chantaal's reviews
2267 reviews

I first read this in 2016, and as I picked it up to re-read before continuing on with the series, I realized I remembered almost nothing. And it was GREAT. Being able to re-read a book as if for the first time is always wonderful, isn't it?

Anyway, RJB is now one of my favorite authors ever. Cannot wait to continue on with this series as I wait for book 2 of the new Tainted Cup series.

This is being marketed as a dark retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale, and while that is true in some aspects, it's also very much not. As someone who is completely over retellings as a literary trend, it feels more like The Goose Girl fairy tale was inspiration, and there are some pieces of it still embedded in this to link it to that, but it's also so much more than just a retelling or reimagining. 

This is historical fantasy set in a Regency-esque time. Our main character Cordelia is the daughter of the titular Sorceress, a cruel and narcissistic woman who'll do whatever it takes to improve their standing in society. Cordelia is a beaten down, broken young girl who does whatever her mother tells her to - literally, at times. We do get a second POV from Hester, the sister of the man that the Sorceress has her eyes on. Hester is in her fifties, has a bad knee, and a premonition that Doom has come to call.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a delightful dark blend of a novel of manners and historical fantasy, of fairy tail whimsy and dark horror. It deals with emotional abuse and narcissism, with complex family relationships and old friendships and romances. All of the character work is a delight, but it's especially wonderful following Cordelia and Hester as they try to figure out how to undo the horrible knot that the Sorceress has tangled them all up in.

T. Kingfisher succeeds yet again with another dark fantasy, which is especially delightful for me as I didn't enjoy Thornhedge much last year.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC! A Sorceress Comes to Call will be available on August 6th, 2024.

Gorgeous art from Stephanie Hans, which is no surprise, but overall it was missing something. 

This is the story of what happens after a rapture, when there are few people left trying to survive. There is a stoic character, a hopeful one, a trusted adult, a roving gang of awful people, and...Giants? 

While I think I can see what metaphor was being attempted here, I feel the execution did not work out. I felt little to no emotion for any of the characters, nor for the events unfolding. There wasn't enough information given about anything to make me care. 

A disappointing read from Kieron Gillen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC. This 

DNF @ p. 139. Oh boy, what a horrible introduction to Neal Stephenson.

Had to sit with this one for a while because I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Well, almost two weeks later, the major feeling is disappointment. 

This is a decent premise that is completely bogged down by the narrative POV decision made. If it works for you, then it works, but it just kept grating at me as the book went on, and only got worse as the mysteries of the murder and the world itself began to unfold. 

Marking as a spoiler, though the POV is revealed almost immediately.

The problem with having a murder mystery set in the POV of an all knowing, all seeing AI is that the narrative itself purposefully keeps things from you, the reader. It has to, in order to keep the suspense going. It forces the writing into a certain pattern, one that very rarely works for me - and it certainly didn't here. It forces the author to create ways to justify not telling the reader information when you know the narrative voice you're in has it. There is NO mystery and NO story unless you create false suspense. It's FRUSTRATING.

There was some interesting character work and the world building was intriguing, but I think it all just kind of falls apart in the third act.  The speculative dystopian aspect had some promise but didn't feel totally fleshed out. 

I wish I liked this better, because I own the hardcover with nice orange sprayed edges. At least it looks good, I guess. 

Wish I loved this as much as I did volume 1, but it was still a good time. Good art, decent character work, shoddy world building, found family and queer joy.

This is a fantastic and wonderful graphic memoir about Sara Soler and her partner Diana, following their journey after Diana comes out as trans. It's a successful blend of personal and informative, giving a strong emotional heart to the more informative sections. 

The art is very cute, and very much NOT like the cover. Sara's artwork is much more stylized, in cute comic form that is round and bouncy and dynamic. The color palette is also great, using only the trans flag colors to bring everything to life, and it works. 

I much preferred the personal story of Sara and Diana's relationship to the mini lectures, mostly because I'm already aware of the explanations and ideas being brought up in them. However, this is written in Spanish by a Spanish native, and I have no idea what transgender life is like in Spain - it may be the case that the simple lecture style married with the personal memoir style is exactly what some people may need to understand the broader picture, or to empathize more deeply. 

Overall, this is a fun and emotional and lovely graphic novel. It's a great memoir of a relationship, it's educational, and I think would work for any age group from young teen and up.