Kiwiria's November Novels
Dec. 1st, 2023 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderOnly just made it past 100 books for the year this month. There's no WAY I'm going to reach my goodreads goal this year! But then I have been listening to a lot more audiobooks, and they take a lot longer than physical books.
Delia Suits Up - Amanda Aksel, 3.5/5, 287 pages
Getting my complaints out of the way first... The writing had some issues. Delia's bag was constantly referred to as "her gucci". "I picked up my gucci...", "I put my gucci down next to me..." etc. I almost wish I had an ebook version so I could do a search for the word 'gucci', because it was mentioned FAR more often than it had any right to.
Also, there were a few scenes where the second-hand embarrassment was so severe that I had to put down the book for awhile and pretty much psych myself up to continuing the scene. I get that Delia hadn't tried to be a man before (that sentence makes sense when you've read the book, I promise!), but had she forgotten how to be human. Good grief!
And of course everything happened to be just a biiiit too convenient for it to ring true... even within the book's own universe.
But with that said, I did find the book extremely readable. It pulled me in right away and was very difficult to put down. I finished it in just two sittings - getting to bed way too late last night, as I really wanted to know what happened next. It's an easy read - doesn't require much from the reader, and with great return for the investment. So not at all high literature - but very entertaining.
The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
Basically "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for grown-ups :-D
- A sad backstory for the main character? Check.
- The main character really needs money for something noble? Check.
- A mysterious recluse suddenly reappears after many years' silence? Check.
- Same recluse invites a bunch of people to an exclusive contest on his island/factory? Check.
It was heartbreaking in places though... hearing about Lucy's childhood just made me want to snatch her up myself and hug her close. Some 'parents' just don't deserve that honorific.
But fortunately, there was a lot to love about it too... I loved (most of) the characters, I loved the riddles (and guessed most of them ahead of time too! Go me! ;-) ), I loved Clock Island, and I really loved Christopher. He was utterly adorable! The ending was a tad too quickly/easily tied up, which is what subtracted the last half star - but up until then it was a clear 5-star read, and I definitely understand why it was nominated for Goodreads' book of the year.
The Wake-Up Call - Beth O'Leary, 4/5, Audiobook ~10hrs
Sweet and funny novel - one of Beth O'Leary's best. At first I was a bit frustrated by Izzy and Lucas' inability to just TALK things through, but then I realized that this was only because it was a book. In a real life situation I actually understand why they would just leave well enough alone instead.
A nice comfort-read. I enjoyed how Beth O'Leary used a hotel as the setting and would have loved a further look behind the scenes.
Izzy and Lucas' relationship mostly rang true, but was of course exaggerated for emphasis. Their friendships with people outside the hotel were lovely and very well written.
The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik, 4/5, Audiobook ~13hrs
It's difficult to think of anything to say about this book that I didn't already say about the first one. We're still at the Scholomance, but now instead of trying to get the seniors out safe, El wants to get EVERYBODY out safe.
The book begins the very same day the last one ended, and not much has changed, except that people are slowly starting to accept El, and trust that she might actually know what she's doing. There's still a lot of telling rather than showing going on, but for some reason it just works! It fits with the atmosphere of the book, and I was completely drawn in from the very beginning. It didn't seem as much as the middle book in a trilogy as I had expected it to, so I'm very curious as to how the third book will be handled. Alas, there's a 7 week waiting list at the library if I want to continue with the audiobooks (which I do - the narrator is awesome!), so I'll have to stay patient for awhile longer.
Hvordan man bygger en enhjørningefarm - Julie Clausen, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
I liked it, but never really fell in love with the book the way I had hoped to. Emily seemed almost unrealistically naive at times, but I liked her, and reading about her trials and tribulations setting her grandfather's house to rights was oddly comforting.
The romance was a bit too much tell and too little show, but the potential triangle was handled very well and in a realistic and timely manner.
Ruined Memory - Jordan Miland, 4/5, 306 pages
Stating my bias out of the gate - my nephew wrote this :-D However, it would have been right up my aisle either way. Dystopian fiction that includes dragons? Yes please! And I had the delightful and kinda weird experience of constantly forgetting who the author was. Really well written, and with turns of phrase that seemed well above his years.
It's been ages since I'd come across a new dystopian novel (some people would claim that it's because we've been living a dystopian future these past few years, and I'm not altogether sure I disagree :-P ), and I was delighted to get my hands on one again. I'm usually a bit hesitant with books that intertwine past and future, but it was done well here - reminded me of "Project Hail Mary" more than anything else - and I enjoyed piecing together the pieces of the puzzle as Duncan remembered more and more of his past.
Delia Suits Up - Amanda Aksel, 3.5/5, 287 pages
Getting my complaints out of the way first... The writing had some issues. Delia's bag was constantly referred to as "her gucci". "I picked up my gucci...", "I put my gucci down next to me..." etc. I almost wish I had an ebook version so I could do a search for the word 'gucci', because it was mentioned FAR more often than it had any right to.
Also, there were a few scenes where the second-hand embarrassment was so severe that I had to put down the book for awhile and pretty much psych myself up to continuing the scene. I get that Delia hadn't tried to be a man before (that sentence makes sense when you've read the book, I promise!), but had she forgotten how to be human. Good grief!
And of course everything happened to be just a biiiit too convenient for it to ring true... even within the book's own universe.
But with that said, I did find the book extremely readable. It pulled me in right away and was very difficult to put down. I finished it in just two sittings - getting to bed way too late last night, as I really wanted to know what happened next. It's an easy read - doesn't require much from the reader, and with great return for the investment. So not at all high literature - but very entertaining.
The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
Basically "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for grown-ups :-D
- A sad backstory for the main character? Check.
- The main character really needs money for something noble? Check.
- A mysterious recluse suddenly reappears after many years' silence? Check.
- Same recluse invites a bunch of people to an exclusive contest on his island/factory? Check.
It was heartbreaking in places though... hearing about Lucy's childhood just made me want to snatch her up myself and hug her close. Some 'parents' just don't deserve that honorific.
But fortunately, there was a lot to love about it too... I loved (most of) the characters, I loved the riddles (and guessed most of them ahead of time too! Go me! ;-) ), I loved Clock Island, and I really loved Christopher. He was utterly adorable! The ending was a tad too quickly/easily tied up, which is what subtracted the last half star - but up until then it was a clear 5-star read, and I definitely understand why it was nominated for Goodreads' book of the year.
The Wake-Up Call - Beth O'Leary, 4/5, Audiobook ~10hrs
Sweet and funny novel - one of Beth O'Leary's best. At first I was a bit frustrated by Izzy and Lucas' inability to just TALK things through, but then I realized that this was only because it was a book. In a real life situation I actually understand why they would just leave well enough alone instead.
A nice comfort-read. I enjoyed how Beth O'Leary used a hotel as the setting and would have loved a further look behind the scenes.
Izzy and Lucas' relationship mostly rang true, but was of course exaggerated for emphasis. Their friendships with people outside the hotel were lovely and very well written.
The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik, 4/5, Audiobook ~13hrs
It's difficult to think of anything to say about this book that I didn't already say about the first one. We're still at the Scholomance, but now instead of trying to get the seniors out safe, El wants to get EVERYBODY out safe.
The book begins the very same day the last one ended, and not much has changed, except that people are slowly starting to accept El, and trust that she might actually know what she's doing. There's still a lot of telling rather than showing going on, but for some reason it just works! It fits with the atmosphere of the book, and I was completely drawn in from the very beginning. It didn't seem as much as the middle book in a trilogy as I had expected it to, so I'm very curious as to how the third book will be handled. Alas, there's a 7 week waiting list at the library if I want to continue with the audiobooks (which I do - the narrator is awesome!), so I'll have to stay patient for awhile longer.
Hvordan man bygger en enhjørningefarm - Julie Clausen, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
I liked it, but never really fell in love with the book the way I had hoped to. Emily seemed almost unrealistically naive at times, but I liked her, and reading about her trials and tribulations setting her grandfather's house to rights was oddly comforting.
The romance was a bit too much tell and too little show, but the potential triangle was handled very well and in a realistic and timely manner.
Ruined Memory - Jordan Miland, 4/5, 306 pages
Stating my bias out of the gate - my nephew wrote this :-D However, it would have been right up my aisle either way. Dystopian fiction that includes dragons? Yes please! And I had the delightful and kinda weird experience of constantly forgetting who the author was. Really well written, and with turns of phrase that seemed well above his years.
It's been ages since I'd come across a new dystopian novel (some people would claim that it's because we've been living a dystopian future these past few years, and I'm not altogether sure I disagree :-P ), and I was delighted to get my hands on one again. I'm usually a bit hesitant with books that intertwine past and future, but it was done well here - reminded me of "Project Hail Mary" more than anything else - and I enjoyed piecing together the pieces of the puzzle as Duncan remembered more and more of his past.
