So 2020 was a year. Not the worst year I’ve personally experienced, but it was still a horrific year of collective trauma that I don’t think we’ll forget anytime soon.
I said I was trying to shut this blog down by the end of 2020, and given that it’s January 1st, 2021 I’m sure you can tell that didn’t happen. I wanted to finish the ARCs I still had to read, and I still haven’t done that. I still have 2 ARCs I haven’t read or DNFed that I don’t know if I’ll ever start/ finish, but it’s time to stop dragging it out and shut this thing down. For the Lover of Books isn’t meant to make it to 6. The Netgalley hack that finally got me to delete my account there made me realize that.
I signed up for StoryGraph today and imported my Goodreads data, I’m changing my Twitter and Instagram usernames tonight (though I’m more of a ghost haunting those platforms these days). My Goodreads will be gone after the data finishes uploading. All that leaves is saying goodbye to this blog one last time.
So goodbye For the Lover of Books. It’s time to see what the next 5 years will bring. I would promise to lurk on WordPress, but if the last few months have been any indication, that probably won’t happen.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
I am very thankful for masks right now because I had a huge grin on my face the whole time I spent reading More Than Maybe, and the people on the bus were (hopefully) none the wiser.
The romance in this book is so cute, and I had to actively stop myself from squealing on the bus towards the end. Vada and Luke are both so respectful of each other, and you can’t help but root for them. The romance also feels very realistic. I totally would have reacted similarly in their situation when I was in high school.
Something I found particularly interesting about the romance was that Luke and Vada are both interested in each other well before where the book starts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done before (though I’m not a huge romance reader), and I really liked what it brough to the story.
More Than Maybe is more than a love story between two people; it’s also a love letter to music. More of interest to me specifically is the focus on predominately rock/ alternative music, which is what I listen to most. This is definitely the kind of book that just feels right to read with some All Time Low (or other artist of choice) blasting through your headphones, which I definitely appreciated.
I really loved all the characters in More Than Maybe. Luke and Vada are obviously the focus of the book, and I loved how complex and “real” they felt, but I especially enjoyed how the side characters felt just as complex and developed. This book really felt like a glimpse into two real people’s lives.
Overall, I really enjoyed More Than Maybe, earning it 4.5 stars out of 5.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
Where Dreams Descend was such a fun book. It was magical, atmospheric, gripping, and it made for the perfect pandemic read. I’m eagerly awaiting book 2.
I enjoyed Where Dreams Descend so much, and I think it owes a lot of that to it’s cast. Kallia absolutely dominates this book. Where Dreams Descend is told from 3 perspectives, but you can tell this is Kallia’s story. She may be ambitious and cocky on the outside, but she also had so much depth as a character. I loved her so much. She’s worked hard for years training to use her magic, and she knows she’s good at what she does. I think teen me would have definitely benefited from seeing more characters like her.
Jack and Demarco also make for fascinating characters. They’re both very mysterious and guarded (though I’ll add that I found Jack a bit more interesting). They do kind of feel a bit like side characters despite having POV chapters, but I think that’s more a testament to how developed the side characters felt.
Speaking of the side characters, there were so many little things about the side characters that just made them feel so real (like a reporter calling her ex by a nickname). I would totally read more things focused on just them. (side note: I will protect my sweet boy Aaros with my life)
Since we’re on characters, let’s talk about the romance. I’m conflicted. As much as I’m a huge fan of banter, I’m not sure I felt the chemistry between Kallia and the love interest (I know it’s technically a love triangle, but I’m talking about the person Kallia more chooses). That being said, I really enjoyed reading about them when they were together. Like I had a huge grin on my face when reading their scenes together. I don’t know how to feel about it.
In other things I’m conflicted about, I feel like the pacing was a bit inconsistent. There were just some moments where the story really dragged, despite my overall enjoyment of the book.
Something that wasn’t a negative for me personally, but I feel like some people might be bothered by is that the writing is a bit flowery and metaphor ridden. I know some people really don’t tend to like those kinds of books, so consider yourselves warned.
Overall, I really enjoyed Where Dreams Descend, earning it 4.25 stars out of 5.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
Hi. I made a grave mistake reading The Silvered Serpents so early because now I need book 3 to be in my hands, and that’s not happening for at least another year. I do have a brief extra disclaimer that I am on the street team for this series, and I did receive the e-ARC I read through being on the street (the publisher originally rejected me on Netgalley). This does not affect my thoughts on this book. I genuinely loved The Silvered Serpents book. Also, mild spoiler warning for The Gilded Wolves.
If you happened to be around me while I was reading this book, you might have noticed that I either had my hand over my mouth or I was clenching and unclenching my fist (particularly while reading Séverin’s chapters). There was no in between. Since the very foreboding prologue I was hooked and either distressed or ready to knock some sense into my favourite disaster nerds (but mostly Séverin).
Speaking of my favourite disaster nerds, they go through and grow so much throughout The Silvered Serpents. There were so many moments where I got to (internally because I read most of this on the bus) celebrate how bad*** Laila is, wish the group had listened to Hypnos, and cheer on Enrique and Zofia as they figured stuff out. These characters have my heart and feel so real.
I particularly liked seeing how what happened to Tristan affected all of them. Tristan was maybe my least favourite character in The Gilded Wolves, but seeing all of them deal with what happened broke me. There was one point where I had to stop reading because I was going to cry in public.
One of my favourite things about this series is that it combines math, myth, history, and magic, which is honestly my entire field of interest. Like in no other series do I get to get excited about them (I think) talking about epsilon in a math context after they discussed the muses from Greek mythology. My nerd heart is so happy because this series is somehow up my (very niche) alley.
The writing is magical as always. You can always expect gorgeous writing from Roshani Chokshi’s books though, so it’s hardly a surprise at this point. One of my favourite moments was when one of the characters defined writers and it felt like 100% something Roshani Chokshi would write (I referenced this in my Twitter thread of me live-tweeting the book, but I don’t think it made sense without knowing what I was talking about).
I think understood the world a little better in this one. Not that I didn’t understand it in book one, it’s just that I feel like I have a way better grasp on what forging is. There’s a new (I think) type of forging introduced, and I think it really helped me understand forging better than I did last December.
The Silvered Serpents is filled with massive reveals that I mostly didn’t see coming. The hints are there, but oh my god did this book ever have me on the edge of my seat. There were some parts of ending in particular that I was able to guess, but still made me sob on the bus. To quote my initial Goodreads review, how dare this book stab a penknife into my heart (I really want someone to get this reference and yell at me for it).
Overall, I loved The Silvered Serpents, earning it all the stars (really 5 stars out of 5).
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
You know your review is late when you finished the book you had an ARC of by reading the Owlcrate special edition that sat at your parents’ house for months. Yikes. It’s also been so long since I’ve written a review that I’ve forgotten how to write them, so we’ll see how this goes.
Ruthless Gods is very different from Wicked Saints, which I can say with confidence despite remembering nothing about Wicked Saints. Ruthless Gods is a lot slower than Wicked Saints. Both still made my heart pound, but Ruthless Gods was more that quiet kind of addicting where you’re not desperate to keep reading, but your thoughts keep travelling back to thinking about the book, and I love books like that.
I also kind of love that I have so many questions still. There are things brought up that we never fully get answers to, and it’s making me desperate for book 3. In fact, the withholding of information was just as well done as the reveals and betrayals, and both were excellent.
Something else that is so well done about Ruthless Gods is the magic system. It’s so interesting and compllex (content warnings for self-harm and eye horror. Read with caution). On top of the magic system being so fascinating, the world-building in this series continues to be incredible. Kalyazin and Tranavia feel like they could be real places (though I’m not sure you would want to visit).
The cast grows a little in Ruthless Gods, but all the characters still feel developed and like they’re their own people. I especially like learning more about Parijahan (I’ve heard in passing there are some problems with the rep in relation to the Akolans in the first book, but I can’t personally speak on it), and meeting Katya was so much fun.
Speaking of the characters, I really like the main romance, and I feel very guilty about it. This is an enemies to lovers romance, and it’s not healthy (aka don’t try this at home kids), but I am very invested in it. There’s also another relationship in Ruthless Gods I’m really happy about, but I’m not sure I would call that one healthy either. It does have some really sweet moments, though.
The end of Ruthless Gods gave me chills, and then later that night I had nightmares. Ruthless Gods leans harder into the horror than Wicked Saints, so be warned. Also, here’s another warning that if eye stuff bothers you, I don’t recommend reading this book. It’s very unsettling.
Overall, I really enjoyed Ruthless Gods, earning it 4.5 stars out of 5.
Hello. Long time, no post. I haven’t been on WordPress since Dec 31st (my Of Curses and Kisses review was scheduled). I’m also (maybe permanently) off Twitter and (definitely temporarily) off Instagram at the moment for mental health reasons, so it’s safe to say I’m not very present online right now.
It’s also safe to say that it’s really weird to celebrate For the Lover of Books turning 5, and not just because the last time I wrote something for this blog it was still 2019. I can’t believe I started this blog 5 years ago. I started this blog as a fresh start and something to do after finishing grade 10. I wanted to practice my writing. I wanted an outlet for all my strong opinions. And yet this blog gave me so much more than that. I’ve met some incredible people through this blog. I’ve had some incredible opportunities through this blog, from street teams, to reading ARCs, to blog tours, to so much more I’m probably forgetting.
I’m a completely different person from when I started this blog. I was a very angry and lonely person at the end of grade 10. I didn’t know I had depression and social anxiety when I started this blog (though this blog did help me figure that out). Not only am I a much happier person now, but I’ve also (mildly) figured out the mental health stuff (go me!).
But it’s not just my mood that’s changed over 5 years. I graduated high school in the last 5 years. I’m headed into my 4th year of university in September. I’m a legal adult, which I wasn’t when I started this blog. I got my first real job after starting this blog, and now I work at a bookstore (when it can open again and I can sign a new contract). My family has gotten our first dog since I started this blog. I’ve flown overseas and seen the country my grandmother grew up in since I started this blog. There’s probably so much I’m missing, because 5 years is such a long time.
And I’ve been absent for a (long) while and not very active on the platforms I was “on” until recently. And For the Lover of Books is probably still shutting down by the end of the year (if I ever manage to read and review the ARCs I still have to get to), but this blog has been in my life for 5 years, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
So Happy Birthday, For the Lover of Books! There many not be 5 more years in your future, but I’m so incredibly thankful you were there for the last 5.
Because of my lack of online presence, I’m not too up to date on the news, but I do know that Black lives matter regardless of if it’s a trending topic. Here’s a resource that will take you to ways to help the cause, because we need to do better. To my fellow Canadians, please know that racism is a big problem here too, and it always has been. To my fellow white people, please learn, watch and listen, and keep doing that for the rest of your life, but absolutely do not ask Black people to educate you. If you have access to this blog, you have access to Google.
Trans lives (and especially Black trans lives) also matter, regardless of what a popular children’s book author has to say about it. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. People of other identities that fall under the trans umbrella are exactly who they say they are. End of discussion.
If you’re still online places, please keep sharing resources on social media if you can. If you’re not (like me), please continue to educate yourself. We’re never done learning.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
Extra disclaimer: I am a part of Sandhya Menon’s street team. I was provided with a copy for review before I requested it on Netgalley (the first version was hard for me to read).
I feel terrible writing this review, but ultimately I don’t think Of Curses and Kisses was for me. I’m so sad. I don’t think this review will be very long, but I’m going to try to get out my thoughts as best I can.
The one thing I immediately liked about this book was Grey. He is the exact sarcastic and broody brand of character I love. His whole character is also an attack on teenage me.
Jaya, however, I struggled with. I kept waiting for her to grow as a person, but she never really did. Well, I guess she sort of did, but it all happened very fast.
Speaking of everything happening very fast, I felt like things were a little rushed. Like Jaya spent the so much of the book trying to convince DE to do something (with DE pushing back on the idea), and then at one point DE just agrees with her and that’s the end of that. A new conflict is also introduced 88% of the way through the book, and it somehow ends in a happily every after. It was a major thing, so it really shouldn’t have been resolved by the end. There’s a whole bunch of similar instances in this book that makes me wish more time had been taken to flesh these things out.
Everything also felt very stilted and awkward. I think it was a stylistic choice because it mostly happened in Jaya’s chapters, but it didn’t make it any easier to read. Eventually it started affecting other characters who were much more “chill” than Jaya when the book started feeling more rushed as well, which made for many bits of dialogue that felt like things no one would actually say. It was jarring.
In terms of retellings, Of Curses and Kisses felt like it was more animated Disney Beauty and the Beast inspired than anything. It also isn’t really a retelling. I would say it’s more inspired by the fairytale.
Overall Of Curses and Kisses unfortunately wasn’t for me, earning it 2.5 stars out of 5.
Quick general content warnings for depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and various other mental health related stuff. Please take care of yourself while reading.
This was originally going to be a review of every year in this decade. In fact, I was in the middle of writing about 2019 (after having written about all the previous years) when I made the decision to not do that. Writing about all the stuff that happened to me was cathartic, but it wasn’t productive, and it certainly doesn’t need to be on the internet. I don’t want to return to the anger and pain of those previous years of the decade, even if there were some amazing moments in between.
This decade contained a lot of hurt, and I was a very angry person who was in desperate need of a hug or a wake up call. My wake up call came in the form of 2018. This decade contains all of the worst moments of my life, but 2018 in particular broke me. My beloved cat who had been my everything passed away in March, and I had to figure out how to keep going without the one thing that had been there for me for 5 years. I also got hit with the worst depressive episode of my life that lasted from late October 2018 to March 2019. I was pushing back against suicidal thoughts daily, and it got so bad that I couldn’t listen to my music (one of my coping methods) anymore because it was too dark and doing more harm than good. I couldn’t talk about this last year in my 2018 year in review because compiling all this would have broken me further, but it’s relevant to this year’s story. I’m in tears writing about it now.
With that much needed context, let’s see what this year brought me.
2019 started out really rough. As I said earlier, I was very deeply depressed until the end of March. I was missing class and overworking myself, and it was terrible.
In January I began working on a cross stitch design inspired by The Gilded Wolves. I’m a part of the street team for the series, and watching all these talented people create so many amazing things made me want to do so as well. The problem was I am a terrible artist (though I want to learn how to be less terrible), but my aunt did teach me how to cross stitch when I was around 13. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen my 2nd and 3rd ever cross stitch pieces, inspired by The Gilded Wolves and The Devouring Gray respectively, but I’ll put the pictures below (The Gilded Wolves one was free-hand, while I made a pattern for The Devouring Gray one).
I gave up on being a math major in 2019, and finally realized that it was okay to not be good at some things. 2019 was actually a huge year of growth for me. After that long period of depression, I realized I didn’t want to be angry and sad anymore. I wanted to be the happy person I was at work. I wanted to be the happy person I was while walking with headphones in, absorbing the music. I wanted kindness to be my first reaction, not defensive anger. I wanted to be as happily animated as I was when talking about things I loved all the time.
So I started working on it. If I wanted to be happy, I had to start respecting myself enough to not just take the treatment I received from people in my life just because they were blood or the only ones willing to speak to me. I finally realized that if my only response would be defensive anger brushed aside, maybe it wasn’t worth the effort or the pain it caused me to be so angry all the time.
Before that happened, I discovered Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) through listening to Spell Check (a podcast where 6 YA authors play D&D), and it quickly became my new obsession. I didn’t understand what any of the terms meant at first, but it was just another form of storytelling and it called to me. I loved rooting for the characters, and I loved the idea that you could live or die on a dice role. I used to love making up complicated fantasy games as a little kid, and I’d never been anything but a giant nerd at heart with a flair for the dramatic, so I think I’d finally found the thing that had been missing (this is why if you’ve spoken to me in the last 4 months, D&D is the only thing I talk about).
Listening to Spell Check every Wednesday (and eventually watching campaign 1 of Critical Role after one of the authors who’s a part of Spell Check tweeted about it) made me want to learn to play. I joined WARP (Western (my university) Association of Role Players) and joined my first campaign this school year. I love it so much. My half-elf rogue Rhea is both my precious child and the bane of my existence (she’s kind of a dick, but if anyone says anything bad about her I will fight them). It’s so nice to get to pretend to be someone else every week. Rhea doesn’t overthink everything like I do (thanks anxiety), and she’s way calmer than I am. It’s nice to be in someone else’s head for a while, even if it takes all my spoons for the day to play the game (thanks social anxiety). Plus, now I get to waste all my money on pretty D&D dice. I love it so much that instead of doing my next bookish cross stitch (King of Fools inspired, as voted on by Twitter), I made a cross stitch inspired by the campaign (Pictured below. Six of Crows pillow for scale).
Context: Steven is a peasant we forced to take us somewhere in a boat we owe money to (but we’re never going to pay him), and we’re in the middle of a war between the left side (under the sun king (who is very bad)) and the right side (under the rose king (who is the lesser of two evils)). Caelynn is our ranger, Fable is one of our bards, Peter is our fighter, Rhea is our rogue (<3), gNim is our other bard, and Reed is our cleric.
I’ve been working on loving myself (or changing the parts I don’t love) these past few months, and as a result I’ve been the happiest I’ve been all decade. I haven’t looked in the mirror and worried if I’m skinny enough in months, and I’ve been having so much fun accepting myself as the disaster I am. I am so happy, and it feels so good. I never want to let this feeling go. This doesn’t mean I don’t have depression anymore. I’m in the middle or a very minor episode right now (it’s mostly effecting my sleep schedule), but I think part of the reason it’s not as bad is because of the work I’ve done.
I also still love my job at the bookstore on campus, of course. If you told me I would get to work in a bookstore surrounded by some of the best people as my coworkers, I wouldn’t have believed you. Even though my tongue trips over my words at cash all the time (thanks social anxiety), and certain large groups of students refuse to listen to us when we answer their questions, I love my job so much and I’d be loath to give it up.
That’s pretty much it for my 2019. Despite the fact that I’ll be ringing in the new year alone in my bedroom scream-singing along to Weightless by All Time Low, I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time and I can’t wait to see what 2020 will bring.
Announcement
You may have noticed that this blog has been largely abandoned since I started university in fall 2017. For the Lover of Books has been my greatest source of pride for the past 4 years, but it’s gotten to the point where I only post the occasional ARC review and then don’t post for months. It’s time to let this blog go.
I have a bunch of review commitments I made before making this decision, so For the Lover of Books will see the occasional post until about June 2020, but after that I will no longer be posting on this blog. I think I’m going to keep it up for memory’s sake (and keep my WordPress account alive so I can comment on blog posts by the amazing people I follow (which I regretfully haven’t done in a long time)), but For the Lover of Books will be no more. I’m also still going to be tracking my reading (maybe writing the occasional review) on Goodreads, and my Twitter and Instagram will still be full of bookish thoughts (though I might change my handles considering they’re related to this blog).
I want to say the decision to shut down For the Lover of Books, my baby of over 4 years, was hard, but it wasn’t. Over the last few years, my priorities have started to shift. I’ve been trying my hand at writing a book for the first time, and a bunch of other non-bookish stuff (like D&D) have started taking up my time. My blog has started to be my 5th or 6th priority.
ARCs have also started to make reading less fun for me. All this stress over trying to read something on a deadline (and then missing it entirely) has caused many reading slumps over the years, and I just want reading to be fun again. Getting to read books early has been an amazing opportunity for me, but I just can’t do it anymore with how busy I am.
I want to say a huge thank you to the entire online bookish community. Thank you for welcoming a lonely 16 year old girl in 2015 with open arms. I have met so many amazing people I never would have met through this blog, and I cannot thank you enough. I will always be grateful to all of you and this blog. Thank you!
Along with my thanks, I do want to quickly mention that I’m holding an international giveaway on Twitter for an Owlcrate box full of bookish swag (not just from Owlcrate). Just retweet this tweet to enter (no need to follow me or anything). I had to turn off notifications for the tweet (and Twitter in general temporarily) because the response has been overwhelming, so I might miss some stuff on Twitter for a bit (the buzzing of my phone kept me up all night)
Happy 2020 everyone! I hope you have an amazing new year, and thank you for everything!
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for a review. My opinions are honest and my own.
Mild spoilers ahead; proceed with caution
Have you ever read a book because the protagonist shares your weird name? Well now I have, and I can say with certainty that it was not worth it. I mean there were other reasons why I chose to request this book (ex the sirens), but it was mostly because of the name thing. I am also very late to reviewing this because school, but what else is new at this point.
Let’s just dive right in because this is a 1 star review and I read this book almost 2 months ago (so I remember nothing). As I mentioned above, I was interested in the siren element of this book. Sirens aren’t a huge thing in YA, but growing up as a huge mythology nerd they were always sort of interesting to me. Too bad the sirens in this book don’t really do anything. I mean, they stare angrily a few times and attack the love interest once, but other than that the exist solely for villain motivation, I guess?
Related is my gripe about this book being anti-climatic. Moira keeps referencing this secret she’s keeping from Jude that will make him hate her, but when we finally find out what this secret is it has little to do with her, and all to do with two adult males making a decision. I’m not saying what happened isn’t tragic, but I am saying it was blown way out of proportions. The whole time I was reading I figured Moira was half-siren or something (which would have been cool, made the sirens more useful, and created a sense of urgency and a real conflict between her and our love interest), but it turns out the big twist was way less interesting.
Also anti-climatic was the villain reveal, where the obvious villain throughout the entire book is revealed to be the murderer when Moira overhears him speaking openly with his accomplice about committing the murder. I’m pretty sure this was supposed to be a murder mystery, but sure, just hand our heroes the answer. They sure couldn’t figure it out themselves. I mean, they got their first lead 43% into the book, and they didn’t even follow it.
Speaking of things this book pretended to be but wasn’t, it was weirdly historical at some points but then not historical for the most part. When I started reading Songs from the Deep, I had no idea it was supposed to be vaguely historical until I reached a sentence that was structured in a way modern sentences aren’t. It would have been fine (but a little odd) if the book had kept it up for the rest of the book, but it was almost like it would forget it was supposed to be a historical fantasy and then remember again in short bursts. It made for an odd reading experience.
I said in one of my Goodreads updates I would keep track of the amount of times I rolled my eyes in the last half of the book, and I rolled my eyes a total of 11 times. This book was just so profoundly not for me, and I would have DNFed it had it not been an ARC. Overall, Songs from the Deep gets a 1 star out of 5 from me.
When I came up with the idea for this post a month ago I was feeling really annoyed. I like to read those daily updates from your Goodreads friends emails because I never check my feed on there. One day, one of my Goodreads friends had a review for a book completely unrelated to Six of Crows, upset that it wasn’t like Six of Crows. And this isn’t new and doesn’t pertain to only this Goodreads friend. There are so many books where the top reviews on Goodreads are along the lines of “Because of Six of Crows, I’ll read anything with ‘crow’ in the title”.
This frustrates me because a lot of these books are nothing like Six of Crows. In our search to find a book that is exactly like Six of Crows (but not exactly like Six of Crows because then it’s a “cheep knockoff of Six of Crows”, even if it was published/ written before Six of Crows was published), we are harming completely unrelated books by setting people up to expect Six of Crows when the books are about different things.
So I’ve compiled a short list of books I’ve read that aren’t Six of Crows, but have been compared to Six of Crows. These can pretty much fit into two categories: multiple POV and have ‘crow’ in the title. Despite this list being only 6 books long, I’ve split them up into these categories.
Multiple POV (+ some other similarities)
I have to start with the book that caused massive controversy for not being Six of Crows, but also being too similar to Six of Crows. I’m a part of the problem on this one. I’ve recommended The Gilded Wolves as a book you might like if you liked Six of Crows. I read Six of Crows without reading The Grisha Trilogy, so I had trouble with the magic system initially and compared that to my initial struggle with forging (the magic sytsem in the Gilded Wolves). The Gilded Wolves also has a “let’s use our skills to steal a thing” plot line, though it’s more of a treasure hunt where they use knowledge of history, myth, math, and science to solve puzzles and steal the thing. I’ll even give you that Séverin and Kaz are similar (though I’m happy to argue all the ways they aren’t)
The problem is that they aren’t the same book. Not in the slightest. The Gilded Wolves is written by an author of colour and delves into some stuff like colonialism, being biracial (and “white passing” vs not). Meanwhile, Six of Crows has disabled rep and discussions of trauma. One isn’t better than the other, but they delve into fundamentally different things.
One of the most frustrating things about this is the comparison of Laila and Inej, who are very different characters who happen to both be brown. Laila is the mom friend working hard to take care of her friends. She bakes, she likes fancy dresses, and she’s dealing very closely with her own mortality. Inej on the other hand is dealing very closely with the trauma that comes from what happened to her, and while her friendships with the other dregs (particularly Jesper and Nina) brings a smile to my face, she tends to mostly keep to herself. Laila and Inej are both fierce and amazing, but in different ways.
Michelle from Magical Reads has and excellent discussion post on this comparison that I highly recommend checking out.
I think Six of Crows was a comp title for Ace of Shades, which is fine because publishers use Six of Crows as a comp title all the time and it’s mostly inaccurate. The problem was that being on the street team I saw so many people continue to push the Six of Crows angle, and they’re really not alike. Like they both have crime and chapters from multiple morally grey characters, but that’s pretty much it.
I can’t remember if it was just that I compared this to Six of Crows, Six of Crows was a comp title, or if I saw someone else compare the two, but Beneath the Citadel has definitely been compared to Six of Crows. There is sort of a heist, but it goes really poorly. This is actually more of a “let’s take down the corrupt government kind of book”. I’d more recommend it to fans of There Will Come A Darkness than Six of Crows.
Speaking of There Will Come A Darkness, I saw so many people compare it to Six of Crows (mostly on Twitter) that I went in assuming the five characters joined together to stop the age of darkness, and one of them betrayed the others. That’s not what book is about at all. The story lines are more separate with some connections and interactions among the 5 POV characters. It’s a really good book, but as with the others on this list, it is not like Six of Crows.
Books With ‘Crow’ in the Title
I don’t know about you, but a book about a girl with depression who wants to ride magical crows and is trying to take down the country trying to take over her own doesn’t sound like Six of Crows at all. And yet I’ve seen so many people only express interest in this book because the ‘crow” in the title reminds them of Six of Crows. Then they get disappointed that a book that never pretended to be like Six of Crows isn’t like Six of Crows. The Storm Crow is my all-time favourite book, so I get extra angry every time I see a review like this because this book deserves so much better.
The title The Merciful Crow has to do with how the cast Fie is a part of mercifully kills plague victims because her cast is immune to the plague, but that hasn’t stopped people from associating this book with Six of Crows for no reason. This book is basically a journey book, which is very different from a book about a heist.
Is there a book comparison that really bothers you?
For the Lover of Books 