Jengels
News Dragon and general collector of information
553 points
Jengels commented...
5h
Not saying you are wrong, bc I too wanted to toss the book, but in Emory's defense- she was 18/19. You make stupid decisions at that age when you want to be included. The brain doesn't fully develop until your early 20's, if I recall, and remember, she grew up super isolated.
I went into this expecting Dark Academia, as it was advertised as one. But let me be clear: it is not. And if you loved Ninth House (as the Ninth House comparison is used to advertise this), that alone won't be enough reason to pick this up. That said, I finished it and genuinely enjoyed it.
This book is for you if you're drawn to darker stories, interesting magic systems, and anything to do with the Moon and Tides. One thing to keep in mind, though: it is aimed at a younger audience, and that shows, particularly in the main character. Emory, paired with nearly every adult in the story, is the main reason this didn't become a four-star read for me. Her thoughts and actions will test your patience if you've reached a certain level of emotional maturity. She's frustrating in a way that feels less intentional and more just… underdeveloped. Adults are just plain stupid in this. Like... nothing they do makse sense. Baz and Kai, however, more than made up for it. The plot held my interest throughout, and I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series.
I think the most difficult aspect of reading any book with characters who are college age is watching young women, in particular, making poor dating choices, and wanting to scream at the top of your lungs, "No! That's just a manipulation tactic!!!!"
But alas; here we are: very, very wet. And not in the sexy way- in the drownings way.
Make your own life choices. These characters certainly did.
Jengels started reading...
6h
Bel Canto
Ann Patchett
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country’s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera’s most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers. Patchett’s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.
Jengels started reading...
6h
We Burned So Bright
T.J. Klune
Husbands Don and Rodney have lived a good long life. Together they’ve experienced the highest highs of love and family, and lows so low that they felt like the end of the world. Now, the world is ending for real. A wandering blackhole is coming for Earth and in a month everything and everyone they’ve ever known will be gone. Suddenly, after 40 years together, Don and Rodney are out of time. They’re in a race against the clock to make it from Maine to Washington State to take care of some unfinished business before it’s all over. On the road they meet those who refuse to believe death is coming and those who rush to meet it. But there are also people living their final days as best they know how–impromptu weddings, bright burning bonfires, shared meals, new friends. And as the blackhole draws near, among ball lightning and under a cracked moon in a kaleidoscope sky, Don and Rodney will look back on their lives and ask if their best was good enough. Is it enough to burn bright if nothing comes from the ashes?
Jengels finished a book
9h
Curious Tides
Pascale Lacelle
Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths. Emory might be a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar Magics, but her healing abilities have always been mediocre at best—until a treacherous night in the Dovermere sea caves leaves a group of her classmates dead and her as the only survivor. Now Emory is plagued by strange, impossible powers that no healer should possess. Powers that would ruin her life if the wrong person were to discover them. To gain control of these new abilities, Emory enlists the help of the school’s most reclusive student, Baz—a boy already well-versed in the deadly nature of darker magic, whose sister happened to be one of the drowned students and Emory’s best friend. Determined to find the truth behind the drownings and the cult-like secret society she’s convinced her classmates were involved in, Emory is faced with even more questions when the supposedly drowned students start washing ashore— alive —only for them each immediately to die horrible, magical deaths. And Emory is not the only one seeking answers. When her new magic captures the society’s attention, she finds herself drawn into their world of privilege and power, all while wondering if the truth she’s searching for might lead her right back to Dovermere…to face the fate she was never meant to escape.
Jengels finished a book
23h
Midnight on the Celestial
Julia Alexandra
Roe Damarcus has never been afraid of the dead. Her power to summon spirits has awed the guests of her esteemed family’s galas for as long as she can remember. Her future is certain, and her gift will be another shining jewel in the Damarcus legacy. But when she fails her realm’s trial to keep her magic and is deemed too dangerous for society, she faces a harrowing choice: give up her gift or serve a punishment sentence aboard the Celestial, a luxurious magical cruise ship where staff members compete for guest votes to earn a coveted retrial. As a concierge, Roe juggles the demands of affluent guests, cruel bosses, and the suspicion that an infuriatingly handsome silks performer, Ivander, is determined to keep her from a retrial. But the true dangers surface after her shift ends when the Celestial transforms into halls of nightmares that kill staff members after dark. Faced with the reality of serving aboard, Roe begins to question the ship, trials, and the system that put her there. But the moment Roe sinks into the ship's dark history, she's wrongly framed for a guest's murder. Vowing to conjure her own second chance, Roe will use whatever power she has to uncover the secrets of the ship, her family, and their entwined bloody past... before she becomes the Celestial’s next victim.
Jengels finished a book
4d
A Rebellion of Care: Poems and Essays
David Gate
A moving manifesto in poems and essays, inviting readers to embrace their humanity and live fully alive in our age of social change, hyper-capitalism, rampant individualism, and loneliness.yes, everyone is struggling right nowso please be graciousbe kind & patient, but subvertevery institution that relies on our suffering Something isn’t right. Every generation thinks that, but we have more cause than most. The way our society has been constructed is just not good for our bodies, nor our minds, nor our hearts. What possible chance do our souls have?Yet, amidst all of this, there is an unwavering desire to embrace life in all its facets. In his debut collection, popular Instagram writer David Gate inspires us to rally for what makes life worth creating art as a form of care, living beyond consumer impulse, loving our neighbors (even the weird ones), and more. This book invites readers to ponder the complexities of self, community, love, and resilience. Rejecting the notion that despair and positivity are our only available responses, Gate urges readers to foster deep friendships that challenge social orders and embrace questions of meaning and purpose. For, in his words, "saying something true in a world awash with lies is the first act of rebellion.
