Sunday, April 5, 2020

March Book Wrap-Up (ft. IWWV, TRC, etc.)

It's been a really long time since I've posted anything and I'm completely deviating from what I used to write. This is my second book review I'm writing on this blog (the first one being After Dark by Haruki Murakami 5(?) years ago) and I am by no means good at writing book reviews at all. I mostly rate books based on my own personal enjoyment, so we're not going AP Lit analysis on these books. I just felt like writing this for fun since I wanted a place to just vent all my feelings about the books.

Alternatively: I've been watching a lot of booktube and as much as I would love to just record myself talking about these books I'm shy and don't like my face on youtube so here's me blogging about books.

I surprisingly read a lot this month! This is the most I've read in one month since elementary school maybe, and it was a very good reading month! I genuinely loved every book I read this month. Honestly, compared to booktube, 5 books (+1 novella) is not much, but a year ago I was averaging around 0 books per month so I'm pretty happy with myself this month. 


So I finally wrapped up The Captive Prince series by reading the last 2 short stories and I also finally started The Raven Cycle series after months of putting it off. I also discovered my new ABSOLUTE FAVORITE book this month and I am so excited to tell you guys all about the wonderful books I've read recently.


Without further ado, here are the books I've read this month:

MARCH BOOK WRAP-UP

Books Mentioned:

  • Sadie by Courtney Summers
  • If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
  • Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
  • The Summer Palace and Other Stories: A Captive Prince Short Story Collection by C.S. Pacat
  • The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
  • The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
--All summaries taken from the book itself






Sadie by Courtney Summers

Summary




A missing A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A serial―like podcast following the clues she's left behind. And an ending you won't be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

Rating: ★★★★+(1/2) (4.5/5)

Thoughts:

I think this is the first thriller I read, and I'm now in love with the thriller genre. After reading this novel I immediately started finding a bunch of new thrillers to read in the future (I'm very excited about starting Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn sometime in the future). I actually listened to the audiobook while following along with the ebook, and it was an AMAZING experience. The audiobook featured a full cast and it really felt like "The Girls" was a real podcast.
I was so emotionally invested in Sadie's story. I loved the depiction of her relationship with her sister and I was really touched by the overwhelming amount of love she had for her sister. I really love stories that explore family dynamics and this family had me heartbroken. The antagonist in this story also really unsettled me with how vile he was. Overall, this novel is amazing and I recommend anyone who loves a good mystery to give it a go.


If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Summary

"Oliver Marks has just served 10 years in jail - for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago. 
As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, and extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless."

Rating: ★★★ (3/5)

Thoughts:


My God this was a really fun read. I decided to pick this up because it was pitched as "The Secret History-esque, but Shakespeare," and anyone who has discussed books with me would know that The Secret History (by Donna Tartt) is one of my all-time favorite books, so I was really excited to experience something like it. To be completely honest it didn't give me the same vibes as The Secret History (TSH); I found If We Were Villains (IWWV) to be less atmospheric than TSH and I think a large part of the lack of ambience had to do with the writing. The writing wasn't bad, per-se, but it lacked the pretentiousness that gave TSH an secretive, elitist feel. However, this could be due to the changing of times, since TSH was published back in 1992 and IWWV was published 2017. 
TSH aside, I really enjoyed the plot. It was riveting and it took me by surprise many different times. I loved their friendship a lot; I loved how much they care for each other but I also loved how frayed and flawed their relationships were with each other. James and Oliver's friendship gave me LIFE but also destroyed me... It was also really fun to have a quick refresher on the different Shakespeare plays. I'm not the hugest fan of Shakespeare, but I do enjoy some of his work and it was interesting to see the parallels between the plays the characters are acting in and reality. 
However, the characters get WAY too drawn into Shakespeare. They're CRAZY obsessed with Shakespeare. So much so that they quote Shakespeare on the daily. And the first couple times it happens it's really dramatic how these soliloquys could have such relevance to the plot. But there were times where I felt they could have gone without the Shakespeare quote. Sometimes something really serious and terrible was happening and SOMEONE WOULD QUOTE SHAKESPEARE and it would make me laugh SO hard...I was laughing at very inappropriate times...
Overall, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable (despite the unnecessary Shakespeare quotes) and I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for a dark academia novel that involves mystery, murder, and cult-like groups (Oliver's words not mine :') ).



Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Summary


Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.

So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos.

A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.




Rating: ★★★★ (5/5)

Thoughts:

THIS BOOK. T H I S BOOK. If I could give it a rating OVER 5 I would in a HEARTBEAT. Earlier I mentioned that I found a new favorite book, and this is it. This was such an unexpected favorite too. I picked it up just because I was coming off of my reading high after finished IWWV and I thought I'd read this because it's relatively short and I've heard good things. I don't want to say too much about this here since I'm planning on writing a full review on this book (which may or may not already be published I'm not sure when I'll get to it) and spilling all my thoughts and feelings there, but when I do write it I'll link it here.
Overall, this book is an absolute masterpiece. It tackles difficult themes such as grief, death, and racism, and presents such an intricate study on family dynamics. It's just so beautiful. Ng is an amazing writer and storyteller. I shed several tears while reading this novel since it moved me that much. This was my favorite read of the month by FAR. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking for a short and impactful read.



The Summer Palace and Other Stories: A Captive Prince Short Story Collection by C.S. Pacat

Summary




Follow Damen, Laurent and the supporting characters of Captive Prince on a series of adventures set in and around the events of the novels - and beyond, to learn what happens after the final page in the trilogy is turned.

Featuring short stories:

Green but for a Season

The Summer Palace

The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant

Pet

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)


Thoughts:




I love The Captive Prince series so much, Damen and Laurent have my entire heart. It was so fun to be back in the Captive Prince world, as flawed as it is. Pacat did such a great job with the world building; it's a very crude world but a very interesting one nonetheless. 

"Green but for a Season" was very short but it was a nice read. I personally have a soft spot for both Jord and Aimeric, so reading about the development of their relationship really got to me. We also got a couple of snippets of a young Laurent putting together and maintaining his Prince's Guard, which was endearing. Laurent is such a strong and witty character I love him so much. 

"The Summer Palace" was just all around the sweetest story of the bunch. I loved seeing what their relationship is like post-canon and how sweet and loving they are together. They had a number of very touching conversations and I wanted to cry just because I was so happy that they're happy together.

"The Adventures of Charls" was very refreshing since we get to see Damen and Laurent, power couple of the century, back in action. It was such a funny read and you get more snippets of what their relationship is like post-canon, which always makes me happy.

My favorite of the 4 short stories would have to be Pet, which surprised me because there was very minimal Damen and Laurent scenes. Ancel really held his own. He was such an interesting character to learn about and such a funny character too. I also fell in love with Berenger and how good he is. I didn't expect to fall in love with 2 very minor characters from the main series. They're both so interesting and I wouldn't be opposed to reading a whole series about their adventures. I love them SO SO much.

Overall, it was a really fun read and I highly recommend it to anyone who has read the Captive Prince series.







The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary


“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Rating: ★★★★+(1/2) (4.5/5)


Thoughts:

I've said this a million times in this post alone but THIS WAS SUCH A FUN READ! I had so many fun reads this month and I think this one was the most enjoyable of them all (EINTY was a PAINFUL read. My favorite read but the most PAINFUL read.)! I was skeptical to start another series since school starts up again in a couple days but I just had to since it's been sitting on my shelf, taunting me for the longest time. I'm so glad I ended up picking it up. I can't believe I felt like I wasn't in the mood for YA. I am now in the mood for YA.
To me the thing that really made this book stand out was the characters. I loved them all so much. Blue, our protagonist, is so refreshing. She's witty, sarcastic, relatable, and just all around such a fun character. I just really love all of them: Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah. They all have such distinct yet believable personalities and they're so much fun to read about. My personal favorite character is Adam who I wish to hide and protect from the world forever.
I was so attached to the characters! So much so that every time something remotely bad happened to any of the characters I was actually screaming (I was screaming "A D A M !!!!!!!!!!" for the entirety of the 2nd half of the book).



The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary

Ronan Lynch has secrets. SOme he keeps from others. Some he keeps from himself.
--
Ronan is one of the raven boys—a group of friends, practically brothers, searching for a dead king named Glendower, who they think is hidden somewhere in the hills by their elite private school, Aglionby Academy. The path to Glendower has long lived as an undercurrent beneath town. But now, like Ronan's secrets, it is beginning to rise to the surfacechanging everything in its wake

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Thoughts:

Another book where I just WISH I could give it MORE than 5 stars because that's just how much I loved it. I can't even begin to explain why I loved it so much there are just so many different reasons and my thoughts are jumbled probably because I literally just finished this the night before. First of all, I love Ronan with my entire heart. This book is usually either a hit or a miss with people since it focuses mostly on Ronan and his background and his secrets, and if the reader doesn't like Ronan very much then this book might not be for them. Stiefvater really fleshed out each and every one of the characters even more in this book and I feel like I fell in love with this book because of how much I fell in love with the characters. I already loved them from The Raven Boys and now I just love them even more. 
Back to discussing Ronan N. Lynch, a lot of the chapters are from his perspective and you get to see so many different sides to him. You get glimpses of the "past Ronan" Gansey brings up from time to time with his unbridled enthusiasm and depthless curiosity, and you also get to see the more flawed side of his character with his anger and resentment. His chapters were so raw and personal that sometimes I felt like they were too personal—like I was observing thoughts and feelings that I wasn't supposed to see. I loved getting to know Ronan so so much.
Also, I am now in love with Stiefvater's writing. There were just so many different scenes that were so atmospheric and lovely they evoked so many strong emotions it was kind of overwhelming sometimes. When I read books, I love to feel. I love to experience strong emotions and Stiefvater writes these scenes so well that sometimes I can't even begin to contain these emotions. 
Overall, I'm in love with this book. I will probably write a review for the entire series when I finish but at this point I'm in love with this series and the characters and I highly recommend picking this series up if you want a nice, fun fantasy read.



Total Pages Read: 1,909
Total Words Read: 579, 562
Total Books Read: 5
Total Novellas Read: 1

I had such a great time reading this month! To be completely honest I also finished Blue Lily, Lily Blue this month too but I chose to withhold my thoughts on it for the next wrap-up since 3 TRC books in one wrap-up is a little much.
I really hope I get to read a lot in April as well, with school starting and all :")

See you all next time!
-璇






No comments:

Post a Comment