Wrap-Up: January

Novels: 6

Novellas: 0

Graphic novels: 0

Non-fiction: 0

Total: 6

Page count: 2 105

Average rating: 4.08

3 Favourite Covers:

• Less
• The Winter of the Witch
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

3 Favourite Books:

• The Winter of the Witch
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• The Wicked King

3 Favourite Characters :

• Arthur Less (Less)
• Jude Duarte (The Wicked King)
• Vasya Petrovna (The Winter of the Witch)

3 Favourite Relationships (Romantic):

• Arthur Less & Freddy Pelu (Less)
• Evelyn Hugo & Celia St. James (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
• Jude Duarte & Cardan Greenbriar (The Wicked King)

3 Favourite Relationships (Platonic):

• Evelyn Hugo & Harry Cameron (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
• Vasya & Solovey (The Winter of the Witch)
• Vasya & Sasha (The Winter of the Witch)

To Be Brief…

Dumplin’ (Dumplin’ #1): At its core, this is a book about self-love and body positivity. It’s about learning to embrace yourself and the people around you. It’s about realising that every person has their own set of insecurities, but that no one is obligated to change for anyone. Sure, it takes Willowdean some time and quite a few shitty decisions to get there (you’ll likely get the urge to smack her over the head more than once), but she does, and I do like me some good ol’ character growth. My least favourite thing about Dumplin’ was probably the romance, though there were definitely some cute moments. I just personally found Will’s other relationships to friends and family a lot more interesting. I also wish we’d gotten a bit more actual pageant content, but overall I thought it was a fun contemporary with a good message. 4/5 stars

“Perfection is nothing more than a phantom shadow we’re all chasing.”

Less: This book follows Arthur Less, a nearly fifty-year-old author, as he travels around the world in an attempt to escape the wedding of his kind of ex-boyfriend. It’s about love, life, living, and — to Arthur’s chagrin — aging. It’s filled with deliciously flawed characters including, of course, our protagonist Arthur Less. I absolutely adored Arthur, foolishness, vanity, and all, and at times I honestly just wanted to give him a hug. I really liked Greer’s writing as well. I personally enjoy going back and forth in time, slowly uncovering the life of the protagonist, but I know it’s not for everyone, and I must admit it was a bit confusing at times. Overall, though, this was a funny, lighthearted, and sentimental story that filled me with joy. 4.5/5 stars

“Just for the record: happiness is not bullshit.”

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows the scandalous and glamorous life of Hollywood starlet Evelyn Hugo. It’s heartbreaking and honest, and tells the sometimes ugly truth about both the movie industry and the world in general. Evelyn Hugo is an extremely complicated, complex and interesting character, and while reading her story, you’ll be guaranteed to want more, more, more. I don’t think I fell just quite as head over heels in love with the book as many other people, but there’s no denying it’s a fabulous, fabulous novel. 4.5/5 stars

“Never let anyone make you feel ordinary.”

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2): I’ve been waiting over a year for this book, and let me tell you, Holly Black sure knows how to leave her readers craving more because I need the third one pronto! 4.5/5 stars

“Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.”

The Winter of the Witch (Winternight Trilogy #3): This was a fantastic conclusion to The Winternight Trilogy, and I’m so sad this magical and atmospheric adventure is over. Honestly, this book gave me chills, and if you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend it (especially the audiobook). I mean, Russian folklore, talking horses, and mushroom spirits! What not to love? 4.75/5 stars

“You shouldn’t have told them I was a girl. Then they might have believed that I was dangerous.”

99 Percent Mine: Okay, look, I had some fun reading this book. It was easy to get into, and I more or less finished it in one sitting, which is usually a good sign. I’m also always in favour of the friends to lovers premise. However, many of the things I didn’t like about The Hating Game were actually worse in this one. Why are Sally Thorne’s characters always so unhealthily obsessed with each other? This level of possessiveness isn’t cute, and it made me cringe rather than swoon. Also, I really couldn’t keep up with the characters and their mood swings. Talk about people who don’t know their own minds…

I can’t deny that this book was entertaining, and it definitely had its good parts, but the more I think about it, the angrier I get, and right now I’m not entirely sure I’ll pick up more of Thorne’s work in the future. 2.25/5 stars

“Every evil overlord needs a fluffy cat to stroke.”

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