Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
Would Recommend If: you read the first in the series, Geraldine Brooks' books, 'magic is real but shhh' type books
I'm a bit conflicted about this book, to be honest. I really enjoyed the first one, A Discovery of Witches, but this one ... just not quite as much. I still quite enjoyed it, and I liked the direction she took the series in, but it didn't move as well or feel anywhere near as exciting as the first one. It's nice that the main character only got kidnapped once (I think it was only once. It might've been twice) this time around, but it made for a slower read. I'll definitely read the next in the series ... whenever it comes out.
Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
Would Recommend If: you like Maureen Johnson in any capacity, supernatural/mysterious/sad YA books
I'm a big Maureen Johnson fan, so it comes as no surprise that I loved this book. It's a great sequel so The Name Of The Star and it's creepy and sad and just great. And, Johnson doesn't spend a lot of time catching you up on what happened in the last book (a bit of a pet peeve of mine) and jumps right into the action. The end is a bit frustrating, but it's still a fast and fun read that makes you want another book in the series.
Dodger by Terry Pratchett
Would Recommend If: you've read any of Pratchett's other works, Oliver Twist with a twist HAHA I AM HILARIOUS
I am on a (not so secret, if you've looked at my goodreads) quest to read all of Terry Pratchett's books. And there are a lot of them. Somewhere north of 40 books, I think. And this one is no exception to the quality I've come to expect from Pratchett. The characters are great, as is the story and the world it's set in - you can really tell that Pratchett has a love for the era and for his characters. A great/fast/funny read. But, then again, all of the Pratchett I've read has been.
Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss
Would Recommend If: you're a fan of Gatiss' other work (BBC Sherlock, many episodes of Doctor Who), sassy assassin/spy men in victorian england type books
I have mixed feelings about this one. I think because I didn't get sucked into the story or characters immediately, it took me a bit longer to read. And, because of that, Gatiss' writing style took me a bit to get into every time I picked the book up. Other than my problems with the prose, I quite enjoyed the book. It was very clever and relatively kept my interest over the month it took me to read it.
Infernal Devices Series (Clockwork Prince, Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Princess) by Cassandra Clare
Would Recommend If: you've read the Mortal Instruments series (same universe), sad/supernatural/romance/mystery/victorian london YA books
Oh, The Infernal Devices. I have a love/hate relationship with this series. I loved the idea of it, but not so much the execution. I think I might be a bit old for this series (aimed at "teens", which oftentimes in YA books means 13 year olds can read it) and that is where most of my problems with it came from - the one trope that YA can't seem to leave be is the Love Triangle and this series was no exception. Dragged the love triangle out for 3 books. Drove me a bit mad. The characters had a lot of other stuff to deal with and liking more than one boy for the majority of the series seems like taking the easy way out (and getting them both in the end - blegh. My eyes nearly rolled out of my head while I was reading the Clockwork Princess). I did enjoy the series, other than the lovey triangley bits though.
No comments:
Post a Comment