Words Words Words

Did anyone else get the feeling that this needed longer to bake? I'm going to keep this as spoiler free as possible but I'm kind of reeling at the fact that my most anticipated read of the year ended up being a bit of a let down. I was initially intrigued by the fact that we were getting Apollo and Jacks' perspectives but they quickly proved to be subpar with Apollo frankly not being that interesting and Jacks not getting enough chapters to justify his perspective.

Also, what happened to all the characters that became so important in the first two books? Where were they? There was so much to work with here and instead we got nearly 300 pages of Evangeline trying to piece her memories back together. Little to no mention of Chaos, Luc, Marisol, Lala. Had she gotten them back earlier, I genuinely believe that a lot of the problems in this book would have been solved. I feel like Apollo hunting her while in complete control of himself (as opposed to the Archer's Curse) would have done more to show his ruthless, egotistical personality than what we got.

Overall, I am happy with the way it ended. I feel like there was really no other way to end it without being needlessly cruel or entirely unsatisfying so it was a good choice on her part. The things that made me love the first two books were still there but there just wasn't enough. It didn't feel like the FINALE. There was something off about it.

Again this is mostly a rant. I finished reading the book, no joke, thirty minutes ago so take what I say with a grain of salt.

What did you think of A Curse for True Love? I think I'm going to move on to Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo over my winter break and hopefully be able to squeeze in another book while I'm at it.

I can’t believe we are moving into October! I’ve been incredibly busy with school work these past few months but I think I can feel myself getting into a routine which means I’m going to try to read a lot more for myself :) I only read a measly four books this September, but October looks promising (A Curse for True Love AND Chalice of the Gods?!?!?!?).

🍂Veiled by Benedict Jacka🍂

Rating: 3/5

This was an absolute curve ball. The sixth in the series (and for some reason the one that I started with) I didn’t expect to like this book at all. The characters were lively and interesting and there was a huge emphasis on political intrigue and corrupt government systems that really engaged me. One minor thing that got me was the fact that our main character is like half an interesting guy with magic powers and half exposition machine. You could start this series from any point and get exactly what’s going on because he explains every single thing that happens. It wasn’t a huge problem for me since I started on book 6 but I can’t imagine how it would feel to be a longtime reader having to listen to explanations about the worldbuilding over and over. I plan to read the rest of the series at some point (although it is 12 books so maybe not right away).

🍂The Silvered Serpents by Chokshi Roshani🍂

Rating 3/5

On the opposite note this book was exactly what I expected. I don’t know, the Gilded Wolves series so far is sort of underwhelming for me but at the last second, Roshani makes me want to keep reading. I felt like I was able to better connect with and care about the characters because we now have the backstory of The Gilded Wolves to build upon so I enjoyed that. Some characters jumped out more and I can say with certainty now that my favorite character is Zofia (ily). I definitely think the plot comes second to the characters and their relationships, but once again I found it a little difficult to fully invest myself in either. I definitely enjoyed it more than the first book even though it didn’t fully hit the mark for me.

🍂The Odyssey of Homer (translated by Emily Wilson)🍂

Rating 4/5

Reading this made me wish I had taken Greek so I can gain the scope of understanding that it takes to fully appreciate this translation. Before I read this translation I was of the opinion that The Odyssey is The Odyssey is The Odyssey no matter who the translator is. The way that Emily Wilson went about translating her version of the Odyssey really left great impression on me simply because she made it feel so fresh (I want to say modern but I don’t think that’s the word for it). It was fun to read and even more fun to read aloud in the iambic pentameter. Eagerly anticipating reading her translation of the Iliad.

🍂Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson🍂

Rating: 3.5/5

OKOKOK I know that Mistborn is THE fantasy book for some people. It was not for me. I thought that Sanderson’s magic system was interesting but that there was a lot of room left for character development and individual relationships which sometimes felt rushed and half-baked. Allomancy in this book was the most important character and you could tell. Maybe I’m a sucker for a character driven plot but if Sanderson spent as much time fleshing out his characters as he did fleshing out the world building and magic system, I would have been more interested.  

I got these questions from @ninasbookshelf and if there are two things I love to do they are 1.) Read and 2.) Talk about myself.

Amount of books you’ve read so far: 24

Best book you’ve read so far in 2023: Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2023: Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year: A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

Biggest disappointment: Sign Here by Claudia Lux

Biggest surprise: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Favorite new author (debut or new to you): Tracy Deonn

Newest fictional crush: Sona Steelcrest (Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta)

Favorite character: Jacks (Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber)

Book that made you cry: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Book that made you happy: This Time It's Real by Ann Liang

A book I want to read by the end of year: These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself to write out an incredible first post but I figured I would just to introduce myself and (hopefully) to have something to look back one day if I really commit to this. I'm a 20 year old student studying English literature and Classics. Basically, I just want to use this as a place to post about the books I love and things I want to read/am currently reading. I'm a sucker for Shakespeare and sci-fi/fantasy novels. I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to post yet maybe some short recommendations and potentially some more lengthy reviews at some point? I'm always happy for recommendations so please send them my way.

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