Disgusting little book and nothing like the movie, saCW: fatshaming, bullying, snot, toxic masculinity, excrement, vomit, animal cruelty, animal death
Disgusting little book and nothing like the movie, sadly. I have no clue where they pulled the movie plot from because it is nowhere in this book.
The drawings in the book are terrible. I suppose the reader is to assume they were done by Hiccup, but they are just disractingly bad.
The toxic masculinity is gross, and there is only one female viking in the book, (Hiccup's mother), thankfully this inequality was rectified in the movie.
And then there is the matter of disgusting bodily fluids constantly mentioned throughout the book, terribly unnecessary and revolting. SMH...more
The pizza magic was cute, and the little love story was cute, but I was not impressed by the clunkiness of the comics. I thought it was more of a grapThe pizza magic was cute, and the little love story was cute, but I was not impressed by the clunkiness of the comics. I thought it was more of a graphic novel, but the adventures felt a little disjointed and didn't flow well.
Pet peeve: "Warlock" does not mean "male witch," a male witch is a witch. "Warlock" means "oath breaker," and is a terrible thing to be....more
T. Kingfisher books are hit or miss for me, and this was a hit!
I was annoyed that there was a description of a fantasy country, but no map. I love books with maps, fiction or not, it's good to know where you are.
One character doesn't speak until 41% through the book, but they are awesome, so I'll let it slide, lol.
Oh man, the mirror stuff got too confusing, and all the physics of it---I just can't, lol. I have to hand it to the author for world-building, but it was too much for my many-years-past-college brain to handle, lol.
The slow-burn romance was great and a great surprise....more
Not as good as the first CW: fire, corpses, murders, torture, blood, child abuse, decapitation, confinement, possession, vomit, death, mass executions
Not as good as the first book, it got pretty sad, and I didn't care for the ending. I don't regret reading it, just wish it could have gone better for the characters I liked....more
This is the second book I've read this year putting potatoes way too early in Europe. (The firCW: butchering animals, plague, manure, vomit, violence
This is the second book I've read this year putting potatoes way too early in Europe. (The first being Isola.) The main story starts in 1523 in a fictional country in Europe, and they didn't get potatoes in Europe until at least the 1530s. Chapter 58 has the princess recognizing the smell of cooking potatoes and she and the magician know they come from South America. The author claims to "respect and appreciate the work of historians" in his acknowledgements, but clearly failed on this account! And this is my new pet peeve! lol
Anyway, it was an interesting story, and not at all what I might have expected from Sachar, but that's ok. I just wish writers would do their freaking research!!!...more
The author thinks a coven is 12 witches, how silly, our lucky number is 13.
The academy witches aren't very relatable witches, they're just women who do magic. Lydia's mother who does tarot and herbs, is called low magic, but is more relatable to me.
I was hoping and expecting a better story, but it was ok. It was a lot darker than I anticipated, but it goes with the WW2 cruelty I suppose....more
CW: ableism, alcohol, violence, blood, injury, death
If you like lots of swearing including some creative ones, you'll enjoy this book. I prefer creatiCW: ableism, alcohol, violence, blood, injury, death
If you like lots of swearing including some creative ones, you'll enjoy this book. I prefer creative un-swears (my personal go-to is "oh my golly goodness!" lol)
I was disappointed not to hang out much with Viv, but it was a good story. It made me laugh a lot! Its not as cozy as the author's previous books, but as he aays in the acknowledgements, he didnt want to keep writing the same book, which is fair.
I have to hand it to him for some amazing new characters too, the goblin, who sounds like Stitch in my mind, and the breadknife...oh my goodness!!! Excellent!!!...more
CW: grief, kidnapping, death of parents, sibling death, confinement, violence
Oh it's always such a treat to dip back into the world of Greek and RomanCW: grief, kidnapping, death of parents, sibling death, confinement, violence
Oh it's always such a treat to dip back into the world of Greek and Roman demigods! And of course I adore Nico and Will, and it was good to visit Camp Jupiter again. I was disappointed not to get to peak at our friends in New Rome, but that's a story for another day maybe. Great book, I do love when a series evolves to the point of "maybe monsters have feelings too?" It reminded me of when Christopher Paolini delved into Urgal culture in his later books....more
CW: death, institutionalization, gore, body horror, vomit, blood, sexism, fire, classism, misogyny, racism, smoking, alcohol, disordered eating, bestiCW: death, institutionalization, gore, body horror, vomit, blood, sexism, fire, classism, misogyny, racism, smoking, alcohol, disordered eating, bestiality, sexual content, animal cruelty, animal death, verbal abuse, sexual assault, suicide, r*pe mentions, homophobia, predatory man, sexual assault, genital slur, suicide ideation, chronic illness, ageism, animal butchery, drug use
Oh thank Heavens, I've finally finished the Hell book!!! I need to remember to never read this author again!!! I liked Babel, but it was dark, I liked this but it was too dark and gross. I didn't like Yellowface, and The Poppy War was far too dark. I would give this book 3.5 stars, but I don't believe in half stars, lol. It ended on a high note, making me almost want to give it 4 stars, but I can't recommend it to others, which is kind of one of my qualifications for 4 stars, so I shall leave it at 3.
Some high/low lights: --At one point a character says: "The dead don't have rights." Euw, this is so terrible, bodily autonomy must be preserved in death. I couldn't help but think of poor Adriana Smith from Georgia, whose corpse was kept "alive" after brain death to incubate her fetus. That was absolutely inhumane and detestable.
--The story gets really dark and gross around 57% with flashback of the professor harassing and abusing Alice. I found it very hard to read and I would caution SA survivors about reading this book at all!
--I liked the cat, Archimedes, and that apparently cats cam come and go from the underworld as they like.
There is no year given for the story, but from context clues we can assume it takes place at least after 1986, especially based on the clues of "Doctor Who" (The Doctor) going to court, and Ringo Starr narrating Thomas the Tank Engine stories and from previous mentions of 80's bands.
Another thought: It's weird to read about Hell/the underworld, when I don't believe in it. My previous interactions/knowledge of Hell/Hades are through Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson universe, which has taken a couple journeys through Hades and Tartarus, and Dan Brown's Inferno which familiarized me with Dante's version of Hell. I myself am fundamentally atheist with neopagan witchy leanings, but do not believe in reincarnation or the Summerland like many of my pagan and witchy siblings. I found it more interesting as a discussion of other literary works about Hell/the underworld than as a spiritual discussion....more
CW: kidnapping, non-consensual touching and kissing
I do not like this, there are MAJOR issues of consent being broken here and it is not sexy, it's crCW: kidnapping, non-consensual touching and kissing
I do not like this, there are MAJOR issues of consent being broken here and it is not sexy, it's creepy as hell. Shame on the author, I don't remember if the original books were this bad, but I'm definitely not going to go back to read them and find out....more
Three things I needed in this book that I didn't get: a map, a better CW: violence, death, poisoning, murder, animal death, war, fire, injuries, grief
Three things I needed in this book that I didn't get: a map, a better dramatic personae, and a recap of the last couple books! I had forgotten nearly everything from the last book except that very last thing, and I floundered throughout reading the book to remember who everyone was and what their signet was. A good author recaps the previous stories right away, especially in a long series and especially when the books are so long that lots of things happen! Quite frustrating for me, but another great book in the series....more
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