Please, trust the positive reviews on this one, because this book is absolutely phenomenal.
� The writing is so good. This is my first time reading thiPlease, trust the positive reviews on this one, because this book is absolutely phenomenal.
� The writing is so good. This is my first time reading this author, but I can tell you with absolute certainty: this woman reads, and she reads good quality fiction. Absolutely stunning vocabulary that manages to work both in narrative sequences and in the excellent pieces of dialogue.
� The characters!!! Oh my god, the characters. I will offer this woman my soul just to get another scene with Brishen and Ildiko. They're smart, rational people, capable in their own ways, and a far cry from the fumbling heroine and brooding hero we often get in romantasy. Plenty of other reviews have mentioned this, but it bears repeating: they have one of the best, most respectful slow-burn romances I've ever read. I will literally chop off an arm if it means they get their happy ending. (Yes, I'm being dramatic about this, but if you read this you'll get it.)
� Amazing secondary characters and villains. Seriously, Secmis is a psychopath and she's absolutely disgusting, yet somehow had some of my favorite moments in the book.
� Absolutely hysterical dyanmic, plus arranged marriage (favorite trope alert!) Essentially, the MCs are from different species who both find each other repulsive to look at (the MMC has grey skin, claws, giant fangs and bright yellow eyes with no pupils, iris or sclera. Nightmare fuel, but make it hot.)
The epilogue has me absolutely screeching in horror to read the sequel, and a part of me is still equally angry and devastated because of (view spoiler)[Brishen's captivity and subsequent torture. I didn't think Miss Draven was going to go there, but nah, now our main guy is half blind and permanently disfigured, and probably more traumatized than he cares to show. I am slightly terrified for the next book, and praying the death flags I see for some of the characters are just in my imagination. (hide spoiler)]
To finish off, some favorite quotes:
"I hate my mother, Ildiko," he said in that same flat voice. "Down to the marrow of my bones. One day I will kill her. She knows this." He looked at the place where the urn rested. "Anaknet is why I am who I am, wife. Because I refuse to become like the monstrosities who bore us."
What finishing this book caused me to do was, in order: sob into my couch pillows, text a guy I haven't seen in a year because Bel reminded me of him,What finishing this book caused me to do was, in order: sob into my couch pillows, text a guy I haven't seen in a year because Bel reminded me of him, go out with my friends and have copious amount of wine then share shots with the bartenders. So, all in all, a pretty solid day.
I can't not give this 5 stars. It's not the new literary masterpiece of the century, and I don't think the author was even going for that, but god is it good. It forced me to confront my own religious (and other) trauma and all the fears we hold about mortality, all the while often not being capable of actually making choices in fear of ruffling feathers - then our life abruptly ends, and was any of it really worth it?
This book gave me the healthiest relationship I've ever seen in romantasy, a genuinely in-depth analysis on child abuse, surviving trauma and the complexities of religious beliefs (and what people choose to do with them, twisting them for their own ends) and what it truly means to be alive. Plus, it is literally set in Hell and one half of the pairing is a seven-foot tall, purple-skinned demon with giant bat wings and a tail, so.
Also, if the next book isn't about Gregorith I am going to lose my mind.
I'm obsessed with this. I read it on Kindle but I'll definitely get a copy to reread it and cry over it again because god, did it sting at times. A million times recommended if you enjoy romance and fantasy and are sick of the toxic relationships and Alpha male bullshit being depicted everywhere. Please note that this book is 18+ and there are some TWs for it listed at the beginning that you should definitely check out....more
I knew this book was going to somewhat upset me, and it did what I needed it to - it raised questions within me, but I was not expecting the helpless I knew this book was going to somewhat upset me, and it did what I needed it to - it raised questions within me, but I was not expecting the helpless anger it awakened. It's a brilliant approach to science fiction, humanness and especially womanhood. Bravo Sierra Greer.
Edit: I couldn't sleep all night after I finished this because I kept thinking about it. Might be my best read of 2024 so far....more
I started writing book reviews four years ago. Back then I had more time on my hands; more love to give, a softer soul, a more gentle heart. Today my I started writing book reviews four years ago. Back then I had more time on my hands; more love to give, a softer soul, a more gentle heart. Today my skin feels hardened. My days have more dish-washing and laundry-doing and bank-going and train-taking than they used to. Inevitably, the space my mind used to have for literature has narrowed further and further. And, I must admit, my optimism has faded too: after one good book out of a hundred, you start to feel a little hopeless.
When I first read the synopsis for this book, I thought: oh my, this is gonna be heavy. Interesting and maybe boring at the same time. I was wrong. My expectations weren't particularly high just because the author holds a Nobel prize for literature (Bob Dylan does too, so... but let's not get too controversial this early in the review.) Nevertheless, my academy assigned me a bunch of books to read during the summer, so I decided to start out with this one simply because it was on top of the pile I had recovered from my very own house library.
Disgrace is an uncomfortable book about uncomfortable things. It has a main character who's both extremely unlikable and surprisingly human; who can't apologize out of pride, but cries at the death of a dog. Whose thoughts are shaped like Wordsworth verses, like Byron poems, like old books and older words; and that is something I cannot help but relate to. David, professor David Lurie, is fighting for a passion he no longer feels, and soon enough finds himself in a situation far more complicated than he had anticipated. Because this book is not about him, or his affairs, not even about his complicated and ever-suffering daughter. This book is about society. And I feel it is an extremely relevant book to read, especially right now, as it reminds us of a universal truth: the tables will turn. The ones you enslaved yesterday will be your masters tomorrow, and will inflict onto you just as much pain as you did to them, and worse, so at the end who's the villain? Who's the real villain? There isn't one. There's only a humanity so raw it feels physically painful, like rubbing your skin so hard with dry sand it starts to peel. There's a man who only thinks about himself but also learns how unfair and unkind the world can be - because yesterday it was cruel to black South African natives, and today it's merciless towards white South African women, and what to say about tomorrow? There aren't good or bad people in a world like this. There's a woman who is not allowed to be herself but in whispers. Whose stubborness eventually turns into defeat, into: this is the way the world is. I cannot do anything to change it.
Disgrace is about pain, but also about family, passion, how all-consuming love can be, and how cold, almost methodical, meaningless lust can be. About how those whose land was robbed from them now want revenge, and it's not pretty. It's violent. It's horrifying. It makes bile rise up your throat, that feeling of helplessness that makes people punch walls in movies, that makes you kick at a chair until it clatters loudly to the ground. This is not a book that leaves any room for hope. It's a warning. In the words of David: history will repeat itself, but maybe we've learned something along the way. I can only hope. I can only hope, twenty or thirty years from now, I won't have to come back to this book and hold it close to my chest, thinking: You were wrong. I'm so sorry, but you were wrong. We have learned nothing.
This was the place nightmares came to be inspired.
I'm probably feeling way too giddy for someone who just finished reading a book about serial kil
This was the place nightmares came to be inspired.
I'm probably feeling way too giddy for someone who just finished reading a book about serial killings, but what can I say? It feels so good to be back to reading, especially since this book was positively exhilarating. It had that Infernal Devices vibe that I adore, with a little bit of The Diviners and a whole lot of uniqueness.
The case of Jack the Ripper and the brutal murders that occurred in London in the 1800s is one of the most famous throughout all history. And, as a lover of everything scary and gory, I was rubbing my hands excitedly at the thought of reading a book about it. I wasn't expecting much from the historical setting, but I was pleasantly surprised by its believability (and - sometimes, but not always - its accuracy.)
Stalking Jack The Ripper is an impressive debut novel. It had everything I could ask for: a gripping mystery, an intriguing setting, a fantastic main character and a sprinkle of romance. Maniscalco brought to life an extremely interesting set of characters, and she succeeded where many books have failed before. I've read so many stories that claim to be feminist and progressive one second, and shamelessly indulge in slut-shaming the next. However, this wasn't the case at all with this book. Audrey Rose is an unconventional woman for her time. Despite knowing that she cannot completely disrupt the social order, she is not willing to let go of her interest for forensic medicine, and spends almost every day helping her uncle dissecting cadavers in a gloomy morgue. Needless to say, her father - a paranoid man still plagued by the grief of losing his wife to sickness - does not approve 0f her unladylike hobbies. But Audrey is more than just a girl who wants to do a man's job. She is aware that she has every right to enjoy both fine gowns and forensic medicine, that she can be in love without becoming a slave to a man's wishes. And I loved her dearly for being so unapologetic.
We follow Audrey as she examines bodies (let me tell you: if you are easily disgusted, then this book is not for you) and tries to solve the mystery of the identity of Jack the Ripper. And, as she tries to deal with her father's opium addiction, her uncle's strangeness and with society's expectations, she slowly starts to realise that the murderer might be closer to her than she thinks. During her investigations, Audrey meets Thomas, her uncle's young and arrogant - but undeniably charming - assistant. Thomas hides his emotions behind a facade of sarcasm and indifference, and one cannot help but be fascinated by his cheekiness - absolutely outrageous for a gentleman - but also by the detached and cold way he looks at death and loss. He is always able to let go of his emotions and focus entirely on his work, something that Audrey still struggles to do. And yet, their interactions were absolutely hilarious, and had my heart speed up a little bit every time they met each other's gaze. Thomas is disrespectful and often inappropriate, but Audrey never lets him get away with it. And faced with real danger, his cold exterior starts to crumble, and you realise how deeply he actually cares about people, and how hard he fights to try and hide it.
This book managed to be witty and scary all at once, having me shiver at the bloody and grotesque scenes and giggling like a little girl at Audrey's exchanges with Thomas. The plot was fast-paced and the characters refreshing, and - through Audrey's smart and confident voice - the author made it very clear that enjoying typically feminine things and allowing yourself to sometimes be vulnerable does not make you any less brave or capable to do your job.
Roses have both petals and thorns, my dark flower. You needn't believe something weak because it appears delicate.
My Wi-Fi is still down, but I will write all my reviews as soon as it's back and running. But still, this was probably the best YA historical4.5 STARS
My Wi-Fi is still down, but I will write all my reviews as soon as it's back and running. But still, this was probably the best YA historical fiction I've ever read. I'm impressed....more
Bastille - Flaws All Time Low - Therapy Cat Stevens - Wild World Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism Ed Sheeran - The A Team EMy playlist for this book:
I had this feeling suddenly. I get this feeling a lot, but I don't know if there's one word for it. It's not nervous or sad or even lonely. It's all of that, and then a bit more. The feeling is, I don't belong here. I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how long I can stay before everyone else realizes that I'm an impostor. I am a fraud.
I don't usually write very personal reviews. Being a naturally reserved person, a similar approach is what I'm generally comfortable with: talking about my opinions, never about my life. But with such a book, I feel like it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone. This Song Will Save Your Life is an honest book. It's a touching book, and it made me teary-eyed, and it warmed my heart. It's the story of a girl who was never quite right. Who was always precocious, always a little bit too smart for her own good, always unaware of what she should have been like. She thought she could be whatever she wanted. Then, slowly, she realized that she could only be what other people wanted her to be: friendless. A loser. Depressed. Suicidal. Hateful. So Elise cut herself, because she needed attention. Because she needed to be seen.
It is no secret that teenage years are often one of the hardest and most complicated times of our lives. I was no exception. And now, looking back, I'd like to take my younger self's hand and tell her that I'm proud of her, that she's strong, that she's valuable, and that she's doing the best she can. And that's okay. Because I was a million different people: I was the awkward girl, I was a loner, I was frigid and then suddenly a slut, I was quiet, then aggressive, and then I was the new girl, I was the quirky girl, I was even the popular girl that boys wanted to date and girls wanted to hang out with, and then I was just me, I was just a writer and a dreamer and sometimes a good friend and sometimes a bad one. I was a million different people, and it was impossible to live with it, because the world is merciless. And because once they see you're different, they'll do whatever they can to make your life hell. But you have to fight back. You have to stop apologizing for being who you are, you need to grin and say thank you when they call you weird, and eventually you'll find out that you don't really care. That you went through all that judgement and thought it was going to destroy you, so you hurt yourself a little bit too, you hurt others because you didn't know any better, but at the end of it all... you understand it's not worth it. You find out that it feels so much better when you say whatever you want, you wear whatever you want, you do whatever you want. Because it doesn't matter if you're quirky weird cold-hearted she thinks she's so much better than all of us. Because you're you, and you're so, so bright. So full of passion and anger and strength, and you could change the world.
This book often hit a little too close to home. Elise had a beautiful family. She had parents who loved her, siblings who cared about her. She was talented and smart and strong, but it still wasn't enough. Because the world saw her light and wanted to snuff it out, and kids can be so cruel, and kids can be so sad. So Elise brought a knife to her wrists and cut deep until she was bleeding. Then she picked up the phone and, almost through a haze, she called for help. Her life didn't get any better after that; in fact, it got worse. She felt so lonely and numb and out of place that she had to take long night walks to get to breathe again, to feel like she wasn't trapped. To feel like she was free. And it was during one of these walks that Elise discovered Start, a warehouse nightclub, and she discovered her love for DJing. I've always thought that artists are all somewhat alike: musicians, writers, singers, painters, even DJs. There is nothing like the feeling of creating something. And while Elise found out that all her passion and talent and love for music had not disappeared after all, she also opened herself up to the world. To friendship. To new people, good and bad, people that would stay and people that would leave - because that's what happens. The world that is waiting for you outside those walls is not inherently good or bad: it's just there, in its infinite shades of gray, waiting for you to explore it. Elise's journey wasn't pretty, and it wasn't easy. It was raw and real, and far from over, but it was something. She watched the people dance and cheer and kiss and she knew it was all because of her - and what a glorious feeling that was.
Sometimes people think they know you. They know a few facts about you, and they piece you together in a way that makes sense to them. And if you don't know yourself very well, you might even believe that they are right. But the truth is, that isn't you. That isn't you at all.
This is not a review on what this book is about. I'm writing this because I feel like This Song Will Save Your Life is a book for us. The artists, the outsiders, the ones that can't sleep at night, the people that were or are or will be in pain, the people that know what passion is, that know what it means to care so much and so little at the same time. It's a book for dreamers, for all of us who believe that we can, that it is possible to change things, that it is a gift to be yourself, and for those who were hurt by the world but always fought back. It's a book for those of us who look at the sky and wonder, who maybe have lied and shouted and are not proud of who they were, but they are still trying. And, as the song goes, maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live, maybe one of these days you can let the light in....more
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