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hfjarmer's reviews
379 reviews
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
3.0
This series is an emotional rollercoaster for me, ratings are down up down, all over the place.
Heir of Fire is certainly a book with the primary intention of setting up future books and I think it completely accomplished that goal. We get just enough closure and just enough information to keep us guessing and wanting to read the next book, but (imo) not enough action to necessarily warrant anything more than 3 stars.
I grow to love Celaena/Aelin more with each book. Watching her evolution from scared assassin running from her past and family responsibilities to has been so exciting. You can just feel the self confidence build more and more with each page. She has always been a warrior, but now she is a true .
SJM introduces many new characters in this book. I really loved the concept of moving from one character's POV to the next, but in some ways I think her attempt to create a more complicated story line just led to a loss in momentum. There were quite a few moments where things were building up, and then suddenly we jump cut to a different story line, which mucked up the pacing, for me. Additionally, because she introduced so many new characters, I was a bit less emotionally connected to the story, since I was only getting my Celaena/Dorian/Chaol interaction every so often. I love love love Rowan (who doesn't?) and I am intrigued by Manon's story line, though I wish we got more information about them in this book. It was a parallel story line that will clearly lead into something for Queen of Shadows, but it wasn't necessarily interesting to me in and of itself. I'm excited to see more of the witches.
A lot of people say this is their favorite of the series, but I am personally not convinced this is the best it is going to get and am eager to keep reading.
Heir of Fire is certainly a book with the primary intention of setting up future books and I think it completely accomplished that goal. We get just enough closure and just enough information to keep us guessing and wanting to read the next book, but (imo) not enough action to necessarily warrant anything more than 3 stars.
I grow to love Celaena/Aelin more with each book. Watching her evolution from scared assassin running from her past and family responsibilities to
Spoiler
Queen Aelin, threatening Maeve and ready to reclaim her kingdomSpoiler
warrior QueenSJM introduces many new characters in this book. I really loved the concept of moving from one character's POV to the next, but in some ways I think her attempt to create a more complicated story line just led to a loss in momentum. There were quite a few moments where things were building up, and then suddenly we jump cut to a different story line, which mucked up the pacing, for me. Additionally, because she introduced so many new characters, I was a bit less emotionally connected to the story, since I was only getting my Celaena/Dorian/Chaol interaction every so often. I love love love Rowan (who doesn't?) and I am intrigued by Manon's story line, though I wish we got more information about them in this book. It was a parallel story line that will clearly lead into something for Queen of Shadows, but it wasn't necessarily interesting to me in and of itself. I'm excited to see more of the witches.
A lot of people say this is their favorite of the series, but I am personally not convinced this is the best it is going to get and am eager to keep reading.
Naked by David Sedaris
3.0
A big fan of his later works, but this was a nice little insight into the more intimate musings of David's life, including his struggle coming to terms with his sexuality and his mother's cancer diagnosis. A short collection of stories, but I love the way David builds a narrative, I feel like a member of the family at this point.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
3.0
3.5 ⭐️
A new, interesting take on a Greek retelling of the story of the labyrinth, Piranesi was a thought-provoking, though somewhat confusing, novel. The book follows Piranesi (if that even is his name…iykyk) a man in his mid-30s who lives in a labyrinth like house with an ocean “imprisoned” within. The house, in a way, is Piranesi’s religion, his god. The house provides for Piranesi and he deems himself “the child of the house”. Piranesi fills his days tending to statues, exploring the far reaches of the house, caring for the 13 dead (collections of bones he has located in his adventures) and carrying out scientific observations of birds, tidal patterns, stars, etc. He keeps a meticulous journal of his daily life in the house. Piranesi is not totally alone, and on scheduled days he meets with “Other”, as he is lovingly named. Other is carrying out his own “scientific” research in an attempt to unlock some great and magical truth about the universe.
The story was admittedly hard to follow, though this is intentional by the author. The reader learns more as Piranesi unlocks key memories and old journal entries that shake his perception of reality.
I was engrossed in the concept of the house and found the modern-ish day story line to be compelling, however due to the author revealing more about Piranesi’s life through old journal entries I felt the story lost momentum right when it should have realistically been picking up. There were a lot of moments when you are just reading blocks of biographies and while this is a good tactic for keeping the story brief, I think it really slowed down the pacing of the story, and a lot of the time I was bored of reading about this that or the other random character in his journal. Ultimately, it all tied together and was an enjoyable read, and I’d still recommend it to any lovers of Greek-retellings. However loosely.
A new, interesting take on a Greek retelling of the story of the labyrinth, Piranesi was a thought-provoking, though somewhat confusing, novel. The book follows Piranesi (if that even is his name…iykyk) a man in his mid-30s who lives in a labyrinth like house with an ocean “imprisoned” within. The house, in a way, is Piranesi’s religion, his god. The house provides for Piranesi and he deems himself “the child of the house”. Piranesi fills his days tending to statues, exploring the far reaches of the house, caring for the 13 dead (collections of bones he has located in his adventures) and carrying out scientific observations of birds, tidal patterns, stars, etc. He keeps a meticulous journal of his daily life in the house. Piranesi is not totally alone, and on scheduled days he meets with “Other”, as he is lovingly named. Other is carrying out his own “scientific” research in an attempt to unlock some great and magical truth about the universe.
The story was admittedly hard to follow, though this is intentional by the author. The reader learns more as Piranesi unlocks key memories and old journal entries that shake his perception of reality.
I was engrossed in the concept of the house and found the modern-ish day story line to be compelling, however due to the author revealing more about Piranesi’s life through old journal entries I felt the story lost momentum right when it should have realistically been picking up. There were a lot of moments when you are just reading blocks of biographies and while this is a good tactic for keeping the story brief, I think it really slowed down the pacing of the story, and a lot of the time I was bored of reading about this that or the other random character in his journal. Ultimately, it all tied together and was an enjoyable read, and I’d still recommend it to any lovers of Greek-retellings. However loosely.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
3.0
2.5 Stars
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi left me with mixed emotions, making it an unremarkable start to my reading year. Let's delve into the positives first, which contribute to my decision to give it a 3-star rating. Amina, our FMC, breaks away from the typical fantasy mold by being in her 40s and retired, a renowned pirate of the Indian Ocean pulled back into action to resolve a "kidnapping" case with the promise of abundant gold in return for the safe return of Dunya, the granddaughter of a wealthy woman and the daughter of one of Amina's late crew members. It's refreshing that she's not a youthful heroine, and her physical imperfections add depth to her character. Amina's substantial build becomes a formidable asset, portraying her as deadly yet not conventionally delicate or flowery like many other fantasy FMCs.
The narrative is rich with cultural elements, deviating from the usual medieval England-based fantasies, a choice I found both invigorating and captivating. Chakraborty integrates Amina's Muslim faith and rich cultural background, emphasizing that her character, though not a "perfect Muslim," is a vital part of that world.
However, my enthusiasm waned around the 50% mark due to several shortcomings. While the initial setup was intriguing, the plot lost its coherence, leaving me confused and questioning the unfolding events. The secondary characters lacked depth, and the overall story felt lackluster. Amina's relationship with Raksh seemed underdeveloped, and his character's purpose ultimately remained unclear to me. The inclusion of magical systems later in the narrative felt messy and detracted from the core quest of finding Dunya and retrieving the sought-after artifact. The repetitive pattern of pursuing Dunya, losing her, and then finding her again became tiresome, tempting me to abandon the book around the 65% mark.
A final disappointment was the seemingly random attempt to incorporate a "queer" element into the story. While the ending of it just felt a little too random for me to really appreciate this aspect of the story. Like Chakraborty just happened to stick something in there about Dunya being trans/non-binary. Ultimately it just felt like queer-baiting.
I don’t feel like I will remember anything that happened in this book two weeks from now.
Overall, I think Chakraborty’s work is simply not for me, as I had a similar experience attempting to read the City of Brass series - enjoying the culture and unique setting and disliking much else.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi left me with mixed emotions, making it an unremarkable start to my reading year. Let's delve into the positives first, which contribute to my decision to give it a 3-star rating. Amina, our FMC, breaks away from the typical fantasy mold by being in her 40s and retired, a renowned pirate of the Indian Ocean pulled back into action to resolve a "kidnapping" case with the promise of abundant gold in return for the safe return of Dunya, the granddaughter of a wealthy woman and the daughter of one of Amina's late crew members. It's refreshing that she's not a youthful heroine, and her physical imperfections add depth to her character. Amina's substantial build becomes a formidable asset, portraying her as deadly yet not conventionally delicate or flowery like many other fantasy FMCs.
The narrative is rich with cultural elements, deviating from the usual medieval England-based fantasies, a choice I found both invigorating and captivating. Chakraborty integrates Amina's Muslim faith and rich cultural background, emphasizing that her character, though not a "perfect Muslim," is a vital part of that world.
However, my enthusiasm waned around the 50% mark due to several shortcomings. While the initial setup was intriguing, the plot lost its coherence, leaving me confused and questioning the unfolding events. The secondary characters lacked depth, and the overall story felt lackluster. Amina's relationship with Raksh seemed underdeveloped, and his character's purpose ultimately remained unclear to me. The inclusion of magical systems later in the narrative felt messy and detracted from the core quest of finding Dunya and retrieving the sought-after artifact. The repetitive pattern of pursuing Dunya, losing her, and then finding her again became tiresome, tempting me to abandon the book around the 65% mark.
A final disappointment was the seemingly random attempt to incorporate a "queer" element into the story. While the ending of
Spoiler
finding out the scribe the whole time was (formerly known as) Dunya,I don’t feel like I will remember anything that happened in this book two weeks from now.
Overall, I think Chakraborty’s work is simply not for me, as I had a similar experience attempting to read the City of Brass series - enjoying the culture and unique setting and disliking much else.