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foxholebookcourt's reviews
181 reviews
The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
I have quite a few mixed feelings about this book because on the one hand, I definitely feel like this is a book people need to read, as it deals with a variety of serious themes in a very realistic way. On the other hand, there were some aspects about the characters and the writing that I did not personally enjoy. So, while I did take a lot from this book, I also cannot say I immensely enjoy it.
When it comes to the good things, like I said, the book has certain themes and a lot of influence from the Aboriginal culture, as the author himself is Aboriginal and mentions he was inspired by personal experience. It includes quite a few triggering things to be aware of (I’ll add a list of them in the end) but they are handled in a very realistic and respectful manner. The plot is simple, and adds to the genre, with an honest and intriguing kind of story telling.
On the other hand, when it comes to the things I didn’t like, the dialogue would put me off quite often, as it didn’t feel as if that’s how young people, or people in general, actually talk. It felt kind of flat. Same goes for a few scenes and how they changed from one to the other. It was all so sudden, and one moment we would be in this setting and the next moment we would be in another. It felt a lot like ‘we are doing this and that. Anyways, we are there now’ and it would immediately put me off reading. The characters also felt kind of blunt as well, except our protagonist whose PoV guides us through the story.
I still recommend you read this book and to not be discouraged by my rating as I think that all the negative things I mentioned are mostly personal preferences.
TWs: Racism, racial slurs, homophobia, homophobic slurs, outing, minor violence, police violence, racial profiling
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have quite a few mixed feelings about this book because on the one hand, I definitely feel like this is a book people need to read, as it deals with a variety of serious themes in a very realistic way. On the other hand, there were some aspects about the characters and the writing that I did not personally enjoy. So, while I did take a lot from this book, I also cannot say I immensely enjoy it.
When it comes to the good things, like I said, the book has certain themes and a lot of influence from the Aboriginal culture, as the author himself is Aboriginal and mentions he was inspired by personal experience. It includes quite a few triggering things to be aware of (I’ll add a list of them in the end) but they are handled in a very realistic and respectful manner. The plot is simple, and adds to the genre, with an honest and intriguing kind of story telling.
On the other hand, when it comes to the things I didn’t like, the dialogue would put me off quite often, as it didn’t feel as if that’s how young people, or people in general, actually talk. It felt kind of flat. Same goes for a few scenes and how they changed from one to the other. It was all so sudden, and one moment we would be in this setting and the next moment we would be in another. It felt a lot like ‘we are doing this and that. Anyways, we are there now’ and it would immediately put me off reading. The characters also felt kind of blunt as well, except our protagonist whose PoV guides us through the story.
I still recommend you read this book and to not be discouraged by my rating as I think that all the negative things I mentioned are mostly personal preferences.
TWs: Racism, racial slurs, homophobia, homophobic slurs, outing, minor violence, police violence, racial profiling
Charmcaster by Sebastien de Castell
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Charmcaster by Sebastien De Castell
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5 (2.5 rounded up)
I know I have slowly started to outgrow this genre, but I had enjoyed the first two books in the Spellslinger series. This one was... not it. Mostly because the main plot felt like a complete filler. We have such an interesting storyline with Kellen's backstory, the shadowblack, the Jan'Tep, but in this one, we are focused on something that never really got my attention.
The first half was kind of hard to get through. It was really slow and it felt as if nothing significant was really happening. The second half started picking up, but just as I thought we would finally get more on the family drama and all that, we went back to the main plot that really couldn’t grasp my interest. Also, many scenes kept getting repeated, in the sense that the same things would happen again and again (i.e. Kellen getting captured and then escaping with his wits and how smart he is etc etc). I couldn’t really force myself to pay much attention.
Kellen was still an enjoyable protagonist, as was Ferious and Reichis, but the rest of the cast of characters did not grasp my interest at all. The romance has me bored and the only relationship I was interested in was between Kellen and his squirrel cat. The ending did look promising, and I am hoping that the next book will focus mostly on what’s going on back home but I’m not getting my hopes up because it fills as if with every book, we also get a filler plot line that’s not that interesting.
I will continue the series but also perhaps give myself a break from it because I sorta had to push myself to keep going with this one.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5 (2.5 rounded up)
I know I have slowly started to outgrow this genre, but I had enjoyed the first two books in the Spellslinger series. This one was... not it. Mostly because the main plot felt like a complete filler. We have such an interesting storyline with Kellen's backstory, the shadowblack, the Jan'Tep, but in this one, we are focused on something that never really got my attention.
The first half was kind of hard to get through. It was really slow and it felt as if nothing significant was really happening. The second half started picking up, but just as I thought we would finally get more on the family drama and all that, we went back to the main plot that really couldn’t grasp my interest. Also, many scenes kept getting repeated, in the sense that the same things would happen again and again (i.e. Kellen getting captured and then escaping with his wits and how smart he is etc etc). I couldn’t really force myself to pay much attention.
Kellen was still an enjoyable protagonist, as was Ferious and Reichis, but the rest of the cast of characters did not grasp my interest at all. The romance has me bored and the only relationship I was interested in was between Kellen and his squirrel cat. The ending did look promising, and I am hoping that the next book will focus mostly on what’s going on back home but I’m not getting my hopes up because it fills as if with every book, we also get a filler plot line that’s not that interesting.
I will continue the series but also perhaps give myself a break from it because I sorta had to push myself to keep going with this one.
Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins Library Edition: Series I & II Collection by Matthew Colville, Olivia Samson, Jody Houser, Matthew Mercer, Chris Northrop
adventurous
fast-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? No
5.0
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Here it is. Finally, the first five star of the year. But what else could I expect from the brilliant C. S. Pacat. Having loved the Captive Prince trilogy, I bought this book without even bothering to look for a description. I had absolutely no idea what this was about. And I was not dissapointed. This book felt like the love child of Lord of the Rings, but with a very interesting twist that I will not be spoiling.
Pacat is THE master of enemies to lovers, even though the focus of this book isn’t the romance. But even that takes an unexpected turn. How am I supposed to wait for book two now, I don’t know. As for the plot, it was magical, with a surprisingly good mixture of what felt like an Arthurian aesthetic and the setting of Victorian London. This two may not exactly sound combinable but Pacat makes it work smoothly, with not one but at least two jaw dropping twists that had me gasping audibly. At first I thought the author was going for a classic High Fantasy story, but knowing them, I should have known it wouldn’t be just that, and I’m so excited.
Besides the excellent plot and world building, we also have amazing characters. Because we all know that Pacat has a knack for writing multi layered characters. And we haven’t even seen much of them, since this is only the first book. By far the most intriguing one was James from start to finish, but after the plot twist, Will reached the same level. And of course, we have characters building and developing relationships that make me wonder how some of them will react upon finding out certain... facts.
I just know now that this author will never disappoint me. If you are looking for a more original approach to the standard fantasy genre, this is the book to look for. I cannot wait for the sequel.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Here it is. Finally, the first five star of the year. But what else could I expect from the brilliant C. S. Pacat. Having loved the Captive Prince trilogy, I bought this book without even bothering to look for a description. I had absolutely no idea what this was about. And I was not dissapointed. This book felt like the love child of Lord of the Rings, but with a very interesting twist that I will not be spoiling.
Pacat is THE master of enemies to lovers, even though the focus of this book isn’t the romance. But even that takes an unexpected turn. How am I supposed to wait for book two now, I don’t know. As for the plot, it was magical, with a surprisingly good mixture of what felt like an Arthurian aesthetic and the setting of Victorian London. This two may not exactly sound combinable but Pacat makes it work smoothly, with not one but at least two jaw dropping twists that had me gasping audibly. At first I thought the author was going for a classic High Fantasy story, but knowing them, I should have known it wouldn’t be just that, and I’m so excited.
Besides the excellent plot and world building, we also have amazing characters. Because we all know that Pacat has a knack for writing multi layered characters. And we haven’t even seen much of them, since this is only the first book. By far the most intriguing one was James from start to finish, but after the plot twist, Will reached the same level. And of course, we have characters building and developing relationships that make me wonder how some of them will react upon finding out certain... facts.
I just know now that this author will never disappoint me. If you are looking for a more original approach to the standard fantasy genre, this is the book to look for. I cannot wait for the sequel.