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Random Book Post is Random
May. 22nd, 2024 12:31 pmI DNF'd
0 books for this batch! I came v., v. close (see below), but somehow i powered thru.
Finished but didn't have THAT GREAT of a time
* In the Hall with the Knife by Diane Peterfreund - Book one in a trilogy where the Clue (yes, as in the boardgame) characters are reinterpreted as teenagers in a US Northeast school. The cast seeks refuge from a storm in one of the large dormitories. Someone is killed and everyone has to figure who's the culprit.
I was ready to enjoy a YA mystery that had had good word of mouth when it was first published. it was even better to see several characters be POCs and, in a few instances, queer as well. HOWEVAH, there was also a new character (named Orchid) who has a ~mysterious background. But I never warmed up to her. And the plot was kinda meh. In truth, I should've DNF'd it, but IDK, I guess I was in a mood so I made it to the end. FWIW, I decided to not continue the series. Based on what I read in spoiler-heavy reviews for books 2 and 3, my gut instinct was on point. So I'm giving this one a 1.5 and (sadly) cannot recommend it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
* Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty - Mallory is some kind of a death magnet since childhood. Basically, whenever she's around groups of ppl (be it family, friends or coworkers), someone inevitably ends up getting murdered. By the time she's in her mid-30s, she's a social pariah. After aliens make First Contact with Earth, she obtains sanctuary aboard a space station that's full of aliens and only 2 other human beings she barely interacts with.
Mallory's adapting to her new life in space when she gets news that the first of many convoys full of ppl will be docking on the station v., v. soon. Then a murder occurs and things go sideways fast...
This book had been on my TBR for a while, but I picked it up cuz of a book club. In a way, it was the latter what pushed me to finish this novel. Like, yeah, I read all of it in abt 3 days (!!!) yet, at the same time, I wasn't enjoying it either.
The thing is that the book is marketed as MURDER MYSTERY IN SPACE. Which is hella enticing. Unfortch, the book takes a weird detour at around the 40% mark from the mystery aspect and into VIBESSSSSSSSSSS. In addition, there were multiple (I think 12?) POVs + details of the characters' backstories made for a frustrating read. 😒😒😒
Then, just as it looked like the story was course-correcting back to the mystery, a tertiary plot was shoved to the front of the line and pretty much took over the remaining 20% of the book. 😕 What made it worse is that it had to do with the three characters I didn't care abt AT ALL.
OH, and there's an odd moment in which Cal, a female character who is set up to be chaotic and badass, is having a conversation with Xan abt something that they were both involved in and resulted in some folks' deaths. She tells him that she wrote an RPF abt one of the dead ppl (who had been a bully) AND that it was her most popular fic "on Archive of Our Own because it got the most karma".
I...DON'T EVEN KNOW, Y'ALL. For starters, the set up of Cal writing fic abt the dead character made me go 😒. I'm guessing it's meant to show that she DGAF or whatever. Then there's the whole spelling out of AO3 followed by her mentioning "karma"--which is a stand-in for kudos. I just.. Like, author, you're already dropping "HOW YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS?" energy with the AO3 shoutout (by using its gov't name), why change kudos to karma? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE?
ANYWAYS, this book was a mess. I did considered (v., v. briefly) continuing reading the series. So I borrowed the second book, hated the first chapter, and ended up skipping to the final chapter in order to find out who was the murderer, LOL. It's not that Mur Lafferty is a bad writer; she does come up with some good premises after all. But she either needs a stricter editor or a better way to deliver on what the book is promising. Cannot reccommend. Gave it 2 stars.
Had an awesome time (but it all went downhill from there)
* Heaven's Official Blessing, Vol.4 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù - This one had me going thru a TON of feels: there was angst, humor, action, and a smidgen of romance here and there too. Won't go into the plot (etc) since, by this point, all of it would be spoiler-y as hell. It got 3.6 stars from me (out of 5).
* Heaven's Official Blessing, Vol. 5 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù - Unfortch, this book took all of the awesome/fun chaotic momentum from the previous book and replaced it with frustration at a plot that was moving 1/2 a centimeter every 100 pages, some moments between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, and WAY TOO MANY STORIES ABT CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS IDGAF ABT!!
Legit 70-80% of the book was someone telling someone else abt how XYZ character ended up ascending or how a weapon was forged or what was the reason a battle began, etc, etc. What annoyed me the most was that there was no way to skip those stories, so I ended up pretty much hate-reading from the 35% mark onward. 〒▽〒
I gave this 2 stars.
This was the last book available book at my library (though I requested the rest sometime last year). But, grooving to the happy feels of Vol.4, I went ahead and bought the last three volumes. SO, I'm going to finish the series for realsies. Here's hoping that all of the info dumping of the TERRIBS Vol.4 will amount to something (anything!) Vols 6-8.
PLEASE, DON'T SPOIL ME FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES. I'M V.,V. CLOSE TO FINISHING IT. THANKS!
Re-reads? HUH
* Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie - It was fine. Not my fave standalone?
* The Age of Innocence by Edith Warthon - This is my 4th re-read of this book (one of my faves). Like always, I finished it almost giving myself a headache from 🙄 at Newland Archer. One thing that really jumped at me this time around was how, the happiest endings were all for three female characters:
3. Fanny Ring - So many ppl shit-talked abt her throughout the novel. Like, yeah, she was Beaufort's mistress, so that's not really cool. HOWEVER, by the end of the book, she's not only married him, but also has gained a respectable enough position in society to the point that her daughter marries one of Newland and May's sons? Although it's true that she has zero on-page appearances, it's clear that she does hold some importance to the overall story. It's that shift from 'mistress ppl gossip abt" to "Beaufort's wife" that earned her the third spot.
2. May Welland - The secret mastermind or, at least, someone who had way more layers than Newland could've ever imagined. I respect her game.
1. Madame Ellen Olenska - She high-tailed it back to Europe with her bag secured AND leaving the bullshittery of USian high society behind. Bonus points for breaking things up with sad sack!Newland too. Granted, they were compatible, but he was whiny and flaky AF. Even better is that she never had to reconnect with the evil Count either. FINALLY, she had the gracefulness to invite Newland over years later. I have a feeling she knew he was going to cowardly back out of the invite cuz he's spineless and lorde, I really, really despite him, huh? XD
Anyway, hooray for all three women and anyone else who had endure misogyny and whatnot in the book.
I'm not a re-reader but I found solace in those two book after the so-so reading times I had.
I'm currently reading
* To Cage a God by Elizabeth May - First book in a historical fantasy set in Imperial Russia. I'm 20% in and digging it so far.
* Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara - I'd put it to the side way back in early March after I got the notification that the 2nd book in the duology was pushed back to 2025. It's a paranormal M/M mystery spin-off featuring a human dude and a werewolf one.
* Blood Mercy by Vela Roth - The first novel in an 8-book series abt a human lady and a vampire dude. I've heard a LOT of good buzz abt it, so why not?
0 books for this batch! I came v., v. close (see below), but somehow i powered thru.
Finished but didn't have THAT GREAT of a time
* In the Hall with the Knife by Diane Peterfreund - Book one in a trilogy where the Clue (yes, as in the boardgame) characters are reinterpreted as teenagers in a US Northeast school. The cast seeks refuge from a storm in one of the large dormitories. Someone is killed and everyone has to figure who's the culprit.
I was ready to enjoy a YA mystery that had had good word of mouth when it was first published. it was even better to see several characters be POCs and, in a few instances, queer as well. HOWEVAH, there was also a new character (named Orchid) who has a ~mysterious background. But I never warmed up to her. And the plot was kinda meh. In truth, I should've DNF'd it, but IDK, I guess I was in a mood so I made it to the end. FWIW, I decided to not continue the series. Based on what I read in spoiler-heavy reviews for books 2 and 3, my gut instinct was on point. So I'm giving this one a 1.5 and (sadly) cannot recommend it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
* Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty - Mallory is some kind of a death magnet since childhood. Basically, whenever she's around groups of ppl (be it family, friends or coworkers), someone inevitably ends up getting murdered. By the time she's in her mid-30s, she's a social pariah. After aliens make First Contact with Earth, she obtains sanctuary aboard a space station that's full of aliens and only 2 other human beings she barely interacts with.
Mallory's adapting to her new life in space when she gets news that the first of many convoys full of ppl will be docking on the station v., v. soon. Then a murder occurs and things go sideways fast...
This book had been on my TBR for a while, but I picked it up cuz of a book club. In a way, it was the latter what pushed me to finish this novel. Like, yeah, I read all of it in abt 3 days (!!!) yet, at the same time, I wasn't enjoying it either.
The thing is that the book is marketed as MURDER MYSTERY IN SPACE. Which is hella enticing. Unfortch, the book takes a weird detour at around the 40% mark from the mystery aspect and into VIBESSSSSSSSSSS. In addition, there were multiple (I think 12?) POVs + details of the characters' backstories made for a frustrating read. 😒😒😒
Then, just as it looked like the story was course-correcting back to the mystery, a tertiary plot was shoved to the front of the line and pretty much took over the remaining 20% of the book. 😕 What made it worse is that it had to do with the three characters I didn't care abt AT ALL.
OH, and there's an odd moment in which Cal, a female character who is set up to be chaotic and badass, is having a conversation with Xan abt something that they were both involved in and resulted in some folks' deaths. She tells him that she wrote an RPF abt one of the dead ppl (who had been a bully) AND that it was her most popular fic "on Archive of Our Own because it got the most karma".
I...DON'T EVEN KNOW, Y'ALL. For starters, the set up of Cal writing fic abt the dead character made me go 😒. I'm guessing it's meant to show that she DGAF or whatever. Then there's the whole spelling out of AO3 followed by her mentioning "karma"--which is a stand-in for kudos. I just.. Like, author, you're already dropping "HOW YOU DO, FELLOW KIDS?" energy with the AO3 shoutout (by using its gov't name), why change kudos to karma? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE?
ANYWAYS, this book was a mess. I did considered (v., v. briefly) continuing reading the series. So I borrowed the second book, hated the first chapter, and ended up skipping to the final chapter in order to find out who was the murderer, LOL. It's not that Mur Lafferty is a bad writer; she does come up with some good premises after all. But she either needs a stricter editor or a better way to deliver on what the book is promising. Cannot reccommend. Gave it 2 stars.
Had an awesome time (but it all went downhill from there)
* Heaven's Official Blessing, Vol.4 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù - This one had me going thru a TON of feels: there was angst, humor, action, and a smidgen of romance here and there too. Won't go into the plot (etc) since, by this point, all of it would be spoiler-y as hell. It got 3.6 stars from me (out of 5).
* Heaven's Official Blessing, Vol. 5 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù - Unfortch, this book took all of the awesome/fun chaotic momentum from the previous book and replaced it with frustration at a plot that was moving 1/2 a centimeter every 100 pages, some moments between Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, and WAY TOO MANY STORIES ABT CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS IDGAF ABT!!
Legit 70-80% of the book was someone telling someone else abt how XYZ character ended up ascending or how a weapon was forged or what was the reason a battle began, etc, etc. What annoyed me the most was that there was no way to skip those stories, so I ended up pretty much hate-reading from the 35% mark onward. 〒▽〒
I gave this 2 stars.
This was the last book available book at my library (though I requested the rest sometime last year). But, grooving to the happy feels of Vol.4, I went ahead and bought the last three volumes. SO, I'm going to finish the series for realsies. Here's hoping that all of the info dumping of the TERRIBS Vol.4 will amount to something (anything!) Vols 6-8.
PLEASE, DON'T SPOIL ME FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES. I'M V.,V. CLOSE TO FINISHING IT. THANKS!
Re-reads? HUH
* Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie - It was fine. Not my fave standalone?
* The Age of Innocence by Edith Warthon - This is my 4th re-read of this book (one of my faves). Like always, I finished it almost giving myself a headache from 🙄 at Newland Archer. One thing that really jumped at me this time around was how, the happiest endings were all for three female characters:
In ascending order
3. Fanny Ring - So many ppl shit-talked abt her throughout the novel. Like, yeah, she was Beaufort's mistress, so that's not really cool. HOWEVER, by the end of the book, she's not only married him, but also has gained a respectable enough position in society to the point that her daughter marries one of Newland and May's sons? Although it's true that she has zero on-page appearances, it's clear that she does hold some importance to the overall story. It's that shift from 'mistress ppl gossip abt" to "Beaufort's wife" that earned her the third spot.
2. May Welland - The secret mastermind or, at least, someone who had way more layers than Newland could've ever imagined. I respect her game.
1. Madame Ellen Olenska - She high-tailed it back to Europe with her bag secured AND leaving the bullshittery of USian high society behind. Bonus points for breaking things up with sad sack!Newland too. Granted, they were compatible, but he was whiny and flaky AF. Even better is that she never had to reconnect with the evil Count either. FINALLY, she had the gracefulness to invite Newland over years later. I have a feeling she knew he was going to cowardly back out of the invite cuz he's spineless and lorde, I really, really despite him, huh? XD
Anyway, hooray for all three women and anyone else who had endure misogyny and whatnot in the book.
I'm not a re-reader but I found solace in those two book after the so-so reading times I had.
I'm currently reading
* To Cage a God by Elizabeth May - First book in a historical fantasy set in Imperial Russia. I'm 20% in and digging it so far.
* Pack of Lies by Charlie Adhara - I'd put it to the side way back in early March after I got the notification that the 2nd book in the duology was pushed back to 2025. It's a paranormal M/M mystery spin-off featuring a human dude and a werewolf one.
* Blood Mercy by Vela Roth - The first novel in an 8-book series abt a human lady and a vampire dude. I've heard a LOT of good buzz abt it, so why not?
