Started: 11/28/22
Gave up: 12/1/22
Gentlewomen pirates whose ships are flying houses. So, there’s magic, there’s snobbery, and there are pirates. I should love this, but it just isn’t grabbing me. Moving on!
Started: 11/25/22
Finished: 11/27/22
I don’t usually read holiday books, and I don’t read a lot of romance novels, and I certainly don’t read a lot of holiday romances, but I loved this book. The main character is pretty awful at the beginning, but the book takes a ludicrous turn FAST, and it’s funny, and I swear I cried TWICE before it was over. Super light read, super ridiculous plot, oversimplified resolution, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.
Started: 11/16/22
Finished: 11/25/22
Sequel to The Atlas Six, which I enjoyed so much I got on the waiting list for this one immediately. Turns out there will be at least one more (there’d better be), and this one suffers a little bit from 2nd volume syndrome. It has a thing to do, but it takes overlong to get there, and there are a lot of scenes of characters figuring something out without actually telling the reader what they’re figuring out. I can’t tell if whatever the thing is (or things are – this happens more than once) is supposed to be obscure and I’ll find out later, or if I’m just being dense and I should have understood what the character was saying.
But I enjoyed it! And I’m looking forward to the next book.
Started: 11/25/22
Finished: 11/25/22
Sequel to Garlic and the Vampire, which was super cute. This one was also super cute, and I read it in about 20 minutes. Nice story, with nice characters.
Started: 10/24/22
Finished: 11/2/22
I have a read a couple of Zen Cho’s short stories and loved them. Happily, I also really enjoyed this first book in a series about Regency magicians. Yay magic, yay alternate Regency England! Yay small-minded bigots get their comeuppance!
Started: 10/1/22
Finished: 10/31/22
I read this for the first time last year, and I’m thinking about making it an October tradition. Here goes year 2. The book has one chapter per day, so that’s how I’m reading it. It’s delightful. I think my favorite chapter is October 17.
Definitely doing this again next year.
Started: 10/16/22
Finished: 10/20/22
So good. It’s basically The Little Mermaid, in a forest.
Started: 10/9/22
Finished: 10/16/22
Finally, a regular book that I really enjoyed. Secret libraries, magic, intrigue. Reminded me of Rachel Caine’s Great Library series, but more adult. The sequel will be published this week, and I am #10 on the waiting list at the library. Can’t wait!
Started: 10/8/22
Finished: 10/9/22
I gave up on SEVEN BOOKS IN A ROW. This is the first book I finished in three whole weeks, and it was a super nice and cute little graphic novel. Adorable. There’s a sequel. I will read it.
Started: 10/5/22
Gave up: 10/8/22
I read a Buzzfeed article about cozy fantasy books for the fall, and this sounded promising. Magic hidden in plain sight in Palo Alto, cute little romance. And sure, those things happen. But the characters are in high school, and I just cannot. I literally said, “Ugh, teenagers,” when I put this one down for good.
Started: 9/27/22
Gave up: 10/1/22
I have no idea how this book crossed my radar. I usually take better notes about that, and I’m annoyed that I messed up this time. Captain Bluebear falls into adventures, and I suppose each one is a life. Nothing much happens (adventures might not be the right word). It’s a series of vignettes, all fanciful, mildly amusing. Maybe good for bedtime reading. They remind me of The Phantom Tollbooth and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but without the morals, the lessons.
I got bored, lost interest. Might be nice to come back to if I’m looking for something without any suspense.
Started: 8/28/22
Finished: 9/5/22
Sequel to The Unspoken Name, which I really enjoyed. I liked this second book so much I emailed the author to thank her. And I learned there will be a third! (That wasn’t guaranteed, or even necessary, based on how it ended, but I’m happy to hear it.) There’s a time jump I found jarring at first, but pretty quickly I loved that the characters got to grow up. I think that just means I’m old, but still!
Started: 8/17/22
Finished: 8/25/22
Sequel to Unnatural Magic, but nearly unconnected except it exists in the same world, and it was great. Made me laugh unexpectedly, and the romance was fun.
Started: 8/12/22
Finished: 8/17/22
I really enjoyed a trilogy by Holly Black (about fairies, the not friendly kind) and just could not finish a book of hers about vampires, so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this one. I think she enjoys writing main characters that are hard to like, which is fine, but also the magic in this was weird. It’s to do with shadows, but how and what exactly is mostly unclear (on purpose), and I just can’t tell you if I liked it. I had no trouble finishing it, though, so that may be a clue.
Started: 8/12/22
Finished: 8/12/22
Short story by an author who never misses. I want more (which is the best and worst feeling I can have about a short story). Dryads (kind of?) and magic and getting lost in a forest.
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Short story by an author I LOVE, and I LOVED this story. The premise is that the lyrics to a traditional ballad are posted online, and the action happens in the comments. It’s great, and everyone should read it. (Also, it won the Hugo Award for short stories this year.)
Started: 8/11/22
Finished: 8/11/22
Creepy, sad, uplifting sometimes, but also not the story you think it’s going to be (see title).
Started: 8/10/22
Finished: 8/10/22
I think I just don’t like Cat Valente, which is a shame. I feel like I should, but I keep striking out. Hello, another depressing story.
Started: 8/6/22
Finished: 8/7/22
A sad one – this poor character just wants to be loved and is only being used by everyone around her.
Started: 8/6/22
Finished: 8/6/22
A novelette about art and immortality and it didn’t really speak to me.