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onejadyn's reviews
63 reviews
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
3.5
This review has spoilers
It feels wrong to give this book 3 stars. Both the previous novels were 5 star reads for me, and this book was in many ways a fantastic follow up.
This novel followed through on giving me more of the characters I loved, honing in more on their growth, and finally unfolded the great mysteries of Dalinar's past, which was unbelievably exciting and interesting to finally understand and see for ourselves.
However, it took me a year to finish this book. A full year. This is not entirely the fault of the book — during more than half of this time, I wasn't doing much reading at all. But regardless, I struggled to want to pick this book up, especially during the early chapters in Urithiru. I generally enjoyed what I was reading, though I certainly experienced some political fatigue in some of Dalinar's chapters, but nonetheless it was genuinely difficult to convince myself to pick this book up.
It's a shame, because I loved so much of it. Almost all of Alethkar's chapters had my attention, as well as Dalinar's flashbacks. I relished in seeing a lot of the characters grow, from Teft, to Shallan and her struggled accepting and controlling her alternate egos, to Kaladin accepting loss, and even to Adolin and his potentially awakened sword, Maya.
Overall, I had a great time with so much of this book! But my unwillingness to pick it up can mean I can only do 3 stars. I am still an absolute fan of this series, which is epic on a scope I've never truly witnessed before. I hope on a re-read that this story strikes better, but no matter what I'm glad to have read it.
It feels wrong to give this book 3 stars. Both the previous novels were 5 star reads for me, and this book was in many ways a fantastic follow up.
This novel followed through on giving me more of the characters I loved, honing in more on their growth, and finally unfolded the great mysteries of Dalinar's past, which was unbelievably exciting and interesting to finally understand and see for ourselves.
However, it took me a year to finish this book. A full year. This is not entirely the fault of the book — during more than half of this time, I wasn't doing much reading at all. But regardless, I struggled to want to pick this book up, especially during the early chapters in Urithiru. I generally enjoyed what I was reading, though I certainly experienced some political fatigue in some of Dalinar's chapters, but nonetheless it was genuinely difficult to convince myself to pick this book up.
It's a shame, because I loved so much of it. Almost all of Alethkar's chapters had my attention, as well as Dalinar's flashbacks. I relished in seeing a lot of the characters grow, from Teft, to Shallan and her struggled accepting and controlling her alternate egos, to Kaladin accepting loss, and even to Adolin and his potentially awakened sword, Maya.
Overall, I had a great time with so much of this book! But my unwillingness to pick it up can mean I can only do 3 stars. I am still an absolute fan of this series, which is epic on a scope I've never truly witnessed before. I hope on a re-read that this story strikes better, but no matter what I'm glad to have read it.
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
2.0
This review has spoilers.
This was a decent follow up to all that occurred before. I still miss Rhys' moral grey. It bothered me to no end how badass Feyre was despite her resounding lack of training compared to everyone else. She was far too adept as a spy and manipulator in Tamlin's court.
Since I'm largely reading this as an angsty, trope-y guilty pleasure sort of deal, I kind of wish we had gotten a bit more of the aftermath between her and Tamlin one on one. Narratively, leaving it unspoken is better, but eh, that's not really what I read this sort of story for.
I loved getting better acquainted with Cassian, Mor, and Azriel. They're awesome, and one of the best parts of this. Overall, if you're reading this for tropeyness, this one is okay. Not as trope-y and "bad movie" vibes as the previous one, as this one mostly focused on the war efforts. It had its epic moments though, and I did very much enjoy the unleashing of the old gods in the final battle.
Overall, decent. If you're a massive fan of this series, this book probably would've been pretty satisfying and exciting.
This was a decent follow up to all that occurred before. I still miss Rhys' moral grey. It bothered me to no end how badass Feyre was despite her resounding lack of training compared to everyone else. She was far too adept as a spy and manipulator in Tamlin's court.
Since I'm largely reading this as an angsty, trope-y guilty pleasure sort of deal, I kind of wish we had gotten a bit more of the aftermath between her and Tamlin one on one. Narratively, leaving it unspoken is better, but eh, that's not really what I read this sort of story for.
I loved getting better acquainted with Cassian, Mor, and Azriel. They're awesome, and one of the best parts of this. Overall, if you're reading this for tropeyness, this one is okay. Not as trope-y and "bad movie" vibes as the previous one, as this one mostly focused on the war efforts. It had its epic moments though, and I did very much enjoy the unleashing of the old gods in the final battle.
Overall, decent. If you're a massive fan of this series, this book probably would've been pretty satisfying and exciting.
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
3.0
This review has spoilers.
REVIEW AT UNDER HALFWAY MARK:
Apparently I've read most of this book before a few years ago, but I never finished it and I don't remember it very well, other than the first few chapters being frustrating familiar and not feeling new to me.
For whatever reason, I just don't find myself wanting to pick this book up. I enjoy it well enough while reading but it has yet to grab me and hold me tight. I find the writing lovely and I enjoy reading the prose, but I think I'm relatively unattached from the characters, which is leaving me without much reason to pick it back up.
For now, I've decided to pause at about 40% through. I hope I get back into it—I do want to see where the story ends. But Fitz just wasn't grabbing me, as much as I wish he was.
AND WE CONTINUE:
I picked this book back up a month or two later and I'm really glad I did. This time it hit a lot better, and I found myself enjoying it a lot more.
I've always enjoyed the writing style, so it didn't surprise me when I continued to do so. I was viscerally frustrated at Fitz' lack of ability learning the skill after Galen had attacked him. I knew Galen had done something, and it got me so fiercely that I found myself dreaming of solutions and resolutions to figure out what Galen had done.
Fitz and Verity were a highlight of this book. I feel like Verity really sees Fitz as family in a sense, and feels protective of him. Though we didn't see a whole lot of them together, it was enough to keep me interested. I loved their dynamic.
Honestly, it was enjoyable. I had started to believe so thoroughly in Fitz's abilities that when he was bested by Regal, and the assassination of the princess's brother followed, I was genuinely in shock. I had thought so highly of him, but at the end of the day he was a boy, and he didn't know everything he was meant to do.
Fitz and Burrich had a wonderful relationship, by which I mean a complicated, tumultuous, and deeply caring one. When Burrich all but disowned Fitz after realizing he still used the Wit, it stung. Fitz's depression after that, along with everything else in his life, was well-realised. The moment when Burrich realised that Fitz had believed, all those years, that Burrich had called Nosey was devastating.
Honestly, I enjoyed Fitz's relationship with Chade as well, and certainly with the Fool, and with Molly. Fitz was at his best when he had people, even if it was unfortunately rare for him to be surrounded by people who cared.
Though at the beginning I struggled to pick this book up, by the end I was eagerly awaiting the next time I could read. It's a 3/5 for me now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it elevates during a re-read. Very enjoyable, and I cannot wait to see what else is around by this author, in this series and in others.
REVIEW AT UNDER HALFWAY MARK:
Apparently I've read most of this book before a few years ago, but I never finished it and I don't remember it very well, other than the first few chapters being frustrating familiar and not feeling new to me.
For whatever reason, I just don't find myself wanting to pick this book up. I enjoy it well enough while reading but it has yet to grab me and hold me tight. I find the writing lovely and I enjoy reading the prose, but I think I'm relatively unattached from the characters, which is leaving me without much reason to pick it back up.
For now, I've decided to pause at about 40% through. I hope I get back into it—I do want to see where the story ends. But Fitz just wasn't grabbing me, as much as I wish he was.
AND WE CONTINUE:
I picked this book back up a month or two later and I'm really glad I did. This time it hit a lot better, and I found myself enjoying it a lot more.
I've always enjoyed the writing style, so it didn't surprise me when I continued to do so. I was viscerally frustrated at Fitz' lack of ability learning the skill after Galen had attacked him. I knew Galen had done something, and it got me so fiercely that I found myself dreaming of solutions and resolutions to figure out what Galen had done.
Fitz and Verity were a highlight of this book. I feel like Verity really sees Fitz as family in a sense, and feels protective of him. Though we didn't see a whole lot of them together, it was enough to keep me interested. I loved their dynamic.
Honestly, it was enjoyable. I had started to believe so thoroughly in Fitz's abilities that when he was bested by Regal, and the assassination of the princess's brother followed, I was genuinely in shock. I had thought so highly of him, but at the end of the day he was a boy, and he didn't know everything he was meant to do.
Fitz and Burrich had a wonderful relationship, by which I mean a complicated, tumultuous, and deeply caring one. When Burrich all but disowned Fitz after realizing he still used the Wit, it stung. Fitz's depression after that, along with everything else in his life, was well-realised. The moment when Burrich realised that Fitz had believed, all those years, that Burrich had called Nosey was devastating.
Honestly, I enjoyed Fitz's relationship with Chade as well, and certainly with the Fool, and with Molly. Fitz was at his best when he had people, even if it was unfortunately rare for him to be surrounded by people who cared.
Though at the beginning I struggled to pick this book up, by the end I was eagerly awaiting the next time I could read. It's a 3/5 for me now, but I wouldn't be surprised if it elevates during a re-read. Very enjoyable, and I cannot wait to see what else is around by this author, in this series and in others.