NJ
3.5 rounding up to 4
I liked it. For a while, I thought we were going to sink into the familiar trope of your love saved me from PTSD, anxiety etc... that often plagues romance books. I still felt like there were slight elements of that, but it provided a more believable portrayal of dealing with PTSD in that era than I usually see. The ending was all a bit haphazard in my opinion. I was left wondering as I often am, why historical romance authors insist on shoehorning a mystery/murder subplot into their novels. These subplots rarely often work, and usually detract from the romance while leading to a weaker plot overall.
I couldn't stop freaking out about what could possibly be happening to Marya: this inhibited my enjoyment of the book. I'll try rereading later
I should have loved this book. A diverse romance with a strong feminist message sounds like something right up my alley. But yet I found it lacking. To be fair, I was also tired, stressed and grumpy when I picked this book up. I might try another Katharine Ashe when I'm in a better mood
I know that this isn't objectively a great book but I was still thoroughly entertained.
I didn't enjoy any of the books in this anthology.
Seducing the Scoundrel by Maya Rodale- 2/5
As another reviewer mentioned, the hero in this book did a sudden about-face and promptly fell in love, when he realized the previously ugly heroine had become beautiful. Additionally, I felt like his intentions missed the mark. The heroine mentioned to him how stifled she felt by her family and society's expectations of her and she craved the same freedom he had had for 9 years. Instead of simply helping her along without the express intent of wooing her, he set aside to show her freedom for ONE MONTH, while still carrying on his wager. I didn't really believe that he cared about her happiness but rather, he was still serving his desire to be with her.
A Study in Scandal by Caroline Linden -2/5
I was irritated by the heroine's lack of agency after she met the hero. She seemingly left her town with no money and vague plans of getting to London and meeting her brother. When she got to London, she had no solid plans of how she was going to escape her father and forge a life for herself. Instead, she just centred her life around the hero (who also seemingly had no independent income) without thought for what would happen after she had to leave his bachelor pad. Thus, I didn't buy their love. It seemed more like a convenient escape plan for the heroine than anything else.
The other two books didn't really leave much of an experience, except I remember being irritated by Miranda Neville's book because it seemed the hero had no respect for the heroine.
3.5 starsThis book reminded me so much of [b:The Thief 448873 The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1) Megan Whalen Turner https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427740839l/448873.SY75.jpg 1069505] by Megan Whalen Turner. It seemed a simple setup for what had the potential to be a wonderful world filled with political intrigue. However, I had doubts that any of the sequels could be as good as the [b:The Queen of Attolia 40158 The Queen of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, #2) Megan Whalen Turner https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1293505506l/40158.SX50.jpg 1124161].
In the end I didn't really believe in the husbands redemption. It seemed like every time they communicated properly or took steps in the right direction the heroine was the one pushing. It was like she was carrying the relationship and I don't really believe that their relationship was really any better .
I've been on a literary fiction roll this month and I think I will definitely be reading more literary fiction in 2022.
Sweet. Loved that she subverted the romantic thriller trope of man saving damsel in distress.
Reading this book reinforced something I've long since suspected: I need my fantasy to be darker and to have characters who are ruthless and have a bit of an edge. Recently, YA fantasy, no matter how good just doesn't scratch that itch for me. I'm going to keep trying, but I'm beginning to accept that it may just not be for me. For example, I was really expecting Lirael to die in the binding that got rid of The Destroyer and I was disappointed in Nix for not taking it there but then I remembered that it was YA Fantasy and not grim-dark and it was unreasonable of me to expect that
Cute. However, I find that for my personal tastes magical realism is rarely as magical nor as realistic as I would like it to be. This book ultimately felt like it lacked something essential.
Liked the characters. As a fellow uptight person myself, love two uptight people get together. What I didn't like so much though was that her proposal was effectively negated because he was a traditional guy. I thought it was really sweet and a lovely subversion of romance tropes that she proposed.
Overall, this is probably the most fun I've had reading this year. There were so many laugh out moments over the series. Additionally, I enjoyed the author's exploration of forgiveness and personal autonomy. In particular, I was impressed by the portrayal of Julius and Marci's relationship. At no point did the narrative place Julius' desire to have Marci safe over her own wishes to develop into a powerful mage (I know this is a spectacularly low bar, but in my experience, very few novels manage to pass it). Their relationship was supportive and respectful and I loved its development.
However, I have a few niggles that stop this from being five stars:
Firstly, I think a lot of emphases is placed on the power of forgiveness and the importance of talking things out. While I appreciated that, I think that not enough attention is giving to holding people accountable for their actions. Over and over again Julius' preaches forgiveness in place of violence but he makes no mention of any other type of accountability. In my opinion, forgiveness and accountability go hand in hand. You should ideally not have one without the other.
The last point is one of personal preference. The Quetzalcoatl and the Qilin were based on Aztec and Chinese mythology respectively and I would have liked the book to delve deeper into their origins and the mythology surrounding them. It would have been amazing to read.
But despite those small issues I had such a blast reading this series.
Unlike most other readers, I was intrigued by [b:The Fifth Season 19161852 The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) N.K. Jemisin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386803701l/19161852.SY75.jpg 26115977] but not blown away. However, the last two books accomplished what the first book failed to do. The Stone Sky in particular, is such a wonderful examination of generational trauma and conflicted motherhood. During that final showdown, I couldn't help but cry. Jemisin wrote Essun and Nassun's grief and other conflicting emotions so well, that like Hoa, I couldn't help but feel for both of them in those final moments .I've seen other reviewers complain about Essun's character and I just don't get where they are coming from. Essun's resilience strength and kindness, in spite of all she has gone through is nothing short of awe-inspiring. By the end, Jemisin reminds us again (as she has done throughout the series) of the importance of community and a strong support system.The history and lore of the Stillness are fascinating and I will definitely be rereading this to catch all the details and nuances I missed this time around.My fantasy reads this year have been so much better than my romance reads. Almost every fantasy series I have touched this year has been gold but most of the romance I read fell flat. I may have to skew towards more fantasy next year as it seems like that is what I am craving ( or maybe romance authors just had an off year
I hadn't read any of the previous books but the hero's hypocrisy in the first few chapters infuriated me. Nope.
The first line of Red Sister is impossible to forget. I read it first in a review of this book and I knew, I just knew that I had to read the trilogy. It doesn't disappoint. The concept of assassin nuns is intriguing in and of itself but Mark Lawrence does a good job of executing an interesting idea.
This book is not getting five stars for a few reasons; in the beginning, I found all the nuns and mistresses difficult to keep straight. Additionally, I struggled to visualise the first half of the book (particularly the first scenes). However, when I finally lost myself in the book it blew me away.
I greatly enjoyed Nona's character and her relationships. She latches on to people and absolutely refuses to let go and I have to admire that. I think now that I know the characters and the world, I will enjoy this book so much more on a reread.
I really loved this book. The last chapter left me with tears in my eyes. I'm going to have to read it much more slowly in about a month or two soo I can soak up everything. Also, it really reminded me of Strange the Dreamer.
Loving this book also highlights something I've been trying so hard to avoid. I need to stop reading predominantly romance novels. Of the books I've read this year, I have enjoyed most that ones that aren't pure romance. But for so long romance is all I read and a part of me doesn't want to let that go.