Kiwiria's September Stories

[kiwiria]

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera, 3/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
Of course this is a sad book! With a title like that, how could it not be? And it did make me cry more than once. That said, I wouldn't call it a depressing book. It's a bit like Rogue One - you know they're going to die going into it, so you're prepared, and it's the road it takes to get there that's interesting.

It's a weird concept though - I mean, would I even want to know it was my death day, if I couldn't do anything to avoid it? Sure, it would allow me to say my goodbyes, but it would also make me so terribly anxious, just waiting for it to happen, that I'm not sure I could ever make myself leave the house! And with that in mind, I'm not entirely sure what Adam Silvera was trying to achieve with this book, and wouldn't unreservedly recommend it to others. It seemed kinda pointless in that way.

Very well written though, so I don't regret having read it.


A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson, 3.5/5, 433 pages
I liked it a lot, and found it really difficult to put down, but...

Oh my GOODNESS Pippa did not think things through! She's crazy lucky things didn't go far worse than they did. I kinda understand her not going to the police earlier, but not mentioning anything to her parents? To Ravi? It's at times like that I really feel that I'm far older than the target audience :-P

That aside, I did really enjoy it. It had much the same atmosphere as "One of Us is Lying", and even if I did perhaps think things came to Pippa a bit too easily, I enjoyed following her thought processes and seeing all the clues come together the same time as she did. I also really enjoyed the writing style - the mix between transcripts / journal entries and 3rd person narrative.


Velkommen til dybet - Various, 2/5, 286 pages
(Welcome to the Depths)
I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but every once in awhile I'll come across a collection that proves me wrong, so I keep trying. This one wasn't the best I've read, but not the worst either by a long shot. Don't see myself rereading it though, so will probably pass it on after this.


Midlife Mojo - Victoria Danann, 3.5/5, 382 pages
After finishing the first two books in just a few days each, this one took me 3 months to read! And I can't even tell you exactly why, other than that I put it down, and then forgot all about it. So I guess that's it for my visit to Hallow Hill this time around.

Like with the last book, my favourite parts by far are the court cases. Absolutely fascinating, and I love seeing how Rita handles everything. I also enjoyed seeing Rita and Evie together, but was more "meh" about the rest of it.

The last chapter ends with a major cliffhanger, and the fact that that didn't bother me or make me curious just confirms my thinking that I'm done with these characters for now. I may return later - we'll see.


Undervejs - Queen Margrethe & Tom Buk-Swienty, 4.5/5, 496 pages
Queen Margrethe's life from her birth till she became the queen of Denmark - told in her own words. Interesting stories from a fascinating woman.


Book Lovers - Emily Henry, 4/5, 373 pages
I really enjoyed this book, and read most of it in one day. It's not Emily Henry's best (I still think that's "Beach Read"), but it comes very, very close. I don't think I was supposed to cry as hard over this book as I did though. But I don't know - I just got Nora. She made sense to me.

I still wish there had been more communication between the main characters (although for once not the romantic pair - I think they did just fine), but I do understand how it's possible to get into a rut where it doesn't feel possible to breach the silence.

I really want to read all the books that got mentioned though! Some were real, so they may be worth looking into.


A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara, 1.5/5, 796 pages
1.5 star, rounded up on goodreads because of the quality of the writing. I pretty much only finished it because I got stubborn, and skimmed much of the last 200 pages.

My issues with the book:

1) Long book is LONG! And there's absolutely no need for it to be as long as it is. It's not boring as such, but definitely not a page turner either, and could definitely have used a more critical editor to whittle it down a bit.

2) The book is needlessly depressing. Yes, I know that horrible things happen to people, but this just seemed excessive. I now know that the author's intention was to write about a person who was broken beyond repair and it's just... a horrible thing to read about. Also, what's her point? That some people are beyond saving, and shouldn't even try? How's that for an uplifting commentary on life?

3) Jude should have been forced into therapy YEARS ago. I do understand that he didn't seek it out himself, but his friends, Harold, Andy... SOMEBODY should have forced him.

Honestly, in the end I couldn't even feel sorry for Jude any longer. It just seemed too unrealistic, too manipulative, too... too much! Other people told me they sobbed through the last few chapters - I was skimming at this point, because I just didn't care. I'd put in enough effort that I wanted to finish the book and learn what happened. But apart from that? Nope, didn't care.

So why still two stars on goodreads instead of just one? Mostly because any author who can keep me reading through almost 800 pages of writing (even if it did take me several months) obviously has something going for her. But this is definitely one of those books where I do NOT get the hype.


The Liar - Nora Roberts, 4/5, Audiobook ~17hours
Stereotypical Nora Roberts, but I like Nora Roberts, so that's not a problem in my eyes :-) I loved reading about Shelby's life in Rendezvous Ridge, her way of making up with old friends seemed realistic, and I just adored Callie. Yes, everything was very rosy for awhile there, but it's a book! It's allowed to be :-D

The 'suspense' part played a much smaller role than it usually does in these books, and was perhaps slightly deux ex machina'ish, but I don't read Nora Roberts for high quality literature, but for excellent escapism. And in that, it certainly delivered.


Slaget i Dostor - Claus Holm, 4/5, 405 pages
(The Battle of Dostor)
Not my usual fare - I'm not usually a fan of "high fantasy" (I'm one of the fiew who find Tolkien very overrated), but Claus Holm is one of the few authors I'll read pretty much regardless of genre, and it's so far always been worth the effort.


Speak Life - Katherine Ruonala, 3/5, 188 pages
Lots of really good points, but also some I couldn't really agree with. The author occasionally made it sound like it was possible to pray 'wrong', and while it's a theory I've heard before, it's also one that really doesn't sit right with me. However, she also gave a lot of good examples of how to pray scripture and declare God's words over our lives, and that part I can definitely use and learn from.


Books Read: 91

Book of the Month: Undervejs
Biggest disappointment: A Little Life