Scan barcode
kaistephan's reviews
51 reviews
Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
4.5
A violent and campy murder heist full of layered secrets and double crosses. I loved every second of it. Would have liked at least one main cast member who wasn't a horny twentysomething, but each one managed to have a distinct voice and they all balanced each other well. The world was one of the better takes on "Asian-inspired" fantasy that I've read; it falls back on Western tropes enough to shorthand scenery in favor of action, but still feels vivid and unique. Really this book was just plain fun and I need more of that in my life.
Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki
4.0
A touching, nuanced take on asexuality. It starts a bit clunky with a cliched ace feeling like she is the only one in the world who isn't normal, but once she starts looking around a bit more she learns that no one else is as normal as they appear. Her research into asexuality invokes dictionary definitions of a lot of terms but her experiences lead her to the conclusion that there is a lot of variation in human experience. I loved the way her friendship with her college friends developed but some of the other plotlines felt a bit rushed and disjointed.
Life Inside My Mind: 31 Authors Share Their Personal Struggles by Maureen Johnson, Robison Wells
3.25
Like a lot of anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. A lot of essays go with the peppy inspirational route of "theses were my textbook mental illness symptoms, but with the help of medication/therapy/yoga I got better and so can you!" but a lot of them are more introspective or nuanced. Not every essay is going to be for everyone but a reader who finds the book concept intriguing will probably find at least one essay that resonates.
Neverseen by Shannon Messenger
3.75
The series is finally starting to hit its stride and delve into some concepts that were conspicuously unexamined before. Sure, the Evil School is predictably campy and the characters still spend way too much time pretending they don't know what a crush is, but Messenger is still a master of pacing and plot twists and knows how to up the stakes. A little exasperating that it took four monster books to start questioning how perfect elves actually are, and I wouldn't tell someone who was put off by the first three that it's entirely worth it to get to the rest, but it is pleasant to see the series becoming more self-aware.
The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog by Rick McIntyre
3.5
Lots of good information, but it grows repetitive after a while and I had a hard time remembering which wolf was which since they all have numbers instead of names. The author also seems only interested in the behavior and interior thoughts of male wolves, despite mentioning three quarters of the way through that actually female wolves make most of the pack decisions, like a complete afterthought. Learned a lot about wolf behavior but came away feeling like there were a lot of gaps in the study.
Just for the Cameras by Viano Oniomoh
4.5
Very good balance of smut to feelings; keeps you engaged in both without ever feeling impatient for one or the other.
Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
5.0
Tamsyn Muir is a master magician who tells you to watch her hand so you carefully look at her other hand and then suddenly she has a third hand and even when you work out how she does it you still ask to see it again and again because it's just so masterful.