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thebookesquire's reviews
218 reviews
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I generally enjoy Octavia Butler’s writing style and I think what she does extremely well is come up with an ingenious idea (especially for her time) and then provide a simple plot with very well thought out elements interwoven into the world building. I really enjoyed this, but I did wish there was a bit more from it plot wise. I also wanted there to be more emotion from the main character. Often times the side characters seem to experience a torrent of emotions while she remains emotionless. I thought that was particularly odd and felt extremely validated when one of the characters comments on how emotionless she is in the last ⅓ of the book. I think Butler did a great job building up to this kind of personality, however it made the book fall flat at times, which was particularly frustrating because the plot already isn’t particularly ‘seizing’ on its own.
The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
DNF @ 62%. I draw the line at white privileged billionaire whining about people taking advantage of him. Pls sir.
The Will of the Many by James Islington
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
DNF @ 37% (240/640 pages)
Welp this was absolutely shocking. I love first person epic fantasy. I loved the first few chapters. Then somewhere around the 18-28% mark everything went downhill for me. The Roman inspired world, the caste systems, the magic system, all incredible ideas - but very poor execution.
(1) The world building and magic system. So poorly developed. For the magic system, we are introduced to the source of magic on page 1 (which was so cool) and then told/shown absolutely nothing about it. The magic is just there when it’s convenient for a plot point through out the entirety of the 250 pages I read. How does it work? How does one wield it? What is the extent of the magic? Zero clue because we were told NOTHING in 250 pages. That’s insane. Same goes for the world building - it’s Roman inspired so they have Latin names and Roman technology but that’s it. There is no depth to this world despite ample opportunity for world building to be interwoven in the dialogue & reflections of the main character (see lazy writing below).
(2) The lazy writing. There are many many conversations that are just breezed over. When Ulciscor was questioning Vis about his education or history in the first few chapters – totally breezed over. When they were discussing Cantenan’s history and current political structure — breezed over (we just know senators exist). Even when the main character asks Lanistia about how certain things work in the magic system or training he’s brushed aside as “you’re not skilled enough to understand” ie the author had no way to explain this but it’s a cool plot point so we’re just gonna breeze over this. And this continues throughout the entirety if the 250 pages I read. Nothing is explained. Ever. Things just happen. The book gave me major whiplash.
Speaking of whiplash - let’s talk about the fight scenes. I love fight scenes. I CRAVE them. The fight scenes here made no sense. They were so discombobulated. I’m someone who can always imagine a book unfolding in my mind like a movie and those scenes…oof. I re-read a few just make sure I wasnt missing anything, but no they were just poorly written.
Also, a labrynth is NOT a maze. Those are two different things. You cannot refer to them interchangeably. If the author had done some research, he’d know this – but again, lazy writing.
Also, also – not defining terms in the book until is convenient. For example: alupi. Referenced once and I looked it up in the glossary to understand it right? Okay cool. But then it’s mentioned again and this time actually defined in the text/dialogue. It’s not the worst thing, but it’s just a symbol for the overall laziness of this writing style.
(3) Finally, tone. This book is YA. You are lying to yourself if you think that a few gore scenes make this adult. Even the overall plot is incredibly YA. Orphaned teenager sent to an elite school but despite their poor/underprivilege situation are so talented and so smart. They can beat anyone they want, even people that have been training for this exact thing their entire lives. The main character is perfect and invincible in every way. YA af. I rolled my eyes so many times while reading this. Especially when the mean elite people entered and started bullying him & sabotaging him – for no real reason ofc, just to give the main character another scene to show off his invincible skills. And OF COURSE he knows everything he needs to know when it’s convenient for the plot but absolutely nothing when it’s not convenient. I can name about a hundred YA books with this exact plot. Even the way he described how people were feeling or what they were thinking. He always knew what people were thinking and constantly telling us the readers this instead of just describing the scene/characteristics of the exchange and allowing us to gather conclusions from it.
Also side note: this is a personal preference so I’m not including it in the above but every time I saw “stronger together” all I could think about was the Clinton 2016 campaign which didn’t make this reading experience more pleasant (but that’s not the authors fault).
Overall I was extremely disappointed in this. I thought this was going to be a 5
Welp this was absolutely shocking. I love first person epic fantasy. I loved the first few chapters. Then somewhere around the 18-28% mark everything went downhill for me. The Roman inspired world, the caste systems, the magic system, all incredible ideas - but very poor execution.
(1) The world building and magic system. So poorly developed. For the magic system, we are introduced to the source of magic on page 1 (which was so cool) and then told/shown absolutely nothing about it. The magic is just there when it’s convenient for a plot point through out the entirety of the 250 pages I read. How does it work? How does one wield it? What is the extent of the magic? Zero clue because we were told NOTHING in 250 pages. That’s insane. Same goes for the world building - it’s Roman inspired so they have Latin names and Roman technology but that’s it. There is no depth to this world despite ample opportunity for world building to be interwoven in the dialogue & reflections of the main character (see lazy writing below).
(2) The lazy writing. There are many many conversations that are just breezed over. When Ulciscor was questioning Vis about his education or history in the first few chapters – totally breezed over. When they were discussing Cantenan’s history and current political structure — breezed over (we just know senators exist). Even when the main character asks Lanistia about how certain things work in the magic system or training he’s brushed aside as “you’re not skilled enough to understand” ie the author had no way to explain this but it’s a cool plot point so we’re just gonna breeze over this. And this continues throughout the entirety if the 250 pages I read. Nothing is explained. Ever. Things just happen. The book gave me major whiplash.
Speaking of whiplash - let’s talk about the fight scenes. I love fight scenes. I CRAVE them. The fight scenes here made no sense. They were so discombobulated. I’m someone who can always imagine a book unfolding in my mind like a movie and those scenes…oof. I re-read a few just make sure I wasnt missing anything, but no they were just poorly written.
Also, a labrynth is NOT a maze. Those are two different things. You cannot refer to them interchangeably. If the author had done some research, he’d know this – but again, lazy writing.
Also, also – not defining terms in the book until is convenient. For example: alupi. Referenced once and I looked it up in the glossary to understand it right? Okay cool. But then it’s mentioned again and this time actually defined in the text/dialogue. It’s not the worst thing, but it’s just a symbol for the overall laziness of this writing style.
(3) Finally, tone. This book is YA. You are lying to yourself if you think that a few gore scenes make this adult. Even the overall plot is incredibly YA. Orphaned teenager sent to an elite school but despite their poor/underprivilege situation are so talented and so smart. They can beat anyone they want, even people that have been training for this exact thing their entire lives. The main character is perfect and invincible in every way. YA af. I rolled my eyes so many times while reading this. Especially when the mean elite people entered and started bullying him & sabotaging him – for no real reason ofc, just to give the main character another scene to show off his invincible skills. And OF COURSE he knows everything he needs to know when it’s convenient for the plot but absolutely nothing when it’s not convenient. I can name about a hundred YA books with this exact plot. Even the way he described how people were feeling or what they were thinking. He always knew what people were thinking and constantly telling us the readers this instead of just describing the scene/characteristics of the exchange and allowing us to gather conclusions from it.
Also side note: this is a personal preference so I’m not including it in the above but every time I saw “stronger together” all I could think about was the Clinton 2016 campaign which didn’t make this reading experience more pleasant (but that’s not the authors fault).
Overall I was extremely disappointed in this. I thought this was going to be a 5
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
No notes. This was incredible.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
DNF @ 24%. The writing style was too cringe for me and the book gave me MAJOR whiplash.
Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.0
I really wanted to love this but sadly I couldn’t. There was just too many leaps in logic for me and plot holes. The MMC had zero personality outside of his traumatic relationship with his father and the FMC was insufferable, I felt like I was yelling at her the entire time. I really loved the side story of the FMC best friend and FMCs brother (I wished it was a bigger part of the story) and I enjoyed the play side story.
One Day by David Nicholls
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4.5 🌟 I loved this movie so much and decided ‘one day’ to pick up the book and I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed the writing style and I found myself laughing every few pages. The relationship between the characters is so well done. The longing and barely missed opportunities between the MMC and FMC struck the very chords of my heart and ripped me apart. Two ships passing in the night. 💔
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Talia Hibbert excels at writing emotional intimacy. I liked the characters in book 2 a bit more than book 1, but I think the overall plot and the spice in book 1 was much better. The writing and the inner dialogue of the characters, as always, were written so well!
Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Deep. Solemn. Sobering.
This is the kind of book where you could turn to any single page and find something utterly beautiful and quotable. It’s a love letter to the English language and to an individuals inner voice. It’s multidimensional and reflective and I really really wish I would have read the acknowledgments before I read the book (I read them about 20% through).
Blake portrayed these complex characters so viscerally. Though I didn’t care for the overall story arc, or for these characters as individuals, I was obsessed with their way of thinking. It fascinated me to see how they processed the world around them and how they rationalized their observations. I am absolutely nothing like these characters and yet their inner voice magnetically resonated with me.
This is the kind of book where you could turn to any single page and find something utterly beautiful and quotable. It’s a love letter to the English language and to an individuals inner voice. It’s multidimensional and reflective and I really really wish I would have read the acknowledgments before I read the book (I read them about 20% through).
Blake portrayed these complex characters so viscerally. Though I didn’t care for the overall story arc, or for these characters as individuals, I was obsessed with their way of thinking. It fascinated me to see how they processed the world around them and how they rationalized their observations. I am absolutely nothing like these characters and yet their inner voice magnetically resonated with me.
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Pretty predictable but still enjoyable! There was one twist that I did not see coming & it had me gasping and clutching my pearls. Otherwise it was just an interesting story and it’s written like a litfic novel.