feywild's reviews
71 reviews

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

this book changed me in the best way tbh

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I was going to. I found the first book a little too verbose, personally; however this one really stepped up and made it an engaging adventure. I'm a little annoyed at the way the girls tend to gravitate towards Rand so suddenly, I would have liked a little more development there - but I accept the writing for what it is (barring a certain scene at the end that made me go yikes)

Overall it was definitely a good read and I plan to continue.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

I'm struggling to find proper words to explain how I feel about this book; other than it resonated with me in so many ways. It was an absolute pleasure to read this book. 

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
Did not finish book. Stopped at 56%.

dnf @ 40%

It hurts me to write this because I genuinely enjoyed the NA trilogy + Nemesis. I find the language for fat people almost a bit too much in this book? I’m aware of his word usage around bigger people in the NA trilogy and kind of let it slide as an older series, but it was very disappointing to see it was even worse in this one.

I can understand kit’s rhetoric about himself as someone that has been fat for most of their life and then lost weight, I have had the same if not similar thoughts of my own, but I personally don’t enjoy the overly descriptive nature of it - especially regarding comments from other characters. And if this is just the first book, I'm not entirely sure I want to know how bad it gets. And I do very much understand Brent writes from the characters own thoughts and feelings - I’ve read NA Nemesis where you’re literally in first person POV, I know.

But It’s not necessary imo to describe fat people as walking jello in every scene that they’re in and it’s honestly kind of dehumanizing - at least to someone that’s lived that experience, it’s not what I’d like to read about. There are other ways to describe fat/bigger people without reducing them down to where their fat hangs and what they might be hiding in them. (that was very unhinged in my opinion)

It might just be this is the line where his books aren’t for me and that’s unfortunate honestly. The NA trilogy had so many relatable and important moments for me, that I was so very ready to experience similar through the lightbringer series.

I might attempt a re-read later, I’m not sure yet at this moment though. 

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This was such a beautiful book, and it was a treat to be able to read this directly after finishing POTOT! 

Samantha has this very poetic, dreamy style that I adore and I appreciate that the conversation style is more modern compared to most high/epic fantasy stories. I’m in awe at how she managed to craft such an intricate world that kept bringing me back each day to read. I got attached to Glorian and Dunmai in particular and found their personal stories to be very endearing. 

My reason for not giving five stars is due to how largely same the story is - now, that could just be the style of the books now that another might be potentially being written? And in that vein it would make sense for them to be cyclical in nature, however I think with that there needs to be slightly more nuance. 

I was also left with a lot of the same questions that I had from the first book, if a third does exist; ideally I’d like a different way of telling the story, and perhaps revealing more than the already mentioned roles and legends from the previous books.

Regardless though, I very much enjoyed myself and personally I felt a drastic improvement from the first book in both writing and overall pacing. The ending felt not as rushed this time, but one of the characters epilogues left me a little wanting unfortunately. 

I am very much hoping there’s a third book, I would absolutely love to learn more about this incredible world though 💕💕

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

so, the pacing of this book reminded me of a twelve episode anime that has so much potential but not enough time to convey everything. There were so many facets of the story that flew by without explanation that I feel was needed. A lot of concepts were introduced suddenly and I feel the character development was progressing at almost a breakneck speed. 

I would have personally enjoyed a bit more yearning between the trio and just more bridging their relationship a bit more? It felt almost as if there were puzzle pieces laid out and perfectly slotted in a way I knew what was coming up next. I do find the relationship between them super endearing though and honestly it makes me want to read the sequel so I can find out what happens. 

I was already familiar with Darling in the Franxx having watched it myself and I could definitely see the themes showing themselves and the book did actually touch on a few things that I would have preferred in the anime so I did feel satisfied in that regard. However I feel the feminist tones were a little too .. hard hitting? and that's not me wanting to disavow the overarching message (there were many moments that actually felt empowering.) I suppose if I could sum up my thoughts on this manner, I think Zetian needs to do some more introspection within herself through character development as I feel the view of the world she currently has is completely understandable - but viewed in a very one dimensional manner.

I really hope the sequel touches on Zetian's own feelings about what it means to be a woman as I feel there was a lot about the surrounding world, but not about herself. I want to know more about the main character herself - I want to know more about her own internal conflicts and i think it would be very interesting to have more Zetian-centric character development.

Overall though, I did enjoy this! 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I actually really enjoyed this, the world felt very compelling and I’m generally drawn towards draconic themes in books.

Four star mostly because I felt the beginning of the book a little slow and the end a little too rushed. I would have loved maybe a sequel that actually went into each individual character a bit more as I found them all very endearing and that only makes me want to learn more!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense 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? No

2.5

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5