mattiedancer's reviews
125 reviews

Okay, not gonna lie, fell in love with both of the potential love interests. Loved that for our main character, and loved that for me. While our main character is very angsty as well, I actually really appreciated it, as it made her age a bit more believable. I would have loved a bit more depth and such from a few side characters, but if you’re looking for some cute, unique, and overall interesting characters, the book will not let you down.

Plot: 3.5⭐️/5

I might just be growing out of YA a bit too much this year but, while the plot was incredibly fun to read, it did leave me feeling a bit lacklustre by the end. I wanted a bit more for our intense moments and I wanted a bit more from the villains, who fell apart rather quickly at the end, much like a cheap sweater unravelling with a single pull of a loose thread. However, like I said before, I had fun.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of vampire stories – but who want something fresh
Fans of circus and magician stories
Fans of Hunger Games, but want something less political, more magical

Content Warnings?

Blood, death, injury, gaslighting

Post-Reading Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

Terribly fun. I love the uniqueness of this book so, so much.

Final Rating: 3.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Writing: 3.5⭐️/5

Jordan has a vision for this novel, but this vision feels like it’s a bit surrounded by repetitive phrases and scenes. The writing itself is serviceable. It gets the job done, and is easy to read when it needs to be. But the overall impression of the writing is a bit unsubstantial. Apart from a few moments of truly good writing, the novel doesn’t shine in its prose. That being said, it also isn’t held back by its prose. It’s served by its prose: nothing more, nothing less.

Characters: 3.25⭐️/5

*Some Spoilers*

Where the first book truly drew me into the characters, this book offered a number of reasons to question their characterization. Min, for one, has a moment that seems completely out of character for her. Not to mention a lack of any growth towards many of the characters we grew to love in the first book. Plus, and I can’t emphasize this enough, we have the fridging of a minor character solely for the purpose of advancing Thom’s plot, which I must (and truly do) consider a cardinal writing sin. If I’m being honest, the only character who retained growth from my perspective was Nynaeve.

Plot: 3.25⭐️/5

I feel the plot of this book will be entirely necessary to the plot of the series. And yet, it left me with the same taste in my mouth as a filler episode of a sitcom. Much of the plot felt pulled at – lengthened where it wasn’t necessary – and padded with fluff. The truly adventurous or intriguing parts of the plot were quickly (and sometimes far too easily) resolved in order to advance the next section. Of course, all that being said, it’s not an unenjoyable read at all and did keep my interest, whether deserved or not.

Who Should Read This Book?

Those who read book one of The Wheel of Time (The Eye of the World)

Content Warnings?

Slavery, confinement, kidnapping, toxic relationships, toxic friendships, blood, gore, torture, abuse, child death, war, misogyny, sexism, death, murder, injury, injury detail, fire, emotional abuse, gaslighting,

Post-Reading Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

As much as parts of this book IRRITATED ME (hi, Rand), I am very excited to start the third one.

Final Rating: 3.25⭐️/5

Content Warnings

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5

I’m fairly convinced Sanderson can write anything with ease and beauty. A blend of science fiction and fantasy, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is extraordinarily well-written. A bit of the world-building is slightly jarring or unexpected, but I loved every other moment of the novel. Sanderson writes romance – slow burn and all – very well, drawing me in with every turned page.

Characters: 5⭐️/5

Yumi’s dedication, Painter’s self-hatred: both feel wonderfully well-written and full of characters with backstories, desires, and motives. I love the completeness of their characters. I also appreciate that Painter’s backstory made perfect sense. His tragic tale of how he lost his friends was not overindulged or dramatic, nor was it unbelievable. In fact, it was one of the most believable betrayals I’d read in a book recently.

Plot: 4.75⭐️/5

A fabulous plot bolstered by a fabulous romance story. The world in which Sanderson imagines is stunning. The romance story, slowly growing in intensity and clarity, is such a treasure to unravel.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of Brandon Sanderson
Those looking for a high-fantasy/sci-fi romance novel
Fans of other Sanderson novels, especially the Stormlight Archive series
Those looking for a romance and fantasy story with amazing writing

Content Warnings?

Gaslighting, confinement, emotional abuse, abuse, death, murder, toxic relationships,

Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5

A cute little ending for my cute little pairing. Thanks, Sanderson!

Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

Letters in a Bruised Cosmos by Liz Howard

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad

4.75

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5

Liz Howard has a wonderful control of the English language. The poems in this collection are wonderful to explore, showcasing mastery in the captivity of various themes. Howard switches easily from talking about death to wondering about the intricacies of life.

Approach: 4.75⭐️/5

Howard approaches a number of themes with ease. She draws easily from pop culture and anatomical and biological verbiage effortlessly, using both to illustrate the dynamic range of life, love, and the human experience. Some poems lacked a bit of depth, but for the most part, the book echoed with beauty and experience.

Who Should Read This Book?

Poem fans
Fans of Liz Howard
Those looking for poems about life and generational trauma

Content Warnings?

Death, death of parent, abandonment, colonialism, generational trauma

Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5

The final poem is nothing but art.

Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

Love Is a Very Long Word, Volume 233 by Majlinda Bashllari

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad

4.75

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5

Bashllari crafts gorgeous poetry with language. I found myself eagerly reading each poem, melting into the descriptions and metaphors where I found decadence and squirming in the spots that Bashllari carefully intended me to. I find this collection of poems more astonishing in their careful crafting once I learned this is her first poetry collection in English, meaning that she may possess her poetic skill in more than one language.

Approach: 4.5⭐️/5

Each poem felt like it started strong in its approach. And, while most wound up with perfection, demonstrating perfect control and tact, a few left me wondering. I never want to assume to know where the poet should end a poem, but I wondered if a few were cut off premature and whether let them fill out a bit more might have pulled out more from both the poem and my own reaction to it.

Who Should Read This Book?

Poem fans
Someone looking for a bit of poetry that’s easy to access but not basic in theme, format, or technique

Content Warnings?

Death, sexual content, sexual, grief, pregnancy, miscarriage

Post-Reading Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

A little happy, a little sad, a little hopeful.

Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Writing: 3⭐️/5

The writing was there. I’m a big quote person. Generally, I write down at least one quote from every novel I read, one line that just felt so beautiful and powerful I can’t resist putting it in my notes app to look back on it later. I don’t have a single one for this book. And that’s not to say it’s poorly written. It’s more of the opposite: it was well-written, but unremarkable. It existed to serve both the plot and the characters and, while that means there was nothing terribly wrong with the writing, it was not the book’s strong point either.

Beyond that, I believe the novel started at maybe the worst possible start. I either needed more of Violet’s life before joining the Riders or less. I had a sliver of it, and it served only to push back the action without doing any concrete service to the characters or the plot.

Characters: 4⭐️/5

Alright. Xader is amazing. Love him. Perfection, don’t change a thing. Our main character, Violet or Violence: she’s very awesome, but I felt like her inconsistencies as a character were pushed off as ‘character growth.’ I saw no scribe here, despite everyone’s insistence that there was one. I saw a nerdy girl with a love of reading, but not a scribe, and it bothered me for the first half of the novel, despite loving the strengthening and self-improvement of our MC. The side characters felt forgotten at times and well-fleshed out at others. And Dain. He’s believable to a point, but I really had a hard time taking him seriously after a while because he was too easy to hate. I wanted a bit more out of him. But also, I had fun with the characters, and I’m pretty sure most fantasy-novel lovers would, too.

Plot: 3.5⭐️/5

A world with a strict government that is allowing the death of many innocents. A girl who is exceptional in her powers, despite looking small and weak. A rebellion alliance that is gaining traction. A love interest who is forced upon our main character. It’s a lot of things I’ve seen before, and a lot of things I’ve seen before together. That’s not to say I didn’t have fun reading the plot, but I found myself often a bit bored with the tropes and overused plot points. At one point I found myself wondering why we can’t have a functional government in fantasy novels. After all, it is fantasy. And the fact that I spent a portion of the novel daydreaming is probably not the best evidence for a fully engaging and exciting plot.

World: 4.5⭐️/5

Can’t help but add a whole category to my review process in order to tell you about this world. I was intrigued and enthralled by this world. I loved the dragons and, even more, I loved that the dragons rule this world. I enjoyed the powers, the explanation of the academy, and the vibrancy of the processes the dragon riders had to undergo. I tired a bit of the exceptionalism of the world – I don’t need an explanation of fertility suppressants, personally. We can just call birth control, birth control – but otherwise, I found it fun, exciting, and intriguing.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of ACOTAR & TOG
Fans of dragon-centered books
Readers not deterred by a few tropes and predictable plots
Someone looking for a fast and fun fantasy read

Content Warnings?

Death, sexual content, death of parent, grief, torture, murder, fire/fire injury, blood, ableism, violence, war, bullying

Post-Reading Rating: 4.25⭐️/5

Will read the next book; however, I am not excited for us to pretend to be mad at the main love interest for the first bit.

Final Rating: 4⭐️/5

Content Warnings

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Writing: 2.75⭐️/5

I read this after a Sanderson kick, so maybe I’m comparing apples to oranges, but if Sanderson is apples, these are tiny mouldy oranges left at the bottom of my lunch kit as a child. The first section of the novel, despite having the highest stakes possible, was hard to care about or believe in. From there, you’re met with a slog of exposition – telling and not showing, telling and not showing, and more telling and not showing – to the point that I felt exhausted. And, while I know one of the heights of sci-fi for some people revolve around its explanation of the science in the world, I couldn’t love the overexplanation of every little piece of technology. (Also, for a book in outer space, I really had to hear a lot about these two men’s balls. Please. Never again.)

Characters: 2.75⭐️/5

I would love to give this a higher mark, but how do you have so many characters and so few female characters that stand out? They really felt like accessories to the men: ready to make them look good, ready to be set down when the moment wasn’t right for them, and ready to be picked back up to adorn them at the end. We also follow two men who, despite trying to do their best, are so concerned with playing hero that they felt a bit fake – and incredibly boring.

Plot: 3⭐️/5

Did I enjoy the parts of this plot dedicated to being sexist? Not particularly. Do I have to hand it to the authors for making a story I couldn’t quite predict? Maybe. I did enjoy parts of the plot and, at certain moments, I almost started to love it. Of course, it was usually in those moments that we resorted to sexist tropes, unnecessary exposition, and/or the defilement of a woman’s body. Is there something interesting happening in this novel? Most certainly. I’m just not certain I would recommend it based solely on that.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of sci-fi who aren’t balked by a little sexism/misogyny

Content Warnings?

Body horror, death, gore, grief, war, genocide, suicidal thoughts, rape, sexual assault, misogyny, sexism, murder, blood, injury, injury detail,

Post-Reading Rating: 3⭐️/5

I wanted more from it, and also so much less.

Final Rating: 2.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

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mattiedancer's reviews 125 reviews

mattiedancer's reviews
125 reviews