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mailorenzo's reviews
626 reviews
Miniature Needle Painting Embroidery: Vintage Portraits, Florals & Birds by Trish Burr
4.5
I'm coming back to my embroidery, more specifically needle painting and Trish Burr is just the best we have. It's amazing how her step-by-step pictures and expalnations in the book helps you a lot. Some authors are not so specific like this.
The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fey by Alex Epstein
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Even though the cover looks like a children's book or a very silly YA fantasy story, don't let it fool you. This is definetly an adult story.
We see how Anna reacts when her father is killed by Uter and her mother Ygraine sends her away to Ireland. This is where she becomes Morgan. In her exile she learns many things abotu the pagan people as well as the Christian ones. Here is one of the greatest moments in the books. I loved how the author both shows good bad things in both Pagan and Christian beliefs.
I really liked when we saw how much Morgan understands about war and politics, it definetly explains much about her journey and who she becomes. There's even an explanation on why she might have come from the fairy folk. I personally love when I read an adapatation of a very known myth and its different perception of it.
Anyway, the bad thing was that the last chapter finishes exactly where I was expecting to read more about. It felt like something was missing but well worth it. I can't complain much about it. But the pace is slow if you are not much into Arturian legends/adaptations, I guess.
We see how Anna reacts when her father is killed by Uter and her mother Ygraine sends her away to Ireland. This is where she becomes Morgan. In her exile she learns many things abotu the pagan people as well as the Christian ones. Here is one of the greatest moments in the books. I loved how the author both shows good bad things in both Pagan and Christian beliefs.
I really liked when we saw how much Morgan understands about war and politics, it definetly explains much about her journey and who she becomes. There's even an explanation on why she might have come from the fairy folk. I personally love when I read an adapatation of a very known myth and its different perception of it.
Anyway, the bad thing was that the last chapter finishes exactly where I was expecting to read more about. It felt like something was missing but well worth it. I can't complain much about it. But the pace is slow if you are not much into Arturian legends/adaptations, I guess.
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
"Bridgerton meets Howl's Moving Castle". Well, I WISH!
This could have been so much fun! But unfortunally it was all silly and embarrassing. Even though I do love some nonsense, I also have limits.
• first things first, the weapon we have is a scissor, of all things. Don't get me wrong, but something just pissed me off about this lol
• a character who is a SURGEON DOCTOR but doesn't know why surgeons have to wash their hands before SURGERY. Crazy.
• a main character that I guess it was supposed to be a "cold-hearted" person like without feelings and all but her condition just turns her into a clown. SO many embarrassing moments.
• A cousin that is mentioned throughout the book but I don't think she has any personality except being the main character's cousin and loving her unconditionally. I mean, even the scenes when she's present, she doesn't talk much, people don't usually remember she's there and to be honest ALL CHARACTERS HAVE A ONE-SIDED PERSONALITY.
• Lastly we have a Lord Sorcier (?) who works for the crown but how does it work? Every place has its own sorceress in court? How does the magic work? And what about the Faerie world? Well, we will never know. The world-building wasn't its strongest suit.
Basically if you are into some very shallow romance/fantasy book set in regency era that doesn't go deep into anything except the romance itself then this might be just the book for you.
This could have been so much fun! But unfortunally it was all silly and embarrassing. Even though I do love some nonsense, I also have limits.
• first things first, the weapon we have is a scissor, of all things. Don't get me wrong, but something just pissed me off about this lol
• a character who is a SURGEON DOCTOR but doesn't know why surgeons have to wash their hands before SURGERY. Crazy.
• a main character that I guess it was supposed to be a "cold-hearted" person like without feelings and all but her condition just turns her into a clown. SO many embarrassing moments.
• A cousin that is mentioned throughout the book but I don't think she has any personality except being the main character's cousin and loving her unconditionally. I mean, even the scenes when she's present, she doesn't talk much, people don't usually remember she's there and to be honest ALL CHARACTERS HAVE A ONE-SIDED PERSONALITY.
• Lastly we have a Lord Sorcier (?) who works for the crown but how does it work? Every place has its own sorceress in court? How does the magic work? And what about the Faerie world? Well, we will never know. The world-building wasn't its strongest suit.
Basically if you are into some very shallow romance/fantasy book set in regency era that doesn't go deep into anything except the romance itself then this might be just the book for you.
Richard III: The Maligned King by Annette Carson
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
This could easily have been a 4 or 5 starts considering the flow of the reading is so good and keeps you SO invested that you even forget this is a non-fictional biography. But here are the reasons this was a worth 3 stars:
The annoyances about the book:
1) Sometimes this books sounds like a collective crirticism of all other authors before Anette Carson. Not to say she isn't right in some aspects, but there's definetly some passive-agressive tone when she thinks her opinion is the only one that is right and truthful.
2) which brings to the second problem about all of this: like any die-hard ricardian before her (so nothing new here) the author puts too much of her own opinion on things. I do think Richard was excpetional but he also made mistakes that isn't aknowledge in this book.
3) If you don't know what happens then this one will be just confusing since the story is all over the places. Carson works with theories and explanations while covering multiple years and aspects of the facts and rumours. It's just all over the place if you haven't had any basis from where to start.
The amazing things about this book:
1) The first chapter where she presents Richard Collins 1996's treatise outlining his suspicious that Edward IV was actually poisened. The authors implies that the Woodviles had something to do with it and it was definetly one of the most interesting chapters that actually makes you believe and suspect that his death was indeed a bit odd, to say the last.
2) Richard's parliment and laws were also a worth topic, He showed interested in the proper interpetation of the law (the publish of the parlament acts were in English instead of latin for the first time) and fair dealings between nobles and commoners that might have turned him into a not so popular figure among the the nobility.
3) Lastly, the relationship between Richard and Elizabeth of York kept me until the end of the chapter, from Elizabeth's supposed infamous letter to Norfolk showing she had hopes of a marriage
to Richard's negotiation with Portugual to marry Joana of Portugal (apparently joana had a prophetic dream of Richard dying and within days of her decision they had news of Richard's death in Bosworth, crazy right).
Overwall this was an excellent book if you want something that shares new lights in the well known subjects regarding Richard and the last years of his reign. No matter how umpopular the theories and opinions, Annette Carson conveys her beliefs in a very clear and persuasive way.
The annoyances about the book:
1) Sometimes this books sounds like a collective crirticism of all other authors before Anette Carson. Not to say she isn't right in some aspects, but there's definetly some passive-agressive tone when she thinks her opinion is the only one that is right and truthful.
2) which brings to the second problem about all of this: like any die-hard ricardian before her (so nothing new here) the author puts too much of her own opinion on things. I do think Richard was excpetional but he also made mistakes that isn't aknowledge in this book.
3) If you don't know what happens then this one will be just confusing since the story is all over the places. Carson works with theories and explanations while covering multiple years and aspects of the facts and rumours. It's just all over the place if you haven't had any basis from where to start.
The amazing things about this book:
1) The first chapter where she presents Richard Collins 1996's treatise outlining his suspicious that Edward IV was actually poisened. The authors implies that the Woodviles had something to do with it and it was definetly one of the most interesting chapters that actually makes you believe and suspect that his death was indeed a bit odd, to say the last.
2) Richard's parliment and laws were also a worth topic, He showed interested in the proper interpetation of the law (the publish of the parlament acts were in English instead of latin for the first time) and fair dealings between nobles and commoners that might have turned him into a not so popular figure among the the nobility.
3) Lastly, the relationship between Richard and Elizabeth of York kept me until the end of the chapter, from Elizabeth's supposed infamous letter to Norfolk showing she had hopes of a marriage
to Richard's negotiation with Portugual to marry Joana of Portugal (apparently joana had a prophetic dream of Richard dying and within days of her decision they had news of Richard's death in Bosworth, crazy right).
Overwall this was an excellent book if you want something that shares new lights in the well known subjects regarding Richard and the last years of his reign. No matter how umpopular the theories and opinions, Annette Carson conveys her beliefs in a very clear and persuasive way.
The Seventh Son by Reay Tannahill
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definetly one of the best novels about R3 out there.
I like that it starts in the later years of the wars of the roses, I've been reading a lot of books on this matter since I'm a teenager and to get to read all the story all over again isn't excited as it used to, specially when writers only put the story on paper and there's basically nothing new to tell.
I also liked the way that Richard is ambitious but doesn't feel bad about what he has to do, he knows it's the only way to survive. I believe he was just a practical guy who lived in a dangerous time. His actions here are not valified, but he isn't a saint either (thank god!).
Lastly, the story between Richard and Anne was for sure my favorite part and I have to say that I usually don't like their love story in books. Authors tend to make them fall in love since they are children or being such a perfect couple that it sounds just boring.
Here we have a couple that gets married out of convenience because they've known each other since they were kids but mostly, because they needed each other in that moment, socially speaking. Their marriage is good but not passionate, Anne keeps wondering if he loves her as much as she loves him and when things officially grows between them it's too late, which made their doomed love story as King and Queen even more interesting and compelling.
I like that it starts in the later years of the wars of the roses, I've been reading a lot of books on this matter since I'm a teenager and to get to read all the story all over again isn't excited as it used to, specially when writers only put the story on paper and there's basically nothing new to tell.
I also liked the way that Richard is ambitious but doesn't feel bad about what he has to do, he knows it's the only way to survive. I believe he was just a practical guy who lived in a dangerous time. His actions here are not valified, but he isn't a saint either (thank god!).
Lastly, the story between Richard and Anne was for sure my favorite part and I have to say that I usually don't like their love story in books. Authors tend to make them fall in love since they are children or being such a perfect couple that it sounds just boring.
Here we have a couple that gets married out of convenience because they've known each other since they were kids but mostly, because they needed each other in that moment, socially speaking. Their marriage is good but not passionate, Anne keeps wondering if he loves her as much as she loves him and when things officially grows between them it's too late, which made their doomed love story as King and Queen even more interesting and compelling.
Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0