Carmilla by
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
How much do I love that an erotic, gothic, Victorian horror novel about vampires existed even almost 150 years ago? So much. So very much.
The Audible production (narrated by Phoebe Fox, Rose Leslie, David Tennant, David Horovitch, James Wilby, Susan Wooldridge, Hannah Genesius) of this almost 150 year old masterpiece is absolutely incredible! It’s so atmospheric and engaging that it just drew me right in. I have to confess, I expected that I wasn’t going to enjoy this classic story, which is known for having influenced Stoker’s Dracula, but I was totally captivated by both the story and this special Audible original production.
This story definitely withstands the tests of time, so it’s totally fair to call it a classic. It is short, but don’t just read it in print. If you have the opportunity to experience this production, it is absolutely worth it. As a bonus, it is one of the free original picks for Audible members for October 2019, so if you are a member, make this one of your picks this month. If you aren’t a member, then what are you waiting for? Go forth and get an Audible membership, and this audiobook, so that you can begin to understand how addictive and life-enriching audiobooks really are.
I’m giving 4 stars for the story on its own, but the Audible original production deserves 5 stars. Honestly, it probably deserves 7 stars, but that isn't allowed.
Accidental Tryst by
Natasha Boyd
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
This was an adorable and funny story, in which the two main characters accidentally swap phones and end up building an unexpected long distance relationship by text, email, and phone calls. There's a lot of humor, in addition to some heavy topics being covered. Each MC has an appropriately tragic backstory, that helps bring them together.
The only thing that was dissatisfying is that there were a lot of plot threads that were set up and then dropped. I kept expecting those things to be addressed or resolved, and it was disappointing when they weren't. Anticipation can be great, except when a story sets you up to anticipate things that never come to fruition.
The story ended up being a giant, hand-knitted scarf with some jagged holes, uneven edges, and random loose threads, but despite that it's still a ridiculously adorable scarf that looks like it was created with love, which is why I rounded up to 4 stars, when probably it's more of a 3.5 star read for me.
Now I Rise by
Kiersten White
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
This is a solid follow-up to book one, though it’s a hefty read that is on the slow side, especially in the first half. That’s probably my main complaint, as sometimes I felt like I was making myself pick it up and power through it, rather than just obsessively reading it, which is what I wanted.
I still adore the world and characters, especially the brutality and the way people’s emotions are at odds with their needs and desires. It forces you to walk the fine lines between polarizing opposites, such as good and evil, right and wrong, which keeps things interesting.
I’m definitely moving on to book 3, but I felt more distracted and found myself rewinding more with this one. That could have partly been me, but I also don’t think this one drew me in and held my attention as well as book one.
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by
Nancy Isenberg
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
This is an extremely dense, textbook-like read. If you want something that has a bit more pop culture flair, this is definitely not that. It's a sociological study of American class through time. It starts back at the beginning of the country and creeps slowly forward.
On the positive side, it is well-researched and informative. However, I did find it to be a very tedious read, which is better suited to scholars than your average reader. Not much seems to have been done to make the content more approachable, though I suspect it's my expectations that were the problem, not the actual book.
Since it's so dense, I'm not sure how much of this I really absorbed. While the history is important and somewhat interesting, I think I wanted more time spent on the now and where we are now, or maybe if we had started with that and then worked back and then forward again, it would have been a better read for me. I understand the logic of chronological order. It just made it hard to power through the first half to get closer to the stuff that I really wanted to read about.
Basically, I wanted the book to deliver on the White Trash title, which it doesn't for quite some time.
The narrator, Kirsten Potter, is straight forward but adds some texture and variety to a somewhat dry read, which I appreciated.
All the Little Lights
by
Jamie McGuire
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Creepy **. More later.
**This review censored by myself for this blog. ;)
Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating
by
Christina Lauren
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
This was adorable.
The Scribe by
Elizabeth Hunter
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
This was an addictive story, set in fascinating world. The premise is A+. I like everything about the paranormal mystery of this read. Overall, it's a bit light on the romance side (no big deal), with often a fade to black before anything too sexy occurs, but the true buy in on this story is the deep world building and the character development.
The audiobook is narrated by Zachary Webber, who is welcome to read to me any day. He has a very low tone, so it did take me just a bit to adjust. However, once I got use to his reading, I really started to enjoy it, as it seems to match the mood of the story so well.
The Singer
by
Elizabeth Hunter
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
I both enjoyed this one and found it frustrating to read, as what I wanted the most from this story was something I didn't get until almost the end of the book. It was interesting seeing the world grow in new directions, but the storyline and plot didn't feel quite as solid as the previous book. It does a bit more meandering, when you just sort of want everything to come together and move forward.
The Secret by
Elizabeth Hunter
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
I liked the overall value of where the two main characters started and ended, but I was occasionally confused. It just felt like this storyline was the roughest so far, even though a lot seems to have occurred. Something about it didn't always feel as cohesive and easy to follow as I wanted, though I still love the world and characters. It just somehow gave me a bit less than I wanted in most instances, which wasn't as satisfactory this time around.
Overall, it's still a good series and book, but since I can't get my hands on book 4 right now, I've decided this is a reasonable stopping point.
Ninth House by
Leigh Bardugo
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
I am wallowing in despair, because if you asked me who should be the Queen of my world, Leigh Bardugo would be on the short list, no doubt. But this has been the most frustrating Saturday ever, trying to force myself through this book. If it had been written by anyone else, I would have chosen to DNF early on, but I kept hanging on to try to find more redeeming qualities. I thought maybe it would reach a point where it all came together and became awesome.
Unfortunately, this was a really difficult story for me to get engaged and stay engaged with. The characters are many and all underdeveloped, in my opinion. The storyline is tedious and convoluted, made worse by the length of the book. I spent several hours trying to convince myself that I’m the problem, but I really don’t think it was just me. All I wanted was to spend the whole day relaxing and reading an awesome book, so I brought the right attitude to the moment just didn’t somehow, in a surprise twist, manage to pick the right book.
So long story short, even though this had some moments that were really interesting, and I could see glimpses of talent and world building and complex and interesting characters, overall, it was not a win for me. Had this not been written by Bardugo, I probably would have DNFed in the first ¼ of the story, saved myself most of a Saturday, and awarded this only 1 star. The 2nd star here is for the moments of amazing writing and storytelling that do exist, even though they tend to be too few and far between for me.
I do strongly recommend Bardugo’s other books, to anyone who is new to this author. Definitely don’t start with this one, since it seems to be pretty polarizing, and it’s hard saying which side you will fall towards. I came in with some pretty high expectations, but I am truly shocked that this didn't meet hardly any of them.
The Girl the Sea Gave Back by
Adrienne Young
My rating:
2 of 5 stars
I’m sad. I wanted so much more than this, as I loved SKY IN THE DEEP, but I could never really connect to the characters. Everything felt choppy, and the world building that existed tended to be confusing. It has a gorgeous ending, but most of the rest of the story I was bored or confused and couldn’t emotionally connect to anything. The prose is also beautiful, but unfortunately that just doesn’t result in a well told story.
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