Mini Book Reviews to the Fifth Power
Hello everyone!
We are getting there! Today I’m covering the remainder of April and most of May. IT feels like it took ages. Well, maybe not to you because I posted these relatively quickly but it feels like it took ages for me to write. Without further ado, here is the last set of Mini Book Reviews for now! Are you excited? I’m excited.
Hard Play Series by Nalini Singh- Rating- 12/10- I love this series so much. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is going to be my go-to comfort series for years to come. Everyone is fabulous, the family and friendship are strong, and the levels of adorableness are off the charts. I’m going to cover every book out in the series so far separately but just know I ask everyone to read these because they are the best thing.
Cherish Hard- Sadly my least favorite in the series. Issa and Sailor were very cute, and the chapter headings were pretty much the best thing ever too. This book is a story of one of the brothers of Gabriel Bishop from Rock Hard, so we went back in time. I’m not going to lie, it felt a little weird. I still loved knowing their story and getting a chance to see just how much growth took place between the two books. I loved meeting Issa’s complicated and messy family. She was very obviously the glue holding them all together and I truly admired her for her inner strength. Sailor and his drive at such a young age intimidated me to no end. That man made me feel like a complete slacker, even though he’s fictional. They complemented each other so well, even if at times Issa couldn’t see it. They were each other’s support and through it they grew stronger as individuals and as a couple.
Rebel Hard- this one is my favorite so far. I fell in love with the concept from the beginning. Who doesn’t love an unwanted arranged marriage, that is true love storyline? If you tell me you don’t I will throw books at you. Nayna was so relatable. She wanted to please her family so badly all her life that she let her dreams and desires slide. And then the poor girl met a guy, insulted him, only to find out he was her next arranged marriage candidate. Observing Nayna and Raj gave me so much joy. They just became more and more amazing the further into the book we got. He read Pride and Prejudice for her! How perfect is that? Where is a man who will read my favorite books for me? Nayna’s grandmother was pure joy. Raj and his interactions with his family were so sweet. I did not like Nayna’s sister for the longest time but by the end, she won me over. I still don’t like Raj’s brother and sister in law, but I’m hoping we revisit the family at some point. This book also made me hungry and made me consider watching Bollywood movies. I have a hard time with subtitles so I never really gave them a serious chance but I’m tempted now.
Love Hard- This was adorable. I tried to think of a different world but adorable just fits so well. Jake and Juliet are another intimidating perfect couple. They work so hard that I truly felt that they deserved happiness. Both of them are such badasses in such different ways that it’s fascinating to watch them meet in the middle. This book opens with a wedding and when I was reading all about it I made a lot of happy squealing noises. I’m so happy we finally got to see Gabriel and Charlotte get married after all these books. The happiness of everyone was just bouncing off the page. I also really wanted that wedding cake. I love the opposites attract idea and it was executed here very well. It worked for me because while Jake and Juliet were opposites in temperament they had the same values and standards. Their opposite natures complemented and smoothed each others’. Now I just have to wait for the next book in the series. I hate waiting. But hey, by the time the next book comes out I’ll get to reread the series from the top!
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan- Rating- 8/10- I’m not going to lie, this is my least favorite in the series. But considering how much I love these books that doesn’t mean much. This was a reread, of course, and yet I still get this happy feeling when I read a Percy Jackson book. I was in the seventh grade when I read them first, so I feel like I grew up with Percy in many ways. Granted I never had the experience of being turned into a guinea pig. In this book, we go on a quest to get the Golden Fleece and save Camp Half-Blood. There are some dark moments in this book, that I missed on my first read. Of course, there are the obvious dark themes, but there are also more subtle moments it took me a while to notice and appreciate. Annabeth’s character is explored more, and Grover is off being held captive somewhere. This is just how things ought to be in the world.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and, Jodi Meadows- rating- 9/10- If you need to laugh read this book. This book (and this series) is one of the few that made me laugh out loud. Even during my second read I was sitting there and cackling to the point where my dog got worried about me. Here we have an alternate history retelling of the Jane Gray story. If you don’t know Jane Gray was crowned queen of England and executed nine days later at the age of sixteen. It’s a tragic story in real life, and the authors were completely right when they decided to give her a happy ending. She deserved one. I loved the alternative points of view, they added layers to the story. The different animal shapes people took were so fun. I loved that Elizabeth (that would be Queen Elizabeth I) was a cat and Mary Queen of Scots was a mouse. We have a confirmed novel for Mary so I’m looking forward to that. It was interesting to see how Edward changed. He was probably the character with the biggest growth. Watching his changing attitude towards women was the greatest thing. Jane was such a great heroine too. Her love for books spoke to my soul. The fact that she would read anything as long as it was written down was very relatable to me. This book was great and brought me so much joy. I highly recommend it.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng- rating- 6/10- Here’s the thing, I wanted to love it. I went in fully prepared to give it my all. Often I start books with no expectations, I just hope that I’ll get something out of the reading. I got my hopes and expectations up for this book And I did love many things about this book There were so many elements present that could have made a great book. But when put together something was just missing. I loved the writing style. It was beautiful. There is no question that Celeste Ng is a talented writer. I just…. I don’t know. I know I’m not alone because I buddy read this and my buddy was in complete agreement with me. Certain characters I didn’t like at all, in that deep way you can’t explain. They were not evil people, they were just… not my kind of people. I also didn’t like the character we were supposed to be rooting for. This will have spoilers so stop reading the review if you plan on reading the book. Mia was supposed to be the one we sided with, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t. She came across as selfish and prideful to me, and not loving and good. The teenager were teenagers so I didn’t have any issues with how they were portrayed. I didn’t appreciate the fact that we were supposed to be happy that Izzy ran away after setting her house on fire. I got why she made the choices she did but I did not appreciate that I was expected to have positive feelings about it. I’d rather just read about the actions of the characters. The ending was not satisfying to me.
The Beholder by Anna Bright- Rating- 4/10- In all honesty, I gave it this high a rating for potential. The writing style was good, but this whole book was setup. There is a promising story there but it was not at all present in this book. I did not like the narrator that much, or at all. Her behavior proved to be the complete opposite of her opinion of herself. She showed no interest in what was going on around her, yet got angry when something happened and she didn’t know about it. She fell or was in love three times during this book. She couldn’t see other people’s point of view. She lacked empathy, despite what she thought of herself. The most interesting pieces of the story were the suitors (though they had the bad taste to “fall in love” with her), and the interviewing of stories and fairy tales. The world-building was a little confusing but not enough to throw me out of the story. Frankly, Celah (the heroine) was what really brought the book down and held the plotline back. I’m okay with unlikable characters who grow, but she didn’t grow. I’m going to read the second book purely because I’m interested in the secondary characters. Celah should sacrifice herself and spare us all. Sorry if I’m coming across too strongly, except not really because I needed to rant about this. The more I thought about it the angrier I got.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson- Rating- 10/10- This is a bit of a change of pace. This is a nonfiction book, and if you ever wondered about things like why we have salt and pepper on all tables, or how lawns came about this is a book for you. Bill Bryson investigates the history of all things domestic and he does it with his usual humor and style. I loved learning about all the things I am surrounded by, yet seldom think about. Did you know that before lawn movers were invented central part invested in a flock of sheep? Well read this book and find out more about it.
The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson- Rating- 10/10- Bill Bryson’s newest book is all about the body. BTW. both this and the previous book on the list were second-time reads for me. I learned so much from reading this book. Some of it I didn’t strictly need to know but appreciated learning. I didn’t know tuberculosis still killed people for example. It does, who knew. If you are interested in learning just how amazing the human body is and everything it does for you read this book. You will gain a new appreciation for your wrists and red blood cells.
Okay, this is it. I am all caught up. I have one more book I have read in May, but I read it three times already so it is getting a separate full-length review. Looking back over the last couple of posts I’m not sure if I feel like I read a lot, or not enough. I sometimes wish Podcasts didn’t exist so I wouldn’t get so distracted. My TBR hates me. My books are plotting to secede from the union and I’m scared of them. I hope you enjoyed this post and my rambling. I’ll be back soon.
Love you all, and thanks for joining.
Anna
