fantasy

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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Started: 1/26/23
Finished: 2/10/23

And THEN I started her third series. The writing was IMMEDIATELY so much better, even though the mix of tech and magic was a little hard to get into in the beginning. But someone dies 50 pages in and I CRIED because I was already that invested, so I declare this series good.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

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Started: 1/21/23
Finished: 1/25/23

And then I started this series, too. This one was the author’s very first book, and it shows. I enjoyed the premise enough to keep going (and then to keep going and going and going), but her writing had LOTS of room for improvement, and I was SO irritated by the ages of the characters. Our main character is a world-famous assassin who was caught and sent away at the ripe-old age of SEVENTEEN. She’s 18-19 in this book, and her love interests are 21 and 23, and I just can’t. Can’t they be at least 25?

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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Started: 1/16/23
Finished: 1/18/23

Yes, I started this series. The writing was okay, but this was clearly a Beauty and the Beast retelling, and I like fairy tale retellings. The hero seemed pretty great, except when he didn’t, and the answer to the “riddle” was so obvious I thought I couldn’t possibly have it right. But also I didn’t care that much. I finished it to see what the hype was about. It was okay.

Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle

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.

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

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.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

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.

The Charmed List by Julie Abe

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.

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

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.

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

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!

Book of Night by Holly Black

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.