nkfanning's reviews
214 reviews

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

N.K. Jemisin Queen of creating magic systems that you don’t need to understand (like at all) to enjoy. I wondered what rating to give this and I just have to give The World We Make 5/5 because I was so engrossed in every page. Fun characters, fun storylines, queer found family(!!), intergalactic enemies, and cities that are alive and have souls? Incredible.

Family Business by Jonathan Sims

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Great ideas, maybe just poor execution? It was very very slow-paced and while I liked the characters none were particularly interesting. I definitely preferred the author’s first book, Thirteen Stories.

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

3.5

Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Haunting, atmospheric, a perfect winter read.

Theatre of War by Andrea Jeftanovic

2.5

Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu

challenging emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was so good wow

Glennkill by Leonie Swann
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

Even though I’m enjoying this it’s definitely like just above my German reading level to the point where it’s too much work.

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

*Review of Sample*

I will be updating this once the full book is released, so I’m holding back some things for this review until then! Everything here is a first impression.

Even though I had not read anything by Cassandra Clare in years, when I heard she was writing an adult fantasy, something separate from the Shadowhunters universe no less, I was *very* excited. 

This high fantasy is set in an imaginary kingdom where a young boy is selected and trained to be a “Sword Catcher” - someone who acts as the Prince’s double in high risk situations where he might be injured, or killed. It’s a great premise, definitely unique and clever, and I found the characters intriguing and likeable. The dynamic between Kel and Conor, and Kel’s complicated relationship to the royal family was what really kept me returning to the story.

However, I found the beginning very difficult to get through. The world-building seems a bit lazy as there were so many things the reader is told instead of shown, and a lot of it felt really insignificant, like it was just thrown in for decoration. The magic system confused me as it seemed to only be there for convenience of the plot and didn’t affect much of the world. For example the charm Kel where’s to make himself appear more like Conor - this defeats the purpose of having to choose someone who looked exactly like the Prince. If this kind of magic is possible, surely it can be pushed further and transform someone entirely. It also takes away from the extremity of Kel’s job. It would have been more exciting if he had to train and teach himself to be absolutely perfect in his imitation. 

Also just an aside - as an Irish person the name choice “Conor” really bothered me. Every other character has extremely high-fantasy, meant-to-be-exotic-sounding names, and then one of the MCs is called the most basic and common Irish names that there is. Like, is it meant to sound unique and different as with the other names? Why not just give the rest of the royal family Irish names? It took me out of the story a lot.

Those are my initial thoughts. The sample has left off in a very interesting place, so while it’s not perfect I will be picking up a copy to read and continue after the publication date.

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

adventurous challenging funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read an early e-copy!

Overall I enjoyed The Fragile Threads of Power. I think it is a great sequel to the original series, and definitely worth reading if you at all liked A Darker Shade of Magic. The four Londons and the magic system haven’t lost their charm, and like ADSOM this fantasy book is a perfect blend of action, humour, great characters, and gripping plot. 

However, I had a big problem with the pacing and I would say “layout” of the chapters and narratives. We switch between many different POVs throughout the book, some familiar like Kell, Lila, Alucard, and Rhy, some new characters like Tes and Kosika, as well as other periphery characters for a chapter or two. The problem with so many different POVs is that you will always prefer some to others. I loved Tes, a girl with a unique gift who has run away to Red London, but found myself totally bored with Kosika’s chapters, which were much more slow-paced. While I expected to enjoy Kell’s and Lila’s, I found myself frustrated with the constant flashbacks to fill in the blanks between this book and the last. Moreover, given that there hasn’t been any major changes to their relationship dynamic, nothing felt particularly fresh or new to their chapters. I would have preferred if the whole book was told in a much more linear fashion, rather than the constant jumping back and forth between different times and characters. With the title, I actually expected Alucard to be the main focus, alongside Tes, which I definitely would have preferred. Given that this is the start of a new trilogy it just felt like too many people were being crammed into one book!

So while the first half, or maybe even two thirds of this book is very slow (we are setting up the narratives of literally a dozen characters) the pay-off at the end is extremely worth it. I couldn’t read the last 150 pages fast enough as all the action came to a head. The book ends at a perfect point leaving you satisfied but also dying for the next instalment. I just hope there won’t be as many flashbacks and POV switches in the next one!

Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation by Jeremy Tiang, Kavita Bhanot

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0