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sydneyalexisreads's reviews
57 reviews
Her Dark Enchantments by Rosalyn Briar
3.5
Rating: 3.6/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4.5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall Feelings: 3/5
Myravelle had incredible character growth which was awesome. Unfortunately, Byz kind of turned into a 2D character once he realized his feelings for Myravelle. Loving her almost became his defining personality trait. The spice also didn’t really do anything for me. I feel like if you’re going to go for it, go for it. There was knife play which was fun though. Additionally, the pace was suuuuper slow in the first 30%. However, I think the world was really well thought out and I enjoyed the magic system. This book was.. in my opinion.. what Maleficent should have been.
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4.5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall Feelings: 3/5
Myravelle had incredible character growth which was awesome. Unfortunately, Byz kind of turned into a 2D character once he realized his feelings for Myravelle. Loving her almost became his defining personality trait. The spice also didn’t really do anything for me. I feel like if you’re going to go for it, go for it. There was knife play which was fun though. Additionally, the pace was suuuuper slow in the first 30%. However, I think the world was really well thought out and I enjoyed the magic system. This book was.. in my opinion.. what Maleficent should have been.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
4.0
Rating: 3.9/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Overall Feelings: 4/5
This was pitched to me as cozy SciFi and I completely agree. I loved Mosscap as a character so much. I wasn’t in love with Sibling Dex. They just weren’t overly interesting to me. However, the enby rep and normalization was super great. There was definitely an interesting conversation about what it means to be “human” which I enjoyed. The world building seemed well thought out and the writing is simple but gorgeous. Though, it did get a bit drawn out and wordy at times. Which doesn’t bother me, but it may bother some.
I did see a critique about this book that I thought was very interesting. About how harmful and dangerous it can be to say, even in a fictional world, that humanity was on the cusp of destruction but some major event made them change their ways and now they’re a completely homogenous society. As if the only way to achieve peace and prosperity is for every culture to assimilate into the one. I certainly don’t believe this was Chambers’s intention, but it was a critique I found to be valid.
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Overall Feelings: 4/5
This was pitched to me as cozy SciFi and I completely agree. I loved Mosscap as a character so much. I wasn’t in love with Sibling Dex. They just weren’t overly interesting to me. However, the enby rep and normalization was super great. There was definitely an interesting conversation about what it means to be “human” which I enjoyed. The world building seemed well thought out and the writing is simple but gorgeous. Though, it did get a bit drawn out and wordy at times. Which doesn’t bother me, but it may bother some.
I did see a critique about this book that I thought was very interesting. About how harmful and dangerous it can be to say, even in a fictional world, that humanity was on the cusp of destruction but some major event made them change their ways and now they’re a completely homogenous society. As if the only way to achieve peace and prosperity is for every culture to assimilate into the one. I certainly don’t believe this was Chambers’s intention, but it was a critique I found to be valid.
The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi
4.5
Total Rating: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Overall Feelings: 5/5
This was a million times better than the first book. I was on the edge of my seat basically the entire time. The ending?! Dear god. Jond’s character arc is so good and I can’t wait to see what happens next with him. Anoor.. we’re not gonna talk about Anoor. Sylah is Sylah but I love her and I love her journey with sobriety. And Hassa?! She is the baddest of b*tches. We get more Ghostings and we get so much incredible world building and lore and I just.. cannot express how much I f*cking loved this book.
My only gripe is that there seems to be this thing with authors where they feel like romance HAS to be in their book or no one will buy it and I just.. I understand that perhaps the romance aspect of it gives Sylah motivation. But it just feels unnecessary and it doesn’t really feel organic. I don’t feel like it added anything to the plot.
However, the good far and away out weighs the “bad”. The world that El-Arifi has built is so well thought out and the inclusivity is astounding. There’s bi rep, trans rep, the normalization of polyamory, ace/aro rep, disability rep… the list goes on. I am truly blown away by all of it and I will be going absolutely insane waiting for the final installment.
Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and to Saara El-Arifi for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
TW (provided by StoryGraph):
Graphic: Gore, Miscarriage, Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Colonization, War
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4.5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Overall Feelings: 5/5
This was a million times better than the first book. I was on the edge of my seat basically the entire time. The ending?! Dear god. Jond’s character arc is so good and I can’t wait to see what happens next with him. Anoor.. we’re not gonna talk about Anoor. Sylah is Sylah but I love her and I love her journey with sobriety. And Hassa?! She is the baddest of b*tches. We get more Ghostings and we get so much incredible world building and lore and I just.. cannot express how much I f*cking loved this book.
My only gripe is that there seems to be this thing with authors where they feel like romance HAS to be in their book or no one will buy it and I just.. I understand that perhaps the romance aspect of it gives Sylah motivation. But it just feels unnecessary and it doesn’t really feel organic. I don’t feel like it added anything to the plot.
However, the good far and away out weighs the “bad”. The world that El-Arifi has built is so well thought out and the inclusivity is astounding. There’s bi rep, trans rep, the normalization of polyamory, ace/aro rep, disability rep… the list goes on. I am truly blown away by all of it and I will be going absolutely insane waiting for the final installment.
Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and to Saara El-Arifi for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
TW (provided by StoryGraph):
Graphic: Gore, Miscarriage, Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Colonization, War
Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman
5.0
The mental health representation was incredible. As well as the conversation surrounding what you do and how you handle situations where your loved one is having a mental health crisis. I appreciated how it normalizes getting therapy and going to a mental health hospital if you are struggling so much you’re spiraling out of control. The art is amazing as always. And I cannot wait till volume 5.