readers – takes two to book review

Review: Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

July 23, 2021July 26, 2021 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Happy Friday, everyone! This week felt like it flew by.

I’ve just been consuming books lately, so I’m a little backed up on book reviews. But it’s time to talk about Wild Beauty.

I’ve been meaning to read McLemore’s books for a while now; she’s known for her magical realism books and her lyrical writing. And one of the best aspects of this book is her lush, lyrical writing. I love the way she describes the flowers and the gardens of La Pradera. I love magical realism, and reading this book often felt like reading a dream.

The plot: The Nomeolvides women are not like other women. They can create flowers with only their hands—but they’re also cursed. They can’t leave their magical garden estate of La Pradera without getting sick. And on top of that, if they fall in love too deeply, their loves disappear into thin air. But then a boy named Fel appears at La Pradera one day. And Estrella, one of the Nomeolvides girls, tries to help him figure out who he is and where he came from.

I liked the bixeual representation, and the collection of girls was fun to read about, even if they tended to blend together. I do wish I got to know Estrella’s character even more; Fel was definitely the standout character to me, and the only one who felt like he had a real backstory and motivation.

As much as I enjoyed McLemore’s writing and imagery, this book was very, very slow moving. And I don’t mind slow-moving, character-driven books. However, oftentimes, this book didn’t read like a book. I’m not sure what it felt like most of the time; maybe a long-form narrative poem?

Besides the chapters from Fel’s POV, this book has no plot until the last quarter or so. And what surprised me was that the plot was amazing. It was so interesting, and made so much sense in the context of the book, that I found myself a little annoyed. Why didn’t McLemore weave this plot in earlier instead of describing flowers or the girls dancing and conversing for the hundredth time? The ending was powerful, and the way the plot unraveled was wonderful. I just wish it was present in more of the book.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Review: The Bone Maker by Sarah Beth Durst

June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Despite copious amounts of rain, our beach trip ended up being a successful reading trip! While The Bone Maker isn’t the usual kind of beach read, I’m always in the mood for a spooky read.

The Bone Maker follows Kreya, a hermit living in a tower with no one for company but her constructs, little creatures and dolls she created from pieces of bone. Oh, and her dead husband, Jentt, who she raises from the dead as often as she can.

Twenty-five years ago, Kreya and her group of heroes risked their lives to defeat the bone maker Eklor—a corrupt magician who created an inhuman army using animal bones. The heroes reunite to help Kreya on her journey.

The story is primarily told from Kreya’s POV, though we dive into each of the character’s heads at one point or another. I thought the world was super interesting. There are bone makers, who created constructs from bones; bone wizards, who create talismans with powers (think playing an action card in a card game); and bone readers, who predict the future by reading bones. The characters’ successful backstory was great fuel for the plot, and I almost wish I could read a prologue book!

While I liked the plot, I really enjoyed getting to know the cast of characters. This book has the perfect balance of darkness (lots of bones, dead people, war, and death) and lightness (witty dialogue, funny characters). I love when I can find an adult fantasy that also has humor and great dialogue. But what kept this book from being 5 stars is that I wanted to get to know the characters even more! That, and the plot didn’t feel as urgent as it probably should have.

If you’re looking for a fun book with necromancy, defeating evil, and a journey with loveable characters, then I think you’ll enjoy this.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

February 8, 2021 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Here’s the thing: This was a highly entertaining read. It’s basically The Bachelor but in a dystopian America: drama, drama, drama. Once I reached page 140, I was a little more invested, because that’s when the worldbuilding actually started.

The world itself is interesting, and I wish there was even more of it! I think the overall themes and commentary on the current American society are great, including purity culture, self worth based on class, and the US’ relationship with China, despite the main character’s name being too on the nose.

BUT

The writing is…not great. Too much telling. And if felt too unpolished, too unedited.

The dialogue is stiff and too direct. Aspen’s character is such an asshole; Maxon comes off as a little, well, off; America is basically, “Oh, poor me. Everyone thinks I’m beautiful enough to win this contest, but I don’t think I’m good enough and want to go home to my asshole boyfriend.”

I also couldn’t help but compare this to The Hunger Games the entire time I was reading. That might be my own fault, but I think there were just too many similarities (though watered down similarities, to be fair).

This had the potential to be a great commentary on American society, but what can you do!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐.5/5

Review: Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

November 30, 2020 Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Alexis:

Raybearer is an impressive novel. The worldbuilding, based off of West African folklore, is intricate, and I often had to re-read sections about the world’s history because it was so detailed. But Ifueko went above and beyond when it came to shaping her world, and even if I couldn’t always keep up, it made the world very real.

There’s political intrigue, romance, magical creatures (including fairies), a found-family, and family drama.

The writing was great, I loved the main characters (and I’m looking forward to getting to know them better in the sequel, since this first book was a little more plot/world-driven than character-driven) and I enjoyed being swept into this magical world.

I only have two small critiques, one being that I didn’t get to know some of the characters well enough, and the pacing was a little slow in the beginning. However, this book reads like an epic, and the beginning starts out when Tarisai is a child, so I guess that is to be expected, and once it picked up its pace, I didn’t care!

Even though I’m not usually as much of a fan of high fantasy as compared to contemporary fantasy, I was pleasantly surprised with the dense, intricate world Ifueko crafted, and the plot unfolded in ways I never would have predicted. I love books that surprise me, and this book surprised me in all the right ways.

I found this to be a unique and engaging read, and if you’re looking for your next well-drawn, diverse YA fantasy, then I recommend it!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐