http://birdienl.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
birdienl.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
christianreader2015-10-05 11:10 pm
birdienl.livejournal.com) wrote in christianreader2015-10-05 11:10 pm
Entry tags:
My September reads
Rachel Hauck – The wedding dress 2,5/5
Charlotte owns a chiq bridal boutique and is about to get married herself. She has a gift for finding the perfect dress for her customers, so why can't she find one for herself? It makes her doubt about her future until she finds a mysteriously perfect 100 year old dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale.
Nope, this one didn't work for me at all. First of, putting the stories of four different women in one book simply means not enough attention can be given to either of the stories, so there was too little character development and big plot gaps. Then, like with my previous Rachel Hauck book, I really couldn't appreciate the supernatural touches. A wedding dress somehow blessed by God so it always fits the wearer and remains in a perfect state? That just didn't click with me. No more Rachel Hauck for me, I'm afraid.
Kiera Cass – The one 4/5
America Singer is now one of the last 5 contestants for the heart and hand of crown prince Maxon of Ilea, but she still doesn't know if she loves him enough to be a princess. And then there's still her first love Aspen, now a guard at the palace and the rebels who increase their attacks on the country.
Yes, I loved this last part of The Selection trilogy! The romance was really swoon-worthy, I liked the development of America's character and I actually liked how the love triangle was resolved: with friendship for a change. I didn't like the rather abrupt ending with the death of some characters, I felt like that wasn't explored enough before the 'happily-ever-after' came along. But all in all, I felt like the books got stronger from the first to the third book of this trilogy.
Kristy Cambron – The butterfly and the violin 3/5
Art dealer Sera James is passionate about a painting of a young violinist in a concentration camp. When she starts looking for the story behind the painting, she doesn't know it will change her own life as well.
A current story combined with a historical one, always a tricky combination. In this case, I was quite impressed with the historical story and didn't like the current one at all. In fact, I even felt like it 'took down' the serious nature of the historical story, it felt so light and non-important compared to what happened in Auschwitz. The Auschwitz story was quite hard to read as you might expect from a story set in this location, so maybe not for everyone.
Jane Austen – Lady Susan (reread)
The Jane Austen Society of The Netherlands organized a lecture about this novella. I had read it before and was not very impressed and though I still don't really like the main character (she's not a very nice person), I learned a lot about themes and thoughts in the lecture and am now quite impressed by the intricacy of the writing. Jane Austen was just amazingly talented, which shows even in this never published work!
Siri Mitchell – Like a flower in bloom 3,5/5
Charlotte Withersby has had a rather unusual upbringing as daughter of a botanist. She longs to work in the science herself, but the Victorian world frowns upon female scientists. Her father and uncle want her to find a husband, so Charlotte reluctantly enters the world of society.
This one was quite a bit lighter in tone than previous books I'd read by Siri Mitchell, though it still managed to challenge some rules of (in this case Victorian) society. Strangely, the way Charlotte behaved in society almost felt like slapstick humor now and then, which I didn't feel fitted in this novel and in Mitchell's writing style which just isn't like Karen Witemeyer for example. I also thought the central romance was not explored enough at all, it was sort of 'insta-love' especially from the side of Charlotte. So, interesting background, but mediocre execution.
Rainbow Rowell – Eleanor & Park 4,5/5
Eleanor and Park are misfits who just happen to sit next to each other in the schoolbus. When Park brings along comic books to read they discover them have something in common and they grow close. But life is not easy, especially for Eleanor and it threatens to tear her and Park apart.
I adored this book and raced through it! Rowell managed to really get you into the mind of Eleanor and Park, I was so invested in them and their relationship. I don't often get really emotional over a book (I need visual for some reason, because I can get very emotional at movies or tv shows), but I laughed and cried with this book. I really think I like Rowell's YA books better than her adult novels, because I also adored Fangirl, while I only liked Landline and Attachments so-so.
Books read in September: 6
Books read in 2015: 44
Charlotte owns a chiq bridal boutique and is about to get married herself. She has a gift for finding the perfect dress for her customers, so why can't she find one for herself? It makes her doubt about her future until she finds a mysteriously perfect 100 year old dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale.
Nope, this one didn't work for me at all. First of, putting the stories of four different women in one book simply means not enough attention can be given to either of the stories, so there was too little character development and big plot gaps. Then, like with my previous Rachel Hauck book, I really couldn't appreciate the supernatural touches. A wedding dress somehow blessed by God so it always fits the wearer and remains in a perfect state? That just didn't click with me. No more Rachel Hauck for me, I'm afraid.
Kiera Cass – The one 4/5
America Singer is now one of the last 5 contestants for the heart and hand of crown prince Maxon of Ilea, but she still doesn't know if she loves him enough to be a princess. And then there's still her first love Aspen, now a guard at the palace and the rebels who increase their attacks on the country.
Yes, I loved this last part of The Selection trilogy! The romance was really swoon-worthy, I liked the development of America's character and I actually liked how the love triangle was resolved: with friendship for a change. I didn't like the rather abrupt ending with the death of some characters, I felt like that wasn't explored enough before the 'happily-ever-after' came along. But all in all, I felt like the books got stronger from the first to the third book of this trilogy.
Kristy Cambron – The butterfly and the violin 3/5
Art dealer Sera James is passionate about a painting of a young violinist in a concentration camp. When she starts looking for the story behind the painting, she doesn't know it will change her own life as well.
A current story combined with a historical one, always a tricky combination. In this case, I was quite impressed with the historical story and didn't like the current one at all. In fact, I even felt like it 'took down' the serious nature of the historical story, it felt so light and non-important compared to what happened in Auschwitz. The Auschwitz story was quite hard to read as you might expect from a story set in this location, so maybe not for everyone.
Jane Austen – Lady Susan (reread)
The Jane Austen Society of The Netherlands organized a lecture about this novella. I had read it before and was not very impressed and though I still don't really like the main character (she's not a very nice person), I learned a lot about themes and thoughts in the lecture and am now quite impressed by the intricacy of the writing. Jane Austen was just amazingly talented, which shows even in this never published work!
Siri Mitchell – Like a flower in bloom 3,5/5
Charlotte Withersby has had a rather unusual upbringing as daughter of a botanist. She longs to work in the science herself, but the Victorian world frowns upon female scientists. Her father and uncle want her to find a husband, so Charlotte reluctantly enters the world of society.
This one was quite a bit lighter in tone than previous books I'd read by Siri Mitchell, though it still managed to challenge some rules of (in this case Victorian) society. Strangely, the way Charlotte behaved in society almost felt like slapstick humor now and then, which I didn't feel fitted in this novel and in Mitchell's writing style which just isn't like Karen Witemeyer for example. I also thought the central romance was not explored enough at all, it was sort of 'insta-love' especially from the side of Charlotte. So, interesting background, but mediocre execution.
Rainbow Rowell – Eleanor & Park 4,5/5
Eleanor and Park are misfits who just happen to sit next to each other in the schoolbus. When Park brings along comic books to read they discover them have something in common and they grow close. But life is not easy, especially for Eleanor and it threatens to tear her and Park apart.
I adored this book and raced through it! Rowell managed to really get you into the mind of Eleanor and Park, I was so invested in them and their relationship. I don't often get really emotional over a book (I need visual for some reason, because I can get very emotional at movies or tv shows), but I laughed and cried with this book. I really think I like Rowell's YA books better than her adult novels, because I also adored Fangirl, while I only liked Landline and Attachments so-so.
Books read in September: 6
Books read in 2015: 44