Some stories were pretty cool while others were very boring. Can't really blame the book too much because I knew going in that it might not be my cup of tea. Still, it was interesting to see what troubled people at the time.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I liked the writing style, and the vibe reminded me a lot of Studio Ghibli in the beginning. However, there are some pretty questionable relationship dynamics in this book, being romanticized, which I felt was weird. Reading about these relationships kept throwing me off from this whimsical journey of self-discovery that the main character was on. Also, I felt that the book was a bit too short to unpack everything in depth.

I loved the concept, but the execution was not that great. I was expecting a murder mystery/horror story, and I did get horror or at least a lot of gore, but only in the beginning and then again in the last 50 pages. I think the pacing was off with almost nothing happening for most of the book and the main character going on the same tangent over and over. I think the author wanted to make an important statement about the racism experienced by asian-americans and Chinese people during COVID. I was interested in the thoughts and experiences of the main character and how this theme was woven into the plot. However, I think the book was a bit too short and trying to do too many things at once for this topic to be unpacked in-depth. At times, the tone was very dark and serious, amplified by the clear mental illness symptoms that the main character was exhibiting throughout the book. Then the tone and pacing would shift until we got some kind of scooby doo type mystery quest with some ghost appearances here and there for a mild jumpscare moment. Then, towards the very end, we went briefly from 0 to 100. A lot of crazy shit went down, and I mean American Psycho level of shit... and after all that? Well, after all that, we were back to a cartoonish ending where the main trigger, which was driving the plot forward and causing tension suddenly, didn't matter at all. Nothing had any consequences whatsoever (at least not for the main character). There wasn't even a serious moment of reflection considering the events of the last few chapters. It was, if anything, a rather cheerful ending (and not because anything was resolved in a satisfying way). So, all in all , solid 3 stars.

Pain

chef's kiss

This was... something. Almost from the very beginning, it is absolutely clear what the big reveal will be, and the sad thing is that there isn't much more to the book than that. And this could have been so easily avoided or at least less predictable if the author had simply scrapped a few scenes in the beginning of the book. It seems like the author had a lot to say about systems of oppression and was inspired to create a fantasy novel. This sounds super cool in theory, but somehow, she managed to give it the most unexciting, flat execution possible (excluding some pretty epic moments mostly towards the end). This book has a solid magic system and an interesting, morally gray female character but unfortunately, the flaws far outweigh the positives. The side characters were all forgettable, the plot predictable, the themes were explored only on a surface level and the ending felt somehow super cheesy and didn't fit the tone of the rest of the events immediately preceding it. Also the romantic implications (not that there were many, thank god) were kind of icky due to the crazy power imbalance between the two main characters and let's say, without spoiling anything, other certain circumstances. I am sad to say I don't get the hype.

I'm finding it hard to rate this book because on the one hand, I enjoyed it, but on the other hand, I feel like it didn't rise up to its full potential. R.F. Kuang delivers a darkly entertaining meta commentary on the publishing industry and Internet discourse. The protagonist is deeply unlikeable, racist and completely lacking any kind of moral compass. The story is gripping, and it is exciting to turn every page and find out if the main character will finally get caught and have to answer for her heinous crime. I am not sure how I feel about the ending - I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. I can see the point of the book ending like this but I can also see that alternative endings would have been equally good or maybe even better. I agree with the criticism that this book could have dug a bit deeper and included, for example, the privilege of coming from a wealthy family. But overall, a very interesting and different read which I enjoyed.

Loved the Gothic vibes, the eerie atmosphere, and the vague sense of blurred reality in the small hours of the night. Insomnia and the various explanations for what keeps us up at night served as a great thematical backdrop to the "crime story." It was exactly the spooky read I needed. I have always been a big fan of character driven books and especially those involving friendship dynamics, so I really enjoyed this even though there wasn't too much of a plot. I would have probably enjoyed it a bit more if it was a longer book. But still, at this point, I will read anything M.L. Rio writes.

I didn't expect to like this because the beginning was very slow, but I ended up enjoying the story quite a lot. Mainly because of the author's sense of humor and irony but also because of the bittersweet ending and its context within the sentiments characteristic for this historical period.