Lucie

I really tried with this book. Really. I'm a big fan of Cassandra Gannon, whose books I discovered last year, and Yesterday's Heroes was written by her sister. The synopsis made me think of The Boys, one my favorite TV shows, so I was intrigued and pretty excited at the idea to read it. But gosh was I bored reading it.

I didn't care much about how this guy mentioned one time and who isn't relevant to the story at all is named Brussels Sprouts the Third and kidnapped puppies and made them fight cobras in an alligator farm. I didn't give a damn as well about what he is thinking, even less when his point of view was followed by many more in the same vein. It felt so superficial to me. Like all these characters had one job: info-dumping on the world-building. And gosh was the info-dumping thick at times, the size of a dwarf moon crashing into Pluto.
What also bothered me were the numbers of monologues the characters had in their heads or even conversing with others. It helped to understand them and know them, that's for sure, but it was really redundant at times. The worst of it was when the ML was introducing a bunch of characters in a row at the beginning and just listed all their history. It seemed like it would never end and I hated it. But what got on my nerves the most was the way the FL, a grown ass woman of 27 yo, was so naive and unknowing of so many basic things... She didn't seem to understand irony and sarcasm, or why some people would possibly search to avoid conflicts by attending meetings that always involved fights and arguments. If she had her moments, most of the time she was oblivious and lacked hindsight on a lot of things. Her relationship with the ML was also insta-lusty, which isn't my jam. However, he was the only saving grace in this book for me. I really liked him: he is grounded, rational and sarcastic and has been through a lot. Apart from his character, I didn't have a great time reading Yesterday's Heroes.

I had a blast with this book. The story was lovely and simple but kept me engaged nonetheless, the characters were endearing and more well-developped than what I was anticipating. Arion was totally my type. A black-haired, taciturn, reserved and strong man? Sign me up. Tari was adorable: she was calm, stalwart and at times impulsive. I enjoyed following their relationship and seeing both of them grow on their own as well.

Both the main and secondary characters are engaging, and I liked the fact that two of them suffer from social anxiety. The relationship between the two protagonists was adorable, even if a little fast for my taste and without any real obstacles. The thing is, at times I didn't feel there was much going on, and the final revelation left me thinking “okay and?”. If you want to read a chill romance, with no real stakes, or at least stakes lower than saving the world or a kingdom, this might appeal to you.

It was a fun read, I liked Pansy as a protagonist and character, to see her struggles to adapt to a new environment and to move on. I loved her contrast with the other characters. Theo was a cute ML, but calling her “my flower”? Really? It made me squirm several times. The secondary characters were great, but I found some of them quite underdeveloped, I would have loved to see more of them. I also felt a little disappointed by the ending, it was not as big as I was prepared for.

De la poésie comme je n'en ai pas l'habitude, j'ai grandement apprécié ce recueil : de la mise en page à des vers spécifiques, bien que je n'y ai pas compris grand-chose. Cependant comme pour n'importe quelle œuvre d'art, est-ce vraiment important de la comprendre pour pouvoir en apprécier la beauté ?

Je dois avouer que je suis un peu mitigée sur ce discours : d'un côté j'ai conscience des avancées que S. Veil a permises, d'un autre je n'ai pu m'empêcher de grincer des dents à plusieurs reprises. Le fait qu'elle se dise quelque part opposée à la création d'un “droit à l'avortement”, que donner la vie serait l'accomplissement ultime et recherché par toutes les femmes... Cela peut bien sûr s'expliquer par l'époque et par le contexte : il s'agissait des années 1970 et elle était l'une des seules femmes présentes à l'Assemblée Nationale lorsqu'elle a présenté son projet de loi, projet controversé même au sein de la majorité présidentielle. Ce n'était tout simplement pas ce à quoi je m'attendais et j'en suis ressortie quelque peu déçue.

I found the book severely lacking in terms of descriptions and details. There was only little and vague info about the places, the clothes or what the characters felt and thought. It was sometimes hard to follow where they were or why they were doing what they were doing. I also felt that the male protagonist, Langley, was more developed than Amelia and I didn't like that they had a 10+ years age gap. In addition to that, there was a moment in which both protagonists body-shamed a woman for the size of her nose for no reason at all during a ball. It didn't make them really sympathetic and the way Amelia seemed to think “I'm not like other girls” at times didn't help her case. Despite all that, it was still a lovely story and I enjoyed the characters, especially the secondary ones.

Imagine a cute romance between two awkward grown adults who both have been through a lot in life. Throw into the mix a fantasy setting, hilarious secondary characters and a pinch of murder and mystery et voilà! You have Paladin's Grace. I loved it, I laughed out loud several times reading it, as well as shed a tear or two at some points. This book was something I didn't realize I needed and I loved every second of it.

The art is beautiful, as I expected from Meesh whom I follow since a few years now. However, the story was a lot more childish than what I was hoping for. And it's okay. The issue is, the book is fast-paced, to the point where conflicts get resolved in a matter of seconds, like poof, they're gone in an instant. Tackling themes like the importance of friendship and discrimination is great, but the way it's done felt very superficial to me. I understand it's only the first book, so I can only hope that I will like the second one better.

It was a fun read, I laughed out loud a few times and I had a great time following the story of our two protagonists. I liked the setting of the book, the various references alluded to by the author as well as the side characters that were for the most part quirky and funny. However, even if I enjoyed my read, I didn't connect with Cecilia and Ned as much as I hoped to, if Cecilia was quite well developed and I enjoyed her personality, I can't say I felt the same about Ned. He is handsome, charming and funny and that's about it. He lacked substance in my opinion. Their relationship was not developed enough to my liking as they were immediately drawn to each other. Despite all that, if you want a light read with a gang of old pirate ladies, flying houses, a villain with horrible poetry tastes and eccentric side characters, I think you might like it.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I read it in two days and had a great time doing so, I found it entertaining and loved the initial setting. But despite everything, I found it a bit lacking in character development. I would have liked to know more about the main and secondary characters, their way of thinking, their feelings... While there are a few glimpses of them in this book, I would have enjoyed more of them. I found Kitty relatable, but not really endearing, in that she was rather obnoxious towards certain characters. While I sympathized with her and her situation, it was harder to really like her, even if she was kind of redeemed in the course of the book. The male protagonist was much more sympathetic and endearing to me, in terms of his relationship with his family or his traumas, although, again, I would have liked to see more. The ending also left me wanting for more; it felt rushed and not a whole lot as climactic as I thought it would be. Overall, it was a fun but also a tad disappointing read for me. 

The start was quite slow and the characters already seen before, but still I enjoyed my read. The story really did pick up after a few hundred pages and it was a delight to follow the adventures of Bran and Aisling. Without spoiling it, the end surprised me in a good sense, even if I was quite baffled at the decisions of some of the characters and reasoning behind them. Still, I'm excited to read the second and last book of this duology.

This book started so well, I was amazed by S. T. Abby's choice to begin it with the POV of a character other than the protagonists (which didn't happen in any of the two previous books). I was really intrigued as well as curious about how things were going to play out, and it didn't disappoint. I loved the conversations Lana and Hadley shared, in which the former explained and justified herself and her actions. I already knew what was driving her, but her talking about it with a person not concerned by the whole thing was really interesting. I liked how Hadley felt torn but decided to support her nevertheless, even though she still managed to stand up when she felt Lana was going too far. Their relationship really kept me engrossed in the story and I can't wait to read the next book.