January Wrap Up

Hi everyone! January was the best reading month I think I've ever had, with 10 books total. I didn't work or go to school for half of the month so that probably helped, but I'm still pretty impressed with myself. Here's what I read this month

Books Read:

1) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: 5/5 stars

2) The Beauty and the Beast: 3/5 stars

3) Devil in Winter: 4/5 stars

4) Her Body and Other Parties: 2/5 stars

5) The Little Book of Life Hacks: 2/5 stars

6) Iced: 4/5 stars

7) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: 5/5 stars

8) Ready Player One: 3.5/5 stars

9) Zen in the Art of Writing: 4/5 stars

10) Eragon: 4/5 stars

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (4/5)

I liked the first book better, but that's not to say this wasn't great. It was very similar to the first book in that formulaic middle-grade kind of way, but it also introduced new characters and new information in an effortless and entertaining way. Dobby and Lockhart were both pretty annoying but that's the point. The rest of the crew is as charming as always. I loved seeing the Weasley home, the Polyjuice was cool, and learning about Harry's Parseltongue ability was interesting. Not my favourite of the series, but you still can't go wrong with Harry Potter.

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Beauty and the Beast (3/5)

This edition is beautiful and the tale is timeless. The hardcover is gorgeous and the illustrations are just as vibrant and enchanting. I was a little disappointed in the interactive elements as I felt they could have added more to the story in some way, but they were still interesting enough. As for the story, it's not like the Disney version so if you haven't read it before don't go in expecting that. I liked the fairy elements of the story, but didnt like how they were info dumped on the reader following the climax. I've read this story in an abridged version before, and honestly I prefer the shorter version. There are so many details here that were unnecessary and dragged everything out. Not my favourite fairy tale but I still enjoy the overall story and message, and it's a lovely book that will look great on my shelf.

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Devil in Winter (4/5)

Another fun romance in the Wallflower series, although not my favourite.

Devil in Winter follows the unlikely pairing of womanizer Sebastian St.Vincent and shy Evangeline Jenner. After a quick marriage of convenience, Evie makes St.Vincent vow to three months of celibacy before allowing him to be with her. I love Kleypas's writing, characters, and plot as per usual, but there were a few moments that were a bit slippery compared to the earlier books. The first problem comes from making the hero St. Vincent, who was the villain in the previous book. I have no problem with the reformed rake trope, but I think his character was taken almost too far in his previous villainization, though perhaps that is a problem of the previous book. I also had a problem with her characterization as I felt that neither St. Vincent or Evie seemed truly themselves at times. I liked both characters, but felt they weren't as compelling as previous protagonists. I also wasn't a huge fan of the pacing and focus of the story. A majority of the plot takes place in Evie's father's gaming club, which I just wasn't as interested in as I would have liked. So much time was spent focusing on the club that I feel like could have been used for better purposes. For instance, I really missed the other Wallflowers in this one. They show up maybe in the last quarter of the book, but I wish we could have seen more of them. The group as a whole is much more fun to be around than in isolation, especially when we are following the less dynamic character of Evie. Another small gripe is the way the author shoehorned a kissing scene between Daisy and Cam right into the middle of another person's love story. I understand her might wanting to set up the next novel, but it felt awkward and out of place in my opinion. There was also a little messiness in the way two sets of villains are introduced-- I would have rather the plot focused on Evie's family as the main source of conflict. I haven't said much good yet, but that's because I don't think this book is as good as the previous two. That said, this book was unputdownable. I really enjoy this series overall, the way Kleypas writes, the way she makes you care about her characters, and the way she injects the romance with action and a real sense of peril. This is one of my favourite romance series and I'm excited to read the next one.

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Her Body and Other Parties (2/5)

Unpopular opinion: I really didn't like this book. It had a great premise and enough mystery and weirdness to entice me, but I couldn't connect to the writing style and was left confused most of the time. This is a collection of eight feminist short stories about women's bodies and the violence inflicted on them. It's a mix of horror, dystopia, and magic realism filled with queer characters and a whole lot of sexual content. I've heard a lot of people saying that the first story in the collection, "The Husband Stitch," is the best one. That, and the second story "Inventory," were my two favourites and even they only get 3 stars from me. The rest were 1 and 2 star reads for me. I just didn't get many of the stories and the points Machado was trying to make in them. Her writing is often obscure and impenetrable, even though she writes to readers in a way that suggests we are all in on the deeper meaning. Maybe it just went over my head. Her writing is also cold, distant, and observational, and I couldn't get close enough to any of her characters to truly feel for them. Sex is the crux of nearly every story, and it is detailed in such a blunt way as to be disturbing to the reader. This is perhaps the point, but it was uncomfortable and strange to read about sexual exploit after sexual exploit in such a calculating manner without further analysis on the part of the author to explain what these encounters mean. It is left up to the reader to decipher meaning, and sometimes I was able to do that while other times I was left clueless. My least favourite story was "Especially Heinous," in which the author writes over 200 episode synopses in the style of Law & Order. The threads of each episode were left dangling and there was no conclusive plot/narrative, there was no explanation of the doppelgangers or ghosts that loosely guide the story, it was boring, and I had not a single idea what was happening the whole time. Maybe this is for a different kind of reader, one who can appreciate the weirdness and complexity of the ideas Machado presents. I am not one of those readers. I recommend reading the first story, maybe the second, to get a sense of the flavor of the writing before fully committing. I like the ideas behind the stories, but the execution was just not to my personal taste.

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The Little Book of Life Hacks (2/5)

This was disappointing. A book about life hacks that will make your life happier, healthier, and more beautiful, it contained little information that was useful or applicable to my daily life. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Adulting, a non-fiction book with tips about becoming an adult, which I really enjoyed. But this book isn't a funny book, or even an entertaining book. Many of the tips it provided were about mundane topics that, if needed, I could just Google. For instance, how to get a variety of stains out, how to make disinfecting wipes, and what homemade creations can go in your hair and on your skin, were some of the "life hacks." However, even the topics I did enjoy more, like how to make brownies in a mug or host a party, were still presented in a boring way. Every "how to" is painstakingly composed of lists and lists of ingredients and instructions that were not interesting to read at all. Most of the book read like an instruction manual rather than something to be enjoyed. I ended up skipping a lot of sections, because reading about 1/4 cup of vinegar and 2 teaspoons of rose oil and etc etc was so boring. While some subjects are laboriously detailed, others are so underdeveloped that they can't even be called life hacks. For instance, there's a section about how to dress fashionably and the advice is to learn how to dress for your body shape, but no matter what, just wear what makes you happy. These comments provide no concrete information to help the reader, only redirects them to more capable sources. It didn't even cover what the different body types were. And as nice as the "just be happy and be yourself" idea is, again, it's not useful to the reader. Even the type size of the writing is inadequate-- it's so small it's hars to read at times. The illustrations are cute and I completely fell for the cover, and there were a couple pages that were mildly interesting. But I don't think this book was worth the read.

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Iced (4/5)

Iced is not as good as the original five books in the series, but wow did it ever hook me. In this installment, we follow fourteen year old Dani O'Malley as she teams up with the mysterious club owner Ryodan to try to save Dublin from a fae that's been icing the city. I waited a year and a half to continue on with the series instead of inhale reading it like the first five, and I'm glad I did. In this book, Mac and Barrons are virtually absent, which would have disappointed me more had I not had the time to heal and prepare myself after Shadowfever. Because that series was a hell of a ride and I don't think anything can touch the level of perfection it reached, in my eyes. So I went into this pretty fresh and what I found was incredibly enjoyable. Moning's writing is laced with crack-- I have never been so addicted to someone's style before. I can't put my finger on it. I didn't like Dani's voice in the previous books but somehow Moning made her perspective utterly engaging, and not annoying thankfully, in this one. The only parts of the book I didn't enjoy were the sections from Kat's perspective. I found them unnecessary and, I hate to say it, dull. Dani was such an interesting character. Headstrong, passionate, naive, restless, and independent, she has a certain charm that captured my heart despite the number of frustrating things she did. She is such a teenager, if an immature one. Ryodan wasn't quite Barrons material, but he was hot and brooding in his own way. Dancer was such a sweetheart and Christian was utterly disturbed. In regards to the controversy about pedophilia in this book--though she is lusted after by men much older than her, Dani never engages in sexual activity, therefore I'm not all that upset. Sure, Christian's obsession with her was gross, but in my opinion he is never presented as a viable love interest and is only shed in the most negative of lights. Her relationship with Ryodan is platonic, and though there are moments of tension between them I never believed there was anything sexual between them. Do I wish Dani was older than fourteen? Yes, but for my own twisted purposes and not because of an inflated sense of morality. The plot in this one was much weaker than in previous books, often slow and meandering without much meat to it. It mainly consisted of Dani visiting an iced scene, getting bossed around by Ryodan, running around and eating candy bars, and repeat. And the whole concept behind a centuries old non-human recruiting a fourteen old girl to do detective work was a little ludicrous to be honest. Despite all it's faults, I don't care. I was absolutely glued to the pages and I enjoyed every minute of it. There is something so magical about this world. Even though nothing can compare to the first five books for me, I'll happily devour the rest of the series because I'm addicted. But more Mac and Barrons in the next one, please?

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (5/5)

This one was SO GREAT. It did funny things to my heart. My favourite things: - Time travel. So cool! And the logic of time travel is so seamless in this book, it makes sense. I can't resist a good time travel storyline. - Hermione's struggle with school reminded me of university. The student experience was portrayed so well, and it was really interesting to see similar problems reflected in a fantasy world. - When Hermione bitch-slapped Draco - Harry's clapback to Draco about needing his broom to have a hand on it so he could actually catch the snitch. Such sass - The Marauder's map when it makes fun of Snape and calls him ugly - The Boggart - specifically the image of Snape wearing Neville grandmother's clothes - Lupin, the best DADA teacher ever. Also, poor Sirius. I love these guys and their affection for Harry - Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. The storyline behind these friendships is so fascinating. I want more backstory because this friendship is everything. I want a prequel desperately - Harry's patronus being a stag. His father is always inside him, and this makes me tear up. I tear up basically whenever James and Lily are brought up to be honest. - Plot twist! Loved the whole scene in the shrieking shack where everything is revealed. Even though I already knew what would happen, I could still appreciate how shocking and well crafted the twist was. This is definitely my favourite so far in my reread of the series!

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Ready Player One (3.5/5)

This was a really enjoyable, fast-paced read. If I had understood more of the 80's references and/or felt more connected to the characters, I might have given this a higher rating, but there was something holding me back from loving this more. Wade Watts escapes the dystopic world of 2044, along with the rest of the population, by logging into the virtual reality of OASIS, and when he finds the first clue to the location of a grand prize left behind by the deceased creator, outplaying his competition becomes the only way to survive in both the digital and the real world. Two worlds are constructed in this novel: a broken down, dystopia Earth where jobs, food, and shelter are scarce, and the OASIS, a virtual reality brimming with 80's references, video games, and magic. Both were well imagined, with the OASIS in particular being extremely vivid and interesting. It felt like actually being in a video game much of the time, and it was really cool seeing the magical and technological features from a first person perspective. One of the largest problems I had with this book though was the focus on the 1980's. If i was more familiar with this decade, I probably would have enjoyed the book a lot more, but as it was, the name dropping and insertion of a million different video game and movie references I didn't understand became a bit chafing. They were still cool and helped create the rich fabric of this world, but it went over my head a lot and I couldn't connect as much as I wanted to. I'm not a big video game player either, so I'm sure gamer geeks would enjoy this a lot more too. In terms of writing, there was a lot of info dumping, often placed between heavy action scenes, which really threw the pace off for me. Aside from the many references I didn't get, I also noticed a tendency to dive into technological details that also went over my head and took me out of the action. The action scenes had high stakes and were fun to read, but there were many complex details (like about the features of his ship) I feel could have been omitted. The characters weren't bad, but I didn't absolutely love them either. Wade was just a meh character for me, though I did really like his friendship with Aech and the geeky relationship he has with Artemis. But Wade was a little pompous at times, and sometimes rash and juvenile. He made some dumb decisions at times and I found it hard to sympathize with him. On the other hand, sometimes he made some really good quips, showed amazing ingenuity, and was a really good friend. Overall, I liked him. But these characters didn't do much to draw emotion out of me or make me care, and they barely got deeper than surface level. This was a really fun book with hardly a dull moment. It didn't blow my mind but it was still a fascinating world to explore and play in. I just wish I could have connected to it more on a deeper level, intellectually and emotionally. P.S. This is a world designed for a film, so I'm excited to check out the movie when it comes out. However, I just watched the trailer and have my doubts about how faithful of an adaptation it will be. It also felt very modern, which is not the feel I would have used to describe this book.

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Zen in the Art of Writing (4/5)

This was an interesting little essay collection about writing. Not quite as good as Stephen King's On Writing, but valuable in its own way. Bradbury's voice is infectiously enthusiastic, and his love for the craft is evident. In addition to the great energy, I really enjoyed Bradbury's writing. There is something so poetic and creative about his sentences and his metaphors, and now I'm really interested in reading some of his longer works. Some of the essays worked better than others, and I think I ended up enjoying the first few more than the rest. Because the essays were originally written for different publications across many years, much of the advice and anecdotes were repeated to varying effects. The first few essays were the punchiest, and I found myself grabbing a pencil to underline sentences that were particularly striking and insightful. I was less interested in the sections where he focused on events from his past and there weren't as many individual lines that stood out to me or impacted me in any way. The messages Bradbury imparted aren't necessarily groundbreaking, but they were interesting and could potentially help a lot of writers with their craft. Some of the advice he offered was to write with zest and gusto (basically, don't write for literary bragging rights or money-write things you want, with passion), make a list of nouns that jump into your head (your unconscious will bring up words from your past that are important to your character in some way, and will thus lead your writing), read poetry every day (and soak up as much of the world as you can), and write every day (and write fast!- he would write a draft of a short story every day and mailed it out to a publisher on the last). Not all of these techniques are applicable to every type of writer in my opinion, despite Bradbury's assurances, but I think that his energy and passion are enough to translate to any writer and make them want to pick up the pen and write more, too.

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Eragon (4/5)

I've read this book multiple times over the course of my life, but this is the first time I've read it with a critical eye. I bought this book at a Scholastic book fair in elementary school when I was about eleven or twelve years old, and since then it's been damaged beyond belief because I took it everywhere and was not a responsible book owner as a child. The cover and spine are currently held together by duct tape. I have such distinct memories from my childhood of reading and loving this book. I was hesitant to re-read it now, as an adult and as a book reviewer, because I've read such negative reviews since. Having just finished it, I can confidently say that I really love this book. When a young farm boy named Eragon discovers a blue egg in the forest near his home, he and the hatched dragon, Saphira, are taken on an adventure to fight the evil forces that plague the land. The first book in a series, this one does a lot of building and preparing for future novels, and so the pacing is slow at times. The whole book is basically one long journey across the land, but the long trip is punctuated with moments of action and intrigue. Though I found the introduction of the story a little slow as I was itching to get into the action, I wasn't bored at all by the slower pace of the book because there was so much to learn and discover. I enjoy Paolini's descriptive writing style and could perfectly envision each new city Eragon visited and each new piece of the shifting landscape. I also love the magic system, which is based on energy and the language required to summon that energy. Personally, I found the author's creation of new languages fascinating. Many of the characters follow typical fantasy archetypes, but they are archetypes that I adore. Eragon is the naive chosen one who goes on a journey of revenge and self-discovery. Brom is the grumpy old teacher with secrets and hidden talents. Galbatorix is the evil ruler. Murtagh is the mysterious figure with a dark past who saves the protagonists and joins them on their journey. Arya is the damsel in distress, an elf who enchants Eragon with her beauty and magical prowess. Saphira is a sharply intelligent companion who shares a powerful and intimate bond with Eragon. Despite the familiarity of such characters in fantasy literature, I didn't find these characters flat or any less compelling. The outlines of these characters may be unoriginal, but the relationships they have with each other feel genuine. I especially love the relationship between Saphira and Eragon-their love for each other is so strong and Saphira's mama-bear tendencies to protect and scold Eragon are so precious. Eragon is immature at times, but he's fifteen so it makes total sense to me that he is often impulsive and makes a lot of mistakes. There is a lot more to explore in this world and I am so excited to continue. Despite the slow pace and the archetypes, I love the writing, the characters, and the magic. Nostalgia aside, I really do believe this is a great start to a fantasy series.