Hi friends! Today I’m very excited to be reviewing a book I’ve been wanting to read for, well, AGES. Shout out to my sister for gifting me this book, probably very tired from all the screaming I did about wanting to read it. I was right to, though, I really loved it!
Also shout out to Laura, her love for the book and the series made me want to read it all the more!
There are no spoilers in this review.
? The book
Traci Chee, The Reader, Published by Speak, September 13th, 2016.
Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book–a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed–and punish the people responsible.
I ENJOYED… ❤️
?
- The Reader was such a fascinating read, it honestly captivated me from page one. The world was so interesting to read about: it has pirates, assassins, libraries and apprentice librarians, fights and quests and secret messages and I just found it all SO. VERY. GREAT.
- The writing is absolutely stunning, making me feel the emotions and transporting me, too.
- Sefia was such a great main character, definitely strong but also deeply flawed and weak and human at times, too, having to face such harsh situations and terrible, life-threatening moments and so on. I rooted for her all the more because she was strong, sure, but she was most of it all human and her feelings and reactions towards everything just felt so real.
- This fantasy book has such an interesting, large cast of diverse characters. Honestly I had a great time getting to know them all and everyone felt unique and with their own backstory, something I appreciated so much.
- Archer and Sefia and I want to sob for a second because I ADORE their relationship SO much and I’m crying okay.
I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…?
?
- There were a lot of characters and, at times, I couldn’t quite replace who they were and that frustrated me a little bit while I read, especially at first.
- I am a marshmallow and, well, it’s not an easy book to read at times. But it’s 200% worth it.
OVERALL
The Reader definitely is a book worth way more hype than it’s getting. With such an incredible, intriguing and complex world-building and magic system, a storytelling that is so wonderful, gorgeous writing and hello, amazing characters you can’t help but root for, I’d 200% recommend it to anyone looking for a great fantasy. I’m going to be reading the rest of this series soon, that’s for sure.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Trigger warnings: Blood, murder, death of a parent, death of a loved one, PTSD, panic attacks.
Diversity: the entire book has a racially diverse cast of characters with POC and Sefia, the main character, has East Asian features.
Do you want to read The Reader? Did you read it?
Do you have any recommendations of books featuring great friendships? I’d love to hear them! Let me know in comments!
aggahag i’m so glad you liked this!! and i LOVE books with deeply flawed main characters who Suffer so like,,, i need this!! great review <3
Ahhhh YES YES you need this, it was SUCH a brilliant book. I hope you’ll love it <3 Thank you so much! <3
Well , I loved your bullet point review ?
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Oooh this sounds so interesting! I am always intrigued by dystopia where society can’t read – like it Handmaid’s Tale one of the ways that they oppress women is by making it illegal for them to write at all, ever. If nothing else it makes you appreciate this utterly vital part of life that you never even normally think about!
This book was so, so good and what fascinated me the most was the world for sure. I hope you’ll give it a try sometime, I could see you really enjoying it 🙂
Thank you so much!! <3
i just got this book recently so i’m pleased to hear that you enjoyed it!!
Ahh yay, that’s great! I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did 🙂
Thank you for your comment! <3 <3
I have been wanting to read this one for FOREVER! And this review made me want to read it even more. Guess I’ll have to order it on Amazon right now… 🙂
Ahhhh yes please do,I really loved it SO much, I hope you will too!<3 <3
Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
My friend got me the first book in this series for one of my birthdays a while ago and I… still haven’t gotten around to reading it, oops. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Your review made me want to bump it up my TBR so I can read it ASAP! 🙂
Ohh yay this makes me SO happy! I hope you’ll give this one a try soon and will love it 😀 Thank you!! <3
I haven’t read this book yet, but I’ve been meaning to! It sounds so gooooood and your review just makes me want to read it even more ahhh! So excited. ?
Ahh it was SUCH a great book, I hope you’ll read it and will love it, too 😀
As always, I loved this review!! IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK and the covers look so pretty when they’re all together!!
Oh thank you so, so, so much, yes yes the covers are absolutely STUNNING! ❤️
I really want to read this one too! I love the concept, but I’m a little timid when it comes to picking up fantasy books. It’s not that I don’t like fantasy, but it’s just not really my comfort zone. Knowing how diverse this book is and how fascinating the concept is just makes me want to read it more! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Oh I can understand that, at first when I started blogging, fantasy wasn’t entirely my comfort zone, either but I found out some amazing books and I never came back ahah. I really hope you’ll give it a try, it is such a fascinating read and the characters are incredible ❤️
thank you, Christine!! ❤️
Great review, Marie! I’ve heard of this book but never gave it much thought! It really sounds like a great read! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’m adding it to my TBR list! 🙂
Thank you so much, Raven, so happy to hear it!! ❤️
I’m glad you enjoyed this book Marie, I’ve seen a few posts on The Reader but before your review I wasn’t aware of what it was about. It sounds like an interesting book, and the fact that you enjoyed it so much means I need to check it out too. 🙂 The fact that the world has “pirates, assassins, libraries and apprentice librarians, fights and quests and secret messages” means this book is sure to be one I love. 😀 <3
Great review Marie. <3
Oh Beth I hope you’ll read that one, it sounds like your kind of book for sure!! ❤️ I really hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂
Thank you so much! ❤️
Great review Marie! I’m gonna give this book another chance after your thoughts 🙂
YAY this makes me so happy! I hope you’ll enjoy it 🙂 thank you so much! <3
Lovely review! This sounds like such a good read. I’m so here for pirates, assassins and libraries!
Thank you so much! Oh it really was a fantastic read, I hope you’ll give it a try 🙂
This book sounds fascinating! Very high stakesy and thrilling like
It really was! I hope you’ll give it a try sometime! 😀 Thank you so much, Chana! <3
I completely forgot about this one! I have had it on my TBR for quite some time now. The huge cast of characters does seem a bit daunting. I am glad that you enjoyed it. I look forward to reading it one of these days as well. 🙂
I hope you’ll love it when you can read it! 🙂 thank you so, so much for your sweet comment <3
So glad this was captivating! It sounds really well done 😀 Awesome review!
This was such a fantastic book, I hope you’ll give it a try! 😀
Thank you so much! <3