The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 1 : The Faust Act

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol 1 : The Faust Act 

4/5 Stars 

I haven't read many Graphic Novels, but I was suddenly in the mood for one and The Wicked and the Divine has been sitting on my shelf for a while now so thought I'd finally pick it up. 

I'm so glad I did because it was so much fun! After recently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, I can't help but draw comparisons between the two, as they have similar concepts. (not plot). I have to say that I found this way of tackling the theme of Gods in our modern world to be much more entertaining. I actually found myself laughing to myself (on the inside) at the witty lines from each character. This use of humour also really helped to outline the characters' personalities and different quirks. Plus, the fact that the Gods come back as pop stars I found funny in itself :D

The plot was no where near as confusing and hard to follow as some reviews suggest, but maybe I just accepted that I wasn't going to know every single thing about everyone straight away. However, whether people liked the plot or not, I think it's a common opinion that the art is amazing and beautiful to look at! 

This has definitely encouraged me to pick up some more Graphic Novels in the future and carry on with this series :)

My Goodreads Review

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman 

4.5/5 stars 

I absolutely loved this audio book! I normally don't like it when authors read their own books, as I normally feel it lacks a good performance, but Neil Gaiman does an excellent job of bringing his characters to life. 

These characters are all very quirky, much in Neil Gaiman's style, but these ones are my favourite from his books so far. Bod was an adorable character and I never found him annoying, which is rare for a small kid! I also loved every side character and their interactions with Bod, as they were often either funny, or discussed interesting themes, such as death, Good vs Evil and Youth. 

However, what I loved most about this was the atmosphere. One of my favourite things is when Gothic themes and settings are made fun and lighthearted. So if you know any other books like that, then please let me know!

My Goodreads Review

The Sky is Everywhere

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson 

3/5 Stars

I don't read a lot of contemporary, so I'm far from an expert, but I actually quite enjoyed this book. 

One of my favourite things in any story is when an unlikable protagonist is done well and I feel like this book is a good representation of what I mean by this. Yes, Lennie (The main character) does some horrible things, but by no means does she ever try and justify these actions or make up excuses. She recognises her mistakes and knows she has done wrong, which is refreshing for me to see in a contemporary novel. 

However, every other character felt kind of empty to me, especially Lennie's best friend Sarah, who really wasn't given enough page time (is that a thing?) to show off her own personality, as I do feel like she would be a fun character if explored further and not just used as a plot device for Lennie to blow of steam. 

I did really like the idea of having a poem of sorts at the end of each chapter and I thought that was a good way to add to the tone of the story, whilst also nicely breaking up the narrative. 

Overall, I did find myself not being too interested in the overall plot and romance, not that it was bad, it just isn't my kind of thing. However, it was an enjoyable quick read in between some much bigger fantasy books! :D

Side note: The constant mentioning of Wuthering heights actually makes me want to finally pick it up!

My Goodreads Review

American Gods - Reivew

American Gods - Neil Gaiman 

3.5/5 Stars 

My thoughts are all over the place with this book... So I'll separate this review into pros and cons to try and avoid rambling! 

Pros

I absolutely loved the overall concept of this book and found it highly inventive and imaginative. The first 200 pages or so were amazing, as I loved the slow burned discovery of the plot and what was happening in this world. 

I quite liked Shadow, as a main protagonist, as it was refreshing to see a more laid-back main character, instead of someone who's always whining or fuelled with determination etc

There were a lot of ideas in this book discussed and while I didn't fully understand them all, the ones that I did understand, were thought provoking and interesting to read about. 

I also appreciated the structure of the Novel and how it weaved short stories into the narrative and to begin with these were my favourite parts of the book, as they always gave vivid, memorable and sometimes bizarre imagery.

Cons

I thought for a while about why I wasn't enjoying this book quite as much as the novel progressed and I think it's due to the lack of commitment. Neil Gaiman includes loads of unique ideas, but without committing to any particular aspect. While I like Shadow as a character, I feel like there isn't much character development for him or anyone else. There also wasn't much focus on the general plot surrounding the war between Gods either. Also i felt a strong disconnect from the actual world, despite admiration how imaginative it is. So I liked each aspect, but nothing was fleshed out enough for me to be fully engaged in the story.

While I loved the earlier scenes with the Gods, I felt like they were completely characterised by their abilities and lacked any personality traits. Maybe that's the whole point? I don't really know, but this is just a personal pet peeve I have and why I also don't like most superhero films. I feel like these Gods could have been even more intriguing, if a few of them were explored in more depth and made into their own fleshed out characters. 

After the halfway point, I found myself getting distracted a lot and I think that's down to the fact that I just wasn't immersed in the world or story. However, I do think this is a problem I have with Urban Fantasy in general and not necessarily this particular book, but it is something that affected my overall enjoyment. 

Therefore by the end of the novel, with all of these factors combined, I had lost track of different characters (as they were only briefly mentioned previously and just felt empty) and I also lost track of the actual plot as I feel like there wasn't much of a focus leading up to the main events. But with all this in mind, I still sort of enjoyed reading it, as confused as i was....Which is why this book is so hard for me to review... and why I've probably contradicted my self a lot!

Overall

With a re-read of this book in a couple of years, this definitely has the potential to be a 5* read for me, as I did really enjoy the themes and ideas, but for now i just don't know how to feel about it. I am looking forward to watching the TV adaptation though, to see if any of my issues are addressed.

My Goodreads Review

The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2)

The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan 

5/5 Stars

The thing about this series is that I understand the few negative opinions surrounding The Wheel of Time in general. Yes, it is jam-packed with fantasy tropes. Yes, the women aren't quite as well developed as the men are (as of this point). Yes, certain things seem somewhat convenient for the characters and plot advancement. However, it just doesn't bother me and for someone who reads mainly modern fantasy, it's refreshing to go back to the roots of the Epic Fantasy genre and it can't be denied how much this series makes me smile! 

I found the plot in this second book to be even more enjoyable, as it still stuck to the Dungeons and Dragons style from the first book but also felt more adventurous for the characters and therefore me. In terms of the story itself, the plot expands along with the world, as we travel to new places, which of course brings along new characters. 

Robert Jordan seems to love introducing new characters... a lot. Normally i'd get bogged down and confused with all the names and trying to keep track of it all. However, much like in 'The Eye of the World', I found the character introduction scenes to be by far my favourite, as it's so interesting to learn more about the different cultures from this world through the eyes of these new people. So it's a good job there's a lot of them! 

The only negative thing I would say is that whenever the characters travel through 'The Ways' I find the writing to become quite jarring and confusing, forcing me to often re-read certain parts in order to fully grasp what's going on. However, throughout the rest of the novel, I find it to be incredibly clear and visual, which more than makes up for this. 

While this series is a massive one, I can definitely understand the popularity as (so far) it has never failed make me happy whilst reading!

My Goodreads Review

The Eye of The World (Wheel of Time #1)

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan 

5/5 Stars

This book reminded me of why I love fantasy. It contains numerous tropes, which are now over-used and even goes parallel with Lord of the Rings at times. However I think The Wheel of Time does Lord of the Rings better, which isn't an easy task... 

The plot reads very much like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, filled with random Trolloc encounters but also meeting mysterious men at strange inns. While being cheesy at times, I couldn't help but smile while reading these scenes as they felt so nostalgic to me as a fantasy reader.

My favourite scenes are by far whenever a new character is introduced (which happens a lot). Robert Jordan introduces his characters in such an entertaining way that clearly highlights their personality and specific skill traits that could either benefit or hinder the group. 

The world building in this book is phenomenal, as we explore various places in this first book, while still only scratching the surface of many places yet to come. This makes the scope of the world, but also the potential of the narrative for later books insane.

By the end of this first book I found myself growing attached to nearly all the main characters, particularly the main 3 guys (Rand, Perrin and Mat) and can't wait to read the next 13 books!

My Goodreads Review