#but now I'm like ''a 5⭐️ prediction

[caffeinated-bibliophile]

Trying to find books for this round of the orilium magical readathon is going to send me over the edge I stg

[claireelizabethsblog]

~ August's Books Reviewed ~

The month started out strong with me riding a Sanderson high, then I did a thing that I objectively hate and know will 9 times out of 10 have me reading less, which is started several books at once.... as of the end of August I was reading three books at once, yet none of them were finished so none of them get included in August's round up... look forward to that in September I guess!

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

(763 pages)

The stress I felt reading this was unreal... which is simply evidence of how good it is. It genuinely was pulling actual visceral reactions from me and I physically could not put it down at points. I know this is a shorter review than usual, but I can think of nothing else to say.

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

(748 pages)

An amazing conclusion to a really really good trilogy. The twists and turns of this were so well executed and completely shocking in exactly the right way. The ending in particular I never could have seen coming. If this were a spoiler review I'd be able to go on more, but for now, I leave with simply the promise that if you love fantasy novels, Sanderson novels, epic twists and/or social/religious/political commentary then you should definitely give this series a try!

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(585 pages)

I was gifted this book and admit to being a little wary before committing to reading it, as a general rule books that blow up exclusively on social media tend to be a let down to me after the copious amounts of hype they've received. I'm pleased to say that was not the case with this book. If anything, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. It was extremely uniquely written; it was emotional, clever and beautiful. The characters were all so complex and felt genuinely so real. I would say that was the highlight of this book, the characterisation. Every character you could relate to a real person. You sympathised with their decisions, or at least understood them. Like real life, there was no villains and heroes. Bad people and good people and somewhere in the middle people, sure. But also like real life, the last group was the most prevalent, and the first two groups different to each individual's opinions. I would actually really recommend this book to almost everyone I know who reads, I'm pretty sure everyone could find something in it that keeps their focus, be it the mystery, the love story, the characters....

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The twist of a knife by Anthony Horowitz

(373 pages)

I am like 90% sure that this was not the first book in a series, however it stood well as a stand alone book too! Like the other Horowitz book I read earlier this year, I found this novel a little slow to pick up at first, however I did get into it in the end. I found it clever and quirky and I loved the meta elements. Ultimately, it was exactly what it was advertised as - a light, humorous murder mystery - and actually, I'm not mad about taking a break for something silly every so often!

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

(422 pages)

After the success of The Seven Husbands, I felt brave enough to try another recent social media favourite book. I'd seen mixed reviews over this one, however my flatmate strongly recommended it and as usual, our tastes in books aligned and it was extremely good. Despite the predictability of the plot, I was fully engaged the entire way through which speaks to how well the characters were depicted that I was willing to look past the predictability of it all just to read more about the people. In fact, I would like to make this a formal call for more people to start writing fanfictions for this novel because I want to read even more about these characters and am being denied that currently based off the limited options on ao3 (if anyone has any good recommendations please let me know!) I think, if I had read this in another month it would have received five stars, however it was let down by the fact that it was read within the same weeks as Sanderson and The Seven Husbands which meant I could not in good conscience give it full marks when the plot was just a little too easy to see coming for me. Therefore....

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[ownedbybooks]

2022 spring wrap up

Disclaimer: I live in the Southern Hemisphere

Endgame: The Complete Zero Line Chronicles, by James Frey ⭐️⭐️

It was an okay book. Not so much related to the main series, apart from the fact that the characters here knew about the Endgame and are trying to stop it. But honestly in the main series it was only casually cited so I don't know how it's going to be related to the end of the main series, apart from the fact that - yes - the Endgame has to be stopped.

Toda Mafalda, by Quino ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The greatest of the greatest. The one that made me who I am. The south american icon. She's the legend. She IS the moment. A MUST READ!!

L'Aiguille Creuse, by Maurice Leblanc ⭐️⭐️

I was very complexed by this book and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm feeling like this towards the Arsène Lupin series because of the translation, since I'm reading the books from different publishers. Only time will tell. It had a interesting premise, tho.

China Rich Girlfriend, by Kevin Kwan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm living for this series and only for it. I loved how we are now introduced to the mainland Chinese high class and how they can be more frivolous than the Singaporean one. But at the same time it shows how different two cultures can be, even though they came from the same root. It was lighthearted, funny, and filled with east asian pop culture references.

Minha quase irmã: Bernardo, by Mônica Meirelles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was afraid of reading this one and being worst then the first. But it was a great surprise for me how the main character worked out his problems. I would even say I liked more this book than the first one, because here we see how much the male lead matures and grow. And I really like this kind of book with lots of character development!

The Pirate Balthasar #5-7, by Dedasaur ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Aaah great GREAT GREAT!!! All the sisters had their happy ending and we are now moving to a more deep layer in Kane's story and leveling up the mediterranean environment and fantastical mood of the comic <3

La Dame aux Camélias, by Alexandre Dumas fils ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I… don't know exactly (till now) how to feel about this particular book. It was nice to read and it had a easy flow. But it was also very predictable. In the end I think I gave it 3 stars more because how well the author rights and make you dive deep into the story, then the actual story lmao

Oscar et la dame rose, by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's a very simple story. Kinda christmasy. Written by an child. And very VERY very emotional end. From the start you know what's going to happen, but since we are reading it in the pov of a child, he's kinda processing his life and living every life stage as fast as he can. This was definitely one of my favourite books of the year.

Flamingos, by Clary Avelino ⭐️⭐️

Ok, this one is easy to read, which was great because I was needing to read something easier at the time. But I believe it could be better developed. It's a short book where the main character feels very horny for the male lead, who is a great guy, that had very actual problems (that you will get if you lived in Brazil in the last 4 years), but… The main character also had her own stuff but I didn't felt it was well developed. Or developed at all. There's also other characters who start having a fling together, but we don't know much about it as well. In the end it was just a easy book to read and pass the time.

[halflingkima]

I panicked and checked out all five books from the library so here's the first chapter thing to help me decide which one I actually wanna read lmfao

Infinite Detail by Tim Maughan: Tyrone runs a kind of shop(?) where a young woman Mary draws faces all day; an old couple arrives and pays 20 pund to learn what happened to their son "then." Mary sees visions of a past catastrophe.

I can't help but feel I would get more out of this book if I'd read (or was just more familiar with ) Infinte Jest. This first chapter was interesting, but not compulsively readable. I care a little about what the catastrophe might've been, but I'm not invested in any characters, and glancing at chapter two, it seems like a dual timeline. ⭐️⭐️

There You Are by Mathea Morais: Octavian teaches at a school for mentally ill teens. One of his teens reminds him of an old flame: Mina Rose. It's 2014 and his home state of Missouri is all over the news. He gets a message that the record store in his hometown is closing down and considers going.

Only read the first section since the "chapter" is quite long; the book's formatted in "playlists" with later chapters named after the tracks. Again, it's interesting, but not compulsively readable. I'm already invested in the characters. I'll absolutely want to read it at some point, not sure if that's right now. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

All My Mother's Lovers by Ilana Masad: Maggie receives a call from her brother informing her that their mother has died in a car accident. In a sort of numbed surprise she finds a flight and frets about how to (or if she should) accept help from her 5-month girlfriend.

Short chapters win me over fast. There's also nothing that cuts to the quick of a character faster than grief, so I'm already invested. A peak ahead seems like we'll get pov from her late mother as well which is fascinating. I'm intrigued. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Solar Bones by Mike McCormack: A man finds himself in his kitchen, confused, listening to bells from the church across town.

Couldn't read a chapter because the book doesn't have sentences let alone chapters. All promo material insists that it's "prose" but I'd very adamantly argue this is verse lmao. The format is endlessly intriguing and the premise is nearly equally so, but I'm mildly concerned about pastoral understatement or common literary blandness of a man's perspective. ⭐️⭐️

Everyone Knows How Much I Love You by Kyle McCarthy: The narrator describes a memory; a car crash and her best friend's dead boyfriend. Next chapter, she reunites with her best friend after 12 years apart and reveals the car accident happened in high school.

This one sure starts off with a bang, damn. Again, snappy chapters, quickly invested with grief/loss. I feel predictable as hell but I'm such a sucker for Dark Female Friendships™. Also something about the writing of this one feels a little more stylized, a little more blunt. I enjoy that. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[claireelizabethsblog]

~ November's Books Reviewed ~

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston

(418 pages)

I had wanted to read this book for AGES and I'd say it definitely lived up to my expectations - every shitty christmas romcom! And I mean that both in a bad way, and a very very good way. I unapologetically loved every second of it.

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Fateful Crossing by Tom Hindle

(449 pages)

Not bad, but also, not good. A little messy and therefore a bit confusing, especially as a murder mystery, messy plot holes etc can really detract from the story in my opinion. That being said, I read it quickly and it was an easy and enjoyable enough story for that to happen.

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Babel by R. F. Kuang

(546 pages)

Really interesting concept. I think I maybe read it a little too quickly so didn't fully appreciate it as it should have been. The commentary and insights on society and racism and xenophobia was very well done and extremely engaging which is what's going to make me say (unusually for me) that the fantasy elements were the worst bits of this book for me, and I almost felt that the same story could have been told without the "magic" and it maybe would have been even more impactful to just be commenting on language and communication in a reality that is more obviously similar to our own.

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Murder Game by Tom Hindle

(373 pages)

Better than the other Hindle book I read in my opinion, but still a little too "convenient" almost to be a fully successful and good murder mystery for me. Still obviously an easy and light read though, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it up after the first one.

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Where are the Women by Sara Sheridan

(447 pages)

I was gifted this book and it is therefore an obvious movement away from the normal sorts of books I choose to read (it is designed more similarly to a guide book or history text book). In theory, this book is extremely interesting and so so undeniably well researched. I definitely learnt a lot. However, there is a reason I don't tend to read non fiction (or fictions books like this designed to be like a guide book), and that is because I don't particularly like reading them - they always feel just like an info dump with a lack of an actual story arc to me (which I suppose is exactly what they're aiming for...)

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret History by Donna Tart

(559 pages)

It is clever. And I'm always going to appreciate a book that is the first of its genre or does something new for the first time. That being said, just because somethings the first, rarely means it's the best, and I've definitely read other dark academia style books that I've enjoyed more to be honest. I found myself skim reading sections which speaks to the fact that I perhaps didn't find it as engaging as other books.

I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

(386 pages)

I was waring going in to this book since it has blown up, but mostly with people a little older than myself (late 30s-early 50s as far as I've seen), but I really really enjoyed this (and have now recommended it to all my reading friends my age too!)! It filled me with a righteous anger, but in a very validating way. Bits were a little predictable, but that hardly mattered when the social commentary was so much more important than the plot. I'd support a rule saying that every cis male should have to read this to be honest, it's such a peak behind the curtain at just the unintentional, but so deeply engrained micro aggressions that all us women experience, nevermind the outright moments of sexism and misogyny.

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Almond by Won Pyung Sohn

(252 pages)

A bit of a non story, but I strangely enjoyed it. I read the entire thing in less than an hour so hardly an intense read, but it was a very interesting perspective and commentary on people and their relationships with each other, and with themselves.

I gave this book 3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

(398 pages)

Everything I wanted and/or needed. So wholesome. My only complaint actually is that I wanted more to be honest. All the characters are so so lovely and I loved their found family. T. J. Klune rarely disappoints.

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️