The Tiger at Midnight / Swati Teerdhala

 

3/5

I liked Esha but Kunal was way too boring and unoriginal of a character. He's another typical soldier for the bad guys, but not actually a bad guy because somehow he's been so naive his entire life that he's never truly seen the bad actions of his tyrant. Also, to add to the cliche, he has hidden powers. 

The strong points of this novel are Esha's strength and the Viper persona. I've always liked when a tyrannical kingdom has whispers of a rebellious legend. I also appreciated the fun banter between Esha and Kunal. It was unrealistic, but I always appreciate an enemies-to-lovers storyline and this one wasn't poorly done. The South Asian representation was also a good touch. I make a point to not like a novel based purely off representation (see Children of Blood and Bone-- representation won't save a shitty book), but The Tiger at Midnight had all of the bones of a decent YA fantasy and the magical touches of South Asian world, which is rarely written about in YA fantasies.

The Tiger at Midnight will appeal more strongly to those who are looking for a relationship-driven novel rather than a political read. I view it as a milder version of Throne of Glass, The Cruel Prince, or An Enchantment of Ravens.

Beach Read / Emily Henry

4/5

The holidays always put me in the mood to read cute romances, but Beach Read is more than just cute. This contemporary romance has wit and depth and humor and grief. I adored the main character and the premise of two writers of opposing genres trying to write in the other's style. And, I'm a bit of a sucker for when two people both like each other but never say it until they meet again many years later...don't @ me

I may hate the main character's name (January?) but I loved her narration. Emily Henry does an excellent job of explaining the type of person January was, the type of person January is, and how she's ended up where she is. The novel begins with a strong focus on January's life and character and then gradually becomes more romance-focused. My one small issue with the novel was the closure January got with her father-- how convenient that he left her a load of letters. If I had it my way she would have had to simply face the grief, but at the end of the day, this is a romance book. 

I loved reading the slow undoing and rebuilding of January's life, all in her trademark humor. I would recommend this to readers who want a romance with depth and a well-developed lead.

The Nemesis / S.J. Kincaid

4.5/5

I was actually wondering to myself when the last time I finished an entire series was (other than TFOTA). Even if I like a book, it's rare that I get around to picking up the sequel, and even more unlikely that I make it to the third. That I kept up with S.J. Kincaid's releases through the years is a testament in itself to how invested I was in Nemesis' and Tyrus' stories.

I waited a long time to write this review because I had so many feelings while I was reading this book I had to clear my head. While sometimes I was frustrated with Nemesis or impatient with the politics, most of the time I eagerly anticipated Nemesis and Tyrus' romance and despaired at the hopeless circumstances. I was completely hooked throughout the entire novel because after the twists of The Empress, I had to learn what became of Tyrus. I stayed up throughout the night to absolutely devour this novel and I even teared up one specific line; for the sake of spoilers I won't say what it was, but it was said by Tyrus and when you read it you'll know what I mean. I just felt so frustrated at all of the trials they each had to go through, and for a moment I truly thought S.J. Kincaid was going to take the dark path and deny us a happy ending. Honestly, I could've made my peace with that, but I'm so glad we did end up getting our ride into the sunset.

I rated this novel so highly because I was so invested in Nemesis, in Tyrus, and in their relationship, and because of that The Nemesis kept me utterly engaged. But there are a few weak points. Though this novel does not disappoint with more plot twists, there are almost a few too many; the constant flipping back and forth got a little bit old. I continued to adore Nemesis's logical mindset, but at times her complete loyalty to Tyrus was a little frustrating. The biggest flaw is that the novel has many, many preachy passages. Kincaid drones on about the merits of a democracy throughout the entire novel and I was literally sitting there thinking, yes, I live in America, I've already been indoctrinated. Honestly, I didn't give a *** about the empire or the politics; I was only there for Nemesis and Tyrus, as I'd imagine most readers at this point in the series are, so I skimmed repetitive passages as necessary.

The positive characteristics of the novel shine brightly enough to blot out the flaws. Nemesis's relationship with Anguish was a very pleasant surprise and can be described by one of my favorite lines from the book: "We are more than friends. We are equals." Once I read that I realized that was exactly why I loved their relationship so much. The other strength of this novel is the way Kincaid was able to capture the spirit of the rebellion. When I read the phrase "NEMESIS LIVES" I get chills, and that's hard to do.

If you're a fan of morally gray characters, novels set in space, corrupt empires and rebellions, complicated relationships (think The Shadows Between Us but more complex)...I highly recommend you pick up this series, if you haven't already. If you've read the first or the first two and have hesitated to complete the series because you worry it may ruin the previous novels, fear not, for The Nemesis does its predecessors justice.

Cinderella Is Dead / Kalynn Bayron

1/5

The first thing I noticed about Cinderella Is Dead is that it is written nearly entirely in simple sentences, but I'd heard such good reviews about the novel that I pushed passed the choppy, bland writing style. The next thing I noticed is that all of the characters are flat archetypes of a single trait. Sophia, the lead, is supposed to be "defiant," but I found her character boring and unoriginal. She isn't particularly bright either; imagine her as Sorcery of Thorns's Elizabeth mockery. The "villainous" king is written without artistry or effort; his lines and his blatant mistreatment of the commoners are straight from the "evil" playbook. And the "rebellious" love interest's dialogue is just as bland. It's a classic girl-living-under-a-tyrant meets rebel leader and falls in love with how cool and rebellious the love interest is (see Under the Never Sky, Rossi).

My final issue with the novel is the complete lack of ambiguity. There is no gray area. The setup is that women have no power and must attend a ball where men can essentially buy any attendee as a wife and treat her any way he wants. There's literally nothing else to it. The novel is a complete simplification of gender inequality and takes the moral or ethical gray areas, which are the fun and interesting and complex areas, of this topic out of the discussion. This, coupled with the simple writing that told more than showed, made the novel very boring. I stopped at reading at ~45%.

I wished it had met the hype and my hopes. Reviews praised Cinderella Is Dead for its diversity and originality, but honestly if I hadn't read the reviews I wouldn't have noticed many points for diversity other than a few LGBT characters, which were used strongly for plot. Making the Cinderella fairytale a sort of religion and/or law in the novel could have been a strong point, but wasn't really focused on; it wasn't any different from a kingdom story where the tyrant enforces a certain type of religion and/or law.

Try it if you're curious about the hype or if you want a same-sex romance, but keep your standards low in terms of execution, complexity, and originality.