Hello all! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Here’s to a LOVELY 2023!
I’m feeling fresh and chill after all that SNOW last month!
Cannot believe it’s a new year!! Let’s hope it’s a brilliant time for books, blogging and entertainment! Are we all ready to rumble?! Cos I certainly am!
Do Revenge– well this was a bit of a mess- but an enjoyable mess nonetheless! I had a lot of fun with this chaotic revenge drama… as long as I didn’t think about it too much. The characters flipflop between being good and evil, likeable and unlikeable. And I liked going along for the ride- until of course it overdid it and accelerated right off the tracks. I don’t know what it is about movies like this going one twist too far- yet this very obviously had one (or two depending on your perspective) twist too far. Another massive downside was how keen this campy, absurd movie was to get THE MESSAGE across. I saw one review saying that the good thing about this movie was that it didn’t take itself too seriously- however I don’t think that’s true at all. I think the problem is it takes itself way too seriously. It was trying too hard to be a #MeToo story that it didn’t follow through with the twist. Instead, it went with the obvious villain and the supposed “girl power” ending that didn’t feel earned. Like I said, this is an enjoyable movie. Just don’t think about it too much.
Lore Olympus Volume 1-3– now here’s a classic case of too much of a good thing. I was super impressed by this modern graphic novel retelling of Hades and Persephone. In some ways it wasn’t true to the original- yet the elements that were transformed would work much better for a modern audience. It was sensitive and the poetic licence was intelligently done. Plus, the plates in this book were utterly gorgeous. HOWEVER, this does take slow burn to a whole other level. As much as I liked these books, I don’t feel like finishing this series, because it quite simply doesn’t go anywhere. I would’ve thought after 3 volumes there would be more to the plot than this. So it’s an impressive feat and worth a go- but ye gods wrap it up already!
Rating: 4/5 bananas
The Boyfriend– there’s no way around it- this just was not a great book. There were easily better twists available than the *spoiler alert* boyfriend being a secret sociopath after her money. Now that I’ve told you the ending, I’ll tell you the beginning: it’s about a woman who has forgotten the last 3 months of her life and her new boyfriend (who it transpires she made up). Given that the main character had amnesia, she could’ve asked this guy to play her boyfriend for money. Or she could’ve been the sociopath. Or really anything other than the obvious and boring af answer. Sadly, this book ended up being completely forgettable. All I can say to this book is: it’s not me, it’s you.
Rating:2/5 bananas
London’s Number 1 Dog Walking Agency– this book had me bouncing around with joy! Witty and full of fun doggy characters, it had me barking out laughter left right and centre! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the personalities in this non fic book (both human and doggy). There were some lovely, memorable moments (some that even made me tear up). And while this book is obviously for dog-people, I’d also say that it can win over even the surliest of dog-detractors (just as the book proves that a dog can eventually win over any person when they set their mind to it 😉)
Rating: 4/5 bananas
Diamond Eye– I don’t want to be too hard on this book, so I will say straight away that there were a lot of things I liked about it. There was some sharp characterisation and a strong sense of setting. Once again, Quinn proved she could bring a historical landscape to life. This time it is Kyiv during WW2- which absolutely makes for explosive drama. The disappointing thing about this book is that it doesn’t stay in wartime Kyiv. Instead, we are sent flitting off to the United States for an assassination attempt that (spoiler alert) never happened (but is that really a spoiler alert given we all know it didn’t happen?!) Personally, I prefer smaller scale stories, where you get down in the dirt with people trying to survive. Once you start bringing in real history, real people and real events… well then you lose me. Because there’s no point (in my mind) to creating a drama around an event where we all know the outcome. The stakes are so incredibly low because we know what’s going to happen from the start. So having this very uninteresting non-event be the climax of the book simply wasn’t exciting for me. Still, as much as I lost my patience by the end, I did get swept along with the story for most of it.
Rating: 3½/5 bananas
Half a Soul– sweetly romantic, this regency faerie tale was exactly what I could’ve wished for. Without being smutty or corny, it takes the historical landscape and sprinkles a pinch of magic to transform it into a delightful read. Not only did I love the characters and the story, but I also really admired how the faerie land was styled. It was faintly ridiculous, with an air of Wonderland. A quirky and dangerous place that captured my imagination. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for fantasy romance (and aren’t remotely impressed by the usual faerie love stories flying around these days).
Rating: 5/5 bananas
That’s all for now! Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments! And I hope you all had a good month! ❤
Silence of the Girls– when I think about this book, the first thing description that comes to mind is lonnnng. Which doesn’t make sense, all things considered, since it’s a pretty short book. Perhaps this was in part because in the audiobook version, the narrator seems to savour every syllable, HOWEVER even speeding it up didn’t seem to take away the tedium. As much as I wanted to like this book, it just felt remarkably long-winded. So much is drawn out and dwelt on, in an attempt to make the reader more sympathetic to the Girls’ plight. Unfortunately, this doesn’t have the desired effect. In fact, I see this technique used quote a bit in fiction- but I personally never feel like excruciating pacing does anything other than bore me. Incidentally, the whole purpose of this book is to create sympathy for the Girls- as if the classic tale somehow leaves that out- except I never had trouble empathising with their plight in the original. In fact, Homer could draw tears from me with a single line in the scene with Andromache. So no, I wouldn’t say this book was necessary. The other problem is that the way this is told- going from tragedy to tragedy in muted tones- doesn’t allow for any catharsis. And, as much as Briseis was a boring voice for the narrative, I liked the voices of Achilles and Patroclus even less. Frankly, I also found the line “his story” wince-inducing- entirely missing the humanity of the original (and slightly bizarre considering it’s a myth). All that said, this is not a bad book (I know, that contradicts everything I’ve said, but it’s the truth). The writing had some balance and beauty to it. It achieved what it set out to- such that I cannot rightly give it below:
the orang-utan librarian 