This was a fascinating read! The book helped me make sense of certain trends and stereotypes that are deeply entrenched in our society and that I neveThis was a fascinating read! The book helped me make sense of certain trends and stereotypes that are deeply entrenched in our society and that I never quite understood or wanted to accept. It also provided a perspective for how to break out of that mold, or what breaking out of that mold would have to look like in the first place.
It's probably not a book for sceptics. It's well-written, but it kind of assumes you are already interested in the topic and open to the perspective presented within. Most of it I agreed with, some of it I didn't.
My only gripe with the book is how central American society is to the book. Many times, parallels were drawn to other parts of the world, which is good - but the book itself never leaves an American POV, and goes to great lengths to compare American worldviews to the rest of the world, rather than viewing the situation from many different but equal perspectives. It ultimately didn't matter too much to me, but it felt like a wasted opportunity....more
Picked this book out because it sounded intriguing, and was hoping to get some interesting character dynamics.
Unfortunately, this really wasn'2.5 / 5
Picked this book out because it sounded intriguing, and was hoping to get some interesting character dynamics.
Unfortunately, this really wasn't anything special. It seems confused about its identity: It is a little bit of political thriller, a little bit of fantasy, and a little bit of young adult romance, and neither of these elements is particularly well done. Its language is decent, but that should be a baseline.
The political thriller aspects didn't work for me because the plot twists and reveals are too predictable, and the main character (who's supposed to have smarts and kindness as her strong suits) is incapable of conducting the investigation - everything has to fall into her lap because she never even thinks about the story's events in a logical, methodical way.
The fantasy aspects didn't work for me because while the world building has interesting concepts, they are never really explored nor explained. There's a lot of potential here, but the story seems really scared to dedicate some time to actually tieing the fantastical elements directly into the story anywhere other than where the fire warlock is concerned. It's also only a single POV, and while the story isn't layered enough to warrant another perspective, the most interesting aspect of this book in my opinion should have been the two main characters, Zaira and Amalia, and their dynamic - but it was never fleshed out at all. Zaira is depressingly absent from large parts of this story.
The romance aspects didn't work for me because it reads like the setup for a smut scene (which isn't a bad thing per se) that never happens, and all you get is a lot of contrived fawning and swooning, and some kisses. My main gripes are that the author seems unwilling to delve into mature relationship dynamics, and that the love interest(s? - a love triangle is hinted at but never explored) is bland as a potato. I've heard people say he's supposed to be calm and principled, but he has one principle that is naive at best (but portrayed as kind) and a sister - that's it.
Overall, I wanted to like the book, and it was alright, but it's just nothing that stands out, and I definitely can't see myself remembering anything in this book with particular fondness. It's average. I can see it being more appealing to a YA audience though. The writing (the language, not the plot) is probably its strongest suit, and on that front it actually delivers....more
An all-around excellent work with a strong focus on human communication. While it's main agency lies with educating people around communication with kAn all-around excellent work with a strong focus on human communication. While it's main agency lies with educating people around communication with kink and/or polyamorous interests, I found several of the points, chapters and exercises helpful for my own monogamous relationship.
The continuous use of LGBTQIA+-friendly language and perspectives is also a big plus.
You might also enjoy this book if you want to get better at communicating your needs and wants to a partner (within or outside of sexual encounters), understand their needs and wants, and take a more structured approach to communication with your partner(s) in general.
This book might not be the right fit for you if you adhere to a strictly monogamous lifestyle and/or are not interested in kink play (because there might be better books to cover your bases, and this book might touch on a variety of topics that hold little relevance to you). However, there will still be plenty of relevant ideas, concepts and exercises for you in this book - so you might want to give it a try anyway.
This book is definitely not the right fit for you if talking or reading about sex or sexuality makes you uncomfortable, or you are struggling with sexuality yourself. In that case, maybe "Come As You Are" by Emily Nagoski would be a helpful and liberating book to pick up instead....more
What a funny book! Picked this one up on a whim before realizing it's part of a series. Apparently, the books are standalones, however, and not knowinWhat a funny book! Picked this one up on a whim before realizing it's part of a series. Apparently, the books are standalones, however, and not knowing the first book didn't detract from my enjoyment. I will definitely pick up the first book still!
4.2 / 5
The tone is hilarious. It feels like Dame Maggie Smith is recounting her adventures - the British influence is undeniable and works fantastically well.
The characters feel like they're out of a DnD campaign - there's a lot of humour that feels like it happened this or a similar way at a TTRPG table. It wasn't a problem for me (because the protagonist's inner voice is generally truly hilarious), but it might turn some folx off the series. This also means there's some characters that are beyond suspicion when they shouldn't really be, and some characters that are almost never explored further despite seeming like they'd have more to say.
While I truly enjoyed my time with the book, the conclusion and romance elements in it fell a bit flat for me. Might be personal preference - I just didn't like the way the romantic arc was resolved, and the finale of the story felt oddly sudden and not very climactic at all....more
Probably 3.5 for a fairly standard plot, but the world building is cool and the characters are likable. My biggest gripe with it is that the character Probably 3.5 for a fairly standard plot, but the world building is cool and the characters are likable. My biggest gripe with it is that the character power level felt way too high for the plot of this book and the antagonists they were up against - right until the very end, when the overall plan for the trilogy becomes apparent. Still - I liked the investigative nature of the first book and would have preferred for the power level of the characters to match that, for the trilogy to stay more character-driven and not escalate towards world-threatening matters....more
4.5 / 5 This is a fantastic book, but one you have to be in the right mindset for. It's philosophical, mostly deeply melancholic and depressing, and th4.5 / 5 This is a fantastic book, but one you have to be in the right mindset for. It's philosophical, mostly deeply melancholic and depressing, and thoroughly surprised me with its ending. It has all the bitter commentary on the worst parts of human society that I liked about Orwell's 1984, but is a much shorter read. It's provocative, cynical, most definitively anti-war and altogether an ever-relevant read! There's also something brilliant Haldeman does with the way narration is sped up or slowed down depending on whether the protagonist is enjoying himself or not. Difficult to pinpoint, because I'm not sure it's done deliberately - but there's a lot of potential for interpretation and deep-dive analysis there, and I'm all here for it....more
2 / 5 This has a lot of original ideas for worldbuilding, but the construction of the plot, the characterisation, and the writing itself are all lacklu2 / 5 This has a lot of original ideas for worldbuilding, but the construction of the plot, the characterisation, and the writing itself are all lackluster. This was advertised as sapphic fantasy, and I was curious how it would read - if it would differ notably from other fantasy I'd been reading. I'm afraid it did, but not in a good way, and it's not the fault of the sapphic romance in the book, which is... fine, but not worth your time in my opinion. I won't be reading the next installment of the series - but I think it might still be enjoyable to some, particularly if you value unique worldbuilding significantly more than authentic, realistic interpretation of what life in such a world would be like. ...more
A thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable fantasy novel in an ever-popular military academy setting. It has dragons, secret meetings, students banding togeA thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable fantasy novel in an ever-popular military academy setting. It has dragons, secret meetings, students banding together to stand up to injustice, fighting, and likeable characters that are also badasses in several ways.
I devoured the first two thirds of the book - mostly because I expected some C-tier fantasy that merely served as a frame for some hot, steamy sex scenes. What I got instead was some B+ tier fantasy that actually would have satisfied me as a reader had there not been any romance in it. I was enthralled by the quality of the writing and the protagonist's stubborness and relentless struggle to keep up with her peers. Amidst all the peril Violet's in all the time, and the relatable way this is presented, I didn't care much about the fact that plot twists were being signaled from page 1 without any subtlety. Maybe the way it was done was obvious to me because I mostly read fantasy and know a fair bit about how stories are structured, so when someone follows those rules by the letter, I take notice - but I don't think it's too difficult to guess most of the events that are presented as shocking twists. Either way, I didn't pay much mind to it, because a story doesn't need to be original in order to entertain, and I liked Violet and the challenges she was facing.
That being said, I struggled with the last third of the book. It is one thing to anticipate some plot twists, quite another to see them delivered one after another in what felt like the author's desperate (and futile) attempt to shock the reader by revelations. This is particularly bad because some revelations should be easier to the characters to discern than the reader, and yet, because Violet gets frequent praise for being incredibly smart, it's a bit annoying when it takes her ages to figure out something that should be obvious not just to her, but also to a lot of other people.
Generally, there's a Mary Sue issue with the protagonist. Violet is too good at everything, as are most other characters - but in her case, it's worse because she's struggling so much in the beginning. The first half of the book is fantastic for the struggle of the protagonist to fit in, to prove herself. Then, the plot hands her success after success until the challenges she's struggling with need to rapidly shift to accommodate her growing power. Here's a protagonist that could have had her intelligence and strategic thinking highlighted and made these the defining traits that set her apart and made her a valuable asset to her peers - but no: She's "the first in a century to X" or "the only one ever known to Y" on several accounts, which is frustrating and unnecessary because the writing is generally good enough to make due without any of it, and I believe the author would have been able to pull off a far more nuanced character arc as well (and should have done so).
There's also the romance part of the book, and at least in my opinion, this is where the writing falls apart and loses itself to cliché after cliché without providing much that I would consider stimulating. I was hoping to get some steamy sex scenes with interesting dynamics, but the sex scenes in the book are few and far between, and I found they felt contrived and forced. It doesn't help that sex between other characters is only ever alluded to, as if the book was shying away from being explicit about it when there was absolutely no reason to. Stepping away from the sex scenes themselves doesn't really help, either, as the romance sections are somewhat painful to read. Every time the story's focus shifts to romance, the narration style shifts and painfully collides with the otherwise mature, sinister military academy setting as if this was a fantasy novel that happened to include an entirely different book about teenagers. Some cliché is inevitable when it comes to sex and romance in stories like this, especially if they are supposed to be described in detail - but here, it just doesn't fit the overall tone of the rest of story.
There's two big revelations at the end of the book that I am simply not a fan of, one because of how tiredly cliché it is and how it will affect me thinking about the plot going forward, the other because of the odd assumptions about how conspiracies work and what would be required to keep something as prevalent as this secret. The latter revelation is integral to the story, but I feel like they both hold back a story that could have been an excellent fantasy novel. As it stands, this is a 3.5/5 for me - 3.5 because the setup is amazingly well done and had me hooked for most of the book, but down 1.5 from 5 because I found the sex scenes disappointing (and rare) and the finale of the book wasn't satisfying to me, so this had neither of the saving graces I would have accepted and expected from it.
Overall, I'm curious about the second part because this is still the best fantasy romance book I've read so far, and better than some other fantasy books I've read - but I'm entirely new to fantasy romance, and I read a lot of general fantasy, so I'm not sure that's too much of a recommendation depending on what you're into....more
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