February Minireviews // Part 3

The final February batch!!!  I also read The Bear and the Nightingale in February (and it honestly was probably my favorite book of the month), but since I read the other two books in the trilogy in March, I’m going to review them all together in a separate post.  So here are the rest of February’s reads!!

Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers – 3.5*

//published 1923//

A group on Litsy is reading some various vintage/Golden Age crime books.  I’ve always meant to pick up Lord Peter Wimsey, so I thought I’d read the first book in this series along with the group.  This one was fun with a good mystery. I got a little tired of the constant dropping of the letter g in the dialogue (“I’m just sayin’ that you must get goin’ if you want to be there on time”) and there were times where there were odd shifts in location in the narrative that felt a little confusing. For instance, at one point Peter and two other people are one place, then in the next scene Peter is at his mother’s house talking with her – when did he go there? Are the two people who were with him earlier now at his mother’s house as well? As the conversation progresses, we find out this information, but the initial shift feels rather jolting, and this happened a few times.

Overall, a decent start to a series, but one with a definite “first book feel” to it. However, I have the second book on my shelf as I definitely intend to give Sir Peter another try.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust – 2.5*

//published 2017//

Honestly, this book was just boring. There was a lot of potential here, but I never felt any kind of connection with the characters. Everyone was very cardboardy, especially the two main male characters, Mina’s father/the magician, and the king/Lynet’s father/Mina’s husband. Why was the magician so evil? Just for fun, I guess. We get nothing of his motivations, he’s just this dreadful, mean person lurking about in the background. Ditto for the king – why is he so obsessed the memory of his wife, to the point that he can’t bear to care about Mina? Why wouldn’t he be happy to let Lynet have a mother? Why would he rather pit them against each other? No clue, he just does and says stuff that doesn’t really make sense. There are only three men in this entire story. Two of them are emotionally abusive, creepy, selfish, and completely unlikable. The third one turns out okay, but he was literally created by a woman, so this book definitely has an anti-man taste that is always going to turn me off. Why does “feminist” in a book description always end up meaning “all the male characters suck”?

It’s a sad book, too. I liked the ending, but what a lot of wasted time, with everyone (especially Mina) assuming the worst about everyone else! I was so tired of listening to Mina go on about how no one could love her, even when people explicitly said that they loved her. I get that she was emotionally abused by her father (you know, the one that was a jerk for no reason that was ever explained… I guess because he’s a man?), but at the same time… oh my gosh, can you stop staring at your own navel for like half a second?? Please?? The author wanted so badly for Mina to be both the catalyst and still be a good guy that in the end she just annoyed the heck out of me.

Lynet is also boring and self-absorbed. It also felt a little creepy that she’s been living in a fairly insulated and isolated society, yet we’re supposed to believe that the first person she’s ever met who is around her age is also the perfect person for her to fall in love with. I’m sure that makes more sense than her just having a crush on the first attractive person her age to show up since she’s been a teenager. I think the story would have been a lot stronger with a friendship between these two instead of “love.”

I also found myself wondering throughout the entire book why any not-rich people are still living north of the frost line? It’s been snowing for literally years and years and years. Why would these people not have immigrated south by this time? What are they living on? How do they make any kind of living? What is keeping them here??

In the end, there was a lot of potential here, but none of these characters worked for me. In turn, that made the action feel clunky because none of the characters felt like they were speaking or acting naturally. I wanted to like this one, but mostly found myself bored.

Not the Witch You Wed by April Asher – 3.5*

//published 2022//

This one was gifted to me in a swap box, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.  It ended up being pretty funny with some good banter and likable main characters, and I’m always here for a fun fake dating trope.  However, while I do enjoy supernatural romances from time to time, I don’t care for one that also include angels/demons.  I believe angels and demons are real; shifters aren’t.  So stories that make demons out to be good, or even regular/just like people, are always going to be a turn-off for me.  So this was okay as a one-time read, but I won’t be reading the sequel, since it’s literally about one the sisters dating a “half-demon.”

Mystery by Moonlight by Mary C. Jane – 3.5*

//published 1963//

This is another one of those children’s mystery books that I bought at a booksale back in the mists of time.  This was a fun, if somewhat forgettable, little story involving some kids and the neighborhood “haunted” house.  It was pretty cute.  I’ve read and enjoyed several of Jane’s mysteries – while they are somewhat simplistic for adult reading, I know I would have loved them as a kid!

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 58!!!  High/Low: 97/58

February Minireviews // Part 2

The Horse-Tamer by Walter Farley – 4*

//published 1958//

While technically a part of The Black Stallion series, this Farley story reads quite well on its own.  In the first chapter, Alec and his horse trainer/friend, Henry, are waiting to take off in an airplane with The Black.  While they are killing time, Henry recounts a time from when he was growing up and went to live with his older brother, Bill – and this reminiscing is the rest of the book.   Originally a carriage-maker, during the course of the story Bill begins to travel around and teach people some of his methods for dealing with recalcitrant horses (during a time period when basically everyone had or worked with horses).  The more adventurous part involves a shyster who is doing the same thing as a big, money-making production, but uses cruel and unsafe methods, so Henry’s brother is determined to expose him for the fraud that he is.

This was one of my favorites growing up, and I still have a bit soft spot for it.  There are some fun stories about the methods Bill uses to break horses of bad habits, and the final scene (with a vicious zebra!!!!!) is still pretty exciting.  It’s geared for younger readers, so you can’t expect too much from it, but it’s a fun and engaging read.

The Time-Traveler’s Guide to Regency Britain by Ian Mortimer – 4*

//published 2022//

The PemberLittens read The Jane Austen Project in January, which was a fictional story about two people traveling back in time to meet/befriend/steal from Jane Austen.  So when we were choosing our nonfiction read for February, this one seemed to be a natural choice!  Apparently Mortimer has done an entire series of these books covering various time periods in Britain, and I may try some more as this one was very readable and engaging.  It was a little difficult for me to get into at first.  Mortimer is writing as though you, the reader, are a time traveler and are using this book to help you navigate through Regency Britain.  Thus, the entire book is written in the second person, with Mortimer telling you things that you shouldn’t miss seeing, or things you are likely to smell, or people you may run into, etc.  Even though you’re taking in a lot of legitimate information, it feels somewhat casual and a little silly at first (to me anyway) because of the informal use of “you” throughout.  But as I got used to it, it did make the book feel friendly and welcoming.

I didn’t 100% agree with all of his conclusions about society, and felt that he did make sure to emphasize all the negatives of religion at the time without any of the positives. In the same chapter, within a few paragraphs, to claim that “all” Christians at the time were satisfied with the status quo because “it’s God’s will for some people to be poor,” and then turn around and immediately start talking about William Wilberforce with barely any acknowledgement that Wilberforce’s entire driving force were his strong Christian beliefs, was genuinely a bit offensive. He does mention that Quakers were the founders of most of the prison and insane asylum reform at the time, but without acknowledging that it was literally their Christian beliefs in the value of all human life that led them to do so. Yet he somehow manages to mention not infrequently the hypocrisy abundant among members of a society who pretty much all attended church, yet lived lives that involved ignoring what we would consider basic human decency. It’s almost as though many people went to church because it was expected, not because their faith was in any way personal or important to them, but that those who did have a strong, personal faith frequently found the motivation to fight to improve the lives of those around them. Hmm.

Despite Mortimer’s religious prejudices, I still found this to be an engaging, informative, interesting read.  It’s friendly and accessible, yet still well-organized and educational.  This book did a great job providing an overview of the era that was the right amount of detailed and has given me loads of background information for many of the books I read and love.

Brave New World by Aldous  Huxley – 3.5*

//published 1932//

This is definitely one of those classics that I have “always” meant to read, so I was rather pleased when it was drawn as my random classic for February.  It’s a hard book for me to review.  As a story, it was definitely lacking.  As a look into human nature – rather more interesting, even if I didn’t agree with the conclusions.  Because I so often see this book paired with 1984, I couldn’t help but compare the two of them as I read them.  This is probably a great place for a reminder that this is just my opinion, not a educational analysis haha  To me, Huxley weirdly comes through as more optimistic than Orwell.  In Huxley’s world, the government is working for the good of the people.  Those who dissent are allowed to go off and live their own quiet lives on various islands and reservations, separate from the more “forward thinking” population.  The government does everything it can to keep everyone happy and contented, but there doesn’t really seem much of a motivation for them to do so, because they don’t really seem to need the “upper class” of people to do much – because they’ve developed ways to create “lower classes” who have been manipulated to want to do what they are needed to do (generally all the jobs no one really wants in real life), it seemed a little odd to me that the government would keep around this “superior” class at all, much less go through so much effort to keep them content.  Orwell’s future, where people are controlled by fear, mind games, and the complete lack of privacy/freedom, makes much more sense to me.  Part of that is my perspective of human nature: I don’t believe people are inherently good; I believe we are programmed to care for ourselves and our intimate family group/tribe/whatever you want to call them first, which is why systems like communism sound good but never work in the real world.  People in power always want more power, so to me Orwell’s version, with the Party doing whatever it took, up to and including elimination of anyone who dissents, seems much more realistic than Huxley’s government that is working, in its own twisted way, to continue to serve the people.

That said, Huxley’s version is still a very interesting conversation about human nature.  I didn’t agree with a lot of the conclusions, but there was plenty to think about.  I’m quite disappointed in myself because I really thought I took some notes on this when I read it, but I can’t find them so… all you’re getting are my three-months-later vague memories haha  In the end, I found this a worthwhile read, but not necessarily one I would revisit, and while 1984 felt like an ominous warning, Huxley’s future felt more like a strange, unlikely mind game.

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 66!!!  High/Low: 97/59

January Minireviews // Part 4

Final batch for January!!

Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern – 2*

//published 2022//

This graphic novel started strong, with an fun story and likable characters, but the story went literally nowhere.  There is a bunch of build-up and then it just… ends.  No resolution.  Every single character is left hanging.  It was incredibly frustrating.  I also struggled with this one because the writing is SO tiny and hard to read, and because many of panels are so small, it could sometime be difficult (especially at first) to tell characters apart.  And also, I’m sorry but this is just the way it is, having someone’s pronouns be they/them can make it SO hard to follow a narrative when you can’t tell if the narrator is referring to one person or several.  I really like McGovern’s artwork, and many of her short-form comics (especially the Background Slytherin comics), but this book just really fell short of the mark.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – 3.5*

//published 1818//

I had never read this classic before and was honestly quite intrigued to pick it up, considering that it is such a foundational piece of literature.  However, it wasn’t really for me.  The narrative structure can definitely be confusing (it’s someone writing a letter telling a story, and then he starts quoting someone else telling a story, who frequently quotes someone else telling a story… I mean, seriously), and while I understood why Shelley wrote it that way, it was sometimes difficult to remember who was telling who what.  Frankenstein himself drove me a little crazy and frequently did and said things that made no sense to me.  I was especially aggravated with (1) the fact that he creates the monster and then literally runs away immediately without a moment’s hesitation – seriously???  and (2) how long it takes him to actually take up arms against the monster, like literal months trailing this thing around and not actually figuring out a battle plan against it.  I also found the monster to be a bit unbelievable – I could buy him teaching himself to speak and read, but to be able to eloquently quote from ancient classics, and to formulate the kinds of arguments he did?  Well.

As a story warning about the dangers of dabbling in things we really don’t understand, and claiming that “science” justifies things like creating the atom bomb or seeing what kind of horrific diseases we can create in a lab, this reads great. As gothic horror, it reads okay.  It was definitely worth the one-time read, and I think it deserves its status as a classic, but it isn’t one I see myself rereading.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach – 2*

//published 1970//

My husband was given this book to read at an influential age, and would mention it from time to time as the first time he ever considered the concept of transcendence, so I got him his own copy for his birthday.  It’s the story of a seagull who isn’t content to just hang out on the beach and eat stuff like the rest of the flock – he wants to pursue the true magic of flight, beyond just the necessities.  Of course, this kind of attitude can’t be tolerated (for some unknown reason) so he is cast out from the rest of the flock.  Over time, Jonathan Livingston Seagull uses his extreme flight speeds to achieve another level of existence, which he teaches to the other young, rebellious seagulls as well, as they all pursue their flying nirvana, much to the horror of those boring, traditional seagulls who just want to do regular seagull stuff.

My husband enjoyed the nostalgia trip, although he wasn’t quite as enamored with the story as he was when he was 13.  That said, he did write, “Seagull is to flying as I am to _____” on our chalkboard as he contemplated what it is in his life that makes him fly haha  However, I’m not as “heady” as my husband, so I honestly just found the entire parable to be quite aggravating.  What’s the big problem with wanting to just hang out on the beach and eat breakfast?  Why does everyone have to suffer and struggle to try and transcend to the next level?  At the end of the day, it wasn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t a match for me.  I like doughnuts and sitting in the sunshine too much to spend my days trying to transcend!

Ben and Me by Robert Lawson – 4*

//published 1939//

Lawson wrote a few of these books, taking historical figures, putting some kind of animal in their life, and then telling the person’s story from the perspective of the animal.  This is the most well-known of them, with the life of Ben Franklin told from the perspective of his friend and companion, Amos the mouse.  Amos helps Ben make most of his discoveries and inventions, and helps him become a renown diplomat as well.  Amos lives in Ben’s hat, where it’s convenient for him to take notes and give Ben advice on the fly.  My favorite part was how many other famous people from the time had their own secret mouse-companions helping them along.  This one is fun and silly with fabulous illustrations by the author.  An all-around good time.

The Roundhill by Dick King-Smith – 3*

//published 1999//

King-Smith was incredibly prolife, writing, I don’t know, probably close to a hundred children’s books over his lifetime.  (I mean seriously, look at his list of published works on Wiki!)  I pick up his books whenever I come across them on the cheap, and have quite a few of them sitting unread on my shelves, despite most of them only being around 75-100 pages long.  With such a large body of work, some are definitely stronger than others (he’s best known for The Sheep-Pig, which is what the movie Babe the Gallant Pig is based from; I personally have a soft spot for the first of his books I ever read, The Fox Busters.)  All that to say, while this story was okay, it wasn’t one of his best (in my opinion).

Evan is a rather lonely boy who has a love for his special, secret place, which he calls The Roundhill. One day, he finds a girl there, who tells him her name is Alice.  At first annoyed that someone else has invaded his space, over the next few meetings Evan finds himself drawn to her.  However, she is also rather mysterious – to the point that Evan begins to wonder if she is even real.  This book is weirdly sad and doesn’t exactly go anywhere.  I never could particularly like Evan, who is rather mean to his visiting cousin at one point, and whom I just never quite connected to.  At the end of the book he is an elderly adult reflecting on his life, and I felt quite sad for him as he said he wished he could believe in God but just couldn’t.  All in all, there is a sad undertone to the story that kept me from really enjoying it.  At only 84 pages long it didn’t take me long to read, but I doubt I’ll pick this one up again.

Mr. Mulliner Speaking by P.G. Wodehouse – 4.5*

//published 1929//

Like Meet Mr. Mulliner, this collection of short stories are all told by Mr. Mulliner from his usual spot in the Angler’s Rest.  With so many relatives inclined to get entangled in all sorts of adventures, Mr. Mulliner has a tale for every occasion.  These stories are fun and silly, and delightful Wodehouse fare.

Salute by C.W. Anderson – 4*

//published 1940//

Anderson’s Billy and Blaze books were some of my first introductions into the joys of horse stories, and I still snatch up any book written and/or illustrated by him that I can find.  He wrote several books for younger readers that are short chapter books (so a step up from the Billy and Blaze picture books, difficulty-wise), and Salute is one of those.  At only 64 pages, many of which are illustrated, it’s not a very in-depth book, but is still a fun story about a boy who is given a retired racehorse.  The odd part about this story is that Salute himself doesn’t show up until the very end of the story – it’s more about this first horse that the boy owns, helps restore to health, and then retrains to race.  Still, a nice little story that definitely added to my conviction as a child that someone would just show up and give me a horse someday!  LOL

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 59!!!  High/Low: 97/59

January Minireviews // Part 2

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig – 3*

//published 2019//

I had really mixed feelings on this one.  I actually really loved it for the majority of the book, but the ending (a) got unexpectedly gruesome, way more down the horror spectrum than I was anticipating, and (b) the ending used a plot device that I somewhat consider cheating, especially since it didn’t really fully explain a lot of the mysteries.  I really liked the characters, especially the narrator, and the concept is done quite well, with a good creepy mystery going on, but then – it just kind of went a little sideways towards the end for me.  But a sequel is coming out the summer and I’ll probably read it, so there’s that haha

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 5*

//published 1933//

Continuing the chapter-a-day readalong of the Little House books, our group picked up Farmer Boy next.  For some reason, I always read this one much later in the series when I was growing up, so it was especially interesting for me to read this one right after reading about Laura being the same age.  If I had to pick, I would probably pick Almanzo’s life – much more settled, and SO MUCH good food!!  I really loved reading about all the “how tos” around the farm, and seeing Almanzo learn lessons about life.  I wish that Laura had written another book about Almanzo so that we could learn more about how he got from a prosperous farm in New York to the little frontier town in the Dakotas!

Murder at the Mayfair Hotel by C.J. Archer – 3.5*

//published 2020//

My sister started this mystery series and thought it would be fun for us to read together.  We’re going quite slowly, but that’s better than not at all haha

This one is set just before the New Year of 1900.  Cleo is moving in with her uncle, aunt, and two (adult) cousins, who own a luxury hotel in London (the Mayfair, naturally).  Cleo has been estranged from them for her entire life due to the usual mother eloped with an “unsuitable” man, etc.  This does a great job of giving Cleo an in-between position – she isn’t a guest, but she’s still an outsider learning her way.  She’s always been poor, but now she has money and is expected to act “appropriately” for her class.  When the murder happens, she doesn’t have too many preconceived notions to interfere with her theories.  Some aspects of this story definitely stretched my credulity, but on the whole I liked Cleo herself and found this to be a decent historical mystery with a fun setting.

Living With Pattern by Rebecca Atwood – 4*

//published 2016//

A while back I read Living With Color by this author, and absolutely loved it.  Living With Pattern is actually her earlier book, which I found intriguing since Color seems like a more natural place to start than Pattern (to me).  While I did enjoy this one and found some useful information in it, I didn’t love it the way that I did Color.  I think, for me, “pattern” as a concept is harder to grasp than color.  Pattern involves color, texture, shapes, space, distance, texture, etc.  While this can work if you’re looking at, say, one piece of furniture, it’s hard for me when you’re looking at a room as a whole and trying to identify what patterns you see and how they are interacting with one another.  Honestly, I would love it if Atwood wrote more books breaking down Pattern into more specific subcategories, like she did with Color.  I would happily read a book about texture or furniture placement.  When I read her book about color, I made my husband read it, too, and we discussed SO much of it.  (Part of this, I’ll admit, is because he works with color for a living – he paints cars, which involves a great deal of matching and adjusting color, so he is already familiar with terms and concepts like saturation, vibrance, and hue.)  But I never felt that kind of connection with this book.  And while the book about color had me looking around my whole house and thinking about my spaces, this book left me feeling a little overwhelmed and without a lot of starting direction.  I do think part of this is that our house is very open, and not very big, so while we have distinct spaces without our home, you can see almost everything from any point in the house.  From where I am sitting at my computer in the corner I can see our pantry, the kitchen, a work area, a sitting area, and part of the lower room.  So it can be a tad overwhelming to try and thinking about how all these different spaces are interacting with one another.  Although I did find myself starting to count rectangles, as that seems to be our favorite shape around here!

All in all, Living With Pattern was still a worthwhile read, it just was a bit more academic and less practical than Living With Color was for me.

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – 4.5*

//published 1930//

This was a reread, of course, of an old favorite.  I absolutely love this mystery.  Partially because I adore Miss Marple, but partially because I love the narrator of this book.  The Vicar is such a likable, self-depreciating individual, and he really levels up the story.  No matter how many times I read this one, I always seem to forget who the murderer is, and even when I do remember, I’m still just caught up in admiration for Christie’s many red herrings.  While not my all-time favorite Christie, this is still an absolute classic.

Running Total: (I think I forgot this on my last post!) Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 74!!!  High/Low: 97/74

December Minireviews // Part 4

Last batch of reviews for 2022!!!

How to Ruin the Holidays by Becky Monson – 3*

//published 2021//

I literally couldn’t remember anything about this book, so I looked up the synopsis, which still doesn’t sound familiar.  My review on GR just says, “Not bad, just boring,” and apparently that’s so true that this book has now been erased from my memory!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – 4.5*

//published 1843//

Okay, I’ll admit it: I had never actually read this classic before.  However, I have the Muppet version memorized, and I feel like that should be good enough! :-D  There’s a reason this one is a classic – the writing is delightful, the characters relatable, and the story engaging.  But I honestly do prefer the Muppet version; a good song and dance does jazz this story up a bit, and the Muppet version is actually renown for its historical accuracy when it comes to costumes and sets.  All around a very worthwhile read, but not necessarily one I see myself rereading every year as many do.

A Heartfelt Christmas Promise by Nancy Naigle – 3.5*

//published 2020//

So this one was absolutely terrible and I loved it.  It’s 100% a Hallmark movie on the page in all its cheesy glory.

Vanessa is sent to a small town in North Carolina because the whatever conglomerate corporation she works for needs more warehouse space for one of their other businesses, so Vanessa needs to close down the local factory. What do they make? FRUITCAKE! Makes perfect sense to shut down an actually profitable fruitcake factory a month before Christmas, right? Right!

Soon Vanessa is caught up in all the small-town drama, and falls for widower Mike, who raises and sells beautiful draft horses along with his 16-year-old daughter, Misty, who is also perfect in every way, including the fact that she’s better at business management than most people in their 40s.

It turns out that the factory – thanks to Misty’s suggestions!!!! – actually has become more efficient with their space, meaning that there are now two giant buildings standing empty!!! Exactly what they need for the warehouses!!!! Surely corporate will be pleased to find out that they can literally have their cake and eat it, too, with warehouse space AND continuing the fruitcake factory’s profitable business as well, right? RIGHT???  And there’s NO WAY that ANYONE will misunderstand Vanessa’s motives, right??  RIGHT???

Look, if you’re thinking about reading this, it’s because you like cheesy Christmas romances. If you like cheesy Christmas romances, you’ll probably enjoy this one. It wasn’t my favorite; a solid 3.5* from me, but it was perfectly entertaining, if 100% predictable a smidge ridiculous.  It was great for a one-off read and also lovely to pass on to someone else for their holiday entertainment this coming Christmas.

Hidden Riches by Nora Roberts – 4*

//published 1994//

In order to wrap up the 1982-2022 challenge, I needed a 1994 book, so I turned to Roberts’s backlist and found this not-Christmasy tale.  I actually really enjoyed this one.  Dora owns an upscale antique shop and frequently looks for specific items for repeat customers.  When Dora buys some things at an auction, she has no idea that they weren’t supposed to be in the sale – they were sent there by accident and actually house hidden, stolen, smuggled items inside of them – items the real (criminal) buyer is quite anxious to get back.  Thankfully, Dora’s new neighbor happens to be an ex-cop, just the kind of guy you want to have around when things start getting crazy.

I loved Dora’s family – they added some levity to the intensity of the rest of the story.  Roberts generally does romantic suspense very well, and this was pretty typical fare. There were a few side-character murders that made me kind of sad, though.  Still, all in all a solid read.

The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay – 4*

//published 1936//

I love a good cozy mystery where the victim kind of deserves to get knocked off, and this 1936 mystery that’s been reprinted by the British Crime Classics really fit the bill.  The family patriarch is a pretty big jerk, so it’s no surprise that tensions are high when he insists that the entire family gather at the country house for the Christmas season.  When he’s discovered murdered, the problem is definitely not a lack of motives!  The pacing here was good and this had that golden age rhythm to the storytelling.  I can definitely see myself rereading this one.

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet: 82!!!  High/Low: 97/82

December Minireviews // Part 2

More Christmas fun!!

A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh – 2*

//published 2021//

Okay, maybe “fun” isn’t exactly the way I would describe this one LOL  Keep in mind that this book has an over 4* rating on GR, so apparently I am way in the minority on it.  I kept reading this one thinking it was going to get better, but then something would happen and the main character would act like a bratty child AGAIN and tick me off.  Basically, Lauren needs to get home for Christmas (California to… Illinois, I think?), and through a series events manages to hitch a ride with her brother’s best friend, Will, whom she hasn’t seen in years.  The problem is, Lauren is a spoiled, whiny, bratty bitch for the ENTIRE book.  Will is unfailingly polite, kind, patient, and friendly.  Meanwhile, Lauren starts the entire trip by getting in the car and telling Will she’s planned out their route for maximum efficiency, and then gets pissy when Will says he has a different plan.  Hello???  HE is doing YOU a favor; you don’t get to act all indignant that he isn’t following the route you want?? I should have bailed RIGHT THEN because that set the tone for the ENTIRE book, with Lauren making genuinely unreasonable demands and then acting like a brat if it didn’t go her way.  At one point, they are starting to get along better and they stop at a hotel and the hotel is having a fancy party and they decide to go.  When Lauren comes down to the bar to meet Will, he’s talking with a random (attractive) woman.  Does Lauren go up to them and say, “hey, what’s up?”  Does she even sneak a little closer to eavesdrop and see if they’re flirting?  No, no she does not.  She just assumes that Will is “being a player” (he and Lauren aren’t even dating!!!), storms back upstairs, refuses to talk to Will, and gives him the cold shoulder for who knows how long – literally for NO REASON because Will did NOTHING WRONG and Will has NO IDEA why she’s upset because she won’t USE HER WORDS.  Will:  RUN AWAY THIS CHICK SUCKS!!!

Big spoiler here, though, for the main reason I couldn’t rate this book above 2* – this didn’t come out until almost the end of the book – if I had known it from the beginning I really probably would have DNFd it – the whole reason Lauren is mad at Will is because TEN YEARS AGO when they were both around 20 they are at a party and Will gets completely trashed.  Lauren is 100% sober.  She drives him home.  Will is super flirty.  Lauren helps him upstairs and Will kisses her.  Lauren then uses this as an opportunity to make out with him, despite the fact that, remember, Will is TOTALLY drunk.  The whole time she thinks things like “this is my fantasy come true” because she’s had a crush on him for so long.  The next day, Will doesn’t remember it, and THAT is why Lauren is mad!  Ten years later!  And when she finally tells Will about this, HE apologizes!  My mind was blown trying to imagine this scenario with the genders reversed.  Imagine if Will had a big secret crush on Lauren, waits until she’s totally drunk and he’s totally sober, drives her home, and then makes out with her because it’s been his “fantasy” for so long.  That’s totally gross and creepy, and it’s totally gross and creepy that Lauren did it to Will, especially since she makes HIM feel bad about it!  UGH.

Heartsprings Valley Winter Tales (series) by Anne Chase – 3.5*

• Christmas to the Rescue (published 2016)
• A Very Cookie Christmas (published 2017)
• Sweet Apple Christmas (published 2018)
• I Dream of Christmas (published 2018)
• Chock Full of Christmas (published 2019)

All five of these books were on Kindle Unlimited.  They’re very similar in nature, low-angst with amazing amounts of insta-love. My review for the first book was as follows:  Becca, widowed three years, has moved to a new town for a fresh start. She ends up adopting a dog, getting lost in a snowstorm, getting rescued by the local hunky veterinarian, and helping him deliver a baby llama. Absurd? Absolutely. Good, clean, Christmasy fun? Also absolutely.

That’s pretty much the whole series LOL  They all center around a small New England town (naturally), with some overlapping characters.  I’m really a sucker for series like that.  These were clean and happy, and the drama felt fairly reasonable.  I liked some more than others (I Dream of Christmas was probably my least favorite of the batch), but they all ended up in the middle ground.

The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith – 5*

//published 1956//

I read this book almost every Christmas, since the majority of the story takes place in the few days leading up to that holiday.  This is such a comfort read for me, and one of my all-time favorites.  Every time I review it, I always like to say that the illustrations by Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone are half the delight, and no one should ever read an edition without them.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 5*

//published 1932//

The Little House books have been on my reread radar for quite some time, but I never seem to get to them.  I haven’t read this series since probably junior high.  So when someone on Litsy decided to do a chapter-a-day readalong through the series, I was quite excited to jump in.  She’s done an absolutely great job leading discussions on these books (we’re about halfway through By the Shores of Silver Lake right now) and I am really enjoying revisiting these.  Big Woods is just a delightful book.  There isn’t much of a plot; it’s mostly little vignettes of Laura’s life.  It’s just insane how much work it was just to stay alive.  The writing is simple to engage younger readers, and while some of it can be scary, everything comes out right in the end.  These are big nostalgia reads for me as well, and rereading this series has just been wonderful.

The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods – 2*

//published 2012//

I really wanted to like this one because I really like Luke, but Moira was just so unreasonable.  She and Luke have only been dating for a couple of months, but she spends the entire book being a brat because Luke doesn’t want to get married right away.  Look, I got married when my husband and I had only known each other for three months, and it’s worked great, but that’s not for everyone and I didn’t feel like Luke’s attitude was out of line.  He’s totally committed to Moira and on the track for marriage, but he’s also starting his own business and trying to get it off the ground, and specifically says that he wants to wait and get married when he feels like things are more stable.  If that had gone on for like, years, I would understand Moira’s impatience, but for the amount of time that had already passed, she just felt really absurd.  The rest of Luke’s family took Moira’s side and acted like Luke was a moron for not getting married, like, yesterday, and it just really aggravated me because from my perspective he was trying to be a responsible adult and instead he spent the entire book having to defend himself.  To top it off, Moira has a real talent for photography, so now everyone wants her to be a professional photographer/artist and go around and do art shows with her photography etc etc.  Which is fine, except she also kept getting told that she basically “had” to do this so that would have a “fulfilling career” when Moira herself said that she really wanted to get married and start a family and didn’t want to have a career that would interfere with that.  I felt like Moira’s desires were actually reasonable and was uncomfortable with the way that she was getting completely railroaded into this photography career that she didn’t want because all women have to “do something” as though raising children isn’t enough of a “something” on its own.

All in all my least favorite book of the series.  One might ask, Sarah, why do you keep reading this series when all you do is complain about the books?  The answer is, because I bought the next-to-last-book at a booksale and didn’t know it, and now I have to read until I get to that one in order to completely this quest.  I just can’t help it!

Running Total: Books that I’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet!! 88!!!  High/Low: 97/88

November Minireviews // Part 1

Woohoo!! On to a new month of books!!

Sir Percy Leads the Band by Emmuska Orczy – 4*

//published 1936//

I’m slowly working my way through all of the Scarlet Pimpernel books. Most of these are old enough that they’re out of copyright and I can get them as cheap reprinted paperbacks, or even little hardcovers.  Not as fun as getting them as actual old books, but here we are.  I definitely recommend reading the original book first, but after that most of the other books are similar in substance.  This one involves a big rescue mission and a love triangle, jealous romantic rivals, and plenty of adventures.

Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer – 4*

//published 1935//

I really love Heyer.  Her books are such a delight, with likable characters, sassy conversations, and plenty of little adventures.  This one was a little more melodramatic than some of her others, and I didn’t feel like the relationship between the two main characters was really that well-developed, but it was still a fun romp.

The Rules for Breaking by Ashley Elston – 3*

//published 2014//

I read The Rules for Disappearing in October and really enjoyed it, so I found a copy of the sequel.  Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me.  The action in this one felt choppy and less cohesive, there were some character actions that didn’t really make sense to me, and Elston seemed to think just sort of killing off a bunch of inconvenient people in the end was a good way to wrap things up lol  And while I still liked the two main (YA) characters together in this book, there were times where Ethan seemed weirdly possessive instead of protective.  It was an okay read, but while I can see myself rereading Disappearing some time, I doubt I’ll pick this one up again.

Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey – 4*

//published 2022//

After coming close to giving up on contemporary romance, this one was an unexpected delight.  I loved the characters and all the snark, banter, and inside jokes. I absolutely loved Sandy’s best-friendship with Honey. I really loved that there wasn’t a “bad guy” situation here – just regular people who made choices, some of which they regret. I loved that the overall theme of this book was about that balance between embracing and loving your life where you are, but still reaching for a dream. I really loved that Winfrey set this story in a small, rural Ohio town and actually populated it with regular human beings instead of a bunch of stupid hicks. I loved how Sandy and her friends love living in their small town and aren’t spending all of their time trying to escape it. I loved that Sandy had regular parents who love her and with whom she has a good relationship as an adult. I loved that the romance was closed-door and the swearing was minimal. I loved that a bunch of story revolved around the town’s festival/fair and how much of that felt realistic and familiar to me. I loved the puns.  I loved the absurd Ohio-themed B&B.

Ironically, the actual love story was what felt a bit weak for me – I really like Hank and Sandy and actually totally ship them as a couple, but their drama went on a little too long for me, and I was also somewhat uncomfortable with this whole “you’re happiest when you’re together“ presented in a sort of “this person will save you“ kind of way, especially since the entire rest of the book does such an amazing job of showing people who have decided to embrace where they are with their lives.

Also, do pumpkins really get that big by August?

But on the whole this book was just so funny and with such likable characters – I thoroughly enjoyed it, and greatly appreciated some positive Ohio representation!

Dracula by Bram Stoker – 4*

//published 1897//

Last year, I signed up for the “Daily Dracula” posts.  Dracula is comprised entirely of things with dates, like letters, telegrams, and journal entries, so some enterprising fellow thought it would be fun to read the whole thing by reading what went with each day ON that day.  It started in the spring and didn’t end up November – there are some fairly large gaps between entries, especially towards the beginning.  On the whole, I think I did this book a disservice by reading it that way for the first time.  Because of the gaps in time, or times when I was busy and didn’t have the time to sit down and read a longer entry straight through, I tended to lose some of the threads of characters and action.  I think the Daily Dracula would have been a really fun way to reread this book, but was maybe not the best way to read it for the first time.

Still, the story itself is great.  It’s a bit ridiculous and melodramatic, and it totally works.  There is definitely a lot of unnecessary filler in this book, and times where it gets a bit repetitive (instead of saying something like, “they caught him up on the details they had just discussed,” we literally get three pages of the same details we just read three pages earlier, etc), but I think it definitely deserves its slot as a classic.

September Minireviews // Part 2

The final batch of September reviews!!!

Venetia by Georgette Heyer – 3.5*

//published 1958//

The reasons I enjoy reading Heyer is because I love reading something relaxing and humorous with happy endings all around in the end.  While I did somewhat get that one with Venetia, there were also SO MANY TERRIBLE CHARACTERS in this one!  Poor Venetia!  The titular character herself was a delight, but she was genuinely beset with dreadful, obnoxious busybodies all around, constantly interfering with her life, tearing her down, and ruining everything!  I honestly felt stressed out for a lot of this book because of how badly Venetia was being treated.  So while I didn’t dislike this one, per se, it definitely wasn’t my new favorite.

Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie – 4*

//published 1937//

A collection of four short stories, these were decent but not amazing.  Personally, I prefer Christie’s longer-form stories, which allow her time to develop side characters and red herrings.  However, these were quite readable and, as usual, I had absolutely no idea whodunit!

The Stand-In by Lily Chu – 4*

//published 2021//

I was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this one.  It’s a goofy romcom, so it has moments were you have to stretch to buy it, but on the whole I just really liked the characters and enjoyed watching them grow.  I found Gracie to be so sweet and kind and just genuinely fell in love with her.  This is this author’s first romcom, but she has another one coming out this spring, and I’m quite looking forward to it.

NB: One of the things I liked was that this was a closed-door romance, yay!!

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy – 4*

//published 1905//

This was a reread, although it had been quite a few years since I had picked it up.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it’s started me on a journey to read all the Pimpernel books.  There’s a lot to enjoy here; it’s all quite dramatic with parts almost impossible to believe, but that adds to the allure of the Pimpernel.  My heart went out to poor Marguerite, whose happiness was destroyed by one poor choice, and I was totally rooting for her to conquer her enemies.  Personally, I think this story holds up great in the 100+ years since it was published, and I’ve been quite enjoying all the other Pimpernel tales I’ve read since.

The Mystery of the Six Clues by Vernon Howard – 3.5*

So it’s not unusual for me to pick up completely random books at yard sales and library discard sales and flea markets for really cheap just because I like the looks of them… and then never actually read them!!  I’ve owned this one for probably 20 years, so it seemed like it was a good time to finally read it!  Published in 1952, it’s actually rather interesting as an early concept of modern YA – a gang of teens getting up to teen shenanigans.  This isn’t a groundbreaking story, but it was perfectly enjoyable.

A Matter of Choice and Endings and Beginnings by Nora Roberts – 3.5*

//published 1984//

Well, I didn’t make any notes on these, the book descriptions only ring vague bells, and apparently I didn’t even mark them as “read” on Goodreads (that last one is honestly a bit weird haha) SO I don’t have much to say about the last two books I read in September!  Both of them are pretty typical 80s romances (both were published in 1984) and the 3.5* rating (and lack of memory of them) indicates that I found them to be regular but unexciting one-off reads.

July Minireviews // Part 2

It’s -3* right now, so this seems like a good time to travel back to July in my mind…

(I wrote most of this post just before Christmas but didn’t finish it – a bit warmer now, a whopping 42*!!)

Her Mother’s Keeper by Nora Roberts – 3*

//This one included Her Mother’s Keeper (published 1983) and Island of Flowers (published 1982)//

I was actually sick in July, so I went on a bit of a Nora Roberts binge, reading four of her books in pretty short order.  What can I say?  She’s a comfort author for me haha

Unfortunately, this was definitely one of her weaker stories – even 3* may be generous.  Gwen is worried that her mother, who lives by herself in a large, rambling house in the bayou, is being taken in by her latest boarder.  Gwen heads home to make sure her mother isn’t in trouble, believing that her mother and Luke are romantically involved, despite Luke being almost 20 years younger than Gwen’s mother, and despite Gwen having zero proof that this is happening.  This misunderstanding drags through the entire book, when normal people would just have a five-minute conversation along the lines of, “Oh, you must be my mom’s boyfriend” “What? No, I’m not”.  Like I get that we need conflict to make a story, but this conflict was so unbelievable that it made the whole story annoying.  Plus, this is the somewhat-typical 80s romance where there is a lot of grabbing and kissing in lieu of actual conversation.  All in all, this wasn’t terrible for a one-off read, especially if you’re running a fever and drifting in and out of sleep, but it’s not one I would particularly recommend.

Island of Flowers by Nora Roberts – 3.5*

Following the theme of “a simple conversation would solve a lot of problems,” in this one Laine is traveling to Hawaii to reconnect with her dad after years of not hearing from him.  However, her dad’s business partner, Dillon, is convinced that Laine is just trying to get her dad’s money, so he pretty much treats her like garbage the entire time.  Of course, it turns out that Laine’s dad actually had been sending Laine letters and money through the years, but Laine’s selfish mother (now deceased) never told Laine about any of it, which is where the “we could have a simple conversation” bit comes in.  Dillon was definitely not the hero for me, as frankly he was an ass the entire time, one minute being all romancy and then the next minute accusing Laine of being a con-artist and treating her like trash.  He’s the reason that this book wasn’t a win for me.  However, Roberts’s descriptions of Hawaii were amazing and totally made me want to go there, despite the fact that I’m not really into beaches or warm weather (or flying), so there’s that.

Black Hills by Nora Roberts – 4*

//published 2009//

This is a newer Roberts novel, and it really is interesting to me how much her work has matured over the years.  This one is somewhat of a romantic suspense and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Lil has always loved her childhood home in South Dakota, and has fulfilled her dream of opening a large-cat wildlife sanctuary there.  (Random, I know, but Roberts makes it work.)  Growing up, her neighbors’ grandson, Cooper, used to come and stay with them, and the two of them were best friends, who fell in love in high school.  But then Cooper OF COURSE broke her heart and headed off to The Big City to become a Hotshot Lawyer.  Now he’s back because his grandparents are in poor health.  Sparks fly between them, while at the same time someone seems intent on shutting down Lil’s sanctuary, as several instances of sabotage occur.

Overall, I did enjoy this one a lot.  The whole sabotage storyline kept the pace up, and I did like Lil a lot.  However, it’s been something like 12 years since Cooper broke her when she was 19, and it felt like she was really hanging onto the bitterness/suspicion way too long.  I can understand not just like leaping into his arms, but at some point you need to move on.  Cooper was also an uneven character – he starts off treating Lil like trash, then all of the sudden is like, “actually it’s because I’ve been in love with you forever!!!!!!”  There’s also a secondary love story going on that I either wanted more of or less of, because while I totally shipped it, sometimes it just felt like filler wedged in here and there, and it felt clunky.

While this wasn’t my new favorite Roberts, it’s one I can see myself rereading, especially when I need to check South Dakota off my read-the-USA list!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – 4*

//published 1891//

This is one of those classics that it feels like I should have read but never had.  While I didn’t love it, I did find it engaging.  My edition had notes about the differences between Wilde’s original book and the additions he made for a later edition, which was interesting.  This one gave me the creeps in a good way.

The Girl on the Boat by P.G. Wodehouse – 4.5*

//published 1922//

A reread for me, this isn’t my favorite Wodehouse, but it’s still a great deal of fun, as always.  Billie is a bit of a flake, but there are plenty of ridiculous shenanigans and fabulous one-liners.  Basically, if you enjoy Wodehouse, you’ll probably like this one as it is pretty typical fare.

June Minireviews // Part 2

On to the next batch of June!!!

Sometimes I don’t feel like writing a full review for whatever reason, either because life is busy and I don’t have time, or because a book didn’t stir me enough.  Sometimes, it’s because a book was so good that I just don’t have anything to say beyond that I loved it!  Frequently, I’m just wayyy behind on reviews and am trying to catch up.  For whatever reason, these are books that only have a few paragraphs of thoughts from me.

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl – 4*

//published 1950//

This nonfiction account was a bit of a mixed bag for me.  On the one hand – fascinating!  On the other hand… Heyerdahl just isn’t the most compelling writer, so even some of their more exciting adventures felt a little flat.

In the 40s, the author, who was living on a Polynesian island at the time, theorized that instead of those islands being originally populated from Asia, the could have come from South America. He based his theory on many oral traditions and stories of the native people he had met, who had a lot of stories of gods and ancestors coming from the east. Determined to prove that it was at least a possibility, he and five others built a raft out of balsa logs, using only materials that would have been available at the time, and actually did sail from Peru to a Polynesian island just east of Tahiti – 4300 nautical miles in 101 days. They were mostly carried by trade winds and the Humboldt Current.  Since this book was published, this theory has fallen out of favor, because genetic testing has shown that “most“ of the native people of Polynesia did have ancestors from Asia. However, even the article I read that was incredibly dismissive of Heyerdahl, both as a person and of his theory, admitted that genetic testing had also shown that that some people were descended from South Americans as well. I’m a little confused as to why it can’t be both, but I’m just a layman haha  Heyerdahl definitely proved that it COULD have been done, and I was honestly just so intrigued by things like water storage, food provisions, surviving storms, etc.  It was so interesting!

This book was published in 1950 so there are a few things that jar with modern sensibilities, but for the most part Heyerdahl has a great respect for the native peoples both in Peru and the Polynesian islands. As a story, this is great fun, even if the author does tend to somehow make even very exciting moments a little dry.  It’s also obvious that Heyerdahl has already decided that his theory is the correct one, so his material is presented in a somewhat prejudiced manner, but on the other hand… he did it!

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren – 3.5*

//published 2022//

Do you ever read a book expecting one thing and then it just goes completely off the track, and even though it’s not a bad story, it’s just kind of like… the heck just happened??  That’s how I felt with this one.  I read it expecting a little second-chance romcom, and I … kind of got it??  About 100 pages in this book was just like, “Now for something completely different!” and I wasn’t exactly here for it.  I think if this plot twist had been hinted at a bit in the synopsis I may have been more on board.  It was supposed to be a little silly and fun, but it honestly just felt kind of ridiculous and unbelievable to me instead.  Not the worst book I’ve read this year, but definitely one of the odd ones.

National Velvet by Enid Bagnold – 3*

//published 1935//

Speaking of odd…  it’s honestly surprising to me that I never read National Velvet growing up, as I was a total horse-book girl, but somehow I never did.  I finally got around to it in June and it was… strange??  Mostly because it wasn’t actually a horse book!  It’s more of a slice-of-life kind of story in which horses are peripherally involved.   Basically all of The Pie’s training, and even most of the big race, happened off-page. We rarely see Velvet’s thoughts and I honestly never understood why she was so passionate about racing The Pie because we only saw incredibly rare glimpses of her interacting with him on-page. This was a fun story as a not-horse book – I fell in love with the entire Brown family, and some of Bagnold’s wry observations made me smile. I loved the complete and utter lack of romance between Velvet and Mi, and the utter randomness of Donald’s wild stories. But for all that, it’s still just a soft pick for me – not one I see myself rereading. The actual story was odd and disjointed and frequently felt like it was going nowhere. We spent significantly more time on the aftermath of the race than the race itself. I felt completely ripped off that the race wasn’t from Velvet’s perspective! There’s an entire side story involving an entire pile of other horses that felt odd and unnecessary and also didn’t really go anywhere. So, on the whole, a perfectly fine story, but one that I wouldn’t particularly label as a genuine Horse Story, despite the presence of multiple horses, and not one that I see myself rereading time and again.

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan – 3.5*

I feel like I should just summarize this entire series with “it was fine” because that’s pretty much how I felt when I finished each of these books.  I didn’t dislike them but also found them really unmemorable.  I never finished one feeling compelled to grab the next.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte – 4*

//published 1848//

After suffering through Wuthering Heights, I was a bit sad when the PemberLittens decided to read another Bronte.  I had never even really heard of this one before, but decided to give it a go nonetheless, and I actually enjoyed it WAY more than WH, although that’s not honestly saying much!  Another review I read said, “I respected this novel more than I enjoyed it” and I have to echo that sentiment. This was really a bold story for its time and I found Helen to be a remarkable heroine, absolutely hardcore devoted to her religion and her morals, refusing to ever take the easy way out if it meant compromising her beliefs. The entire story is such a call-out for so many things that were (and in many cases, still are) socially acceptable but objectively wrong, and Anne, through Helen’s voice, isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade and rake everyone over the coals.

That said, I didn’t really have a great time reading this book. It’s kind of a downer, Helen can definitely get preachy, and Gilbert made me roll my eyes CONSTANTLY. The ending especially went on too long.  I especially couldn’t get over Gil whining about how Helen “left him” when he thought she was getting married – like dude, you haven’t reached out to her in over a year?? Seems a little ridiculous to blame her if she DID find someone else who, you know, actually talked to her?! 

Part of the reason I didn’t really love this one may have been because there wasn’t a single likable guy in the entire story. Gilbert is spoiled, sensitive, prideful, and whiny. Helen’s brother is smug and self-satisfied. They’re supposedly the best out of the bunch, and, in fairness, the male characters do all go downhill from there. Anne keeps this story from going into a full-on screed against the entire male half of the population, but barely. And in fairness, considering women were virtually property and unable to make any independent decisions about their own lives, an anti-man screed may have been warranted at some level lol

All in all, this is definitely a worthwhile read, and I found the story and characters significantly more engaging and relatable than those in Wuthering Heights. But despite my 4-star rating, this isn’t a book I see myself reading again.