I’m sure you have made numerous tbrs like me. You were excited for a book and just…never got around to it. Some of these are particularly embarrassing for me, as they are so popular and well beloved by many in the book community. Here’s my top 25 most anticipated books (in no particular order) that I failed to read.
The ones I think are most embarrassing that I haven’t read yet: Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, the Bone Season by Samantha Shannon and Red Rising by Pierce Brown.
There are countless others I haven’t gotten to yet either, of course. Which ones should I prioritize? Please let me know in the comments!
Of Love and Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman, this was published in 1994 and immediately made one of my top favorite reads of the year. At just 160 pages, this was a flawless masterpiece (in my opinion) and while it is a bit of a rough read and you should definitely pay attention to trigger warnings, this was a truly unique story that drew me in and refused to let me go.
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. In 1972 he was awarded Neustadt International Prize for Literature and 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. His writing is some that I have long desired to try, and now I can certainly see how he’s become such a popular author.
Based on Goodreads Description: On her twelfth birthday, Sierva Maria, the only child of a decaying noble family in an eighteenth-century South American seaport, is bitten by a rabid dog. Believed to be possessed, she is brought to a convent for observation. And into her cell stumbles Father Cayetano Delaura, who has already dreamed about a girl with hair trailing after her like a bridal train. As he tends to her with holy water and sacramental oils, Delaura feels something shocking begin to occur. He has fallen in love, and it isn’t long until Sierva Maria joins him in his fevered misery. Unsettling and indelible, Of Love and Other Demons is an evocative, majestic tale of the most universal experiences known to woman and man.
This was the first book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last. It’s strong writing and subtle means of being slow to start but draws you in and when done, you think about this story for days. It’s a haunting tale of power, arrogance, greed and beauty. Women are shown truly how they were treated, as were slaves. It’s depiction of white versus black was well handled and believable.
I felt that the pacing of this book was decently handled. It starts off a little slow but by the midway point, you are totally invested in this novella. I felt the characters helped make the whole story worth reading. Triggers to add for the story: sexual content, depiction of slavery, harsh language, bigotry, sexism, and racism. This is a rough read but it’s also a very good read. Tread carefully, fellow readers. If you have further concerns, don’t hesitate asking me in the comments!
My rating for this novella is five stars. It’s one book that I will be thinking about for years to come. Such a powerful little tale that packs a punch. I highly recommend it to readers that enjoy historical fiction and short stories.
I’ve been rather disappeared this month and for that I apologize, blogging has been rather a challenge lately but I plan to get back in the swing of things soon. I’m trying to cram as many books as I can into the month. I’ve read 100 books so far this year already! 🥰
March of the Mammoths:
I’ll admit that this isn’t going well at all. I’ve read a couple of really large books and dnf’d one.
This one is 705 pages
This one is 624 pages
I am now at book four of the Wheel of Time! I’m really enjoying rereading the series and making my way back to book seven where I stopped last. This is so good. Yes, the characters are frustrating and annoying but the story is intriguing and fast paced! I’m hoping to get book four from my library soon.
I tried this 700 page book and managed two hundred pages before giving up. It was dull, dry and boring. A lot of book friends like this one but it just wasn’t for me. :
Other Books Read:
5 ⭐3 ⭐3 ⭐2 ⭐2 ⭐2 ⭐5 ⭐3.5 ⭐3 ⭐3 ⭐3 ⭐3 ⭐4 ⭐3.5 ⭐
As usual I didn’t find pictures of every book read for the month but here’s a good chunk of them! I had a decent reading month and I’m hopeful that April will be even better. Please let me know what you think about any of these books, if you’ve read them or what you’ve read for the month of March.
I’ve stepped back a little and started really studying my blog and figuring out what I’m doing and where I went wrong and I’ve come to the conclusion: it’s me. I’m the problem. (To quote Taylor Swift.)
When I first started this blog I had genuinely no clue what I was doing apart from reading books and talking about them. I’m still cleaning up old posts and making them relevant today, and I realized my reviews are crap. I have almost zero back links to authors and website, my reviews are not or barely cohesive at all, there’s no real reviews except “this was good” or “this wasn’t for me” little things like that. Nobody wants that.
I’ve decided to work on actual 3,000 + word reviews that are well written, filled with notes about why I picked the book, the authors history, and a review about the book itself.
Review focus points:
Authors backstory
Translated work
LGBT based (?)
Explain importance of the book
Links to authors website, publisher
???
Now this post is mostly to kick my pants into gear and start earnestly blogging again. This is mostly notes and rambling but if you have suggestions I’m open to them and appreciate any comments or ideas.
I’m going to try to post a review a week, and maybe a fun tag or something once a month.
For those that know me, y’all know that I’ve been struggling hard in reaching a goal. Reading 50 books in a month. Now technically, I cheated. I read a lot of short books. I am still counting it however. I’ve got a lot of books for this post and I’m going to try to not overwhelm it with pictures. I’m only going to showcase my top favorite books in February.
Honestly this month, despite reading 50 books only four of them stood out. The top best being I who Have Never Known Men and tied with Legends and Lattes. The other two above were four stars but still better than most that I read this month.
I’ve read a lot of books, most of them short. On average they were around 300 or less pages. I finally read Good Masters! Sweet Ladies which was a Newberry winner (4 stars), and I also dnf’d a series of Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati after I read book two and dnf’d book three.
A brief overlook of my books read for February but not all are listed from today. It starts from Into the Wilderness onwards.
Next month is March of the Mammoths, where I read all the big books. Maybe others in-between. I’m hoping to get through a fair bit but definitely not fifty of them, lol. I’m trying to pick my tbr even now. Did you read any of the above? Let me know in the comments.
Notes/TW: graphic violence, murder, implied torture, threats of sexual violence, implied sexual assault, implied rape, child prostitution, loss of bodily autonomy, non consensual surgery, human experimentation, gender dysphoria, misgendering, PTSD, racism, (?)
Goodreads Summary:
First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars—the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister’s hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain—Saito Ren—whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is so much harder to do when you’re falling in love.
Lito val Lucius climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but was defeated in combat by none other than Saito Ren, resulting in the disappearance of his partner, Hiro. When Lito learns that Hiro is both alive and a traitor to the cause, he now has a shot at redemption: track down and kill his former partner. But when he discovers recordings that Hiro secretly made, Lito’s own allegiances are put to the test. Ultimately, he must decide between following orders and following his heart.
My Thoughts:
Ooh, what a great opening chapter this is going to be a five star read for sure! (Waittttt for it)
My Review:
Dnf’ing this. It had a strong first chapter then it progressed into the territory of “we want you to spy on this person because REASONS” and I have a strong idea of where this is going. After checking out the other reviewers, I’m thinking I’m correct about my suspicions and this is a tired, overdone plot. Strong writing and decent characters, but come on. I also grew bored by about 40% of the way through. Which isn’t a good sign. Too bad. That opening chapter had given me such high hopes for a good five star read.*
Notes: translated from the French in 1995. TW for death of a loved one, suicide, and starvation
Goodreads Summary:
WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE
‘A small miracle’ The New York Times
‘For a very long time, the days went by, each just like the day before, then I began to think, and everything changed’
Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before.
As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl – the fortieth prisoner – sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.
My thoughts:
What a heavy punch to the gut this was! I’m still recovering!
My Review:
Mesmerizing. Haunting. Deeply thought provoking. And a touch infuriating that there are not always answers in life. A masterpiece of trauma, intrigue, and the desperate urge to survive on a (potential) hostile world.*
I Who Have Never Known Men is a fascinating look at what happens when a society crumbles after all the men have gone, and left the women who were prisoners free to do as they wished. It’s a look at humanity and hope and survival of the fittest. For 200 pages there’s a lot to unpack here and I’m sure my review isn’t going to bring it justice. I read this after seeing the cover above (my copy is different) and I was immediately “yes, that’s the book to read right now” and I finished it in less than two hours.
The writing, the tension, and the pacing are all brilliant. A few other reviewers on Goodreads have said that it’s a bit slow to start and I agree. It does take a few pages to grip you. But once it does you want to find out what happened. Why were they imprisoned? Who were those guards?
Does it answer everything? No. Does it have a happy ending? Again no. But this is such a powerful read in the same similar light if on a very different scope as The Handmaid’s Tale that I didn’t care about the unhappy ending. I just was impressed by the authors writing ability. She truly is a damn good writer.
I can’t say more without revealing the plot and all but I will say that this is a hugely important read I wished more people would read. I’m clearly giving this a glorious 5 stars.
Notes: I was made aware that his book, Real Life was a favorite of many friends and it was semi popular when it was published but I haven’t read that one, and not likely going to after this one.
Goodreads Summary:
A group portrait of young adults enmeshed in desire and violence, a hotly charged, deeply satisfying new work of fiction from the author of Booker Prize finalist Real Life
In the series of linked stories at the heart of Filthy Animals, set among young creatives in the American Midwest, a young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness. In other stories, a young woman battles with the cancers draining her body and her family; menacing undercurrents among a group of teenagers explode in violence on a winter night; a little girl tears through a house like a tornado, driving her babysitter to the brink; and couples feel out the jagged edges of connection, comfort, and cruelty.
One of the breakout literary stars of 2020, Brandon Taylor has been hailed by Roxane Gay as “a writer who wields his craft in absolutely unforgettable ways.” With Filthy Animals he renews and expands on the promise made in Real Life, training his precise and unsentimental gaze on the tensions among friends and family, lovers and others. Psychologically taut and quietly devastating, Filthy Animals is a tender portrait of the fierce longing for intimacy, the lingering presence of pain, and the desire for love in a world that seems, more often than not, to withhold it.
My Thoughts:
Did not realize that this was centered around love triangles, ugh.
My Review:
I hate being the odd one out but I hate love triangles unless done well and this was not done well at all. For one thing, it dragggggged and I wasn’t overly impressed with the characters as a whole. The LGBT elements were good but I didn’t feel even remotely connected to the characters.
I saw another reviewer say this is as good as Sally Rooney and if that’s the case, I’m firmly avoiding her works. No offense to those that have enjoyed her writing but this just wasn’t for me whatsoever.
I’m starting my Goodreads Goal small, at 50 books, and so far I’m well ahead of schedule! I’m at ten books and counting. Mostly fantasy, with a couple light hearted historical romances flung in to avoid the dreaded slump.
So many five star reads, but a couple that were just three stars. Wheel of Time & Luck in the Shadows we’re both rereads that are five stars. I hope to finally move on with the series of both books. Wheel I’d ever gotten up to book seven and I remember nothing lol. Luck in the Shadows I only ever read the first book. The Traitor Baru Cormorant is also a five star reread, but I need to continue the series for that as well. The rest I read was a few short Tor stories that aren’t able to be shown here, all of which were mostly three stars.
Currently Reading:
I have to pick both of these up from my library but I’m super excited to finally get my hands on these beauties!
Next Up:
These are three physical reads on my owned tbr that I’m fixing to work on. I’m hoping to complete more series this year, and I also just need to get more books read for my Read 100 Owned Books Challenge. Thirteen isn’t a bad start but I seriously need to increase my reading. I’m trying but lots of things keep interrupting.
Kindle Ebooks TBR:
This is my only book on my kindle tbr, as I’m very much a mood reader right now. I’m unsure what else I’ll be reading and I do hope to be more frequent in blogging here soon. January has been quite busy, busier than usual. I hope everyone’s reading week has gone well!
Series: Standalone, but part of the Mortal Techniques series.
Goodreads Summary:
The Mortal Techniques novels are a series of stand-alone stories that can be read entirely independently, set in the award-winning Mortal Techniques universe.
Samurai, shinigami, vengeful spirits, and an impossible quest.
The Emperor of Ten Kings has plunged Hosa into war, and the gods are angry.
When the god of death gives Ein a mission to kill the immortal emperor, he knows he can’t do it alone. He needs allies, heroes who will fight for him. How else can an eight-year-old boy hope to do the impossible?
Whispering Blade, Iron Gut Chen, the Century Blade, and Flaming Fist. These are all names of legend. And the god of death has given Ein a way to bind them to his cause. There is only one catch. In order to serve him, they must first die.
Never Die is a stand alone set in the world of Mortal Techniques. It’s a wuxia adventure filled with samurai, shinigami, heroes, and vengeful spirits.
My Thoughts:
First Rob J Hayes book and it didn’t disappoint!
My Review:
Rob J Hayes is a new to me author. I’ve seen his work be praised by Mark Lawrence (another author I’ve yet to read) and I have finally taken the plunge and tried out Never Die. It started out strong, with characters aplenty. It definitely had that familiar grimdark feel and I liked where this was going. But there were parts where I didn’t fully connect with the characters and overall some of the story felt not quite for me. I can’t put my finger on why. Great writing, good characters, maybe it’s just that it’s been a bit since I read anything like this?
Never Die starts off with a character known as Whispering Blade attempting and failing to defend innocents. She’s brutally cut down (quite literally) and a boy, Ein, brings her back, binding her to him. He needs her help, in killing someone that he himself can’t kill.
What follows is a good hell of a story, and I was sucked in from the beginning. Lots of good lines in regards to honor, loyalty and strength. I’m definitely a fan of Hayes and looking forward to grabbing his next book.
Pass Me That Book 