fandomsandfiction's reviews
575 reviews

Heartwarming and exciting. They ending fell a bit flat though.

what to expect:
- multiple povs
- urban fantasy
- 🇿🇦 protagonists
- epistolary elements
- such good anxiety rep I FELT SO SEEN
- old (and ridiculously rich) magical families
- all the kpop and kdrama references to entertain the fans 😁

I finally got around to reading the second and final book in the Bound by Fire series and it was wonderful as I expected. Book 2 continues the stories of Zin and Jen, best friends who now live on opposite sides of the world. After all the excitement and discoveries of book 1, the girls are ready to live happily ever after with their new partners.... but fate has other plans (lol that sounds unnecessarily dramatic, but it's true 😂😳).

This second book deviates from the original format of book 1 which was told primarily through email exchanges. While the emails remain, the authors have expanded their writing style in this book to include character povs that add an extra dimension to the story. As Zin's powers advance, her life is thrown into disarray by the mystery of her mother's disappearance and the (magical) family drama that ensues. Meanwhile, Jen battles with her mental health, as well as an unexpected development that brings forth even more chaotic magic into her world. The coinciding and intertwining adventures of the two girls had me cheering them on till the very end and, while I did prefer the original epistolary format of book 1, it was a great delight to read the authors work in a different style!

My favourite part of this book was the exploration of Generalised Anxiety Disorder and other mental health issues, especially those shown through the character of Jen. I could deeply resonate with her feelings of insecurity, relationship anxiety and negative thought spiralling. The relatability almost had me in tears.

Super excited to see what Eleanor and Faziela do next! I will always be an eager fan 🥰

I am no stranger to the theory that Shakespeare was not... well, SHAKESPEARE. One of my very first favourite books as a child was called Shakespeare's Secret and it addressed this very issue: did Shakespeare really write the plays, sonnets and other literary works attributed to his name? An alarming amount of evidence suggests otherwise.

Jodi Picoult's latest work addresses the conspiracies around Shakespeare's authorship through the lens of two women. Melina Green is an aspiring playwright. Despite the seemingly "progressive" nature of the 21st century, Melina's identity as a woman is an obstacle to success in the theatre world. Meanwhile, Emilia Bassano is a secret Jew living in the antisemitic London of the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, gender discrimination is at its peak and Emilia is severely marginalised and constrained to a life of struggle. Alternating between the two women's POVs, Picoult addresses issues of gender politics and womanhood across history.

While this book may be - for the most part - fictional, the character of Emilia Bassano is very real. Often referred to as "Shakespeare's dark lady" (a testament to her darker complexion which stemmed from her Italian and Moroccan roots), Bassano is *known* as the first published woman poet in England. I emphasise *known* because who knows how many other women had been writing and publishing in secret? Reading Picoult's brilliantly researched and expertly woved rendition of Emilia's story filled me with such pain, anger, frustration, empathy, sorrow and a sense of unfulfilled justice. The juxtaposition between the past and the present shows that regardless of our personal thoughts on the matter, feminism was, and still is, very necessary.

While reading this book, I began to think about the difficulties a white woman may have in addressing issues of womanhood and marginalisation in a way that is nuanced and inclusive. In the past, the words of white women were revolutionary as the very idea of women asserting themselves was radical. The experiences of POC women and other gender identities were almost unheard of. Today we are more aware of the multiplicity of discrimination and without careful consideration, a white woman can easily find herself falling into the trap of "white feminism". I feel like Picoult did a decent job navigating her own identity within the contexts of both this story and our greater reality. Through the character of Andre, the book extends beyond the white feminist narratives often found in historical accounts rewritten for women empowerment. Andre’s character explicitly addresses issues of queer and black identities in the entertainment (in this case theatre) industry. Meanwhile, Marlowe represents the struggles of queerness in Elizabethan times. Their male identities contrast with the white female leads, opening a dialogue on the complexities of privilege and oppression. Other issues touched on in this book include neurodivergence, GBV, menstruation, grief, religious bigotry, forbidden love, and the demonisation of female sexuality.

Truly a gripping and thought-provoking read!

what to expect:
- multiple povs
- sizzling tension ❤️‍🔥
- lots of riddles, puzzles and mysteries to solve (all of which I was far too dumb to crack)

The basic premise of this book: a group of severely traumatized teens and young adults (+ one elderly woman who is far too sprightly for her age) compete in a thrilling game of angst and perplexity while fighting their traumas and/or reluctantly growing attraction for each other.

I probably would've enjoyed this book far more if I had read the previous TIG books, but because this was my first delve into the franchise I did not have the prior connection to the characters nor the basis of this world's mysteries to entice me from the beginning. I honestly found the characters a bit too perfect at first and it took me a HOT MINUTE to actually get into the book. What had me pushing through to the end was not the twisting plot or the thrill of the game, but the CHARACTER DYNAMICS.
Grayson and Lyra.
Rohan and Savannah. (🔥)
Gigi and Brady.
The sexual/romantic tension between these rivals/competitors/people who deeply hate and mistrust each other had me in a chokehold 😳 !!!!!!!!
And do you know what's even better than rivals/enemies-to-lovers? ENEMIES-TO-FRIENDS!!! The more reluctant the better!!!!! And oh this book did it soooo good with one of the teams 👀🥺💛

Every single character had me intrigued by their elaborate (and greatly concerning) life stories, but my favourites were definitely Gigi and Knox. Gigi is a ball of the most radiant of sunshines and she's a definite fan favourite ☀️ But Knox? Everyone initially HATED the guy (cf. bookclub discord chat), but I KNEW from the VERY BEGINNING that he was just another tortured soul in need of affection and healing just as much others 😔❤️‍🩹
And I was right!!! I usually have a knack for these things, you know? 😌
(or maybe I just have an apologist mindset for every mean blonde-haired side character)

Anyway, that ending had me hanging on the cliffest of cliffs (lowkey annoyed with it tbh) so I'm defs looking forward to reading the next book. I plan on reading the other TIG books before that though and maybe after reading more of the franchise I'll notch my rating up by a star. 

THIS WEBTOON MEANS THE WORLD TO ME <3

I could write 100 essays on this book. I could write A BOOK on this book. All to say, it's phenomenal! And the more you dissect and analyse it, the more brilliant it becomes. Amazing.

a really powerful response to the political context of the time with many clever word choices and a painful sense of awareness.

I understand why this is the most famous and well-loved of Shakespeare's plays. It is definitely my favourite  that I've read of his work so far! Hamlet is SO SASSY 😂 and the unfolding drama is SO MESSY 🤭 I love it!!! 🤌

Many theorists, and I say this with all the love and respect, need to go for therapy. Instead, said theorists tend to turn to writing books on arbitrary theories based on their own subjective interpretations of the world and then go on to posit these theories as fact.

I suppose writing is itself a therapeutic exercise. I hope you're all getting the therapy you need though???

That being said, kudos to Schrader! I turn 24 soon and I am nowhere near as articulate (and confident) enough to achieve what he did.