#adult booklr

[intothestacks]

Friendly PSA about the original book version of Wicked

It's very much an adult book.

For the love of sanity, don't read that to your kids or get it for them for Christmas or something!

It's a good read though, I definitely recommend it for grownups.

[ninja-muse]

This book! This book!

I'm a fan of:

sporking fantasy tropes

female antiheroes

pop culture references

competency porn

hot messes

hot messes who somehow are also hyper-competent???

fourth wall breakage

unapologetically queer people

animal-people

time shenanigans

great fight scenes

footnotes

laughing

And this book delivered! I knew I had to read this as soon as I heard about it. (Woman caught in a time loop decides not to be the Chosen One, but the Dark Lord? Hello, yes please.)

It's been a while, like maybe a year ago with Perilous Times, since I've had so much fun with a comic fantasy. I have a serious case of the gimmes for the sequel now.

[deadpoetsmusings]

“I care little for plot and prefer a lingering glow..”

[sawthefaeriequeen]

We think because we have words, not the other way around, and the greater our vocabulary, the greater our ability to think conceptually. The first people a dictator puts in jail after a coup are the writers, the teachers, the librarians—because these people are dangerous. They have enough vocabulary to recognize injustice and to speak out loudly about it. Let us have the courage to go on being dangerous people.

Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?, Madeleine L'Engle

[j-ayne]

"At all events October was before the door, it might enter any day."

[astreamoflight]

Just finished Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. The writing was compelling and I was really invested in the relationship between Michelle and her mom. I find it hard to give star ratings to memoirs, but this is a book I’d definitely recommend other people read!

[books-in-a-storm]

Romance A Day🌹

Smoke's Tigress, Ciara St. James

[sawreadreviewed]

Tatyana Tolstaya is up there with Agnes Varda, Katherine Mansfield, and Kanai Mieko for me (which tells you all you need to know about my taste). I really liked The Slynx - most especially because it brought me to White Walls, which I am in love with. That perfect balance of the mundane and the glorious. Watch out, though, because Tolstaya doesn’t mind breaking your heart. Pictured: White Walls with a yet more mate.

[left-handlibrary]

The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin (2018, English translation 2022)

Finishing this one off this afternoon. I’ve been feeling a little stressed and under the weather lately, but it’s nice to finally check a book of the list.

[ninja-muse]

The Dollmakers by Lynn Buchanan is the most original fantasy novel I've read in a good while. It doesn't follow a familiar plot structure. It's peopled by characters rarely seen but true to life. It tackles its issues, themes, and conundrums without turning them into morals or even necessarily reaching conclusions. The magic has been done before, but also not this way. The world, while familiar in some aspects, also feels fresh and different.

Did I like it? I'm not sure. But I definitely think it's worth picking up.

Because this book is so different, it's hard to encapsulate. The premise of a young woman determined to prove herself and gain the job and status she deserves sounds like it should launch a novel of revenge, of conquest, or of an underdog—but this doesn't. A story about magical dolls designed to fight ravening monsters sounds like it should be about great battles and increasing odds—but this isn't. This also isn't a story about a stranger upending a small town, or mentorship, or political conflicts, or even a mystery. Instead, there are elements of all those things, but this novel is too character-driven to fall neatly into boxes. Shean of Pearl is simply going to do what she thinks best and we're along for the journey.

The complexity of the plot is mirrored in its characters. Shean is capable of kindness and delicacy and righteous anger, but she's also tactless and self-absorbed and unwilling to listen to reason. There are brave characters too afraid to interact with society, kind mentors who fail in their mentorship, sour but welcoming villagers, wandering scholars who hold themselves apart until they don't, rule-abiding citizens who can't value originality, thoughtful people who come to snap judgements, and a host of other people who are flawed and complicated as anyone of us might be in their place. There's nobody I can point to and say, "Here, she relied entirely on a trope."* Buchanan's character work is arguably where this book shines most.

As for the themes and issues, I've grown used to fantasy and science fiction with clear morals, clear good guys, and clear political points. Again, this isn't that sort of book. You have to get well into it before you see what Buchanan's talking about on that level and she's more interested about raising questions and pointing out problems than she is in solving anything. We and her characters are left with things to think about, and with introspection. And no, I won't say more than that. Spoilers!

This isn't to say that this book is without flaw. Mostly, on that front, I found Shean's emotional journey a little sudden and jerky at points, with greater or quicker character growth than her personality led me to expect, and there's one particular moment near the beginning that felt exaggerated for the sake of demonstration rather than being true to character. The rest of my problems, and what's holding me back from saying, "This book was amazing!", I think stem from how different this book is. Is my grumble at that minor character's reaction due to weak writing or because they're so perfectly poised within their world that of course they don't act like a "normal" character? Is this plot line wrapping up too neatly or are we being set up for a sequel? That sort of thing. I should point out this is a debut novel and these are issues I've run into with debut novels before—but at the same time, this is much, much more polished and subtle than a lot of debuts are.

As for the magic and the world, I've run on too long to cover them much, but the doll magic is lovely, the monsters are fascinating, the idea that every nation has its own entirely separate culture and magic is familiar while the details are not, and in general, it's all very strong. Buchanan has a lot to play with and I'd happily read more in this world whether or not there's a direct sequel.

To sum up: this is a very strong, very interesting, very unique debut fantasy. It's a novel to mull over and one I'll be sorting through my feelings for. If you're interested in smaller fantasy stories, fantasies that take their time, or are tired of current fantasy trends and plot types, you should absolutely give this one a look. Buchanan's going to be an author to watch, I think.

* apart from third-tier non-speaking characters, like waiters or shopkeepers

[deadpoetsmusings]

bookshop picks

[thequietesthing]

okay fine so maybe I've never been shitfaced drunk, but have you ever been word-wasted

(i.e. when you read so much that you feel drowsy, giddy and have trouble forming coherent thoughts; synonyms: readache, lit-lag; look up also: literary lethargy)

[sawthefaeriequeen]

Now he relished the best of both worlds, being around people and yet completely alone at the same time.

The Art of Destiny, Wesley Chu

[annamatix]

okay. so. the blonde identity. let’s talk about it.

(there no spoilers in this review btw)

TLDR; 3.5/5 stars, pretty disappointing, lots of failed character development and forced stereotypes

i have to admit, i went into this book with high expectations. like HIGH expectations. because c’mon, this is ally freaking carter. the woman has never written a book less than 3 stars in her life. but that’s exactly what this book was. like 3.5 stars. im sorry to say i was pretty disappointed.

i’ll spare you the sap-talk about how i discovered her middle school and became obsessed with her books and felt really touched when the TBI dedication page said For the GGs. I’m so proud of you because i am one of those gallagher girls! but. oh there are so many buts.

i feel like ally got so caught up in trying to make this book adult-y (since she’s only ever written YA and MG) that it kind of backfired on her. the first few chapters were great. the right dose of ally carter funny and cute. but after that it was a blur of inner-and-outer-dialogue that felt like balancing on this cliff of childish and adultish. the characters acted like kids sometimes and adults other times. like they couldn’t make up their mind.

speaking of childish, zoe (the fmc) reminded me of evangeline fox so much it was uncanny. and i don’t really mean that as a compliment. it was weird. ally usually writes like super badass fmcs, so i feel like when she tried writing a softie it came out all wrong.

also, can we talk about sawyer (the mmc)'s dad? like, are you serious? are you serious? he was the most un-ally-carter character in this entire book. being all like oh i loved your mother but i didn’t get to do anything properly so you should go get your happily ever after when you have the chance in front of you son and i think i visibly made a cringing face when i read it. i guess it’s fine, really, cause ally probably wanted to try out a new genre and i went in thinking it was her typical spy book but with an adult flare to it, so i was caught off guard.

regarding the romance itself: to me the relationship between zoe and sawyer in the middle to end-ish felt a lot like adam and juliette’s relationship in the shatter me series. huge promises and awkward and messy and wholly unbearable to deal with.

i cannot shake off the childish vibes i got from this book and its characters. like ally, i love you, but it was so-- like-- whiny. like she forced a lot of NA stereotypes and stuff into it.

don’t get me wrong though-- ally shines, like actually shines, in YA. after this i just don’t think NA is right for her (or maybe she just needs practice). nonetheless.

i LOVEDDDD the last line, though. “ ‘Long story short, I’m in an enemies-to-lovers situation.’ Alex took a deep breath. ‘And I think I’m gonna need your help.’ ” that was so good. and alex is the kind of sassy, uber-independent fmcs that ally is so used to writing so… here’s to hoping the sequel with her will be better.

[leer-reading-lire]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge || July || 8 || The Sky

[books-in-a-storm]

Romance A Day🌹

Fallen Princess, Chantal Fernando