thyprecious's reviews
157 reviews

Вы дозвонились до Сэма by Дастин Тао

emotional reflective fast-paced

3.0

Cute story about love and grief. The translation might not have been perfect - I think I would have enjoyed it much more at the age of 14-17. Easy to read though! 

Локон с Изумрудного моря by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous funny relaxing

4.0

Tress of the Emerald Sea was a fun lighthearted read full of transformative advice and heartfelt jokes :) 

It was easy to read and I absolutely loved the illustrations and all the details of this edition. It’s a beautiful fairytale for all ages. Usually I don’t really enjoy sea / ship setting but here it worked for me. 

Thank god for Sanderson’s inexhaustible imagination! 😁

Демон спускается с гор by Алиса Аве

mysterious slow-paced

3.0

Первое мое впечатление о книге - как же это красиво написано, волшебный слог древних легенд и сказок. Но читать целую книгу, написанную таким напевным языком, лично мне оказалось сложно. 

Второй момент - это некая смесь снов или видений, которые дезориентируют читателя. Из-за этого тяжеловато следить за самим сюжетом, порой не очень понятно, где сейчас герои и что происходит, реальность это или морок. Вполне возможно, что автор добивалась такого эффекта. 

В последних главах становится более понятно, что происходило на протяжении книги. В любом случае, приятно, что появляются такие книги, позволяющие погрузиться в фольклор и мифологию малых народов России! 

В общем, мне очень понравилось то, как это написано; но по этой же причине, читать было сложно и я сильно терялась в сюжете. Поэтому впечатления двоякие. Но попробовать стоит, хотя бы чтобы понять, это «ваше» или нет. Если да, то вы оцените слог автора и его видение местных легенд, оживающих на страницах книги 💛

Опасная игра бабули. Руководство по раскрытию собственного убийства by Kristen Perrin

adventurous mysterious

4.0

I was a bit sceptical about this book as I usually feel about bestsellers, but the very first chapter dispelled my doubts. 

Clever, cozy, and charming - that’s how I would describe this story. I also really loved two timeline narratives; with Anny, we get to solve not only the recent murder but also some of the mysteries of the past. To be honest, like Anny I kind of felt that I got to know her granny a little, all thanks to vivid memories preserved in the diary entries. 

I feel like I had just played a fascinating detective game set in a mysterious mansion and full of original characters, each of them keeping a missing piece of puzzle. 

I never suspected the murderer so following Anny’s investigations was pleasantly surprising and immersive. Not that I was a very astute reader of the genre though :) But I can truly say that I immensely enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the future adventures of Anny Adams 💛

Убийца войн by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous inspiring

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Ещё одна шикарная работа Сандерсона! В «Убийце воин» очень интересное мироустройство, построенное на религии, а также очередная уникальная система магии - все то, за что я люблю этого автора. Политические интриги, преодоление предрассудков, заговоры - все не то, чем кажется.

Особенно мне понравилось, как сильно выросли и изменились героини - сестры Сири и Вивенна. И вообще, очень многие второстепенные персонажи тоже удивили в ходе раскрытия сюжета. Автор создал яркие, запоминающиеся образы, за трансформацией которых так интересно наблюдать. Получается настоящий путь героя 💛 

До самого конца не знала, как вернётся сюжет и чем все закончится. Все раскрывается буквально в последних 2-3 главах, и просто невозможно оторваться! Рекомендую всем поклонникам фэнтези.

P. S. А ещё тут очень интересное оружие со своими моральными принципами 🗡️

Большая четверка by Agatha Christie

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

4.0

«Большая четверка» - это детективный роман о сыщике Эркюле Пуаро, с которым я продолжаю знакомиться. Надо сказать, что это расследование мне понравилось гораздо больше, чем предыдущие!

Было действительно очень интересно и загадочно, а неожиданные повороты сюжета только добавляли интриги. 

Мировой заговор раскрыт благодаря незаурядному мышлению и наблюдательности великого сыщика и его компаньона ☺️

Призрак дома на холме by Shirley Jackson, Ширли Джексон

mysterious tense

4.0

A perfect read for cold October nights, The Haunting of Hill House has all the elements making it a true gothic classic. There was something unsettling about the whole affair in the first place. The house felt like a separate entity with its own conscience. Although the stay of investigators was no longer than a week, that week seems to have been packed with so many chilling accidents. 

Because you feel that something is off, but can’t tell exactly what’s wrong, this rather short story keeps you hooked until the end. Characters repeating phrases for no reason, Eleanor’s creepy self talk, the accident between Theodora and Eleanor in the bedroom - together this little things create a truly blood chilling effect on the reader, much more than the standard spontaneous noises and slamming doors. 

I personally enjoyed the ending - it leaves room for interpretation 👻

Энциклопедия молодой хозяйки by Наталья Алексеева

fast-paced

2.5

Я вообще ничего нового не узнала из книги. В принципе, было ощущение, что была написана книга ради книги. Здесь было так много очевидных советов и вещей, что стало реально жалко потраченных денег. Советы дельные есть, но к сожалению теряются среди уже знакомой информации. В целом, как будто можно было бы и не читать - я бы ничего не потеряла. 

Реальная жизнь by Imogen Crimp

reflective

3.5

This was a very quick read - or rather listen - for a discussion in a book club. I’m not sure why but the first time I picked this up, it didn’t really catch my attention, so later I had to listen to an audiobook to make it in time for the club.

I can’t say that I actually liked any of the characters here. Anna - despite  my understanding of how she got to be the way she was - still really annoyed me with her constant adaptation to the needs of others. Perhaps because I used to tend to be that way too, though not to such extent. I felt like I wanted to shake her and make her see how she plays a role with everyone in her life, never being herself. Actually I think she might not even know what the real Anna is like. 

Luckily, she has music in her life. This is where she could at least experience things and emotions that she doesn’t allow herself to feel in real life. Instead of being in the present moment, she is always somewhere else: either in her fantasies or playing a role. 

Taken into consideration her upbringing, it’s not surprising that she acts like a typical nice girl trying to please the others and that she finds herself in an abusive relationship. Unable to stand up for herself, she allows other people to treat her badly, lives in a shitty apartment with landlords who have never heard of personal boundaries; she even chooses to get by on convenience food only need to avoid sparking a conflict. It’s not in her habit to trust her own judgement, or have her own opinion. The way she was always worried about not saying or doing anything wrong not to push away the people in her life irked me every time. 

Max is a successful man who’s got power and money, but he doesn’t have what Anna has - and that is dedication and true commitment to her field of work and study - music. This is perhaps what got him hooked in the first place. She positions herself as an ambitious artist who has goals and aspirations to become someone, and achieve something great through work and talent. 

I can’t say that their relationship was of any particular interest to me; what saved this book for me was the music and opera descriptions. The author draws such a vivid picture of behind the scenes of musical theatre, and the process of reinvention of the classic characters - through which Anna probably learns something about herself, too. 

I didn’t like the overly open sex descriptions, and I’m not a fan of the discussions Anne and Laurie’s friends were having about ecology, feminism, and other topics on the agenda. 

By the way, Laurie in my view was a great friend, and Anna was quite unfair to her. Laurie was gently trying to bring Anna back to reality, like an anchor. As much as Anna is trying to be a good girl, she’s actually quite egocentric and diffident, constrained by the constant fear of rejection - and throwing her life away to please one man doesn’t help her much. 

Max is surely not a good person here as he is clearly using Anna knowing well enough that she would allow him to do whatever he wants as long as it pleases him. However, none of us are perfect and I can’t say that any of the characters here were truly bad people. Max and Anna are just different people going through their personal crises, be it work or identity or the question “who am I in this world?”

This is a nice book for discussion, especially due to the many psychological aspects of an abusive and codependent (one sided in this case) relationship.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. by Robert Louis Stevenson

adventurous reflective medium-paced

4.0

This collection includes three novellas, each raising moral dilemmas and exploring the  versatility of the human nature.

The first story is why I picked up this book in the first place: the famous Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Either because of the once heard details of the story or because I’m an a bit more experienced reader than your average Victorian lady, but I quickly figured out the secret of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which in no way spoiled the impression. In the best tradition of gothic horror fiction, this piece of literature delivers a gloomy atmosphere, cryptic experiments and a gruesome murder. I believe that here, the main object of study is surely the duality of human nature.

I found that however beastly and cruel Edward Hyde was, Henry Jekyll was not all good either. To think about it, the fact that he is fully aware of his own decisions, and has his own judgment, makes him an even worse person than Mr Hyde who only possesses the negative traits of character.

I shall think that the morale of the story is that if you try to suppress the dark traits of your character instead of acknowledging, seeing and embracing or improving it, it’ll do no good. The very idea of it contradicts what adulthood is all about - being mindful of the consequences of your actions when making choices. There’s good and evil in every one of us, and that’s what makes us human.

To my surprise, despite having only the above mentioned story title on the cover, this edition contained two more curious works.

The Misadventures of John Nicholson I have not encountered before, and it turned out to be quite a sad story. The hero was indeed a very misfortunate man from the  early age.

He falls victim of lack of support and understanding in his own family, his father being a rather cold and strict figure, and his religious upbringing posing even more austerity. Would the story take a different turn had John felt that he could safely be seen and heard by his parent? At least, he would’ve considered staying instead of running away. Not to condone his poor choices and blame everything on the parents, however, I truly believe that it did affect his character.

This all said, I have to admit John was truly unfortunate, and he hardly deserves the many misadventures he had to endure. The final chapter - thankfully - gives hope for a better future.

The third piece, Markheim, though the shortest of three, I found harder to wade through, be it due to a late hour or initial lack of understanding the character’s motivations. Surely it is another study of the good and the evil; Markheim - our hero - enters the antique shop with an intention of getting his hands on a large amount of money. However, theft somehow escalates irreversibly to murder. We are presented with an internal struggle to make a choice between falling into a downward spiral or stopping and realising the committed actions, and consequences coming along. 

In general, this was a great example of an older classic with its special charm, measured narration, and exploration of the human soul.