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armandnolastname's reviews
263 reviews
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
4.0
finally finished rereading one of my favorite book series of all time.
i just love the raven cycle. i love every single character, the plot, the setting, the elements combined into its pages; i adore it. i'm not the biggest fan of young adult or urban fantasy (at least not anymore, i have to admit that i consumed that sort of books a lot in the past), i don't think i would pick up a book with that premise right now. but trc it's different.
it's true that it's not perfect. for example, i would have loved if trc would have given more protagonism to noah (noah czerny my beloved i love you so much), and my favorite books of the series were the first and second one, but i do love this little universe as a whole.
the raven king is specially dear to me because this was the first book i managed to read entirely in english 5 years ago. i remember it was so hard; i had to constantly look up for the translation of many words while i was reading. i was a bit insane for choosing this one book as my first english book, not gonna lie, but the thing is: i didn't plan it. i loved trc so much that i couldn't wait for it to be translated into my native language. i think that was the beginning of something that changed my life, sort of? thanks to that moment and trk, now i find myself studying english literature and almost every book i read is in english - so thank you the raven cycle for your contribution in making me the woman i am today. really, i didn't realize the implications these books had in my life until i thought about it when i was deciding whether or not i should reread it. one part of me was afraid of ruining trc for my own self, thinking that i wasn't the target of the story anymore and that i would see a lot of flaws that i didn't see when i was younger. but i enjoyed it so much and i realized all over again how good trc is.
i love this story so much, it's always going to have a special place in my heart.
i just love the raven cycle. i love every single character, the plot, the setting, the elements combined into its pages; i adore it. i'm not the biggest fan of young adult or urban fantasy (at least not anymore, i have to admit that i consumed that sort of books a lot in the past), i don't think i would pick up a book with that premise right now. but trc it's different.
it's true that it's not perfect. for example, i would have loved if trc would have given more protagonism to noah (noah czerny my beloved i love you so much), and my favorite books of the series were the first and second one, but i do love this little universe as a whole.
the raven king is specially dear to me because this was the first book i managed to read entirely in english 5 years ago. i remember it was so hard; i had to constantly look up for the translation of many words while i was reading. i was a bit insane for choosing this one book as my first english book, not gonna lie, but the thing is: i didn't plan it. i loved trc so much that i couldn't wait for it to be translated into my native language. i think that was the beginning of something that changed my life, sort of? thanks to that moment and trk, now i find myself studying english literature and almost every book i read is in english - so thank you the raven cycle for your contribution in making me the woman i am today. really, i didn't realize the implications these books had in my life until i thought about it when i was deciding whether or not i should reread it. one part of me was afraid of ruining trc for my own self, thinking that i wasn't the target of the story anymore and that i would see a lot of flaws that i didn't see when i was younger. but i enjoyed it so much and i realized all over again how good trc is.
i love this story so much, it's always going to have a special place in my heart.
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
4.0
finished this a few days ago but feel like i have to write some of my thoughts here. someday i know i will like to look back on this and remember how happy this book made me.
i'm very biased towards it because howl's moving castle is one of my favorite things and films in this world. i was actually able to enjoy the book a lot even if i had high expectations because of the ghibli film. of course the book is different but in a nice way, it's the film's storyline but more developed and more characters are present and are relevant in the plot, even if in the end it's a lighthearted magical book. i love the book and the film separately, they are both great to me and have the same essence even if the form in some cases it's different.
sophie and howl are even more developed as characters and the conversations and interactions between the two of them are really funny and sweet. especially sophie is much more of a character in the book, and this was one of my favorite elements that differs a bit from the film. she has sense of humor and her point of view is very fresh, i was never bored with her narration. i like film sophie, but book sophie is the kind of female main character that i love. she has a mind of her own, witty, funny, she's kind and impulsive, strong-willed and - she has magical powers as well. yes. i really love sophie.
and howl is… i love howl. i'm aware that one of the best parts - if not the best - of this book is its main characters, and that's okay! every story has its strong points, and in this case i think it's not the plot but the lovable main characters. it's hard to write a character like howl. he's annoyingly endearing, dramatic and sometimes ridiculous, vain, lazy, attention-seeking… but howl just makes it work and he's never insufferable, he's unique. he's also incredibly funny, his one-liners are the best, and he's kind and very forgiving - he just likes to tease sophie, and that it's actually very cute.
this book is so lovely, i was really happy while reading it. if you like the film, you're going to like the book as well.
i'm very biased towards it because howl's moving castle is one of my favorite things and films in this world. i was actually able to enjoy the book a lot even if i had high expectations because of the ghibli film. of course the book is different but in a nice way, it's the film's storyline but more developed and more characters are present and are relevant in the plot, even if in the end it's a lighthearted magical book. i love the book and the film separately, they are both great to me and have the same essence even if the form in some cases it's different.
sophie and howl are even more developed as characters and the conversations and interactions between the two of them are really funny and sweet. especially sophie is much more of a character in the book, and this was one of my favorite elements that differs a bit from the film. she has sense of humor and her point of view is very fresh, i was never bored with her narration. i like film sophie, but book sophie is the kind of female main character that i love. she has a mind of her own, witty, funny, she's kind and impulsive, strong-willed and - she has magical powers as well. yes. i really love sophie.
and howl is… i love howl. i'm aware that one of the best parts - if not the best - of this book is its main characters, and that's okay! every story has its strong points, and in this case i think it's not the plot but the lovable main characters. it's hard to write a character like howl. he's annoyingly endearing, dramatic and sometimes ridiculous, vain, lazy, attention-seeking… but howl just makes it work and he's never insufferable, he's unique. he's also incredibly funny, his one-liners are the best, and he's kind and very forgiving - he just likes to tease sophie, and that it's actually very cute.
this book is so lovely, i was really happy while reading it. if you like the film, you're going to like the book as well.