1st Amazon TBR 2018

My first round of Amazon TBR reads (not read for a challenge)! I will pick up the pace once I complete PopSugar, but I know any dent I make will be negligible given I have already added over 500 new books to the list so far this year.

The standout book from this batch is Red Sister.

Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
This was one of the better romances I’ve listened to recently. Jessica was one of my favorite heroines. She was intelligent, didn’t take crap from anyone, and stood up for herself and others. I could give or take Sebastian. He fell into the stereotype of a whoring asshole who was really a broken little boy abandoned by his parents. In his favor, he wasn’t completely emo, and he actually listened to Jessica as opposed to putting her down.

A Good Debutante’s Guide to Ruin by Sophie Jordan
At the surface level, this book was a fun romp until close to the end when the heroine decided to make a horrible decision for the sake of the plot. There was also no real chemistry between Rosalie and Declan. They worked together as far as lust was concerned, but I didn’t buy into their romantic love. There was no real basis or growth for their relationship.

Mooncop by Tom Gauld
This book took me only about 15 minutes to read. The main character is the lone police officer on the moon, and the moon is a rapidly dying colony. There was very little dialog, with the illustrations carrying most of the story. It was well-done, but very depressing. The illustrations and situations are stark. The ending was also bittersweet.

 

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
I wasn’t too sure of this book at first, specifically regarding the audio format, which didn’t initially feel like the right choice. I had a hard time keeping track of the various threads. However, once the story got going (and after I found some helpful information on the Kindle preview), it became less of an issue. The story itself is amazing! Ninja nuns is a succinct surface description, but religion, politics, and the end of the world all come into play. The world building and rules of magic were on point. It was a brutal world, and neither the children in the book nor the readers are cossetted.

Henchgirl by Kristen Gudsnuk
For a single volume story, Henchgirl had a lot going on, including something of a plot twist. Mary was a double dose black sheep, both of her family and her villain gang. She manages to muddle through it mostly unscathed. I liked that most of the characters were gray, neither completely good or bad. Some aspects of the plot towards the end of the book got a bit wonky and confusing, but it was a fun read overall.

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
While I liked the concept and execution of this story, and appreciate the mash up of dragons and the Napoleonic Wars, His Majesty’s Dragon is not a book (or series) for me. I am all about Regency romance, but have never been interested in Regency war fiction. My meh-ness about this book stems solely from that. It is still a book I would recommend. That being said, my mental image of Laurence was Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean. They have similar personalities and senses of honor.

City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Enough time has passed that I have only a vague idea of why I enjoyed this book. I liked it enough that I want to read the sequel, but thinking back on it, the plot didn’t really ratchet up until the end when it should have ratcheted up earlier on.

 

The Black Tides of Heaven by Y.J. Yang
I had a hard time following the story because there were significant jumps in time between chapters/parts. I wasn’t able to connect with either main character or the plot. I was also confused because the system of time, magic, and gender were not clearly explained and felt inconsistent. In regard to gender, I loved the idea of a child choosing (or not choosing at all) a gender they felt best suited them when they reached adulthood. However, there were young children who had labeled genders – was gender fluidity only for the upper class? The story also ended abruptly with no conclusion.

DNF

Lady Bridget’s Diary by Maya Rodale
I didn’t get very far into this one before I couldn’t handle the poorly contrived mash-up of Bridget Jones’s Diary and Pride & Prejudice. I am all for reimaginings and retellings (especially P&P), but I had a hard time getting into the story. It was weirdly modern-fluffy, which doesn’t work with the Regency Era.

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
I made it about halfway through this book before giving up. It wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t hold my attention either. This was disappointing because Hugh Laurie was the author. Based upon the description, I assumed it would be a laugh-out-loud, tongue-in-cheek spy spoof. It wasn’t. It was a well-written story; there are definitely some great deadpan one-liners, and the story does poke fun, but without an obvious comedic angle. Spies/espionage is not a genre I enjoy reading. My criticism stems from my reading preferences and not from the quality of writing.

Smut by Karina Halle
So for a book that is supposed to be about the chemistry brewing between Amanda and Blake while writing erotica, the entire first half of the book was all set up. The. Entire. First. Half. It should have taken only several chapters to get there. In addition, I did not like Amanda at all. She was judgy and condescending towards many other characters. Blake was equally obnoxious, but in the way of many of the male leads in contemporary romances. He was a cocky asshole who thought he was god’s gift to women in bed, and he spent way too much time reminding us of that.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston
The narrative felt jumbled, the characters were boring, and there were too many little plots without an overarching one. It was fluffy and superficial, with no real conflict. I also had a hard time buying into a utopian British empire (an oxymoron, really) where all social/political/racial evils are a thing of the past. Perfection is never interesting, unless the story is about subverting it or the dangers of achieving it, and this story wasn’t. In addition, the empire’s obsession with genetics was heavily into eugenics.

Amazon TBR – December (Part 2)

Before I start posting about 2018 Amazon reads, I figure I should first get my final post from 2017 taken care of.

Chemistry by Weike Wang
Chemistry is a fairly spare book, and the humor is definitely deadpan and underplayed – but it fits with the narrator’s sense of self and both her personal and professional experiences. While it has received mixed reviews, I loved this book. It looks at the intersection of multiple aspects of the narrator’s life and how years of stress and overbearing expectations finally come to a head and causes her to have breakdown. She is miserable from the pressure to measure up to the success of her cohort, to fulfill the goals her spiteful, bitter parents have set for her, and to come to terms with how easy she feels that her partner’s professional life falls into place (and the fact that he came from a loving, supporting home and doesn’t seem to get how different their upbringings are).

Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
I read the prequel, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne, and enjoyed both the story and the set up. However, my enjoyment didn’t really carry over to Girl in the Steel Corset. It started out alright, but went downhill pretty quickly. I forced myself to finish it, but have no interest in reading the rest of the series. The bad YA love triangle is only going to get worse. The characters themselves leave a lot to be desired, and the plot was clunky.

Jungle of Stone by William Carlsen
A fascinating look at the “discovery” of the Mayan civilization, and the recognition of its significance. Carlsen did digress from the main concept, and at times those digressions were distracting, as they focused either on the peripheral players and events, or excessively detailed background information. It would have been better if more information about the Maya and the aftermath of the expedition were included.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
I really enjoyed this book. It’s akin to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, but set in space. The characters are clones, and clones of clones, and they have to figure out who the murderer is before they all truly die. The wrench in this is that each of the characters is hiding a shady background, each of them has something to gain (or lose) through the murders of their crewmates, and both their memories and perceptions can be manipulated. The only thing that didn’t work was that the story seemed to straddle a wobbly line between being serious and rolling with dark humor. It would have been better if Lafferty had chosen one side and dove in. The book would have been phenomenal coming from a dark humor angle.

The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer
I’ve been a sucker for time travel romances since reading Outlander four years ago. While The Scribe of Siena is similar, it is its own story and feels more like a slice-of-life than an adventure; there was no sense of urgency. That being said, I loved the story, loved the descriptions of life in 14th century Italy, and loved how it ended. It is not a fast-paced book by any means, and should be enjoyed for what it is.

A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith
I had a very hard time caring about Reiko. She was so incredibly self-absorbed, wallowing in her own pit of bitter darkness. It’s all very annoyingly melodramatic and instead of adding to the mood of the story, made me roll my eyes more times than I can count. The reason for her self-loathing wasn’t given until towards the end of the book, and by then I just didn’t care. There was definitely potential for the underlying plot of being inhabited by a vengeful spirit and time traveling back to when the spirit was alive, but it just didn’t work.

The Infamous Heir by Elizabeth Michels
Both Roselyn and Ethan needed to be smacked. Both were annoying and made stupid decisions for the sake of the plot. Rosalyn was the stereotypical young, unworldly heroine who is “going to do it herself!”, but in reality places both herself and those around her into danger. Ethan was a total asshole using Roselyn as bait in order to catch the murderer. On top of that, even my dense self was able to figure out who the villain was from almost the very beginning.

The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky
I loved how Brodsky wove elements of fantasy, mythology, mystery cults, and history in to the narrative. Her interpretations were interesting, to say the least, and were my favorite aspects of the book. It reminded me of American Gods in that the ancient gods are still among us, though they have been much reduced. I blew through The Immortals and the sequel, Winter of the Gods, in quick succession because both Selene and the stories were so engrossing.

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
This felt like a darker Alice in Wonderland. The tone and darkness were reminiscent of both Neverwhere and Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times. This was the first Miéville book I’ve read, and I really liked the flow of his words and how he used/wrote imagery. I loved how unique and creative his setting and character descriptions were. The carnivorous giraffes were probably my favorite, and they were all I could think of when I saw the Broadway production of Lion King with my children recently.

DNF

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
Nope. I am definitely not the audience for this book. I will occasionally dip into chick-lit, but the genre as a whole is not for me. I don’t care about brand names, which were being dropped like they were hot, or popularity. I was a fringe kid in school, and have turned into a fringe adult.

The Only Thing Worse than Me is You by Lily Anderson
I couldn’t get very far into this one because it reads like an adult who wishes they could redo their geeky high school years in a snarky/cool sort of way. It was an overkill of fandoms and geekdoms, and I have yet to hear teenagers speak like that in real life.

Amazon TBR – December (Part 1)

2017 ends with my Amazon TBR list 127 books lighter. This number is relative given the list is over 1000 books long and I’ve managed to add more to it. My net reduction is probably closer to 70. That being said, I’m looking forward to seeing how many more books I can knock off in 2018.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
This was a sweet book about a widower coming to terms with his grief at his wife’s passing, and his inability to leave his comfort zone of daily routine (to the detriment of his relationships with his children and neighbors). The charm bracelet was the impetus for each aspect of his adventure – in learning about her hidden past and in learning about new facets of himself. The novel itself was nothing groundbreaking, but sometimes it’s nice to read a book where the main character becomes a better version of themselves.

Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin
It took me several weeks to finish reading Gunpowder Alchemy. I was initially excited because steampunk set in Asia? Yes, please! The mechanics of the technology were fascinating, but I just didn’t connect with Jin Soling or her story. While it was well-written, it just didn’t grab me.

 

That Wolf-Boy is Mine by Youko Nogiri
A four volume manga about the relationship between a recently transferred high school student and one of the most popular boys at her new school. She learns his secret – he can transform into a wolf. Que the relationship and ensuing drama. Overall, it was a cute story with an interesting twist between the two main characters, however it wasn’t amazing.

Waste of Space by Gina Damico
Hellhole is still my favorite novel by Damico, but Waste of Space is in second place. Her humor is dry and satirical, and pokes fun at the ludicrousness that is reality television. It took me a bit of time to warm up to it, but once the story got going, I enjoyed it immensely. My favorite character(s) is toss up between Chaz and the NASAW scientists

Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
I’ve been on something of a Holly Black kick recently, and have enjoyed most of her books (I did like or finish Doll Bones). While Darkest Part of the Forest was not my favorite, it was still a good read, with a darkly creative spin on the coexistence of humans and fairies. I have a penchant for fairy tales that focus on the dark underbelly fairies and not on the pretty sparkles. There is always a price for dealing with fairies, and Darkest focuses on that complicated web and the ramifications it has on those involved..

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
I put this on my list because I liked Seven Black Diamonds, and while (again) Marr’s idea was interesting, how the story was written was staunchly mediocre. I kept listening with the hope it would get better, but it didn’t. The characters were boring and I didn’t particularly care about their situations.

 

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
I haven’t decided how I feel about this book. The whole thing felt like a novel-length set up for the actual plot. On the one hand it was incredibly slow and nothing much actually happened. On the other hand, the glimpses of future Tea and her actions were great. She’ll either be a villain or an anti-hero in the next book, but it would have been better if this had manifested earlier in the book, or of the present/past had been done a better set up. We know she wanted revenge, but no motive was given at any point during the novel.

One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul
Even though I have very limited cultural understanding of Koul’s experiences, I really enjoyed her insights, sense of humor, and writing style. Pretty much all of us can relate to the complicated dynamic between parents and children regardless of our backgrounds. The part that stood out the most to me, and the part I most related to, was her essay on rape and  rape culture.

DNF

Someone to Love by Mary Balogh
I liked Balogh’s Bedwyn Saga and Simply Quartet, and assumed I would like this one as well. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to because I did not care for Anna. She wasn’t bad per se, but I didn’t have any sympathy for her situation. I cared more about the lives of her sisters and brother because their lives were upended for the worse. I would have liked to hear their stories, not Anna’s. I also found Anna to be somewhat condescending towards the upper class and the rules that dictate society.

Gilded Cage by Vic James
This was not a bad book, but more that I am getting jaded of YA dystopian books. They’ve all started blending together and feel like only slight variations of the same theme. The Us vs. Them mentality is superficial and lacks depth. There is an infinite amount of gray, which is much more interesting, so it makes no sense that authors stick with black and white.

Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan
I lasted a whopping eight minutes into this audiobook before I wanted to stab my ears. Part of me kept hoping it was really clever satire, but then I realized that it was supposed to be straight. I probably should have stopped listening as soon as the main character started waxing poetic about “mommy wine”. She was so very, very modern mom cliché, and that type of mom makes me want to hurl.

Amazon TBR – November (Part 2)

Dove Arising by Karen Bao
I liked how Dove handled her situation – joining the military to keep her siblings from having to move to the slums of the base, even though her rise through the ranks felt somewhat tropy. I did not like her mother, and had little sympathy for her because of how the consequences of her multiple actions negatively impacted her children. I also didn’t like how she treated Dove after Dove bailed her out of jail; very selfish and ungrateful. Ultimately though, I didn’t have a strong enough connection with characters or their plight to read the remaining books in this series.

The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron
Told through the parallel, but connecting stories of modern archaeologist, Rosamund Gale, and the Neanderthal, Girl, who must survive after losing her family. Both characters were sympathetic, with Rose battling to maintain her authority as an archaeologist and rights to discovery while being shoved off her dig because of her pregnancy; and Girl, who after being forced to leave her family because of transgression, must try to survive a cruel winter in a land where family can mean life or death.

The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
Eh. This was alright. I realized that I am not a fan of the rich teenagers who party and back stab each other genre. The characters weren’t interesting, and it felt like their actions and relationships existed for the sole purpose of causing drama. I also had issues with the step-sibling incest being portrayed as the “right” relationship for two of the characters, and the fact that sexism and slut-shaming was very much alive and well.

Seven Nights in a Rogue’s Bed by Anna Campbell
Pushing logic aside, I was swept up in the Beauty & the Beast-ness of this story. It was well done, and the pacing was fairly even. I also liked both characters. That’s not to say there weren’t issues with Seven Nights, specifically regarding Jonas’ initial intentions, and how he reacted both times Sidonie withholds information from him, but it was engaging enough that the critical part of my brain glossed over those details, allowing me to enjoy the story.

Seven Black Diamonds by Melissa Marr
This wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t amazing either. It was an interesting concept, but the characters didn’t grab my attention enough to care about them. I’ve since listened to/attempted to listen to two other of Melissa Marr’s books, but felt the same way about them as well. She will not be an author I revisit.

Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas
Louisa was a fascinating biography about an intelligent and creative woman who was restricted by society’s expectations even as she had amazing opportunities because of her marriage. She seemed to make the best of her situation given she did not have the freedoms modern women enjoy. It is yet another book involving a Founding Father that sheds them in a not necessarily flattering light. While I am aware of the social dynamics of the time, it’s still a bit shocking to see how the FFs treated the women in their lives, i.e. not very well. Adams was emotionally abusive and completely gaslighted Louisa.

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
I read A Thousand Pieces of You earlier this year, and while her imagined multiverse was fascinating, the story itself was only marginally interesting. I had a bit of trepidation over this book because of that. However, I was pleasantly surprised to read well-written and interesting story, to the point that I will read the sequel when it comes out next year. I want to learn more about the conspiracy Naomi and Abel discovered. I want to know what the next life chapter has in store for both characters as well as various secondary characters.

A Separation by Katie Kitimura
I seem to be in the minority of actually liking this book. It’s odd, and slow-paced, and it was more about the main character working through her emotions in regard to her estranged husband and the things she felt he kept hidden from her than anything of note actually happening (other than the husband’s disappearance). The narrative bounces between the present and past by way of explaining the dynamic between the main character and her husband. It’s not a thriller by any means, just a book about people dealing with their less than perfect lives.

DNF

The Dark Net by Benjamin Percy
I absolutely loved Red Moon, but I wasn’t able to get into The Dark Net. It was an interesting idea, but the descriptions and adjectives felt a bit purple.

The Aisles Have Eyes by Joseph Turow
I listened to less than two hours before I gave up. It just wasn’t interesting. It seemed like the author was just rehashing what is already about there in terms of research and anecdotal stories in regards consumer’s shopping habits and how companies influence those habits.

Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan
Frances was an unlikable character who was poorly written. While I enjoy reading about unlikable characters, if they aren’t done right, it ruins the story. There was more focus on her lust for Grey than for her anger at her parents’ and friend’s deaths. Plus her actions were whiny, broody teenager and not well-planned revenge.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
I managed about 15 minutes of listening before I got annoyed with Nikki. The set up was supposed to pull the reader in, but instead made me think of what an idiot she was. I decided to read the descriptions/reviews of the other two books and realized that I would not be able to handle the stupidity and poor decisions of Nikki et al over three books.

Amazon TBR – November (Part 1)

I managed to knock out another 50 books from my Amazon list, as well as a few more. In the whole scheme of things, I have not really made much of a dent, but it feels good to delete books, shortening two out of three of my TBR lists (I try to cap them at 500 books).

The Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris
I’m a sucker for the villain/anti-hero, and Loki is a consummate villain/anti-hero. The Gospel of Loki is Norse mythology as told from the perspective of Loki, making him the not entirely trusted (or trustworthy) outsider who was just trying to be accepted by the others. That is the justification Loki gives readers for many of his deceits and pranks. He is witty and sly and a completely unreliable narrator.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
This was interesting, but at the same time a bit overwhelming because it was a lot of scientific information that I have a tenuous grasp on at best being thrown at me. I love Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I enjoyed learning about astrophysics. Unfortunately, I do not remember anything I listened to. That is not his fault, but rather my own because I can’t digest that type of scientific information that quickly. I would have been better off reading the actual book instead of listening to it.

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
My favorite C.S. Lewis book, a retelling of Cupid and Psyche from the perspective of Psyche’s older sister. I read this book for a college class 14 years ago, and remember being enthralled by it. Since then, it has been sitting on the back burner as a book to be revisited. My perception of the story has definitely changed since then. I still enjoyed the book deeply, but I did not have the same sort of connection to it. I’m assuming that is because at that time, I was lost and disconnected after my separation from the military, and felt an emotional kinship with Orual. I no longer feel that kinship, but I can understand her emotions and motivations. it is not a light read, but a worthwhile one.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
I debated DNF’ing this book, but am glad I stuck out all 24 hours of listening time (though admittedly, I listed to it at 2x speed so it only took me 12 hours). The book was slow and meandering, and could have lost about half of its page count without any content issues. It would have been a much tighter, and better paced story if most of the middle disappeared. That being said, I don’t have a strong interest in reading the other two books.

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan
I didn’t know what to think of this book when I started listening to it. Nas was a shallow party girl who occasionally had flashes of self-awareness. However, her growing realization of how unsustainable her life is coupled with her sense of humor pulled me in. Immortal Beloved and its sequel, Darkness Falls were great and both had an amazing narrator. The third book, Eternally Yours, was not available in audio format, and was also the weakest of the three.

Wax by Gina Damico
I didn’t like Wax as much as Hellhole, but it was still pretty good. I liked the dynamic between Poppy and Dud. I liked the ludicrousness of Poppy’s notoriety. The blend of humor and odd/wtf situations are why I like Damico’s books – sentient wax? a heroine forever scarred by The Sound of Music? Yes. It’s weird and entertaining.

Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gillman
It took me a while to understand and enjoy this book. It was an interesting look at Schroedinger’s cat, and at our senses and how we perceive the world through them. I was incredibly curious about the inhabitants of Iris – how they evolved the way they did, how did they discover their ability to travel the way they did – though this was never touched on, much to the detriment of the novel. The end, however, didn’t really feel like an end. It worked as a stopping point, but left too many unanswered questions. In addition to the ones regarding the inhabitants of Iris, there was never any speculation about why space was so anomalous around Iris. Why was it so special/different?

Over the Edge of the World: Magellan’s Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen
I am going to start off with the fact that I never knew Magellan died during this voyage. He came up with the idea, secured the funding, ships, and crew, but was killed in the Philippines. If this is something I learned in school, I sure as heck to not remember it. That being said, it was interesting to read about the voyage and the dynamic Magellan had with his crew. I liked that the author was able to pull as much primary source information as he did.

DNF

Discovery of Desire by Susanne Lord
I did not make it very far into this book before I had to give up. I really, really liked the idea – an explorer trying to find his missing sister in India; a woman seeking marriage to an unknown man in order to stay with her sister, who is set to marry a British officer stationed in India. I couldn’t get past Seth’s behavior, continually acting either the fool or like a yokel. He was presented in that light within the narrative as well, and it grated on my nerves to no end.

The Accidental Empress by Allison Pataki
I’ve always been interested in Sisi because her life seemed incredibly dramatic. I ended up DNFing this book halfway through. I couldn’t handle the oversimplifications of character, and how if felt like the negative behaviors were focused on at the expense of other characteristics in order to increase the drama. I lost my patience with the whole thing when Sisi gave birth to her first baby. I all for romance, but I would have liked to have had some solid history interwoven instead of it only being about the gossip and poor little Sisi and the big bad MIL.

Frostblood by Elly Blake
This was every YA dystopian us vs. them trope novel ever written. It was boring and uninteresting, and was the concept was not being rehashed in a creative, new way. I didn’t care about Ruby or her situation. It was just so bland.

Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black
I only made to 40 pages. 40 pages in, and the story was still being set up, every chapter from the perspective of a different character. Nothing that furthered the plot actually happened. Between that and the fact that neither the writing style nor characters drew me in, I had no interest in finishing the book.

 

Amazon TBR – October (Part 2)

My semester is done, sickness is gone from my house, and I am no longer working 60 hour weeks. Time to play post catch up.

Here are the rest of the books I listened to in October.

The New Odyssey: The Story of Europe’s Refugee Crisis by Patrick Kingsley
This was an amazing book, and an important one given current world events. There are extremely good reasons why people flee their countries, and those kinds of reasons will cause them to take incalculable risks on the chance of getting to a save place to start a new life. The narrative flips between the stories of individual refugees and commentary on the crisis as a whole.

 

Liar Temptress Soldier Spy by Karen Abbott
It interesting if a bit sensationalistic at times. While I knew women participated in the Civil War (and pretty much every war), I never heard anything more than that. I liked that the book showcased women from both sides of the conflict, and that each woman’s way of contribution was different. That being said, I wonder at how accurate some of the information was given the use of personal diaries and the fact that the some of the women parlayed their deeds into fame and notoriety after the war was over.

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
I almost DNF’d this one multiple times. I liked the premise, but the execution was lackluster at best. The whole book didn’t sit well with me. The pace was slow and the somewhat boring, and I didn’t like how Tiger Lily went from strong and independent to needy and codependent once Peter entered her life. It was definitely not a love story.

 

Roses and Rot by Kat Howard
The premise of two sisters attending an artists retreat in an attempt to rebuild their relationship and grapple with how utterly controlling and cruel their mother is drew me in. I definitely felt a kinship with the characters with aspects of their severely dysfunctional family relationship. It is dark and beautiful with strong fairy tale elements.

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
It took me some time to get into this book. I found Cat to be somewhat whiny, but kept listening. It was worth Cat’s growing pains because I’ve ended up listening to most of the series with plans to finish it and the spin-offs. This is very solidly an urban vampire fantasy, but I like both the storylines and world building.

 

Hounded by Kevin Hearne
I’ve been reading a lot of urban fantasy over the past yearish, and have found that if I make it through the first book and think the series/worldbuilding/storylines have potential, will keep listening to it. This is how I felt about Hounded. I wasn’t wowed by it, but I haven’t yet read a book with druidic magic as the main magical theme. I have the next two books on Audible, though I have not yet made the time to listen to them.

Bite Me by Ilona Andrews
Because I really liked the Kate Daniels series (I have a soft spot for mouthy female MCs who don’t take crap from anyone), I decided to give this one a go. The cover notwithstanding, I enjoyed it. Andrews is creative with both worldbuilding and lore/magical rules. I mostly liked Nevada, and I while I sort of liked Mad Rogan, I don’t know how I feel about him as a romantic interest.

 

Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
A surprisingly interesting teen vampire book, I liked this more than I was expecting to. The lore was unique (though inconsistent at times) and didn’t feel like a riff on anything. (I don’t generally read teen vampire books). I like Tana and how the story unwound.

DNF

After Alice by Gregory Mcguire
I did not make it very far into this book at all. I do love narrator Katherine Kellgren, but between the bombasticness of her voice and the pretentiousness of the story, I couldn’t handle it. The tone was too grandiose, and it felt like Mcguire overused his thesaurus and made sentences more complex than was necessary.

Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Another book I didn’t listen to for very long. The writing was boring and the characters cliche.

Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka
This might have been a good book, but there was too much high concept science that I didn’t understand. It also felt light the expositing about science detracted from the plot.

Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan
Could not handle this one. Luna was an idiot who made dumb, life-threatening decisions, Fowler internal-monologued like a teenage girl, and the writing/romance was just awful.

Amazon TBR – October (Part 1)

I listened/read/DNF’d 24 books in October from my Amazon TBR. Because of that, I’ve split them into two different posts

The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel
I have a thing for books about the unsung women of the early years of modern science. The basis of so much of our current knowledge comes directly from these women bucking the social norms of their time to provide invaluable grunt work of scientific discoveries. The Glass Universe was fascinating in that it looked at the contributions women had on our knowledge, understanding, and classification of the cosmos. The only negative was that the women discussed in the book were not really fleshed out as people. The focus was mostly on their work with very little context of who they were and the hardships they might have faced for their choices.

1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West by Roger Crowley
Unfortunately, I don’t have much to say other than it was interesting learning about the political machinations and power dynamics behind the fall of Constantinople.

Moonshadow by Thea Harrison
This was a decent urban fantasy. I liked that Sophie was strong female lead who could think creatively and hold her own against both Nikolas and the baddies. There were times that her need to always have a comeback got on my nerves, and I didn’t really feel the chemistry between them. That being said, I will most likely read the sequel at some point because I am curious about Morgan. He was more interesting than Sophie and Nicholas, and he barely had any page time.

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would – which is saying something given how disappointing many of my recent reads have been. It wasn’t stellar by any means, but I liked the concept of the descendants of those involved in the Salem Witch Trials being under a centuries-long curse. I’m sure some of my positivity about this book stems from the fact that I listened to it at 2x speed instead of reading it. The cliches and stilted writing would have bothered me more if I had read the book instead of listening to it.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I had high hopes for this because I love reimaginings and retellings based upon Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, Heartless fell short for me. I get that Cath was constrained by the mores of her society, but it got really old really quickly listening to her whine about not wanting to marry the King of Hearts, and then not doing anything about it. It was also frustrating because when Cath had the actual opportunity to save herself, she didn’t and consequently caused the madness and death of two characters. I know how her story ends, but I would have liked her back story to be more exciting and less whingy. There was also a severe lack of Wonderland included. “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe and “Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater” had more page time that the book that was supposed to be the inspiration.

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen
To lay it all out – there was nothing exceptional about this book, and I have no interest in reading any other books in this series. There was a lack of depth all around in regard to world building and characters that existed beyond somewhat cliched cardboard cutouts. The technology wasn’t explained very well and seemed like an odd blend of steampunk and electricity. Technology based upon Tesla’s ideas doesn’t fit in well with steam and cogs and gears.

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James
I mostly liked Seven Minutes, but it definitely won’t become a favorite. Ward was okay until he pretty much tore Eugenia down because he thought she had no status other than what she derived as a widow and “governess”.  And when he learned she was a peeress went “Whoops! made a mistake! You are worthy of me for marriage!”. Personally, I would have been happier if the HEA had been Eugenia kicking him to the curb and opening her tea room.

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva
This book had the potential to be really amazing – a look at how “reality” skews our perception  using the aftermath of a deadly plague as the backdrop. The execution, however, left a lot to be desired. For all that was going on, it was a really boring book. The character, Zoo, was bland and uninteresting. I had no connection with her and didn’t really care what happened to her. The audiobook narrator was also surprisingly monotone. I did like how the story switched between Zoo’s present and how the reality show began, but could have done without the online message board interjections. She also treated Brennan like complete crap. and spent too much time wallowing. I had no sympathy for her.

DNF

The Lady’s Command by Stephanie Laurens
Very, very boring. I couldn’t decide if it’s because of the narrator or the writing style of telling me what is happening instead of showing me.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The plot was boring, and the narrator was awful. The book was written in first person from Ethan’s perspective, but the narrator only used a southern accent when Ethan spoke, which was incredibly jarring. There shouldn’t be such a difference between Ethan’s internal and external voices.

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
Eh. It wasn’t horrible, but then I read multiple two star reviews about how bland and underdeveloped the characters were, and how one dimensional Nicolas’ and Bex’s relationship was. And even though i wasn’t terribly far into the book, I could see the seeds for all of the nonsense that usually makes me want to throw a book across a room. Plus, I found the dynamic between Bex and Lacey annoying. Lacey was incredibly selfish and felt desperate a lot of the time. The book had the potential to really look at how a commoner marrying a royal has to adjust to the craziness, but it didn’t take advantage of it.

Once and for All by Sarah Dessen
I hate that I DNF’d a Sarah Dessen book because I really do like how she writes teen romance. However, I’ve realized that her books are hit or miss when it comes to the male love interest. This one is a definite miss. Ambrose needs a swift kick in the pants. His behavior is not attractive, and he’s a douche. That is the kind of guy who will end up gaslighting his significant other. He does not see the harm his actions cause, and blames everyone else when things do go wrong – man they just don’t understand my groove. That kind of tunnel vision is selfish and not healthy. He steals a dog, justifies why he stole it, and doesn’t seem to get the impact of his actions and assumes everyone will be onboard with him toting a random dog around.

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Amazon TBR – September (Part 2)

With my first 50 books read and removed from the list, it’s time to start the next 50 books (and once I’m done with those, I’ll spend the rest of the year digging into my reread list and all of the books queuing up on my Audible account). Then it will be 2018, and the lovely reading challenges will once again commence.

Planetfall by Emma Newman
I almost DNF’d this book multiple times because of the  subplot about Renata and her hoarding. I get that ultimately, the hoarding had relevance to her mental issues, but for most of the story, it felt like it was just tacked on. That and how her disorder was revealed to the rest of the colony was incredibly stressful and uncomfortable. I also spent most of the book thinking something was off about Suh-Mi’s grandson, Song-Soo. He was a “nice guy” and “nice guys” have a tendency to be slimy – and he definitely was. More time should have been spent on the actual plot (meaning, what’s up with God’s City) and less on Renata, her hoarding, and Song-Soo’s assholishness. This would have been a better book if the focus had been on the God’s City and the flower that caused Suh-Mi to fall into a coma.

I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual by Luvvie Ajayi
There seems to be an uptick in books of essays that (attempt) to humorously dissect modern life. I’m Judging You was one of the more entertaining ones, balancing whip smart insights with Ajayi’s awareness of her own shortcomings, hypocrisies, and pop culture/behavior guilty pleasures. Overall it was enjoyable, though not a book I would read again.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
This is a book that I should have made the time to write my thoughts down immediately after finishing it. Enough time has passed that nothing beyond a warm little fuzzy of liking the book is left. I liked the awkwardness of both Eleanor and Park; it made them feel more real. However, it didn’t really feel like either character was attracted to each other beyond “we’re both misfits, and I sort of like you, and you’re receptive to reading comics.”

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
For the sake for completion, I wanted to read the short stories connected to the Lunar Chronicles. I liked learning some of the backstories, specifically about Wolf and Scarlet, and I loved hearing about their wedding. Unfortunately, the stories as a whole did not really add anything to the characters or their universe.

Version Control by Dexter Palmer
It listened to the majority of this book before I actually started to like it. The beginning had way too much monologuing and Rebecca was incredibly whiny. Possibly, I was missing the existential meaning behind dealing with the potential versions of your self and life based upon your decisions and actions. The story was pretty much all character driven, the time machine acting background noise and a locus around with the characters lives revolve.

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
This was definitely a different kind of zombie novel, both in that it is written  from the perspective of a zombie, and how their existence and evolution were handled.  The Girl With All the Gifts was a character-driven, somewhat philosophical book. If gore-driven zombies are your preference, this might not be the book for you.

DNF

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
This book suffers from the fact the author is a horrible narrator. She was very monotone, lacking inflection on what I assume were supposed to be jokes or funny asides. It would have been much better had someone else narrated. Personal histories and anecdotes were interspersed with scientific botanical descriptions, but it felt like I was reading an academic text. I’m sure this would have been somewhat mitigated with a better narrator.

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series, so I decided to skip it and try the first book, The Last Wish. I did not get very far into it when I realized the writing style was not for me. Maybe if I was a gamer, or played the video game, I would have been more interested.

Amazon TBR – September (Part 1)

I finished the first 50 books on my Amazon TBR list! And I still managed to come out ahead because I only added around 30 new books to it. My goal is to get at least a 100 read before the end of the year, and when the 2018 reading challenge lists start coming out, try to choose books from my TBR instead of finding new ones.

Note: The Night Circus was the last book read for the 2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge.

Flying by Carrie Jones
This book came across my Amazon recommendations and the premise seemed interesting – a cheerleader fighting aliens while trying to save her mother. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. The humor the author was going for fell short, and because of this the story fell short as well.

 

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
While this book is nonfiction, it read like a fast-paced and interesting novel. It was definitely hard to listen to at times because human error, hubris, and an astonishingly negligent lack of communication caused an otherwise preventable disaster. I liked that Larson switched between the perspectives of the various players – British intelligence, the US government, the German U-boat captain, and the Lusitania’s crew and passengers.

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
I liked Charlotte Doyle, but I kept waiting for something more to happen. It was well-plotted and fast-paced, but from when it was published until now, it seems like there is more action jammed into more recently published middle grade adventure books.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
I liked the concept of the book – the cross-continent motorcycle race, Jael’s abilities and how she gained them, and how the Victor’s Ball scene plays out. However, I wasn’t really sucked into the book and didn’t really care about the characters. I know I won’t read the sequel.

 

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch
Midnight Riot and all of the subsequent books are now one of my favorite series. I have no interest in crime novels, but the fact that it was recommended on two different sites I peruse for books to read, and the fact that it was urban fantasy, had me wanting to give it a try – and I’m glad I did. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith was a fantastic narrator and brought life to personality to the characters. The sarcastic and sardonic humor, and the geek references made me swoon.

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
I enjoy Sherlock Holmes books/adaptations, and thought to give this one a go because the main character was a girl. I was curious as to how she would be written given some of the darker aspects of Sherlock. Cavallaro did a good job creating Charlotte, and a decent job of creating Jamie. However, the plot didn’t hold my attention. Things happened, but it wasn’t very interesting.

My One True Highlander by Suzanne Enoch
I have read several of Suzanne Enoch’s romances, and while they haven’t knocked me off my feet, I enjoy listening to them. I liked the set up, I liked Graham’s younger brothers, but there wasn’t necessarily a lot of anything happening other than bickering. I like bickering when it’s done well, but this was only decent.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
I probably should have DNF’d this book, but was mildly curious to know how it ended. If I had the hardcopy instead of the audio version, I would have flipped to the end and skipped the rest. Nix is boring. The story is boring, incredibly slow-paced, and it doesn’t feel like anything actually happens. The love triangle is contrived and even more annoying than love triangles normally are.

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
I started this book, then stopped because the main character, Tom. sounded like a teenager and not a 32 yr old man. He was emotionally stunted and lacked any kind of ambition or focus whatsoever. The book read like a lesser quality YA book, feeling somewhat juvenile. However, I decided to give it another go via audiobook, and once Tom started to adjust his alternate life, and once he found Goettreider, the plot picked up. I liked the exploration of the different realities and the different Toms. The book would have been better if less time had been spent on Whiny Tom, and more on the latter part of the novel. It was a paler cousin of Dark Matter.

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
This is a good book based upon content and message, but I had a really hard time enjoying it because of the narrator. She sounded like an adult trying to sound like a kid, and it didn’t work. My daughter is the same age as Ellie, and she does not talk like that or inflect her words that way. I read a review that mentioned Ellie coming off as simple-minded, and I have to agree with her. I have a hard time believing my daughter or her friends behaving/reacting in the way Ellie did in various situations. There was also a lack of character growth.

DNF

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen
Stolen Songbird started out alright. It was interesting if a bit clunky. I made the mistake of reading reviews about the two other books in the trilogy and saw that the flaws in both Cecile and Tristan increased to incredibly annoying and idiotic proportions, so I gave up. I didn’t want to potentially become invested in something that would make me want to throw my phone across the room.

What We Found in the Sofa and How it Save the World by Henry Clark
This might have been a good story, but I couldn’t get past the narrator. I didn’t like the voices he used, and he had a weird way of inflecting the last words in sentences. I can’t comment on the plot because I don’t know how much of the plot itself was boring or how much of it was my dislike of the narrator.

The Atrocity Files by Charles Stross
I have seen The Atrocity Files pop up on must read sci-fi lists, but I have no interest in the technical details of magic/computers being explained ad nauseam. I am not a computer person, and there was too much time spent describing the magical rules and not enough on the plot.

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck by Sarah Knight
This has the same basic premise as The Subtle Art of Not giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, but I didn’t connect with her tone. It was too keyed into the “I’m a mom and drink wine” subculture, which is not my scene. I prefer a less mom-ish, jokey, and socially alcoholic approach to my self-help. I found myself getting annoyed with it before the first chapter ended.

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Amazon TBR – August

My second month in and I’m booking it (ha ha) through my TBR list. The end of August saw me at about 2/3 of the way through my first 50 books, while adding about 30 books to my TBR list.

Note: Thrill Me by Benjamin Percy did double duty both as an Amazon TBR and the Bookish 12 Ways Kill Your TBR  Challenge. My thoughts on it will be in a later post.

The Stolen Child by Lisa Carey
The potential for magical realism mixed with Ireland is what attracted me to this book. However, The Stolen Child was so much more – an exploration of sexuality, of the pull of modernization against historical roots, the struggle of an insular village against itself, outsiders, and folklore. It was a fascinating, bittersweet book.

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
I almost DNF’d this book multiple times, which gives a fairly good indication of how much I liked Under a Painted Sky. It was an interesting concept, but the characters ranged from flat to annoying, and the plot felt underdeveloped. The boys were uninteresting and never felt like actual people. Sammy was really, really annoying, though that could be in part because of how the narrator read her. I am not a fan of whiney heroines so there’s that as well. The only character that was decent was Annamae, and I would have preferred her to be the main character instead of Sammy. The plot also moseyed along, with too much time spent on Sammy’s internal emotional turmoil about hoping her atrocious attempt at being a boy wasn’t uncovered.

Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
Black Tom was weird and dark and bizarre in a way that blended together to make a good story. I loved the flow of LaValle’s writing. That being said, I have never read anything by H.P. Lovecraft, which even though I am not a fan of horror, I probably should remedy. I do know enough about his mythos from other sources to have some foundation, pitiful as it may be. And I’m sure that if I had a better foundation, I would have better appreciated the social commentary of Black Tom – I need to get my hands on “The Horror at Red Hook”.

King John: Treachery and Tyranny in Medieval England: The Road to Magna Carta by Marc Morris
King John continues my slow journey of learning about medieval history. I read a book about William Marshal, and was interested by how both Richard the Lionheart and King John were portrayed. My understanding of the two men stems from Disney’s animated Robin Hood, and the end of the movie is not quite accurate. Yes, King John was petty, vindictive, and had a wide streak of treachery, but his behavior was only outside of that era’s norm in the sense that he pushed too far. The creation of the Magna Carta was also more complex than I had been taught, and King John was less of a pushover than I assumed. It was not a straight forward process, and did not have the impact at that that time that we ascribe to the document today.

Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova
The story was dark and lyrical and I like how Zourkova incorporated Eastern European and Greek myths, but not a lot actually happened. The book ends with something of a cliffhanger, a scene which really should have happened earlier in the story to actually cause the plot to start rolling.

 

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
I had a slightly rocky relationship with this book at first. It was an interesting concept, but I just wasn’t invested in the story. I liked it more as the book went on, and the cliffhanger at the ending is somewhat of a WTF set up for the sequel. I also really liked that there was no romance between Kate and August.

Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
Arabella was a steampunk space adventure that was a good listen. Arabella herself was strong, clever, and not annoying.I liked the underlying idea of space travel being “discovered” by Isaac Newton while watching a bubble float in the bath, and that the grand age of exploration was in space and not on the oceans. It has a Jules Verne feel to it.

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Based upon the book description, I was expecting a light-hearted, snarky romp across Europe, and not a government conspiracy surrounding a mysterious alchemical object. I know the phrase “harrowing manhunt” was included in the description, but my brain must not have latched on to it. Gentleman was alright, but it was somewhat of a letdown.

The Inventor’s Secret by Andrea Cremer
This was another book that I was on the fence about DNFing. It suffered from poor world-building, an awful romance/forced love triangle, and a boring plot. I ended up finishing it because it took me less than five hours of listening time. In terms of world-building, going from the British winning the Revolutionary War to crazy advanced steampunk technology in less than 100 years didn’t make sense.

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
This book pulled me in enough that I dropped everything to listen to the first five books in the series. I love that Kate Daniels is snarky and sarcastic. She doesn’t take crap from anyone, but is also very aware of her own flaws and shortcomings. I like the world-building premise of magic’s reappearance back into the world, raising a bunch of issues in regard to technology.

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
My sister told me about this book ages ago, but I didn’t get around to listening to it until I learned that Katherine Kellgren was the narrator. Overall, the story was an entertaining and well-paced pirate romp. Jackie was who she was and kept a realistic view of her place in the world.

 

Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World by Tim Whitmarsh
A bit dry and academic, but interesting. It shifted my perspective on ancient religions given that we see them through a contemporary lens strongly influenced by 2000 years Judeo-Christianity. Both gods and beliefs and their relationships were much more fluid than they are today. Gods across different cultures who shared attributes were seen as different versions of the same deity. Atheism was more of not believing/sacrificing in the appropriate way as deemed by social norms as opposed to the complete disbelief in a god.

Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau
Time travel and multiple dimensions seems to be a bit of a trend recently – either in my reading habits, publisher’s publishing habits, or both. I liked the idea of a wormhole that allowed people to travel through time, and that the main character used it to visit various rock concerts. Even though Every Anxious Wave is nominally science fiction because of the time travel, the science wasn’t the point. The character relationships and dynamics were the point. My gripe with the book was that the dynamic between Karl and Lena felt like it was happening because the author wanted it to and not because it grew organically between the characters.

The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel by Katherine Arden
I’m going to start with the fact that I found the complete lack of romance in this book refreshing. I’m not against romance, but it was so nice to have a heroine not start a romantic relationship with the supernatural being. It was a fairy tale of sorts, more of a clash between the traditional gods and fairies and the Christian god. It was dark and haunting, and Vasilisa was intelligent and resourceful.

 

DNF

As Old As Time by Liz Braswell
The tone was smug and righteous and insufferable. I know the magical creatures were supposed to be portrayed as persecuted, but it was too heavy handed. Belle’s mom was a selfish bitch cursing an 11-year old child for the sins of his parents. Belle was stuck up as well and came off as sounding like she thought she was too good for her village, Maurice in the movie was bumbling but harmless, whereas book Maurice was obnoxiously oblivious to the detriment of others. It was also hard to the read early chapters because the dialog was verbatim from the movie.

Floors by Patrick Carman
Admittedly, I did not get very far into this book before giving up. I was listening to the audio version and had a hard time with the narrator. He was more annoying than interesting, and it made the madcap nature of the book feel flat and uninteresting.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
I tried reading Stealing Snow a few months ago and had to DNF it. The main character was whiny and annoying, and the supporting characters were boring and felt unfinished. Even though I had a bad experience with that book i wanted to give Dorothy Must Die a try because it had been on my TBR for several years. Twisting up Oz seemed like an interesting idea. Unfortunately, it also was unappealing. Paige’s writing style is not for me. Amy was whiny and annoying, and the supporting characters were boring. A lot of the tension felt forced or fell flat. It didn’t seem like anything was actually happening in the story. It is possible that there was, but it did not hold my attention at all.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
It took me several hours of listening to decide to DNF Airborn. I do like a good adventure, but the story lacked the tension and excitement that go with a good adventure. It was listenable upuntil the airship was stranded on the island. At that point, Kate started grating on my nerves. She was single-minded in her quest to find her grandfather’s creatures, and used guilt and manipulation to get Matt to go with her. I have zero tolerance for that kind of behavior, and lost interest as soon as she started pulling that junk.

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