[18/11/25] A Darker Shade of Magic (Novel) - 8.5/10
Okay, first off, the concept is really cool. Like really damn interesting, and it's definitely the thing that had me the most invested in this book by far. The idea of 4 different londons, all seperated and sealed off is really creative, and there's so much potential in terms of world building and thematic exploration here, it's pretty crazy. This is just the first book though, but I feel like it didn't quite capture the essence that could've been created out of a concept like this. Idk, I think more could be done, but 1st books serve as an introduction, so I'll see how things go down in the following ones as i plan to read the entire trilogy
Next up, the plot in the 1st book is pretty decent id say, it kept my interest throughout and I seldom felt exceedingly bored or like it needed up to pick up. At the end though, things felt like they were going a bit too fast, but thats it. This goes on to delve into things i didn't like, or felt could be better, which was the writing style. The prose itself is fine, it's clear and easy to understand, but the rest of the book reads very YA esque, yk? There's a whole lot of exposition going on, especially at the beginning regarding the world building. It reads like a campfire story or something, like every little information needs to be explained to us right out instead of just showing us, or giving a more plausible scenario for the use of exposition dumps. This isn't just limited to the world building though, it's the entire book in general. It just *tells* so much, like flat out. Here's an example i saved towards the end (no spoilers)
"Honestly, what had happened to her? The Lila Bard of south London looked out for herself. That Lila would never waste her life on someone else. She’d never choose right over wrong so long as wrong meant staying alive. She’d never have turned back to help the stranger who helped her. Lila spit a mouthful of blood and straightened. Perhaps she never should have stolen the damned stone, but even here, and now, [spoilers], she didn’t regret it. She’d wanted freedom. She’d wanted adventure."
Like holy exposition, it's an entire paragraph of ts 😭 idk i felt like that was a bit of s blunder in terms of reading experience. Oh yeah, while we're on this topic, lemme talk about Lila. So before I read this book, i watched and read a few different opinions on it, and it seemed that universally (or atleast from those I've seen) seemed to really hate Lila. Like despise her. And honestly, I get it, I understand why. I honestly don't like her all that much (i don't hate her, I'm just like whatever, leaning more to dislike though). She's very strong on that "I'm not like other girls" typa bs I'm always seeing (told with exposition too), which is made worse by her talking down on women who enjoy feminine traits (like wearing dresses, or looking pretty), she can be very annoying, and shes also quite violent. I know that she's a thief and all who's lived in a world where she had to resort to bad deeds just to stay alive, but holy 😭 at times she seems to revel in it, she shows no qualms about cutting someone down who's in her way. Like its to a sociopathic degree.. there's this scene with a boy later on down the story 🤐🤐 idk she's just so hard to emphasize with. The amount of times she reaches for her knife in this book is wild, so because of that, Idrc about her. She didn't ruin my reading experience, but she didn't elevate it at all either. Forgot to mention, but the dialogue is a hit or miss here too. It's decent most of the time, but can honestly delve into just straight corny or annoying at others. I also didn't feel much emotional impact from this book, none of the events really moved me, and idc about the characters here 😭 oh well, I'm really going off on it here. It's decent Id say, depends on who you are
- Notes/Quotes I saved -
"Nineteen, and every one of the years felt carved into her. She poked at the skin under her eyes, tugged at her cheeks, ran a finger along her lips. It had been a long time since anyone had called her pretty. Not that Lila wanted to be pretty. Pretty wouldn’t serve her well. And lord knew she didn’t envy the ladies with their cinched corsets and abundant skirts, their falsetto laughs and the ridiculous way they used them. The way they swooned and leaned on men, feigning weakness to savor their strength. Why anyone would ever pretend to be weak was beyond her. Lila tried to picture herself as one of the ladies she’d stolen from that night—so easy to get tangled up in all that fabric, so easy to stumble and be caught—and smiled. How many ladies had flirted with her? Swooned and leaned and pretended to marvel at her strength?"
Please don't be like that 😭 noo please dont be one of those. Like bro, what's the problem with wanton to feel pretty and liking men?? Man yall need to gtfo with this bs. Why cant i read a book with a thief fmc that doesn't seem to have some sort of irrational disdsin for anything feminine? Or atleast, have it treated like a strength. You can be feminine and still strong yall. Yk, i actually wish there was a story like this; one where the fmc is this toughh, not like other girls type, but over the duration of the story, she realizes that feminine traits dont translate into weakness, and one can be both and strong too
She really just burned down the ship? 😭wtf
There seems to be quite a bit of telling here in regards to the world building , for example: Chapter 11 which is just full of exposition. Tbh, I'm noticing that alot at any 25% in. It reads a bit like a campfire storyteller yk
" (rumor had it that a man once spat at her for refusing to wear a dress; she’d cut off his lips)." [In reference to the queen of white london] I'm ngl this made me giggle
"'Do you trust anything?' he countered, rubbing his wrist. 'Or anyone, for that matter?' The queen considered him, her pale lips curling at the edges. 'The bodies in my floor all trusted someone. Now I walk on them to tea.'" holy cornball 😭😭 like I'm sorry, ts is not hard, idk why she said this lmao
"He grabbed for her and she slashed, drawing blood before the short one got his hands on her. But when his arms circled her chest, she felt his grip stiffen. “What’s this now?” he hissed. “Our boy’s a—”"
Lmao bro the audiobook is killing me 😭 the way he said "what's this now?" I can't 😭😭
She considered him a moment before answering. “Delilah Bard,” she said. “But Lila will do.” Lila. A soft name but she used it like a knife, slashing out on the first syllable, the second barely a whisper of metal through air. “And my captive?” ☠️
Why tf is she scolding him ☠️ she asked him what he was and if he was a royal, and when he explained that he isn't a royal now she's pissed at him for asking for pity? Bro he only told u cs you kept pressing him about it 😭 and he told you ONLY what you asked to know tf
"'Don’t be,' said Lila, managing the sharp edge of a smile. 'I cut the man’s throat before he could get his belt off.' Kell tensed. 'I was fifteen,' she went on casually. 'I remember wondering at the amount of blood, the way it kept spilling out of him. …' 'First time you killed someone?' asked Kell. 'Indeed,' she said, her smile turning rueful. 'But I suppose the nice thing about killing is that it gets easier.' Kell’s brow furrowed. 'It shouldn’t.' Lila’s eyes flicked up to his. 'Have you ever killed anyone?' she asked. Kell’s frown deepened. 'Yes.' 'And?' 'And what?' he challenged. He expected her to ask who or where or when or how. But she didn’t. She asked why. 'Because I had no choice,' he said. 'Did you enjoy it?' she asked. 'Of course not.' 'I did.' There was a streak of bitterness woven through the admission. 'I mean, I didn’t enjoy the blood, or the gurgling sound he made as he died, or the way the body looked when it was over. Empty. But the moment I decided to do it, and the moment after that when the knife bit in and I knew that I’d done it, I felt'—Lila searched for the words—'powerful.' She considered Kell then. 'Is that what magic feels like?' she asked honestly."
"because of her beauty, she was isolated and bullied" ???? Tf? 😭 Gtfo these mangakas need to stop with these bs ah premises it's started to piss me off. The rest lowk makes me mad too, telling a girl to smash you instead of taking her life is a wild thing to say, she lowk should've pushed him off just for that
[25/10/25] Detectives These Days are Crazy! (Anime) - 8.5/10
This anime reminds me alot of henjin no salad bowl and nokotan, except much better 😭 especially nokotan, im sorry but ts got old by like the 5th episode
Nevertheless, it's a good anime and i don't really have much issues with it. The comedy is definitely very absurd, so idk if i could recommend this to like a layman, but to people already familiar with anime, it's pretty good. Not the best thing, but it's a fun watch and consistent all throughout. The characters are all nice. I do like how the main cast all has their own distinctive personalities, if a bit archetypal. Their dynamics are quite fun. There's not much else to say here
Dont have much to say since i took like a month or so break in the middle of reading this book that completely broke the immersion for me 😭 so anything specific is completely left out of the window. Anyways, this will be short. 1. I like the prose and the narrator. Im reading via audiobook and i really like the style the narrator establishes for this book, it seems to fit it very well. Same with the prose, especially considering this past year I've just been reading/watching too many animanga, seeing something written nicely like this is a treat. This and Pride and Prejudice i enjoy the prose of. Next, the pacing is pretty good, the plot is intriguing enough for one to continue caring about the case and Blass's murder through the duration of the book, and that's what I found for me when I really got back on my stride and read 2 hours every day. There's no real cons for this book, save for that fact that i didn't really gaf about the characters. Didn't care for Kol much, didn't care for Milgen. At the beginning, i disliked Ana because shes in her 40s and acts like a bitch, but she started to grow on me a little as the boo went on. So now i don't dislike her, I'm just impartial. This is the biggest thing for my rating of this book imo. Outside of that, its pretty decent
sarai
[18/11/25] A Darker Shade of Magic (Novel) - 8.5/10
Okay, first off, the concept is really cool. Like really damn interesting, and it's definitely the thing that had me the most invested in this book by far. The idea of 4 different londons, all seperated and sealed off is really creative, and there's so much potential in terms of world building and thematic exploration here, it's pretty crazy. This is just the first book though, but I feel like it didn't quite capture the essence that could've been created out of a concept like this. Idk, I think more could be done, but 1st books serve as an introduction, so I'll see how things go down in the following ones as i plan to read the entire trilogy
Next up, the plot in the 1st book is pretty decent id say, it kept my interest throughout and I seldom felt exceedingly bored or like it needed up to pick up. At the end though, things felt like they were going a bit too fast, but thats it. This goes on to delve into things i didn't like, or felt could be better, which was the writing style. The prose itself is fine, it's clear and easy to understand, but the rest of the book reads very YA esque, yk? There's a whole lot of exposition going on, especially at the beginning regarding the world building. It reads like a campfire story or something, like every little information needs to be explained to us right out instead of just showing us, or giving a more plausible scenario for the use of exposition dumps. This isn't just limited to the world building though, it's the entire book in general. It just *tells* so much, like flat out. Here's an example i saved towards the end (no spoilers)
"Honestly, what had happened to her? The Lila Bard of south London looked out for herself. That Lila would never waste her life on someone else. She’d never choose right over wrong so long as wrong meant staying alive. She’d never have turned back to help the stranger who helped her. Lila spit a mouthful of blood and straightened. Perhaps she never should have stolen the damned stone, but even here, and now, [spoilers], she didn’t regret it. She’d wanted freedom. She’d wanted adventure."
Like holy exposition, it's an entire paragraph of ts 😭 idk i felt like that was a bit of s blunder in terms of reading experience. Oh yeah, while we're on this topic, lemme talk about Lila. So before I read this book, i watched and read a few different opinions on it, and it seemed that universally (or atleast from those I've seen) seemed to really hate Lila. Like despise her. And honestly, I get it, I understand why. I honestly don't like her all that much (i don't hate her, I'm just like whatever, leaning more to dislike though). She's very strong on that "I'm not like other girls" typa bs I'm always seeing (told with exposition too), which is made worse by her talking down on women who enjoy feminine traits (like wearing dresses, or looking pretty), she can be very annoying, and shes also quite violent. I know that she's a thief and all who's lived in a world where she had to resort to bad deeds just to stay alive, but holy 😭 at times she seems to revel in it, she shows no qualms about cutting someone down who's in her way. Like its to a sociopathic degree.. there's this scene with a boy later on down the story 🤐🤐 idk she's just so hard to emphasize with. The amount of times she reaches for her knife in this book is wild, so because of that, Idrc about her. She didn't ruin my reading experience, but she didn't elevate it at all either. Forgot to mention, but the dialogue is a hit or miss here too. It's decent most of the time, but can honestly delve into just straight corny or annoying at others. I also didn't feel much emotional impact from this book, none of the events really moved me, and idc about the characters here 😭 oh well, I'm really going off on it here. It's decent Id say, depends on who you are
- Notes/Quotes I saved -
"Nineteen, and every one of the years felt carved into her. She poked at the skin under her eyes, tugged at her cheeks, ran a finger along her lips. It had been a long time since anyone had called her pretty.
Not that Lila wanted to be pretty. Pretty wouldn’t serve her well. And lord knew she didn’t envy the ladies with their cinched corsets and abundant skirts, their falsetto laughs and the ridiculous way they used them. The way they swooned and leaned on men, feigning weakness to savor their strength.
Why anyone would ever pretend to be weak was beyond her.
Lila tried to picture herself as one of the ladies she’d stolen from that night—so easy to get tangled up in all that fabric, so easy to stumble and be caught—and smiled. How many ladies had flirted with her? Swooned and leaned and pretended to marvel at her strength?"
Please don't be like that 😭 noo please dont be one of those. Like bro, what's the problem with wanton to feel pretty and liking men?? Man yall need to gtfo with this bs. Why cant i read a book with a thief fmc that doesn't seem to have some sort of irrational disdsin for anything feminine? Or atleast, have it treated like a strength. You can be feminine and still strong yall. Yk, i actually wish there was a story like this; one where the fmc is this toughh, not like other girls type, but over the duration of the story, she realizes that feminine traits dont translate into weakness, and one can be both and strong too
She really just burned down the ship? 😭wtf
There seems to be quite a bit of telling here in regards to the world building , for example: Chapter 11 which is just full of exposition. Tbh, I'm noticing that alot at any 25% in. It reads a bit like a campfire storyteller yk
" (rumor had it that a man once spat at her for refusing to wear a dress; she’d cut off his lips)." [In reference to the queen of white london] I'm ngl this made me giggle
"'Do you trust anything?' he countered, rubbing his wrist. 'Or anyone, for that matter?'
The queen considered him, her pale lips curling at the edges. 'The bodies in my floor all trusted someone. Now I walk on them to tea.'" holy cornball 😭😭 like I'm sorry, ts is not hard, idk why she said this lmao
"He grabbed for her and she slashed, drawing blood before the short one got his hands on her. But when his arms circled her chest, she felt his grip stiffen.
“What’s this now?” he hissed. “Our boy’s a—”"
Lmao bro the audiobook is killing me 😭 the way he said "what's this now?" I can't 😭😭
She considered him a moment before answering. “Delilah Bard,” she said. “But Lila will do.” Lila. A soft name but she used it like a knife, slashing out on the first syllable, the second barely a whisper of metal through air. “And my captive?”
☠️
Why tf is she scolding him ☠️ she asked him what he was and if he was a royal, and when he explained that he isn't a royal now she's pissed at him for asking for pity? Bro he only told u cs you kept pressing him about it 😭 and he told you ONLY what you asked to know tf
"'Don’t be,' said Lila, managing the sharp edge of a smile. 'I cut the man’s throat before he could get his belt off.' Kell tensed. 'I was fifteen,' she went on casually. 'I remember wondering at the amount of blood, the way it kept spilling out of him. …'
'First time you killed someone?' asked Kell.
'Indeed,' she said, her smile turning rueful. 'But I suppose the nice thing about killing is that it gets easier.'
Kell’s brow furrowed. 'It shouldn’t.'
Lila’s eyes flicked up to his. 'Have you ever killed anyone?' she asked.
Kell’s frown deepened. 'Yes.'
'And?'
'And what?' he challenged. He expected her to ask who or where or when or how. But she didn’t. She asked why.
'Because I had no choice,' he said.
'Did you enjoy it?' she asked.
'Of course not.'
'I did.' There was a streak of bitterness woven through the admission. 'I mean, I didn’t enjoy the blood, or the gurgling sound he made as he died, or the way the body looked when it was over. Empty. But the moment I decided to do it, and the moment after that when the knife bit in and I knew that I’d done it, I felt'—Lila searched for the words—'powerful.' She considered Kell then. 'Is that what magic feels like?' she asked honestly."
okay little miss sociopath
18 hours ago (edited) | [YT] | 0
View 1 reply
sarai
LETSSS GOOO LHMG SHSYS7EHEHABABIA
BRO I LITERALLY STARTED JUMPING IN JOY WWW WHY DID I MISS THIS 😭😭
2 days ago | [YT] | 0
View 1 reply
sarai
"because of her beauty, she was isolated and bullied" ???? Tf? 😭 Gtfo these mangakas need to stop with these bs ah premises it's started to piss me off. The rest lowk makes me mad too, telling a girl to smash you instead of taking her life is a wild thing to say, she lowk should've pushed him off just for that
1 week ago | [YT] | 1
View 0 replies
sarai
"underrated" and "brandon sanderson" in the same sentence ☠️☠️
1 week ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
sarai
[25/10/25] Detectives These Days are Crazy! (Anime) - 8.5/10
This anime reminds me alot of henjin no salad bowl and nokotan, except much better 😭 especially nokotan, im sorry but ts got old by like the 5th episode
Nevertheless, it's a good anime and i don't really have much issues with it. The comedy is definitely very absurd, so idk if i could recommend this to like a layman, but to people already familiar with anime, it's pretty good. Not the best thing, but it's a fun watch and consistent all throughout. The characters are all nice. I do like how the main cast all has their own distinctive personalities, if a bit archetypal. Their dynamics are quite fun. There's not much else to say here
1 week ago | [YT] | 2
View 2 replies
sarai
[09/11/25] The Tainted Cup (Novel) - 8.5/10
Dont have much to say since i took like a month or so break in the middle of reading this book that completely broke the immersion for me 😭 so anything specific is completely left out of the window. Anyways, this will be short. 1. I like the prose and the narrator. Im reading via audiobook and i really like the style the narrator establishes for this book, it seems to fit it very well. Same with the prose, especially considering this past year I've just been reading/watching too many animanga, seeing something written nicely like this is a treat. This and Pride and Prejudice i enjoy the prose of. Next, the pacing is pretty good, the plot is intriguing enough for one to continue caring about the case and Blass's murder through the duration of the book, and that's what I found for me when I really got back on my stride and read 2 hours every day. There's no real cons for this book, save for that fact that i didn't really gaf about the characters. Didn't care for Kol much, didn't care for Milgen. At the beginning, i disliked Ana because shes in her 40s and acts like a bitch, but she started to grow on me a little as the boo went on. So now i don't dislike her, I'm just impartial. This is the biggest thing for my rating of this book imo. Outside of that, its pretty decent
1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
sarai
when you know he's doin ts on purpose but you just cant prove it:
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0
View 1 reply
sarai
I haven't played CK3 for a while but I'm so happy 🥺🥺 Cant wait to play as pagan or some filipino nation
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
sarai
execute this mf kazuyss barber, cs wtf is that cut 😭 chopped as
Also eeww, why is rental a girlfriend still going on after 400 chapters ? 😭 Why are people still reading ts and tuning it ever week for it? 😭😭
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 0
View 0 replies
Load more