micaelamariem's reviews
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I did not know about the controversy around the author when I picked up this book so this review is solely about the book and not the author.
It was an okay read. Definitely quick and easy to read. I liked the exploration of what it means to be Native American and how the individual is always struggling with the community. There was some stuff that was uncomfortable—I can see why it’s a banned book—and some issues I wish were addressed better than they were, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

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Jezebel by Megan Barnard

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm back with another review! This was an ARC so kindly sent to me by Penguin publishers (thank you! and many thanks to the author as well!) This will probably be my last ARC of 2023; I'm taking a hiatus from them so I can focus on my TBR.

Megan Barnard, the author, is a former literary agent from Maryland. Her debut, Jezebel, tells a story from the perspective of the infamous women from many religious texts. Disclaimer: this book is historical fiction. I loved this book but my review here is not trying to say it should supplicate your religious books, if you follow one of the faiths that mention Jezebel. As someone who studied Christian theology, there are things that strayed far from the original text as well as things that would've made sense--and this made me appreciate this creative approach more and even still build empathy for everyone involved.

Many people compare Jezebel to Circe by Madeline Miller, though I find this to be even more reminiscent of Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. What these three works have in common is that they take a women who was portrayed a villain in the original mythology and show the reader a new feminist perspective. The writing styles in all three are also similar, following the life stories of these women from birth to death, giving beautiful lyrical prose to depict some ugly events.

In Jezebel, a big theme is that women are doomed to be forgotten, only remembered by the sons they can produce. Jezebel always wanted to be remembered, and she did find a way to be, even if it was not how she imagined. We also see how the cost of trying to produce heirs can be a great toll. Jezebel suffers from some postpartum disorders and other complications that we would be able to identify now, but would only be considered madness in that time. As readers, the author pulled at my emotions, seeing what a woman was called to suffer just to be worth something in this world.

Another theme is the tolerance and intolerance of religions. In the Christian Bible, we can read about how God is angry at Jezebel for bringing foreign gods to Israel. But this book showed me how young Jezebel was, how she'd only ever known her Cannanite religion, and how it would've been the one thing that reminded her of home. While some awful things happened and Jezebel did some awful things that are not excused, even within this story, I like the way the narrative can help us build empathy for all people and see the women we were taught about with a new perspective.

I really liked the way the characters were portrayed, as well. It didn't seem like anyone was purely evil--it was more like everyone was trying to do what they beleived their god called them to do, what they thought was best. And no one really won in the end.

I don't want to give too much of the book away, so let me just leave with this: Jezebel is a wonderful biblical retelling, that is purely fictional but can help us build empathy for others, understand the plight women have had, and understand a deeper persepctive of others. The book is enjoyable, tragic, has beautiful writing, and wonderful characters. It was a four star read for me and I highly recommend it!

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Crave by Tracy Wolff

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challenging fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This sort of had potential but it wasn’t well written. There was too many cliches and big dose of insta-love. The main character was kind of dumb and kept saying unbelievable stuff. None of the characters knew anything about personal space. And I’d be rich if I had a dollar for every time I read the phrase “then again.”

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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'm in too many book clubs to keep up with. Four months ago, one of those book clubs chose Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, so I sent a hold request to the library. I had heard of it but was unprepared for how popular it was. I was 50-something in the hold request line and it took these four months to actually get my hands on it. Needless to say, I didn't read it in time for the club, but I'm still glad I read it!

The author, Rebecca Yarros, is a busy woman. Not only does she write books, but she's a military wife with six kids. While she has written a lot of books, I think Fourth Wing is her first fantasy novel.

"A dragon without a rider is a tragedy. A rider without a dragon is dead."

Fourth Wing is an elite fantasy romance. Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail is forced to join the war college and train to be a dragon rider, rather than join the scribe quadrant like she wanted. Violet is unsure she'll survive the tests and training--many die and she's weaker than most, with brittle bones and a small stature. To make matters worse, Xaden Riorson is there, the son of a traitor--he would want to kill her just for being a Sorrengail, the daughter of the general. When things can't seem to get more complicated, Violet starts to suspect that leadership isn't being completely honest about what's going on outside the college walls.

If that summary doesn't sell you, let me tell you how much I loved this book. I loved it so much that I'm not sure I can express it properly in words, actually. It has been months, almost a full year, since I felt so connected to a book like this. Maybe because it has some of my favorite things: magic schools, enemies to lovers, training sequences, political intrigue, dark secrets.

The characters were wonderful and well-rounded. Violet shows a good source of disability representation within a fantasy novel. Because her mom had a sickness when she was pregnant, Violet is very weak and her bones break easily and she's always in pain. While this is a fantastical chronic illness, I think a lot of people may be able to relate--for example, I have chronic migraines, chronic knee and back pain, and stomach issues and yet this book made me feel like I can still be badass. I also loved how there were things about her illness that she could not overcome but had to adapt instead, showing the reader that this difference was not weakness.

Xaden was the brooding dark figure we all love in a good fantasy novel. He had his secret and deep down a sweet, protective side. But his protectiveness was a foil from Dain's--their characters showed how protectiveness can be sweet if you still trust someone to make their own choices and support them or it can be overbearing and belittling if you box them into a corner.

The side characters were also amazing. My favorite, of course, was Liam. He showed what it means to be a quiet friend, what it means to be humble, how to show your emotions through facial expressions. And Rhiannon was also great--the girl best friend every girl should have who loudly supports her friend and is determined to train and help.

Talking about the characters would be so incomplete without mentioning the dragons! I loved these dragons. Tairn, the fierce but noble one. Andarna, the sweet and stubborn and sometimes naïve. Sgaeyl, ready to strike down any enemy. These dragons had their own personalities and their own laws and they provided more insight onto our mere human characters.

The worldbuilding and plotline were so intricately intwined. I don't want to give any spoilers, but one thing I thought was clever was to have a main character who was so interested in books and history that we as readers get tidbits of the world's history from her. But in all fantasy novels, what never fails to amaze me is the research and grit put into designing magic school's classes, magic systems, maps, borders, fables, history, governments, books, fantastical creatures, and more. And being able to keep track of it and incorporate it into the plotline so they become key plot points. If only I can be such a good world creator and writer someday!

And the writing style was also great. I truly felt like it was Violet's voice, like I was in her head as she took in everything, from gigantic dragons flying overhead to the deathly obstacle course she had to complete and more. It made reading the five hundred pages fly by and made me wish for more.

The only drawback is there was some predictability. Maybe it's just because I read a lot so I can instantly recognize key tropes and foreshadowing. I still loved the book despite being able to predict some of the key plot points. I still highly recommend the book.

In fact, I give this book five stars, which is rare for me this year. I need to get my hands on the copy AND preorder the sequel, Iron Flame.

Content Warnings

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

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emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

found this book to be very educational, motivational, and eye-opening. It was interesting, though brutal, to learn the full scale of the history of caste in america and how awful we can be as humans. I think everyone could benefit from reading this. However, though I agree with Wilkerson on everything including the politics of today, I can see how it might polarize people to where they’d miss the point she’s trying to make. I also think the cohesiveness of the narrative could have been better. Still, overall a great read of a dark history and startling present!

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The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

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informative slow-paced

3.0

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

From a perspective that helps one see the different culture and understand the brutal history of slavery in the Caribbean, this book is great. It really tugs at the heartstrings as you follow a mother who escapes slavery to search for her sold children. The descriptions of the landscapes are also great. However, when it came to the characters, I found them, apart from Rachel, a bit one-dimensional and like their descriptions were more “telling” than “showing.” I also was frustrated that Rachel didn’t start her quest until about 100 pages in of a 300 page book—the slow beginning made me less inclined to really immerse myself into the story. Overall it was good, but I think it could’ve been better.

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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was okay. While I admire the creativity of writing the whole story like an interview, I don’t think I much liked the format as a reader. I’m also confused how they can be such a hit band with only, like, two albums. And honestly, there wasn’t really any twist like I was expecting—like there was in Evelyn Hugo. So I guess…I don’t know, this book wasn’t much my thing, and I don’t think going forward, books about rockstars are my thing either.

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The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I read this for a book club and it was okay. I liked the prosaic writing style. The plot was interesting but it didn’t really have enough twists to keep me at the edge of my seat or anything, so it was slightly disappointing.

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The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Such a wonderful duology! I highly recommend to all my fantasy readers out there. It helped me learn more about Japanese mythology, dug to the root of belonging and love, had a great morally grey character, gave us betrayal and redemption, and had some epic battle scenes as well. I wasn’t as into this book as the first one but it was still really good! Just slower storytelling, though the writing was still beautiful and vivid and well, gory.

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micaelamariem's reviews 728 reviews

micaelamariem's reviews
728 reviews