240 replies to this topic

[Katia11]

I keep meaning to go back to that series and re-read it from beginning to end!

[Mara=^.^=]

 

 

This book is an absolute delight. I want to keep reading about these characters forever. 4 Stars .

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

this is in my Libby holds and now I'm really excited to get it! 

[Mara=^.^=]

this is in my Libby holds and now I'm really excited to get it! 

 

I just really like foxes

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

Same! But also, I did sample a little bit before I placed the hold and I liked what I read!

[SweeneyxxTodd]

I loved that book! I listened to the audio earlier this year.

[Mara=^.^=]

 

Another charming installment of a charming series. There were numerous laugh-out-loud moments in this book - just spectacularly, ridiculously British.

 

3.5 Stars .

 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

Oooooo that sounds fun!

[Mara=^.^=]

 

This was one of those books that was impossible to enjoy because the entire time I was reading it, I kept thinking about all the ways it could be fixed. There are some really cool creative elements, but the side characters are way more interesting than the protagonist, the themes are muddled, and the romance feels entirely unearned. A mouthy, impulsive teen who stumbles her way through the plot is just not the right choice for a story like this - why would a god fall in love with someone so immature? Maybe I'm just getting old, but it felt incredibly far-fetched. Also...the pacing. Good lord. We are thrown into the action too quickly and are just expected to care about the characters the moment they are introduced - and this flaw only worsens as the tale progresses. The book never lingers on interactions, so the relationships feel entirely surface level. The friendships that form are sort of hand-waved into the plot; we don't see them unfold organically. It makes sense that Mina's ancestors would care about her and intercede on her behalf, but gods and monsters? It feels like those bonds materialized out of thin air. 

 

One of the more compelling aspects of the novel is Mina's discovery that the gods do not care about their worshipers, because they believe humans to be ignorant, selfish, and violent. I just kept thinking: how much more impactful would this be if Mina were a junior priestess, or a scholar of the gods? As written, Mina's reaction to the revelation comes across as melodrama. To deepen it to something more emotionally resonant, Mina needs to have a different relationship with the divine. Changing the protagonist from a generic, childish villager to a young priestess would've given her more substance, more intentionality, and a motivation beyond love for her brother. It would've provided additional opportunities for world-building, which the novel sorely lacked. It would've made her connection to the Sea God feel less contrived, and would explain how she was able to convince the Goddess of Moon and Memory to usurp the role of a different goddess (because...what?). Giving Mina the background knowledge necessary to actually drive the plot, instead of just react to things or magically intuit the right course of action, would've made this book a lot stronger.

Anyway, just my two cents. 2.5 stars .

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

 

P.S. Another reviewer said this book was "terribly insecure about the literacy of its readers", and my god, what an on-point critique. ZERO subtlety, nuance, or linguistic ambiguity - prose written for 2nd graders, but without any of the weird, off-the-walls creativity common in elementary or middle grade fiction.

[Katia11]

Ah! This was the book you were referencing. I’m sorry it wasn’t a good time for you!

[Mara=^.^=]

Ah! This was the book you were referencing. I’m sorry it wasn’t a good time for you!

 

It didn't help that I was mentally comparing it to another, different re-telling of the same myth with much better execution. I read it so long ago — I wish I could remember the name! Regardless, I still cannot believe that this is rated higher than some of the absolute best books I've ever read. Goodreads mystifies me.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

Oh, darn! I also wish you could remember because I’d love to read it. Because as you said, I did like this one more than you did, but it didn’t like rewrite my existence or anything lol

But… Yeahhh.. goodreads is very frustrating sometimes. I completely agree!!!

StoryGraph is almost 100% where I’m more active nowadays lol

[Mara=^.^=]

 

 

Woods is an excellent writer, but the last couple of chapters just didn't work for me, so I knocked it down half a star. I understand why the author subverted the expected ending, then tacked it back on 6 years later - she wanted to show that Samuel was the only one who loved Lucinde enough to let her go - but it lowered my opinion of the protagonist that she ditched her beloved so soon after he suffered an extremely traumatic loss.

 

 

3.5 stars .

[Mara=^.^=]

 

The world-building in these books is just insane, in the best way. Both The Tainted Cup and A Drop of Corruption are spectacular reads - I hope the author writes a million more just like them.

4.5 stars .

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

YESSSS I LOVED this series! 

[Mara=^.^=]

YESSSS I LOVED this series! 

 

Mind-blowing balancing act, this series. All the elements are portioned out perfectly, in the right amounts at the right times - and he wrote the second book in a year? Robert Jackson Bennett is talented in a way that makes me feel like a teeny tiny little ant.

 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

Yeah, the second book came out so fast. It is SUPER impressive.

 

I also really really hope he writes more in the series. 

[Mara=^.^=]

 

DNFed at like 60% because I got bored. 

 

 

 

Shelved this 80% of the way through because it contains a sexual assault scene so upsetting that it ruined an otherwise excellent series for me. Never reading anything by this author again.

 

 

 

I am so behind on my Goodreads Challenge this year. It turns out, I cannot write and read at the same time. I doubt I'll even hit 15 by January.

 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

Oh no. I’m really sorry about Jade War! That is a bummer!! I did a re-read of that series this summer and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I’m sorry you had a less favorable experience!

Thanks for the heads up on the SA in ship of destiny, that’s been on my tbr. Idk if I will read it now.

It is totally fair that you can’t read and write at the same time! They are both pretty demanding hobbies tbh. I’m sorry, though.

[Mara=^.^=]

Oh no. I’m really sorry about Jade War! That is a bummer!! I did a re-read of that series this summer and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I’m sorry you had a less favorable experience!

 

I'll probably return to this one once I'm done my writing extravaganza, because I do want to find out what happens. I just can't maintain those dual streams of focus. 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =