christianreader | Kiwiria's March Moods

I've done quite a bit of reading this month :) But then, almost half of that was finishing up Debora Geary's series, so I'm not entirely sure that counts ;) I read those books in 1-2 days each.

I think I need to read more non-fiction though. So far, I've only read two non-fiction books this year! That's not nearly as many as usual. On the other hand, I listen to a lot more podcasts than I used to (just found one with Gretchen Rubin!!!), so I guess I get some of my non-fiction "input" from those.

But with no further ado - my reads for March.

Witch Central Wedding - Debora Geary*, 4/5, 76 pages
A Different Witch - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 260 pages
A Celtic Witch - Debora Geary*, 4/5, 247 pages
A Lost Witch - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 269 pages
An Imperfect Witch - Debora Geary*, 4.5/5, 250 pages
An Unlikely Witch - Debora Geary*, 4/5, 243 pages
A Dangerous Witch - Debora Geary*, 4/5, 165 pages
Very bittersweet to finish up the series, knowing that it is irrevocably over. I still hope Debora Geary will one day return to her dear witches, but don't find it terribly likely.

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion, 3.5/5, 327 pages
I think this is one of those situations where the book suffered from too much hype. I liked it well enough, but that was it. And when you go into a book expecting to absolutely adore it, "liking it well enough" is a bit of a disappointment.

But when I try to separate my thoughts of the book itself from that disappointment, I really did enjoy it. Don and Rosie were both delightfully described, and thanks to "Big Bang Theory" I had no problems at all imagining somebody as utterly socially clueless as Don. (Although, on the other hand, sometimes the similarities between Don Tillman and Sheldon Cooper seemed too huge to be coincidental, which did rub me the wrong way somewhat). There were a lot of funny scenes, and I loved seeing Don slowly fall in love - without realizing it himself until it was almost too late.

So on one hand I'd probably have liked this more if I'd approached it without any expectations, but on the other hand I did look at it back when it was brand new, and put it down again, because the back blurb didn't catch my fancy, so obviously I did need the hype to get me curious. I doubt I'll be reading any more of this series though.

Gehenna - Jason Brant, 3/5, 176 pages
I read Jason Brant's book "Ash" earlier this year, and was really pleasantly surprised by it, so when I found this book was free for Kindle, I downloaded it right away.

Unfortunately it couldn't quite live up to my expectations. It's still very well written, but it seemed more like an introductory novella than a book in its own right. Nothing was resolved, but the scene set very eloquently for book two.

I doubt I'll read book 2 though - not because I didn't like this one, but simply because it's a tad more firmly in the horror genre than I prefer. Zombies are all well and good when they further the plot like in Mira Grant's books, but when they're just an excuse for gore (I literally winced on several occasions while reading this), then I'd rather move on to something else.

I do think it'd make a terrific horror movie though. Not that I'd ever watch it - I'm too much of a scardy-cat for that - but it did remind me quite forcibly of "From Dusk Till Dawn" at times.

Fifteen - Jen Estes, 3.5/5, 233 pages
A bit slow to start, but once it did, it really took off, and had me turning pages as fast as my eyes could keep up. I think I read the last 66% in one sitting.

This book has shades of both "The Future of Us" by Jay Asher and the movie "Inception", as 15-year-old Ash discovers that her dreams show her the future, and that she can change this future by her actions in the present.

A fascinating idea, that unfortunately suffered a bit from seeming too rushed in places, especially near the end... which came a LOT faster than I had expected! For a moment there I feared that the author would leave me hanging in the worst possible way. Fortunately that wasn't quite the case, and once I got past my frustration of the book being over, I can actually understand why Jen Estes chose to end it where she did, but it was still abrupt enough to make me subtract a star from my rating.

Both Ash and Tate seemed older than their 15 and 16 years, and I think certain aspects (trying not to spoil anything) would have seemed more believable if they had been just a couple of years older. Also, Tate's action at the end seemed really out of character for him, but I'm hoping that will be explained in the sequel.

Because yes - I will definitely be reading the sequel. Despite my (slight) complaints about "Fifteen", I was thoroughly drawn in at the end, and want to know more.

Third - Lori Summers*, 5/5, 965 pages
One of my all-time favourite books that I've read too many times to count, despite the fact that it hasn't actually been published yet. I hope it will, because I really want you guys to read it as well!!! :)

Burning Justice - Helena Smreck, 1.5/5, 301 pages
The full review for this got LONG, so I'll just link you to the post in

bogormen. Suffice here to say that it didn't work for me. The plot started out alright, but quickly became an excuse for a far too unbelievable romance, and I had serious issues with the writing (examples are given in the full review).

The Green Gable Letters - L.M. Montgomery*, 2.5/5, 94 pages
I bought this at a time where I wanted to read everything and anything concerning L.M. Montgomery - especially as Ephraim Weber got mentioned quite a bit in her journals. However, having read the journals, there was very little new in this book, although it was interesting to see how she described her reactions to the publishing of the two first Anne books to somebody else (and that Mark Twain wrote her a review!). Also, I had forgotten how quickly she was pushed to write more - "Anne of Green Gables" was initially supposed to be a stand-alone novel!

Book of the Month: Only 4 new books this month, and none of them really stand out.
Biggest Disappointment Burning Justice