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Uptown Oracle (24 KP) rated Darien in Books

Jun 30, 2017  
Darien
Darien
C.F. Iggulden | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A good venture into the fantasy genre
Darien starts slow as every person is introduced. Side characters are introduced and the world is built up. Iggulden has a world filled with detail. With his past of historical fiction this isn't surprising. The detail is extremely immersive and you get to know the world really well. I loved the world it was set in, it was an old world, with problems for the lower classes. I also enjoyed that we weren't following one of the royals or twelve houses that are the higher classes within Darien.

At times, Darien is a struggle to read. The writing style is complex and full of intricacies. A lot of focus is needed when reading Darien because of this. I often read before bed, but when I'm winding down this is not the right book. Changing POV's kept confusing me because of lack of focus. It's very similar to Lord of the Rings or ASOIAF books in that sense.

What I enjoyed was the characters are not labelled good or bad. They all have both good and bad traits which are shown throughout the book. This gave the characters so much depth. There was the problem that I didn't know who I was routing for though as sometimes the characters were on opposing 'sides' of the conflict.

The character's storylines could have also been more entwined than they were. Although it was nice to see different POV's from each character, often I questioned whether it was necessary for the overarching plot. For example, the old man, Tellius, did we really need his part of the story for the story to make sense? I don't think we needed the background information. For some characters it was just a mention of missing each other at the same place by mere minutes. I would have been more coherent if it was all interlinked somehow.

Overall, Darien was a nice read. Iggulden has used his historical fiction background to ensure descriptive world building and well written politics. There were just some aspects that I personally didn't enjoy as much as others would.
  
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages in Books

May 23, 2019  
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
Malinda Lo, Robin Talley, Anna-Marie McLemore | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have no explanation for why young adult story anthologies are SO. GOOD. But they are. This particular one revolves around queer teens in historical times. That's about the only commonality; the genres vary from normal fiction to fantasy to magical realism. There are gay, lesbian, transgender, and asexual teens represented. I am a little annoyed that there don't seem to be any bisexual teens in the anthology; it could be argued that at least one if not more are bi simply because they had opposite-sex relationships before the same-sex romance in the story, but that's also common before realizing your sexuality/coming out. No one is explicitly bisexual in this book. There were also two transmen but no transwomen.

There was a decent amount of cultural diversity while remaining mostly centered in the US; Chinatown in 1950s San Francisco, 1870s Mexico, Colonial New England, 1930s Hispanic New Mexico, Robin Hood-era Britain.

The stories were really good, I just wish they'd included a bisexual story and a transwoman. They did have an asexual girl, which is a sexuality often overlooked, so that was nice.

It's a great collection of stories, just limited in scope. They could have cut a few F/F stories and added in bisexual, nonbinary, and transwomen, and lived up to the open umbrella of the "queer" label a bit more. I really enjoyed it, I think I'm just a little disappointed because I was expecting more of the spectrum.
  
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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Wages of Sin ( Cin Craven book 1) in Books

Mar 13, 2022  
WO
Wages of Sin ( Cin Craven book 1)
Jenna MacLaine | 2022
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
46 of 230
Book
Wages of Sin (Cin Craven Book 1)
Jenna MacLaine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dulcinea Macgregor Craven is the only child of a wealthy English viscount. She is also a natural witch, one of a long line of Macgregor witches on her mother's side. When her parents are killed in a carriage accident, Dulcie doesn't think her life can get much worse. Then an old childhood friend returns to the country a little bit differently than he left and vows that nothing will stop him from possessing her and her magic.

In a desperate attempt to save her life, Dulcie summons a trio of vampires called The Righteous to her aid. With the help of The Righteous and four human friends, Dulcie attempts to thwart her enemy's plans to capture her and use her magic for his own evil purposes.

Even as she falls in love for the first time, Dulcie realizes that she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the world.

I absolutely loved this book historical fiction meets urban fantasy just couldn’t put it down. Dulci is brilliant and I love the Righteous especially Justine. Not what I was expecting at all. As Dulcie becomes CIN she develops more and into a much stronger character and female lead! I’m hoping to learn more on the werewolf “woof” in the next book.