Category: reading

The end of the year has come and with that, so has the time to reflect on last year’s goals and lay out my reading goals for the next year. Overall, I would say that I had success with most of my goals although some of them did not quite turn out the way I…

For a book about a remarkable, seemingly never ending journey, the narrative went nowhere. I understand leaving elements ambiguous but Westerbeke left far too much unanswered. In fact, when the reader thinks the main character has finally received some relief, Westerbeke seemingly undoes all of it. I’m beginning to wonder if The Seventh Veil of Salome was…

Ward has absolutely gorgeous writing. I did not expect her to give the mom a point of view as well. She handled that with care and clearly established the distinctions between the two narrators. Ward never has easy topics in her books so be forewarned but the writing is heartfelt and profound. I had a…

The most I can say about this book is “why bother?” In a rather small book, Rogak attempts to tell the story of three different women who participated in some way that could be seen as propaganda. Not only does the length of the book prevent depth but Rogak dilutes that further by splitting the…

I did actually have a decent reading experience while reading this book. Finding out, though, that this book won the “History and Biography” category of the Goodreads Choice Awards over all of the other books in the category – and I haven’t finished the category yet – soured my opinion of the read. I appreciate…

Brown’s novels always have such fascinating concepts. This one definitely should have worked for me with the similarity to Warehouse 13, one of my favorite shows. Something about the execution, though, keeps the whole story extremely mid and forgettable. I never expected to read this sequel – or expected it to be published, honestly. Should…

I managed to finish this book but that’s the most positive I can say about this book. While many of the pieces technically qualify as YA, the narrative voice felt like a cheesy Disney movie targeted at 8 year olds.I do not know how this seemed like a good idea to publish for a YA…

Wow. Islington continues to astound. I have no idea how one person can keep up with such complex magic systems and plots much less create them yet somehow Islington manages. I was confused nearly the entire time and loved it. While book two did not have me in a chokehold and wallop me with the…

Did I remember many of the details from book one due to the expanse of time between reading the two books? Not really but that’s okay. I probably would have understood more but I still enjoyed this complex, mad cap world that Bancroft created. Trying to explain more would likely enter spoiler territory so I’ll…

I really enjoyed this historical fiction read with a few hints of the fantastical. Shelly Parker Chan created such a unique character with the main character (whose name, as usual, I have forgotten.) I also really appreciated the complex relationships and their dynamics that she explored. I hope that the sequel and conclusion to the…