#Autumn's Occasional Book Reviews(tm)

[silence-of-autumn42]

So I recently read Book of Night...

It's a pretty interesting book. I love the premise - a modern world with shadow magic becoming a new, trendy thing everyone is jumping on, similar to the IRL crypto phenomenon, with all the danger that example entails. The main character, Charlie, is also pretty interesting. A habitual liar and burnt out criminal is an unusual choice of main character, but Holly Black did a good job of explaining why and how Charlie got to the state in which we find her at the start of the book. The magic system as well is nicely created, and enjoyably dark. Sacrifice and danger are inherent to it, which isn't exactly common in fantasy stories, but is something I really enjoy.

However, it's not a perfect story. About a third of the way in, the book starts setting up a pretty large mystery element, regarding Charlie's boyfriend Vince. And while this is resolved by the end of the book, the mystery is relatively shallowly explored. Rather than doing serious investigation, Charlie uncovers the truth mostly by circumstance. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy that resolution - the truth of Vince's identity was fairly well set up (although more explanation of Blights could have been useful earlier in the book to hint towards things better), but it didn't feel earned necessarily. Charlie did go through a lot, but not for the purpose of finding that out, instead for other, smaller mysteries. The ending of the book is also a little unsatisfying, with a pretty clear hook for a potential sequel, if the author decides to expand on it, but in such a way that it makes the character arc of Charlie Hall feeling a little unfinished.

All in all, though, I definitely recommend this book, especially to people who enjoy The Locked Tomb series. While very different in terms of humour, Book of Night enjoys similarly interesting worldbuilding, character dynamics and theming. On a scale of 1-10, I'd probably give Book of Night an 8. Solid, enjoyable and overall well written, but with a couple of weaknesses which fortunately don't detract too much from the story.

[dirtyhancls]

ask meme: do all of the them Ψ(｀▽´)Ψ

What’s the last book you read? What did you think of it?

hmmm I reread like half of Graceling, and it’s as good as ever and I’m still bitter that Kristen Cashore hasn’t written anything since the series. it’s YA but also Monster novel TM and so thought provoking

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read, and why?

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry (tbh i read this in 6th grade and HATED it with a Burning Passion but I also don’t remember like 90% of it. just kno that i hated it)

A book you found overhyped, and why

A Hero At The End of the World. I agree with most of the review about it-- it’s very evident the author comes from a fanfic background bc writing fic is very different from novels and there’s some things that don’t translate (character development? relationship development?) if you read the book with the knowledge that its essentially drarry fanfic it makes sense, as its own novel there’s a lot rushed

Ereaders versus physical books is such a false dichotomy. Instead, tell me what other formats (phone apps, tumblr fiction, twitter haikus) you read in

IBOOKS !!!!!!!! ibooks saved my life bc now i can find most books online and then download them and read them it’s amazing

Which genre(s) don’t you read? Why not?

romance jfc i just dont go there sorry (mostly bc of the covers)

If you read in more than one language, is there a difference between the experience of reading in your native language(s) and reading in other languages?

nope cannot read chinese rip

If you’re not a native English speaker, how much do you read in your native language versus how much you read in English? How do you feel about that? // If you’re a native English speaker, go find a book in your second/third/etc language, or in translation, to add to your to-read list

can i count latin as a third language lmao?? screw it i’m doing it one day i’ll read the entirety of the aenied in latin

The book you read when you’re stuck in bed sick

HMMM my go to book is probably The Amulet of Samarkand? or maybe Six of Crows 

Fiction or non-fiction or both? In what ratio? Where do you draw the line between the two?

pretty much 100% fiction but i;m aiming to change that (And the Bnad Played On is next on my list)

The book(s) you bought because the cover was pretty, and whether it was worth it

:/ i dont usually buy books but i guess you can count A Conjuring of Light? Bc the cover was super pretty and my aesthetic, although i would’ve bought it regardless just bc it was the final book in the series

The worst book hangover you’ve ever had

HOO BOY Ptolemy’s Gate or Code Name Verity

Do you have to finish one book before you start the next one, or do you read multiple books at the same time?

finish but mostly bc i read so fast that if i finish a book it’s usually in a day or two

The fictional character you want to believe you resemble and the fictional character you actually resemble

i want to believe i resemble Sirius Black but i probably actually resemble Remus Lupin 

The book that, in hindsight, really should have clued you in to the fact that you’re _________ (queer/in love/doomed to be an academic/etc)

Artemis Fowl/The Bartimaeus Trilogy that I’m not as clever as i fancied i was

The book that you reread over and over again and get new things from every time

G O D probably The Bartimaeus Trilogy 

The book that you don’t dare reread for fear it won’t be the same any more

Hnnnnnnnnng i’m a huge believer in rereads so but lowkey Percy jackson bc now that i’m older i've realized a lot of its flaws 

Preferred bookshelf organisation scheme

by my favorites

Do you theme your monthly/yearly/etc reading (eg Year of Reading Women)?

Nope bc i’m super inconsistent with reading nowadays and i’m super picky about tstarting new books

That book with a twist that felt like a blow to the chest. Tell me about it. (But warn for spoilers if necessary!)

CODE NAME VERITY once we got to Maddie’s POV i sobbed my way through it culminating in me having to put the book down at that one BANG BANG moment bc i couldnt see through my tears and also my heart had died inside my chest, AND THEN ALSO when they read her notes/confession and my mind was blown by how clever everything was. 

The coolest bookshop you’ve ever been to

i can’t remember the name I think it’s the one world cafe but it’s a cafe/bookshop/bar and super cool, but also there’s a barnes and noble with a fishtank built in an old powerplant thats hella cool 

The book you gave up on, and the reasons why

The Wrath and the Dawn, sorry too boring and generic and also like, annoyingly straight

The book you finished even though you hated it, and the reasons why

Heart of Darkness bc i had to for school

The book you expected to hate, didn’t, and then got angry about not hating

Grapes of Wrath tbh

The book that you got into because of the movie/TV series/etc, and the relative merits of each version

HOWLS MOVING CASTLE

i luv the movie ofc, it’s gorgoeus in all ways and delightful but not gonna lie the story telling is not very good and it sorta makes no sense until u read the book. don’t like the witch of the waste plot and howl becomes much too mysterious wizard for my tastes

SOPHIE AND HOWL ARE THE DELIGHT OF THIS BOOK, their characters are what makes it tbh, Book Howl is the best howl bc he’s ridiculous and hilarious and a coward and i luv it. sophie is less of a mouse (even tho she still thinks she is ahaha) and the part where she’s so pissed off she turns water into weedkiller is my fav. it’s also just a complete subversion fo fantasy which i think miyazaki sorta doesn’t get

The only book care question that actually means anything: do you write in your books? If so, in pen or in pencil?

NOPE I WANT MY BOOKS IN PRISTINE CONDITION

Do you read reviews of books? Before or after you read the books themselves? Why? Why not?

usually only read reviews of 1. books that havent come out yet and 2. books after i’ve read them to see what other people say. also occasionally 3. i read reviews to make fun of them 

The book you’re embarrassed to admit you’ve read

tbh tbh tbh captive prince just to see what it was like for myself and god jfc

The one where the fanfic was better than the original (and the relevant AO3 links, pls)

like, any number of klance fic tbh or HP fic but here’s some like, absolute amazing ones

As Red as Hearts and Autumn- Mauraders Era fic that breaks my heart everytime, particularly fond of this Sirius

call me, beep me most people kno this, but a staple of klance and very well done

it’s quite bizarre, and will remain this way- more klance but also this made my heart hurt

we must unite inside her walls or we'll crumble from within more respectful of HP women than JK Rowling ever was or will be, i love this so much

Catfished- never thought this would be a thing but draco is turned into a glass fish and harry realizes things

thread our way through a string of stars tbh one of the best klance fics i’ve ever read and probably ever will read

Your vacation reading habits

agressive rereads

The book you read the blurb of, constructed a version of in your mind, and were promptly disappointed by once you finally got around to actually reading it

A Hero At the End of the World :/

Bonus question: rec me something!

READ CODE NAME VERITY FOR THE LOVE OF UR LIFE