This tag/meme is hosted on Taking on a World of Words. It’s a super simple meme, you just answered the three W questions.
The Three Ws are:
What have you recently finished?
What are you currently reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Recently Finished:
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
This was another book for uni, seems to be the only reading I do lately… It was a good read, very interesting and terrifying. Hits a little too close to home. Definitely worth reading if you’re into Dytopian.
Currently Reading:
Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer (audiobook)
I’m really enjoying this audiobook. I’ve seen mixed things about this, so I was hesitant to read. So far it’s cute and easy to listen to! It’s kinda enemies to lovers with a hint of magic. It’s pretty cool. I don’t have much left and will probably finish this today!
Reading Next:
*Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (ARC)
Next I’m reading this arc (gifted to me by the publisher). It comes out next month. I’d like to read and review it before release day. I’m excited to read this!
Hey Guys! I’m back with a book tag! Makes a nice change to be talking about books I don’t want to read/my endless tbr.
1.A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak I’m sorry but it sounds incredibly boring. I have no interest in WW2 fiction.
2. A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading?
SO MANY. *insert most white male classic authors*
3. An author whose books you have no interest in reading?
John Green
3.2 A problematic author whose books you have no interest in reading? Cassandra Clare & JK Rowling
4. An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you?
Leigh Bardugo (Unpopular opinion) She’s just mediocre, I’ve tried to like her stuff, but ultimately it just falls flat.
5. A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t?
Historical Fiction I really *want* to like historical fiction, but I have yet to find one that I’ve loved. The closest was probably Addie Larue, but even then I preferred the modern parts…
6. A book you have bought but will never read? (this can be a book you have unhauled/returned to the library unread)
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
7. A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started & have dnf’d?
I have no interesting in reading Harry Potter or Shadowhunters.
I DNF’d Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard after the third book.
8. A new release you have no interest in reading?
It was ACOSF by Sarah J. Maas. I am SO anti-Nessian and Anti-Nesta that I didn’t think I’d be able to handle the book without being ridiculously angry. I seen some reviews that make it sound interesting, I may read it in the future, but for now… Nope.
I tag anyone who wants to do this!
Let me know a book/genre/author you have no interest in reading!
Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?
In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.
My Thoughts:
I have really mixed feelings about this, I find myself pretty disappointed. The reviews I’ve seen have been absolutely amazing and the premise was so interesting and cool, I thought I’d really love it too. The more I think about it more I dislike it. It’s a real shame because it was one of my most anticipated books of 2020.
This is a super short book (less than 300 pages) I thought it would be a quick read. Although I finished it in one day, it wasn’t as binge-able as I hoped.
I’ve now read 5 Matt Haig books, 3 fiction, 2 non-fiction – there is a reoccurring theme. I really love his non-fiction, it resonates with me fully. His fiction on the other hand, always sounds amazing in theory to me, I really like his ideas and concepts, but the execution always lets me down. I was hoping The Midnight Library would break this cycle, unfortunately, it didn’t.
The Midnight Library has such an amazing premise and concept, which I really love and enjoyed that aspect of the novel. The writing was bland and boring – it wasn’t the easiest to read in terms of style or content.
Although I wasn’t super attached to Nora, as we didn’t really get to know her much, I could emphasise and relate to her mental state. I just wish there was a lot more insight to Nora. I feel like I barely know her even after finishing the novel.
The opportunity to see alternate lives in the library should’ve been more fun and interesting than it was. It found myself pretty bored at times. I kept hoping it would pick up and be amazing but it never did. I pushed myself through it, as it was short.
It deals with heavy topics, such as suicide and death, really good discussion points and the overall message is a hopeful and inspiring one. However, due to the lack of development of the protagonist, it really lacked depth for me. It was too brief and too impersonal for me to really feel connected.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Serious trigger warnings for this book. This book is one massive trigger for suicide and death. If you’re depressed and don’t want to be further depressed, please stay away from this novel.
In the spirit of valentines, despite being painfully single, here are my favourite romance books! I’m more of an SFF reader, but lately I’ve been loving romance too. *Click on the book titles for my reviews!
This tag/meme is hosted on Taking on a World of Words. It’s a super simple meme, you just answered the three W questions.
The Three Ws are:
What have you recently finished?
What are you currently reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Recently finished:
Ice by Anna Kavan
So I had to read this for uni, it’s not something I’d ever heard of before nor knew anything about. WOW this book was weird. Possibly the weirdest book I’ve ever read. I had no idea what the hell was happening 90% of the time. I’ll be interested in the thoughts of my classmates and discussing it! There’s definitely a lot to pick apart. It’s a dystopian novel, following a reallllly creepy dude, it’s just so odd.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (reread)
Another book for uni. I have previously read this, around 3 years ago. It’s one of my favourite classics, so rereading it was fun! I’m excited to study it in the context of postcolonial theory.
Currently Reading:
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Another uni book… All I do is read for uni lately… I’ve previously read Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments). I’m excited to study her and see how this book compares to those. It’s a bit odd so far… another odd dystopian novel!
Reading Next:
Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer (audiobook)
Finally, I am reading for fun! I have this audiobook on loan from my library. I don’t have much time left, so I need to hurry up with this one! I love Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles, I’m excited to read a contemporary romance by her! I heard mixed things about this, hopefully, I’ll enjoy it!
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
This has been on my tbr for four years. I finally bought the box set and I’m going to start this series!
I just wanted to highlight my review over on Instagram for a Bookstagram Book Tour! Would really appreciate it if you’d give it a like/comment 🙂
Review is from the caption of the photo, so it’s more of a mini review:
I’m not much of a thriller reader, but I’ve wanted to read it for some time. I thought a YA thriller would be a good place to start. It really was!
This book jumps right into the action, throws you right into the story and doesn’t slow down from there. I love the fastness of the plot, the short chapters intensified this further. It was a breeze to get through and I was thoroughly invested from the start.
This deals with some heavier topics, like trauma etc. The main character, Nora, has been through a lot of trauma, she’s a bit morally grey and broken but one hell of a fighter. Her character felt realistic and her growth was great to see.
Despite being a thriller, there is a romance. Which I really enjoyed, it lightened the tone of the novel, but didn’t slow the plot. Nora is bisexual, and the romance is f/f ❤️ Rating: 4 Stars
*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to PrideBookTours and TeamBKMRK for the ARC!
“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives–or to find strength in a very long one.”
Goodreads Synopsis:
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore, and he remembers her name.
My Thoughts:
TW/CW: Death, depression, grief, violence, attempted suicide, emotional manipulation, drug use, starvation, sexual acts for payment
When I first started this novel it was super slow and to be honest, I wasn’t really into it. I was really worried I wasn’t going to end up liking this book, the first 200 pages or so I thought this book was going to disappoint me. To my surprise, I ended up really enjoying this book, mostly the second half. Although Schwab’s writing style is undeniably gorgeous, I found myself a little bored. I didn’t really see where the story would go. Until Henry showed up, then my attention was captured. I needed to know everything!
This is a very character driven novel, if you don’t like Addie then this would be a struggle to get through. It took me a while, but I did find myself attached to Addie and later Henry. This is a very slow paced novel, which isn’t typically my favourite thing. I do, however, really like character driven stories, so long as I can attach myself to the characters. Addie felt real, so very real. Schwab crafted such an amazing character and story; it feels like it should be real. You can tell how much emotion went into writing this.
I’m not typically a historical fiction reader, although I like history and learning about it, I prefer it in visual format usually. This book didn’t really change my mind, I found myself preferring the modern parts more than the flashbacks. It was interesting to see Addie through the different times, but the story felt stronger in the present to me. There were huge time jumps and lots left out, I feel like there should’ve been more interesting things going on in the past. I wanted a bit more plot, yes it’s character based, but there was room for so much more action and intrigue.
It’s a very emotive book. I found myself tearing up at parts (I didn’t fully cry) – I’m pretty heartless and don’t cry easily at books/tv/film but this hit me right in the feels. I had so many emotions reading this, it really does make you feel.
One of my complaints, is the repetition. There’s just so much repetition, it really could’ve been edited down a bit more. Like if I have to hear Addie has seven freckles like stars again, I’m going to lose my mind. It was kind of annoying. Also what Addie did in the flashbacks was pretty repetitive, which mad the book kind of drag in the middle.
Another complaint is the character development we see for Addie. You’d think over 300 years, living through so much would change a person, right? Well not Addie. She pretty much stays the same, which I find a bit odd.
Finally, the whiteness. As a few other reviewers have noted this book is very white. In the novel, Addie spends all her time in Europe. There’s no POC mentioned or anything really. I knew this going in. It’s quite disappointing considering Addie lives through a lot of history, yet the history of POC is left out entirely. I was aware of this prior to reading, after seeing a lot of reviewers discuss this. So this didn’t disappoint me, as I already knew – but I’m still disappointed. If that makes any sense. ReadwithCindy makes some really good point in her discussion of the novel. It’s a tough call whether Schwab should have added POC. Like Cindy mentioned, she probably would’ve come under fire either way. At risk of writing POC poorly, Schwab didn’t write them at all.
Overall, it is a beautifully written novel. It has some really amazing aspects, but the pacing is a bit off. If you don’t mind a slower read, definitely pick this one up!
If the pacing hadn’t been an issue and it had a little more action in the flashbacks, this could’ve easily been a 5 star read for me. Alas, it wasn’t diverse enough and it was a little too slow going and took too long for me to be invested to gain a 5 star rating from me.
Rating 4 Stars
Disclaimer: I have previously worked with Titan Books. This was purchased by myself. All opinions are my own.
Happy February! I don’t know about anyone else, but I felt like January was the lost month ever. I didn’t read much in Jan, I had a lot going on, I didn’t expect to read much anyway. I’ve been dealing with personal issues on top on uni deadlines. It has been a chaotic month and I’m glad it’s over! I did manage to read 3 books, which I’m happy with:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (reread)
I kick started the year with a reread. I want to reread this series before diving into the new book, which was released in Jan. I was super worried I wouldn’t like this book upon rereading, it had been 4 years or so since I first read it. I ended up really loving it! Review here // Rating: 5 Stars
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab
Next, I finally read Addie Larue. Which I meant to read last year, but didn’t get around to it. Oh wow. I have so many thoughts on this. I have a full review coming soon (it’s quite a lengthy one). I have so many feelings on this book. I started off thinking I wouldn’t like it, by the end I loved it. Rating: 4 Stars
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Lastly, I read another book I didn’t get to last year. I really wanted to love this, but I just didn’t. I’ll discuss it more in my review. Rating: 3 Stars
How many books did you read in Jan? Any new favourites?
Literary Leisha 