hopegreen's reviews
95 reviews

Blessed Are the Misfits: Great News for Believers Who Are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They're Missing Something by Brant Hansen

4.0

wonderfully playful, and yet also deeply affirming. I absolutely adore hansen's goofy honesty.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

3.0

a vivid but often distant retelling of the victories and rivalries within the norse pantheon. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

3.0

when I was told this book was "all vibes, zero plot", they were not exaggerating. the descriptions of the environments and costumes and food were outstanding, but the characters, while eccentric, seemed to be laid on top of it all, not bound enough to the world to generate a compelling plot. 

Meadowlands by Louise Glück

3.0

a beautifully unified collection, with delightfully veiled allusions to the odyssey throughout.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

3.0

simple and sweet. ultimately, it could have done much more than just constantly beaming and pointing proudly at its premise, but otherwise an easy, cosy story, charming and uncomplicated. 

The Promise and the Light by Katy Morgan

3.0

a lovely reimagining of the nativity, but often let down by being distracted by its invented plotlines. 

Troy: Our Greatest Story Retold by Stephen Fry

4.0

probably the best instalment to date in fry's quest to explore the ancient greek world, gathering the scattered stories from the beaches of troy and retelling them with endless intrigue, joy, sorrow, and wit.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

4.0

this book was a brilliant satire about a vast array of complex issues in the telling of stories in our world today - until it pivoted genres without warning in the final chapters, fell flat on its face, and left me unusually angry. it's a page-turning triumph hugely tarnished by a poor finale.

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

4.0

absolutely not what I expected it to be - most of the story felt only half familiar to the myth, but the latter quarter completely transformed the tale. a monumentally curious book. 

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

5.0

a sweeping opening to an epic about courage and fate and, unsurprisingly, fellowship. a true masterpiece.