I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion as part of a book tour for this book, with thanks to the author, publisher a I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion as part of a book tour for this book, with thanks to the author, publisher and The Write Reads.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book as I'm not typically the biggest fan of historical fiction. I sometimes find it too whimsical, too out of the bounds of solid reality and I was worried this book would do exactly that, but I was pleasantly surprised.
This book is set in 1940's Poland as the German forces seek to maintain "order" and begins with a Jewish town being destroyed, it's citizens murdered brutally and a young mute boy almost meeting his death. We are then introduced to Uwe, a linguist who has been co-opted by the Police to translate Polish and Jewish people who dare act against the Nazis, when he comes across the town, he is horrified and can't shake the image of the small dead boy who's notebook is filled with stories of angels and mythicism. Little does he know, Uriel isn't dead and is soon entrusted with a heavenly task to find the missing angel Michael, who has been kidnapped by the Angel of Death, Samael, and protect his people from evil. Samael gives Uriel five tasks to complete and Uwe during this time, seeks to protect Uriel as much as he can but he knows if he is found out, he is going to be killed for betraying the Nazis.
It's an intense book and yet is written so very clearly from the perspective of a child. It is filled with hope in seemingly hopeless situations, it's darkness is never too reaching, it never drags down the feel of the book despite it obviously being one of the worst time periods for mankind. This book is sad, yet hopeful. That's the only real way I can think to describe it. Uriel is a great main character, the boy from the town known for its choir who can't speak. He never lets his mutism stop him, he writes beautiful stories, some of which that are told throughout the book, and he is determined and headstrong in the face of evil, not even a demonic angel slowing him down. I really enjoyed this read and I'm happy to have read it....more
Thank you to Electric Monkey and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book. This gift has in no way altered my review.
Jesse Q Suta Thank you to Electric Monkey and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book. This gift has in no way altered my review.
Jesse Q Sutanto is an author who has been on my radar for a long time. I think its nearly impossible to exist within the book sphere and NOT be aware of their books. I was worried going into this book as I hadn't read Well, That Was Unexpected but this book is 100% a standalone.
It follows Kiki who has just started a strict new school against her best wishes. If she had her way, she would have stayed in her old school, where she had friends and was well liked. In this new school however, she's the new girl, and quickly adopts the nickname of Crazy Kiki and finds herself at the butt of many jokes. Luckily, she finds solace in her online roleplaying game and if she's secretly a little in love with her online best friend who she has never met, and who also doesn't know she's a girl, well...that's no one's business. Yet, everything comes to a head when she finds out the cute boy in her new school is said online friend...and well, you can say she didn't see that coming...
Get it?
I think I'm really funny.
Anyway, I thought this book was great. It's clear that Jesse Q knows exactly who her audience are. She knows her strengths are in combining humour and just the right amount of angst to tell a good story, and leans into them. There was a couple of points of this book where I found it a little predictable but overall, I don't mind a plot that is a little predictable.
This book touches on some serious issues, such as bullying and systematic sexism, and I think they're handled pretty gracefully in the book. We have a strong female main character who is repeatedly finding herself at odds with fitting into a system she hates, or causing so much trouble she loses her place in school. While we always wish for moments where the main character stands up for their beliefs immediately and from the outset, this book is a prime example of showing that sometimes it takes time and an established support system to improve injustices, as we find with the interactions between Kiki and the school principal.
Overall, if you're looking a humourous book, an unexpected love story and a book that combines this with more serious moments, then I think this the book for you. ...more
I read this in an attempt to start a comic read-a-thon online and ultimately failed in doing that. While this story is hard to read through 2024 eyes,I read this in an attempt to start a comic read-a-thon online and ultimately failed in doing that. While this story is hard to read through 2024 eyes, I can just imagine the wonder that would've been brought by this story in 1939. ...more
I love the stage of a story where the scale starts to tip from getting more answers than questions, andWe are finally starting to get some answers !!
I love the stage of a story where the scale starts to tip from getting more answers than questions, and I feel like this volume was that for me. I loved seeing more Sho in this book, and seeing him and Shinra together made my bitter, jaded heart a little happier. ...more
I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I love Benimaru. This volume largely followed Benimaru's fight with his master, who had returned. HoI'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I love Benimaru. This volume largely followed Benimaru's fight with his master, who had returned. Honestly, one of my favourite volumes in a while. ...more
I'm finding with Fire Force, as with a lot of manga series, that a lot of the books up until this moment have been filled with filler content. I know I'm finding with Fire Force, as with a lot of manga series, that a lot of the books up until this moment have been filled with filler content. I know a lot of this is to make you love the characters and develop a kinship with them, but I feel like in a world that is becoming as complex as the Fire Force universe, some of these volumes could have been used to lend more to the storyline. It's good, I just find a lot is happening at once. ...more
What do you want from us? The dumb girls are too dumb, the smart girls are too smart, and the average girls are I read a digital copy of this book.
What do you want from us? The dumb girls are too dumb, the smart girls are too smart, and the average girls are too unexceptional?
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 recounts the story of Jiyoung throughout her life. It begins in the present day before recounting the facts of her life as she moves through school and into adulthood, finding that Korean society doesn't look too kindly upon women. Although times were changing throughout this book, a large portion of this book dealt with what women are expected to do. This is in terms of careers, motherhood, appearance, and so on.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It has been on my radar for a while, as I've been really enjoying translated fiction, and I'm glad I picked it up. Although this book was quick, it dealt with a lot. It dealt with the things that Jiyoung had experienced throughout her life, and then the symptoms she was expressing in the present day too. Her journey into motherhood was very poignant, and this is perhaps one of the few books I've seen it recognised just how much women sacrifice for their families in so many places around the world.
I was kindly sent a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
The first long run of turbulent young adul I was kindly sent a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
The first long run of turbulent young adulthood was over. So too was excusing yourself by reference to your background. Insufficient parents? A lack of love? Too much of it? Enough, no more excuses. You had friends of a dozen years or more. You could see your reflection in their eyes. You could or should have been in and out of love. You would have spent useful time alone. You had a measure of public life and your relation to it. Your responsibilities would be pressing in, helping to define you.
If someone held me up and told me to tell them what happened in this book, I'm not sure I would be able to tell them. I enjoyed the Ian McEwan books that I've read, which is why I requested this read. I was SO excited for this. A long-form book following one character throughout their life? Sign me up. That's the type of book I absolutely eat up...usually.
This book follows Roland after his wife abandons him and their young son, Lawrence. It touches on him getting to grips with the break down of his marriage and finding his feet as a single parent. We stroll down memory lane with Roland as he reflects on happy moments of his life, but also some quite dark ones, including the abuse from his former piano tutor (who at one stage seemingly holds him hostage and tries to coerce a very underage Roland into an illegal marriage). It becomes clear that in the present day, Roland had never fully dealt with this abuse, and the side affects of that leeched into his relationships with his wife, Alissa, and any other partners he has later. We see him travel, watch his son grow, meet new loves and lose them, lose his parents, gain new family, so on and so forth.
I don't know how much I really have to say about this read, it took me ages to read. I found it dragged a lot, too many words, not enough action in a lot of places which I found quite hard to get through. It was fine. Nothing exciting. I have to admit it was a bit of let down as I was so excited to read it.
You buried your parents, or they buried you and grieved more piteously than you ever could for them. There was no greater affliction than losing a child. So count yourself and your father lucky. ...more
I picked up this book after reading and loving Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I will streI picked up this book after reading and loving Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I will stress that it was still an enjoyable read, I enjoy short story-style anthologies so I loved the lay out of this, however, knowing just how creepy LaRocca can get, I expected to be on edge more. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to what I wanted it to be. ...more
I'm struggling to recall the specifics about this book, which is usually an indicator that I enjoyed it enough to have no negative emotions, but not eI'm struggling to recall the specifics about this book, which is usually an indicator that I enjoyed it enough to have no negative emotions, but not enough to remember the details.
This is laid out in that short story format that I really enjoy so I'm glad I picked this up. ...more
It was fine. It wasn't badly written, and sure, the story was interesting enough. But ohY'all hyped this book up so much.
Way too much in my opinion.
It was fine. It wasn't badly written, and sure, the story was interesting enough. But oh my god, did I hate every single character. Not a single one of them was likeable. I only like unlikeable characters if it adds to the story, if it was intentional, yet, I think we were supposed to like these characters?? Hmm. ...more
I really have a growing interest in translated fiction which is why I picked this one up.
I actually really enjoyed the format, and how it was told. UI really have a growing interest in translated fiction which is why I picked this one up.
I actually really enjoyed the format, and how it was told. Unreliable narrators are my favourite. I wish I had written a coherent review when I first read the book. ...more
Eighteen year old Max is one of the few openly gay kids at his school, there’s him, his best friend Dean and his crush Oliver. When he finally plucks up the courage to ask Oliver out and gets no response, it gets to him. He begins to wish he was “normal”, that he didn’t miss out on experiences like other teenagers because of his sexuality and he takes his frustration out on his closest friends claiming he wish he’d never been their friend. However, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for because when he wakes up the next day with a girlfriend and no Dean, he finds himself navigating a parallel reality he never wanted too.
I liked the Freaky Friday esque energy of this book, it was easy to follow along with and I really enjoyed watching Max come to the realisation that what we expect certain situations to be is not always the reality. Max throughout this book does grow a lot. At the start I couldn’t really warm to him but as the story continued and we got to see him realise what he actually valued, I definitely grew to enjoy his character. Like a lot of YA books, the side characters definitely made the book more worthwhile.
Oliver was perhaps one of the more interesting characters in this book. While we got to know him a fair amount, I would’ve loved a bit more time spent with him and Max getting to know one another before the reality shift happens. Dean and Alicia also are true friends because I don’t know if I would’ve been so forgiving of Max’s temper if I was them ...more
Bobbi Morse is in the middle of her divorce to Clint Barton, or as she describes, everyone’s least favourite Avenger. As if that chapter of her life closing isn’t enough, she’s also closing out her time as a West Coast Avenger. Sensing she needs a distraction, Maria Hill sends her on a “vacation” (read undercover mission) to Oxford to locate her former, now disgraced, mentor who has gone missing. When she gets there, she soon finds nothing is as it seems and Bobbi has to make the decision either to work alone or trust the cocky, charming British agent also on the case, Lance ✨
I love these novels, I’ve previously read some of the X-Men ones and I was so excited to jump into this.
Admittedly, Bobbi isn’t a character I knew a lot about before this book. I knew she had been married to Clint and was a genius but further than that my knowledge was limited. After this book I 100% want to get into her arcs more!
I loved the side characters in this read, especially seeing Jen, Maria and Matt! Lance’s development in this book was also fantastic, he was such a dynamic character and I loved seeing him and Bobbi’s interactions ...more
I mean, it has Bucky Barnes in it, what more do I need to say? We all know he's my favourite Marvel character, unless you're new here. I mean, it has Bucky Barnes in it, what more do I need to say? We all know he's my favourite Marvel character, unless you're new here. ...more
This volume starts with Vulcan finally completing Arthur's sword, as Company 8 need I read a digital copy of this book.
The Great Cataclysm begins.
This volume starts with Vulcan finally completing Arthur's sword, as Company 8 need to be on their A-Game to fight against the Evangelists. Shinra is recovering from his encounter with Captain Burns and yearns for another Adolla Link. In order to help him achieve this, Beni teaches him about meditating and opening up his Third Eye, and he soon experiences an Adolla linking him to Sho. Sho then feels the urge to escape the Evangelists and go to his brother, but at that time, they begin the Cataclysm. A pillar erupts from the sea, as the plug for a giant underwater volcano threatening to take out life in Tokyo. Shinra rushes to help Company 2 fight it's Infernal Titan guard.
This volume again was victim to the "too much filler, not enough action" issue that is commonplace in this story. I'm hoping now that the Cataclysm has started it'll be non-stop action but I'm weary in my hopefulness. ...more
At the end of Volume 22 things were looking up massively. The story had completely drawn me back in and I was so excited fo I read an ebook of this.
At the end of Volume 22 things were looking up massively. The story had completely drawn me back in and I was so excited for this volume. At the end of the last book, we were introduced to a mysterious character named Moonlite Mask, who distracts the Evangelists in their mission to take out a battered Company 8. We soon find out this mysterious new figure is Beni who rescues Company 8 and takes them back to Asakusa for medical attention and to regroup. While the death of Captain Burns has led to Company 8 being even further ostracised by the Empire, other company captains begin to declare their belief in Company 8. While they regroup, Hibana returns to the grounds of the Convent she and Iris grew up in, to get to the end of the mystery of the Doppelgangers. She and the new leaders of Company 1 find a hidden underground library where Hibana finds out not everything from her past is as it seemed and she is confronted by a figure from her past.
This volume fell flat for me because it felt like after a whole bunch of volumes with very little filler, the filler came back. Val, Yu, Lisa and Arthur set out on a quest to re-encourage Arthur after his loss against the Dragon. They go on a hunt for a legendary metal (a quest fully fabricated by Val) but when Arthur misreads a clue and takes them into the Nether once more, they face something completely unexpected: Arthur's estranged family.
I hope this all adds up to something in the coming volumes, I'm not sure I can handle much more filler. The whole Arthur and his family storyline is completely unhinged. ...more
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