"Book Reviews" Archive

Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

A book review by Mina

Sea Prayer is a short, illustrated story book in response to the current events regarding
refugee crises. It is written from a father to his son in the form of a letter before the beginning of
their journey. The boy’s father reflects on the journal that befalls them and describes Homs,
Syria, before the war into a deadly war zone. This story book is inspired by Alan Kurdi, a
three-year-old Syrian boy, whose body washes up on the beach in September 2015.

Sea Prayer is absolutely beautiful. The message and the impact of the story book
narrative is completely powerful and reminiscent, especially with recent current events. I’ve read
all of Khaled Hosseini’s books, and they’ve all been beautifully written, but I love the narrative
and the format Hosseini chose for Sea Prayer. This book is a different route that Hosseini
typically takes: it’s much shorter than his other publications and it’s illustrated. While short, this
book impactfully shows readers the evil of war, especially for young children who are innocents
within wars. Using a story book narrative makes it almost nostalgic for adults, especially when it
is marketed to adult readers, who grow up with picture books and seeing war illustrated makes
readers understand that war is not escapable for young children. Additionally, the watercolor
illustrations fit well with the narrative; it gives the book a dreamlike quality which contradicts
the horror of the message. While short, I found this to be one of my favorite reads for 2024. It
was short and simple but left a beautiful, lasting impression. It allows readers to truly reflect and
become sensitive to recent events.

Put Sea Prayer on hold today

Books similar to Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini:

● As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
● All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
● A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossein

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

A book review by Mina

Ruthless Vows follows the events of the first book, Divine Rivals, and is the last book in
the Letters of Enchantment Duology. Two weeks have passed since Iris has returned home from
the front. Roman is missing and Oath, the city, continues to support Dacre in the war between
gods. When Iris and Attie are given the opportunity to spy on Dacre’s whereabouts, they both
take the opportunity, knowing the risks. Roman, on the other hand, wakes in Dacre’s realm with
memory loss. All he is told to do is to write articles for Dacre, but a letter arrives by wardrobe
door. Initially suspicious, he strikes up a response. As Roman and the other writer continue to
correspond, Roman has to make a choice on whether Dacre is the right side of the war.
Having waited a year for the second book to come out, I found that Ross did a great job
of reminding her readers where her book left off. I quickly picked up the plot, even though her
world-building is a tad intricate. Initially starting out as an academic-rivals-to-lovers, I found
Iris’s and Roman’s romance to be well-developed. Ross left it off at a good point in the first book
to be able to further develop their relationship without their romance moving too fast. The
romance was gradual and well-paced. I found their love to be tender and unwavering. Besides
the romance, I found the book to be pretty well-paced until the very end. The pacing is very even
and moved very gradually with the books being pretty action-packed. The world building was
amazing and simple; it didn’t need to be overcomplicated to be magical. The magical and fantasy
aspects were focused more on the second and the first, and I enjoyed that angle, especially since
the first book was a build-up to the second one. Additionally, I loved that this series was only
two books; it was the perfect amount for the plot and the necessary character development. My
only qualms with this book were towards the end, the plot was a little messy with a lot of luck. I
found the ending to be a little anticlimactic with some wasted potential. Overall, I found this
series to be an easy read with very lovely characters. I fell in love with world-building and found
it enjoyable to pick up the second book. I would recommend this book for readers who want
fantasy read with light world-building with a romance-centered read. This book is magical and
beautiful. This book reaches a wide variety of audiences!

Put Ruthless Vows on hold today!

Books similar to Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

● Caraval by Stephanie Garber
● Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
● Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
● The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michell Hodkin

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A book review by Mina

Piranesi’s house is unique. It holds infinite rooms, lined with different statues. Within
the halls of Piranesi’s house is a trapped ocean, causing rooms to flood, but Piranesi is not afraid
and is well-prepared. He understands the oceans and understands the navigation through the
corridors. His main purpose is to explore for himself and for The Other, the one other person in
the house who visits Piranesi twice a week to ask for help with research into A Great and Secret
Knowledge. As Piranesi explores, there is evidence that there may be more than one person in
the house. The truth begins to unravel, opening Piranesi to another alternative world.
Piranesi is a very intricate book throughout. It was extremely unique through the
storytelling and the description. It is told through a limited point of view through journaling.
Piranesi journals and readers are essentially reading his writing, which allows the reader to
follow along as Piranesi is exploring. I found this to be both frustrating and intriguing. At one
instance, I liked the limited view because it allows for more surprise and a biased opinion. At the
opposite end, this book would’ve been more descriptive and the world-building would have been
more developed and descriptive, but I think the limited view plays into this
lack-of-description-narrative when describing the world. As a romance reader and this book
having no romance, I found this book to be beautifully written and nuanced. It was poetic. The
story is clearly trying to get at a bigger picture. It’s an extremely short read, but Clarke makes it
extremely compelling and entertaining. I wouldn’t necessarily call this suspense, but I was
flipping pages waiting to see what the big discovery was. While the ending was all wrapped up, I
found myself wondering who Piranesi was and what he would be and what his future choices
would be.

Put Piranesi on hold today!

Books similar to Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

● Babel by R.F. Kuang
● Circe by Madeline Miller
● The Secret History by Donna Tartt
● A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
● The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
A book review by Mina

Rue Siebert is a very smart woman. She has a few friends she can count on, the financial
stability she wanted as a kid, and a successful career at Kline, a biotech engineering company.
Rude, also, doesn’t date, no exceptions. When a hook-up date doesn’t work out because of her
brother, she doesn’t think much of it. Yes, he was good-looking, but Rue has strict boundaries
until she learns that Eli Killgore, the hook-up that saved her from her brother, wants to take over
Kline, Rue gives him the cold shoulder. Eli, however, can’t stop thinking about Rue. Torn
between loyalty to her friends and this intense attraction to Eli, Rue has to remain cautious. But
it should be easy for Rue. She does no strings and no attachment, especially when it comes to
relationships and love.
Not in Love is light-hearted and fun. It was a super quick read and had enough to keep
me occupied. If I had the time, I could’ve read it in one sitting because the plot moves fast but
consistently while keeping readers engaged with the characters. I’ve been a fan of Ali Hazelwood
ever since her debut with The Love Hypothesis. I can really count on her for being consistent
with her writing style. The plots, love interests, and main characters are all very similar, but I
still find it all enjoyable because I know what Ali Hazelwood puts forth: consistency. If you have
read anything else by Ali Hazelwood and found it enjoyable, the chances are that you would find
all of her books just as enjoyable! I will say that Not in Love is definitely more mature than her
other books in terms of content. Additionally, I do praise Hazelwood for her intense knowledge
of STEM. She always does a fantastic job at researching STEM in her books and simplifying the
science the main character is doing. I really enjoy reading her books because her main
characters are more than their love interests, and it’s abundantly clear through Hazelwood’s
extensive STEM knowledge and solidifying that her main characters are extremely smart and
capable. The chemistry between Rue and Eli is off the charts. I kept reading because I loved
every single interaction between them. The chemistry was oozing off the pages! I also really liked
the emotional aspect of the book where both Rue and Eli are open to one another and their
boundaries. While I do think the ending was rushed a little bit, everything else was very good
and very well-balanced in terms of mature content and plot/character development. If you have
read a previous Ali Hazelwood book, you’re bound to like this! I find that this book would be
geared towards a wide range of audience who gear towards romance-heavy books. This book is
extremely enjoyable to read, and I always look forward to a new Ali Hazelwood read, even if the
plot and characters are repetitive! Consistency is sometimes key!

Put Not in Love on hold today!

Books similar to Not in Love:

● Funny Story by Emily Henry
● Betting on You by Lynn Painter
● I Hope this Doesn’t Find you by Ann Liang
● Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
● That’s Debatable by Jen Doll