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.

Book review: Wilder Girls by Rory Power

"Something". The unique first word/sentence of this novel certainly sums up the book. It certainly was "something". A great something at that.

I congratulate Power on her first novel being so, well, powerful. Love all the girl power, strong friendships, and especially the LGBT+ representation. I also enjoyed the uniqueness of the Tox and world in which we are thrown immediately into. Right from the start, the Tox had already been around for a while and we see the girls living the only life they now know how. Just people trying to survive.

I love how brutal this whole book can be, and I'm not just talking about the Tox. The girls of Raxter held together so well, but when all hell breaks loose, humanity's dark side rears its ugly head and shows us how we really are in the wake of a situation such as this. (Such as murders and secrets and the likes).

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

I also applaud Power for her writing style, especially during Byatt's POV. The way it was written, like a person in and out of consciousness and out of their mind, really made me feel like I was in Byatt's head. And I love how Hetty's POV is also written just like someone's thoughts. Short sentences, repeated words. It just all worked so well.

These characters have been through so much before the book even started. And then to have everything happen in a week or so is insane. I just wish we knew the true fate of Hetty, Byatt, and Reese. I'm sure Power's left it open for interpretation on purpose but I'm someone who just wants all the answers. I just hope they are okay and are able to survive. They all had incredibly hard choices to get to where the book ended and I just hope it all worked out for them. A bittersweet ending indeed.

All in all, I could barely put this book down. The Tox is such an interesting thing to read about and I loved seeing how the characters reacted to it. Had me on the edge of my seat (couch) the whole time. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent

Rachel Vincent has done it again with another captivating read.

I will admit, this is the first of Vincent's books where I wasn't pleased with the ending. There was so much I wanted to know more about, though it's possible Vincent left it open for a sequel. While the book did have an ending worthy of Vincent's usual storytelling, I just personally wanted to keep going. So I guess that's why I wasn't as pleased with how it ended. By no means does this mean that the book didn't end well. I just felt it ended abruptly and wanted more.

Red Wold by Rachel Vincent

The book itself has no real "villain" and I find that interesting. I love how the story is about learning to accept who you are (and possibly your fate) and Adele's journey to find out if she can really do right by everyone. All Adele wanted was to have the life of her dreams with the man she loves. But finding out she is a guardian really puts a stopper on that perfect life. And when she finds out what she has to do as a guardian and all its hard choices, her life will never be the same.

Red Wolf was a compelling read from the very first page. As always, Vincent leaves you wanting to know more about her characters and the world that surrounds them. It was interesting to see how Vincent changed her writing style slightly to fit the story setting. (I assume it takes place in medieval-ish France in an obvious fantasy world).

If this is your first Rachel Vincent read, I think you will be pleased. Although I would personally recommend her other works before this one as I do think they are more captivating. (The Menagerie Series and the Soul Screamer series are my fav). But you won't be disappointed with this read. As always, in my opinion, anything Vincent writes is literally gold and so I highly recommend picking up a copy today. Not to mention the cover is absolutely stuff and worth owning this book for that alone.

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

What an incredible book from start to finish, from the writing style to the complex characters to the gorgeous formatting.

I'm not even sure where to begin with this review as there is so much wonder to talk about. So, I guess I'll start with the story. There are essentially three different stories; the main story, the future, and "your story", at least that is what I liked to refer to them as. I love how each story is told in the present tense, something I don't often see, although not entirely rare. What is rare, however, is the use of 2nd person perspective. Morgenstern is literally making the reading a character in the story (hence the "your story" perspective I mentioned). I love that in the end, all three stories eventually meet up and merge into one and it was done so masterfully that I have to applaud Morgenstern for the execution.

The Night Circus cover

The main story itself centers around a circus (as stated in the title) that appears randomly at night. Each story perspective all centers around this circus. How it came to be and why. The main players are a girl named Celia and her competition/love interest, Marco. At a very young age, they were bound to compete in a magical competition. The thing about this competition is that its rules are very vague throughout the entire novel and I did feel like most of the time the author almost didn't know about the rules of the competition as well. Granted it does get mostly explained at the end and it felt a little anti-climactic since these characters were training since they were really young and at least 30 years have passed and neither knew much about it. However, though it is a talking point of the story, I don't think it's the main purpose. I think the main purpose of the story was the love between Celia and Marco and how dreams become reality. Also, it was about character growth. At least, that's how I see it.

The magic system was never explained. It seems that people just will things to happen and they do. No spells or anything. There was no showing of how anyone learned their magic, though it is implied that anyone can learn magic should they try hard enough. While most people would consider the lack of magic description a flaw in the world-building, I think it adds to the mystery of the Night Circus. Therefore, I actually think it works well with the world Morgenstern had created.

Overall this was a highly enjoyable read from start to finish. If you are looking for a fantastical read filled with wonders and mysteries, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Wow. Simply, wow. Quite possibly the best book I've read all year, and I've read a lot of good ones this year.

This book is not only an exemplary read, but I think a necessity. How it handles such deep and important subjects all while telling an excellent story is amazing. A must-read for anyone struggling with mental health. (And a must-read for anyone, really).

Now this book is by no means a cure for depression, but the way it handles mental health is so well done. I think it's important to read this book. Plus, we got some LGBT+ rep and we always love that.

Haig had me at the very first line. It's so hard to have the first line of the book be the hook that keeps you reading. I admit I get into books really easily and that the first line usually isn't what gets me, it's the first few pages and such, but Haig manages to snag you with the book opening line and keeps you going straight until the end.

The Midnight

Library

by Matt Haig

The concept of the Midnight Library is genius. I love that there is a place between life and death (purgatory perhaps?) where you can see all the possibilities of lives you could have lived if you had made different choices in your life, be it small or large. And yes, the library is different for everyone who finds themselves in this state, but the concept is brilliant nonetheless.

Honestly, if you are looking for a great read that also makes you think more about how precious your life is, this is the book for you. You won't be disappointed. With engaging characters and all its possibilities, you'll never want to put it down. Loved it from start to finish. And I also love how it came full circle.

I can't say enough praise for this book so do yourself a favour and pick up a copy today and form your own opinion. After all, life is about our own choices and how we live with them.

Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

A short yet enjoyable read. I also love dystopian-type future novels, and this one was right up my alley. (Although, since this book was published in the fifties, they mentioned how they had two atomic was by the end of 2022, and this kinda made me laugh. This is primarily because of what an insane ride it's been up to this point, but also because 2022 is now upon us, and we have sometimes come close to having atomic wars. At the very least, there were threats).

A lot happened to Montag, the story's protagonist, in a week or so. At the start of the novel, he is very much into his job. He loved it. And I loved that he loved it. In his world, being a fireman and starting fires to do his job should excite him. This is an entirely normal thing for him. However, he soon changes his mind and begins to question everything. I was expecting that. It's one of the driving points of the novel. But I find that his change of mind and rebellion happens way too fast, in my opinion. Perhaps Bradbury just wanted to keep his book short and to the point -- hence no flowery descriptions of scenery and charters or much of anything except for the needed details. But I would have liked to hear a bit more about the life of a fireman and why they do what they do and why they love it at least a little bit longer.

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

Also, while well-written, many of the characters sound like carbon copies of each other. The exact manner of speech, same actions, same word usage. Perhaps this is because of the world they live in, but to me, it just made it seem like everyone was moulded from the same palette.

As the book went on, it did get a little too religious for me, but that still didn't take away from my enjoyment of reading it.

Despite those tiny flaws, which are more of my opinion than flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was an interesting read to see how past people could see our "future" play out. I hope that I'm not alive if they decide that our current reality does not need books.

Book Review: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

This was one helluva good read from start to finish. I love how Tremblay writes his characters. Each of them is so unique and interesting. With the perspective of each character, I felt like I really knew the character.

I love that for characters like Wen, for example, it read like the little girl she was yet at the same time it was still written for adult readers. I know, that doesn't make much sense but if you read it you would know what I mean.

Also, LOVING the LGBT+ representation and a happy family. Well, happy until their lives were destroyed.

This book had twists and turns that I was NOT expecting. Wen's death was the biggest one. She was such a main character and then she just wasn't. In fact, I didn't realize she was dead until later in the next chapter. I thought she just passed out but nope! She died!

The Cabin at the End of the World

by Paul Tremblay

I will say though, parts of the book frustrated me. The fact that Andrew and Eric never once ask "Why us?" really bothered me. Like, I'm sure they wouldn't have gotten their answer but they should have at least asked the question. I sure would want to know why my family is so special that one of us dying would stop the apocalypse.

I also felt like the ending was a little unresolved. I really wanted to see this apocalypse they created by not sacrificing each other. It still ended wonderfully. I'm just saying I wanted more answers than the author provided.

One more thing to add, on the positive, is that I love how we learn so much about the characters all while the horrible events take place. Each character remembers something about their backstory that plays into the present day. It was perfectly balanced and never felt like an info dump.

All in all, despite some frustration in not getting all my answers, I would highly recommend this book. It was truly an entertaining read.