Scan barcode
nuv's reviews
132 reviews
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
4.0
finally… it’s been a while since I’ve read a book that’s made me feel something lmao
Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
2.0
this book was seriously disappointing after the first one. everything that made daughter of smoke and bone endearing, no longer existed in the sequel. i will not be reading the final book. i just don't care enough about the plot or characters.
Love Unwritten by Lauren Asher
2.0
the most tragic part about lauren asher is that her plots are good. they’re engaging and the books are hard to put down. this is why I keep coming back with every release. but where she loses me is with the over-explaining and tell-not-show aspects of her writing.
ms. asher I promise u that ur readers are not dumb. letting them infer and understand the story without spoon feeding makes for a much less cringy experience.
LIKE I DONT WANT TO HEAR THE MMC CALLING HIMSELF INSECURE 27373728 TIMES!!! just show it with ur writing for god’s sake.
ms. asher I promise u that ur readers are not dumb. letting them infer and understand the story without spoon feeding makes for a much less cringy experience.
LIKE I DONT WANT TO HEAR THE MMC CALLING HIMSELF INSECURE 27373728 TIMES!!! just show it with ur writing for god’s sake.
Cash Delgado Is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia
3.0
this was a fun read, and if you know me, three stars is a "good" rating in my books. it was a light and quick read and I finished the book in two days. I honestly love stories about queer (sapphic) awakenings especially because society tends to impart a comphet framework on women in particular. the book had plenty of witty and fun moments, and I liked the inclusion of the side characters / cast. Parker was a sweet addition, although I found that her dialogue was a bit mature and unrealistic as a six-year-old.
i'm not a big fan of small town romances but i found that it was done well here. i actually enjoyed the save-the-bar subplot quite a bit, and oddly enough, the romance was the weakest part of the book. i liked inez's characterization, and it was a cute friends-to-lovers plot, however, i thought that cash's feelings for inez sprung out of nowhere. i also didn't think that cash's intimate dreams of inez should've been the catalyst for her queer self-discovery journey. that felt a bit cheap to me tbh.
overall, it was a solid 3 stars and it's a cute beach read!
thank you to random house (dell) and netgalley for the ARC <3
i'm not a big fan of small town romances but i found that it was done well here. i actually enjoyed the save-the-bar subplot quite a bit, and oddly enough, the romance was the weakest part of the book. i liked inez's characterization, and it was a cute friends-to-lovers plot, however, i thought that cash's feelings for inez sprung out of nowhere. i also didn't think that cash's intimate dreams of inez should've been the catalyst for her queer self-discovery journey. that felt a bit cheap to me tbh.
overall, it was a solid 3 stars and it's a cute beach read!
thank you to random house (dell) and netgalley for the ARC <3
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
4.0
I struggled really hard with how I should rate this book, and I went back and forth between giving it a 3.75 or 4 stars. I ultimately settled on 4 stars.
The writing is so incredibly lush, the world building is beautiful, and despite it being a relatively short(er) YA fantasy book, the characterization was done really well... except for the romance. And that is exactly where I took off the 1 star. During the middle of the book, I found myself in a *slight* slump. After doing a bit of a self-evaluation, I can safely say it was the romance. Without delving too much into spoilers, it makes sense why Akiva and Karou's relationship evolved the way it did. However, that doesn't mean I'm a huge fan of insta-love/lust.
Back to the positives – I loved the side characters, Zuzana, Brimstone, Issa – they were written so incredibly well. Some of the most touching moments in the book were when we saw glimpses of Karou's childhood or her interaction with Brimstone + the gang. The subtly in the interactions, the way the dialogue was written, and prose all painted a beautiful picture of Karou's life.
I loved the world building! Again, it was a relatively short book in comparison to other fantasy novels, but no extra pages were needed to paint a vivid picture of how Eretz and Earth's superimposed worlds existed to form Karou's reality. It was the perfect amount of show vs. tell, with key world building information given at the right time. Honestly I don't think I've been this satisfied with world-building in a YA fantasy in a long time.
If you had asked me 50% into the book, what I would've rated it, it probably would've been a 3 star read (which is still good in my books). But the last 25% really shone, both with Laini Taylor's writing and the plot exposition.
I def will be reading the next book <3
The writing is so incredibly lush, the world building is beautiful, and despite it being a relatively short(er) YA fantasy book, the characterization was done really well... except for the romance. And that is exactly where I took off the 1 star. During the middle of the book, I found myself in a *slight* slump. After doing a bit of a self-evaluation, I can safely say it was the romance. Without delving too much into spoilers, it makes sense why Akiva and Karou's relationship evolved the way it did. However, that doesn't mean I'm a huge fan of insta-love/lust.
Back to the positives – I loved the side characters, Zuzana, Brimstone, Issa – they were written so incredibly well. Some of the most touching moments in the book were when we saw glimpses of Karou's childhood or her interaction with Brimstone + the gang. The subtly in the interactions, the way the dialogue was written, and prose all painted a beautiful picture of Karou's life.
I loved the world building! Again, it was a relatively short book in comparison to other fantasy novels, but no extra pages were needed to paint a vivid picture of how Eretz and Earth's superimposed worlds existed to form Karou's reality. It was the perfect amount of show vs. tell, with key world building information given at the right time. Honestly I don't think I've been this satisfied with world-building in a YA fantasy in a long time.
If you had asked me 50% into the book, what I would've rated it, it probably would've been a 3 star read (which is still good in my books). But the last 25% really shone, both with Laini Taylor's writing and the plot exposition.
I def will be reading the next book <3
Darker by Four by June CL Tan
2.0
this had so much potential but after the 60% mark it took a hard nosedive. the world building was poorly explained. the characterization fell flat, and it was difficult to wrap my head around why this group of people were a "found family".
the concepts introduced in this book were cool, but the execution was poor.
the concepts introduced in this book were cool, but the execution was poor.
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
4.0
a thousand years ago five minutes were
equal to forty ounces of fine sand.
outstare the stars. infinite foretime and
infinite aftertime: above your head
they close like giant wings, and you are dead.
equal to forty ounces of fine sand.
outstare the stars. infinite foretime and
infinite aftertime: above your head
they close like giant wings, and you are dead.
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang
3.0
genuinely a fun read and a solid YA book. could’ve been a 4 star but the conflict resolution was a bit weak imo
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
1.5
1.5 stars lmao
idk, romantic fantasy novels these days are straight dookie fr. this was so flat.
plot? flat.
characters? flat.
world building? flat.
the romance? extra flat.
the only reason I gave it 1.5 stars is because the beginning was pretty interesting and then it took a HARD nosedive.
idk, romantic fantasy novels these days are straight dookie fr. this was so flat.
plot? flat.
characters? flat.
world building? flat.
the romance? extra flat.
the only reason I gave it 1.5 stars is because the beginning was pretty interesting and then it took a HARD nosedive.