Book Review: Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

Truth of the Divine

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Truth of the Divine 〰️

Wow, this book is dark, and I love it. I'm glad Ellis gave a huge trigger warning at the start. While none of this book's context actually triggered me in any way, I know it would for many people. This book dives deep into heavy topics, more so than I have read in any other book before. As much as I recommend this book, I would also highly suggest not reading it if you are not in a good mental state. This book does NOT sugar coat any of the mental illnesses that it depicts.

Now onto the book itself. I originally bought this book because it was a signed copy, and I have a thing for collecting signed books or other objects. Since this was book two, I obviously had to go and buy the first one and read that. (Of which I also reviewed). I do not regret buying either of these books.

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

Even though Cora is the MC, we are now introduced to another MC with his own perspective, Kaveh. I loved him. He was so charismatic and loveable that I could see why Cora attracted him so fast. It did feel a little odd at first, having so many chapters in Kaveh's perspective, especially considering it was all from Cora's POV in the first book, but I warmed up the idea very quickly. I think his POV was actually necessary, especially when Cora was extremely depressed. We wouldn't have gotten much out of her perspective during her bad mental health. (Which I totally understand. She had gone through so much trauma).

As someone who suffers from extreme anxiety, I can concur that it was depicted very well in this book. Also, as someone who doesn't understand what it's like to be depressed or suicidal, I feel like I have a better idea of the mindset of people who do have this mental state after reading. Mental health is critical, and I hope to learn more to help release the stigma and be a better person to anyone suffering.

That all said, the story was much better in this book, and I love the new alien, Enola/Nickola. Although I see the intention behind it, I did find it a bit weird that Ellis kept switching between different names (even in the same chapter) for the same characters. The alien characters, not the humans.

All in all, though this review was kinda all over the place, the book was a great read. I can't wait for the next one. (That ending cliffhanger! And poor Kaveh! And the last publication at the end, ERG! Love the ending). I recommend this if you liked the first one, but only if you have the capacity to do so. It really is a triggering novel

Book Review: Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

Axiom's End

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Axiom's End 〰️

I loved watching Lindsay Ellis on YouTube for years. It's sad to see she won't continue her YouTube journey but I totally understand why she left. With that said, I do hope she continues to share with us her writing.

If I'm being honest, I only bought this book because I saw her second book was coming out and if you pre-ordered it you could get a signed copy. I have a thing for signed things and I have quite a collection of signed items, mostly books and CDs at this point. My point is, I had no idea what either of these books was about, only that I wanted the signed book from one of my favourite YouTubers and since it was book two, I would obviously need to buy the first book to have the full set.

I'm so glad I bought them.

Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis

Normally a book about alien invasions wouldn't be something I pick up. Not that it doesn't interest me, it's just not something on my list of priority reads. But as mentioned, I wanted that signed book so I bought this one and was super pleased to see that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I'm glad I have the second book ready to go.

Lindsay's writing style is a wonder to read. Although I admit there were a lot of "big words" that made some of the prose a little hard to understand. It's clear, however, that Lindsay knows her way around the written word.

As for the characters, I absolutely LOVE the relationship between Cora and Ampersand. It sorta follows the enemies-to-lovers trope, but instead of lovers, it's friendship. Watching them bond over time made my heart squeal every time Ampersand would slowly open up to Cora. They had such a cute friendship bond and I love how the use of consent was included. Even with the twist at the end, it still didn’t make me dislike Ampersand any less.

I will admit, some of Cora's actions were a bit questionable, but to be fair, I've never been in her situation and I may act the same way she did. No one really knows how they would react in order to survive and try and save their family when aliens come to town.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable read. Now, onto the sequel!

PS: I still don’t get the title of the book though.