christianreader | Kiwiria's August Adventures

No Quest for the Wicked - Shanna Swendson, 3/5, 278 pages
After a bit of a break I've returned to this series, as they really do make for perfect plane reading. I still love reading about Katie, Owen and all their friends (Katie's grandmother especially - she's delightful!), but must admit that the plot itself in this one didn't really do it for me. It was one long hunt that seemed like it could have been planned better and executed more efficiently. I did enjoy the return of Katie's evil ex-boss though. She's so delightfully despicable (something I can only enjoy as I know she won't get away with it).

I still enjoyed reading it, as Shanna Swendson really has a way with words, but it was more to get to spend more time with the characters, than because I was all that interested in what was going on. A bit strange to read a book in spite of the plot instead of because of it, but it kept my attention nicely on an insomniac red-eye flight.

Down With the Shine - Kate Karyus Quinn, 2/5, 368 pages
Ooooh boy, where to begin with this one! The concept sounded intriguing but the book itself ended up being ridiculous, far-fetched, outrageous, oh, and did I mention ridiculous?

People died or were permanently disfigured and apart from an initial "Oh no, how terrible!" it ended up being regarded as non-events? And everybody just mostly accepted these totally crazy things that happened? Honestly, at one point I wouldn't have been surprised if the book had ended with "And then they woke up, and it turned out it was all just a dream."

Fortunately, they didn't sink quite that low, but it came close. So why do I still give this 2 stars? As ridiculous as it was, it did keep my interest, and I really wanted to know how it all got sorted in the end, so I never considered giving up on it.

I'd never recommend it to anybody else either though.

The Nest - Cynthia D'Aprix Sweetney, 3/5, 373 pages
I browsed through the first few chapters at a bookstore and found myself strangely intrigued, despite the fact that the blurb on the back of the book hadn't really caught my fancy. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and ended up getting hold of an e-copy a few days later.

Once again, this is a character-driven narrative rather than a plot-driven one. The plot itself is very quickly explained, but the people themselves - this highly dysfunctional family - are fascinating. I found myself putting the book down frequently, as I could see this person or that heading towards a bad decision, but I kept picking it back up, as I grew to care about the siblings, and had to know how everything got resolved.

An intriguing read about people I grew to care about... but am not really sure I like very much.

Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs, 3/5, 352 pages
I'd tried reading this awhile back, but got stuck only a few chapters in. Seeing the recent trailers for the movie made me want to try again, and this time I made it through.

It's a decent enough book that unfortunately just couldn't live up to my expectations thanks to all the hype surrounding it. I was fairly well entertained, but never really got to care about any of the characters (with the possible exception of Jacob) and certainly didn't agree with Jacob's final decision. His reasoning just didn't seem convincing enough to me. For both of these reasons I won't be continuing with the other books in the series, although I might still be keen to go see the movie.

The Little Shop of Happy-Ever-After - Jenny Colgan, 5/5, 358 pages
Probably my favourite book by Jenny Colgan so far. It was a bit slow to take off, but once it did (basically once Nina first made it to Scotland) I was utterly charmed and just didn't want to put it down! Nina pretty much has my dream job, and I loved reading about her adventures and living vicariously through her.

I'd seen the ending a mile away, but that's okay. You're allowed to in books like these. It was a perfect comfort read.

The Boyfriend App - Katie Sise, 1.5/5, 320 pages
It started out decent enough (enough that I actually purchased it after having read the sample), but then it turned really, really weird and really, really ridiculous. I'm glad I was warned that there was a twist about half way through, but even so, the twist ended up being even more ridiculous (and - let's be blunt about it - actually uncomfortably close to being pro-rape) than I had expected, and I finished the novel with a permanent eye-roll.

It had its moments, and the first half of the book deserved a much better ending. But the second half pretty much ruined it for me. Do not recommend.

Transylvanian Mail Order Bride - Elliot Wolfson, 2/5, 123 pages
Really, really badly written (enough to have me rolling my eyes on a regular basis), but still oddly compelling. Not enough to make me want to read any more books by this author, but at least enough that I finished this one. The plot was ridiculously outrageous, turning this into almost a train-wreck read. I didn't much like it, but couldn't look away.

Tempus Investigations - Claus Holm, 3.5/5, 228 pages
It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of TV crime shows (Criminal Minds, Law & Order, CSI, Bones... they're all my jam), so a fictional version sounded very intriguing! Also, I liked the idea of reading fanfiction for a show that doesn't even exist :)

Fortunately, it worked well. I really liked Jim and his friends, and though there were definitely some "episodes" I was fonder of than others, I would absolutely tune in for the second season.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, 4/5, 320 pages
A lot better than I had expected, and miles better than the leaked synopsis made it sound. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars for awhile, but it made me cry on several occasions, so that bumps it up to 4.

I won't deny that it reads a lot like fanfic, but I think that may partly because the media is so different. There were plotholes here and there and some parts seemed to be glossed over, but like everybody had told me, part 2 was heaps better than part 1 and turned the reading experience from a mediocre one, to a really enjoyable one.

I think I'll probably need this for my physical library after all. It'll never live up to the original series, but it doesn't embarrass itself either.

Gone-Away Lake - Elizabeth Enright*, 5/5, 178 pages
I loved this book as a child, and had great fun reading it aloud to my nieblings :)