Books I've Rated 4 / 5
-
The Toll
Finished
I think this wrapped up the series pretty well. I do feel like, at times, it was almost more of a kind of description of a possible ideal (with a big asterisk) future than a novel, and it almost left the characters behind as it did that. And I’m not actually sure I think the eventual state of affairs
on Earth It was interesting that at a certain point, I started wondering if the book was going to wrap up as an appeal to faith. There was a part of the book that very much felt like it was trying to draw parallels (beyond, obviously, the Tonists more explicitly) between The Thunderhead and some kind of deity—not just within the novels’ universe, which happened a lot, but more as a meta-narrative. In the end I don’t think it went that way.
I do kind of wish we learned more about the world Citra and Rowan ended up building—we learned a bit about the Tonists through the theological interludes (and, disappointingly, learned how much information was clearly lost), but we only got a brief look at Citra waking up at the very end.
-
A Curse Carved in Bone
Finished
This was a fun duology. The scope of this one broadened significantly and I think with a lot of books and movies that take a similar route, I find myself checking out—but I enjoyed all the twists and turns, for the most part, and I never lost sight of the characters at the center, which kept me invested.
The epilogue was silly, though: she admirably swore off war… and then immediately un-swore it off in a scene that felt like the last scene of The Incredibles. -
The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association
Finished
Really enjoyed this. It’s cozy, but it’s a bit deeper than I might expect from something cozy. As a parent of a toddler just starting in childcare, I found that this resonated surprisingly deeply and the fantasy elements easily mapped, without being heavy handed, to real parenting concerns.
-
When I Was You
Finished
Honestly a lot of fun. Lots of twists. Does well to play with the tropes of the genre and then subvert expectations. Also once or twice when I expected a twist and it went straight, in a pleasantly surprising way.
-
Rabbits A Novel
Finished
-
The Spear Cuts Through Water
Finished
Another book that gets the “I’m clearly too dumb to fully appreciate this” bump. It took me a long time to get through, even on audio. I set it aside a lot. The writing is very poetic and often abstract, and it jumps between times, places, and perspectives regularly. On audio, at least, some of these jumps are very disorienting and hard to follow. I think it’s a very artful book, but I can’t say I enjoyed it.
-
The Perfect Divorce
Finished
I had kind of forgotten how the first one resolved so it took me a bit to catch up to events. Fun thriller. The twists and turns were fun, kept me guessing, and didn’t usually feel cheap once revealed.
I hope—expect?—there will be a third book that wraps up Sarah’s arc. If I’m supposed to be satisfied that she just keeps getting away with it… I’m not. It’s not that her adversaries are good, but she’s, you know, also not good. -
The First Sister
Finished
-
Cleat Cute
Finished
Pretty far outside my wheelhouse and the “spicy” scenes were prolonged and graphic, which I don’t judge it’s simply not what I read books for, but the relationship was absolutely charming and as a soccer fan I had a lot of fun with the setting—it’s also clear the author is immersed in the woso world for a bunch of reasons, and that added to the authenticity. Very fun read.
-
A Fate Inked in Blood
Finished
I didn’t realize what I’d gotten myself into when I started this book, but honestly I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think the “spicy” parts, which I don’t tend to read books for, flowed perfectly well from the non-spicy parts (unlike Iron Flame), and I found the plot engaging, the world interesting, the romance (again, not really my primary motivator to read a book) compelling-enough. The writing is fine, not excellent – a few phrases stick out and start to get annoying, but it’s ok. I’ll pick up the second at some point.
-
The Other Mrs
Finished
I was pretty sure I had this figured out from very early on and while I wasn’t wrong I didn’t have the whole thing, so what I had sussed out was joined by things I hadn’t or things that took me much longer in a pretty satisfying way.
-
The Atlas Six
Finished
The first characters we’re introduced to seem like the most obvious and ham-fisted “enemies to lovers” I’ve ever seen and I wondered what I was in for, but as the book goes on it gets stranger, less predictable, and frankly the writing gets better (and also stranger, at times). I would not have guessed, starting out, that I’d like this book any more than so much “is it YA, or isn’t it?” fantasy I’ve read over the years. But by the end, I really liked it. Will pick up the sequel soon.
-
When No One is Watching
Finished
-
Famous Last Words
Finished
Chewed through the audiobook in two days so that’s gotta count for something. Not necessarily a stand-out thriller but it had me hooked all the same.
-
How Are You Going to Pay for That? Smart Answers to the Dumbest Question in Politics
Finished
Lots of interesting stuff in this book. Oddly though the actual title of the book seems to be … not really the main thrust. The main thrust is all the things that need to be done; how those things are paid for seems to mostly be “it’s not actually that important” and I think that’s fair but it makes the book title kind of funny.