Hello everyone! I know, it's basically the middle of the month at this point and I'm finally getting around to doing this, but I've been super busy with end-of-semester assignments (both my final projects were due a day apart last week). Now that I finally have time to relax, I can tell you about all the books I didn't get to last month and the abysmal TBR list I have for this month. I blame most of this on
Outlander (which I'm STILL READING) and putting time and effort to one book I never finished. More on that in a minute.
(goodreads.com)
Obviously I was able to finish
A Torch Against the Night, seeing as how I was almost done with it by the end of November anyway. This was the second installment to Tahir's
An Ember in the Ashes series and it was very different in comparison to the first. This book starts right where we left off in Ember, with Laia and Elias on the run from the Commandant and the Martial army. This book has the fantastical element that I felt was lacking in the first book. There is more elaboration on the Jin and their conflict with the humans as well as a look into a different realm of the world. We also see Helene coping with the aftermath of Elias's choice and her ultimate goal of having to kill him eventually, per the Emperor's demand. I thought the setting was a bit lacking in this book. In the first book, the reader is given the set-up of the plot and the world building is intense so you can picture the empire in your mind. This book is all about the journey through barren lands and flat terrain, so the only relief we really get in setting is toward the middle when they arrive somewhere new, but it doesn't last long. There are other powers at work here in this book, so I'm curious to see if the issues resolve themselves or if we'll see an all-out war between the humans and the fantastical beings. Overall I gave this book
4 out of 5 stars.
(goodreads.com)
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang was not originally on my TBR for last month because it was something I read for a class, but it was surprisingly wonderful to read! I'm very lucky in that my "required readings" are mostly items that I chose myself, so when I realized that I would have the opportunity to read this graphic novel that I've had my eyes on for years, I was excited to finally pick it up. This award-winning graphic novel follows a young Chinese-American student whose family moves from the San Francisco area to (I believe) San Diego, where he's the only Asian-American in his school. From there chaos ensues, with tie-ins to Chinese mythology and obnoxious Chinese stereotypes scattered throughout, this book is not only entertaining, but eye-opening. The author really captures the feelings of a diverse people living in a white-washed society and how that effects someone's childhood. I highly recommend this graphic novel to anyone interested in diverse literature or Asian-American themes. I gave this book
4 out of 5 stars. I'm hoping to pick up Yang's other graphic novel series
Boxers and
Saints next year.
(goodreads.com)
I also read a book of prose for one of my classes called
Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse which followed a group of native Alaskans living on the Aleutian Islands during World War II. During the course of the book, we follow the perspective of a young girl living with her family on the island as she and her people are displaced by American soldiers and forced to live elsewhere in deplorable conditions for many years. I've been very intrigued by World War II literature that follows lesser-known stories about the struggles of different types of people effected by the war. The format of this book was sometimes difficult to read, being prose, but the message was received loud and clear. I gave this book
3 out of 5 stars.
(goodreads.com)
Now about the book I never finished... I very rarely review books I DNF, but I felt compelled to talk about my troubles here. I had anticipated that
As Old As Time, a Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell, would be right up my alley as a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I was very disappointed with the writing style and the blatant regurgitation of the original Disney version. They even use the same dialogue and words from the film in the beginning. I don't know if it was naivety on my part for not realizing that this is probably more of a middle grade book than a YA, or if Disney had this in mind when helping to publish this book. I had heard mixed things about the other books in this Twisted Tales series, but I thought I could at least handle this one since I knew the story best. I just couldn't get over how awfully written it was. I couldn't even connect with Belle, who wasn't even really the main character in this story, but instead focused on her mother, the enchantress who supposedly cursed the beast in the first place. I got about halfway through before I gave up. I'm sad to say that this was a very disappointing "retelling" of this story and I was sad to give it up, but at least it has a stunning cover.
Since we're almost halfway through December already, here are the books I plan to read this month:
(goodreads.com)
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I WILL FINISH THIS BOOK THIS WEEK. I knew what I was doing when I decided to read this monster, but I never imagined that it would take me almost two months to finish! I will definitely be more cautious with the next book in this series and make sure I have plenty of time to devote to such a behemoth. As you should already know, I began watching the series a few months ago and really enjoyed it, so I decided to read the book as well. At this point, I'm at the same part in both the series and the book, so it's cool to see how the show really portrays the book well and sticks to the main story line with little to no deviation. I'm excited to start season two, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to read
Dragonfly in Amber in January... We'll see what happens. For now, this is only a partial review. A more in-depth one will follow soon!
(goodreads.com)
Crystal Storm by Morgan Rhodes: The 5th book to the
Falling Kingdoms series comes out TOMORROW and you bet your ass I'll be at the bookstore after work buying myself a copy. I can't go into much detail about the plot at this point, especially if you haven't read any of the other books, but this is a continuation of the series after the events of the last book
Frozen Tides. Magnus, Cleo, Lucia, and Jonas have all separated, but will converge on Mytica in a magical battle that will test the strength of whoever wins the throne. This series is great for fans of Game of Thrones and I, for one, can't wait to get my hands on it!
(goodreads.com)
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray: I was really entertained by Bray's
Diviners series, so I decided to read her other one, which I believe will be more to my liking. Set in Victorian England among other places, this story follows Gemma, who has spent the majority of her life in India until her mother's death (this immediately sparked references to Secret Garden for me, which hooked me immediately). Enrolled in a prep school for girls, Gemma weasels her way into the popular circles in an attempt to gather gossip and solve her mother's murder. Gemma is soon introduced to the Order, a powerful organization of which her mother was a part. The Order had knowledge of a other-worldly realm outside of reality to which Gemma can travel in her visions. There seems to be a lot of mystery, intrigue and fantastical elements to this story and I'm interested in diving in. Hopefully it'll be a quick read.
(goodreads.com)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling AB: Continuing on my quest to re-read the Harry Potter books, I'm hoping to finish Chamber of Secrets this month and perhaps start Prisoner of Azkaban by the time the month is ending, so we'll see how far I get. It's been great re-reading them in this form and I'm really enjoying being able to remember certain things I've forgotten about the books in the last 15 years as well as making connections to the films. It's the perfect thing for winter!
So, that's all for today I'm afraid. I didn't want to put too much on my reading plate this month because I'm not sure where I'll be with
Outlander and other commitments by the end of the month. I'm trying to keep it simple until I can get a good rhythm going again. What are you all planning on reading during the holidays? What's your favorite read for the winter season? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
