galacticvampire's reviews
342 reviews

If I had started out with this prequel I probably wouldn't have read the rest of the series.

There's some leeway I'm willing to give for silly choices, because I know the Cool Factor helps with the whole sexy fantasy. A billionaire who's also former CIA? Sure. Said billionaire is also basically playing at shadow government because he owns a sex club that gathers the most important people in the world? Ok.

But honestly. The whole warrior nun/vatican spy/groomed virgin assassin was Too Much. You can have the girl just liking fighting, I don't know, but this whole thing made me think Isolde was not only stupid but extremely annoying.

The writing is perfectly fine but I found it really hard to do anything but cringe at both her backstory and the blushing teenager trope.

Forget whatever you think about erotica, this book is an absolute SOAP OPERA.

Yes, there's a lot of spicy scenes and they were really well written but I was absolutely enthralled by their messiness.

Picture this: man comes back from war, man's dad remarries, new step-uncle gets him a job. Step-uncle owns a kink club and needs bodyguard! Man FALLS IN LOVE with step-uncle/boss??

Proceeds to become his sub. Finds out boss is actually engaged, breakes up, FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE FIANCÉ TOO??????

Like sure the sex is great but I'm here with my popcorn for this reality-show level of drama! 

Absolute great audiobook to just turn your brain (and moral standards) off and enjoy the show.

My favorite part of this book is that it finally embraces all the silliness in Star Wars.

There are some dramatic moments, of course, but I think the Middle Grade books are the perfect space to be a little less serious in the tragedy that is The High Republic.

The cast is a little too big at times and the conclusion stretches a little too much for my taste, but the experience of following a bunch of pre teens in such a wacky planet was a delight.

I didn't know I needed a nerdy and anxious Hutt until I met Churo but now I need 10 more books of him.

I think this book suffers from my expectations going in, as it was highly recommended for me.

I do really enjoy the dark themes and the gory atmosphere. I think the characterization and setting are both really unique and well described. Every single scene in the theatre made me wish I was there to see the ballet with my own eyes.

There's something to be said about a narrative that follows someone so sheltered and manipulated. You can feel first hand the story of healing and breaking from abuse and accepting yourself.

BUT it's exactly Marlinchen's blandness that results in most of what I felt lacking. I didn't dislike her necessarily, but the world is so rich and we have to see it through the eyes of someone incredibly dull, resulting in many moments where I felt the story didn't really reach its potential and stayed superficial.

Her romance is so boring I kept waiting for any big reveal about it, but it honestly read like a juvenile YA, and the plot twist was so predictable I spent the entire time trying to figure out another possibility because there was no way it would be it. (It was)

Still, I really enjoyed the ending and the writing made for some really interesting moments, in which I could really feels the city and its surviving magic flourish.

This is probably my favourite bell hooks book so far. As expected, it is quite dense, but I think she strikes a perfect balance between not pulling her punches and being didactic .

Focusing on the exclusion of black women from feminist spaces, it's eye opening to see for how long the issues we have to this day have been ongoing.

Absolutely insane. I loved every second of it even thought I already knew the biggest plot twist.

Finally, an adventure in space!

I absolutely loved the creepiness of an abandoned space station with weird things happening, and the contrast between Murderbot and other androids/units goves eben more opportunity to the exploration of themes like sentience and human rights.

As always, Murderbot is a delightful narrator and Martha Wells strikes a perfect balance between tension and humour.

Really creepy and atmospheric. While it doesn't really go into HORROR or is particular scary, it has some unique ways to grow tension and explore the paranormal activities happening.

The characters are a little bland, and the "mistery" was so predictable that it was unnerving how blind the cast was about it. Still, it was fun and the narrator was quite good.

Murderbot continues being the anxiety representation we always needed. And now, somehow, I'm shipping two aroace robots and one of them doesn't even have a corporeal form.

The overall plot slowly gets more complex while the novella itself remains funny and intelligent.

This is a YA version of a good thriller horror, so basically Pretty Little Liars if it was fantasy.

The premise is really good, and so is the set-up: six girls born in the same day have to reunite cold friendships when they begin to disappear and come back with creepy symptoms.

The writing manages to capture the weird and the gory even in the softer tone of YA, and the world building had a lot of potential. I really wanted to know more about Sorrow and the magic.

But the execution makes it for a weak and superficial story. It's creepy, but the reason is silly. The whole deal with the mothers doesn't make much sense and the ending is very anticlimactic. Overall, it is fun and different but not really memorable.