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jess_orjess's reviews
69 reviews
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
5.0
OKAY, I’m on holiday as of writing this review and I was scouring the book donation place where I stumbled upon THIS MASTERPIECE! Now, at first I only really started to read it because I’d heard recommendations on it on social media and I thought: why not? I read the blurb and was a little off put by it, as it wasn’t something I would normally read, but I was so happy I did read it. I’ll try not to spoil too much, but the way this book is paced is just— so satisfying to me?? It spans over the years, from the POV of Desiree, to her daughter, to Adele, to Stella, and to her own daughter. This book has AMAZING representation, and truly narrated what it’s like to live in America during the 60s-80s while being Black and/or transgender (Also in love with Reese a little bit). Anywho, the only criticism I have is that this book is more of a ‘tell, not show’ book, which, depending on the person, is really just a hit or miss. I still thoroughly enjoyed it though I did skim through some unnecessary parts. This book also focuses heavily on relationships, whether that be romantic, platonic or paternal/sibling (idk the word for it). It’s subtle study of practically all of the relationships throughout the book gives for an even better read.
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
DNF-d at 52%. I DNF-d not because it was a bad book - it was amazing!! I mean, the fight scenes and world building are the best I’ve read. However, I just can’t handle character death, especially one of a main character. I read this book thinking it’d be a cool fantasy, and it is, but I mistook it for something hopeful. The book is definitely realistic in the sense it is HEAVILY reflective off of the real world, but to me that’s not always a good thing. I usually read books as a form of escapism, not necessarily as a reminder of the horrors out in the real world. I think all of the characters are amazing but the amount of death entailed was WAY too much. I also won’t rate the book because I think that’s unfair to the author, as I did genuinely enjoy it. I only hope that the recommendations would’ve at least warned about this as it was quite triggering for me (and i’m not one to be affected by many things). Over all, I completely understand why people loved this book, and though it was slow at first, it’s VERY thrilling to read. I think because the book is written from a (dual) POV of Mamoru, I thought that maybe he would magically become alive again, but as I read the reviews and information, it was never the case. And so, I DNF’d because I major character deaths are the worst, lol. No hate at all to the author though!!!
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
1.0
i bought this on impulse in the airport, but this book is so long and drawn out i couldn’t even read it on the plane lol. the main character, who i thought would be an interesting character, was an annoying centrist who did something bad (such as.. idk murdering her own cousin?) and cried at herself for it. she tries to be relatable and witty and funny but it comes out flat and more ‘try-hard ish’. plus, she criticises right wing and left wing in the same sentence which i think was rlly unnecessary and literally did nothing to the plot (the author acts as if tories who are the most classist people alive compare to leftists who want to help the people lol). the main character is simultaneously a feminist but not? a very confusing combo of ‘i’m a feminist but i’m better then all other women’. she probably thinks of herself as a cool girl. overall, it wasn’t worth my time and i knew i wouldn’t enjoy it anyway so i won’t torture myself with this.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
5.0
“If you want to imagine the future, imagine a boy and his dog and his friends. And a summer that never ends.
And if you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot… no, imagine a sneaker, laces trailing, kicking a pebble; imagine a stick, to poke at interesting things, and throw for a dog that may or may not decide to retrieve it; imagine a tuneless whistle, pounding some luckless popular song into insensibility; imagine a figure, a half angel, half devil, all human… Slouching hopefully towards Tadfield.
…for ever.”
And if you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot… no, imagine a sneaker, laces trailing, kicking a pebble; imagine a stick, to poke at interesting things, and throw for a dog that may or may not decide to retrieve it; imagine a tuneless whistle, pounding some luckless popular song into insensibility; imagine a figure, a half angel, half devil, all human… Slouching hopefully towards Tadfield.
…for ever.”
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
4.0
Honestly, wasn’t a huge fan of the book to begin with, but looking back now I realise that it makes sense. The characters are written beautifully, first of all. I suppose I didn’t quite see the depth at the start. Annabelle is probably my favourite - a flawed yet truly innocent character at heart. I didn’t care much for Benny, believe it or not, until the end. I think it was more due to the fact I didn’t like him as a person, and that I disagreed with a lot of things he thought and did. Despite this, the philosophy included was interesting, or at least to me. The Alpeh’s rants, Aikon, B-man… they all seemed to open up a different perspective of something seemingly simple. They all held truth and sense, though. This book also did very well with making the reader question the reality of things, ranging from The Aleph to Slavoj, it made you wonder if everything that happened was a product of some sort of drugged haze or Benny’s tangled mind. And still after I’ve finished, I wonder whether or not the voices were actually real (in a magic sense), or if they were due to Benny’s trauma from his father’s death.
Some of the relationships were quite… questionable, which is mostly the reason why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. I don’t like the relationship between The Aleph and Benny. It edged too far into fantasy and idolatry rather than true love. That being said, I honestly don’t think Benny is in love with the Aleph. At least, not in the traditional sense. I think he loved the idea of her, instead. It was also quite uncomfortable reading the kiss scenes, the first being Benny almost forcing himself upon Aleph and the second just being weird, considering a scene before she stated Benny was too young for him. At one point, I started to question the character’s involvement with Benny: why were they there? It felt like Slavoj and The Aleph were almost manipulating Benny, with the notes in the PEDIATRY (psych ward), and the forced drinking. I think it was only truly confirmed for me Annabelle met the two and had a positive reaction.
Regarding the reading, I managed to read it pretty smoothly, though I will admit I skipped a lot. The book could’ve been quartered if all of the unnecessary information and descriptions were taken out of it. Sure, write nice descriptions about the library, but don’t make it two pages long. Moreover, I feel that the book told a lot more than it actually showed, which is understandable seeing as it’s from a sentient book’s POV, but still. After a while, you kind of disconnect to the story and find that you don’t really care about what’s happening in the scenes. Near the end, I just began to get sick of the lengthy-ness of it and skimmed through A LOT when reading. I just wanted to see a straight, to the point, conclusion. And honestly? I didn’t get that. I believe it’s up to interpretation, and in essence it was a happy ending with everyone happy, but what happened to the book? Did it disappear now that Benny was happy? Did it disappear because of Benny’s death? Maybe I’m looking to much into the second part, but nonetheless I feel like I still have a few questions.
Some of the relationships were quite… questionable, which is mostly the reason why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. I don’t like the relationship between The Aleph and Benny. It edged too far into fantasy and idolatry rather than true love. That being said, I honestly don’t think Benny is in love with the Aleph. At least, not in the traditional sense. I think he loved the idea of her, instead. It was also quite uncomfortable reading the kiss scenes, the first being Benny almost forcing himself upon Aleph and the second just being weird, considering a scene before she stated Benny was too young for him. At one point, I started to question the character’s involvement with Benny: why were they there? It felt like Slavoj and The Aleph were almost manipulating Benny, with the notes in the PEDIATRY (psych ward), and the forced drinking. I think it was only truly confirmed for me Annabelle met the two and had a positive reaction.
Regarding the reading, I managed to read it pretty smoothly, though I will admit I skipped a lot. The book could’ve been quartered if all of the unnecessary information and descriptions were taken out of it. Sure, write nice descriptions about the library, but don’t make it two pages long. Moreover, I feel that the book told a lot more than it actually showed, which is understandable seeing as it’s from a sentient book’s POV, but still. After a while, you kind of disconnect to the story and find that you don’t really care about what’s happening in the scenes. Near the end, I just began to get sick of the lengthy-ness of it and skimmed through A LOT when reading. I just wanted to see a straight, to the point, conclusion. And honestly? I didn’t get that. I believe it’s up to interpretation, and in essence it was a happy ending with everyone happy, but what happened to the book? Did it disappear now that Benny was happy? Did it disappear because of Benny’s death? Maybe I’m looking to much into the second part, but nonetheless I feel like I still have a few questions.
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
4.0
duchess’ character is so interesting n i must admit he’s very compelling as a person. he’s so delusional he believes he does no wrong and comparing the multiple POVs just proves more so. the way his POV is written is so unique to me too. i was a little disappointed by the ending but i’ve come to terms with it.
Batman, Volume 3: Death of the Family by Scott Snyder
This is one of the few graphic novels that was actually fucked up to me, and that actually held a pretty good and meaningful plot. Sometimes, some graphic novels are a little too comical, with very artificial speech, but this one wasn’t. It was fucked up, sure, but it also explored the Batman and Joker’s relationship outside of the fist fighting. I didn’t really understand the end, though, nor the deeper meanings but I knew there was something significant that happened lol.
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
5.0
all of the symbolism and conspiracy and mystery intertwined with real events and pieces of art is just … MWAH. i enjoyed this sm i actually found myself interested in all of the history talk and whatnot
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
2.0
I genuinely don’t know how to feel about this book… the first half was relatively interesting, hence the two stars, but the second half dwindled and eventually became tedious. Everything that happened could’ve occurred within half the pages written, and even less so. I didn’t understand the ending, similarly to Rest and Relaxation, I had to search up the meaning of it. The ending was so… tame and bland compared to the rest of the book, it was a plot twist in itself.
Edit: Right, apparently the end is representative of letting go of religion for the sake of something better…? It’s a critique on religion, I suppose, or at least the religious institutions that control(led) people.
Edit: Right, apparently the end is representative of letting go of religion for the sake of something better…? It’s a critique on religion, I suppose, or at least the religious institutions that control(led) people.
Legion by Brandon Sanderson
3.0
3.5 stars.
Very quick read, but that’s a given considering it’s a short book. It was fast-paced, yet held the right amount of information to warrant some interest and explanation into what’s happening and why. The plot is nice, especially with the MNF and the slight plot twists given.
There’s a lack of context for a lot of what happens, which is intentional but can make things confusing a lot of the time, especially regarding Sandra and how the main character came to be (hallucinations and all). I think because it was so fast-paced it felt a little too rushed at times, and I found that things bounced around a bit too much and there wasn’t enough time to connect with any of the characters or learn about them. The overall idea is interesting, though, and what inspired me to pick up the book in the first place.
Would I pick up the second book? Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know if this book was so intriguing to warrant time spent reading the second book, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I’m just not entirely enthusiastic about picking a second book up, as this one was kind of just… fine. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t amazing either. I know Sanderson can do a lot better than this, so it kind of reads as a money pull (and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was, considering how quickly he can put out books).
Very quick read, but that’s a given considering it’s a short book. It was fast-paced, yet held the right amount of information to warrant some interest and explanation into what’s happening and why. The plot is nice, especially with the MNF and the slight plot twists given.
There’s a lack of context for a lot of what happens, which is intentional but can make things confusing a lot of the time, especially regarding Sandra and how the main character came to be (hallucinations and all). I think because it was so fast-paced it felt a little too rushed at times, and I found that things bounced around a bit too much and there wasn’t enough time to connect with any of the characters or learn about them. The overall idea is interesting, though, and what inspired me to pick up the book in the first place.
Would I pick up the second book? Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know if this book was so intriguing to warrant time spent reading the second book, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I’m just not entirely enthusiastic about picking a second book up, as this one was kind of just… fine. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t amazing either. I know Sanderson can do a lot better than this, so it kind of reads as a money pull (and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was, considering how quickly he can put out books).