User Profile

Tolkien is a master of modern fantasy for good reason! I always enjoyed the movies but never got around to reading the source material until this year. If you love the world of Middle-Earth, pick this up for more beautiful world-building. Learn about the Wild Men of the Woods, the healing herbs of Gondor, the conclave of ents, the geography of Mordor, the Scouring of the Shire, and more! Also the appendices are a lot of fun. The list of kings of Arnor and Gondor gets a little tiring, but the Lay of Aragorn and Arwen is a beautiful story showing the start of their legendary love.

I can confirm that Legolas has no dialogue to Frodo Baggins, though he is noted as joining the conversation with the Hobbits in Ithilien after the destruction of the One Ring. He presumably says something to Frodo there.

This book also fails to pass the Bechdel test, but there is more dialogue from women here than in the movies. A healer from Gondor has several paragraphs where she tells her (unnamed) relative all about King Elessar, and how magnificent he was in healing the stricken Eowyn and Merry.

I don't think I've cried this much at a book in a long time, which is surprising when this book mostly concerns the development of a coffee shop. This book is an easy read, with concise chapters and endearing characters. You really get invested in the characters, whether it's Cal the hob (goblin?) sighing contentedly over his mug of coffee or Thimble the rattkin developing chocolate croissants and dreaming of a bigger kitchen.

The crying came in the last 1/4 of the book, as the protagonist Viv recovers from a tragedy with the help and support of her friends and community. The simple depictions of a community coming together in the wake of tragedy was beautifully handled and finished with a satisfying conclusion.

Go on, give it a read! The time flies by when you're reading. Just be sure to have some coffee on hand to enjoy as you flip through.

This book was full of gorgeous symmetry and symbology and dramatic irony. Novik is a master at dropping just enough hints for you to start putting together the bigger picture just ahead of the protagonist, making the next twist feel justified or somehow expected even if you couldn't have written a full prediction.

I especially appreciate how Novik continued to explore the unjustness of the enclave system in her world and how the protagonist El was forced to reckon with the practicality of her mission conflicting with her moral revulsion at the existing system. It is very easy to draw a parallel to activists trying to upend existing oppressive structures (racism, sexism, capitalism, etc). This book will help activists articulate their morals and wrestle with the realities of working with or next to an existing system while working to create a more just world.

The only critique I have of this book is that it was not long enough. Especially the concluding action at the final climax of the story. It was wrapped up so much more quickly than some of the preceding action. I suppose it's a truly excellent book when my main gripe is that it wasn't long enough.

Full and unapologetic 5 stars. This entire series is my favorite magical education series, with far more emotional depth and moral quandaries than anything like Harry Potter and more real life moral application than The Magicians