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undervmountain's reviews
272 reviews
The Lilies by Quinn Diacon-Furtado
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
This story is almost a time loop, but not quite, as a group of students find themselves reliving the worst day of their lives. Each time they divert from the original events, the loop would reset, and they're forced to confront what happened - and admit their faults to each other. While starting off as fairly basic characters, I felt they became more like real people as the story went on.
This is kinda of camp, and I really liked it, but it was messy. Trying to work out what actually happened with the Lilies and the events that caused the loop could get confusing, but I loved the diverse rep and the discussions of Queer culture, plus Drew is our non-binary rep, and I related to their difficulty trying to be seen as they are in a school for girls.
Old wrongs and new collide here, as they start to see the parallels between what happened to them, and what happened to their ancestors in the past. Racing to fix both timelines, they cause events to change forever, leading to an unexpected final chapter, which I think may divide readers - but I really loved it.
This is kinda of camp, and I really liked it, but it was messy. Trying to work out what actually happened with the Lilies and the events that caused the loop could get confusing, but I loved the diverse rep and the discussions of Queer culture, plus Drew is our non-binary rep, and I related to their difficulty trying to be seen as they are in a school for girls.
Old wrongs and new collide here, as they start to see the parallels between what happened to them, and what happened to their ancestors in the past. Racing to fix both timelines, they cause events to change forever, leading to an unexpected final chapter, which I think may divide readers - but I really loved it.
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I kept hearing about this book on repeat for a week before I saw it in a charity shop and decided that was a sign from the universe that I should read it. I guess the universe was correct, because I loved every moment spent following Fitz as he grew up in the castle and trained in the arts of assassination and magic, learning the customs of the royals and servants alike.
Although this is a slower paced book, there's still a lot happening. We're following Fitz through years of his life as he becomes a teenager, and is challenged by the royals who see him as a potential threat to throne. There's a colourful cast of characters, all with their own agendas, and I could almost see the pieces shifting around the board, leading up to the events in the final chapter.
Although Fitz has magical abilities, and starts to learn how to use them in this book, a bigger focus is given to his assassin training, which I found more interesting. This training helped place him in pivotal moments of this world's history, and you see it happening through his eyes, as he tells his story.
Although this is a slower paced book, there's still a lot happening. We're following Fitz through years of his life as he becomes a teenager, and is challenged by the royals who see him as a potential threat to throne. There's a colourful cast of characters, all with their own agendas, and I could almost see the pieces shifting around the board, leading up to the events in the final chapter.
Although Fitz has magical abilities, and starts to learn how to use them in this book, a bigger focus is given to his assassin training, which I found more interesting. This training helped place him in pivotal moments of this world's history, and you see it happening through his eyes, as he tells his story.
The Good Liars by Anita Frank
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
2.0
I think I was expecting this story to be a little different, and have the story be told entirely from the family themselves, but the majority of this story is told from the perspective of their new maid, Sarah, as she joins a young family in their large house, emotionally torn apart by old secrets and the horrors of the First World War.
The disability rep in this story was absolutely dire, and I don't care for the excuse that it was "of the time", the narrative that the disabled war veteran was a burden to his whole family, had nothing to live for and really it made sense that he wanted to -not be here any more- did not sit well with me.
There's an old mystery to uncover, told in the style of Agatha Christie, as mysterious events start happening and secrets refuse to stay buried. I did, unfortunately, guess nearly every big reveal at the end of the story fairly early on, so I mostly stuck around to see if I was correct.
The disability rep in this story was absolutely dire, and I don't care for the excuse that it was "of the time", the narrative that the disabled war veteran was a burden to his whole family, had nothing to live for and really it made sense that he wanted to -not be here any more- did not sit well with me.
There's an old mystery to uncover, told in the style of Agatha Christie, as mysterious events start happening and secrets refuse to stay buried. I did, unfortunately, guess nearly every big reveal at the end of the story fairly early on, so I mostly stuck around to see if I was correct.
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
2.0
If I had a magical book that could transport me anywhere around the world, I would simply do nothing. I'd just hang out in places. I was hoping that Cassie would do the same, but unfortunately the pacing of this story is all over the place, with villains popping up, big reveals and time travel.
I wasn't a fan of the writing style of this story, or the strange obsession with croissants. The writing would feel almost too flowery one minute, and then choppy and lacking description the next. I didn't feel the need for the racist slurs to be thrown around, and felt that the characters lacked emotional depth.
I really had to slog my way through the last few chapters, as I didn't care for the action scenes and the book ended up being used to chuck people through time, only for them to pop back up again at convienient moments. There were some big reveals about Cassie that were never explained, leaving me with more questions than answers in the end.
I wasn't a fan of the writing style of this story, or the strange obsession with croissants. The writing would feel almost too flowery one minute, and then choppy and lacking description the next. I didn't feel the need for the racist slurs to be thrown around, and felt that the characters lacked emotional depth.
I really had to slog my way through the last few chapters, as I didn't care for the action scenes and the book ended up being used to chuck people through time, only for them to pop back up again at convienient moments. There were some big reveals about Cassie that were never explained, leaving me with more questions than answers in the end.
The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
dark
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I'm a little bit obsessed with this book. Any book that has an interactive feel - photos, scraps of letters, playlists - to it will catch my attention, and the descent from white to dark black pages kept me flipping through the book as August struggled to manage his friend's mental health.
This is a codependent, toxic relationship, but one that you can actually understand, and that you can root for. August and Jack are clearly more than friends, and you can see August's struggles with that as he tries to project a straight persona around his peers.
The ending had a surprising twist, while clearly showing that love cannot cure what is happening to Jack. The black pages actually offered a sense of relief, and gave me hope that while Jack and August may still have problems, with help they could work through it.
This is a codependent, toxic relationship, but one that you can actually understand, and that you can root for. August and Jack are clearly more than friends, and you can see August's struggles with that as he tries to project a straight persona around his peers.
The ending had a surprising twist, while clearly showing that love cannot cure what is happening to Jack. The black pages actually offered a sense of relief, and gave me hope that while Jack and August may still have problems, with help they could work through it.
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I figured after My Brilliant Friend chronicled Elena and Lila as children, I'd grow more emotionally connected to them as they left their childhood years behind and became young women. I was correct, and it was both interesting and heartbreaking to see them start to choose very different paths in life.
This is a dark, brutal story of women trapped in a patriarchal society, where husbands assaulting their wives on a daily basis is normalised. Many scenes were difficult to read through. A large chunk of the story is taken up by a holiday, which for Elena, became a defining moment in her life, and in their friendship.
I've read a little about what might happen in the next book, and I'm hoping to see a heavier focus on feminism as the decade becomes the 1970s. The final scenes of successful, intelligent Elena visiting Lina in a dark, violent situation has me worried for Lina's future, and I'm hoping she helps lift her out of it.
This is a dark, brutal story of women trapped in a patriarchal society, where husbands assaulting their wives on a daily basis is normalised. Many scenes were difficult to read through. A large chunk of the story is taken up by a holiday, which for Elena, became a defining moment in her life, and in their friendship.
I've read a little about what might happen in the next book, and I'm hoping to see a heavier focus on feminism as the decade becomes the 1970s. The final scenes of successful, intelligent Elena visiting Lina in a dark, violent situation has me worried for Lina's future, and I'm hoping she helps lift her out of it.
Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
Words In Deep Blue has two stories, and many stories in between, all bound up and told within the walls of Howling Books, Henry's second hand bookshop.The author managed to recreate the sense of walking into a familiar old bookshop perfectly and I was reluctant to leave when the last page ended.
There are two main stories here, one told in a dual narrative between Henry, who's just broken up with the girl he chose over Rachel, and Rachel herself, who hasn't spoken to Henry in three years since she left him a letter confessing her love before moving town, a letter he never replied to. Now Rachel's brother is dead and she finds herself back in Howling books, working alongside the guy she believes wronged her.
This is a truly magical story of grief, love, friendships and books. It's a story of growing up and learning to move on, even if it seems impossible. It's about finding love in the most unexpected of places and learning when it's time to let go of someone.
There are two main stories here, one told in a dual narrative between Henry, who's just broken up with the girl he chose over Rachel, and Rachel herself, who hasn't spoken to Henry in three years since she left him a letter confessing her love before moving town, a letter he never replied to. Now Rachel's brother is dead and she finds herself back in Howling books, working alongside the guy she believes wronged her.
This is a truly magical story of grief, love, friendships and books. It's a story of growing up and learning to move on, even if it seems impossible. It's about finding love in the most unexpected of places and learning when it's time to let go of someone.
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This is a incredible portrait of Queer culture in 20th century France, told from the perspective of an American man who is struggling with his beliefs of what masculinity is. Rather than a great love story as I expected, this is more an exploration of masculinity, as the protagonist struggles with his love from Giovanni and the straight persona he wants to portray.
I did struggle to figure out which decade we were in, and guessed the 60s or 70s. I was surprised to discover that it's likely set in the 50s, as the shadows of the second world war are not shown or felt here. Instead, we get a picture of France along the river Seine, and in the bars David frequents.
I think I would have had more sympathy for Giovanni, had it not been for the scene where he states he beats women because... that was weird. I wasn't invested in the relationship, which seemed toxic, but I did love Hella, I found her to be a unique, smart character and I adored her letters. I wish we could have spent more time with her.
I did struggle to figure out which decade we were in, and guessed the 60s or 70s. I was surprised to discover that it's likely set in the 50s, as the shadows of the second world war are not shown or felt here. Instead, we get a picture of France along the river Seine, and in the bars David frequents.
I think I would have had more sympathy for Giovanni, had it not been for the scene where he states he beats women because... that was weird. I wasn't invested in the relationship, which seemed toxic, but I did love Hella, I found her to be a unique, smart character and I adored her letters. I wish we could have spent more time with her.
The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
mysterious
medium-paced
2.0
The premise of this story was so strong, but as the story plodded along, picking up answers along the way, I grew less and less interested in the conclusion. I felt like all interest the story had in the other three missing people was gone by the half way mark, focusing instead on Nora and Becca's friendship.
I dislike books where the main character does little to nothing to solve the mystery, and that was the case here. Instead, we got a massive chunk of exposition right at the end from someone who revealed themselves to be involved.
I was kinda hoping this would be a sapphic relationship, but they establish a male love interest for Nora fairly early on. The final pages didn't give us much reason for the supernatural elements, and while I liked that we got a glimpse of the future for the characters, ultimately this wasn't a memorable read.
I dislike books where the main character does little to nothing to solve the mystery, and that was the case here. Instead, we got a massive chunk of exposition right at the end from someone who revealed themselves to be involved.
I was kinda hoping this would be a sapphic relationship, but they establish a male love interest for Nora fairly early on. The final pages didn't give us much reason for the supernatural elements, and while I liked that we got a glimpse of the future for the characters, ultimately this wasn't a memorable read.