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I was pretty disappointed by this book. It was my choice from the subscription box ‘Book of the Month' this month, and I had been skipping BOTM for many months. I decided to select this creepy book for October, even though it didn't seem that interesting to me. I was hoping it would be good and surprise me. BOTM's quick take is: “A mysterious hiking accident kicks off this sp**ky tale of witchcraft, revenge, and a mother's search for answers.” Additionally, their full synopsis does not cover that there is a second narrative taking place in the past at all. In retrospect, I should have just skipped another month, and maybe I should cancel my subscription altogether.

The book is just over 350 pages and I got to page 74 before giving up. There were a few things that bothered me: First, different narratives in different time periods. This seems to be a big trend these days, and most of the time if this is in a synopsis in a book, I will not read it. It's just not interesting to me to read virtually two different stories that somehow come together in the end. The synopsis offered by BOTM did not really point to different narratives in the book. One is modern day (2024), and the other is far in the past (1594), and they are (or will be from my point-of-view as a reader who stopped reading) connected by witchcraft. I found the modern day story very intriguing and almost enjoyed those chapters, and often when I flipped to a new chapter set in 1594, I audibly groaned.

Second, 74 pages in and I'm utterly uninterested in half the book? That's a problem. Third, the writing is quite poor. Not only is it in present tense, which, to me, is unenjoyable to read, but sentence variation, descriptions, tension, character and plot development were all extremely lacking. It was just so uninteresting.

Let me go back to the line level for a moment: I'd read sentences like (not an exact quote): “Clem puts on her shoes and walks out the door. Clem gets in the car and drives to the hospital. Clem speaks to the doctors.” Maybe I'm being a bit over-the-top, but this is what it felt like. Also, another pet peeve is this flip of the hand to try to build tension at the end of a chapter (not an exact quote):

“They place me back in chains and pull me down the stairs.
To the dungeon.”

I am not alarmed by this. I'm annoyed that, “To the dungeon,” is not a sentence.

So, all-in-all, I don't recommend this and really want my time and money back.

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I don't think I've ever read a “cozy” mystery, but that's what I'd call this. I felt excited and, well, cozy reading it. It reminded me of Miss Marple or Sherlock, but in a different way. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got it from Libby, and slowly read it over two weeks. That's actually fast for me. In the last four days, I've been speed-reading because the book was going to be returned and I couldn't renew it. I just had to know the ending!

How to Solve Your Own Murder follows Annie in the present day when she seemingly and suddenly becomes the heir to her elderly Great Aunt Frances' fortune, so she travels from her home in London to pleasant Castle Knoll. Annie has never met Frances, so this was a surprise. More of a surprise is that the day Annie is going to meet Frances, she is found murdered. All her life, Frances was obsessed with a fortune she was told as a teenager that she would be murdered, so she acted rather paranoid and rooted out secrets. Annie's involvement in solving the mystery is interspersed with entries from Frances' diary as a teenager in the 1960s, which sheds light on the mystery as well.

The story is entertaining and pulls you along. There are many characters, and I was only slightly unsure of who some were, but those were very minor ones. I think the book does a good job of swirling all these different egos, histories, motives, and fears together. The setting is enjoyable as well, and as this is becoming a series with a second book on the way, I can see many things happening in this small town.

I had two main issues with the book. One was that something would happen on the page, and then we would receive Annie's inner narrative describing what just happened. Many times it didn't elaborate or cause revelations for Annie. It was just a description, more-or-less. Obviously, it happened enough times for me to notice it. Secondly, Annie's character is fun, but she felt a little one dimensional. It felt like she was a mirror for all the interesting characters in the story even though she's the main character. She was excited right from the beginning to learn about Frances and Castle Knoll, even before the murder. Often in books, this type of setup creates an unwilling main character, so it is refreshing that Annie wanted to be there. But she had so little depth. All I really know about her is that she wants to be a writer.

I recommend this book if you like mysteries of any kind, especially if you just want a rather lighthearted read. (Well, considering it's a murder mystery...) I will read the second book as this one was so enjoyable.

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I can't give this book enough stars. I didn't know what to expect going in, except an interesting story. I didn't even know what it was about. But I loved every page. The way characters' stories are interwoven, complex, and layered reminds me of a tapestry. The way Ng weaves so many threads together, countless threads, is masterful. Both metaphorically and narratively, it could be enough to make your head spin, but Ng gently guides you to realizations, emotions, challenges, and, of course, plot lines.

Little Fires Everywhere is about family: what a family is, what a family looks like, and what a family means. There is no main character you follow really, but Mia Warren may be a center point. She is an artist and a vagabond with her daughter Pearl. They live somewhere for a while, Mia works on her art, and when the inspiration dries up, they move on. Now, they've slightly settled in Shaker Heights and the story unfolds with the members of different families intertwining.

I found this book beautiful in many ways. It made me emotional and even burst out crying. Knowing less about a book before reading it is my preference, so I truly don't want to say much more. I would love to re-read it some day, and I can't wait to read Ng's other work.

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Libby can be very motivating when it comes to reading. I started Firekeeper's Daughter, but didn't finish before my loan expired. I had to put another hold on. When it came in again, I read so fast to finish in time! I also have about 4 or 5 other books right now because all of my holds came in at the same time. There's no way I'm going to finish more than one of those.

Anyway, let's talk about this book. Our main character, Daunis, is half Ojibwe, but because of a technicality on her birth certificate, she's not formally accepted by the tribe. She lives between her white family and her native family. The story blooms from Daunis' difficulty with her identity, family, and tradition. Interjected is a criminal investigation about meth being sold on reservations. Daunis is recruited to work undercover. She struggles because this is her community and she doesn't want to betray them, but she also wants to help them. Also, the story takes place in the early 2000s. This doesn't necessarily affect the plot all that much. I even forgot most of the time, until I realized how little technology played a part in the characters' lives.

I enjoyed this book and was interested in the plot. There are moments that made me a little emotional surrounding grief and loss. Daunis' relationship with her mother didn't exactly remind me of my own, but there are things they say to each other that moved me. Daunis' feelings about herself in relation to her parents' lives, however, felt personal to me. Living between parents who are separated for whatever reason is difficult. The book shows how it is to live with grief in many different ways, and those moments were very special.

However, in some ways it felt convoluted, convenient, and predictable. I found myself thinking, “I wish this written better,” meaning the structure of the mystery and overall story. There are many revelations and different characters. I do like that since the book is about Daunis' life, which is wide and varied. The book was rich in that sense. But working out the mystery could have been done more clearly. The two aspects of the book – Daunis' life and the mystery – simply don't mesh well.

I suppose on the one hand, they shouldn't exactly mesh. After all, this mystery is disturbing her life. However, what I mean is how the story is created. It felt messy and unresolved. I was able to predict several revelations. I wonder what it would have been like if Daunis' life was even more forward and the mystery took a complete backseat. For example, if Daunis only heard rumors and someone else was working undercover. If the book was a study on Daunis' identity, grief, family, etc., even more than it already is, I think this could have been a great book.

Additionally, the romantic plot almost made me angry. I don't read or enjoy romance, so most of the time a romantic plot needs to be done really well for me to like it. A lot of the time it feels like every book puts in romance just to have it there. With Firekeeper's Daughter, it makes sense to a degree. Daunis is undercover and having this boyfriend is her cover. But she then is distracted multiple times by how hot he is and how drawn she feels to him. It felt out of character and forced so it could lead to romance instead of just being undercover.

Overall, I might read this book again. It had its moments. I can't say the mystery was the most interesting part, though, so I do wish it was in the background more.

Trigger Warning for this book: sexual assault. It doesn't go into detail, but an assault happens on the page.

It's been a while since I finished a book, but I've started many. According to my Goodreads, I'm currently reading 9 books. A few I own, and a few are from the library (Libby). I don't read quite fast enough, so my loan usually expires before I finish. Then I have to put it on hold again. With Anne of Green Gables, I didn't finish within the allotted two weeks either, but no one else had it on hold luckily!

I've never read Anne before and I knew nothing about it. I thought it was about an orphaned, red-headed girl who got treated badly but had an imagination. That doesn't seem right at all after reading this book. Yes, she was badly treated in her past and she does have quite the imagination, but Anne is about something entirely different.

Anne is an orphan, and by accident she is adopted by siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island. They are both loving in their own way, and Anne is raised in a remarkable way. She is free to be herself. Sometimes her temper or pride get her into difficult situations, but it all works out. This book isn't here to challenge the reader in any real way. It's meant to be pleasant and lovable.

For me, this book romanticizes childhood, but I don't mean that in any kind of negative way. I'm tempted to write that, “We all want...,” but I will only speak for myself. I desperately want to remember how it felt to be a child. The imagination and the dreams. The magic, fun, play, laughter, ambition, hope... How so many things were new and exciting. How the world seemed great and full of possibility. I think this book romanticizes all of that, but in a way that it should be romanticized. We, as adults, should try so hard to remember those feelings.

I haven't read up on any history of this book. I know when it was published, and that's about it. I'm afraid if I read about the book, I'll be spoiled for the rest of the series. I would like to continue reading it, and even the smallest spoilers usually bother me. So I'm unsure of any intent by the author, or history of the author herself.

The reason I'm not giving the book a full five stars is because roughly the last third bothered me. Most of the book was so detailed with how Anne was growing up between the ages of about 11 and 13. And then suddenly she's flying through the years, and I think the book ends with her being almost 17. The chapters dedicated to “young” Anne are darling. I couldn't stop reading. I enjoyed all of Anne's eccentricities, and Marilla's reserved amusement. Then all of sudden, Marilla remarks that Anne doesn't talk as much anymore. What happened between then and now?

I would have loved more time dedicated to those teenage years. Again, I don't know how the book was published – was it serialized? I don't know how the author wrote it – was she rushed in the end, or was a series planned from the beginning? In any case, it looks like there are eight books in total. I suppose the story from here will dedicated to Anne as an adult. I'm sure it will be interesting, but the two-thirds of Anne of Green Gables dedicated to young Anne was so special.

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I've never read an Earthsea book, and I knew nothing about the world except that it was fantasy. I didn't even know the name, “Ged.” I'd heard in many places how respected Le Guin is, but reading Earthsea was something I just would get around to one day.

Well, I got my library card and began using the Libby app. I've been reading ebooks on my tablet instead of my phone, and it's much more enjoyable. And that's how I put a hold on A Wizard of Earthsea. I knew of the book, and it was there, and when it became available, I read it.

Well, what a surprise and a delight. It's a fantastical book following a young man as he becomes a wizard. However, he's arrogant and proud, believing in his own greatness. This nearly ruins him, and then he must right his wrongs and discover how he can be that wizard.

The book is short, so I don't want to share too many details. Learning about the world of Earthsea should be done by the book itself. It's a quick, smooth read. The writing pulls you along as though you were listening to someone tell a great story at a party. You don't want them to stop. You need to know what happens.

Le Guin's style made me think not only of Lord of the Rings but also Narnia. It felt like a mix to me. It's a fantasical history of sorts, and it's so pleasant and enjoyable to experience. I can't wait to read the next one.

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Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review from Netgalley. Thank you to Tin House Books.

I believe the prologue of How We Named the Stars is absolutely beautiful. I cried a little when I read it the first time, and then read it again when I finished the book. The entire book itself is full of beautiful, emotional writing. When I finished, I discovered Ordorica is a poet, so that makes sense.

With that said, I want to say the book lacks substance because so much relies on language alone. Most of the book is just paragraphs of Daniel's, the narrator, thoughts. Not exactly much happens until the third part. Until then, so much is just what's in his head. However, it's difficult to say the book lacks substance since the point seems to be emotional, not plot-focused. Still, it fell flat for me.

Speaking of the plot, essentially it's supposed to be adjacent to a love story between Daniel and Sam. At least, that's how I feel. Perhaps others would say it's a full-on love story. But as I said, so much is in Daniel's head. I find it hard to discuss this without spoilers, but the links between Daniel and others felt weak. If more time was spent with those other characters, where we as readers see them being themselves instead of Daniel telling us about them, perhaps the links would feel stronger. Besides Daniel and Sam, and really just Daniel, there is nothing to be said of these characters. I know nothing about them or their development. With Sam, I had trouble understanding why Sam felt the way he did. It was like, it just happened because it needed to be that way for the book. There was no development of character or feelings.

In the third part of the book, things change in many ways and there are so many scenes with other people. People talking and things happening. This was like a breath of fresh air. To be honest, while reading the first and second parts, I was getting frustrated. It was Daniel's constant thoughts. If there was a scene with dialogue, each line was followed by a paragraph of Daniel's thoughts. I didn't know if the whole book would be this way, but I didn't want to give up. The prose itself was lovely.

I guess all of this boils down to the old adage of “show don't tell.” This book almost solely tells us what is going on. It was disappointing. My frustration would rate it two stars, but my feelings while reading Ordorica's use of language would give it four stars. Normally, a three star rating from me usually means it's a middling book. But I can't say that's the case here. There are two strong reactions to this book, and three stars is just the average.

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Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book for review from Netgalley. Thank you to Alcove Press.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book. I got almost 60 pages in, and I had a lot of difficulty. I understand ARC's are not finished copies. They're not polished, perfect, and ready to go. However, this felt like a first draft. There were a lot of basic errors – punctuation, grammar, tense – but also more serious construction issues. It was hard to follow what was happening, and this was right from the opening scene. The narrator, Aki, jumps between current action and dialogue, her own thoughts, something that happened in the past, the history of the person she's talking to, and other things.

The premise of the book is interesting: an Asian teacher is working at a mostly white, rich, privileged prep school when racist graffiti appears. How will the school, students, and faculty respond to this? I love prep school and boarding school stories, so I was excited for this. What's more, Aki's daughter, Meg, attends the school since her mother is a teacher there, so that is an interesting dynamic as well.

However, I didn't expect this to be comedic, and the presentation of many characters and events seem to lean towards humor. I don't know if that was intentional or, frankly, bad writing due to being an underdeveloped story. I feel like this book just was not ready to be published. Highly disappointed.

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TW: Attempted sexual assault.

I've wanted to read one of Moreno-Garcia's books for quite some time, and Mexican Gothic happened to be the first since I picked up a copy in a spooky, “haunted” bookstore on a trip for my fifth year anniversary. I'm interested in each of her titles, so I didn't have a preference which book would come first. However, I have to say I'm disappointed this was my first read by her since I was disappointed by the book.

The story is set in a Gothic, haunted house and has many Gothic themes and characteristics. I suppose that was my issue from the beginning. It was like being hit over the head: “This is a Gothic story!” I mean, it's right there in the title. I'm not sure what my expectation was. Perhaps some sort of subversion, or turning it all on its head? Instead, it became a runaway train. I think the story tries to lean in so hard, too hard, that it verges on ridiculous.

The story centers on Noemí Taboada who has come to this house to help her cousin, who lives with her new husband and his family. Noemí has no idea what she's in for. She thinks her cousin is simply unwell and needs assistance. But there is so much more going on, and the mysteries and horrors unravel quite slowly before coming down all at once, like an avalanche. The slowness of the first half or so of the book bogged me down a bit. I kept going to see what would happen, but I felt frustrated for most of this book.

Avoiding spoilers, I want to say why I'm giving three stars and not a lower rating. Obviously I haven't said many positive things here. While the face of the story didn't do much for me, the undertones, symbolism, and postcolonial lens all work powerfully here. The story takes place in Mexico, where Noemí's cousin's family has settled from Europe. They settled there long ago and opened a mine. That alone is not only symbolic, but plainly shows how white settlers come in and rip open indigenous land for their own gain. As the story progresses, there are many things the family does, and have done in the past, which parallel how white settlers have treated indigenous women, lands, wealth, children, economies, power, individuality, and freedom. Trying to defeat such a family, to right such wrongs... what could do it? How much would it take?

I can see, when viewing the story this way, how it works. It's like looking at a painting, and it's alright, but when the light changes, it's beautiful, because you can see things that were hidden before. I think, though, that the main story, or painting, or anything, should be done well and enjoyable. The events of Mexican Gothic were sometimes predictable and uninteresting. Great Gothic stories are classics because of the tension in the main character's solitude. I didn't feel that here. I felt bored. With the horror elements, how vulgar and gross they were, even then I wasn't moved since they felt over the top, but not in a camp way.

In writing this review, I've been trying to sort my own thoughts. I'm conflicted because I like what Moreno-Garcia did, but I suppose I don't like how she did it. Perhaps in the future I could read Mexican Gothic again, after reading some of her other stories, to experience the story again and hopefully enjoy it more.

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I'm so happy I was able to finish this book before the end of the year. I have to say upfront how much I enjoyed it. I felt so hard and so many things while reading this story. That hasn't happened in a while. I don't mean to sound old (I'm about to be 36), but a lot of new media I consume doesn't make me feel much. I thought it was because all stories had been told, that I had seen all the formulas. But now I think it's the way stories are told. The story of The Bean Trees is not necessarily groundbreaking. But Kingsolver's prose, the way characters interact, the facts of the world around them, and zooming in on small moments are what make this book great. Those, and so many other things. With this in mind, I've started looking more at books published in the past rather than the newest ones. Don't hold me to that, though.

The Bean Trees can't really be summarized. A girl leaves rural Kentucky, practically fleeing, because she doesn't want to die in the dirt there. She ends up in charge of an Indian toddler and living in Arizona with another woman who has her own baby. (As friends. Nothing queer here.) She works in a used tire shop for an older woman who helps refugees trying to make their way to safety while the American government wants to send them back to be killed in their home country. There is so much in this novel, and that's because life itself is complicated and messy.

I read this book in high school, and for all these years, I've remembered that I liked the book. However, I'd forgotten anything significant about it, only that someone (I thought the main character) helps refugees to safety. I bought a copy a long time ago, and I can't say how happy I am that I've read it.

This book deeply affected me. A big theme is motherhood, and the fear of taking care of a child. I don't have or want children, but my mother died in 2018 and we did not have a wonderful relationship. Certain things resonated with me, and other things I probably just projected my own issues onto. But that happens for all readers, right? Every reading experience will be different. Being able to connect so strongly to a book, though, is a sign of the strength of the book, of the book's own character and power.

There's a scene near the very end where the main character calls her own mother back in Kentucky on a payphone. They don't want to hang up, saying goodbye to each other several times, until the main character finally says she has to go. This moment just made me bawl. I see how it's because I miss my own mom, that I'd love to talk to her on the phone again. I see exactly how we wouldn't be able to hang up on each other. Moments like this, the reality of it all, is why this book is so moving and why I could connect with it.

Anyway, I recommend it.

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Wow, finishing books so close together is really impressive for me. I received The Kingdom of Sweets from Book of the Month, and I chose it because it's inspired by The Nutcracker. I had vague memories of the ballet, but felt like I liked it. I also thought it'd be fun for Christmas.

I did really enjoy reading this book. I reached for it, looked forward to it. Last night I read for two hours in order to finish it. I go back and forth on my rating, between 2 or 3 stars. I lean towards 3 because of how much I wanted to finish the story, but I'm stuck at 2 because I noticed the flaws I will discuss while reading. I also realized more issues after finishing.

I don't want to discuss the plot in depth because I hate giving out spoilers. I also went in completely blind, which is my favorite way to read a book. My reviews are not plot descriptions because of this. The story is definitely inspired by The Nutcracker in a loose way. I read the plot of the ballet after finishing and I think Johansen did so much with what was there. There are moments that are directly taken and expanded on in a very interesting way. A new character is introduced, Natasha, and the story is from her point-of-view. Her twin is Clara, and Clara has always had everything: attention, beauty, love. Natasha sticks to the walls and is friends with servants. This dynamic works for them and they aren't enemies. But it fuels what happens in the story.

The momentum stayed up for me and I just wanted to know what would happen. However, in the last 30% or 40%, I started to feel like the story was falling flat. And that feeling stuck once the book ended. I hate to say this, but there was so much potential. Overall, I think this book suffered from a lack of editing. There are so many ideas: directly from the ballet, inspired by it, and newly formed. I suppose they don't mesh seamlessly. Early on in the book, I found repetition was common. In the actual Kingdom of Sweets, it makes sense to describe all the different sweets, but it became, well, annoying. This after this after this after this. These types of repetitive descriptions happened multiple times. The writing didn't feel clear, especially when describing a complicated idea. A few times, I simply couldn't understand what was happening.

One thing that bothered from the beginning was the fact that this book is nearly all exposition. Yes, there are scenes of dialogue and action. But only very key scenes are acted out in this way. Everything else is told to the reader by Natasha. At one point I though Johansen might be doing this on purpose since there is no speaking in a ballet, which is clever, but she does have scenes with dialogue. You can't really go halfway with that idea.

Yes, I read the book, and quickly, so how bad can it be? Could I recommend it? Perhaps. Just with the caveat that it is lackluster. It needed to be tightened up and polished.

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The Salt Grows Heavy was recommended to me by a coworker, and they even brought their copy in for me to read. Even though it's such a short book, it took me a while, about two months, to finish it. I picked it up for a bit, then stopped for a long while. I finished the last half in the past two or three days.

Without looking at a blurb, it's hard for me to say exactly what this book was about. Maybe that's my own fault because I went so long between starting and finishing. After looking it up, I'm reminded that this is a story of a mermaid and a plague doctor who become more-or-less trapped in a village of children and surgeons. The story is full of gore and mystery. There's elements of fantasy and, I suppose, science-fiction, though nothing is fully explained.

I think my issue is with many novellas or short stories I read: the setup isn't there. I'm not oriented enough when I begin the story, so I don't understand how things work or where we are. However, I continue on, trying to enjoy it. By the end, the story felt flat, like the big flourish of an ending, or even a climax, wasn't there. I left disappointed, because I did really enjoy the writing of this novella. It's creepy and gory. The mythology of the mermaid here is terrifying, and the reader realizes it over time. That's the novella's strength. Everything else, though, seems like extras so the author could share this mythology.

The plot was uninteresting to me, and at the end something happens that seems completely out of left field. I don't know if the author was building to it, if it's not a spoiler, or if it's obvious. I'm not going to say what it is just in case, but it seemed so awkward and wrong for the story. Suffice it to say, I didn't like the ending.

I would definitely read other stories by Khaw because the writing was great. This was the first thing I've read from them, so of course I'd try again. Also, it has no bearing on anything, but this cover is absolutely stunning. I would hang this on my wall!

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Enjoyed. Not doing a full review.

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Read this for a class. Won't be doing a full review.

I don't frequently read memoirs or non-fiction books in general, but I do enjoy listening to podcasts. I decided I would start listening to non-fiction books on audio because it seems similar, and it's gone well. Whenever I've tried listening to fiction on audio, I always miss something. But I really enjoyed listening to Tig Notaro's memoir and was able to keep up with it. I think it's hard to review or rate a memoir since it's really about your own emotional connection to the work. I mean, it's someone's life story. How can you judge that?

In the memoir, Tig talks about the trajectory of her career and how she was becoming more famous, but I honestly didn't know who she was before Star Trek: Discovery. Forgive me. I do think she's incredibly funny and smart. I love her sense of humor. The memoir is full of that dry, sarcastic way about it. And the audiobook is narrated by her, which made it even better.

The subject matter is very heavy as it deals with the death of her mother and Tig's several illnesses that occurred during and after that event. My favorite moments were when she discussed her mother because my own mother died in 2018. Tig's relationship with her mother is different than mine, but the way she described her mother really reminded me of my own. Also, the things Tig said when she sat beside her mother in the hospital resonated with me.

Is it normal to re-read memoirs? I don't know. I feel like I would re-read the moments regarding her mother because of how much I felt during those moments. I don't know. It just felt very honest.

The entire memoir is honest, and I haven't read a memoir in quite some time, but the ones I have read sometimes feel like the author is trying to create a narrative for their life. Not that it's fake, but just polished. I'm sure things are polished here, but I connected with it in such a way and it was written in such a way that made me see Tig as a whole person with flaws, desires, struggles, setbacks, and ultimately the drive to keep going. I believe I will carry these stories with me, and perhaps return to this book at some point. I do recommend it.

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I read this book in about two days for a class. I'm not doing a full review.

It took me a very long time to read this very short book (about 65 pages), and I thought it was me. I'm a slow reader after all. But after finishing it, I realized there just wasn't enough story here to interest me.

I don't want to say too much about the plot since the book is so short, but essentially we follow a young teenage girl who is living on the streets of New Orleans. But this version of New Orleans is some sort of alternate history. I'm not sure of the specifics, and I'm not sure when exactly the story is supposed to take place. The world isn't fleshed out very much. There are also skyships and magic (more-or-less) involved.

It's an interesting premise, and it's a bit sad since, if this story were developed more, the world could be amazing. I've been reading short books to try to read more books, to experience more stories beginning to end, but this one really let me down.

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I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of The Murderbot Diaries, so I decided to immediately continue with the second book, Artificial Condition. I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed. This review will be shorter for a couple reasons: it's a short book, and it's a sequel. I don't want to spoil the first book.

We continue to follow the narrator, a “murderbot.” In this book, they give themself the name of Eden and they're trying to pass as an augmented human rather than just a murderbot. I won't explain how or why they got there.

The events of the book are rather slow, and virtually no action happens until the last few pages. Because of that, it felt like a real filler episode. Eden has to get from the end of book one to wherever they're going next once they do this one specific thing. That one specific thing is the goal of this book, but of course a few things get in the way. Once that thing is accomplished, and it takes about 150 pages to dance around it getting accomplished, the book has to end.

I guess you could see the goal, the reveal of certain information, was very important, and I could see why a whole book would focus on it. But overall, it just felt like a set-up between plot points. I have no idea what's going to happen in book three, Rogue Protocol, but it seems Eden had to do this thing in order for those events to happen. I don't see why Artificial Condition couldn't be tightened up and possibly combined with book three.

With that said, I obviously finished the book and wanted to see what would happen. I like our main character. I like how they think and act. I like the humor of the book. I was happy to follow Eden along. I'm not really one to ask for lots of action, but it really felt like nothing was happening except filler.

I will continue the series, but not just yet. I'm going to pick a different book to read next.

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In continuing my reading of short books, I picked up All Systems Red, the first of The Murderbot Diaries. It's about 90 pages long, and I highly enjoyed it. I want to continue the series right away, which rarely happens for me. Usually I want a break so I don't get tired of a series and its characters. I know many people can binge things – such as television – but I can only take things in chunks. (Usually.)

The story is from the point-of-view of a “murderbot,” a type of rented android on a mission with some humans in order to protect them. Since the story is so short and things about the murderbot are revealed, I don't want to say too much. But what happens in the beginning is unexpected, and our murderbot has to work with the humans in ways it didn't think it would. It's an unusual situation.

All Systems Red really throws you into its sci-fi world and I did find it a little difficult to orient myself. It wasn't until maybe a third or even halfway through the book until I started to understand the “feed” system. I still don't know how it really works. Somehow humans and murderbots all have some neurological link to a feed. They are able to access information and even talk to each other through it. I don't know how it works. Additionally, it became clearer what exactly a SecUnit/murderbot is as the story progressed, but it wasn't spelled out.

I can't say I dislike that. I like stories that don't just lay everything out in exposition. In my opinion, it's better to let the reader see how the characters live their lives, and then the reader can make their own conclusions. Perhaps it could have been a little cleaner, though. I wasn't sure if there were typos, unclear editing, or just poor sentence structure, but sometimes I was a little confused on what was happening.

The action of the story really kept it moving and I could hardly put the book down, which is impressive to me since so few things hold my attention these days. I love the ending of the book, and like I said up top, can't wait to continue the series.

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I recently decided to start reading shorter books so I could finish a story. In 2022, finishing a story was often impossible for me. I read Bodies of Water in about a month and it's only 130 pages. I'm happy with that, and I hope I can continue to finish stories throughout the year.

This may be the first review I've done with spoilers. My issues with the story can only be addressed in that way. But before spoilers, let me explain the premise: Kirsten is living in present day and just moved into an apartment complex which was used as a hydrotherapy hospital in the 1870s. It's close to the river, and Kirsten is fascinated by the water. But then strange things start happening. Every other chapter is from Kirsten's point-of-view. The other chapters are Evelyn, who is a patient at the hydrotherapy hospital in the 1870s. In my opinion, her chapters are much more interesting with much more happening. There are more characters and action.

In general, though, the book is filled with exposition which gets very boring. The author also uses the word “water” and/or “river” in almost every single paragraph. I felt like I was getting hit over the head with something, and I just don't know what it was. The story doesn't connect any dots to really say anything. At the end, there are some lines about women being confined across centuries and needing the wide space of the river to, I'm not sure, have their own space?

SPOILER WARNING: After finishing the book, I realized my biggest issue is the lack of connection. There is nothing between Kirsten and Evelyn, other than Wakewater Hospital/Apartments. Kirsten's story ends up being about satisfying the needs of female water spirits who are murderous, and for some reason water is leaking in all over Wakewater. There is no reason given for this. On Evelyn's side, there is no mention of such water spirits until the very end, and even then they're not murderous. Evelyn just sees them in the river. Kirsten apparently is seeing the character of Milly who was Evelyn's lover, but why? Why is Milly out for an offering in the present day?

The more I write this, the more I am annoyed. I feel like the author wrote half the book and then didn't know what to do. Or maybe they wrote Evelyn's side since it was so much more interesting, and then needed something else and came up with Kirsten.

I'm giving this two stars instead of one because I really only give one star reviews to books I don't finish. I obviously do not recommend it since it falls flat. It leaves you with questions, but not the curious kind. They're the kind of questions that arise when a story doesn't make sense from beginning to end.

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I haven't finished reading a book since May of this year. I've started a few, but I just couldn't continue with them. So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to officially stop all of them and pick up a short book. I have a shelf on Goodreads for books I'm interested in which are 150 pages or less. The Beauty is very short. Goodreads gives it 99 pages, but I doubt it. I read just about everything on my phone, and the edition I have has another short story at the back, so I can't say for sure how many pages it is. The point is, it was short, which is why I was able to finish it.

That sounds mean. The story was intriguing and I wanted to see what happened, so I kept going. But, due to my own inability to read, I would stop for several days at a time. I'm hoping that in the new year I will be more dedicated to reading. Since it's so short, I don't want to say much about the plot. I will say that the story opens with a group of boys and men living on their own. All the women have died from some sort of disease that does not affect men. I personally wasn't clear if it was a fungus that started in the women's bodies, or was something that came from without and entered them. Either way, they are gone. But something comes to the men which will seemingly replace the women, or offer something new.

The book is fascinating, sexual, and gross. It might be something I would visit again, but it's definitely something I will be thinking about for a while. I thought about rating it four stars, but there are so many things that I'm unclear on. That can happen with a story so short. But the premise doesn't really allow for something to be developed further. So here we are.

The Beauty was published in 2014, and more recently there has been a lot of talk surrounding trans rights, issues, laws, restrictions, etc. I am non-binary, and while I'm not sure if I would call myself trans, I am firmly on the side of trans rights. The reason I mention this is that this story is saying a lot about societal expectations of one's gender identity. It goes further into changing biology of people within the story. I can't help but read what's happening through today's lens. I don't know what I would have thought if I read it in 2014. But it just feels like it's screaming something about trans people here. I just don't know what it is.

Because the book is so thought-provoking, I would recommend it, but I wouldn't expect any clear understanding. It's kind of just there, showing you something interesting. I enjoyed it.

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I read this book when it was first published while I was in high school. I remembered loving it before beginning this re-read, but I didn't remember much of the plot. I'm trying to get back into reading more, so I re-read The Hobbit, and now I've re-read A Great and Terrible Beauty, both easy, fun reads. This novel takes place in the late 1890s, and the late 19th century-early 20th century is my favorite period for historical fiction. There's gothic and queer themes here, and I do love girls' boarding school stories.

At the beginning of the story, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle's mother dies, and she leaves India, where she's lived almost all her life, to return to England. Her family is not warm, and they send her to a finishing school, Spence. Gemma takes some time to make friends since they're not very welcoming to newcomers. Most of the girls come from wealthy families and are, well, snobs. Gemma shares her room with Ann, the only scholarship student who, because of her status, is an outcast. Because of certain events, Gemma and Ann soon form a friend group with Felicity and Pippa. These two are the most popular and envied girls of the school, though they have their own issues and problems with family. Each of the girls struggle with their place in life, society, and what everyone expects of them.

“No one asks how I am or what I am doing. They could not care less. We're all looking glasses, we girls, existing only to reflect their images back to them as they'd like to be seen. Hollow vessels of girls to be rinsed of our own ambitions, wants, and opinions, just waiting to be filled with the cool, tepid water of gracious compliance.”

There is another element to this book, however, and that is Gemma's magical power. She begins by having visions and soon enters a magical realm. Most of the story involves this power and what it means for Gemma and her friends.

This is a young adult novel, so the writing is pretty streamlined. There are memorable and distinguished moments, though, both of writing and and plot. I read this book quickly, going to it almost every night, and sometimes during the day. Usually, I read once or twice a week at bedtime, which is why it takes me so long to get through a book. As I said earlier, I'm trying to get back into reading and read more books. Reading A Great and Terrible Beauty made me feel like I could enjoy the act again, not just try to finish a book.

This is a trilogy, and I intend to pick up the sequel, but not right away. I'm the kind of reader that can't read the same thing, even the same genre, back-to-back.

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It's taken me some time to finish reading this book, but that's because I wanted to savor it. It is a re-read. I first read it when I was young, and now this is my third or fourth time. I adore the Lord of the Rings films by Peter Jackson though I haven't read those books. In reading The Hobbit I became more interested in the Tolkien lore and looked up random histories, such us that of Wormtongue. I think I will soon read the Lord of the Rings books, but not right away.

I can't really give a critical review of this book since I love the Tolkien stories so much. They're so grand to me, and I guess personal since my father loved them and passed them on to me and my sister in a way. Perhaps it's because I encountered them as a child. Perhaps it's because they're simply wonderful.

The Hobbit is a very straightforward adventure with lots of obstacles, some quite violent, getting in the heroes' path. But the subtitle is There And Back Again, and even without that, we know the ending will be a more-or-less happy one. What makes this particular story something to return to is the deep qualities and senses of each character and the richness of the physical world around them. If we took away the great breadth of the mythology of Middle-earth, this one little book is imaginative and fun, and profound in describing the significance of simple things like home and comfort. I will always return to it.

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I've wanted to read more queer stories for a long while, so picking up this travel memoir was very refreshing. It's about queer people in “red states,” where many people probably don't think queer people are. Or if they do, they think they're miserable and oppressed. That's not an invalid idea, but Real Queer America shows that there are queer communities thriving in red states. Utah, Texas, Georgia. I'll be honest: I don't want to visit these places. But there are people there working hard for inclusion, community, and the right to just live. This book made me teary in many places, and I enjoyed reading it. It was an easy read, and though the writing felt disjointed in some places, I liked how Allen connected the lives she was learning about and the places she was exploring to her own life. That made it feel connected to me, that somehow I am also connected to these red state queer communities. I'm nonbinary, I'm queer, and I've been looking for community. It's hard to find for lots of reasons, but this book helped me see that it's out there. People are working for it. In the end, this book changed my perspective on queer people in red states. I don't want to just give up on red states altogether. I want to help them change and be more accepting. I want to help the people there who are already doing the work.

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