tvislife's reviews
377 reviews

Just as fucked up and enjoyable as the first book. Little Jorgy is all grown up—his murderous rampages have some actual thought behind them, and he has a purpose beyond causing mayhem. As evidenced by the title, Jorg is now a king, and by golly he fits the role. I’ve always loved how self-assured he is, and seeing him with this position really showcases the charisma and power he oozes. I mean I still hate him, but if I lived in that world, I’d follow him in a heartbeat (cuz that heart would likely stop beating if I didn’t).

I’m just obsessed with the fact that Jorg is like basically a child and simultaneously the biggest bad guy to ever live; and yet somehow, it all seems plausible in the world. Sometimes with fantasy books like this, the MC will be just an average joe who somehow does all this amazing badass stuff even though it doesn’t seem possible. But Jorg? He could do literally anything and I’d believe it—the author is just so fantastic at weaving a story, and Jorg is a character that seems larger than life and yet so incredibly grounded. I love this world and the characters and I’m so sad the next book is the last. But I can’t wait to read it. 

An entertaining book, if not a particularly good one. It follows Evie, a stammering wallflower who is about to come into a bunch of money, and Sebastian, a total douchebag rake who needs cash. She proposes to him, and they get married. 

I mean, I read this book super quick and it was incredibly readable—I’ll give it that. But Sebastian was the worst. Reformed rake isn’t my favorite trope, but usually they’re just kinda womanizing guys who eventually fall super in love and settle down. This guy is a total dick—he literally kidnapped and tried to “marry” (ruin the reputation to force her to be with him) Evie’s good friend because he needed money. And then Evie is like “oh yes this is the perf guy to help me out”. Come on! No! Yes, he “changed”, and there were some hot scenes, and they fell in love, blah blah, but I just couldn’t really forget the fact that this dude is the worst. 

God I loved this. I, like most people I think, have experienced jealousy in friendships, even a slight feeling of bitterness when someone succeeds in something that you wanted to be better at. Doesn’t make you feel like a great person, but also is a very human thing to feel, I think. But goddamn did June take those feelings to a whole new level.  Like, wow. 

This is one of those books where the villain of the story genuinely believes themselves a victim, and it is equally hilarious and mind-boggling. Kuang is a brilliant writer and perfectly tapped into the White Victim mindset that a lot of people are seeming to have right now, and did it in a way that felt so natural and real. 

June is the most Karen of Karen’s, whining about how people of color actually have it easier because people want to hear diverse voices now—as if somehow we’ve erased centuries of marginalization and suppression of POC voices just to make sure this one white woman can’t succeed. Kuang made June and Athena’s relationship so complex and timely, and yet also made it a dynamic that we’ve seen before and can understand perfectly; they don’t like each other, but they kept the other around to either try and hang on their coattails (June) or affirm that they’ve made it (Athena). June’s slow descent into madness and her increasingly bonkers justifications of her actions were a sight to behold, and I already wish I could read this for the first time again. 

Can’t wait to read Kuangs other books. 

Delightfully intriguing mystery with an oddball duo to solve it, what’s not to love? Din is training to be an assistant investigator, working underneath the totally bonkers (yet endearing) Ana to solve a series of connected murders. 

I loved this! A perfect blend of mystery and fantasy—I don’t actively seek out whodunnits or murder investigation books, but this was incredibly entertaining. The fantasy elements were so brilliantly done; the world-building was seamlessly interwoven into our introduction of the crime scene, it was incredibly easy to follow and hilariously entertaining at the same time. Ana is a certified weirdo and a total gem; her eccentricities remind me of Monk or Sherlock Holmes—brilliant, but you wonder how the people around them haven’t killed them yet. Din was a lovable main character, with the perfect balance of heart and aloofness, and I look forward to seeing where he goes from here. 

This was my first book from this author, but if his other books are anything like this one, I can’t wait to check them out. Fully fleshed out fantasy worlds, with unique and attention grabbing details—characters with big personalities that you can’t help but love—fantastic writing that keeps you laughing, on the edge of your seat, and fully engaged—and just a really well-written plot. Can’t get better than this! 

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC! 

boring af

Entertaining and spooky. A young boy is brutally murdered, and a local baseball coach is seen in connection with the crime—even though he wasn’t actually there. 

I really enjoyed the first half of this book! The creeping horror as you realize that Terry was seen doing all these things, yet also knowing that there was no way it was him—that was some good shit. However, as the book went on and you learned more about the crime / who committed it, the less interested I became. I find a lot of true horror comes from the unknown, and King oftentimes doesn’t leave things unknown—he shows the monster, has the monster talk, and explains some of why the monster does what it does. I don’t really like that! I want some ambiguity and shadows, but oh well. This was still a good read. 

While I really enjoyed this, I will be the first to admit that it definitely won’t be for everyone. Jorg is a sick little fuck, and has like zero redeeming qualities (but I loovveeed reading from his perspective). The book follows Jorg, a prince who ran away and joined a group of outlaws, traveling to exact his revenge on Renar, who killed is mother and brother (and doesn’t mind watching the world burn to get what he wants). 

Jorg is very much an Anti-Hero. Exactly zero people reading this book will like him as a person, because he is a murderous psychopath that leaves an incredible amount of destruction in his wake for seemingly no reason. But goddamn if it wasn’t entertaining! 

For real, even though he probably has the most evil personality of any character I’ve ever read, this book was just so well-written I couldn’t help but enjoy it. Like, it’s so messed up but also beautiful? It’s like being in the mind of a poetic serial killer, like even though I can’t say I “like” Jorg, I kinda like Jorg! I know what he wants (revenge and destruction) and what he’s willing to do to get it (literally anything), but I want to be in his mind even more and find out what he’s planning next. Can’t wait for book 2. 

Nothing groundbreaking, but a nice little novel nonetheless. It follows Cooper, and his daughter Finch, as they live in the woods to hide from his past. 

I feel like I’ve read / watched versions of this story a bunch of times (traumatized man with a dead wife hides out with his kid(s) in the woods, like Captain Fantastic or Leave No Trace). And even though it’s a fairly common trope, it’s still a good one! I found the book engaging, and certain parts were even moving. I grew to really like the characters, even the side ones that were only on-page for a short amount of time. Nice little novel for anyone to breeze through in a day or two. 

This books was an unbearable slog to get through. It follows Evangeline, who is trying to move on with her life after making a disaster out deal with a Fate, Jacks. 

So boring. So so boring. And childish! Everything about this book felt so superficial and random. Eva was silly and had such shallow characterization, and no one around her was any better. It felt like a children’s story that was for some reason expanded into a full length novel. I was not a fan of the writing style at all, and the plot and characters weren’t interesting at all. There’s a line that’s something like “Let’s find the perfect outfit to meet a vampire!” (yes there’s vampires for some unknown reason), which I think sums up how ridiculous the whole book is. I will not be continuing this series and couldn’t care less what happens to any of the characters. 

If you want very easy-to-read YA about a fairy tale-esque story, this could be for you, but not for me.