over-the-top cartoonishly sexist and misogynistic ideals and plan. I’m sure there are people out there like that, but it was beyond the pale for me.

I’m rambling at this point about my frustrations, and I am aware that this is a book best enjoyed when you shut off all the parts of your brain that cannot suspend disbelief or point out illogical elements. But I’m a big believer in setting expectations for a book, and should you want anything more than a whacky story with fantasy in one aspect (flying houses) and a romance plot first and foremost, then I would recommend you look elsewhere. Or if you can just turn off your brain and read, this might work. But it didn’t work for me. 

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

Man, what a fun read. The 350-some pages move by quickly because I devoured this book. The mystery and the characters were just plain fun and I did like Turton’s more humanist and sci-fi approach to this book compared to his others. 

I’ve read reviews from other readers who were either disappointed in the ending or bored by the concept, and while I understand that everyone brings something different to the table when they read a book, I didn’t experience boredom at all. In fact, I was fully on board with solving the murder and learning more about these characters, because something was definitely “off” when it came to the main group of people living on the island. 

While I don’t think anything can touch 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I did enjoy this a bit more than Devil in the Dark Water. It has been a few weeks since I read it, so while I don’t retain many details about the book or plot, I can say I was around for the atmosphere and the mystery. 

Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids by Ken Jennings

funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I slept on this book for way too long – it’s a wonderful fairy tale-esque story that feels warm and cozy during this cold winter months, like a thick quilt woven with Russian mythology and magic. 
I absolutely loved the language, with free flowing prose, and truly a story that did not go where I expected. I texted a friend theories and almost none of them came true, unless we’re giving half points (or in my case, eight points because my theories were quite off). 

At the heart of this book is the push and pull between “modern day” Christianity and the old ways of honoring the spirits and magical creatures of old Russia. One is full of fear and distrust, while the other is fading and requires a fair amount of belief, as well as some cunning. 

I never expected the main villain in this series to be

Father Konstantin, but it totally makes sense. He is driven not actually by a love for God, but by his own need for praise and victory and being a beloved figure to the masses. He is hungry and ambitious, but in denial about it, and uses his charisma, good looks, and soothing voice to put the fear into the village and make it easier for Medved to succeed. Not only that, but he is tormented by his attraction toward Vasya, much like Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame. In classic religious figure, he never takes the time to introspect and look inward about what this says about himself, but only lets this unwanted desire drive him to violence and hatred, as well as, you guessed it, further denial and projection.

 

There is also a strong feminist bent in the story, one that only grows stronger in later books, as Vasya is looked down upon for being herself and not acting like other girls or women. 

But most of all, I loved the characterization and the growth, or lack thereof in some cases, of everyone. No one was perfect and everyone made decisions based on their personal beliefs and motivations. Absolutely stellar. 

Vasya as a character is compelling; how can you not root for the young girl with magical abilities, who is kind to the small creatures only she can see? She is wild, yes, but it’s like she has the forest in her blood and is not suited to an ordinary life as either a wife & mother or a nun, for those are the only two options women had in most of history, especially in past Russia. Not only that, but her magical blood has set her apart from others, and thus her future and prophecy is inherently tied to larger and more mystical forces in Russia. 

I tore through this book and then proceeded to read the other two in rapid succession. It’s just a fantastic book to be enveloped in with its moral ambiguity, mystery, and magic.

The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As other reviewers have said, this book was necessary to give Vasya an opportunity to grow. After saving some young girls from a mysterious group of thieves and bandits who no one can seem to trace, Vasya then goes to Moscow disguised as a boy to get a taste of freedom that she will never has a girl. However, this now puts her family in not only a risky spot, but great danger. Olga and Sasha are now wrapped up in the lie as naïve and hot blooded Vasya now gets to explore this huge city. However, despite having a great capacity for kindness and curiosity galore, she is also impetuous, selfish at times, stubborn, and competitive, which leads to a pickle, if we’re putting it lightly.

There was a lot of clever string pulling behind the scenes as the villain deftly pulls the strings behind the scenes and manipulates people to result in quite the climax of this book.

I loved how imperfect Vasya was, despite wanting to grab her shoulders and yell at her. Not only is she fighting against the constraints put on her simply because of her sex, but she is also fighting magical forces and evil that others cannot see and believe, which makes her struggle even more of an uphill battle.

Despite it all, I never felt like Vasya lost her inherent qualities, and she is now set up for a wallop of a third and final book in the trilogy. 

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

HOT DOG this was an action packed and fraught book filled with suspense and heartbreak and joy. Vasya leaves Moscow wiser and sadder now, seeing how she put others and herself in danger for acting rashly, as well as having experienced great loss. Now is time to wrap up the other subplots of this series, including the Tatar army, Medved’s return to power, their fraught relationship with the prince of Moscow, and Vasya’s relationship with the Winter King. And boy, does Katherine Arden deliver.

There are many forces against Vasya in this book, but she is tenacious, determined, clever, and resourceful. You get to see all the growth from book 2 come into play and change how she approaches problems, as well as find lasting and positive change for Russia.

Absolute banger of a wrap up to this trilogy, which I couldn’t recommend highly enough for whimsy, character growth, and some fantastic villains who seemed destined to win given how much the scales tilted in their favor, but watching Vasya think around them or receive favors or help from others who received a small good dead from her was A+.