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12 Favorites of All-Time (most I read in 2021!)
I feel like I haven't talked to yall like this in so long but since the year is ending and I read a good number of new faves... it was...
~ Althea ~
Dec 22, 2021
2 min read
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![— there’s no stronger bond than a girl and the 14-book series that got her out of a reading slump (it wasn’t really a slump i was just busy)
[ A WHEEL OF TIME CHAT: no spoilers ]
the reason we’ve gathered here today is because i feel the need to tell people that one episode in season 3 of The Wheel of Time (iykyk — the one with the harvest song) managed to rewrite my brain chemistry. i was really just there for funsies (s1-s2 wasn’t really the best) but it ended up dragging me through the dirt bc of how limp i was from my neurons not comprehending why i didn’t see it coming. i gotta give them credit where credit is due.
about the actual book: this isn’t my book review yet but i need to say that this might be the first book/series where i 100% agree with the criticisms and praises.
it it wordy? yes.
but is it immersive? also yes.
is there a lack of female characterization? yes.
but is there a point to it? also yes.
are there scenes that i think it could have done without? yes.
but am i hooked? also yes.
yes, i genuinely see why robert jordan is so loved for this series and also why he is criticized for certain parts of it. BUT I SEE THE VISION! I SEE THE LIGHT!! (lol)
after being so back and forth about starting it for years bc of the dedication needed, i don’t regret the time i’ve allowed myself to be fully immersed and invested.
robert jordan’s writing style is a lot more digestible than i thought. i’m told it builds up well and i appreciate that i don’t need to stretch my brain too much. his writing style makes me feel i’m lying at the back of a wagon, slowly getting pulled into the depths and weaves of the pattern of the wheel of time. slowly and surely.
this is a beginning.](https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/531512122_18063989231349188_1572549592666384780_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=ukPUWPF21qQQ7kNvwH1jaWO&_nc_oc=AdlhfEk8KP3V6cPnC-IOJcn2Y68wf4Y5jqO6KO2TqsL7nIP71WV1aGRPiF5B67u7J58&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=5wJYm3N9Hla6B2QWsu3ohQ&oh=00_Affpbn83qt7xDpg8vGxSRKBJ8Zjb-u7wL8S2z_6zsYTOLQ&oe=68F0AF55)
![thoughts on blood over bright haven by m.l. wang (spoiler-free review) 📖✏️ + annotations
this is feminine rage that actually demonstrates the full arc of being faced with a system that is built against you, including the turmoil and crash outs that come with it
it explored the very real fact that when a system falls and fails, the people who suffer the most are the ones who have already been oppressed in the first place (i.e. the women + Kwen/minority)
I am convinced M.L. Wang has unlocked the formula to slicing out a part of a fantasy world within a much bigger world while feeling like all you need is right here — the secret formula to writing Standalone Fantasy that is, in every sense of the word, complete. This is apparent in both Sword of Kaigen and Blood Over Bright Haven wherein you feel a story has begun before we started reading and there will be a story that continues on even after turning the last page. It’s very realistic in the sense that we know, in our own real life, how there’s so much to explore but we have a place right here that’s brimming with experiences and love. It made the characters and who they are relative to their setting feel that much more real
it exemplified systemic injustice to the dot. IN A STANDALONE FANTASY!!! It did in one binding what takes other series 3+ books to do… sometimes not even that well
it also highlights a discussion on privilege and how we aren’t absolved from one kind of prejudice just because we experience another – through complex characterizations through morally complicated characters that you also can’t help but get attached to 🫂 *breathes*
I can scream and cry about this all day but really all i want is to relive this book and i’m glad i took my sweet time reading. She was very clear with what she wanted out of this story and her ability to flush out incredible characterizations within limited settings and pages is incredible. If you haven’t already read it, this is required reading. Go read it right now. But if you want my opinion: take your time reading it as I did.
a customary: *chef’s kiss*
[swipe for full review —>]
5.0
#altheasreviews fantasy bookstagram](https://scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/498698648_18054974867349188_2670736918283753105_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=IRXT-KdMOpIQ7kNvwFbRiyb&_nc_oc=AdmAVveiemgqBBaOwtzubDAMP9a3CFSz2i2YaSrcXPtTodSgZtfij_gOiF2HnGgwOwU&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=5wJYm3N9Hla6B2QWsu3ohQ&oh=00_AffMbF-XA_3QXQwB-JLO3Ih-XqW2tyNXtvgl2VHz94tdSQ&oe=68F0BB80)
![thoughts on Oathbringer by bransan — #bookreview #altheasreviews 📖✏️ [some contextual spoilers ahead!]
it took me literal years to get through the last half of this book because of how slow paced this book was compared to the first two but it did have the steepest sanderlanche of them all
Adolin and Shallan here gave me LIFE!!
— Stars: 3.5 (fun but WoR was too much of the *chefs kiss, kneeling on the ground* kind) —
Though, I really wish Adolin’s potential wasn’t wasted. He’s one of my favorite characters but he barely gets enough page time and focus. He’s being wasted as a “side character” in my opinion (I do know that he gets more page time in the next novels), even Bridge Four got more scenes than Adolin combined 😭
My irk lies in how long the build up took, i know we’re used to the sanderlanches but this was one was especially dragging
Shallan and the way she is written is off to me and I still have no reason why even tho i find her and Adolin beyond cute and amusing.
The ending really saved this book for me but I kept thinking that this could have happened 200 pages ago. The character dynamics and relationships were already established in WoR so i didn’t feel like there needed to be so much time/writing between what happened at the end of WoR to the end of OB.
Dalinar’s character development was by far the best thing that happened and it was so satisfying to see where he ended up. It makes so much sense but again… I wish it didn’t take so long!!
I do acknowledge that insane world-building was needed so maybe I just wasn’t as invested in what was going on in the first part of OB.
I was here for Dalinar and the tidbits of Adolin and Shallan. I missed Kaladin a lot but as I’m currently reading RoW while writing this, I can say I’m satisfied a lot more with the beginning of RoW.
In this essay I conclude, not my top Stormlight Archives book of the moment and it felt more like a filler to me but I’m happy with how Rhythm of War is going right now so I’m glad I powered through it 🥴
*3 stars is NOT a bad rating (for me), it literally means i liked it 🙂↕️
#oathbringer #brandonsanderson #fantasybookstagram #bookrecommendations #stormlightarchive](https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/484027135_18049044851349188_3030946699678134816_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=CjsjcZ9lLBsQ7kNvwGo2lwZ&_nc_oc=Adk3-0GlXiG2TFMQ0njjHKrbDZWj0QmwRpZHZQ6JS8EHY33DFbOW2w7jdjqBA9nDenw&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=5wJYm3N9Hla6B2QWsu3ohQ&oh=00_AfftOc1DsEU7RXtYtNxfYu-14JwEc-KT0nM-8rmupLeocQ&oe=68F0C35A)
