June Reading Update 2024
Jul. 1st, 2024 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penwallaI read a shocking amount this month, considering how miserable I was for most of it. Let's go!
Currently Reading:
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Everyday I receive information about how hot Xaden is against my will.
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown
So far it's a very insightful text.
New Reads:
Adventures of a Scottish Heiress by Cathy Maxwell
3/5. Despite its best attempts, it's an incredibly generic book, and it does something a lot of romances do--it can't figure out how to wind together the thread of sexual desire and romantic connection, so that moments of lust feel like they're undercutting moments of genuine emotion rather than complimenting them. Wouldn't recommend it--there are much better romances available.
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
5/5. This anthology I purchased as part of a Storybundle after it was recommended in a Twitter thread as a book for fans of The Locked Tomb series. Having read it, I really enjoyed. Yap uses the supernatural and fantastic elements to highlight girlhood so well, and it was really interesting to get this viewpoint into Filipino mythology and culture.
Terrible Lovely Demon by Odessa Hywell
3/5. Meh. Suffers from needing twice the word count it has to do the relationship justice. It feels very rushed. And frankly I think the author spends too much of the story sanitizing the demons. I didn't have any moral qualms about the premise, I read the blurb before I bought the book. It feels like the author is trying to preemptively argue with imaginary critics.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
5/5. Really enjoyed this one. It manages to be a perfect blend of dreamlike and raw, which really sells the horror. And the romance is exactly the kind I like.
Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu: Vol. 1 by Tang Jiu Qing
4/5. Politics are a little dense for me but I thought the central romance (if it can be called that) was very compelling.
The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert
After being burned multiple times by Hibbert's backlist, I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. The characters feel well-realized and the conflict feels completely organic. And the sex is hot. Appreciated the POC rep, too!
The Fireborne Blade by Charlottle Bond
4/5. This was sold as being 'sapphic' but it's only very slightly so. I liked the structure of this novel, which utilizes both flashbacks and present day scenes intercut with academic segments from this world's texts chronicling the history of dragon slaying. This definitely feels like a first installment, which I enjoyed less, because a lot is left unfinished at the end and it feels like the twist just kind of...happens. It is set up in advance, but it didn't quite stick the landing for me.
The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda
4/5. I thought this murder mystery was very interesting. I liked the way it moved from POV to POV, slowly unrolling the story, and in the end it's not really about the truth: it's about whether we can ever really know what the truth is.
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4/5. This is the first of Tchaikovsky's works that I've read, and I'm definitely excited to read more. The dual POVs here really make this novella interesting. The juxtaposition between the classic fairytale princess seeking a wizard and the lonely anthropologist is what elevates the story.
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
3/5. Lots of interesting ideas, but there's so much worldbuilding that it actually bogs down the story, and ultimately I think it doesn't quite come together for me. It's a little preachy, and frankly the book's obsession with animals talking felt bizarre. In places it feels like a parody of vegan propaganda.
Bound to the Orc Ranger by Krista Luna
3/5. Ultimately suffers from the short length: characterization and relationship development are paper thin, which makes it essentially a couple hot sex scenes with bland dialogue and generic passages in between. I don't mind love at first sight but we need to see the characters connect on a level beside physical at least once.
How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly
5/5. I liked pretty much every part of this: the romance, the feeling that these were two real adults figuring out their relationship without any melodramatics, the foster care plotline. I'm not usually a sports romance reader but I didn't mind it at all here.
What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine
3/5. It's an objectively well written book that doesn't quite come together for me. Felt like the threads of theme and plot and character arc didn't knot together in a satisfying way. I also find the book's focus on womanhood to be somewhat reductive.
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Singing Hills #5)
4/5. This is the first of this series of novellas where it didn't really work for me. I like elements of it, but ultimately it didn't quite come together for it. I do like the horror elements, though.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
5/5. What a fun romp! I love the setting, I love Amina, and I had a great time reading about this famous lady pirate's last job. Full of heists and action scenes, but has plenty of characterization and heart, too.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
3/5. The prose is beautiful, but the actual story is mid. I worked out the twist before it deployed, and if you are paying attention you might even figure it out in the first couple of chapters. This is a fatal mistake, because without that mystery there's no reason to keep reading--Indigo is absurdly tedious and her husband's POV chapters are pretty boring. Ultimately it feels like cake frosting without any cake.
Exordia by Seth Dickinson
5/5. Dickinson is an insanely talented writer and I admire this book for its sheer ambition. it's a twisty, complex book that asks a lot of the reader. Dickinson dumps you in the deep end and expects you to keep up. This book isn't for everyone, and I think a lot of people won't enjoy it because it's so weird. But I thought it was great!
Rereads:
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
4/5. A neat little collection of mini Poirot mysteries.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
4/5. The first Poirot! I love it on nostalgia alone, but I also think it's pretty good on its own merits. Hastings can be annoying, and of course it contains some gratuitous antisemitism for no goddamn reason.
Currently Reading:
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Everyday I receive information about how hot Xaden is against my will.
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown
So far it's a very insightful text.
New Reads:
Adventures of a Scottish Heiress by Cathy Maxwell
3/5. Despite its best attempts, it's an incredibly generic book, and it does something a lot of romances do--it can't figure out how to wind together the thread of sexual desire and romantic connection, so that moments of lust feel like they're undercutting moments of genuine emotion rather than complimenting them. Wouldn't recommend it--there are much better romances available.
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
5/5. This anthology I purchased as part of a Storybundle after it was recommended in a Twitter thread as a book for fans of The Locked Tomb series. Having read it, I really enjoyed. Yap uses the supernatural and fantastic elements to highlight girlhood so well, and it was really interesting to get this viewpoint into Filipino mythology and culture.
Terrible Lovely Demon by Odessa Hywell
3/5. Meh. Suffers from needing twice the word count it has to do the relationship justice. It feels very rushed. And frankly I think the author spends too much of the story sanitizing the demons. I didn't have any moral qualms about the premise, I read the blurb before I bought the book. It feels like the author is trying to preemptively argue with imaginary critics.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
5/5. Really enjoyed this one. It manages to be a perfect blend of dreamlike and raw, which really sells the horror. And the romance is exactly the kind I like.
Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu: Vol. 1 by Tang Jiu Qing
4/5. Politics are a little dense for me but I thought the central romance (if it can be called that) was very compelling.
The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert
After being burned multiple times by Hibbert's backlist, I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. The characters feel well-realized and the conflict feels completely organic. And the sex is hot. Appreciated the POC rep, too!
The Fireborne Blade by Charlottle Bond
4/5. This was sold as being 'sapphic' but it's only very slightly so. I liked the structure of this novel, which utilizes both flashbacks and present day scenes intercut with academic segments from this world's texts chronicling the history of dragon slaying. This definitely feels like a first installment, which I enjoyed less, because a lot is left unfinished at the end and it feels like the twist just kind of...happens. It is set up in advance, but it didn't quite stick the landing for me.
The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda
4/5. I thought this murder mystery was very interesting. I liked the way it moved from POV to POV, slowly unrolling the story, and in the end it's not really about the truth: it's about whether we can ever really know what the truth is.
Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4/5. This is the first of Tchaikovsky's works that I've read, and I'm definitely excited to read more. The dual POVs here really make this novella interesting. The juxtaposition between the classic fairytale princess seeking a wizard and the lonely anthropologist is what elevates the story.
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
3/5. Lots of interesting ideas, but there's so much worldbuilding that it actually bogs down the story, and ultimately I think it doesn't quite come together for me. It's a little preachy, and frankly the book's obsession with animals talking felt bizarre. In places it feels like a parody of vegan propaganda.
Bound to the Orc Ranger by Krista Luna
3/5. Ultimately suffers from the short length: characterization and relationship development are paper thin, which makes it essentially a couple hot sex scenes with bland dialogue and generic passages in between. I don't mind love at first sight but we need to see the characters connect on a level beside physical at least once.
How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly
5/5. I liked pretty much every part of this: the romance, the feeling that these were two real adults figuring out their relationship without any melodramatics, the foster care plotline. I'm not usually a sports romance reader but I didn't mind it at all here.
What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine
3/5. It's an objectively well written book that doesn't quite come together for me. Felt like the threads of theme and plot and character arc didn't knot together in a satisfying way. I also find the book's focus on womanhood to be somewhat reductive.
The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Singing Hills #5)
4/5. This is the first of this series of novellas where it didn't really work for me. I like elements of it, but ultimately it didn't quite come together for it. I do like the horror elements, though.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
5/5. What a fun romp! I love the setting, I love Amina, and I had a great time reading about this famous lady pirate's last job. Full of heists and action scenes, but has plenty of characterization and heart, too.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
3/5. The prose is beautiful, but the actual story is mid. I worked out the twist before it deployed, and if you are paying attention you might even figure it out in the first couple of chapters. This is a fatal mistake, because without that mystery there's no reason to keep reading--Indigo is absurdly tedious and her husband's POV chapters are pretty boring. Ultimately it feels like cake frosting without any cake.
Exordia by Seth Dickinson
5/5. Dickinson is an insanely talented writer and I admire this book for its sheer ambition. it's a twisty, complex book that asks a lot of the reader. Dickinson dumps you in the deep end and expects you to keep up. This book isn't for everyone, and I think a lot of people won't enjoy it because it's so weird. But I thought it was great!
Rereads:
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
4/5. A neat little collection of mini Poirot mysteries.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
4/5. The first Poirot! I love it on nostalgia alone, but I also think it's pretty good on its own merits. Hastings can be annoying, and of course it contains some gratuitous antisemitism for no goddamn reason.
