Take a photo of a barcode or cover
skylacine's reviews
967 reviews
Das geheime Leben der Tiere (Dschungel, Band 2) - Die schwarze Tigerin: Erlebe die Tierwelt und die Geheimnisse des Dschungels wie noch nie zuvor - Kinderbuch ab 8 Jahren by Peer Martin
A bit different in tone compared to other books of this series I've read. This one has less of a focus on being semi-educational about animal behavior and instead chooses to focus on the issue of logging and habitat destruction. The behavior of the animals here is more fictional-leaning and the book overall has a slightly more fantastical feel to it (animals can talk to humans, for example) than other books in the Das geheime Leben der Tiere series.
The overall way in which the conflict was resolved was a bit optimistic and simplistic, but I can see how with this being a book for younger readers it can't tackle the nuances of the topics as much.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/08/book-review-black-tigress-by-peer.html
3.5
A bit different in tone compared to other books of this series I've read. This one has less of a focus on being semi-educational about animal behavior and instead chooses to focus on the issue of logging and habitat destruction. The behavior of the animals here is more fictional-leaning and the book overall has a slightly more fantastical feel to it (animals can talk to humans, for example) than other books in the Das geheime Leben der Tiere series.
The overall way in which the conflict was resolved was a bit optimistic and simplistic, but I can see how with this being a book for younger readers it can't tackle the nuances of the topics as much.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/08/book-review-black-tigress-by-peer.html
The Lightning Path by Erin Hunter
4.0
Thankfully a big step up from the last book. The book actually utilizes Rain (thank you!) and has some interesting character moments and plot elements and twists. One of the main characters doesn't appear throughout a lot of it, but we're given an actual reason why so it doesn't feel unearned (unlike Rain being painfully ignored last book for no reason).
The main twist in the story was also properly built up while not being too obvious. My main gripes would be that the monkeys feel a bit less threatening and underutilized in this book, and that the romance between Rain and (spoiler character) was rather poorly written and came across as stale and plot-device-y rather than genuine.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-lightning-path-by-erin.html
The main twist in the story was also properly built up while not being too obvious. My main gripes would be that the monkeys feel a bit less threatening and underutilized in this book, and that the romance between Rain and (spoiler character) was rather poorly written and came across as stale and plot-device-y rather than genuine.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-lightning-path-by-erin.html
The Crocodile Tomb by Michelle Paver
Bullet review:
+An engaging read full of peril, adventure and great characters
+A very interesting description of ancient Egypt. I can't tell if it fully accurate, but it does feel like Paver really did her research with the amount of detail we're given.
+Hylas and Pirra character development + a blooming romance
+Havoc and Echo are still great
-Akastos doesn't return, quite sad since he's arguably the most well-written character in the series.
-The dynamic between Hylas and Pirra is starting to feel a lot like those of Torak and Renn from the author's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. I wish their characters were written a bit more uniquely without feeling so same-y to Torak and Renn.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-crocodile-tomb-by-michelle.html
4.0
+An engaging read full of peril, adventure and great characters
+A very interesting description of ancient Egypt. I can't tell if it fully accurate, but it does feel like Paver really did her research with the amount of detail we're given.
+Hylas and Pirra character development + a blooming romance
+Havoc and Echo are still great
-Akastos doesn't return, quite sad since he's arguably the most well-written character in the series.
-The dynamic between Hylas and Pirra is starting to feel a lot like those of Torak and Renn from the author's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. I wish their characters were written a bit more uniquely without feeling so same-y to Torak and Renn.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-crocodile-tomb-by-michelle.html
Simon Thorn and the Shark's Cave by Aimée Carter
Bullet review:
+Good character writing overall
+Cool concept for a setting, tying the mythical Atlantis into this world.
+Plot continues to have high stakes
-Orion is still a very basic and uninteresting villain. He's just evil. Accept it and don't look too deep into it.
-I couldn't get into the marine setting, but that's 100% a personal thing. It's just not a setting that ever appealed to me
-The final twist on who the villain is wasn't very well built-up and came a bit out of left field. Doesn't help that we don't know a lot about the character in question.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-simon-thorn-and-sharks-cave.html
3.5
Bullet review:
+Good character writing overall
+Cool concept for a setting, tying the mythical
+Plot continues to have high stakes
-Orion is still a very basic and uninteresting villain. He's just evil. Accept it and don't look too deep into it.
-I couldn't get into the marine setting, but that's 100% a personal thing. It's just not a setting that ever appealed to me
-The final twist on who the villain is wasn't very well built-up and came a bit out of left field. Doesn't help that we don't know a lot about the character in question.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-simon-thorn-and-sharks-cave.html
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Midnight's Sun by Garry Kilworth
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It's eh, okay, I guess? After reading Hunter's Moon by the same author, which was really good, I had pretty high hopes for this one, but this is just...kind of meh.
We spend 90% of this book with the exact same character, Athaba, and not a lot of with other wolves, and that's inherently kind of a problem because I for the life of me couldn't get into Athaba as a protagonist. I thought he was an uninteresting character from start to finish. He doesn't change all that much throughout the story (most of his plot is about getting to a certain physical goal, rather than any personal growth). Some of the wolf characters around him were mildly interesting when compared to him (e.g. Raghistor, his mentor), but most of those characters are barely in the story and most of it is just Athaba alone (or with his human Koonama). And because I wasn't invested in the main character the rest of the story really didn't interest me much. Hunter's Moon had much better character writing than this.
The subplot of Athaba briefly "adopting" a human man he gets stranded with into his pack was kind of interesting but that's really the biggest compliment I can give the book.
The way this book handles wolf pack dynamics is also way off (even by dominance theory standards) but I'll give that a slide because it's an older book and it's at least a mildly interesting deviation from the norm, even if incorrect. The pack dynamics and lore in this story honestly interested me more than the main plot or character.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-midnights-sun-by-garry.html
We spend 90% of this book with the exact same character, Athaba, and not a lot of with other wolves, and that's inherently kind of a problem because I for the life of me couldn't get into Athaba as a protagonist. I thought he was an uninteresting character from start to finish. He doesn't change all that much throughout the story (most of his plot is about getting to a certain physical goal, rather than any personal growth). Some of the wolf characters around him were mildly interesting when compared to him (e.g. Raghistor, his mentor), but most of those characters are barely in the story and most of it is just Athaba alone (or with his human Koonama). And because I wasn't invested in the main character the rest of the story really didn't interest me much. Hunter's Moon had much better character writing than this.
The subplot of Athaba briefly "adopting" a human man he gets stranded with into his pack was kind of interesting but that's really the biggest compliment I can give the book.
The way this book handles wolf pack dynamics is also way off (even by dominance theory standards) but I'll give that a slide because it's an older book and it's at least a mildly interesting deviation from the norm, even if incorrect. The pack dynamics and lore in this story honestly interested me more than the main plot or character.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/2024/07/book-review-midnights-sun-by-garry.html