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woolgathering_jane's reviews
167 reviews
Rebelové vln by Sara Raasch
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Such a good book. Loved the complex politics and quite heavy themes (that were explored in a safe, fictional space), the world, the magic, the characters, and the subtle Spanish/latin inspiration (lol), and the twists??? Omg
The worst thing about it is the writing style that didn't really resonate with me, but it was fine. And this book doesn't have that strange quality that makes you obsessed with it, that's why it's not 5/5. But it was good, I really enjoyed it.
The worst thing about it is the writing style that didn't really resonate with me, but it was fine. And this book doesn't have that strange quality that makes you obsessed with it, that's why it's not 5/5. But it was good, I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Fire/Fire injury
Annin vysněný domov by L.M. Montgomery
I adored this one, just like all the others, but I've felt like this one wasn't for me yet - like I'm too young to be reading about this part of Anne's life. Strangely enough, this is the first book that made me feel to young.
Uchvatitelé říší by Victoria Aveyard
Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.
I guess you can nicely see how big of an influence can an author platform have - I follow Victoria on Instagram and she's one of my favourite creators. It took me half a book to realise I'm not enjoying it and another few weeks away from it to realise I don't even care about any of the characters 😭
A Magic Steeped In Poison by Judy I. Lin
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is very probably because I'm not a native English speaker, but wow, getting through the prose was annoying. Sure, flowery prose sounds nice in theory, but why does it feel like the author has searched thesaurus for all the words I didn't know lmao
Anyway because I had to use Google translator while reading (which I haven't done in... Years?), reading this book was a bit slow and unfortunately I haven't felt any connection with the characters. The plot somehow managed to feel predictable despite the fact that I haven't actually predicted anything??
The tea magic and the overall mythology and culture was the best part, but it unfortunately wasn't enough for me to want to pick up the next book. Such a shame, I really wanted to love this one :(
also, what a weak motivation Ning had... I understand wanting to save her sister, but I could care less about Shu... Simply telling me she deserves to be saved wasn't enough for me to root for her. By the end, I almost wished Ning's motivation had been hunger for power, because then we'd at least get some more court shenanigans - another part of the book that was (sort of) fun
Anyway because I had to use Google translator while reading (which I haven't done in... Years?), reading this book was a bit slow and unfortunately I haven't felt any connection with the characters. The plot somehow managed to feel predictable despite the fact that I haven't actually predicted anything??
The tea magic and the overall mythology and culture was the best part, but it unfortunately wasn't enough for me to want to pick up the next book. Such a shame, I really wanted to love this one :(
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Emily z Novoluní by L.M. Montgomery
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
“To love is easy and therefore common - but to understand - how rare it is!”
Classic Montgomery, but the years she spent writing to this point shine through. From a craft view, Emily is much better than the first Anne book. The story is more mature and more layered.
From the story's viewpoint, though, Emily is obviously a second idea. You can see many similarities with Anne's character (which leads me to believe they were also similarities with Montgomery's character?) and story. But even then, it's a very charming story that I will return to many times.
From the story's viewpoint, though, Emily is obviously a second idea. You can see many similarities with Anne's character (which leads me to believe they were also similarities with Montgomery's character?) and story. But even then, it's a very charming story that I will return to many times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
Mýtonoši by Tracy Deonn
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“Love is a powerful thing, more powerful than blood, although both run through us like a river.”
I had no idea how to rate this book because I have very conflicting feelings about it.
The story was trying to do so much. The author was trying to fit so many themes into it. It felt like it had... too much plot? It got to a point when I'd be second-hand stressed for Bree because she had far too much on her plate. The chapters were so long. And still, nobody, including me, could catch a damn break. except when Bree washed her hair. That was such a lovely moment. Because the story was constantly jumping between one subplot to another (and, to be honest, the painful chapter length), I never sat down to read for very long because I would always feel a kind of closure when the story moved on. Seriously, this book took me so long.
And still.
Even all these issues couldn't distract me from how important this story is. As a white person living in a predominantly white country, Bree's point of view was such a new way to see the world, not only because of her race but also because of her loss. Not to say she was unrelatable (as many white readers like to talk about POC heroes), but I actually found more of myself in her than I thought I would. If it weren't for all the problems mentioned above, I would be running around recommending this book to everyone.
But alas, this wasn't a story for me. But please, still give it a chance. I don't regret reading it (at all!), and I even considered buying the second book solely to support the writer haha
The story was trying to do so much. The author was trying to fit so many themes into it. It felt like it had... too much plot? It got to a point when I'd be second-hand stressed for Bree because she had far too much on her plate. The chapters were so long. And still, nobody, including me, could catch a damn break.
And still.
Even all these issues couldn't distract me from how important this story is. As a white person living in a predominantly white country, Bree's point of view was such a new way to see the world, not only because of her race but also because of her loss. Not to say she was unrelatable (as many white readers like to talk about POC heroes), but I actually found more of myself in her than I thought I would. If it weren't for all the problems mentioned above, I would be running around recommending this book to everyone.
But alas, this wasn't a story for me. But please, still give it a chance. I don't regret reading it (at all!), and I even considered buying the second book solely to support the writer haha
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Medical content, Car accident, and Colonisation
Minor: Rape, Murder, and Pregnancy
Nikdykde: Autorem preferovaná verze by Neil Gaiman
adventurous
funny
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
“You've a good heart. Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go. But mostly, it's not.”
A fun story about a bunch of random people running around magical London. It was a fast read and actually very entertaining.
Světla nad močálem by Lucie Ortega
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
Myslela jsem, že to bude hlavně slovanská fantasy, ale prvky heavy contemporary byly silnější, než jsem čekala 🤷♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death