Hello, everyone! Last month I had fun with my first post of micro reviews. I had several more books that weren’t ARCs that I needed to review and not enough time to write out full reviews for them all. So, I’ve decided to do some more super short summaries of my thoughts in four sentences or less. Here’s the result…
This book did a wonderful job of blending together African mythology and the typical Little Mermaid story in a way that felt fresh and interesting. The prose was really beautiful, and the main characters were relatable. The plot did get somewhat repetitive, with poor Kola repeatedly on the brink of death over and over, and the villain was a bit cartoonish and simple. That being said, this story was a very compelling journey with an interesting cast, fascinating mythological creatures, and some great lessons born out of the hard truths of slavery that the book fearlessly tackled.
I LOVED this book! The prose was stunning and built a setting that felt haunting, creepy, and ethereal. The plot was mysterious, while also being incredibly tight with excellent pacing. The main character was complex and three-dimensional, and I loved how her story of wanting to belong somewhere played out over the course of the novel.
This book did some things I really wasn’t expecting, namely pushing the title character more into the background. I loved the switch in POVs and the more detailed characterization of some of the other characters. However, the book still stuck to the usual format (setup that causes characters to split up, traveling, and then all the characters coming together for a big fight at the end) that seems to dominate this series so far. Personally, I’m getting a bit bored with it, especially given how bloated the books feel at times, and I hope the format/POV gets shaken up even more in the next one.
Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think of them? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I’m loving the mini review format! I’m so glad you liked Gallant. I thought it was just okay — not one of Schwab’s better works.
Thank you! I’m not sure why but several of your comments ended up in my spam box. So, I’m sorry I haven’t responded sooner! I’ve seen a lot of people that didn’t really care for Gallant as much as Schwab’s other books, which honestly just makes me excited because it was my first book by that author. I can’t wait to read the stuff that is even better!
No worries about the comments — it happens sometimes! You are so lucky that you have her whole catalogue to get to! I recommend the Shades of Magic series — it’s so so good.
Phew, that is some skill to write lightning book reviews like that! I don’t know if I could ever get my thoughts down in four sentences…kudos to you!
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It’s definitely tough, and I don’t think I could do it for every book. The challenge makes it fun, though!
Skin of the Sea sounds interesting! I’ll have to give it a read. And I invested decades of my life reading The Wheel of Time. I finished it, and it will not be a re-read. I did enjoy it, though. I’m interested to see where Amazon goes with its video adaptation. The first season was probably enough to get those unfamiliar with the books interested enough to start reading.
That’s exactly why I started reading them. I enjoyed the show for the most part and wanted to learn more about the story. I don’t think the books are bad so far. There’s lots of cool elements, and I like the characters. They are just so long and seem to be taking forever to get anywhere.
Great mini-reviews! I’m starting Gallant today so I’m glad to see you really enjoyed it 😃
Thanks! I hope you like it as much (or more 🙂) than I did.
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