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ANOTHER BOOK POST? O___O!
This time around, things have gone better.
Re-Reads? HUH
Zero!
I DNF'd
Again, ZERO books!
Had an awesome time at first (but it all went downhill from there)
* What Have You Done? by Shari LaPena (Mystery/Thriller)
A teenage girl's body is found in a field one morning. Now everyone in a small town in Vermont is trying to find out who would be capable of committing murder...
I've been a medium-level fan of this author ever since I read An Unwanted Guest some 3 yrs ago. She tends to write (and, imo, excel at) trashy domestic thrillers. This time, however, it's more of a regular suspense novel and I'm not sure it landed as well as it could've. Like in her other novels, there's a large cast (15 POVs per my final count) and the writing pulls you in.
OTOH, I was not convinced abt the Big Bad. The reveal was odd because of
Obviously, one of the 15 POVs happens to turn out to be the murderer's. Who had lied not only to the rest of the cast in the book but also the reader. The book tries to create plausibility by having the murderer explain their obfuscation via a long internal monologue. However, that was poorly done.
ON TOP OF THAT, one of this book's POV's was
FINALLY, two of the POVs were from two male pedophiles who go after teenagers. Their internal monologues were a mix of creepy and revolting. I had to switch from the audiobook to the ebook cuz I didn't want to hear their thoughts on teen girls, how awesome they (the pedophiles) were, etc.
In any case, the unevenness of the read led me to give this book a 2.5 out of 5..
Had mostly a good time
His Secret Illumations by Scarlett Gale (Historical fantasy romance)
Lucían is a 27-y.o. monk who has spent over a decade at his monastery working on transcribing books and working on his magic (in this world, monks have actual magical powers.) One day, he is tasked by the Abbott to team up with the She-Wolf (an imposing female warrior) to track down and retrieve some stolen (magical) books.
Despite the fact that there are some action scenes in the novel, the majority of the story is a combo of cozy Just Vibes + (eventual) gentle femdom. The main conflict is Lucían's internal struggle with his feelings (both romantic and sexual) toward the She-Wolf (we do learn her actual name, btw) given that he's been taught that celibacy is the primary reason why he has magical powers.
I liked everyone in this book (which is quite queer even if it might not seem so at first) and enjoyed the majority of the story. Also the femdom angle does get a starring role toward the end of the novel (prior to that, there are inklings here and there of the She-Wolf being v. dominant and Lucían enjoying being (gently) ordered around.) OTOH, however, the book WAS abt 100 pages too long (clocking at 541). One possible deterrent for some will be the fact that the writing style is v. contemporary. It didn't bother me, but I've heard some grumblings from others.
The book ends on a soft cliffhanger that will get resolve in the next book of this duology. I have the 2nd novel, but don't feel the need to go run and dive back in. Maybe in February, IDK. I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5
* They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent by Sarah Kenzior (Non-fiction)
Borrowed the audiobook (read by Kendzior herself) from my library on a sort of odd whim. Like the rest of her published works, this book is extremely well researched. Kendzior once again writes abt a huge concept (conspiracies and how it affects those living in the US) in a way that's candid and accessible.
That said, each chapter addresses one specific thing (voter suppression, climate change denial, Pandemic Year One, etc) but there's no connective thread between chapters. Adding to that is how HEAVY some of the topics are. The one abt Pizzagate vs. the real harm that jeffrey epstein (in the 2000s) and craig spence (in the 1980s) inflicted on who knows how many women and minors was brutal.
Even though the audiobook is less than 10 hrs, it took me over a week and a half to finish the book. Because I could only listen to max an hour and a half per day. Do I still recommend it? YES, I DO. But please keep in mind that Kendzior does not sugarcoat what has happened in the US. So, more often than not, it's a v. depressing read. IDK, I gave this book a 4 out of 5 all the same.
* Heaven's Official Blessing vols. 6, 7, and 8 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, 墨香铜臭 (Danmei)
For whatever reason, I was determined to finish the series. Which I did over the course of 4 days. That is, for those who might not know, a truly fast reading period for me. The ending was good. Also, I had a good time with Vols 6 and 8 w/r/t to the Xie Lian/Hua Cheng.
As for things I didn't like, Vol.7 spend something like 3 chapters in which one character told Xie Lian the life story of another character. I felt v. disconnected from all of the battles too because everyone fighting was immortal and/or a god. So my general reaction was akin to seeing IDK the Avengers duking it out with each other?
My other main annoyance with the last three volumes had to do with Mu Qing. Never warmed up to him. The fact that a large enough part of the story focused on him (and the Xianle trio) made me sigh at the tedium of it all, YMMV.
Really, really liked all of the extras in Vol. 8 cuz they gave me all of the yummy Xie Lian/Hua Cheng domestic (mis)adventures I wanted to see. Extra kudos to Hua Cheng for continuously failing the Don't Be A Horndog Abt Xie Lian Challenge, hahahah.
My overall rating for the series was 2.91. I gave Vol 6 3 out of 5, Vol. 7 got 2.8 out of 5, and Vol. 8 got 3 out of 5.
I'm currently reading
*To Cage a God by Elizabeth May (Historical Fantasy Romance in a Russia-inpired setting.) - NGL, I was gonna let the book return to the library without renewing it. Turns out May herself has stated that the book is now a standalone instead of Book 1 in a duology. I'm gonna see how I"m feeling by the 50% mark as to whether continue it or DNF it for good. Right now, there's a 50-50 chance, IDK.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Historical Fantasy set in China) - This one is a reread of my one 5-star read back in 2022. The second book in the duology (Heavenly Tyrant) is due to drop on the 24th of this month. I gotta refresh my mind as to what happened, etc.
No idea as to what else I want to read this month (or for the next 20 days, LOLsob), but I'm thinking of going thru some of the oldest stuff on my TBR (meaning books I bought back in 2017 more or less?! O___o!).
I'm also planning to, in addition to having a 2025 reading goal of 10 books (the number is low enough so as to not overwhelm me), do a bit of an alphabet challenge. I know the idea came from a Booktuber (but I legit don't remember who.ETA: it was from Bookslikewhoa.) ANYWAYS, the gist of it is to pick a title that starts with the letter A, then B, C, and so on. My one tweak is that I'm going to choose 2 books per letter in the hopes to make some kind of progress on my TBR (both the one of books I own and the library ones. yes, I have multiple library TBRs. 😅) It's an ambitious challenge that feels weirdly doable for me? IDK. Like always, I'll DNF stuff I'm not clicking with, so no stress there.
Re-Reads? HUH
Zero!
I DNF'd
Again, ZERO books!
Had an awesome time at first (but it all went downhill from there)
* What Have You Done? by Shari LaPena (Mystery/Thriller)
A teenage girl's body is found in a field one morning. Now everyone in a small town in Vermont is trying to find out who would be capable of committing murder...
I've been a medium-level fan of this author ever since I read An Unwanted Guest some 3 yrs ago. She tends to write (and, imo, excel at) trashy domestic thrillers. This time, however, it's more of a regular suspense novel and I'm not sure it landed as well as it could've. Like in her other novels, there's a large cast (15 POVs per my final count) and the writing pulls you in.
OTOH, I was not convinced abt the Big Bad. The reveal was odd because of
mild spoiler
Obviously, one of the 15 POVs happens to turn out to be the murderer's. Who had lied not only to the rest of the cast in the book but also the reader. The book tries to create plausibility by having the murderer explain their obfuscation via a long internal monologue.
ON TOP OF THAT, one of this book's POV's was
weird AF
cuz it had the ghost of the murdered teenager trying to solve her own murder too? And this supernatural addition was unnecessary, IMOFINALLY, two of the POVs were from two male pedophiles who go after teenagers. Their internal monologues were a mix of creepy and revolting. I had to switch from the audiobook to the ebook cuz I didn't want to hear their thoughts on teen girls, how awesome they (the pedophiles) were, etc.
In any case, the unevenness of the read led me to give this book a 2.5 out of 5..
Had mostly a good time
His Secret Illumations by Scarlett Gale (Historical fantasy romance)
Lucían is a 27-y.o. monk who has spent over a decade at his monastery working on transcribing books and working on his magic (in this world, monks have actual magical powers.) One day, he is tasked by the Abbott to team up with the She-Wolf (an imposing female warrior) to track down and retrieve some stolen (magical) books.
Despite the fact that there are some action scenes in the novel, the majority of the story is a combo of cozy Just Vibes + (eventual) gentle femdom. The main conflict is Lucían's internal struggle with his feelings (both romantic and sexual) toward the She-Wolf (we do learn her actual name, btw) given that he's been taught that celibacy is the primary reason why he has magical powers.
I liked everyone in this book (which is quite queer even if it might not seem so at first) and enjoyed the majority of the story. Also the femdom angle does get a starring role toward the end of the novel (prior to that, there are inklings here and there of the She-Wolf being v. dominant and Lucían enjoying being (gently) ordered around.) OTOH, however, the book WAS abt 100 pages too long (clocking at 541). One possible deterrent for some will be the fact that the writing style is v. contemporary. It didn't bother me, but I've heard some grumblings from others.
The book ends on a soft cliffhanger that will get resolve in the next book of this duology. I have the 2nd novel, but don't feel the need to go run and dive back in. Maybe in February, IDK. I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5
* They Knew: How a Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent by Sarah Kenzior (Non-fiction)
Borrowed the audiobook (read by Kendzior herself) from my library on a sort of odd whim. Like the rest of her published works, this book is extremely well researched. Kendzior once again writes abt a huge concept (conspiracies and how it affects those living in the US) in a way that's candid and accessible.
That said, each chapter addresses one specific thing (voter suppression, climate change denial, Pandemic Year One, etc) but there's no connective thread between chapters. Adding to that is how HEAVY some of the topics are. The one abt Pizzagate vs. the real harm that jeffrey epstein (in the 2000s) and craig spence (in the 1980s) inflicted on who knows how many women and minors was brutal.
Even though the audiobook is less than 10 hrs, it took me over a week and a half to finish the book. Because I could only listen to max an hour and a half per day. Do I still recommend it? YES, I DO. But please keep in mind that Kendzior does not sugarcoat what has happened in the US. So, more often than not, it's a v. depressing read. IDK, I gave this book a 4 out of 5 all the same.
* Heaven's Official Blessing vols. 6, 7, and 8 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù, 墨香铜臭 (Danmei)
For whatever reason, I was determined to finish the series. Which I did over the course of 4 days. That is, for those who might not know, a truly fast reading period for me. The ending was good. Also, I had a good time with Vols 6 and 8 w/r/t to the Xie Lian/Hua Cheng.
As for things I didn't like, Vol.7 spend something like 3 chapters in which one character told Xie Lian the life story of another character. I felt v. disconnected from all of the battles too because everyone fighting was immortal and/or a god. So my general reaction was akin to seeing IDK the Avengers duking it out with each other?
My other main annoyance with the last three volumes had to do with Mu Qing. Never warmed up to him. The fact that a large enough part of the story focused on him (and the Xianle trio) made me sigh at the tedium of it all, YMMV.
Really, really liked all of the extras in Vol. 8 cuz they gave me all of the yummy Xie Lian/Hua Cheng domestic (mis)adventures I wanted to see. Extra kudos to Hua Cheng for continuously failing the Don't Be A Horndog Abt Xie Lian Challenge, hahahah.
My overall rating for the series was 2.91. I gave Vol 6 3 out of 5, Vol. 7 got 2.8 out of 5, and Vol. 8 got 3 out of 5.
I'm currently reading
*To Cage a God by Elizabeth May (Historical Fantasy Romance in a Russia-inpired setting.) - NGL, I was gonna let the book return to the library without renewing it. Turns out May herself has stated that the book is now a standalone instead of Book 1 in a duology. I'm gonna see how I"m feeling by the 50% mark as to whether continue it or DNF it for good. Right now, there's a 50-50 chance, IDK.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Historical Fantasy set in China) - This one is a reread of my one 5-star read back in 2022. The second book in the duology (Heavenly Tyrant) is due to drop on the 24th of this month. I gotta refresh my mind as to what happened, etc.
No idea as to what else I want to read this month (or for the next 20 days, LOLsob), but I'm thinking of going thru some of the oldest stuff on my TBR (meaning books I bought back in 2017 more or less?! O___o!).
I'm also planning to, in addition to having a 2025 reading goal of 10 books (the number is low enough so as to not overwhelm me), do a bit of an alphabet challenge. I know the idea came from a Booktuber (but I legit don't remember who.ETA: it was from Bookslikewhoa.) ANYWAYS, the gist of it is to pick a title that starts with the letter A, then B, C, and so on. My one tweak is that I'm going to choose 2 books per letter in the hopes to make some kind of progress on my TBR (both the one of books I own and the library ones. yes, I have multiple library TBRs. 😅) It's an ambitious challenge that feels weirdly doable for me? IDK. Like always, I'll DNF stuff I'm not clicking with, so no stress there.
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Also, I aspire to your discipline. I was horrified to learn that my library doesn't keep track of books I've signed out. What! I have to *remember things in my own brain*?!
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Re my discipline: NGL, a good 70% of my brain is full of BTS-related info (IDEK what to say abt that, LOL.) Everything else has to fight for space in that remaining 30%. IDEK. /o\
My library app does have the option of tracking what I've read...and also how many times I've borrowed/let the lending period lapse/asked for renewals. Which, honestly, I don't like that aspect of my reading habits to be perceived. Let me be a woman of mystery, Library!
But I do keep a super plain spreadsheet with what I've read, the month I finished it, and what rating I gave it. :P
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There are some action scenes and some villains do die. However, the bulk of the novel is v. much low-angst adventures of a sheltered monk learning abt the world and the female warrior he's devoted to, LOL. FWIW, the bulk of the actual!angst does have some mild religious undertones combines with internal shame abt someone's sexual desires (because they've been taught that sex is bad.)
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