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savage_book_review's reviews
276 reviews
3.0
Having read the books on WW1 and WW2, I wondered how the author was going to tackle this subject, as clearly his method of telling the story through using eyewitnesses own words was going to be far more difficult here. Ultimately, this is more of a 'traditional' introduction to history - an overview with all of the quotes from written sources you'd expect. This does mean that it feels tonally different to the others in the series.
The biggest problem this book faces is that there are so many other children's history books out there that serve to introduce the Tudors in a far more engaging way - Horrible Histories and Dead Famous being chief amongst them. There is no escaping being lumped in with those juggernauts, and sadly I'd say this is found wanting. In particular, the Dead Famous book about Henry VIII is very, very similar in content terms, but has so much extra in the way of comedy, engagement and fun. As a result, this book comes across as actually quite dry.
Of course the content has been written to be appropriate for the age group, but that does mean some elements are perhaps illustrated as 'fact' when there is an element of dispute there. For example, it states that on their wedding night, Catherine of Aragon and Prince Arthur went to bed and fell asleep. Clearly there is an element here of sanitisation,but equally I would say this is misleading. Similarly, well known quotes are truncated or altered to spare blushes and awkward questions. I found this an odd choice; why use the quote if you have to beat around the bush? In my opinion, it would have been more productive to use your own words to explain in a child-friendly way.
It seems very clear to me that the author is a huge Catherine of Aragon fan, which is totally understandable. However, where she gets quite a detailed explanation of her childhood and earlier life, the other wives don't get the same treatment. Poor old Anne of Cleves only gets one very brief chapter and, while she does appear in Catherine Howard's narrative, it really does feel like she's been short changed here.
I do get that his marriages are useful landmarks to hang a narrative of Henry's reign on, but in this case it does feel like the wives are secondary to Henry's story. This is not unusual I know, but when the book title indicates you're getting the story of the wives, again it's a bit of a let down.
I'd argue that the best reader for this book would be an young teen who has had the history of the Tudors pass them by - someone who is perhaps too old for Horrible Histories (which I know isn't technically possible!), but not old enough for all the gory details. Where I'm a seasoned Tudor fan and definitely not a young teen any more, I can appreciate the generally well-written nature of the book while recognising that I am far from its target audience.
Minor: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This has been on my list to read for a while as I love the Hades and Persephone story, but when I found it was included in my Audible membership it jumped to the top of the queue. Immediately, I loved the way it brought the Ancient Greek world up to date without losing any of its mystique; it pulls in the classic motifs and symbols of the Gods, while making sure they fit into a modern world. It also makes sure to include those more mythical creatures like ogres, nymphs and oracles to really balance the aspects of a technologically advanced society and a society that can only exist in legend.
The narrator of this audiobook did a great job at bringing the characters to life; her narration is well paced and she is able to give each character a voice without sounding ridiculous. I will admit that I wasn't overly enamoured with her Hades inflection, but I recognise that that's probably down to my having devoured a load of graphic audios just lately with actors playing roles, rather than straight audiobooks, so it just felt a bit 'off' to me. I also like the fact that she got into the story; you could hear the tension, excitement etc. build in her voice at various points, which definitely assisted in painting images in my mind.
As always with stories like this, it's the 'domestic' moments that really hook me in and make me root for the couple. In this case, the all powerful God of the Underworld baking cookies and attending movie night just made me grin so broadly! To me, these scenes break down the all powerful facade of these brooding all powerful males and allow you to glimpse their 'humanity' and desire for something normal. This makes them all the more relatable, whilst allowing you to remain in awe of their magnificence.
Similarly, I found the fact that the author has teased out different characteristics of some of the Gods really refreshing. For example, Demeter being a control freak of epic proportions is not how she is normally painted. In the audio version I have, there was also a bonus scene of Hades and Aphrodite entering into a bet, which paints her and her marriage to Hephestus in a very different light.
There were aspects that I wasn't as impressed with; I struggled with Persephone's split-second changes in attitude for one. One minute she can be completely enthralled by Hades, then in the next breath she's enraged over something. It does do well to build their chemistry and connection, but the device is used multiple times and I found myself getting frustrated by it. Likewise, while I enjoyed the overall subplot led by Adonis, the latter part of it made very little sense to me... and Minthe just got on my nerves throughout - she wasn't a necessary character and seems only to have been included as an extra obstacle, with no other real purpose. There are a few elements in here that don't feel like they were given quite enough thought, but I am hoping that as the world and characters develop as the series progresses, some if these kinks will be worked out.
I am so excited and happy that the majority of this series appears to be available on Kindle Unlimited (even if the rest of the audiobooks have to be paid for), so I'll definitely be adding those to my subscription shortly!
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, and War
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
While I think the author has done better relationship arcs, this is probably the first time that it's felt like an equal relationship from the get go, rather than the big powerful man teaching the gorgeous girl something to help her to become his equal. And their banter, understanding and ease around one another, plus their protectiveness of each other, is my favourite part of the book. If this book were focused on the development of their relationship, with other bits going on in the background, I could definitely get in board with it. However, as it is their relationship is just one element of an incredibly busy plot.
I had hoped that I'd have absorbed enough from the first book to be comfortable with the world and the characters going into book two. No, I'm not floundering and completely lost, but at the same time there are so many characters, species and sub-plots to keep straight, I ended up feeling a little overwhelmed with it, which tempered my enjoyment. I'm sure certain plot threads will be picked up again in future books, but at this stage there seems to be a lot of loose ends or even dead ends, again giving the feeling of about three books worth of plot being crammed into one. And yet the pace isn't that fast - it's not a slog to read, but you are fully aware of the heft of this tome as you are trying to get through it.
As always, you cannot fault the worldbuilding, and I admire the depth and breadth of the creativity of thought and detail that has gone into bringing life to Crescent City - again, I think this is the most considered scape Maas has created to date. However, I again come back to the sheer quantity of information the reader needs to be able to process.
Unfortunately I wasn't shocked by the Day/Night twist at all; to me, it was incredibly obvious straight away how that was going to turn out. The more interesting twist for me was Bryce's plans for Emile, but equally this felt like a rather clunky explanation; it can across like the author had forgotten to include a resolution to that particular aspect and so covered herself with a quickly invented 'secret plan reveal'. This sort of sums up the writing overall for me - it doesn't flow anywhere near as well as ACOTAR or TOG.
However, this is a prime example of why I don't generally mind spoilers - someone told me ages ago about what happens at the end of this book and so, even though this is my least favourite of SJM's series to date, I knew I had to get these read so that I can devour book 3 when it comes out! I am desperately hoping will give this series a huge boost in my estimations!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My first reaction was that it was an odd juxtaposition; people with various magical abilities driving cars, using mobile phones and enjoying Saturday night sport, and while the author of course makes it work, I wasn't as easily able to immerse myself in the world; the intrusion of the familiar made it harder to suspend my disbelief. Imagining an avenging angel slobbing out on the couch wearing a baseball cap and football jersey, wings and all, is brilliant, funny and certainly more relatable than a lot of the other males in Maas' writing (even if he does share the usual trait of the ultimate ripped body), but that's precisely the issue. I like my fantasy characters to be precisely that - fantasies.
I enjoyed the characterisations of both the individuals and the different beings very much; there are a lot more shades of grey in here, which definitely makes the reading more interesting. However, there are a LOT of creatures to get to know, and at times I found it hard to keep track of everything. There's not much of an 'on ramp' with this world; you're dropped almost straight into the middle of it and left to fend for yourself, picking things up as you go. And where in her other series there have been some similarities that allow you to grasp basic concepts, again this setting is so different it's a lot harder to establish the ground rules.
Similarly, understanding the structure and hierarchy of the world isn't exactly straightforward. I do like the Roman-inspired feel of the city as a whole, but it took me a while to get to grips with the angelic legions, the Aux and so on. It's just a lot to wrap your head around.
I would say that this story doesn't flow quite as well as her other works either. The story has certainly been well mapped out in the author's head, but the writing somehow just feels a bit clunky - the development of the relationship between Bryce and Hunt, while clearly inevitable, just seems to happen in the blink of an eye, rather than via the slow build which Maas is so good at. And some of the twists aren't so much shocking as head-scratchingly confusing.
I'm thinking this one might be a 'soaker' - it just needs to marinade in my head for a while before I 'get' it in the same was as TOG and ACOTAR. Also wondering if the graphic audio version might help. I do want to see where the series goes and how we end up at the spoilers I've heard about the end of book 2, but I am hoping for better next time around...
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Vomit, and Car accident
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- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the part where I also started to identify with Nesta a bit more; with the teasing out of her inner demons, her mindset becomes slightly more understandable and her aloofness becomes more clearly a mask rather than who she truly is. I like the fact that her issues aren't just 'solved' and then they all live happily ever after - it's the fact that she continues to relapse into old habits which makes it more real. Watching her hit rock bottom on the hike and the lake is absolutely gut-wrenching, but it's also a moment of beauty, especially watching Cassian start to understand fully and heal her.
I'll come right out with it; here be the good good stuff. There are scenes here that are 1000% NSFW or for the delicate ears of children or elderly relatives. And they will play over and over again in your mind. Just... guh. It probably is a bit gratuitous, but I do get why it's there and I'm definitely not complaining!
I adore the friendship that grows between Emerie, Gwyn and Nesta, and I hope this is something that gets featured significantly in the future books. I can see it coming; another war breaks out in Prythian and as battle rages, Cassian the General leads Illyrian warriors in the skies while the three women lead the Valkyrie charge on the ground. I think all three of their stories are incredibly important for female empowerment; recovery from abuse, trauma and assault and finding strength in themselves and in the bonds they forge with each other, it really speaks to me. And the way it all comes together in the climax is absolutely incredible. And they all love their books; I can definitely identify with that!
A special mention to baby Nyx here. I'm already a total sap for that little boy, and I'm really hoping we get some insanely cute Daddy!Rhys moments in the follow up books! No, Rhys' character doesn't really recover in this half of the story, which is a shame, but I remain optimistic that it's a blip and SJM will have him back in full book boyfriend mode soon.
I'll say it again; if you're avoiding things book just because you can't stand Nesta Archeron, you are truly missing out.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical trauma and Pregnancy
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved the fact that Rhys got more narration time in this one - it's a nice little treat, not only to get to hear things from his perspective, but also to see that High Lord 'mask' drop and him just be a man with his family. And it doesn't hurt that there are a few lines which, said in that voice, make you go a bit wobbly! The only disappointment was that it was just Rhys and Feyre who got to narrate their own sections - while the narrator for the other parts is far from the worst I've heard, I would have much preferred Cassian, Nesta et. Al to speak in their 'own' voices.
I also love the fact that no-one seems to have a clue what to get their friends for Solstice. It's just a subtly funny repeating motif, but at the same time I guess it makes sense; it's hard enough buying family presents for Christmas for a human lifespan... can you imagine what it must be like trying to come up with something original after 500 years?!
And, oh, the snowball fight and birchin... that scene never fails to make me smile in written format, so I howled hearing it! I know it's ridiculous, but it is one of my favourite passages of any book.
Equally though, the dour note of Nesta brings some much needed gravity to proceedings. However, it does its job perfectly, illustrating Nesta's feeling of ostracism without dragging down the tone of the book overall. The only criticism I have of this is that, while Nesta has been a pain in the backside for the most of the previous books, by the end of ACOWAR there seemed to be a thread of a relationship between her and Feyre again, and that is very causally disregarded in this book. I've always found it quite jarring and I think it could perhaps have done with a little more explanation in this book rather than it being left to explain in Silver Flames.
Unashamedly pro-Frost and Starlight here!
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Again, it's the smaller moments within the epic set pieces that bring me the most joy; learning more about the man Elain might have married, Cassian's 'dying' confession and so on are all so well played and moving, they really draw the personal side of war out. And yet, the big string moments; infiltrating Hybern's camp and the final battle itself etc. also pack an almighty punch.
I feel like I should have more to say about this most important part of the story as a whole, but my mind is continually drawn to the moment Rhys and Feyre repair the Cauldron and its aftermath. The audio track really heightens this to an entirely new level, and the utter relief and joy when the High Lords (and Lady) have given up another part of themselves is palpable - I love it!
As a whole book, ACOWAR is probably my least favourite of the series, but the graphic audios have so many redeeming qualities that I can't say anything bad about this!
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
There are incredible moments of action in this part, including the battle of Adriata, which generally kick the narrative into a higher gear and are amazing to listen to. However, the overall pace continues to be fairly slow. It's not uncomfortable or boring - it's far too well written and acted for that - but it stretches the tension to almost breaking point. As a result, and because of the raging headache and cold I had while listening to it, I'll admit that a lot of the intricacies passed me by.
For me, it's the more intimate moments of quiet and understanding between Rhys and Feyre that mark this episode out. It's nicely bookended with small but perfectly formed moments between the two of them, and their stay in the Dawn Court in particular is beautifully done to illustrate both Rhys' vulnerability and his complete understanding and acceptance of his mate.
While it's not the calm before the storm, it's the first rumbles of thunder and drops of rain to lead into the climactic third act, and it does its job very well. I am grateful however that I could pick up the next episode straight away; I think if I'd had this one immediately upon release and had to wait for the next instalment, I'd have been left a bit disappointed. So that's my top tip: either wait until you have all three parts before you start listening, or buy the extra credit to make that wait a bit shorter.
- 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? No
4.0
The amount of moving parts also means that the intricacies of the story can be a little harder to follow when you don't have the words in front of you, particularly when it comes to shifting alliances, battle strategies and so on. But equally I admit that could be down to my muzzy head.
It was nice to have Rhysand take over narration duty at the beginning of the book, and I kind of wish he had more stage time (yay for the Rhys POV fanfic I've just discovered!). I love how he brings the character's emotions through without breaking that solid exterior. Being totally shallow, I would definitely like more vocals from him in *those* scenes - he's just too damned quiet! 🤠Feyre's narration did start to frustrate me a little in this one though; unfortunately I don't think the actress managed to pull off those deep, dark moments of bloodlust and threat - she might drop her voice an octave, but I don't feel the anger, hurt and betrayal behind the words in the same way.
In some ways, I'm enjoying listening to these stories more than reading them because the speed at which I devour the story isn't set by me. In turn, the actors choices of what words to stress and when mean I'm picking up on bits and pieces in more depth than before. In particular, while I was aware of the the amount of setting up for ACOSF in here, I haven't just glossed over it and so have a deeper connection with Nesta and Cassian than I did when reading. On the other hand, where I know I could have read the whole book I the time it's taken just to listen to this first part, this again takes the pace down to a crawl.
Still good, but doesn't quite reach the dizzying heights of the last one.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War