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chaptersofmads's reviews
780 reviews
How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn
2.0
This was the kind of book I should have read in one sitting.
Alas, I have lacked all motivation to read lately and therefore, did not.
I keep finding cozy books that succeed in the cozy, atmospheric vibes but seem to fall short in all other departments and this was one of them. Most of this book wasn't bad; a bit derivative, Hallmark-y, rife with every surviving petty HS drama available, but the vibes and family relationships could have made up for it.
If I had read this in one sitting, I think I might not have noticed the shortcomings of the book as much as I did - because I would have consumed it the same way I would have a quick Hallmark movie.
Unfortunately, as the book kept going on, the flaws just became really unavoidable. Already, the characterization was similar to playing MySims on the Wii, even with the types of tasks given to Emma as she prepared events. (I understand this might be niche, but imagine Violet ((from MySims)) was an eccentric author and you basically have the vibes) The plot was... a mess. The mystery was laughably absurd and the reveal was not only stupid, but also the most misogynistic way to go about anything.
(I want to clarify: I know a lot of people go into cozy books looking for vibes only and I'm not lessening that. For me though, I think a book should be able to have cozy vibes and a coherent plot, as well as not pitting nearly every female character against each other over extremely petty shit. <3)
Overall, while I didn't hate this, I do kind of feel like it was a waste of my time.
Alas, I have lacked all motivation to read lately and therefore, did not.
I keep finding cozy books that succeed in the cozy, atmospheric vibes but seem to fall short in all other departments and this was one of them. Most of this book wasn't bad; a bit derivative, Hallmark-y, rife with every surviving petty HS drama available, but the vibes and family relationships could have made up for it.
If I had read this in one sitting, I think I might not have noticed the shortcomings of the book as much as I did - because I would have consumed it the same way I would have a quick Hallmark movie.
Unfortunately, as the book kept going on, the flaws just became really unavoidable. Already, the characterization was similar to playing MySims on the Wii, even with the types of tasks given to Emma as she prepared events. (I understand this might be niche, but imagine Violet ((from MySims)) was an eccentric author and you basically have the vibes) The plot was... a mess. The mystery was laughably absurd and the reveal was not only stupid, but also the most misogynistic way to go about anything.
(I want to clarify: I know a lot of people go into cozy books looking for vibes only and I'm not lessening that. For me though, I think a book should be able to have cozy vibes and a coherent plot, as well as not pitting nearly every female character against each other over extremely petty shit. <3)
Overall, while I didn't hate this, I do kind of feel like it was a waste of my time.
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
An inspirational, heartfelt read for fans of and strangers to Gilmore Girls alike.
(Not rating this as I don't rate non-fiction.)
(Not rating this as I don't rate non-fiction.)
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I tried really, really hard to get into this but I just can't do it anymore. This was an extremely anticipated read for me, from the moment I heard the synopsis. It's a really intriguing premise with a fantastic cover.
And I want to be clear: this was not bad.
However, I was struggling with everything from the characters to the plot direction. It was one of those experiences where I didn't even realize I wasn't enjoying it, until I noticed that picking it up felt like a dreaded chore. My delayed realization is partially because I really do like the concept and I also liked the author's writing style.
I think Alexis Henderson is really talented and wrote the book exactly as it was meant to be written.
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep me engaged. Despite being an adult novel, the characters read very young and the budding romance (teacher x student, though they're both adults) was... not for me. This, along with the extremely slow pacing and a few other personal critiques, made reading this a difficult task.
I ended up realizing that I could stop reading and would never again wonder where the story was going - a sign that I should probably dnf.
With that being said, I think that's highly personal. I'll repeat: this is not a bad book. I think it's a good book with a super interesting idea, even if I didn't connect with the execution. If this sounds interesting, I do recommend picking it up.
I wish this had worked for me but I'm still incredibly grateful for the chance to read it.
I tried really, really hard to get into this but I just can't do it anymore. This was an extremely anticipated read for me, from the moment I heard the synopsis. It's a really intriguing premise with a fantastic cover.
And I want to be clear: this was not bad.
However, I was struggling with everything from the characters to the plot direction. It was one of those experiences where I didn't even realize I wasn't enjoying it, until I noticed that picking it up felt like a dreaded chore. My delayed realization is partially because I really do like the concept and I also liked the author's writing style.
I think Alexis Henderson is really talented and wrote the book exactly as it was meant to be written.
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep me engaged. Despite being an adult novel, the characters read very young and the budding romance (teacher x student, though they're both adults) was... not for me. This, along with the extremely slow pacing and a few other personal critiques, made reading this a difficult task.
I ended up realizing that I could stop reading and would never again wonder where the story was going - a sign that I should probably dnf.
With that being said, I think that's highly personal. I'll repeat: this is not a bad book. I think it's a good book with a super interesting idea, even if I didn't connect with the execution. If this sounds interesting, I do recommend picking it up.
I wish this had worked for me but I'm still incredibly grateful for the chance to read it.
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
1.5
“Anyone can be capable of something impossible— as a witch, she must believe that.”
You know the part of The Princess Diaries films where "only Paolo can take this and this and give you: ✨a princess✨"? Okay, so imagine that but the "this" and "this" are witches and sapphics and the end result is a very poorly crafted Bridgerton fanfic.
Impressive, I know.
I love books about witches. They usually get slightly higher ratings from me, simply because I love reading about nature witches and the overall atmosphere. To some degree, this book did deliver on atmosphere (at least for the beginning of the novel). My favorite parts had to do with the honeybees and the nature spirits.
Adding witches to a sapphic plot about a woman that has sworn off love because the only love she's aware of feels like sacrificing her autonomy? Does that not sound fantastic? It almost sounds like a flawless premise for a book.
But alas... this was not the case.
The book itself is structurally and technically a mess. The plot is an incredibly basic one, with scenes that were used in nearly every fantasy book of the 2010s. The plot-twists are painfully predictable if you've ever consumed any media. And the stakes are never talked about with the appropriate severity.
I want to be clear: I don't mind when a book is predictable and messy, so long as it's enjoyable. If I care about the characters enough, I don't mind if the plot-twists feel like they were lifted directly from the pages of "Tropes: A Beginner's Handguide" by Plagiarism Phil. I'll just be happy to be there.
Unfortunately though, this was one of those books where the characters were insufferable.
Practically everything was insufferable. The exposition is handled terribly (the first 35% percent of this book kind of feels like being forced to watch a instructional cutscene for a game you've been playing for thirty years). The pacing is somehow rushed and too slow at once (i.e. the book takes place over about a year and a half, but the characters act like it takes place over a decade.) The characters are childish and irritating. The dialogue is atrocious. The writing style is both melodramatic and stilted.
I think there's a reason for all of this and I think Bridgerton is to blame.
This reads like AI generated sapphic Bridgerton fanfiction. With over-the-top dialogue lacking the actor's human emotions to somehow level it out and bring the silliness back down to earth. And even Bridgerton takes itself far more seriously than this book ever did. I mean, the fmc literally growls "She's mine!" about her love interest at her old suitor, in the middle of a ballroom, causing lightning to strike in the distance.
This kind of leads to my final point: I don't think most people write grumpy x sunshine well. Or! Perhaps, I just don't like grumpy x sunshine, which may very well be the case.
However, more often than not, it feels like either one character is an abusive asshole and the other is just a nice person or! One feels like an angry asshole and the other feels like an inconsiderate, toxically optimistic asshole. Which could work, if it didn't feel like we suddenly switch from them hating each other (and just being generally unnecessarily rude) to dramatic expressions of love.
This was no exception. The two characters barely speak to each for the first 45% of the book and then when they do talk, one of the characters is incredibly rude. This kind of gets explained, but the switch from belittling and obnoxious to lovingly devoted felt insincere.
I don't know, I tend to love softer love interests so maybe that's why I didn't connect with this, but alas.
I'm afraid if I don't stop myself now I will continue to complain (particularly about a death scene involving someone's gore being trapped in their suspenders like a spider web? or the cartoonish villain dialogue) and that isn't my intention. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I'm devastated that I didn't love it.
There are good aspects to this book (the bees) and I do think people should pick it up if it sounds interesting to them, because some of my issues truly are personal. If you love witchy books and don't mind it when they're a bit messy, I encourage you to give this a try. You might love it.
Unfortunately, though, I did not.
You know the part of The Princess Diaries films where "only Paolo can take this and this and give you: ✨a princess✨"? Okay, so imagine that but the "this" and "this" are witches and sapphics and the end result is a very poorly crafted Bridgerton fanfic.
Impressive, I know.
I love books about witches. They usually get slightly higher ratings from me, simply because I love reading about nature witches and the overall atmosphere. To some degree, this book did deliver on atmosphere (at least for the beginning of the novel). My favorite parts had to do with the honeybees and the nature spirits.
Adding witches to a sapphic plot about a woman that has sworn off love because the only love she's aware of feels like sacrificing her autonomy? Does that not sound fantastic? It almost sounds like a flawless premise for a book.
But alas... this was not the case.
The book itself is structurally and technically a mess. The plot is an incredibly basic one, with scenes that were used in nearly every fantasy book of the 2010s. The plot-twists are painfully predictable if you've ever consumed any media. And the stakes are never talked about with the appropriate severity.
I want to be clear: I don't mind when a book is predictable and messy, so long as it's enjoyable. If I care about the characters enough, I don't mind if the plot-twists feel like they were lifted directly from the pages of "Tropes: A Beginner's Handguide" by Plagiarism Phil. I'll just be happy to be there.
Unfortunately though, this was one of those books where the characters were insufferable.
Practically everything was insufferable. The exposition is handled terribly (the first 35% percent of this book kind of feels like being forced to watch a instructional cutscene for a game you've been playing for thirty years). The pacing is somehow rushed and too slow at once (i.e. the book takes place over about a year and a half, but the characters act like it takes place over a decade.) The characters are childish and irritating. The dialogue is atrocious. The writing style is both melodramatic and stilted.
I think there's a reason for all of this and I think Bridgerton is to blame.
This reads like AI generated sapphic Bridgerton fanfiction. With over-the-top dialogue lacking the actor's human emotions to somehow level it out and bring the silliness back down to earth. And even Bridgerton takes itself far more seriously than this book ever did. I mean, the fmc literally growls "She's mine!" about her love interest at her old suitor, in the middle of a ballroom, causing lightning to strike in the distance.
This kind of leads to my final point: I don't think most people write grumpy x sunshine well. Or! Perhaps, I just don't like grumpy x sunshine, which may very well be the case.
However, more often than not, it feels like either one character is an abusive asshole and the other is just a nice person or! One feels like an angry asshole and the other feels like an inconsiderate, toxically optimistic asshole. Which could work, if it didn't feel like we suddenly switch from them hating each other (and just being generally unnecessarily rude) to dramatic expressions of love.
This was no exception. The two characters barely speak to each for the first 45% of the book and then when they do talk, one of the characters is incredibly rude. This kind of gets explained, but the switch from belittling and obnoxious to lovingly devoted felt insincere.
I don't know, I tend to love softer love interests so maybe that's why I didn't connect with this, but alas.
I'm afraid if I don't stop myself now I will continue to complain (particularly about a death scene involving someone's gore being trapped in their suspenders like a spider web? or the cartoonish villain dialogue) and that isn't my intention. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I'm devastated that I didn't love it.
There are good aspects to this book (the bees) and I do think people should pick it up if it sounds interesting to them, because some of my issues truly are personal. If you love witchy books and don't mind it when they're a bit messy, I encourage you to give this a try. You might love it.
Unfortunately, though, I did not.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
I'm already so bored and not vibing with the writing style. Might pick this up again someday, but it's unlikely.
Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming
This was fantastic.
Not the usual "this is the story of how I became famous" celebrity memoir (which can still be interesting!) but much more heavily focused on Alan Cumming's childhood abuse, his relationship with his family, with male mental health, and more. I really appreciated how everything was talked about and the clear-minded, hopeful way that this book approached survival.
I also adore Alan Cumming and would listen to him talk about paint drying, but that's only because I'm sure he'd find a way to make it both witty and introspective.
A brief warning for a singular use of the r slur. It was a moment of his internalized panic at not being able to properly function as a person. I don't believe it had harmful intentions, but I still wanted to address it.
Overall, I absolutely loved my time reading this and I highly, highly recommend consuming it as an audiobook so you can hear Alan Cumming narrate it.
Not the usual "this is the story of how I became famous" celebrity memoir (which can still be interesting!) but much more heavily focused on Alan Cumming's childhood abuse, his relationship with his family, with male mental health, and more. I really appreciated how everything was talked about and the clear-minded, hopeful way that this book approached survival.
I also adore Alan Cumming and would listen to him talk about paint drying, but that's only because I'm sure he'd find a way to make it both witty and introspective.
A brief warning for a singular use of the r slur. It was a moment of his internalized panic at not being able to properly function as a person. I don't believe it had harmful intentions, but I still wanted to address it.
Overall, I absolutely loved my time reading this and I highly, highly recommend consuming it as an audiobook so you can hear Alan Cumming narrate it.
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
5.0
“The knowledge that she was alone and no one could see her— that she could do anything, say anything, think anything and no one would be the wiser- made her feel fierce and wicked and brave.”
One of my favorite books of the year!!
Read this one with Reagan's (PeruseProject) Cozy Seasons Book Club through the Fable app which was a fun addition to the story. I liked finishing the chapters and getting to see what the other readers were saying about it/exchanging theories. It made me want to start participating in more Fable book clubs lol.
Moving on, this was practically a perfect book. I didn't know what to expect going in, other than some fairytale vibes and maybe a bit of spookiness. Nothing could have prepared me for how emotional this book would make me or how connected I would feel to every character. (Well, nearly every character. Some, the only emotional connection I had was my intense loathing <3)
I don't want to say much because I want other people to go into this pretty blind but I will say: read this if you love found family, Downton Abbey vibes, abuse/trauma survival and recovery, fantastic female friendships, cozy food descriptions, a sweet romance between two lovely side characters, and geese that know just a bit too much about the world.
I loved this and I highly, highly recommend.
Now, to read everything else T. Kingfisher has ever written.
One of my favorite books of the year!!
Read this one with Reagan's (PeruseProject) Cozy Seasons Book Club through the Fable app which was a fun addition to the story. I liked finishing the chapters and getting to see what the other readers were saying about it/exchanging theories. It made me want to start participating in more Fable book clubs lol.
Moving on, this was practically a perfect book. I didn't know what to expect going in, other than some fairytale vibes and maybe a bit of spookiness. Nothing could have prepared me for how emotional this book would make me or how connected I would feel to every character. (Well, nearly every character. Some, the only emotional connection I had was my intense loathing <3)
I don't want to say much because I want other people to go into this pretty blind but I will say: read this if you love found family, Downton Abbey vibes, abuse/trauma survival and recovery, fantastic female friendships, cozy food descriptions, a sweet romance between two lovely side characters, and geese that know just a bit too much about the world.
I loved this and I highly, highly recommend.
Now, to read everything else T. Kingfisher has ever written.
When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao
2.0
I finished this book hours ago and have subsequently spent that time trying to figure out how to review this.
I want to start by saying I received an arc of You've Reached Sam in 2021 and adored it. I've also since followed Dustin Thao over the years and I really admire him as a person/author. I know this book was important to him and I don't want to diminish that.
However... I felt like this book fell flat in nearly every way possible. Due to the nature of the story, I can't go into much without heading into spoiler territory, but I can say that this was structurally messy and incredibly redundant.
For a book about grief, I felt like the grief aspects were actually really side-lined? Much of the story follows Eric after Daniel's death and we see his life in a downward spiral, until he finally caves and gets a job at a theater. This begins the absolutely thrilling saga of Asshole Coworker 1 and Asshole Coworker 2 taking him to party with a bunch of rich people, whom Eric subsequently allows to use him/actually gets assaulted by. This was not only painful to read, but also really tedious.
I understand that he was in that particularly place due to grief, but we focus a lot more on him trying to assimilate to really awful groups of people with little-to-no growth happening from those moments.
Carrying on from that point, Haru could have been written out of the book and none of the core aspects would have changed - other than a handful of scenes that they spend together, exploring the city.
Also... this might be spoiler territory, but Eric read as someone experiencing severe mental illness. Not just grief, but other severe issues that went unaddressed by anyone in his life. Haru aside, we see multiple instances of Eric hallucinating. These moments are referred to as daydreaming, but in some of them, the reader is told he has a sense of foreboding, like something is wrong/he's forgetting something.
That doesn't read like daydreaming as a coping mechanism. That reads as someone that is struggling to distinguish fiction from reality and needs people in his life looking out for him (Kevin tries; we love Kevin.) But for most of the story (due to him pushing people away, I'm aware) he continues these extremely harmful cycles that no one is noticing.
By the end, he's doing better but that's mostly because he's... decided to do better, which isn't exactly the best message.
I also found the romance insufferable, but I probably should have guessed that when two movies I hate kept being referenced and even had the characters act out scenes from them. But I also struggled to connect with their relationship for two specific reasons.
The first: Haru was unbearable. Even in the prologue section where everyone could see him, he came off self-centered. One of the first times he shows up in the actual book, it's in Eric's bed (whilst Eric is asleep) and that's just supposed to be accepted and not questioned.I get that this is because Eric was imagining this, but it's still odd, especially as you're reading it.
The second: we see Eric show interest in at least 5 guys during this 304 page novel, some overlapping time-wisei.e. going from a date with Haru to a date with Christian, then being shocked Haru might be bothered by this. It's not so much that I'm upset that he was interested in that many people, but when you have an entire book that hinges on a "strange, fateful connection" between he and Haru, that gets painfully undermined when it seems as though Eric feels connected (at least briefly) to every man that he perceives as being interested in him.
With all of this being said, there were a few things I thought this book did well. The family relationships, being the main ones. I really appreciated any scenes with Eric's family and wish we'd gotten more, even if I understand why that didn't happen. I also really liked the last few chapters. They reminded me of why I'd loved You've Reached Sam and I wish the whole book had been like that. (I don't like the epilogue, but that's just personal opinions.)
In the acknowledgements, Dustin Thao acknowledged that this wasn't the book he'd always wanted to write and how much he'd struggled with writing it. I wonder what this could have been if he hadn't been quite so restrained and had been allowed a bit more creative freedom.
Overall, this was kind of all over the place. It was a mess in a lot of ways, but it does still have an undercurrent of hope and finding your path after grief. I would recommend this, but maybe not to people expecting this to be as touching as You've Reached Sam.
I want to start by saying I received an arc of You've Reached Sam in 2021 and adored it. I've also since followed Dustin Thao over the years and I really admire him as a person/author. I know this book was important to him and I don't want to diminish that.
However... I felt like this book fell flat in nearly every way possible. Due to the nature of the story, I can't go into much without heading into spoiler territory, but I can say that this was structurally messy and incredibly redundant.
For a book about grief, I felt like the grief aspects were actually really side-lined? Much of the story follows Eric after Daniel's death and we see his life in a downward spiral, until he finally caves and gets a job at a theater. This begins the absolutely thrilling saga of Asshole Coworker 1 and Asshole Coworker 2 taking him to party with a bunch of rich people, whom Eric subsequently allows to use him/actually gets assaulted by. This was not only painful to read, but also really tedious.
I understand that he was in that particularly place due to grief, but we focus a lot more on him trying to assimilate to really awful groups of people with little-to-no growth happening from those moments.
Carrying on from that point, Haru could have been written out of the book and none of the core aspects would have changed - other than a handful of scenes that they spend together, exploring the city.
Also... this might be spoiler territory, but Eric read as someone experiencing severe mental illness. Not just grief, but other severe issues that went unaddressed by anyone in his life. Haru aside, we see multiple instances of Eric hallucinating. These moments are referred to as daydreaming, but in some of them, the reader is told he has a sense of foreboding, like something is wrong/he's forgetting something.
That doesn't read like daydreaming as a coping mechanism. That reads as someone that is struggling to distinguish fiction from reality and needs people in his life looking out for him (Kevin tries; we love Kevin.) But for most of the story (due to him pushing people away, I'm aware) he continues these extremely harmful cycles that no one is noticing.
By the end, he's doing better but that's mostly because he's... decided to do better, which isn't exactly the best message.
I also found the romance insufferable, but I probably should have guessed that when two movies I hate kept being referenced and even had the characters act out scenes from them. But I also struggled to connect with their relationship for two specific reasons.
The first: Haru was unbearable. Even in the prologue section where everyone could see him, he came off self-centered. One of the first times he shows up in the actual book, it's in Eric's bed (whilst Eric is asleep) and that's just supposed to be accepted and not questioned.
The second: we see Eric show interest in at least 5 guys during this 304 page novel, some overlapping time-wise
With all of this being said, there were a few things I thought this book did well. The family relationships, being the main ones. I really appreciated any scenes with Eric's family and wish we'd gotten more, even if I understand why that didn't happen. I also really liked the last few chapters. They reminded me of why I'd loved You've Reached Sam and I wish the whole book had been like that. (I don't like the epilogue, but that's just personal opinions.)
In the acknowledgements, Dustin Thao acknowledged that this wasn't the book he'd always wanted to write and how much he'd struggled with writing it. I wonder what this could have been if he hadn't been quite so restrained and had been allowed a bit more creative freedom.
Overall, this was kind of all over the place. It was a mess in a lot of ways, but it does still have an undercurrent of hope and finding your path after grief. I would recommend this, but maybe not to people expecting this to be as touching as You've Reached Sam.
The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko
4.5
Jordan Ifueko, we do not deserve you.
This book was so good, holy crap. If I had ever had any doubt in Jordan Ifueko's stellar ability to craft a story (which I didn't) this book immediately quelled it. Everything she writes is nothing less than a masterpiece. No matter whether the focus is on worker's rights or a cute little gecko animal sidekick, you're about to read something incredible.
I loved everything about this book. I adored Sade and getting to follow her was an absolute delight. She's put through so many absolutely atrocious things, but the story never feels... overtly grim. That isn't to say the atrocities are just ignored, because much of this book focuses on the structural issues in a society that relies on people it can't even treat as people.
Running alongside that, there's also an underlying message that Sade's life is her own, no matter what other people attempt to place on her, that gives the story a strength. Her struggles with being small and then the ultimate realization that 'ants vs giants' still plays into a system she doesn't wish to uphold was handled so well.
Also, this is a highly personal compliment, but as someone that's been deconstructing from my religion for years, Jordan Ifueko's personal stories have been incredibly helpful in making me feel less alone. And because of that, there were quite a few lines in this book that I tied with deconstruction (even if that wasn't the original intention) and they meant the world to me.
(Especially a particular paragraph in one of the last chapters.)
That's not even starting on the love interest (whom I adore) or the animal sidekick or the disability rep or the side characters I loved or the food descriptions or the magic system or even just my own excitement to be back in this universe. Getting any mention of characters from the Raybearer duology felt like a little treat and I loved how they were handled.
If it wasn't clear, I loved this book. It's so cozy (not in the genre sense, but in the feeling of a warm fireplace and nostalgia) and magical, while also being both harrowing and incredibly empowering.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book along with anything else Jordan Ifueko has written/shall write from now unto the end of time.
This book was so good, holy crap. If I had ever had any doubt in Jordan Ifueko's stellar ability to craft a story (which I didn't) this book immediately quelled it. Everything she writes is nothing less than a masterpiece. No matter whether the focus is on worker's rights or a cute little gecko animal sidekick, you're about to read something incredible.
I loved everything about this book. I adored Sade and getting to follow her was an absolute delight. She's put through so many absolutely atrocious things, but the story never feels... overtly grim. That isn't to say the atrocities are just ignored, because much of this book focuses on the structural issues in a society that relies on people it can't even treat as people.
Running alongside that, there's also an underlying message that Sade's life is her own, no matter what other people attempt to place on her, that gives the story a strength. Her struggles with being small and then the ultimate realization that 'ants vs giants' still plays into a system she doesn't wish to uphold was handled so well.
Also, this is a highly personal compliment, but as someone that's been deconstructing from my religion for years, Jordan Ifueko's personal stories have been incredibly helpful in making me feel less alone. And because of that, there were quite a few lines in this book that I tied with deconstruction (even if that wasn't the original intention) and they meant the world to me.
(Especially a particular paragraph in one of the last chapters.)
That's not even starting on the love interest (whom I adore) or the animal sidekick or the disability rep or the side characters I loved or the food descriptions or the magic system or even just my own excitement to be back in this universe. Getting any mention of characters from the Raybearer duology felt like a little treat and I loved how they were handled.
If it wasn't clear, I loved this book. It's so cozy (not in the genre sense, but in the feeling of a warm fireplace and nostalgia) and magical, while also being both harrowing and incredibly empowering.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book along with anything else Jordan Ifueko has written/shall write from now unto the end of time.
Hope Ablaze by Sarah Mughal Rana
3.0
"Trust is a greedy thing, like gifts. You expect it but you never give it. I stopped trusting my pen and tongue. But the pen also stopped trusting me."
First read of September completed!
Hope Ablaze is a book that tackles a lot of heavy, important topics whilst also balancing them with celebrations of love, family, food, and the fmc's Muslim identity. The moments of community and pure joy were so lovely to read about. I also really appreciated the way this book called out liberals and progressives that still operate as if they need to "save" anyone wearing a hijab.
There were some aspects of this book that were a bit messy, particularly in terms of pacing and characterization. Sometimes there were big moments that were reduced and small moments that dragged on. The characters would have really heavy moments and their next scene together made it feel forgotten.
I'm not someone that's ever gotten into poetry but some of it... didn't translate well, at least to the audiobook version. It came across very juvenile, which I suppose makes sense with this being a YA book; but with the main character's talent for it, I was hoping for a bit more.
Overall, I would recommend this. As I said, I had a few issues with it and I felt the ending was a bit out of place, but I still think this book is important and manages to (successfully) touch on quite a few topics that the YA age range would benefit from reading.
First read of September completed!
Hope Ablaze is a book that tackles a lot of heavy, important topics whilst also balancing them with celebrations of love, family, food, and the fmc's Muslim identity. The moments of community and pure joy were so lovely to read about. I also really appreciated the way this book called out liberals and progressives that still operate as if they need to "save" anyone wearing a hijab.
There were some aspects of this book that were a bit messy, particularly in terms of pacing and characterization. Sometimes there were big moments that were reduced and small moments that dragged on. The characters would have really heavy moments and their next scene together made it feel forgotten.
I'm not someone that's ever gotten into poetry but some of it... didn't translate well, at least to the audiobook version. It came across very juvenile, which I suppose makes sense with this being a YA book; but with the main character's talent for it, I was hoping for a bit more.
Overall, I would recommend this. As I said, I had a few issues with it and I felt the ending was a bit out of place, but I still think this book is important and manages to (successfully) touch on quite a few topics that the YA age range would benefit from reading.