October Reading Update
Nov. 1st, 2023 02:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaI read almost as many books in October as I did in the first three months of the year combined :) Shout out to night shifts where I had hours of down time.
I also DNF'd a lot of books this month, but I think I'm going to do a DNF round-up at the end of the year because I think there's some fun stuff to dig into re: my reading habits, and then start adding DNFs to the monthly posts next year. I rarely DNF, for the record. I read two Ernest Cline books and 5/6 50sog books. I have the fucking stamina and will hateread anything if you ask nicely and let me rant in your DMs a bit.
Also, I spoil a lot of books in this one! So if you see a title you want to read unspoiled, keep scrolling.
Currently Reading:
"You Just Need To Lose Weight": And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon
I might be finishing this one in 2024, honestly. Ah well.
To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Started this in October and rapidly got distracted. My library book is due back, so I may be forced to buy a copy just to finish it.
The Will of the Many by James Islington
I was initially a little disappointed by this because of the "teenaged protag goes to a special school" plotline, something that would have put me off for sure if I'd known about it in advance. But it's an extremely suspenseful book and I absolutely have to know what the fuck is going on.
Creepy Court: A Monster Mall Anthology directed by Eva Priest
This was an impulse purchase for Halloween, because I didn't look at the page count and was like, I can grind through an anthology in a couple hours! But this is 1083 pages long on Kindle and I have 2/3 of it left. It's definitely not in my usual wheelhouse, and I only picked it up because Lily Mayne contributed a story, but I think it's good to stretch yourself once in a while. With, uh, *checks notes* possessed animatronic porn.
...this is an anthology of monster romances set in the 80s inside a weird monster-infested mall. I should have led with that.
Rereads:
The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh
5/5. I was on a real histrom kick this month, as you will see. Mostly I reread old faves, and this is one of the best I've ever read. It's not even the romance that I love so much about it. It's the weird twisted powerplay between father and son, with Charity caught in the middle and trying so hard to untangle. The family dynamics of this book are compelling and feel vivid and real, and the romance does what it needs to do.
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
5/5. Listen, powerful asshole x sweetheart is my ship dynamic. I really like Helen, too -- there's something refreshing about her, about how she's allowed to be brave and kind and strong without having to be Not Like Other Women.
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
5/5 with a caveat, which is that the version for sale currently is truncated and the original version (which I also have) contains some content that in my opinion did not need to be cut. Like, the prologue with Annabelle and Simon's first meeting? At least one love scene? At least two post-marriage bits that were interesting about Annabelle adapting to Simon's world? The love scene I don't care about that much, but the prologue is vital and the post-marriage stuff is the best part of the book!
My feeling is that the prologue was cut because it's technically a noncon kiss and it's gone for the same reason a scene in It Happened One Autumn is gone, which, you could have just had it be mutual, but why you'd cut the class commentary that literally elevates your romance, I have no idea.
Still worth reading as is, but if you can obtain an original copy, do.
The Codex Alera Books 1-6 by Jim Butcher
5/5 An impulsive bingeread, mostly done over the course of a string of night shifts. Uh, I love these. There's some questionable gender stuff in there, like Jim Butcher cannot be normal about women and sex, but otherwise it's solid. As usual, Butcher's worldbuilding is insane, and he's very good at writing Big Climactic Moments and schemes. Tavi is so much fun to follow around, and when his female characters aren't being possessed by misogyny they're mostly fine, too.
Odiana...Odiana is inexcusable. As is that whole bit with Bernette in the first couple chapters. It's actually insane how clsoe Butcher comes to doing something interesting with Isana's character -- he's almost there, she's a woman without children in a society where childbearing is expected, and yet she has a child, and yet she cannot never reveal that the child is hers, and she can never be a real woman but she was a real woman all along but gender roles aren't even real -- and you could have used Amara's infertility to foil Isana here -- like he's sooo close. Isana's hidden motherhood as she becomes the face of the women's rights movement while Amara, sworn to the Crown, secretly breaking her vows to marry even though she can't have kids and wants to. And the vord queen, too! The mother who wants her children to live, but she must destroy her own daughters because they try to kill her on sight! She has to prepare for war against her daughter, and yet she doesn't want to because humanity has infected her!
There's an interesting commentary on motherhood in these books, is what I'm saying. But I think Butcher put in it there by accident.
I would definitely recommend these over the Dresden Files, because the Dresden Files are way more egregious about every social justice issue. But really, you should pick up The Aeronaut's Windlass, that's the best of his work bar none.
I still love them very much though.
The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer
3/5. It's just a worse April Lady. (Or April Lady is a better it? Not sure about publication order here.) Like, the same essential elements, but to worse effect. All the shenanigans that are meant to be entertaining wear out their welcome quickly.
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
5/5. Also a revised version, but I think all the changes here are fine, and I actually think the major change, where Lilian doesn't sleep with Marcus drunk, is actually for the better. Especially after the butterfly garden scene -- they really needed to have a gleefully consensual sex scene next. Kleypas also removes an instance of Sebastian molesting Lilian, though I don't know why she bothers. Look, either your readers are willing to read your shitty romance novel about a soulless rapist hooking up with the best friend of a woman he tried to assault, or they aren't, one line about noncon nipple play is not making the difference here.
For the record, Devil in Winter is absolute dogshit. Just one of the worst romances ever written.
New Reads:
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
4/5. I can totally see why this is a classic. It was pretty triggering in places for me, though.
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
5/5. I need to commit to reading everything Katherine Addison has written, I think. I love this take on Sherlock Holmes, and I especially love the platonic relationship the story is built on. Addison really knows how to make a city sing on page, too.
Lesbian Love Story by Amelia Possanza
5/5. I've seen critiques of this book that point out all the places Possanza failed to represent one group of lesbians or another, and they're fair. But at the end of the day I think the author's love for women shines through, and the book is a little meandering and messy because so is she. I wept real tears.
The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
3/5. This started off very promising and I was sure it would be a five star read, but it fell apart for me in a big way in the back half. Parts of the book are incomprehensible, so dense that the meaning cannot be parsed, and yet I felt like I was reading the same passages over and over again. Like I still could not tell you what happened or what I was supposed to feel, and the revelations that should be impactful lose all their power. I won't be picking up further books in the series, but might consider more of the author's work. The writing is incredibly vivid in many places.
Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas
3/5. I would describe this as "unbalanced". There's way too much longing and not enough actual relationship. You can tell within seconds that Fitz and Isabelle's second chance is going to fall apart, and the fact that Fitz can't figure that out makes me really question Millie's judgement. To be honest, I also felt like the misunderstanding between them was contrived. Why is it Millie's fault that she couldn't tell him how she felt? He made it real clear he didn't want her. Also, the book's central premise, the whole "pact to knock you up" thing, that was gross and weird and profoundly unsexy.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
4/5. I rarely read Westerns or horror, but this one appealed to me so I gave it a shot. It is very solid in most places, and the only thing that doesn't land for me is the revelation that the monster is Adelaide's sister. Like to me that felt out of place and like it didn't add anything to the story. Otherwise very solid: great characters, great sense of place.
The Sun and The Void by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz
2/5. A long slog of a novel. Two stupid protagonists who never learn from their mistakes. Terrible pacing. The writing is very overwrought -- you feel like she had a thesaurus open beside her while she wrote. And the religion in the book is very undeveloped, considering the central premise.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
3/5. Is this good? Eh. Is it fun? YES. Listen, a romance really only has to do one thing: get you to care about the characters getting together. I wanted Trystan and Evie to kiss on page one. The anemic worldbuilding and the tonal whiplash (the author has not decided how serious the book is meant to be, unfortunately. I think she should lean into the absurdity and just go all out.) are bad, but honestly, if these two's romance had actually moved past the mutual pining stage before the last 10% of the book, it would get like 5 stars.
No Gods, No Monsters by Caldwell Turnbull
3/5. The plot is tedious and confusing, which is unfortunate, because the book contains a lot of powerful individual scenes.
Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun
5/5. The holiday wlw romcom of my dreams. Love trapezoid! Communication but not too much! Hot wlw sex!
Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
5/5. The vibes of this are just so good. The romance is fine, the plot is fine, but the horror of the wood itself...perfection. I love the POV switch in the second installment, too, it gives it a completely different feel.
How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno
3/5. Ultimately I think a cosmic horror x human woman romance has no business being this bland. It feels like half a book, and a poorly paced, poorly written book at that.
Love at First Set by Jenn Dugan
5/5. Way better than I was expecting. I feel like this is some of the best, most readable, most interesting interpersonal drama I've ever seen in a romance. And both characters are allowed to be wrong and right at the same time, and to say their piece but also to apologize. Perfection.
The Blood-Born Dragon by J.C. Rycroft
3/5. This is so highly rated, and yet I honestly think it's pretty mid. The romance is toxic but not in a fun sexy way, in a "please stop being stupid over this unbearable woman" way. There are way too many conversations that are just monologues about a third, missing character's feelings or actions, and it's pretty info dumpy. Cool to see epic wlw fantasy, but I think there's
I also DNF'd a lot of books this month, but I think I'm going to do a DNF round-up at the end of the year because I think there's some fun stuff to dig into re: my reading habits, and then start adding DNFs to the monthly posts next year. I rarely DNF, for the record. I read two Ernest Cline books and 5/6 50sog books. I have the fucking stamina and will hateread anything if you ask nicely and let me rant in your DMs a bit.
Also, I spoil a lot of books in this one! So if you see a title you want to read unspoiled, keep scrolling.
Currently Reading:
"You Just Need To Lose Weight": And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon
I might be finishing this one in 2024, honestly. Ah well.
To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Started this in October and rapidly got distracted. My library book is due back, so I may be forced to buy a copy just to finish it.
The Will of the Many by James Islington
I was initially a little disappointed by this because of the "teenaged protag goes to a special school" plotline, something that would have put me off for sure if I'd known about it in advance. But it's an extremely suspenseful book and I absolutely have to know what the fuck is going on.
Creepy Court: A Monster Mall Anthology directed by Eva Priest
This was an impulse purchase for Halloween, because I didn't look at the page count and was like, I can grind through an anthology in a couple hours! But this is 1083 pages long on Kindle and I have 2/3 of it left. It's definitely not in my usual wheelhouse, and I only picked it up because Lily Mayne contributed a story, but I think it's good to stretch yourself once in a while. With, uh, *checks notes* possessed animatronic porn.
...this is an anthology of monster romances set in the 80s inside a weird monster-infested mall. I should have led with that.
Rereads:
The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh
5/5. I was on a real histrom kick this month, as you will see. Mostly I reread old faves, and this is one of the best I've ever read. It's not even the romance that I love so much about it. It's the weird twisted powerplay between father and son, with Charity caught in the middle and trying so hard to untangle. The family dynamics of this book are compelling and feel vivid and real, and the romance does what it needs to do.
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
5/5. Listen, powerful asshole x sweetheart is my ship dynamic. I really like Helen, too -- there's something refreshing about her, about how she's allowed to be brave and kind and strong without having to be Not Like Other Women.
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
5/5 with a caveat, which is that the version for sale currently is truncated and the original version (which I also have) contains some content that in my opinion did not need to be cut. Like, the prologue with Annabelle and Simon's first meeting? At least one love scene? At least two post-marriage bits that were interesting about Annabelle adapting to Simon's world? The love scene I don't care about that much, but the prologue is vital and the post-marriage stuff is the best part of the book!
My feeling is that the prologue was cut because it's technically a noncon kiss and it's gone for the same reason a scene in It Happened One Autumn is gone, which, you could have just had it be mutual, but why you'd cut the class commentary that literally elevates your romance, I have no idea.
Still worth reading as is, but if you can obtain an original copy, do.
The Codex Alera Books 1-6 by Jim Butcher
5/5 An impulsive bingeread, mostly done over the course of a string of night shifts. Uh, I love these. There's some questionable gender stuff in there, like Jim Butcher cannot be normal about women and sex, but otherwise it's solid. As usual, Butcher's worldbuilding is insane, and he's very good at writing Big Climactic Moments and schemes. Tavi is so much fun to follow around, and when his female characters aren't being possessed by misogyny they're mostly fine, too.
Odiana...Odiana is inexcusable. As is that whole bit with Bernette in the first couple chapters. It's actually insane how clsoe Butcher comes to doing something interesting with Isana's character -- he's almost there, she's a woman without children in a society where childbearing is expected, and yet she has a child, and yet she cannot never reveal that the child is hers, and she can never be a real woman but she was a real woman all along but gender roles aren't even real -- and you could have used Amara's infertility to foil Isana here -- like he's sooo close. Isana's hidden motherhood as she becomes the face of the women's rights movement while Amara, sworn to the Crown, secretly breaking her vows to marry even though she can't have kids and wants to. And the vord queen, too! The mother who wants her children to live, but she must destroy her own daughters because they try to kill her on sight! She has to prepare for war against her daughter, and yet she doesn't want to because humanity has infected her!
There's an interesting commentary on motherhood in these books, is what I'm saying. But I think Butcher put in it there by accident.
I would definitely recommend these over the Dresden Files, because the Dresden Files are way more egregious about every social justice issue. But really, you should pick up The Aeronaut's Windlass, that's the best of his work bar none.
I still love them very much though.
The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer
3/5. It's just a worse April Lady. (Or April Lady is a better it? Not sure about publication order here.) Like, the same essential elements, but to worse effect. All the shenanigans that are meant to be entertaining wear out their welcome quickly.
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
5/5. Also a revised version, but I think all the changes here are fine, and I actually think the major change, where Lilian doesn't sleep with Marcus drunk, is actually for the better. Especially after the butterfly garden scene -- they really needed to have a gleefully consensual sex scene next. Kleypas also removes an instance of Sebastian molesting Lilian, though I don't know why she bothers. Look, either your readers are willing to read your shitty romance novel about a soulless rapist hooking up with the best friend of a woman he tried to assault, or they aren't, one line about noncon nipple play is not making the difference here.
For the record, Devil in Winter is absolute dogshit. Just one of the worst romances ever written.
New Reads:
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
4/5. I can totally see why this is a classic. It was pretty triggering in places for me, though.
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison
5/5. I need to commit to reading everything Katherine Addison has written, I think. I love this take on Sherlock Holmes, and I especially love the platonic relationship the story is built on. Addison really knows how to make a city sing on page, too.
Lesbian Love Story by Amelia Possanza
5/5. I've seen critiques of this book that point out all the places Possanza failed to represent one group of lesbians or another, and they're fair. But at the end of the day I think the author's love for women shines through, and the book is a little meandering and messy because so is she. I wept real tears.
The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
3/5. This started off very promising and I was sure it would be a five star read, but it fell apart for me in a big way in the back half. Parts of the book are incomprehensible, so dense that the meaning cannot be parsed, and yet I felt like I was reading the same passages over and over again. Like I still could not tell you what happened or what I was supposed to feel, and the revelations that should be impactful lose all their power. I won't be picking up further books in the series, but might consider more of the author's work. The writing is incredibly vivid in many places.
Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas
3/5. I would describe this as "unbalanced". There's way too much longing and not enough actual relationship. You can tell within seconds that Fitz and Isabelle's second chance is going to fall apart, and the fact that Fitz can't figure that out makes me really question Millie's judgement. To be honest, I also felt like the misunderstanding between them was contrived. Why is it Millie's fault that she couldn't tell him how she felt? He made it real clear he didn't want her. Also, the book's central premise, the whole "pact to knock you up" thing, that was gross and weird and profoundly unsexy.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
4/5. I rarely read Westerns or horror, but this one appealed to me so I gave it a shot. It is very solid in most places, and the only thing that doesn't land for me is the revelation that the monster is Adelaide's sister. Like to me that felt out of place and like it didn't add anything to the story. Otherwise very solid: great characters, great sense of place.
The Sun and The Void by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz
2/5. A long slog of a novel. Two stupid protagonists who never learn from their mistakes. Terrible pacing. The writing is very overwrought -- you feel like she had a thesaurus open beside her while she wrote. And the religion in the book is very undeveloped, considering the central premise.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
3/5. Is this good? Eh. Is it fun? YES. Listen, a romance really only has to do one thing: get you to care about the characters getting together. I wanted Trystan and Evie to kiss on page one. The anemic worldbuilding and the tonal whiplash (the author has not decided how serious the book is meant to be, unfortunately. I think she should lean into the absurdity and just go all out.) are bad, but honestly, if these two's romance had actually moved past the mutual pining stage before the last 10% of the book, it would get like 5 stars.
No Gods, No Monsters by Caldwell Turnbull
3/5. The plot is tedious and confusing, which is unfortunate, because the book contains a lot of powerful individual scenes.
Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun
5/5. The holiday wlw romcom of my dreams. Love trapezoid! Communication but not too much! Hot wlw sex!
Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
5/5. The vibes of this are just so good. The romance is fine, the plot is fine, but the horror of the wood itself...perfection. I love the POV switch in the second installment, too, it gives it a completely different feel.
How to Get a Girlfriend (When You're a Terrifying Monster) by Marie Cardno
3/5. Ultimately I think a cosmic horror x human woman romance has no business being this bland. It feels like half a book, and a poorly paced, poorly written book at that.
Love at First Set by Jenn Dugan
5/5. Way better than I was expecting. I feel like this is some of the best, most readable, most interesting interpersonal drama I've ever seen in a romance. And both characters are allowed to be wrong and right at the same time, and to say their piece but also to apologize. Perfection.
The Blood-Born Dragon by J.C. Rycroft
3/5. This is so highly rated, and yet I honestly think it's pretty mid. The romance is toxic but not in a fun sexy way, in a "please stop being stupid over this unbearable woman" way. There are way too many conversations that are just monologues about a third, missing character's feelings or actions, and it's pretty info dumpy. Cool to see epic wlw fantasy, but I think there's
