1 Followers
2 Following
Lark

Pitter Patter of Little Thoughts

If I had an addiction, it would probably be books. All kinds of books. There is almost nothing better than curling up with fuzzy pillows, warm blankets, a mug of hot chocolate, and of course a book to fall into. Trying to get a full account of all the books I've read in the past - and also trying to be more diligent about documenting the books I read nowadays (and reviewing them). Thus, all current books I read will be reviewed, and all books I've realized I read in the past will not be reviewed unless I read them again. Also trying to expand my palate in books and genres. There's nothing I love better than a recommended new book in a different genre that surpasses my expectations. Feel free to leave a recommendation ^^

Currently reading

A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens, Stephen Koch
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - N.K. Jemisin There are a lot of good things about this book, but also a lot of issues that I have with the writing.

Yeine is a Baroness of a militant back-waters country that has suddenly been recalled to Sky, the city of the most powerful man lives - her grandfather. She is told that she is one of the three candidates to succeed her grandfather and is thrown into a court of intrigue and mystery. But this is no normal city because here there are enslaved gods and her mother's mystery to solve.

There is an interesting world concept that I find particularly interesting, as enslaved gods are a novel idea and quite intriguing. However, we are stuck in one location -the palace- for most of the book's duration. So I suppose it's less of a world building than a specific plot point.

I hate how the story is formatted. It's so terribly streamofconsciounesss that the flow is broken many many times. It's frustrating when you hit a point in the story and all of a sudden she jumps to another topic and says, oh by the way, here's a history about the gods. Sometimes it works and doesn't hurt the flow, but it happens so many times and sometimes in such inopportune moments that it's a negative point for me. She jumps back in forth in time and in plot as well as give crucial background information through these little slices that cut into the plot. Annoying. I'd rather learn the information through scenes that push the plot forward.

There are plot holes. Things that don't make sense~ There was no explanation for how she finds out she's a sacrifice, but yet is told she is one of the candidates to succeed Dekarth. She only learns that she's a sacrifice on her own time - so when would she have found it?
The succession seemed more like a joke story than anything else, for as much plot time it got. It mostly revolved around Yeine learning about the gods. I feel like the story tried to incorporate several different plots and weave it into one (like LOTR), but it only did so clumsily. There were many loose ends that didn't get tied up at the end. I just feel like there wasn't enough insight into the character's depth to accommodate the actions they did. Not good enough.

The romance was a little weird....

The ending was respectable. Not too shabby, but a little too deus ex machina in more ways than one, heh.

It's a trilogy, but I'm not sure if I'm tempted enough to pick up the second book. Worth a look if you're bored and you want an average fantasy novel, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for something to blow them out of the water.