Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

I thought this one started slow and I didn't particularly like any of the characters. However things really picked up, and there was a lot of good character development as it went alone. This was easily the best of the 3 Secret project books so far.

I've heard it mentioned this is his best stand alone Cosmere book as well, and while it's been a while since I've read the others, I may have to agree with that sentiment as well.

Overall I thought this was a good story with some interesting magical elements (as per usual for me with a Sanderson book). There are some nice easter eggs in there for people who have read other books (likely including some I missed), but one that can easily be approached by someone who has never read anything in the series (or by Brandon Sanderson for that matter).

The audio was excellent as always. Despite the story being “told by Hoid”, it made sense to have the 2 narrators cover one of the protagonist's POVs. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are always favorites of mine.

They even make a decent effort at describing some of the artwork throughout the book. However since I also got the pdf for this book, I made it a point to go check out the excellent images after the fact.

Firstly, I love a story from Hoid's narration. So many amazing puns and metaphors to search for. Secondly, I can appreciate a love story with no unnecessary need for graphic scenes nor predicaments that needed to be explicitly explored. Just enough time to get to understand each of the two main characters before digging deeper into their mission or goal. The illustrations woven into the book gave a beautiful visual that I couldn't create for myself in my head. This is why Painters exist.

One of the best works by the author!

This is a story of two young people who are lonely in their own way and forced to work together to accomplish a mysterious goal, and find understanding and redemption... But this is just one tiny aspect of what this book is about.

Let's start with the world building. One of the craziest and most original ones, not only in the Cosmere, but in literature as a whole. And the more you read this book, the crazier it gets. I promise you, this book will continue the surprise you all the way through.

The characters were simply exquisite! You get to have heroes, but you get to have them be utterly human - weak, afraid, flawed to heir core, undeserving and ashamed - what we ourselves often are.
And you get to see them stumble through things. But not only massive, incredible things. You see them deal with the seemingly simple daily things we sometimes struggle with, often despite all logic and better judgement.
And you get to see them face their stupid mundane ruinous fears in such a relatable way, it will likely make you weep for no (obvious) reason.
And it feels so good. It hits right home.

And you get to do that in an atmosphere of dread and high stakes. What can be better than that?

I'll tell you what - art. There is a distinct emphasis on art and more specifically what makes it valuable. And its deeper meaning to its appreciative audience, because of the soul of the creator. Yes, if you have been giving AI “art” the side eye, you'll feel seen in this book. And the author manages to perfectly illustrate his point, without denouncing technology, which people often do (rather hypocritically, I might add).

There is so much great about this book, I couldn't possibly encompass it all in one review, because I keep on thinking about it and things keep on coming to me.

I highly recommend this book be read after the rest of the already published Cosmere works (including the novellas and short stories), in order to not only avoid spoilers, but also be able to understand all that is being discussed.

P.S.: The visual art in this book is absolutely mesmerising!

I have heard many things about Brandon Sanderson and his books, and his universe, and this year I made it a goal of mine to stretch into more larger series and see if I liked it. I thought this was a good place to start, with a low level of commitment if I didn't end up liking it but the option to dive more into a deeper universe if I ended up finding something I really loved. Where I ended was, frankly, somewhere in the middle, but that's okay.

There seems to be quite a lot to talk about with this book but really two things stick out the most to me. One is that, not being familiar with actually reading anything in the Cosmere universe, I wasn't aware of who or what this Hoid character was--or even that the narrator was himself an established character. I found that an interesting angle overall. Ultimately though I did find it a bit weak for a few specific points, specifically near the end. It seemed a bit of a cop-out for Hoid to explain the nuances of what was going on with Yumi and Painter to us, the reader, out of universe, while the two of them and the broader world wouldn't be able to have learned some of the facts explained. I didn't hate this, as I appreciated the explanations Hoid gave, it just struck me as fairly lazy to have Yumi and Painter discover 90% of it and then a character with essentially omniscience over the history of events explain the 10% they never would have known, but still is important to the book. I think what soured me to this was actually specifically that it didn't come from a narrator, but an actual character, who was speaking to the reader and thus came across like he was taking us aside to tell us what was really going on. I suppose, in the end, I was a little over the use of a narrator character giving his flavor in strange places I just felt were unnecessary.

Secondly, I was struck throughout reading the book how much it was like Final Fantasy X. In the end, Brandon Sanderson admitted as much to himself and it was in such a way that as I listened to the audiobook start the sentence I knew exactly what it was going to say before it said it. This book absolutely borrows from the story, and while that does in fact make it unique in many ways FFX is itself unique, that does somewhat hinder my impression of it knowing the book is explicitly based on FFX. I like FFX enough, and I like this enough, and the reasons for my positive and negative feelings for both are not identical, and that's pretty interesting to me. I think the story works quite well, and is told compellingly enough here that I was pretty gripped to continue on and rarely bored. The characters are fun and their interactions were endearing, especially Yumi and Painter, and one thing I really really did quite enjoy about the story was the emphasis on art and artists and gripping with the value your art brings to the world and to those around you. It felt sincere about this and it did speak to me on some level as someone with a relationship to this myself.

Ultimately, I think I will read some more of Brandon Sanderson here and there, but I am not finding myself compelled to dive deep into his universe, at least not at this time.

Wonderful as always!

Being a high fantasy writer, Sanderson is obviously not known for the romances on his books.
Despite this, all the books I've read from him have a bit of romance, and while this is not the reason I enjoyed them, I always find his love stories the best ones.

In his easy writing style and magical world, Sanderson always writes couples with an undeniable connection, who support and respect each other, and whom I see working on the long run, no epilogues needed to confirm it - Raoden and Sarene (Elantris), Vin and Elend (Mistborn Era 1), Dalinar and Navani (Stormlight Archive) and, the most recent, Tress and Charlie (Tress of the Emerald See)

While Yumi and the Nightmare Painter can be considered his most romantic book, it is much more than a love story, and will certainly be appreciated by all Cosmere fans, while possibly being more attractive to new readers.

“I only stare”, he said, “when I see something too beautiful for my eyes to take in all at once”

There is much to love in this book:
- It was inspired by the anime Your Name, which is absolutely brilliant (among other inspirations).
- Relatable characters and problems: both Painter and Yumi struggles will feel close to home for a lot of readers. They are acutely lonely and isolated. More than a romance, I find this book to be about what it means to be human and the need to find connections and to have a purpose. Our ability to learn and start again, and how important it is to accept our flaws and ask for forgiveness (ours and from others)
- Heavy on what I think Sanderson does best: Character and relationship development. This applies to both main and secondary characters and it really makes the story shine.
- Interesting magic system and world building, with heavy connections with other Cosmere worlds
- Well balanced in terms of pace
- Gorgeous illustrations by Aliya Chen. I'm definitely going to buy the hardcover as well (and desperately need for someone to bring the original cover from US because the postal costs are insane)

Regarding the one million dollar question:
In which order should I read this book?

While I'm a strong believer all Sanderson standalones should be good entry points, and that in no way is he expecting people to read almost 10 000 pages (count before secret projects) to pick up this book, I found it more heavily connected with the Stormlight Archive than I was expecting.
The connections in this book are not as subtil as usual and don't feel like the typical Easter eggs he plants in all his novels. I believe I would have preferred to read it after finishing SA. That said, it does not spoil anything of other books, and though I had one theory confirmed in this book, it would be absolutely indifferent if it was my first Cosmere novel.

If this is the book that leaves you curious enough to start reading his works, just do it.

A cute romance set in a unique yet well thought out world. Rate the imagination needed to create these characters, what they do and how they interact. Can see why this would be peoples favourite though it was a little too YA for me.

Also huge credit to someone making a story that references more than one element from Final Fantasy X, one of the most iconic games ever made. Sanderson really knows how to appeal to all aspects of my nerdery.

It loses a star for that ending though. Don't get me wrong it was the usual Sanderson brilliance of ratcheting tension and well executed emotional payoff but the fact it ended how it did was very weak, missed a chance to be a truly memorable ending readers would talk about for years. No spoilers but anyone whose read it will know exactly what I'm referring to.