So far, this is pretty interesting! I missed Aliisza.

This was very similar to the first. The plot meandered and repeated itself with MC losing the McGuffin and then finding it only to lose it again, and finally having it back. This installment focused heavily on MC retrieving his FLI and his children from a pocket domain of a snake god. While the descriptions of the domain were interesting, this has little to do with why I began to read these books in the first place.

Viper's Kiss was a lot better than the first installment but the plot was extremely convoluted and outlandish, even for a fantasy novel. Again, most of the story has very little to do with Yuan-ti politics, and the information about them is peppered with really odd, shock value information. (Did not need to know intimate details about their anatony)

Unfortunately this was very boring and unengaging. This didn't focus much on political intrigue as much as MC meandering through the barely perceivable plot that poorly connects the yuan-ti to it. There is an attempt at character development but MC is just too rigid to change much.

I will continue the series to see if it gets better but I have little hope for that

The writing and dialogue felt stilted in parts and the narrator barrelled through the book as if he was in a rush. There was a good discussion about Nature vs Nurture and the definition of evil etc which i found interesting. Although the shady caravan leader suddenly growing a conscience felt off.

This was a really interesting prequel to Practical Magic, and I really enjoyed the historical aspect. The story and pace were kind of slow, and I was frustrated with Maria for a lot of her 'will they won't they' repetitiveness. The tone of the overall book was a bit unclear, sometimes comforting and sometimes horrific. The lessons all the characters learned were important and relevant. A fine read overall.

Wanted to read something short so I settled for this collection of speeches by Kurt Vonnegut. Some of his views are slightly outdated but overall he was a deeply inspirational man who advocated for communities and togetherness. A lot of what he talks about is still eerily relevant today.

I really enjoyed this multigenerational story about witchcraft, even if a lot of it was predictable. The multiple storylines were laced together pretty tightly, though I wish they slightly differed just to not have it as predictable as the overall story was, but it worked for what it was trying to accomplish. Alba's POV was by far my favorite, but at the same time, it felt the most fleshed out of the three.

Although this was very interesting, perspective wise, this memoir does little to destigmatize “Sociopathy“ Much of this book is just unnecessary descriptions of scenery, and descriptions of the author reveling in illegal activity to “cope“ with her urges. I was hoping she would talk more about the research she did on the subject, or anything informative about ASPD, in general, but this book is more concerned about sensationalizing than educating.

Once again I am conflicted as to how to rate this. I think the beginning of this could have benefitted from better organization. There was a lot of information thrown out, out there that eventually started to make sense, is my only real issue.

I am always fascinated by “exploration“ type books even if a lot of them are motivated by greed and colonialism. There is still so much merit there.

I wonder if some of these spells are like a copyright infringement because “Magic Hand“ isn't exactly what Mage Hand is called 😅

I am for sure not the target audience for YA romances, but I enjoyed the TTRPG aspect of this book, and that really is the only reason I listened to the audiobook of this. I sided with the parents on most things, but some decisions by the parents also seemed a bit... odd.

I didn't love it as much as The Possession of Alba Díaz, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. I cannot say it lacked in any pacing or suspense, but I kind of wish it focused a bit more on the hauntings, as they are a bit more in the background. It was a bit predictable, but for me, it didn't take away from the enjoyment. Perhaps the romance could have been explored more thoroughly, but all of my criticism was “fixed“ in Alba Diaz.

Started this because I miss my D&D game, but this just makes me want to play D&D more 😭

Not loving this as much as The Possession of Alba Diaz, but this is still such an interesting book! I am loving the setting.

I finally finished this today! It has been such an emotional rollercoaster. The last 40 minutes had me ugly crying. I feel exhausted but in such a good way. This is an easy 5-star, if not a 6-star. Although I wish there were slightly more horror of the supernatural kind, it was still a very satisfactory amount. The story starts out a bit slower, but the book is gripping and refreshing. I LOVE Elías. This book set a new standard for fictional men.

Started this one on a whim. I think it was fine, for a YA novel, although it was a bit too tropey in some parts, and it dampened my enjoyment a bit. The FMC and MMC lacked chemistry. I liked Silas for a while until the plot did a lot of stupid things with him. The scope was big, but the world felt slightly underdeveloped; however, it's a shorter book, so it made sense why it was that way.

Went into this book thinking I would really like it, but unfortunately, I didn't. Most of the characters were insufferable and unpleasant. I do appreciate the commentary on classism, racism, city vs country, etc, and how ridiculous some concepts really are. I think this book would have felt more focused if there were fewer chapters that felt the same/didn't add much to the plot or commentary.

Happy first day of #Victober ! this was a last minute pick for me, but I am very curious about the tagged book. Will jump into it in a little while.

I don't really know where to begin with this book. I suppose, with something positive. The writing is good for what it is, and the book is atmospheric. The trigger warning list is a bit too long, and I believe that if there were fewer “problematic“ themes, the book would be a bit more cohesive. Writing horror and trauma is difficult, and I don't think this is incorporated well in the book.

More tw: csa

So we're implying that Sevastian's patron groomed him since the age of 12 and is also gay.

I'm not sure if the author is aware of how that harmful stereotype is still used against gay men but I do not like it. Wish this was not part of the story at all

tw; csa/sa mention

I just got to the SA portion of this, and yes, it's uncomfortable to read, but I also don't really see the point of including it. It doesn't add to the horror or the plot; it's just there to exist. This change in the father from not allowing men into the house to letting a doctor just touch his youngest inappropriately for some money just feels so jarring to me.

Like, yeah, he is doing it on purpose as punishment-

Already I have to say that I am not a fan of any Americans writing anything about Eastern Europe, fiction especially, because ultimately it all just falls into stereotyping and is just awkward to read.

It for sure feels awkward to read in this book.

This is such a small book with such big ideas. The Creature, although driven to perform evil deeds, is not in himself evil, which a lot of adaptations omit (I am looking forward to the new one to see if they change this). A lot of this book discusses the loneliness of existence and how others treat those who are different, which is relatable to many. Truly a masterpiece.

I'm not really sure what to think of all of this, overall, but I do believe that if this young man had listened to advice, taken precautions, and been better prepared, he would have been able to survive. I think we share a lot of personality traits and opinions, but at the same time, for being so academically smart, he made some foolhardy choices that led to his demise.

This is such an important piece of feminist literature, and there are so many progressive ideas about gender and good conversations about equality among the sexes, but the racism in this book really holds it back. I want to say I expected more out of a woman and a feminist, but I am also not surprised by it. Although I refuse to believe racism was more 'normal' back in the day (I think it's more that it was called out less), it felt so wrong.

I will still stand by comparing it to The Great Gatsby, whereas that book feels more fitting, taking place at the start of the 1920s, Bridshead Revisited feels on the opposite side of that time period, the decline of decadence and nobility, change within he social structure and culture. Towards the end of the book, I started not liking Charles as much, and I wish there were more of his interactions with Sebastian.

I enjoyed the first few hours of the book, but the rest felt pointless, repetitive, and hollow. There's some good messaging, there's an attempt at discussing mental illness, etc, as well as good LGBTQ+ rep, but it wasn't enough to keep me engaged with the novel. I found the writing good for a while, until it just started to be overdramatic and attempting to build atmosphere by throwing words around that didn't end up meaning anything.

NGL, I've been crafting theories with this book and overthinking things. The Flytes are so complicated and multidimensional, I really admire Waugh's character work with them. Lady Marchmain is so interesting because we know so little of her, but she reacts with conviction. She is so flawed, but she also feels so helpless and unable to have a semblance of control/influence her family.

I think Sebastian finds his family oppressive, but--

This installment dealt a bit less with dragon naturalism and more with being an adventure in the jungle, but it was still a delight to read. Lady Trent continues to be such a pleasure to follow; her insights are wise, she is genuine and honest with her readers, and I just adore all the character growth she went through, offscreen and onscreen. Todd Lockwood's artwork is as amazing as ever. I have so much love for this series.

Hopefully I'll get through chapter 5 today (it's on the longish side) but I'm so fascinated by Ryder's dynamic with Sebastian's family.

So far they seem “normal“ and Sebastian seems to be exaggerating how manipulative they are but this could still turn around and prove me wrong 🤔

😂

Really loving this book so far. 🩷

Started this today and omg the prose 😋😩 🩷🩷🩷

Some guy just followed me, who only read HIS OWN BOOKS, and I had such a visceral reaction to it. I high-key hate when people only follow you to sell you their word slop. Get out of here with this shit.

I'm really sad that I didn't love it. I'm not even sure how I feel about it, overall. It had interesting narrative choices, some scenes were creepy and unsettling, and the atmosphere was really well developed. But there was also a disconnect from the main narrative. Personally, I would have wished to only focus on the present, and then make less of the past events a focus, but I also don't hate it because there was a good reason for it.

This book had all the components that I would have adored under different circumstances. It had folklore, songs, and a whimsical fairy tale nature. The prose itself was very beautiful, but it's one of those books that unfortunately talks down to its reader, while at the same time trying to sound cultivated, but ends up being vapid and pretentious.

The book tries to redefine the word “magic“ with 'Grammar,“--

This book was definitely a mixed bag. The story in itself wasn't bad. I enjoyed what little we knew about Jeremy; his storyline felt so different from anything I've ever read before. However, the anti-medication stance was a bit old-fashioned. The monks are kind of a racist caricature, which isn't helping the book. Susan was especially unpleasant in this one as well. I am not a fan of her, and this installment isn't doing her any favors.

I'm 30% into this book and it initially peaked my interest because it dealt with fey and fairy tales but the way its written really bothers me.

The narrator is so pretentious and talks down to the reader and it irks me so much. The conversations feel so fake and hollow.

The flowery prose feels so overwritten.

I really want to like this book because it makes me think of Lud in the Mist, but it just isn't it 🥲

The way Asian coded people are represented here is kinda racist. Not gonna lie 😬

I don't have much to say about this one. I don't like Susan much, and once again, I do not care for the wizards. This is another instance of me wishing that the book focused on the more interesting subplot of Death replacing the Hogfather, but instead, there's a bunch of nonsense happening at the Unseen University that frankly adds very little to the overall story.

I enjoyed it overall, aside from all the things I've mentioned previously, that is also probably because I like music, and this was a heavily musical book. Death is handled a lot better in this book. The plot with Imp was pretty interesting, but I did not care for all the wizard shenanigans. I would have preferred it to be only focused on the band plot. I also am not a fan of how Death constantly says how death cannot be changed, and yet he--

Every time i'm starting to enjoy this book I get hit with some fatphobia, misogynistic ideology or racism and its exhausting. It's a product if it's fine but man oof

This installment is a lot better than the first Death book, but I still can't say I enjoyed it much more than the first. There are a lot of interesting discussions about life and death in this book, but I can't say I was very interested in either storyline, despite the strong start. There is a lot going on, and it feels disjointed; again, the transitions between the two storylines aren't very good (yet). Things really fell apart with the trolley-

Jumping back into TPs work with this one, and it was surprisingly disappointing. I get that this was written in the late 80s, but some of the minor things here really threw me off. There was the sexualization of minors, and the PoC representation here is pretty weak and offensive.

The transitions in this were very jarring, even more than usual (he got better at them in later books.) The plot itself felt weak. The MCs bickered a lot--