I stumbled upon this book after reading an interview with George RR Martin. Apparently Tad Williams was one of GRRM’s favorite writers, and Williams’ “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” trilogy was one of GRRM’s biggest inspirations for writing his own giant epic…that I’d like to point out we’re still all waiting for him to finish. *side eye* I loved all of GRMM’s books and thought it would be neat to read the original material, and it did not disappoint. Like GRRM, Williams’ book encompasses a vast […]
Cats are Adorable Jerks
This is my cat, Freya: Don’t be fooled by her incredible cuteness; if you look closely around the eyes you can see the crazy demon hell-beast lurking within. Freya is seven pounds of psychotic, terrifying cat piss just waiting to soil your favorite pair of shoes….or in my case, anything that looks like it could remotely cost me my security deposit. For almost two years, roommate faintingviolet and I have endured a perpetual minefield of pee-pee pads and decoy litter boxes shoved in what we hoped […]
I accept that I am a writing-craft snob
If I hadn’t read “The Night Circus”, I would probably be giving this book a higher rating, but I think many of the things this book does well, “The Night Circus” did better. “Cruel Beauty” is also a YA, and I habitually have issues loving YA as much as I love adult books with similar themes. I had serious issues with the craft, and I realize after looking back through my other reviews, that I’ve become kind of a writing-craft snob, but this book was all tell […]
Teenagers and Demons, Oh My!
I read this so my teenage sister-in-law would have someone to talk to about it, and….meh? There were some good things about it; there were even times when I laughed or had feelings for the characters, but that didn’t happen until around page 240…..Now, that doesn’t mean this book is bad. I’m just not the intended audience. It’s a YA, which I typically have issues with anyway, and its’ about hell-beasts, and demons, and teenagers with feels, and I’m a 30-year-old woman who doesn’t have […]