Kiwiria's July Jaunts
Aug. 1st, 2022 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiwiria posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
christianreaderI've only read 6 books in July! And some of those were VERY short. It's been a slow month. But I've either been really busy at work, or really busy on vacation X-D Hopefully I'll have a bit more time the last two weeks of my vacation.
This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub, 3/5, 320 pages
I usually love books that involve time-travel, so it seemed like this one would be right up my aisle. And I did enjoy it, it just didn't blow me away the way I had expected it to. It was a pleasant read, and I definitely don't regret having used my precious reading time on it, but it also left me complete unmoved. I guess somehow the stakes were too low? Not sure.
I definitely preferred reading about "back then" to reading about "now" though. I loved seeing Alice interact with her dad, and that she and Sam had always been ride and die friends :-)
Dishing Up Love - K.D. Robichaux, 4/5, 257 pages
First of all, I am SO glad I found an old version of this book, or there is no WAY I would ever have read it. I'm not usually a book cover snob, but why-oh-why would somebody exchange a suuper-cute cover for the bodice-ripper cover that's currently on Amazon??? I went to see what it cost to buy a copy for myself and just NOPED right back out of there. I will never understand some publishers :-P
Aaaaanyway! With that out of the way (and welcome back those of you curious enough to go take a look ;-) ), I will say that book-snobbery aside, this was a really sweet book :-) Completely unrealistic, of course, but true to it's own universe, so it still (mostly) worked for me. The chemistry between Curtis and Erin was off the charts, I loved the banter between the two, and I LOVED the close friendships both of them had with Carlos and Emma respectively. Especially Erin and Emma's reunion at the airport rang very true to me. The pacing was different from what I had expected (more than half the book takes place over the course of just one day), but it worked. Gave it sort of a "Before Sunrise" feel.
A lot less spicy than the current bodice-ripper cover would have you think (the cover here fits much better). Lots of dirty banter, but only one seriously steamy scene. Easily skipped, if spice isn't really your thing.
One of Us is Next - Karen M. McManus, 4/5, 374 pages
Started this on my way to work yesterday and finished it before I went to bed. It was absolutely unputdownable and every bit as much of a page turner as the first book in the series. Most of the characters rang true, and I loved reading about the different relationships ebb and flow, change and grow. (And almost cried when Maeve... but that's a spoiler, so I'll leave it there).
Will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series!
Dream Big, Stella - Ashley Farley, 4/5, 266 pages
I absolutely loved the first half, and was sure it was going to be a 5 star read. The setting was charming, the plot engaging and I absolutely adored the characters - Jazz and Cecilie especially.
But unfortunately the second half couldn't quite live up to my expectations. My favourite part about the first half was reading about the renovations and reading about Stella's relationship with Jazz, and while the latter half had plenty of the latter, it had almost none of the former. In addition to that, the writing just didn't seem as tight in the second half. Too many needless secrets, too much random drama and definitely too much telling rather than showing. I still enjoyed it, and read it at every chance I got, but it didn't blow me away as much as I'd expected it too - and the ending was more sudden than I would have liked.
So 5 stars for the first half and 3 stars for the second half - I'm going to average it out at an even 4.
The Clan of the Cave Bears - Jean M. Auel*, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~22hrs
I haven't read this in YEARS, but fortunately it totally lived up to my recollection of it, and I listened to it at every opportunity I got. Sure, I can see its flaws, but I still think it's an excellent book and the descriptions of the clan's every day life are fascinating... even if I do want to take Broud and hit him very hard with something. The ending still bothers me, but more because of the unfairness of it than anything else. And at least this time I know what happens next.
Albert - Ole Lund Kirkegaard*, 4/5, Audiobook ~3hrs
Ole Lund Kirkegaard was one of my favourite authors as a child, but somehow not one I've revisited very often as an adult, so when I recently re-discovered an audiobook version of Albert, I figured it was time to remedy that.
Fortunately it lived up to my expectations. Sure, it's a product of its time, and I don't think it would stand well to being read for the first time as an adult (unless being read aloud to a kid), but I enjoyed it, and am definitely considering revisiting more of his books.
This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub, 3/5, 320 pages
I usually love books that involve time-travel, so it seemed like this one would be right up my aisle. And I did enjoy it, it just didn't blow me away the way I had expected it to. It was a pleasant read, and I definitely don't regret having used my precious reading time on it, but it also left me complete unmoved. I guess somehow the stakes were too low? Not sure.
I definitely preferred reading about "back then" to reading about "now" though. I loved seeing Alice interact with her dad, and that she and Sam had always been ride and die friends :-)
Dishing Up Love - K.D. Robichaux, 4/5, 257 pages
First of all, I am SO glad I found an old version of this book, or there is no WAY I would ever have read it. I'm not usually a book cover snob, but why-oh-why would somebody exchange a suuper-cute cover for the bodice-ripper cover that's currently on Amazon??? I went to see what it cost to buy a copy for myself and just NOPED right back out of there. I will never understand some publishers :-P
Aaaaanyway! With that out of the way (and welcome back those of you curious enough to go take a look ;-) ), I will say that book-snobbery aside, this was a really sweet book :-) Completely unrealistic, of course, but true to it's own universe, so it still (mostly) worked for me. The chemistry between Curtis and Erin was off the charts, I loved the banter between the two, and I LOVED the close friendships both of them had with Carlos and Emma respectively. Especially Erin and Emma's reunion at the airport rang very true to me. The pacing was different from what I had expected (more than half the book takes place over the course of just one day), but it worked. Gave it sort of a "Before Sunrise" feel.
A lot less spicy than the current bodice-ripper cover would have you think (the cover here fits much better). Lots of dirty banter, but only one seriously steamy scene. Easily skipped, if spice isn't really your thing.
One of Us is Next - Karen M. McManus, 4/5, 374 pages
Started this on my way to work yesterday and finished it before I went to bed. It was absolutely unputdownable and every bit as much of a page turner as the first book in the series. Most of the characters rang true, and I loved reading about the different relationships ebb and flow, change and grow. (And almost cried when Maeve... but that's a spoiler, so I'll leave it there).
Will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series!
Dream Big, Stella - Ashley Farley, 4/5, 266 pages
I absolutely loved the first half, and was sure it was going to be a 5 star read. The setting was charming, the plot engaging and I absolutely adored the characters - Jazz and Cecilie especially.
But unfortunately the second half couldn't quite live up to my expectations. My favourite part about the first half was reading about the renovations and reading about Stella's relationship with Jazz, and while the latter half had plenty of the latter, it had almost none of the former. In addition to that, the writing just didn't seem as tight in the second half. Too many needless secrets, too much random drama and definitely too much telling rather than showing. I still enjoyed it, and read it at every chance I got, but it didn't blow me away as much as I'd expected it too - and the ending was more sudden than I would have liked.
So 5 stars for the first half and 3 stars for the second half - I'm going to average it out at an even 4.
The Clan of the Cave Bears - Jean M. Auel*, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~22hrs
I haven't read this in YEARS, but fortunately it totally lived up to my recollection of it, and I listened to it at every opportunity I got. Sure, I can see its flaws, but I still think it's an excellent book and the descriptions of the clan's every day life are fascinating... even if I do want to take Broud and hit him very hard with something. The ending still bothers me, but more because of the unfairness of it than anything else. And at least this time I know what happens next.
Albert - Ole Lund Kirkegaard*, 4/5, Audiobook ~3hrs
Ole Lund Kirkegaard was one of my favourite authors as a child, but somehow not one I've revisited very often as an adult, so when I recently re-discovered an audiobook version of Albert, I figured it was time to remedy that.
Fortunately it lived up to my expectations. Sure, it's a product of its time, and I don't think it would stand well to being read for the first time as an adult (unless being read aloud to a kid), but I enjoyed it, and am definitely considering revisiting more of his books.
