weekly Reading Wrap Up - Feb 1st to 7th
Hello Book Nerds,
It is time for another weekly wrap-up. February has been an interesting month so far. I feel like my reading is slowing down due to other commitments, and also my inability to pick my next read. I also picked a few very dense reads (one of which I have finished one of which I am about a third of the way through) so they are taking longer to read than I expected. I also went back to taking extensive notes while reading in case I want to write a review one of these days.
But for now here are the books I read the first week of February. Enjoy!
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness- Rating 7… 8….7/10- I went into this book fully prepared to fall in love with every single thing about it. I had started to read it for the first time years ago, but put it down because finals hit (I tend to start intense books at a bad time), so I remembered enjoying the book. I hoped I would enjoy it more having the dubious benefit of more life experience. I think in this book life experience was a detriment. My main issue with the book, and the reason why I did not rate it higher, was the relationship dynamic imbalance. I like my couples to be on an equal playing field in respect to the relationship. I don’t care if one has outwardly more power than the other if in the relationship they are equal. This was not the case here. Not at all. I kept hoping it would change because of the nature of the heroine’s powers and such but it never changed. I never felt like this was a partnership. I wanted it to develop so badly, but our hero was not interested, and apparently, neither was our heroine. I will still read the other books, the world is fascinating, the writing is good, and individually the characters are interesting. The problem arises when you put them together and try to make it appear as if they were partners when they were not. I will knot go into spoilers here because I am trying to be good but it is just so hard.
One Foot in the Grave by Jeanine Frost- rating 9/10-- Speaking of equal relationships… Do you want an example of a couple that is equal? Look no further. This is a second book in the series and even more than the first book it shows how this couple works together and loves each other. No one tries to overshadow the other. There is no needless secrecy. It was such marked contrast to the book above that it made me lower the rating of that book. I truly love this series. It has amazing mythology, interesting characters, twists and turns, action, and romance. Also for those interested, there is plenty of spice. I mean plenty. Oh and friendship is presented as just as important to a full life as love. Let’s all celebrate.
No Exit by Taylor Adams- Rating 10/10- oh boy are we about to take a turn in the subject. This book was a rollercoaster. I was not prepared. I read it in about five hours. Luckily I had a slow day at work so I could just read. Once I started I could not stop. As soon as the heroine sees a child kept in a cage in the back of someone’s van I knew I could not stop. The emotions o the story are magnified by so much. You don’t expect most of the plot twists ( I expected a few) and I did not expect the ending. I just sat there staring at my book going “what” over and over. If you are a fan of a thriller read this one. The secret is not who done it, but how we will get out of this hellish situation. It worked for me.
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan- Rating 10/10- This was a reread of pure indulgence. I cannot deny that the Rick Riordan books are my comfort reads. I reread them as often as I can justify to myself. The characters are so well portrayed in this book. I understood their motivations and how they thought about certain problems. I did not have the amnesia problem with Percy that I had with Jason. He was not defined by his lack of memory. It was something he had to overcome yet, but it did not define him. I loved how Hazel’s story unfolded. When I first read this book I did not expect that. I also enjoyed that we got a closer look at the personality differences between the Greek and Roman Gods. I think Mars was the best god for the job since his personality changes so much from incarnation to incarnation. It was fascinating to read about. It is still fascinating to think about. How much does our culture shape us? In the case of the Gods? It shapes us quite literary into a different person sometimes.
Too Wilde to Wed by Eloisa James- Rating 9/10- Ahhh my sweet escape. I am enjoying these books. I have some issues with the heroines and their unwillingness to think of a compromise or to let go of their perceived idea of happiness. It’s ironic however since that is usually the role of a man in this kind of story. So I guess in that aspect it is a refreshing change. I love the family. They are every one of them true to who they are, and not what they are. I enjoyed the part of the book that focused on developing a relationship[, as it did that very well, but the true shining moments in this book came when the family arrived to stir things up. It’s good to see the emotional support they give each other, and that they love each other. I demand a lot of my books. I want a great romance and great other relationships. I have been spoiled in that regard, and this book gave me everything I wanted. I can’t wait to read the next installment. The nice thing about these books, or the mean thing, is that they end on some kind of cliffhanger for some of the other characters. The main couple is given a happy ending that is satisfying. Though I hope they all come back in the books so I can observe how the family dynamic develops with each new family member added in through marriage or birth.
Here they are. The beautiful books that I have read in the first week of February. I have much feelings about them all. Much, much feelings. Some of the books were old favorites, and others were new reads with high expectations. I think overall it was still a good reading week, I am just disappointed with one in particular and so I am upset. But there is no point in being upset because I did not love something.
I look forward to next week’s wrap-up. Fingers crossed the weekend proves calm and productive.
Anna
