Reading Update: March 15th to March 28th
Dear Readers,
I am the absolute worst. I have neglected you, and I have neglected my blog and I truly don’t even know what happened. It’s like my brain shut down and no words were stringing themselves together in my head. I think I am over this issue now, but I still think I need to extend my sincere apologies.
This is my (very late) reading update for the last two weeks of March. March was a strange little month and I honestly only remember about six days of it. The last few weeks were strange and I’m glad they are behind me.
Without further ado, here are the books I read over the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy this long overdue update.
Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas- Rating- 12/10 and they were all tears- My god was I a mess after reading this book. It was such an emotional rollercoaster. So much happens on these pages. I don’t just mean it feels like so much happens emotionally, I mean so much actually happens. Characters are slowly moving into their final positions and n many cases it is heartbreaking. At least for me. The comparison to where we ended the previous book and where we start this one is almost ridiculous. We ended the last book with hope, and that hope quickly gets dashed to pieces and then gets stomped on by the end of the book. Kudos to Sarah for getting me to feel things. We get new storylines for many of the characters and even get new characters. Old characters, not seen since the very early days of the series also come back in a big way, and it’s wonderful to see all the seeds the author had planted come into bloom. I did find many of the characters to annoy me, but I feel like it’s not really their fault theft has such enormous trust issues. They all need therapy even if they don’t think they need therapy.
Dune by Frank Herbert- Rating 5/10- I wanted to love this book. Sadly I did not love it. As many of you might have figured out I am all about the emotional connection with the characters. I did not have that. Not only did we know where a large chunk of the story was going, we never got to watch the characters struggle for anything. They were all Special from the beginning, and so because they were Special things came easily to them. I wanted to bond but I just couldn’t. This, in my opinion, is how not to the Chosen One storyline. I realize that it’s an old book, however that does not excuse the lack of character development. Everyone felt flat. I enjoyed the potential of the story, and the scope, however, the execution was lacking. I am still debating if I should keep reading the series.
Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan- Rating 10/10- I know I just read this. I know but I regret nothing. I loved this book. So I wanted to read it again just in case I missed something on the first read. I did of course. I always see more and more on each read-through of any book. I am now prepared to read the next book. And the final book in the trilogy comes out in a few weeks. I will be as prepared as I can possibly be. I caught new things this time around, but I fully expected that since I catch more on every go-around. Once the whole trilogy is out I can read the books with the full knowledge of how everything ends and concentrate on catching clues. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine.
Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L Armentrout- Rating 7/10- Holy love triangle batman. When I say I had to concentrate to get past the love triangle I am not exaggerating. I hated it. However, I liked the rest of the story. I did think our main character needed to be smacked. Hard. I think it would have helped her put some things into perspective, like how she is basically toying with the feelings of two people. The most annoying part of it is that she saw herself as the victim for the majority of the book. I am not here for this. I am here for sexy times and smut and complex world-building. Not the most frustrating and forced love triangle since Twilight. I sympathized with the main character in all other parts of the story. She has valid points there. I am with her when it comes to her frustration about the secrecy and distrust her so-called “family” is displaying. When we were dealing with these parts I was fully invested. As soon as we got the love triangle I wanted to burn the book. Also, it’s obvious how this will end so why are we pretending it’s not? Like… we all knew… right?
Borne to be Wilde by Eloisa James- Rating 9/10- This book was a joy. I loved every minute of this. Even the frustrating parts. I particularly enjoyed that the heroine didn’t just find love, she also found a passion in life and made it her work. I admire a girl who can make her passion get her money. Especially in a historical romance which makes this kind of plot much more difficult to do realistically. I believed this scenario. It made perfect sense. Eloisa James is a historian and it shows in her books. She does a lot of work to make sure that the things found in her books are feasible. I was also fascinated by the glimpse of the much more complicated relationship between India and England and how racial purity really was a victorian concept. I also enjoyed the love story. We had gotten crumbs that this was coming in the previous two books and so it paid off here. I do have a gripe with the nonappearance of the heroine’s best friend, or the hero’s adopted brother (who are married). They just disappeared from the story for no reason. Why could they not have come back for a wedding? Like… I’m sad. I still love the Wilde family with all my heart. I really hope we get books for every single character. Or is that too much to ask? Well I have hope
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern- Rating 10/10- I loved this book. I have been putting off reading it because my expectations were high. I was not disappointed. I do have a lot of questions left, but the answers to these questions were not the point of the story so I can forgive them. I truly enjoyed the characters, and I rooted for them. There is some irony in that considering the plot of the book. It was the writing style that pushed this book from good to great for me. The phrasing of everything made it so much more magical. I find myself thinking about certain passages still. I highly recommend everyone go read this book, and that you go in blind. The journey is the point here. The less you know the better the journey will be.
At Grave’s End by Jeanine Frost- Rating 9/10- These books are so fun. Granted this one got plenty dark (I mean seriously dark) but I enjoyed myself every second I was reading. Cat and Bones are both such strong characters individually, and together. This book also marked the introduction of some of my favorites (Cough Vlad cough) and the return of old players we got to see in a new light. I have already read this series previously so nothing was a surprise but I think I enjoyed the book even more for knowing what is to come for everyone. I feel like I have some kind of mad power. I don’t. I’m just here to enjoy the ride along with them. Okay sometimes enjoy. I really need some characters to get stories still. The problem here is that the author is too good at crafting compelling characters. I am not to blame for my greed for their stories, the author is.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery- Rating 10/10- It has been a while since I read this book. I still cried like a baby over the last few chapters. I mean I was a mess. My mom walked in on me as I was reading and laughed at me. She clearly does not understand. If you don’t know what this book is about I have questions for you. It’s only been published for over a hundred years. I don’t know what to tell you aside from proclaiming my love for this story. This was the book that sparked my love for reading and obviously to this day I find it compelling.
Alright, this is it. The books I have read over the last two full weeks of March. I am very behind on updating this blog so hopefully, I will catch up next week and get back into a reasonable routine of posting. I have a lot of ideas started and not finished that I hope to eventually post. Please bear with me.
Anna
