Fiction: 10
Non-fiction: 0
Short stories: 0
Graphic novels: 2
Total: 10
Page count: 3 704
Average rating: 3.85
3 Favourite Covers:
- Ziggy, Stardust and Me
- Wayward Son
- Echo North
3 Favourite Books:
- Ziggy, Stardust and Me
- Good Omens
- The Tyrant’s Tomb
3 Favourite Characters :
- Baz (Wayward Son)
- Crowley (Good Omens)
- Jonathan (Ziggy, Stardust and Me)
3 Favourite Relationships (Romantic):
- Simon & Baz (Wayward Son)
- Jonathan & Web (Ziggy, Stardust and Me)
- Tiffy & Leon (The Flatshare)
3 Favourite Relationships (Platonic):
- Baz & Penelope (Wayward Son)
- Crowley & Aziraphale (Good Omens)
- Tiffy & her friends (The Flatshare)
To Be Brief…
Because of Miss Bridgerton (Rokesbys #1): Historical romance set in 1779. I listened to this one while I took a long autumn walk, and had such a relaxing and nice time. A bit silly, admittedly, and there were some parts I didn’t like as much as the rest, but overall I’d say it was a pretty entertaining read. 3.5/5 stars
“You, Miss Bridgerton, have a convenient grasp on reality.”
Bringing Down the Duke (A League of Extraordinary Women #1): I was really in the mood for historical romance at the beginning of October for some reason, and briskly jumped from 1779 to 1879. Bringing Down the Duke tells the quite angsty story of a young woman who’s part of the rising women’s suffrage movement, and her task to recruit an influential man to the cause. While I enjoyed the story, it was unfortunately a bit too repetitive for my taste, and most of the book was just the main characters going back and forth and tiptoeing around the same issue, which eventually got a bit annoying. It was still fun, though. 3.25/5 stars
“No man is eligible as long as you become his property the moment you marry him.”
Ziggy, Stardust and Me: This book takes place in 1973 Missouri, and centers around a teenage boy struggling with an alcoholic father, severe internal homophobia, and (it makes me sick to think about it) the consequences of aversion therapy. In the midst of all this misery, he meets Web, a Native American boy who isn’t affraid to be himself. This book covers a lot of difficult topics, like sexual assault, racism, alcoholism, and anxiety, but it’s also imbued with hope, soul, and music. The stream of consciousness writing style won’t appeal to everyone, but I quite like it (though it got a tiny bit confusing at times). Jonathan, the main character, is definitely living in his own little world, and I can see why this book has been associated with I’ll Give You the Sun and Aristotle & Dante. I can also see a bit of We Are the Ants in it, but it is, of course, its own story. As you can probably guess, I really liked Ziggy, Stardust and Me, but it wasn’t quite a 5 star read for me. The dialogue didn’t always flow as naturally as I would have liked, and there was just something missing for me personally that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s still a book I’ll keep thinking about, though, no doubt about it. 4.25/5 stars
“You are so weird.”
“Different, you mean?”
“Yeah, man…different.”Wayward Son (Simon Snow #2): I enjoyed this continuation of Carry On more than I expected. While I did like the first book in the series, I was never a fan of how much it read like a Harry Potter parody, and this felt more like its own story. Some of my hesitation also stemmed from the overwhelming
angerdisappointment people seemed to be feeling the days following the release, but to be perfectly honest, I really didn’t mind the route Rowell decided to take with this book. In fact, I thought it felt realistic and added some depth to the characters. That is not to say I don’t hope for some goddamn happiness in the next book, as well as some more answers for Simon. 4/5 stars“Go ahead and shoot me. This isn’t my favourite shirt.”
Echo North: A 19th century Siberian Russia inspired retelling with sprinkles of Beauty & the Beast, Eros & Psyche, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. This one started out strong in my opinion, and I got captivated by the story, atmosphere, and overall feeling of coldness, but sadly, it lost a bit of steam in the last third. I liked the enchanted house and the magical books, but it had one or two tropes I’m not a huge fan of, and the way the matter of Echo’s scar was handled left kind of a bad taste in my mouth. In the end a pretty decent (though sort of unmemorable) standalone fairytale-esque book, but not in the same league as Uprooted or The Bear and the Nightingale. 3/5 stars
“Books are very dull without someone to share them with.”
Good Omens: I like both Gaiman and Pratchett immensely, and this is a very clever and funny novel that I enjoyed a lot. However, dare I say it, I actually liked the show even more. The story is perfect for a TV-series, and Tennant and Sheen did amazing things with the characters. You can also really tell that Gaiman had a hand in it, and it was very faithful to the book (with a few adjustments, of course). The writing in Good Omens is extremely Pratchett-and-Gaiman, and though I love it, it can get a bit much sometimes. The book also tended to go off on tangents and drift to characters and such that I wasn’t quite as interested in, which resulted in me taking almost three months to finish it. It’s still a fantastic book, though, and I’m very happy I decided to pick it up. 4.25/5 stars
“That’s how it goes, you think you’re on the top of the world, and suddenly they spring Armageddon on you.”
The Tyrant’s Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4): I’ll admit I haven’t been quite as invested in Apollo’s quest to twarth the evil emperors of Rome as I’ve been Riordan’s other stories, but I still really really enjoy it, and this one just got better as it went on. I’m excited to see where this story will end, and don’t kill me, but after that I would really prefer it if Riordan left the Greek and Roman gang alone. Thank you, I love it, but I can’t deal with any more heart break. 4.25/5 stars
“Reyna cranked up the volume, thus ending my attempt at death by casual conversation.”
The Flatshare: A funny, yet thoughtful adult contemporary romance about Tiffy and Leon, two strangers sharing an apartment, one working days and the other nights. While the book mainly centers around two people developing a relationship purely through post-it notes, there’s a lot more going on in the background, like the hunt for Johnny White, Katherin and her crocheting book, Holly and the hospice crew, the quest to get Leon’s brother out of jail, and Tiffy’s ongoing struggle to recover from her relationship with an emotionally abusive ex. It should have felt disjointed and messy, but somehow it all just worked. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters as well, which is essential for my enjoyment of any book. However, I must admit that the writing style in Leon’s chapters kind of threw me off, and though I eventually got used to it, I still think O’Leary could have taken it back a notch. Everything was written in as few words as possible, with a lot of colons and almost no pronouns, and while I understand why the author made that stylistic choice, I personally think it sort of affected the flow and made the text feel somewhat fragmented and awkward to read. I still flew through this book, though, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good contemporary. 4/5 stars
“You went from unconscious to judgemental very quickly there.”
Heartstopper (Vol 1 & 2): A very cute and wholesome webcomic-turned-series of graphic novels. Very easy to get through, and will fill you with all the fuzzy feelings. 4/5 stars
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