Mitch

This book felt like childhood in the greatest and most terrible ways. Equal parts whimsical and visceral, it's packed with so many moments and descriptions that are so well drawn they feel like they're plucked from your own memory, whether you've lived them or not. It captures all the bigness and smallness of what it feels like to be a kid, in this magnificent melting pot of innocence, resilience, wonder and fear. This was really something special and despite not being a rereader I have a feeling I'll be returning to this one.
“I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I took joy in the things that made me happy.”

By the time I finished this book, I loved it... but by around page 300 I was starting to think this was just not my jam. I very nearly just switched gears and put this back on the shelf for another ten years. If you like me are struggling through the first two thirds of this, there is still hope that you too can get some joy out of this much beloved series! Hoping that book 2 gets rolling a bit quicker though haha.

I think on its own, this book could work as an fascinating introduction to the setting, but if you (like me) are already familiar with the setting, politics, lore, and magic of Ebberon (and Sharn in particular) you'll probably be a little bit disappointed. I love Ebberon as a setting, it's so consistent and well realized it's a perfect playground. I liked this book, it's a fun read with some cool concepts set against an incredible backdrop.

This was one of those books I remembered fondly while hardly remembering anything at all. After reading Piranesi I got an itch at the back of my brain that led me back to this particular story after decades away. Andrew Ketterly? Why does that sound so familiar... Anyway, It was a very Narnia-esque experience, jumping back into a world I thought I'd left behind and a warm reminder of why these books are so loved by so many people.

This period of Japanese history gets adapted so often for good reason! This book is a fascinating imagining of that period and the life of a historical figure who I've only encountered as a footnote until recently. The characterizations are layered and plausible throughout and the author manages to provide an authentic depth to each one. It's also VERY readable, I crushed this in a day and a half and stayed up all night to finish. That's something I don't typically encounter with historical fiction. If you've never heard of Yasuke before, I think this is a fantastic introduction.

Before reading this book I had a one sided beef with this author borne of the bitter disappointment I felt after reading the much hyped Poppy War trilogy. After reading this though... I'm still not a fan of those books, but I would now consider myself a fan of R.F. Quang. This book cleverly takes a lot of the meta narrative surrounding the author and her critics and wraps it into a fun, funny, page turning thriller that made me feel a little too seen as I read it. The protagonist is both relatable and hateable as you watch her bend over backwards to justify her own actions and find a way to give herself the validation that she so desperately craves while profiting off of someone else's work. It feels like a self deprecating shot across the bow to all the haters l, and as a former hater...I really enjoyed it. It's a mix of Macbeth and imposter comedies that feels sharp and well paced, especially for the first two thirds. I would recommend reading some of the authors other works before picking up this one, it's a small thing but having read her other books I think I had a lot more fun with this. Negatives for me were that the ending gets a little messy in terms of what to overall message the novel is trying to deliver, still solid but not as fun and fresh as the majority of the book.There were also a couple parts throughout that felt more driven by plot than character (refusing a sensitivity reader, making cultural changes to the novel without context etc.) Overall though, I still had a blast with it!

Three stars feels a little unfair because this really is delightful and it's exactly what it says it is, i.e. a low-stakes, cozy-fantasy. I think all the hype around this particular book made me feel like there may be a bit more to it than that, which there really isn't. That's not a bad thing, but it is a very particular sort of thing. I can see why people love this book but alas, I did not.

5 stars might be a little high... but fuck it, this was an immensely pleasant read from start to finish. It's quirky, fun, and imaginative with a classic fantastic Brando Sando magic system. The narration is packed with quips and asides with shades of Neil Gaiman's lighter stuff. Sort of Stardust meets Good Omens meets the Cosmere. This book probably won't change your life but it's a wonderfully well done diversion, with lots of fresh ideas, twists, turns, and great pacing. If you love fantasy and need a little break from big sweeping epics I could not recommend this more.

This was a heartbreak rollercoaster. It's as draining a read as I've ever dared to complete but I'm glad I did. The language is rich and immersive and it's packed with references and turns of phrase that provide an authentic sense of person and place. You really believe these characters exist somewhere, which makes every tragedy more painful to read. It's filled with these little daggers that you're almost certain weren't invented but pulled from someone's lived experience... but despite all that darkness, It's also very funny...? Demon is smart, charismatic and certifiably hilarious and his perspective is what makes it possible to actually finish this novel. There were so
many moments that had me laughing out loud throughout and while I wouldn't call the ending happy, it's lined with a kind of hopefulness that I wasn't sure would still be there by the conclusion. This is a moving and brutal character study that you should emotionally prepare yourself for before picking up.

Full disclosure, I've always hated the enemies to lovers trope. Until today? This was heart wrenching, heartwarming, and (something I never expect from these books) I actually understood how someone could love each of the characters here... AND why these characters loved each other! In my experience, fantasy romance tends to swing from an inexplicable love-at-first-sight-approach to the psychotic rollercoaster of toxicity with a strong foundation of terrible communication skills. This book deftly avoids both pitfalls and tells what actually feels like a real, romantic, love story. It's beautifully told, well paced, and keeps the characters at the centre throughout. This took me a while to pick up, but I was genuinely shocked by how much I enjoyed this book, how hard it was to put down, and how much I felt while reading it.

This book was a genre bending blast that reads like a Hong Kong mob movie meets Mistborn meets Game of Thrones. The politics, characters, emotional gut punches, and twists made this a ton of fun all the way through - great action sequences, an elegant magic system and an aesthetic that just bleeds cool. It's the mash up I didn't know I needed and now that I've got a taste... I'm hooked. “On my honor, my life, and my jade” the clan is my blood now guys... this book is very good at what it does.

Really easy to love this book. It's packed with tropes but they're handled so well that they feel fresh. The main character is easy to root for but also flawed enough to be interesting. The rest of the characters were intriguing, and delightfully grey with their own distinct goals and trajectories. The first person perspective keeps you guessing at everyone's motives the whole way through and just like the MC you never know who to trust. It Reminded me of a mix between Name of the Wind and Red Rising in all the best ways. There are a few ridiculously convenient moments near the end (woof woof) that you'll need to suspend disbelief a bit to accept but that doesn't mean you won't be cheering inside. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a book this much. Highly recommend. Can't wait for book 2!

So many mixed feelings about this book. I found the lectures fascinating, the concept for the magic system was intriguing and unique, overall I loved the first 50% of this book... but the second half felt like a death march. The foreshadowing is pretty heavy throughout and ultimately It was a long time to wait for the inevitable to occur, but no less heartbreaking when it finally did. I usually go to fantasy for escapism, or for a safe place to explore some bigger philosophical ideas, or new perspectives. This did not feel like escapism, the parallels that this book explores are pretty much one-to-one with the real world. I think I would have been more okay with that if the book had more to say about it. Why introduce magic at all if it doesn't change anything? The other issue I had is the characters didn't seem to understand their own objectives... what if we win? Don't know. They want a more equal society? but none of their plans are designed to realize that dream... their cause is just, but Ill conceived and deeply tragic.


The writing is really wonderful throughout, it has great moments and I alternated between both hating and loving all the main characters, which is exactly how I want to feel about my protagonists. They felt real and flawed and relatable... for the most part. (The whole cover-up felt ridiculous, and a lot of the decisions in the last half felt motivated by plot rather than character) The feeling that this book left me with was sadness in a non-fiction sort of way. Like, sad for the world and humankind and helpless to change it. The ending did have some lovely symmetry (Robin's name) and ultimately there is a lot to dig into here, for a book club or something similar. Like I said I loved the first half. As a whole though, I can't say I enjoyed it but I am glad I read it. Soooo read it? But be ready to feel, bad, sad, helpless, and uncomfortable.

Just finished the first book and my head is spinning a bit. This thing is crammed full of fantastic ideas, rich world building and dozens truly interesting characters. It asks a lot of questions that it doesn't answer and presents a lot of new concepts, characters, and even plots without any fanfare or explanation whatsoever... that sounds bad but it wasn't a negative experience. The style is jarring but it's also immersive, I found myself completely dialled in just to make sure I was soaking up all the details that I would need to know what the $&@! was going on, and for the most part that attention to detail was richly rewarded. I loved this world, loved these characters and loved this story... it's only getting four stars because It was so dense that I had to re-read frequently to make sure I had the story straight. Despite that, it felt epic, engaging, and I loved the style of the writing itself. I'll pick up book 2 for sure.

This is a fantastic little interlude that's assembled with the same care and and quality of all the other entries in this series. This book is kind of a miracle in that It stretches what could've probably been a few pages of exposition into an entire novel that's actually worth reading! I enjoyed every bit of this and was surprised to find that very little felt extraneous or tacked on. It has great pacing, interesting characters, and meaningfully adds to the series as a whole. 4 stars!

This could have easily been a short story (and maybe should have been?) but it's a credit to the author that it didn't have to be. I was pretty sure I knew where this novel was headed about 20 pages in, but the short chapters and sharp, clever prose kept me engaged, entertained, and along for the ride all the way through. Knowing the subject matter in advance, I expected this to feel heavier but was pleasantly surprised to find something kind of cozy? It's a kind of “It's a Wonderful Life meets the multiverse” that takes the reader on the same perspective shifting journey as the protagonist. The message is a little blunt force for my typical taste but the feeling it left me with was a warm hug of positivity and possibility.

Hoooo boy, this is not my usual cup of soup. But I must admit, it was a good time. In terms of action, lore, and world building it delivered on all the things I was missing in the first book. Tonally, this book reminded me a little bit of the show Scandal, in that many simple problems are solved with very dramatic speeches or grand gestures. It's VERY over the top but the book owns it completely, which makes it easier to buy in as a reader. Like the first book, the protagonist is kind of the worst part but she's rescued literally and figuratively by a supporting cast of super fun characters, with tragic backstories, badass attitudes, and attire. It did feel as if this book was retconning a lot of the first book to make space for the direction that this story ultimately goes, which I was cool with but it does feel a little like this wasn't always the plan? Maybe it was but some book one characters are basically unrecognizable here. In short, it's better than the first book in pretty much every way, so if you liked that odds are you'll love this.

I read this out of curiosity about what my wife was reading and was not completely disappointed. This was a fun take on beauty and the beast that started to drag pretty severely about two thirds in and then got fun again near the end. The ending was pretty/very cheesy, and so incredibly obvious that it wasn't obvious but ultimately, as I have said... fun.
(I don't mean fun in a light hearted sense. There's violence, torcher, emotional manipulation etc. but it's definitely entertaining.)

One thing to be aware of, the two leads are kind of... the worst? Tamlin is just wayyy too broody and Feyre is so all over the place, it's hard to get a real sense of her character. (For me at least)
I found myself much more interested in supporting characters like Nesta, Lucien, and Rhysand.

The fae creatures described in this book were fantastic and very fairy (the bogge in particular stands out). The world, history, and politics also seemed really interesting, but are only touched on here. I expect the series explores that more in the following books?

If you, like me have considered reading this series to discover why your partner likes it. I say go for it. I liked it, didn't love it. but it's nice to understand a few more of my wife's references. I don't plan on picking up book two anytime soon but it is on my list now, so there's that!

Loved these books, but they're definitely of a time and place. I always recommend them cautiously. These books are great at what they do I.e. cheesy, brooding, pulp fantasy. There fun twists, cool characters, epic world ending stakes... if you can develop a taste for the flavour there's a lot to enjoy but the genre has come a long way since these were first released.

There was so much that I loved about this book. The concept is so good, and handled so well. It's tragic, poetic, funny, fantastic, and relatable all at once. The thing I enjoyed most is how the main character's curse is used to explore some familiar human experiences in the extreme. I won't spoil any details of the curse/curses here but they work as great allegories for how some people genuinely experience the world and posed some excellent philosophical questions throughout the book that I'm still thinking about.

It's very much folklore/fable and the story feels fresh and new while also possessing a timeless quality that makes it feel like it's always existed. It reminded me of A Picture of Dorian Gray meets the Story of the Magic Thread/The Boy and The Golden Thread.

If this book could have been a bit shorter I would have given it 5 stars... there are some great reveals and twists but once I got the gist of where it was going, I was ready for it to be over about 80 pages before the end. Not that those 80 pages were bad! This book is beautifully written and highly quotable all the way through... but with a story that feels so clear and simple at its core, and characters that are so well defined from the moment you meet them, the excess was more noticeable. I also felt like the ending pulled some punches, that ultimately diluted the experience for me.

I'd still highly recommend this book to anyone interested in an imaginative, fantasy fuelled, introspection inducing character study.

Few books pull the reader into their world quite like this one does. I think the thing that makes this story feel so special is that by witnessing it, you feel like you're a part of it. Stepping into this world without context puts you in the shoes (or lack thereof) of the protagonist perfectly. The mystery at the core unfolds at a pace that keeps you just ahead of the hero and every page is packed with the most wonder-filled descriptions. You get to inhabit this childlike innocence through Piranesi that makes every discovery he makes so pure. The story was excellent, but the way it was told is what makes this a five star for me. I wanted to frame every page.

The craft on display here is something you don't see often in things that are actually fun to read. Pick it up!

I read the first book in this trilogy for the hype and was disappointed by the uneven tone, pacing and the copy/paste feel of its historical inspirations. I liked the first half well enough to pick up the second book and was pleasantly surprised to find a more confident tone, better pacing and a story that started to really pull me in despite really disliking the MC. This book felt like the author lost interest in their own story halfway through. It dragged and felt rushed at the same time... so many themes and characters went unexplored, there was a ton of build up that led towards several deeply unsatisfying conclusions. For all its historical references and allegories it didn't seem to have much to say about any of it. The ending should have been devastating, but I felt so little for these characters I was just glad to be done. Rin's POV is exhausting in this book, and despite being basically a god she feels like both a spectator and a victim which made reading her feel like a chore.

If you've studied or read any of the history that these books are based on I honestly wouldn't bother reading them. Anything original, is ultimately insignificant to the larger plot. If you're unfamiliar with the history, I think these books could be engaging reads, big political twists, betrayals, heartbreaking atrocities... it's interesting because the history is interesting.

My biggest problem with this series as a whole, is that it's essentially just adding magic to history, but the magic adds nothing, changes nothing... We just swap technology for magic and away we go. There are a couple of notable exceptions to this but overall, the plot just follows Chinese history through the 20th century then ends. There was a point in this book where it felt like it was about to diverge... then it just didn't.

I know lots of people love this series, I wish I could. The second book almost got me there but with this as a conclusion I wouldn't recommend it either.

I was super intrigued by this book. It's filled with little mysteries that slowly unravel to reveal a fantastic and imaginative web of stories within stories. The interludes are beautifully written and have an elemental quality to them that makes you feel like they've always existed. They're poetic and very fairy-tale. I love that kind of thing, so naturally these sections really stood out to me. That being said, this book took a lot of effort to get through, it's slow and repetitive (on purpose) but that didn't make it easier to finish. This book asks a lot of interesting questions about stories, what makes a story, and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, etc. then leaves it up to the reader to determine a lot of those answers on their own... which could be a feature or a bug depending on what you hope to get from this book.
I think I would have loved this as a collection of enigmatic short stories, but despite my excitement around the concept, the plot of this book left me a little cold. I liked it but had a hard time connecting with the characters and the end of the book was kind of like a fever dream that was so all over the place that I had to reread it like 5 times to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I was expecting something more like Gaiman's Neverwhere and while similar in a lot of ways, that's ultimately not what this is. I'd recommend this book more as a reflective read, take you time, don't rush it. The journey is beautiful but I'm not sure what the destination was supposed to be.

A story about a never ending time war told through a series of love letters exchanged between enemy combatants??? Against all odds this book takes that insane premise and delivers one of the most gorgeous and rereadable books I've ever crackled open.
What a weird and wild ride this was. The plot of this little book unravels like a mystery in the margins of pages of poetry. Which would be weird if this wasn't framed as correspondence, “...Instead I wick the longing into thread, pass it through your needle eye, and sew it into hiding somewhere beneath my skin, embroider my next letter to you one stitch at a time.” Are you kidding me!!? I love that shit, and it works great in this format (for the most part) but fully understand that, that kind of thing isn't for everyone. My best advice for enjoying this book is knowing what you're getting into. It's people over plot, and while interesting the time war is mostly a backdrop. Come for the characters and the prose and you won't be disappointed. 4.5 stars!

This book grabbed a hold of me like few books ever have. I was wayyy more emotional than I expected reading this, and it has a lot to do with the family dynamics that are at the core of this novel. It's a coming of age story that explores what it's like to raise that child at the same time. Its the pain that loneliness can cause, and the slow loss of yourself to a role you have to play... it's moving forward in the face of grief... and so much more. I was a lot heavier than I expected it to be but I loved it.

That's not even touching on the world and the magic which were excellent... the island setting is basically a mini version of early Meiji restoration period Japan set against a much more modern mage punk world that we only really see through flashbacks.

The magic is basically Avatar the last Airbender, but that comparison doesn't take anything away from the ideas and imagination on display. It feels just as awesome here as it did there.

Loved these characters and felt so much fun for them, which made a lot of these pages really hard to read...

One thing I wish I knew is that while the story is a standalone, there are other novels set in this world and some of the characters who we don't get a ton of time with in this book appear in those books. As a result there's a lot of foreshadowing that doesn't get paid off here. That includes the ending. But don't worry, all the major plot threads are resolved by the end.

Read this book!