fiera started reading...

Captive in the Underworld
Lianyu Tan
fiera finished reading and wrote a review...
i’m honestly a little sad that it didn’t hit me the way it seemed to hit everyone else. i’ve seen so many reviews and videos of people crying over this book, calling it heartbreaking and emotional, but i just didn’t feel that. it’s very character-driven, which i usually love, but here it made the pacing feel slow and kind of dull at times. i couldn’t really connect to the characters, and it all just felt like reading a story rather than being pulled into it. i wanted to feel something, but i didn’t. it wasn’t a bad book, just not one that stayed with me, and i don’t think i’ll be reading the sequel.
Post from the If I Stay (If I Stay, #1) forum
fiera started reading...

If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)
Gayle Forman
fiera DNF'd a book

Murder in the Family
Cara Hunter
fiera started reading...

Murder in the Family
Cara Hunter
fiera finished reading and wrote a review...
it’s been a while since i last read a book in verse, and honestly, i’d forgotten how powerful that format can be until this one. it’s beautiful. not just in the writing itself, but in how raw and emotional it feels. every line hits with purpose, like it’s meant to sit heavy on your chest for a bit.
the story centers on two black girls and their messy, complicated, and deeply emotional relationship. it’s queer, intense, and so full of longing and hurt that it almost feels too personal to read at times. i don’t think we ever even learned their names, but that actually made it more powerful. it strips everything down to just them and the feelings that tie them together (and tear them apart).
i also loved the author’s note at the end. it ties everything together and adds so much context to the story. it really helped me understand where all that emotion was coming from. overall, it’s the kind of book that quietly breaks your heart and leaves you sitting with the pieces for a while.
fiera finished reading and wrote a review...
it’s been a while since i last read a book in verse, and honestly, i’d forgotten how powerful that format can be until this one. it’s beautiful. not just in the writing itself, but in how raw and emotional it feels. every line hits with purpose, like it’s meant to sit heavy on your chest for a bit.
the story centers on two black girls and their messy, complicated, and deeply emotional relationship. it’s queer, intense, and so full of longing and hurt that it almost feels too personal to read at times. i don’t think we ever even learned their names, but that actually made it more powerful. it strips everything down to just them and the feelings that tie them together (and tear them apart).
i also loved the author’s note at the end. it ties everything together and adds so much context to the story. it really helped me understand where all that emotion was coming from. overall, it’s the kind of book that quietly breaks your heart and leaves you sitting with the pieces for a while.
fiera started reading...

Nothing Burns as Bright as You
Ashley Woodfolk
fiera DNF'd a book

Jackdaw
Tade Thompson
fiera DNF'd a book

We Could Be Heroes
Mike Chen
Post from the Jackdaw forum
tade’s one of those characters where you totally get why he is the way he is, but that still doesn’t make him any easier to like. i feel for him, truly, what he went through is awful, but even with all that context, i just can’t bring myself to actually like him. it’s that mix of sympathy and frustration that makes him such a complicated character to read.
Post from the Jackdaw forum
"it turns out when you have an unstable childhood, one of the reactions is to expect instability at all times so that when things are going relatively well, you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, and if that shoe takes too long, why, you have to do something to help it fall. drop that fucker yourself. it'll be chaos, but chaos is familiar: chaos is where you live. you might be suffering, but you're used to that, and life goes on."
Post from the Jackdaw forum
"as soon as i was born, my mother hated my fucking face because i looked like my father. i mean, i don't blame her for this given the horrific time she had, but i didn't do anything to deserve being the object of her hatred."
like. wow. that’s such a brutal thing to read, but it’s written in this way that feels so real. it’s one of those lines that sits heavy because you can tell he understands why his mother feels that way, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. god. it’s rough.
fiera started reading...

Jackdaw
Tade Thompson
fiera commented on DistinguishedGhost's update
DistinguishedGhost started reading...

Alchemised
SenLinYu SenLinYu
fiera started reading...

We Could Be Heroes
Mike Chen
fiera commented on fiera's update
fiera DNF'd a book

One for My Enemy
Olivie Blake
fiera DNF'd a book

One for My Enemy
Olivie Blake