Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
No heroes were coming to their aid. So now, she was forced to turn to her old, dread monsters to save her world.
This book has an absolutely kickass premise: former big damn villains band together for one last job—to deal with an organization of religious fanatics who are far worse than necromancers, demonologists, vampires, and pirate queens. When there are no heroes willing to tackle the new evil, why not turn to monsters instead, right?
I was really excited for this story, especially since it started off pretty strong. The prologue painted a vivid and intriguing picture of the “before.“ The first appearance of the fanatics showcased their horribleness nicely. The scene where Dalia sought out Maven to start the process of getting the gang back together was so well done, with great dialogue, hints of dark humor, twists woven neatly into the narrative—it had it all. My excitement just kept growing.
And then the rest of the book happened. :(
I don’t mean to say it was all terrible or anything, but really, so few parts of the book live up fully to its own beginning. The obligatory “getting everyone together one by one“ part dragged something awful. I usually like these parts in such stories! I loved the same part in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, and in Kings of the Wyld, and in Sarah Beth Durst’s The Bone Maker. Here, I just couldn’t wait for it to end and the real action start. The problem for me was, I think, that while the villainous characters coming together were fun, each of them separately, the dynamic between them just didn’t give those “we used to share everything, then we ended up far apart, now we’re coming back together as changed people with the same old habits“ vibes the other book I’ve mentioned have in abundance. Yes, there were occasional mentions of past exploits, but the way the characters acted and talked, they could as well be just coming together for the first time.
The adventure itself definitely had its cool moments, but again, the interaction between characters was constantly lacking something to keep me invested. They were all cool and badass and evil to the core in ways that at the very least started out fun. But they just didn’t work together in the ways I expected them to. I suppose it actually makes sense, what with them being very definitely villains, not to be confused with vaguely well-meaning morally grey types. But I’m a fan of the “Even Evil Has Loved Ones“ trope, I wanted a corrupt, awful, villainous found family, lol.
It also didn’t help that the promised humor all but left the building before the first act was through, and there was so much violence that didn’t add anything to the story. Utterly repetitive scenes that seemingly existed only to remind me that this was a grimdark book. Very dark. Much grim. Just in case I was beginning to have any doubts, you know.
Amidst all this, there was some cool action, some fun character moments, and some really excellent worldbuilding. I liked all the demonology a lot. But, eh. The beginning set too high a standard, and now I kind of really, really want to read the book I thought this one would be. Not enough to commit to writing it myself, though. Definitely not enough. Not going to even go there. Don’t ask me why I’m keeping my fingers crossed, it’s none of your business.
He may have promised Beth he’d take the man under his wing, but he doesn’t have to make the effort sober.
Much like with the first book in the series, I enjoyed the combination/juxtaposition of a historical setting with historical problems and a rather modern style. There’s something so quirky and fun about how the author handles it. I also absolutely lived for all the appearances of the characters from the first part. Good thing there are so many! I loved seeing how Beth and Gwen carried on in the aftermath of their happy ending, and their parents, and Alfie and Meredith (though I wish there were more scenes with Meredith actually being there).
That said, the actual main romantic storyline sadly didn’t grip me at all. :( I liked both Bobby and James as separate characters, but their romance didn’t work for me very well. From the blurb, I expected enemies to lovers, but honestly, they weren’t so much enemies as two people critically allergic to communication. I think they both thought the communication was the real enemy? Seriously. They spent such a big chunk of the book trying to talk and mutually ruining each attempt, and then suddenly things progress so quickly. And then James just keeps physically running away from every problem they predictably have, and I don’t know, it just got so tiresome after some point. The main thing I always want from romance as to see two characters make each other’s lives better. Here, all too often I felt like the opposite was happening, but the way the narrative was constructed also stubbornly presented this mess as cute, romantic, and worth rooting for. Sorry, it was not.
That could all wait. The whole world could wait and give her one night off, one night where her whole goal was to smile and laugh and not care so damn much.
Not a bad read, but less fun for me than the first book in the series. I think I didn’t connect with either of the leads enough, especially Jordan. With Astrid, I was at least already somewhat invested since she was such a prominent character in the previous installment, and I did find the aftermath of the arc she had there and the continuing development of her relationship with her mother pretty interesting. Though at the same time I feel like more could be done with the last one.
The overall plot with the inn renovation was pretty cute, and I found the initial animosity between Astrid and Jordan kind of entertaining. But the way they progressed from it to dating was somehow off for me—not in some bad way, more in the “it didn’t click for me“ way. Something about the pacing being kind of rocky, I think. There were definitely a few nice moments that I liked reading about, such as the movie scene, but overall, I just didn’t feel super invested in the romance. And unlike the first book that had a stronger B-plot and a more developed cast of characters, here there was little to focus on outside of the main storyline.
Speaking of the underdeveloped cast, it felt kind of weird that even the leads from the previous book felt rather flat. I barely recognized Delilah and Claire. Even the town itself had somehow less character. Honestly the only cast member who consistently had me smiling and invested when she was on the page was Iris. So I guess despite this book being a bit of a disappointment, I’ll still pick up the next one, since Iris is the MC in it.
I was pulled in by the very beginning of the book, but then as I progressed through it, it got harder and harder to read. I kept noticing small inconsistencies here and there, and I really didn’t like the tone the author took when talking about her mother’s mental illness. I understand that taking care of a schizophrenic relative is a hard toll on the family and that the perspective of the caretakers’ is important in its own way. But there were comments and descriptions that at least bordered on ableist, and it didn’t sit well with me.
So I took a break from reading and did what I probably should have done sooner: went online to see what other people were saying. Pretty much the first thing I found were the goodreads reviews from the author’s brother and his wife where they claim the book’s more fiction than truth and point out various parts that are embellished, misinterpreted, or outright invented. They also say that the rest of the family wasn’t consulted about the memoir, or asked for input or even consent.
All of that left me with a sour test in my mouth. I don’t think I want to continue reading.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Adults think that because they’re in charge of everything right now, they should get a say in what our future looks like. But it’s our future, not theirs. It’s like school and our parents and everyone else is getting us ready to enter a world that doesn’t even exist anymore. Or, if it does, it shouldn’t.
Too Bright to See is probably my favorite middle grade book ever, so I cracked open this other novel by Kyle Lukoff with sky-high expectations. Alas, the book didn’t live up to them. It definitely has a plethora of touching, soulful moments, and the whole subject is so extremely important. I love that there are kids’ books now that talk so candidly and openly about gender, identity, sexuality, etc. There are a few scenes that are going to stick with me for a long time. I loved the hopefulness and the eventual queer joy of it all.
At the same time, I had trouble connecting with the story because Annabelle, the narrator, seemed to be written in a rather inconsistent way. She’s supposed to be 11 or 12, and sometimes I felt she acted that age, but there were some super large chunks of the book where I’d peg her for an 8-year-old or so. And then there was one specific moment where she demonstrated absolute wonders of maturity and emotional regulation that was really cool but also kind of out of character. All those inconsistencies in the MC’s portrayal really took me out of the story.
As for other characters, I really wanted to like Bailey—I always want to like nonbinary characters, I’m biased and hungry for representation, lol. But until pretty late in the book when they did have some complex and relatable moments, they felt less like a character in their own right and more like a narrative instrument that was there to (sometimes) catalyze change and (a lot of the time) educate. In the same vein, a lot of the kids in Annabelle and Bailey’s class often came across as just mouthpieces for specific ideas, or reasons for their teacher to talk about specific ideas. And those ideas are very good and important! But this approach sometimes made the whole thing feel less like a story and more like an educational pamphlet with plot.
The character who fascinated me the most was Annabelle’s dad, and I’m kind of sad that, by virtue of this being a kids’ book, his character arc got so incredibly condensed and rushed. I would love to read an adult novel with him or someone like him as the protagonist.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
In 1989, a thing happened in Lamesa, Texas. No, a thing happened to Lamesa, Texas.
This was quite a popcorn read for me: I just kept turning pages wanting to know what’s next, and even though the story isn’t particularly fast-paced, it felt like it took up a lot fewer pages than it actually did. I think something about the author’s writing style just clicked with my brain, making even the parts I was meh/uncertain about easy to follow and process. So I’m definitely going to check out more of his books, especially since some of them have been getting recced to me for ages!
As much as it was easy to read, though, I’m sad to say I don’t expect this particular book to be super memorable to me in the long run. I did appreciate the twist on the slasher trope/subgenre, but I think I expected a deeper dive into the titular teenage slasher’s feelings, reasons, and motivations. What I got was pretty surface-level, I feel, and really a lot was just taken care of by the supernatural element (that was in many ways confusing and under-explained). That might be another reason I read this so quickly—there was nothing really urging me to pause and dwell. On one hand, this kind of effect actually matches the source material well. We don’t really watch slasher movies for the deep, elaborate character arcs, do we? On the other hand, idk, I just wanted more character-driven moments, I guess, and I got so few (though Tolly and Amber’s relationship was pretty touching).
What I really, really enjoyed about the book was the strong sense of setting. Lamesa, Texas was vivid on the page through and through, lifelike and claustrophobic. I think I read somewhere that the author was inspired by his own experience with growing up in a similar place, and it sure shows—in a good way!
I have never liked him. I was born disliking him. He is the worst person alive.
Such a lovely read! It goes right on my special “awful unlikable characters find love and become better people in the process“ shelf. It’s not a very big shelf, but I love it dearly. Oh, and also, it’s a wonderful cozy romantasy with some really nice worldbuilding—I’d love to see it explored further in some slightly higher-stakes stories, by the way. All these gods!
It’s essentially a story about a bitter, hissy black cat of a man who clings to the past and the negativity and keeps his golden retriever certainly-not-a-boyfriend at arm’s length, pushing him away and hurting them both—until it all gets too much and he tries to run away from it all. Except there’s a goddess conveniently ready to meddle, and so this is where the story more or less starts, instead of ending.
It is also a story about resolving long-standing misunderstandings in a painfully, beautifully realistic way. An exchange of profuse apologies and detailed explanations isn’t a culmination of the journey, it’s more like the next step after the inciting incident. What comes after is a long road with intermediary victories and failures, mistakes made and fixed by all parties involved, and, eventually, lots of personal growth. The kind that doesn’t change who you are, just how you act and think.
I admit at some points of the story I was vaguely uncomfortable with the dynamics between the leads. While I liked Tam’s specific brand of being an unlikable asshole in terms of reading about him, I felt sometimes that maybe Nicolau was giving him too many chances, letting him in too much even when asserting boundaries. Maybe, just maybe, Nicolau would in fact be better off without him. But then the story kept progressing, the characters kept developing and opening up, and it became so clear how both of them had flaws, and how those flaws clashed and matched, and what both of them were getting out of their existing arrangements—as well as what sort of changes both of them craved. The more I got to know these two, the harder it was not to root for them.
Also! Just like A Taste of Iron and Gold (despite being a very different book in tone), this one has a vibe of a fanfic written for a fandom that only existed in Alexandra Rowland’s head, and I’m so here for that. Those are the best vibes.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
“I—I can’t believe you would—” I shake my head. “Kit, does that sound like something I would do?” “Honestly, yes.”
So, I really, really loved Casey McQuiston’s RWRB and One Last Stop. Absolutely loved them. A big fan. And then I expected something just as good from I Kissed Shara Wheeler, but it turned out to be profoundly meh for me. I hoped it was just a hiccup. Surely McQuiston’s next book will stun me again with the perfect vibes, and all will get better.
*dramatic sigh* Reader, it got worse.
Honestly, it’s so hard for me to dial down the snark when I even think about this book. Normally, I really try to be objective in my reviews and to remember that anyone’s one-star disappointment can be someone else’s five-star favorite (or vise versa). But this one is just so acutely baffling!
First of all, I feel like this is a second chance romance done wrong. I love this trope. I love second chance romances that remember to show me what it was like between the leads the first time around, and why it didn’t work, and what has changed to make it possible now. Here, though, I have so little idea of Theo and Kit’s past relationship, beyond “they were friends, then they hooked up, then they had lots and lots of great sex, and then they had a big dramatic misunderstanding that could have been solved by healthy communication.“ And then in the present, they continue to avoid actual communication like a plague, and if it kind of happens by accident, they immediately take 10 steps back to create another misunderstanding as if it’s been their goal all along??? So what’s changed, what am I rooting for here?
Next, I love dual POVs in romance. It’s always fun to see each romantic lead through the other’s eyes, to figure out where and why they misread each other, what it takes for them to open up/empathize without prejudice. Here, though, it’s so odd. There are no alternating chapters, just a switch from Theo to Kit smack in the middle of the book. And like, the first half was all about Theo, Theo, Theo. They kind of idealized Kit, but also kind of didn’t treat him as anything other than accessory to their own life and heartbreak. For the most part, their observations and recollections revolved around two things: 1) when they used to be together, Kit made their life easier; and 2) sex with Kit is great. They were actually pissed whenever Kit seemed happy, and whenever they heard/thought of Kit’s accomplishments, they seemed to feel like it was a competition and Kit took something from them by doing well. That… doesn’t sound super romantic to me, tbh, but whatever. So when the narrator changed, I thought, great, maybe now I’ll get to know Kit better + learn more of his perspective. But it was still all about Theo, now in absurdly purple prose, because there wasn’t a single thought in Kit’s head that wasn’t all about obsessing about Theo. Altogether, it painted a picture of a selfish, pretentious person who just wants the other to make their life more pleasurable, and a dramatic, pretentious person who wants nothing more but to obsess unhealthily. Reeeeeeally not my drug of choice. The book kept telling me these two people were good for each other, but it showed me the complete opposite.
And I suppose I should have known I would’ve have some issue with a book whose premise is literally, “Two bi exes on a tour through Europe challenge each other to a ‘who can hook up with more people’ competition.“ To ace for that shit and all that. But honestly, I can imagine at least five ways to execute this premise that would be super interesting and perhaps non-straightforwardly relatable for me. What I got, thought, just… I don’t want to say it was bad, because these things are subjective and yadda yadda yadda, but I definitely feel it was bad. The characters just created miscommunications on top of miscommunications. They weren’t being fair to their partners in these flings. And the partners in question may as well have been made of cardboard. They didn’t feel like their own characters, they were just there to be conveniently charmed by the MCs.
Which brings me to another point: one of the things I’ve always enjoyed about Casey McQuiston’s books are the fun, varied casts. Even the Shara Wheeler one that was mostly a disappointment still had a bunch of great side characters. This one, though? A Theo and Kit show through and through. I finished the book like an hour ago and I already have trouble recalling specific characters. Nobody was memorable. Nobody made me care. And then there’s the setting, too—just one the most vapid, surface-level, stereotypical depictions of Europe through an American tourist’s eye that I’ve ever seen.
Also, can I just say, Theo’s whole nepo baby angst was so frustrating. Maybe instead of playacting at being poor or something just take the resources available to you and use them to help actual poor people instead of angsting around?
In an effort to be objective, I will affirm the book does have a few worthwhile moments scattered around. I really liked the nonbinary rep. The coming out scene was super touching. There were some fun, vibrant food descriptions and some cool moments of banter when the author didn’t seem to try too hard. But overall, damn. This was one of the 2024 releases I was looking forward to the most, and it turned out to be my biggest bookish disappointment of the year :(
It is possible to be crazy and paranoid and totally insane and still be right.
The book definitely delivers on all the most interesting elements of the blurb that spiked my interest in the first place. Heavy metal horror! The mythology behind a specific (made-up) niche metal album turning out to be true! An older protagonist confronting the past! All of this are very much present and reasonably well-done, and I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes horror and has ever been, to any extent, a metalhead.
I loved how a bunch of popular conspiracy theories from the 90s were casually woven into the plot and the worldbuilding, and I enjoyed the structure of this novel, with all the flashbacks and radio transcripts thrown in. On the macro level, it’s really well-crafted, with the tension points spread wonderfully over the entire thing. Although on the scene level, I felt it meandered at times, with the narrative getting bogged down in the details and asides. Never to the point that it would frustrate me out of wanting to know what’s next, though.
I was kind of surprised that I found the MC’s younger self from the flashbacks a lot more interesting to follow than the main timeline Kris. Normally, I really like reading about older characters and I’m of a mind that people—real and fictional alike—generally become more complex and exciting as they age. Then again, character work definitely isn’t this book’s strongest point. I wouldn’t call the characters flat precisely, but most cast members embody specific archetypes with a heavy metal bend, and all in all, the focus is very much on the plot.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Life is the most effective school ever created.
I feel like I’ve made a mistake in picking this up as an audiobook. The writing style is the kind I can better perceive, perhaps even enjoy, when I see the words in front of me on the page. In this format, though, it ended up being kind of distracting and almost dense, which likely colored my perception of the story to some extent.
As for the story itself… Well, plenty of people have recced it to me with a comment that this first book is deliberately crafted to match the Hunger Games-style tropes popular at the time, but grows into something more unique and expansive in the latter books. That sounded super interesting in theory, but now I’m not so sure if I want to continue to those latter books, tbh. Maybe I’d rather re-read Hunger Games.
I wouldn’t call the book bad, and I’m actually really impressed by the worldbuilding. A lot of it is really intricate and thought-provoking. I also generally like plots focused on going undercover to stay among the enemies, and this one has its awesome moments. But in general, there were just too many aspects here that aren’t to my taste. For example, I’m definitely a character-first reader, and here all the characters just so obviously exist as vehicle for the plot and the themes. This was hard for me to vibe with.
I also found the way all the brutal violence is handled here off-putting. Not just the quantities of it, but like, the way it was spoken about? Maybe it’s at least partially on the narrator, but I felt like it was constantly crossing into torture porn territory. Finally, the pacing was just too rocky, with a loooong expositin that had me wondering if the inciting incident would ever occur, then big sections moving at breakneck speed around the middle/in the second half of the story, making an already dense story with lots of characters harder too follow.
All in all, lots of cool ideas here (and really great worldbuilding!), but I’m not sure the author is for me.