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yukirarin's reviews
144 reviews
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
5.0
How do you review a book that has so much of the author poured into it? I've admittedly not been familiar with the war in Syria, its politics and its tragedies. But wow this book made me feel pain, shock, horror, sadness and joy all over a war I don't know almost anything about.
Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara
4.0
After reading some other reviews on this, I should probably start with a disclaimer that I do not actually know the origins of Psyche and Eros, but I really enjoyed the story as a standalone.
This was pretty much exactly the kind of love story I like. One that doesn't particularly focus on spice (ahem booktok...) and one where the female has her own personality and strengths to match the male. This version of psyche and eros was a good read for me as someone who doesn't usually like most romance novels since its not explicitly a romance novel.
I do think however that some phrases and words were a little jarring to read in the context of an old greek myth. It took me out of the story a little bit here and there but I think it was forgettable after a few moments.
This was pretty much exactly the kind of love story I like. One that doesn't particularly focus on spice (ahem booktok...) and one where the female has her own personality and strengths to match the male. This version of psyche and eros was a good read for me as someone who doesn't usually like most romance novels since its not explicitly a romance novel.
I do think however that some phrases and words were a little jarring to read in the context of an old greek myth. It took me out of the story a little bit here and there but I think it was forgettable after a few moments.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
4.0
I think we all know the story of Peter Pan. This year was the year I decided to finally tackle reading the original text.
I came into this knowing it would be wildly different from the disney version of the story. I also realised that I would have to try to ignore racist and clearly outdated stereotypes of people because of course this book was written before modern sensibilities. Through all that though, I came for a story of adventure and growing up and it delivered.
Peter in this book is a much cockier version of the disney version, and he stays true to that throughout the whole book. He truly embodied so many aspects of childhood in his make-believe, his young and cocky nature and his vulnerability. I think maybe because I'm so used to the peter pan of my childhood being almost a teenage boy, it's easy to forget that the original text really depicts him as a true child and nowhere near a teenager. It was fun to read in the original text the depictions of neverland and its inhabitants.
The ending felt so bittersweet to me as a grown up. It's sad to think that we lose our innocence as we grow up, which I feel was displayed metaphorically here. Childhood innocence is so precious, but so many of us were in a hurry to grow up and miss it again when we're older. Peter pan is always a good reminder to protect that childhood innocence for as long as we can, because once it's lost it is truly gone.
I came into this knowing it would be wildly different from the disney version of the story. I also realised that I would have to try to ignore racist and clearly outdated stereotypes of people because of course this book was written before modern sensibilities. Through all that though, I came for a story of adventure and growing up and it delivered.
Peter in this book is a much cockier version of the disney version, and he stays true to that throughout the whole book. He truly embodied so many aspects of childhood in his make-believe, his young and cocky nature and his vulnerability. I think maybe because I'm so used to the peter pan of my childhood being almost a teenage boy, it's easy to forget that the original text really depicts him as a true child and nowhere near a teenager. It was fun to read in the original text the depictions of neverland and its inhabitants.
The ending felt so bittersweet to me as a grown up. It's sad to think that we lose our innocence as we grow up, which I feel was displayed metaphorically here. Childhood innocence is so precious, but so many of us were in a hurry to grow up and miss it again when we're older. Peter pan is always a good reminder to protect that childhood innocence for as long as we can, because once it's lost it is truly gone.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
2.5
I'm genuinely so disappointed because I thought the premise of this book sounded so good. It might have just been me slightly comparing this to the Six of Crows duology in my mind, but I really don't think that would have changed my opinion much anyway.
The major plot twists were predictable to me and the Casimirs are always being described as being these amazing notorious criminals but they never truly did anything much worth being notorious for. And I did hope that the tea aspect of the whole thing would play a much larger role but besides a few mentions here and there nothing much was actually done with it. They also spent pretty much more than half the book preparing for a heist that was SUPPOSED to be the entire plot line of the book. We spent more time running around than actually in the heist so I was left constantly just waiting for something ANYTHING. I didn't like Arthie being so obviously instantly attracted to characters as well. Just as a way to set up for a love interest or betrayal, I feel like that was so lazy and could have been worked in so much better than it was.
Honestly there was so much more that could have been done and I really thought it had a lot more potential than it turned out to be. Not sure I'd read the next book unless I have to for a book club.
The major plot twists were predictable to me and the Casimirs are always being described as being these amazing notorious criminals but they never truly did anything much worth being notorious for. And I did hope that the tea aspect of the whole thing would play a much larger role but besides a few mentions here and there nothing much was actually done with it. They also spent pretty much more than half the book preparing for a heist that was SUPPOSED to be the entire plot line of the book. We spent more time running around than actually in the heist so I was left constantly just waiting for something ANYTHING. I didn't like Arthie being so obviously instantly attracted to characters as well. Just as a way to set up for a love interest or betrayal, I feel like that was so lazy and could have been worked in so much better than it was.
Honestly there was so much more that could have been done and I really thought it had a lot more potential than it turned out to be. Not sure I'd read the next book unless I have to for a book club.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
challenging
emotional
hopeful
5.0
As an older sister, coco mellors gave me visceral feelings about being an older sister and having to deal with a younger sister.
The feeling of having to take care of everyone in the family, having to fix whatever is broken because"you're older". The feeling of downward spiralling, this book gave me all the feelings. Nothing will change the fact that I still will not speak with my younger sister and probably almost never will unless I'm forced to, but I could feel the pain Avery had always trying to be the responsible one, having to always be the perfect one. Hit so close to home and I have not recovered.
The feeling of having to take care of everyone in the family, having to fix whatever is broken because"you're older". The feeling of downward spiralling, this book gave me all the feelings. Nothing will change the fact that I still will not speak with my younger sister and probably almost never will unless I'm forced to, but I could feel the pain Avery had always trying to be the responsible one, having to always be the perfect one. Hit so close to home and I have not recovered.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
3.0
While I appreciate the topics the author covers and her experiences, I did not like the formatting of this book at all.
I'm not sure about the physical book, but the ebook version I read was chockful of footnotes in almost every chapter, with a lot of them giving me almost no relevant information. I really disliked having to be taken out of the experience with every (very short) chapter and be forced to look through footnotes that added almost nothing most of the time. Additionally, I didn't really like the chapters describing other stories, movies or tv shows because they were just written so differently from the chapters actually describing the author's real life situation for the same reason I didn't like the footnotes. Also I think the fact that this was a LOT of old American tv references just meant that I (based in Asia my whole life) understood basically nothing because I've just never ever heard of these movies. I wish the author has stayed in her own story much more instead of delving periodically into pop culture references because I think her own story was one that was so much more important than those at the cinema. While yes, she could have made references to such pop culture moments that described queerness, I don't think it should have taken full precedence over her own in her own book, with chapters about these pop culture references usually being longer than the ones about her own life.
I'm not sure about the physical book, but the ebook version I read was chockful of footnotes in almost every chapter, with a lot of them giving me almost no relevant information. I really disliked having to be taken out of the experience with every (very short) chapter and be forced to look through footnotes that added almost nothing most of the time. Additionally, I didn't really like the chapters describing other stories, movies or tv shows because they were just written so differently from the chapters actually describing the author's real life situation for the same reason I didn't like the footnotes. Also I think the fact that this was a LOT of old American tv references just meant that I (based in Asia my whole life) understood basically nothing because I've just never ever heard of these movies. I wish the author has stayed in her own story much more instead of delving periodically into pop culture references because I think her own story was one that was so much more important than those at the cinema. While yes, she could have made references to such pop culture moments that described queerness, I don't think it should have taken full precedence over her own in her own book, with chapters about these pop culture references usually being longer than the ones about her own life.
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
YES we are back with Nikolai and Zoya AND Nina??? Love it love it love it.
I have to admit that the events of Ruin and Rising are slightly hazy to me now. BUT I am still pretty fresh off Crooked Kingdom and I was READY to see what came after. While I will miss the crows endlessly it's good to see Nina trying her absolute best to be the best version of herself. And by that I mean infiltrating Fjerda and doing her absolute girl boss best to put her training as a soldier in Ravka and a spy in Ketterdam to use. I love the nods to what she has learnt from the other crows in the previous duology, and I can't wait to see where Nina goes from here. Maybe I'm just overly attached but her story was the much more interesting one to me in this book.
That isn't to say I didn't enjoy Nikolai and Zoya's parts of the book though. Nikolai was my favourite character in the original trilogy and I'm so happy to be reading from his POV this time as he tries to be the best king he can be to a struggling Ravka. Zoya our girl boss just getting better and better as we begin to get her backstory and see how she develops throughout this book.
In short, some of my favourite characters (goodbye crows I'll miss the rest of you guys) all in a single book? I gave it five stars because I can see myself rereading this in the future for sure.
I have to admit that the events of Ruin and Rising are slightly hazy to me now. BUT I am still pretty fresh off Crooked Kingdom and I was READY to see what came after. While I will miss the crows endlessly it's good to see Nina trying her absolute best to be the best version of herself. And by that I mean infiltrating Fjerda and doing her absolute girl boss best to put her training as a soldier in Ravka and a spy in Ketterdam to use. I love the nods to what she has learnt from the other crows in the previous duology, and I can't wait to see where Nina goes from here. Maybe I'm just overly attached but her story was the much more interesting one to me in this book.
That isn't to say I didn't enjoy Nikolai and Zoya's parts of the book though. Nikolai was my favourite character in the original trilogy and I'm so happy to be reading from his POV this time as he tries to be the best king he can be to a struggling Ravka. Zoya our girl boss just getting better and better as we begin to get her backstory and see how she develops throughout this book.
In short, some of my favourite characters (goodbye crows I'll miss the rest of you guys) all in a single book? I gave it five stars because I can see myself rereading this in the future for sure.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
5.0
This book is definitely incredibly rooted in our modern society, where people get so easily butthurt about people writing about experiences that are not their own.
Where do we draw the line with authors getting to write about foreign experiences? If a white author does the proper research and pays respect to real history, does it then allow them to write a story about a minority group and then profit from it? I personally don't have much thoughts about it, and I think it's impossible for all authors to have experienced every negative thing that they are allowed to write about in their books. My main opinion is that dictating that certain people are allowed to write is limiting and is a dangerous path for the publishing industry to head down.
This book explores all that, of course in addition to blatant plagiarism. Our main character is deeply flawed, beyond her incessant justification of her terrible actions. But still, I think there is a deeper message to be found in reading this book, one that is very relevant to the state of our world today.
Where do we draw the line with authors getting to write about foreign experiences? If a white author does the proper research and pays respect to real history, does it then allow them to write a story about a minority group and then profit from it? I personally don't have much thoughts about it, and I think it's impossible for all authors to have experienced every negative thing that they are allowed to write about in their books. My main opinion is that dictating that certain people are allowed to write is limiting and is a dangerous path for the publishing industry to head down.
This book explores all that, of course in addition to blatant plagiarism. Our main character is deeply flawed, beyond her incessant justification of her terrible actions. But still, I think there is a deeper message to be found in reading this book, one that is very relevant to the state of our world today.
Misery by Stephen King
4.5
I don't think I've been as freaked out by a horror book quite like this one. There are some truly gruesome scenes in here that I avoided dwelling on for too long in my mind because I will never get a good nights sleep ever again if I do.
That being said, the book can be a little repetitive at times. I do appreciate the insane amount of character building we have with both our main characters here and they did feel like really fleshed out characters that felt like they could possibly be real people. Overall terrifying and horrific, exactly what I wanted from a horror novel. If it had been cut down just a little bit, I would have enjoyed it much more.
That being said, the book can be a little repetitive at times. I do appreciate the insane amount of character building we have with both our main characters here and they did feel like really fleshed out characters that felt like they could possibly be real people. Overall terrifying and horrific, exactly what I wanted from a horror novel. If it had been cut down just a little bit, I would have enjoyed it much more.