Tag: friday feels

Review: Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

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Alexis:

Well, my laptop stopped charging, and I had to wait to get a new charging port. It’s hard updating a blog without my laptop! Thankfully, it’s all fixed now, so time for another book review!

Lost in the Never Woods is a modern day Peter Pan retelling that takes places when Wendy turns eighteen years old. A string of child disappearances all keep coming back to her, only reminding her of when her own two little brothers disappeared years ago without a trace. And then Peter Pan shows up in Wendy’s town.

I enjoyed Thomas’ writing style in Cemetery Boys, and I likewise enjoyed it in this one. It was spookier and less lighthearted than Cemetery Boys, while keeping the heartwarming magic of Peter Pan. 

The basic plot reminded me of the middle grade series Peter and the Starcatchers, which I read when I was younger, so I think if you enjoyed that series, you’ll like this book. I liked the themes of childhood and trauma that Thomas explores; this book focuses a lot more on Wendy’s trauma and emotions than plot. I’m also always a sucker for a book featuring spooky woods.

My one main critique is that the final plot reveal at the end wasn’t my favorite. Also, the characters weren’t as well-rounded as I would have liked. There’s a smaller spoilery critique that I’ll include down below. But overall, I enjoyed this one. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

SPOILERS BELOW:

Okay, so Peter Pan romance, right? I don’t have a problem with that except, well, Peter is a child. He goes through a weird growth spurt in this book and ends up being physically around Wendy’s age by the end, but mentally, I believe he was still around 13? I don’t know, it was a little weird having them have a romance at the end when Peter just ends up going back to being a child. As much as I love romance, I almost wish this book had focused more on friendship rather than a really slow burn romance.

Review: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

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Alexis:

I’m glad I read The Last Wish, but since it was originally published in 1993, it definitely has that old high fantasy feel to it.

This is the original series that delves into the world of the Witcher called Geralt of Rivia—before the popular video games, and before the TV show adaptation.

I’m not sure if it was just the translation or not, but this book is very heavy on the “tell” without a lot of “show.” Whenever there was imagery, I really enjoyed it, but this book is honestly 90% dialogue. I normally love dialogue, but it was a little too much, to the point that sometimes actions would only happen in dialogue. 

I also found it interesting that Geralt is much more vocal in the book than in the show. 

However, I was pleasantly surprised that the book is non-linear, just like the show. Suddenly, the show’s structure, which seemed all over the place at first, makes more sense. 

This first book only delves into Geralt’s storyline, with one main scene with the sorceress Yennefer, and several of the adventures with the troubadour Dandelion, who is named Jaskier in the show. The main difference in the worlds is, like I said earlier, that the book feels very “old” high fantasy. What I mean by that it’s a medieval world, with elves, and dwarves and monsters, and pubs with beer, but also sexism.

The first section of the book opens with a sex scene. Several of the characters (though most are monsters, but still) talk very casually about being rapists, and unnecessary comments about women were made several times throughout the book.

I think the show feels more contemporary (and it should, since it was created decades after the book was written). Many of the characters in the book hold unsavory views of women, especially Dandelion, who comes off as a rowdy, rather than the foolish but lovable Jaskier. While the TV show still has sexist characters, both Geralt and Jaskier are respectable characters.

Overall, I’m glad I was able to see where this popular fandom originated. But I’m probably going to stick to only watching the show, which is rare for me when it comes to books!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Review: Mexican Goth by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Alexis:

This is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve read in a while. It reads like a gothic, psychedelic nightmare. Moreno-Garcia’s gross, creepy descriptions shine. High Place is dripping in mold, villainous characters, and ghost-like visions.

What I enjoyed:

The gothic feel of this novel. I love the homage to books like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I love the fairly upfront references to The Yellow Wallpaper.

Moreno-Garcia’s descriptions are wonderful (but in a horror type of way). And she describes everything in masterfully drawn descriptions with high amounts of detail. You’ll have no trouble visualizing High Place or its contents. The descriptions of the mold alone made my allergies want to flare up.

This book touches on a lot of the ideas of the 1950’s, even the unfavorable ones…like eugenics. But I enjoyed the discussions of anthropology and botany.

Francis’ character was definitely my favorite; he grew on me more as the book went along.

What I wasn’t a fan of:

The beginning of this book is so slow. The entire first chapter feels almost unnecessary. The first entire half of the book basically has no plot; it’s just Noemí trying to figure out what the heck is going on at High Place while also trying to comfort her cousin, Catalina. For that reason, I don’t think you can call this book “suspenseful.”

As for Catalina, there are reasons that pop up later as to why we don’t get to know her character that well, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I know her at all. We get Noemí’s perspective on her cousin, but I didn’t even get the notion that she even knows Catalina that well to begin with.

Overall, I wish the plot had been more solidified.

All in all, this book is split pretty much down the middle for me. The first half is slow moving and has a gothic atmosphere, while the second half is faster moving and leans more on horror.

If you want a lushly written, atmospheric, bizarre gothic story with a twist of horror, then this might be the book for you. Just be aware that it unravels slowly, but the descriptions and the twists at the end will stick with you.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Trigger warnings: Rape/sexual assault, violence, murder/death. Mentions of suicide, cannibalism, eugenics, incest, and miscarriage.