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mcaliz's reviews
475 reviews
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
DNFing at 68 pages
I could just kind of care less to finish this? Maybe in the future I will come back to this, but for right now I do not want to continue this book
I could just kind of care less to finish this? Maybe in the future I will come back to this, but for right now I do not want to continue this book
Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir
1.0
All I can really say is that this was interesting? It was nice to see "the Damsel in Distress" be the one that saved herself instead of waiting for a Prince. But other than that this was just "okay."
I wasn't a big fan about what the author was trying to about gender roles, and what it means to be a "girl" or a "boy" or a "princess" or "prince" given what the story was about. I do think that Muir was trying to subvert stereotypical tropes about gender roles/characteristics, but I don't think it was executed well in this. And how one of the characters that we meet in here, Cobweb, who's a fairy (and we learn that fairies are gender fluid &/or trans) HAD to be a girl in Floralinda's eyes, when that's not how Cobweb saw themselves.
So I can see how some would love this, but I just think that this did not do the job that it was trying to do.
I wasn't a big fan about what the author was trying to about gender roles, and what it means to be a "girl" or a "boy" or a "princess" or "prince" given what the story was about. I do think that Muir was trying to subvert stereotypical tropes about gender roles/characteristics, but I don't think it was executed well in this. And how one of the characters that we meet in here, Cobweb, who's a fairy (and we learn that fairies are gender fluid &/or trans) HAD to be a girl in Floralinda's eyes, when that's not how Cobweb saw themselves.
So I can see how some would love this, but I just think that this did not do the job that it was trying to do.
Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
4.0
I don’t know what I was expecting when I started this, but it thoroughly surprised me in some of the best ways. I laughed while reading this, made me upset and angry when it needed to and I was happy for Maia with the things that she was able to accomplish with the odds that were against her.
There were things that were revealed towards the end of the book and I want to know how they intersect with the lore and the myths that we learned throughout the story. I’m excited for the next book!
Pros:
-The magic system and the lore. How magic was attained, how it could be used and the stories/myths/legends were really cool to read about
-The writing was really good
-I loved how family was a strong aspect in this book. Maia goes off in her father’s and brother’s stead because of her love for them and wanting to create a better life for the 3 fo them after all of the death and pain that they have already been thru.
-The romance between Maia and Edan was VERY cute
There were things that were revealed towards the end of the book and I want to know how they intersect with the lore and the myths that we learned throughout the story. I’m excited for the next book!
Pros:
-The magic system and the lore. How magic was attained, how it could be used and the stories/myths/legends were really cool to read about
-The writing was really good
-I loved how family was a strong aspect in this book. Maia goes off in her father’s and brother’s stead because of her love for them and wanting to create a better life for the 3 fo them after all of the death and pain that they have already been thru.
-The romance between Maia and Edan was VERY cute
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
4.0
Overall:
The pacing is REALLY fast but I get that it’s in correlation to Maia’s transformation, but I felt like some things happened a little too fast while some other scenes dragged on
There was a mention of a gay couple, so it was nice to see SOME semblance of queerness in here, but I would’ve liked it more if that particular couple was more apparent and we could have had the chance to see other queer couples
I liked that we got to learn a bit more about the demons, their magic and how it worked but I still feel like I’m missing something about the magic system. Especially with the Enchanters, while we did get to meet some more Enchanters, I still don’t get how they work. But we did get some more Lore and God/Goddess interaction and that was cool
My FAVORITE thing about the book (beside the romance) was Maia's strong sense of family, the love that she had for her siblings and her parents (both dead and alive). Everything that she had did in the first book and in this one was for them (also Edan, cause they got very mushy in this one it was VERY cute). You could just see/tell that the love and the memories that Maia has for her family was so strong and it was the thing that she cared about the most no matter what.
One of my only gripes about this book is that there are some scenes, sentences and passages that were NOT needed. There were some monologues that were said by some of the characters that were used to provide information about some one or an even that had happened, but I felt like that these pieces of information could have been given/delivered differently. This is specifically present towards the last third/fourth of the book as we get to the climax, and at that point the ball was rolling so fast that these long speeches kind of took me out of the story
Characters:
-Maia: She was definitely DIFFERENT in this one (which makes sense with what happened at the end of book 1), so her actions made sense & I liked seeing her struggle with the consequences of book 1
-Edan: He is SUCH a cinnamon roll
The pacing is REALLY fast but I get that it’s in correlation to Maia’s transformation, but I felt like some things happened a little too fast while some other scenes dragged on
There was a mention of a gay couple, so it was nice to see SOME semblance of queerness in here, but I would’ve liked it more if that particular couple was more apparent and we could have had the chance to see other queer couples
I liked that we got to learn a bit more about the demons, their magic and how it worked but I still feel like I’m missing something about the magic system. Especially with the Enchanters, while we did get to meet some more Enchanters, I still don’t get how they work. But we did get some more Lore and God/Goddess interaction and that was cool
My FAVORITE thing about the book (beside the romance) was Maia's strong sense of family, the love that she had for her siblings and her parents (both dead and alive). Everything that she had did in the first book and in this one was for them (also Edan, cause they got very mushy in this one it was VERY cute). You could just see/tell that the love and the memories that Maia has for her family was so strong and it was the thing that she cared about the most no matter what.
One of my only gripes about this book is that there are some scenes, sentences and passages that were NOT needed. There were some monologues that were said by some of the characters that were used to provide information about some one or an even that had happened, but I felt like that these pieces of information could have been given/delivered differently. This is specifically present towards the last third/fourth of the book as we get to the climax, and at that point the ball was rolling so fast that these long speeches kind of took me out of the story
Characters:
-Maia: She was definitely DIFFERENT in this one (which makes sense with what happened at the end of book 1), so her actions made sense & I liked seeing her struggle with the consequences of book 1
-Edan: He is SUCH a cinnamon roll