Tag: plot

Book Review, Fantasy, Romance, Series, Time Travel

Series: All Souls Trilogy by D.H.

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A Discovery of Witches

3 Stars. I have mixed emotions about this book. I read it in just a couple days, but I’m not entirely sure I actually enjoyed it. The plot is intriguing and the overall world-building is captivating, but I really can’t grasp the appeal of another “I’m a helpless young woman and I’m resistant to the idea of anything unnatural, but I also can’t live without my immortal lover” trope. But besides that, I guess it was fine. The prose was elementary at best and altogether boring, but the story was somehow interesting at the same time (?) And it HAD to be the first in a series AND end with a cliffhanger. So I have to read the rest of the series but it’s booked at the library for the next 6 months and I refuse to buy it because I didn’t like it THAT much.
What a dilemma.

Shadow of Night

2 stars. First of all I’m honestly tired of vampire romances. Second of all these are the least memorable characters of all time. I was halfway through the book before I realized who was who (and who had even participated in the first book). I think most of the confusion came from it being an odd combination of Twilight and Court of Thorns and Roses–but not the good parts (what? were there good parts? the answer is a resounding NO!)
But I narrowed it down, guys. Why do people think codependency is so romantic? And the constant qualifiers attributing territorial, possessive, and abusive tendencies to a vampiric and/or immortal state is, frankly, the worst reason ever and encourages poor impressionable youths that they should aspire to that kind of relationship. C’mon, readers!
The third thing that drove me insane was the constant repetition. Not in a good, poetic way where you’re like “oh, thank you author for reminding me of that important detail as well as making it literarily relevant and intriguing” NO! it was the “wait, what? did this seriously just reference something I read two pages ago in the same chapter. Do they think I’m stupid or, like, completely without common sense or inductive reasoning skills? I’m super insulted!” way.
I cannot say that I’m excited to read the last book, but I probably will because I’m not a quitter. (yuck)

Book of Life

2.5 stars. Yep, this series is still as petty as ever. Honestly, I can’t believe I even got this far. It was slightly better than the others in terms of how it was written, but was largely grasping at straws to try to mend its previous flaws. My opinion could be derived from the fact that I’m not a fan of romance and/or because it legitimately sucked.

Like I said: petty. But then, maybe we both are.

Book Review, Comedy, Fiction, Memoirs/Autobiography, Romance, Series

Little Women by L.M.A.

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Image result for little women book cover

5 stars. What more can I say about this timeless classic?
Never before have I identified as much with the March sisters as I did during this reading. I was totally engaged. The nuances of each character resonated strongly with me. I found myself comparing the Little Women to myself and my three sisters. We had always matched ourselves up with the Marches by age. As the oldest, I was regrettably Meg. As I read, I rearranged us all until every last one fit. I eventually came out as Jo (hurrah), A was Amy, C was Meg, and E was Beth. I know everyone wants to be a Jo and I think I really came out on top, but when you consider the qualifications being that I have a raging temper sometimes towards my sisters it makes more sense. If you find yourself identifying with Beth, who is a literal perfect angel, that is nothing to be ashamed of.
This book is life changing and beautiful. Filled with sorrow and happiness and realistic pettiness between sisters. Writing what you know can have that effect. Thank you Alcott.

Book Review, Dystopian, Fiction, Memoirs/Autobiography, Series

Series: The Handmaid’s Tale by M.A.

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The Handmaid’s Tale

5 Stars. Beautifully written stream of consciousness. A fine reflection on totalitarianism and the exploitation of women. A heart rending story powered by lovely prose and vivid story telling.

The Testaments

3 Stars. I don’t know why Aunt Lydia needed a redemption arc, yet here we are learning about life as an Aunt and the depth of corruption you can easily see when watching the tv show. Maybe I ruined the enjoyment when all I really wanted to do was skip to the back and read the summit on Gilead, but that too was just as disappointing as the rest.

The Testaments didn’t live up to the caliber of her predecessor. The jumbled reminiscent way it was told was a mockery of Offred’s narration instead of a lovely reflection of one of the best dystopian novels ever written.

I don’t want to say that this book was unnecessary, but I will say that it was more of a fantastical miracle of a fan pleaser; something you wouldn’t expect from Atwood–never mind the similarities with modern society.

Book Review, Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction

Deception Point by D.B.

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4.5 stars. This book came highly recommended to me and I’m sad that it took me so long to read it. I feel like that comes as quite an insult or at least disheartening blow when you recommend a book it takes you days to read and then the person you recommended it to takes them 4 MONTHS to get through it. It wasn’t that it wasn’t thrilling and captivating, I just got a lot of library books consecutively. I’m sorry and I’m sure you feel very much like Harriet Smith after recommending Romance of the Forest to Robert Martin only to be rejected! Or not, most of that interaction was overplayed by Emma anyway (speaking of which, isn’t Jane Austen absolutely brilliant?)

In any case, Deception Point was thoroughly enjoyable. It was fast paced and suspenseful. And the best kind of suspense too. Like, where I was constant thinking “yep, totally know where this is headed” and then quickly dispelling what I thought were spoilers to anyone who would listen including the person who recommended it to me. And they always responded tersely. That alone should have been an indicator that I was constantly misled.

I’d only ever read one other book by Brown and I was more or less at odds with myself over his broad assumptions. I mean I like a conspiracy theory as much as the next person and I know that this is all fiction, but it seemed a bit far fetched (guess which book it was now, fellow blog readers). Anyway, this was also conspiracy theory ridden, but this time I was riding it like bomb (yeah, like can you imagine me surfing? Me? Someone, who after watching two episodes of River Monsters vowed to never enter any water where she couldn’t see directly to the bottom).

Anyway, the short chapters annoyed me at first. But after the first few I became accustomed to the constantly switching POV and relished each new development. It wasn’t like some books where I pined for one POV in particular (for example, when I would skip ahead to see what happened to the tortoise in Grapes of Wrath because I could care less about whatever else was happening). I genuinely liked all the characters because they were each themselves. Corky was always annoying, Senator Sexton was always terrifying, and Marjorie Tench was always good for an eye roll (and that’s only a fraction of the cast, folks)!

The amount of information given and withheld and given and withheld kept me on the edge of my seat (yes, even though it took me 4 months to read). So why am I giving it 4.5 stars? I don’t know. Something about it didn’t catch me completely. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it and even sent a text that said “I finally finished. Brilliant” to my friend. Maybe it was the fact that I took so long to read it that I didn’t seem as enthralled as I would’ve been if I were completely invested. Perhaps one day I’ll change this rating. For now, I feel most comfortable giving it 4.5.

 

Book Review, Historical Fiction, Mystery

Maisie Dobbs by J.W.

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Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1)

4 stars. I really liked this book. It was a quick read and full of twists and turns. But I’m giving it four stars, because I believe it could have been better organized. I enjoyed the occasional flashback, but sometimes they came without warning and I was caught unawares (maybe I’m just stupid). In any case, I did like the multitiered investigation all starting out with the classic infidelity case. Maisie was an interesting character, though I did find her interactions with one particular person completely out of character. Like, I just read almost 300 pages about you Miss Maisie and now you’re doing something that makes me think I don’t know you anymore. Maybe this all leads up to what happens in the next 13 installments, but it was enough to discourage me from reading the rest of the series for a long while.