book.dreamblog’s Book Reviews!

  The Secret History by Donna Tartt *This review contains spoilers* Content Warning:  This review mentions incest.  Introduction  Before I bought this novel, I was given two very specific instructions from one of my literature professors in college.  Read The Secret History. Only read it during a snow storm.  So I waited until the first major snowstorm of the winter, and then I dove into this amazing book.  At first I didn’t understand why I was supposed to read this book in winter, because a large majority of the beginning takes place during summer. Once I got to Richard’s near freeze-to-death experience and Bunny’s murder, I completely understood.  And I fell in love with this book. The references to Greek mythology, the dark academia vibes, the reverse murder mystery, the small town college aesthetic, the way that Donna Tartt made me empathize with characters who are literal murderers? It’s all so well done.  Summary and Review At first, t...

  Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan This review will encompass both individual reviews for the five books in the Percy Jackson series (written by Rick Riordan) and the series review. *This review contains spoilers* Content Warning This review will address the series' subtle explorations of domestic/child abuse. The Lightning Thief The Lightning Thief was truly a great start to a really great series, and it certainly didn't waste any time with the exposition as the first chapter dove headfirst into the story and the initial plot point right away. I would have appreciated (as an adult reader) perhaps a little more time in the exposition, getting to know Percy and his relationships with Grover, his mother, and his horrific stepfather before delving into the Greek mythology of the story. However, I understand that this is a children's/middle grade fantasy story, which means that getting to the action right from the start is probably the best call to hook a young r...