3 Mini Reviews | Star Daughter, Alloy of Law, & Girl, Serpent, Thorn

meltotheanyAside

✨ Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar 

Reviews you should check out: Fanna’s, Anandi’s, Sara’s

“She was nothing but the words of a story, one tale weaving imperceptibly into the next. She was the loom that wove the tapestry. She was the tapestry that joined all things.”

Star Daughter is a beautiful story about a girl who is half human and half star, and she must go to the celestial court to try to save her father after he has fallen ill. And before she knows it, she is taking part in a magical competition that she must win!

This is also a story about art and all the different forms, and how sometimes music can be healing. Yet also about how much is taken from other cultures under the disguise of the word “muse”. This is such a beautiful story that is ownvoices for the Indian representation and the Hindu mythology, and I truly think it’s a bright and shining star *wink* in 2020 debuts!

If you’re looking for a story with some magic, some romance, some identity discovery, connections through our ancestors, beautiful and lush settings, mouthwatering food descriptions, and a whole lot of love on every page, I’d really recommend Star Daughter!

Trigger and Content Warnings: abandonment, lots of blood depiction, violence (cuts & stabs), captivity, hospitalization of a loved one, illness of a loved one, panic attacks, talk of kidnapping, and talk of loss of a loved on in the past.
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✨ The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4) by Brandon Sanderson

“Huh […] tea’s poisoned.”

Oh, I loved finally experiencing this next era of the mistborn world, especially in a city called Elendale (be still, my heart)! Yet, I was not expecting this book to start out with a very tragic murder plotline where the bodies are arranged in a very specific pose, and for the actual story to be taking place five years later where Wax is very much still grieving that night. And when the kidnappings start happening again, especially when these people being kidnapped are from mistborn family lines.

I also really love how mistborns are no longer a thing in this new day and age! At most people can have one alomatic ability and one feruchemic ability (twinborns)! And our main characters have some really cool and fun powers with these two abilities:

➽ Wax – pushes steel & can grow heavier and lighter
➽ Wayne – Can alter time & heals quickly (can also make great disguises, but unrelated to metals and powers!)

Overall, I really enjoyed this first installment in a very beloved universe! And I can’t wait to continue on! Also, I will forever be the biggest fangirl of a certain brother who is destined to continue his brother’s work. Okay, brb, crying.

Content and Trigger Warnings: murder, death, mention and threat of rape, kidnapping, gore, and violence.

4

✨ Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

“She had read enough stories to know that the princess and the monster were never the same.”

Oh, I wanted to love this one so very badly! Sadly, most of the characters just felt so insufferable and their actions felt so convenient and questionable. This is ownvoices for the Persian mythos, and does star a bi MC (the author is queer, but I’m not sure what they ID as!) But this is a story about a princess who is cursed with a poisonous touch, and because of that she is constantly alone and locked away by her family because they don’t want anyone to know and she doesn’t want to hurt anyone on accident! That is, until she meets a boy named Azad who not only finds out but is not scared of her or her touch! You know, until bad things happen and her, her family, and her entire kingdom is in grave danger!

Now, this is where the insufferable MC comes in, because Soraya truly just makes the most questionable of choices, while the other characters just magically choose to believe her for progression of the story. Meanwhile, a demon girl named Pavenah is everything and I loved her with the sum of my being!

This had a lot of potential, and I liked the talk on power dynamics and imbalances a lot, but the story just never made me feel like there were any risks because they always conveniently worked out over and over again. Truly, even the villains in this book were the most trustworthy for no reason. Yet, I will say that I am very much in the minority with my feelings on this book, so maybe check out some other reviews! Also, I never want to read about convenient secret passages again either!

Content and Trigger Warnings: blood, gore, violence, captivity, & panic attack/anxiety depiction.

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20 thoughts on “3 Mini Reviews | Star Daughter, Alloy of Law, & Girl, Serpent, Thorn”

  3. I really loved all three of these books!

    Star Daughter was so original and I loved the lyrical writing and vivid descriptions. And the culture and the mythology! I couldnt get enough of it! Although I do feel that the pacing was super inconsistent at times.

    I thought Alloy of Law was pretty great too! It didnt live up to the mistborn era one series but it was great in it’s own way! I love how the series kinda has the vibes of a western too. It’s a super fun series and I love the banter between Wax and Wayne.

    As for Girl, Serpent, Thorn I’m sorry you didnt love it the way I did. I think I enjoyed it so much bc I didnt have high expectations. I thought t was pretty unique and I LOVED Pavenah too. I loved the mythology and world building the most and didnt have the same issues you had with the characters but I also didnt expect to enjoy the book as much as I did so it was a happy surprise for me!

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    1. MY HEART THAT YOU READ ALL OF THESE THREE BOOKS! hahaha… im having a giggle! gosh, your comments always make me smile! truly, i am so in the minority with my feelings with girl serpent thorn! but seeing your thoughts and feelings? my heart is very full. i hope youre currently having happy reading, bby. 💖💖💖

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      1. It was cool to read mini reviews on 3 books I enjoyed! I should really check out your blog for some book recommendations because apparently we have pretty similar tastes!! Always cool to discover that! I read a lot, but to have so many relatively recent reads in common is quite the coincidence!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Actually you know what I just realized looking back. Your review on Goodreads is a huge reason that I picked up The Poppy War. Omg thank you for getting me into that series! I mean it broke my heart, but it just meant SO much to me. Book 3 killed me. I still haven’t figured out how to put my feelings about that one into words

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Awh! You’re so sweet. That’s one of the best things about blogging in my opinion, having someone pick up a book because of your review. The fact is I do that all the time after reading reviews and I rarely thank the person who wrote the review for leading me to the book. But The Poppy War was a series that is really close to my heart, so thank you SO much for writing a review that made me want to check it out.

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Pingback: September 2020 Wrap Up – meltotheany

  8. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy Girl, Serpent, Thorn as you hope you would. I LOVE it (maybe because I listened to the audiobook and I fell in love with Nikki Massoud’s narration), but I also totally feel you when you said that there were a lot of questionable decisions and convenient resolutions involved. 🙂

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