December was a pretty good for me as I managed to complete my Goodreads Reading Challenge of 200 books this year. I am managed to tick a few books of my Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge and read 10 books this month. I have 2 books I am currently reading, Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury and Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare but I don’t think I am going to finish them in what is left of December.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare **** - The Infernal Devices trilogy is a prequel series to The Mortal Instruments; I have read Clockwork Angel years ago and didn’t really like it and I DNF’d the second book. However, I recently re-read City of Bones and increased my rating on it, so I decided to read the series in chronologically order. After reading the first 3 stories in the Bane Chronicles and loving them I decided to pick up Clockwork Angel straight away since I am currently in a great reading mood for these books, plus I have come to appreciate historical fiction a lot more, mainly thanks to Kerri Maniscalco.
A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology by Dhonielle Clayton & more *** - This review will be similar to my other short story collections; I will be reviewing each story individually and then the collection as a whole. As a massive fan of fantasy books especially YA fantasy I was excited to see what some of my favourite YA fantasy authors had in store for me.
A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova ***** - As many of my readers will know I don’t have a great relationship with fae books, especially fae romance books but this was a book club pick for December, so I am willing to give it a go. I also haven’t read anything for Elsie Kova before and I hoping this might be the book that changes my mind on fae romance novels. All I knew about this book before hand was that it follows Luella who is chosen by the Elf King to be the Human Queen of Midscape, but it is labelled as both a Hades and Persephone retelling as well as a Beauty and the Beast retelling which is giving me ACOTAR vibes which isn’t a good thing as I really disliked the first ACOTAR book and DNF’d the second. The opening to A Deal with the Elf King reminded me a little of the Reaping in the Hunger Games as the town of Capton is waiting for the elves to arrive at take the Human Queen, who will the only woman in the town with magic, but none have been found. Luella is a herbalist making her tonics for the day when her friend Luke mentions running away, like Gabe does with Katniss and she refuses because of her work but she is madly in love with him. However, I had some issues straight away with Luke’s toxic masculinity as he declares he and Luella are getting married without even mentioning it to her and tells her that she doesn’t need to work because all she needs is him completely disregarding the fact that her work makes her happy but finally that evening the Elf King arrives and he is nothing like Luella imagined. We do get some history on the treaty with the elves and a lot of worldbuilding around the magic system. It seems that the elves magic allows the people of Capton to live longer than regular humans on the other side of the Fade, however, the lack of a Human Queen means the magic is fading resulting in the Weakening which is causing the people of Capton to get sick and die earlier than they normally would.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley ***** - The Guest List is part of my 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge, and I am known to love mystery thrillers especially when they are done right, and the premise of the Guest List seems right up my alley. All I knew about this book was it follows a wedding and a death; it is also told in alternating timelines and perspectives and as I am a fan of Riley Sager’s work I was really hoping to enjoy this book. The opening chapter was interesting as it introduces us to a wedding on an island in the middle of a terrible storm with electrical problems but all that is overshadowed by a scream. We then jump back to the day before and we are follow Aoife, the wedding planner. Aoife is orchestrating the wedding between Will Slater and Julia Keegan, two very famous people in their folly off the course of Dublin along with her partner/husband, Freddy. Aoife does mention in her chapter that the bride and groom haven’t been together for very long and that when they heard them in the throes of passion the night before that it sounded a lot like pain which might be some clues to what happens later on, but we change perspective to that of Hannah, the plus one. Hannah is the wife of Charlie who is a close friend of Jules, the bride and on the boat ride over to the island we learn that Charlie feels that Will is hiding something about himself and we also learn that something might have happen during the stag-do in Sweden but Charlie refuses to take about it. We then switch perspective again to Jules, the bride. Jules’ chapter was the most interesting yet as we learn the kind of person she is and the relationship she has with Will. However, a note she received a few weeks before telling her not to marry Will has her worried and she is also concerned about Johnno, the best man, as Will keeps him around because of their history and Jules thinks that history must have some hold over Will, and I am inclined to agree right now but we switch to Johnno’s perspective.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell ***** - My Dark Vanessa has been on my radar since it was announced, and it has finally made it onto my 2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge where I am going to read some of the best books of 2020, and this was in the Best Fiction Category. All I knew about this novel was it was pitched to me as a modern day Lolita and it follow Vanessa Wye who had an inappropriate relationship with her teacher Jacob Strane at only 15 years old. I do have to mention that the novel timeframe takes place between 2000 and 2017 and does bounce around a lot but it is told solely from Vanessa’s point of view which makes it pretty simple to follow. The opening to My Dark Vanessa was amazing, we are introduced to Vanessa who is now 32, as her former lover, Jacob Strane is being re-investigated for an allegation of the abuse of a female student, Taylor Birch ten year before. It was interesting to see that Strane and Vanessa still stay in regular contact and regularly revisiting memories of their relationship in which Vanessa still find sexual release. We can see from the beginning that Vanessa isn’t satisfied with her life, but she is determined to not believe the girl accused Strane and seeks reassurance and comfort in him when she finds it hard to deal with life like she did when her father died. When Strane and Vanessa met for the first time she was 15 and his was 42 which means in 2017 she is 32 and he is 59.
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel **** - After reading The Guest List by Lucy Foley which was the winner in the Best Mystery/Thriller category, I couldn’t wait to pick up this book which was a runner up for my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I didn’t know anything about The Glass Hotel going into it and I haven’t read anything by Emily St. John Mandel before even though I’ve only heard good things about Station Eleven. The opening chapters were set in December 2018 and follow Vincent as she seems to be dying and reflecting on little parts of her life but it is disjointed and doesn’t make much sense and we then bounced back to 1994 and 1999, which tells me that this book is going to have interwoven characters arcs as well as interwoven timelines. We are then introduced to Paul, who has a drug problem and we bounced around his life, his time at college isn’t going well and this is made worse when he passes on some pills that end up killing someone and between this narrative, we get interjections from Paul in the future talking to his therapist. We then go back again where we learn that Paul and Vincent are half-siblings and they have a complicated relationship due to their parentage. The siblings share a father but he left Paul’s mother meaning Paul grew up virtually alone and rarely saw his father whereas Vincent had him all to herself and had both parents up until recently when her mother went missing and she is presumed dead. Near where they live the Hotel Caiette is under construction and given how many times it is referenced in a short scene; I had a feeling it is going to be an important location later on.
Mythos by Stephen Fry *** - I was excited to pick up Stephen Fry’s new book retelling the Great Mythology since I have been a huge fan of all mythology since I was a child. From the very first sentence Stephen Fry’s comedic nature came through very clearly as he depicts the creation of the first Titans, their incestuous relationship and resulting offspring and the rising of the first Gods in Zeus and his siblings. I realised really early on that despite watching and reading many books and movies centred around Greek mythology that I didn’t actually know that much about it and it was interesting to learn of the origins of Gaia and Kronos and how these myths and legends still resonate today in words and phrases we used.
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare **** - After Finishing Clockwork Angel and enjoying much more than what I thought I would I am continuing on with the series and my reading/re-reading of the Shadowhunter Universe. Clockwork Prince opens with Charlotte and Henry being reprimanded for the actions at the end of Clockwork Angel. As Benedict Lightwood has made a challenge to Charlotte’s ruling of the Institute, she and Henry have two weeks to either find the Magister or some strong evidence pointing to his location or Benedict will be allowed to challenge her which infuriates Charlotte. We also learn that Will is collecting some strange items for Magnus, presumably to due with their meeting at the end of Clockwork Angel but during this time Tessa has become very close to Jem but she can’t forget how she feels for Will. As we get reintroduced to the characters, Jem and Tessa come to the same conclusion that Mortmain’s hatred for the Shadowhunters has to be personal and the decide to check to reparations archives, where Downworlders and Mundanes can make complaints against Shadowhunters. Charlotte finds that Mortmain was possibly the adopted child of two warlocks which would explain where he got the knowledge of dark magic, and the complaint he made against the Shadowhunters for their deaths would explain his hatred of them but it means speaking with another Institute to get the full records. In the meantime, it has been declared that both Tessa and Sophie along with Jessamine are going to be trained by Benedict Lightwood’s son; Gabriel and Gideon which is harder than Tessa thought but even that isn’t enough to distract her from Will’s strange behaviour towards her especially after the cruel things he said to her at the end of the previous book although we are now aware that he believes himself to have been cursed by a demon who he and Magnus are trying to find.
There Are Things I Can’t Tell You by Edako Mofumofu ***** - I have read quite a lot of TokyoPop manga but when I saw a BL romance, I had to request it. This story follows Kasumi and Kyousuke who have been best friends since childhood but their relationship has just become a lot more complicated. It is clear to see from the beginning that Kasumi and Kyousuke are polar opposites when it comes to personality as Kasumi is reserved, soft-spoken and shy while Kyousuke is energetic and popular. My manga and comic reviews also tend to be quite short but I have to start by saying I adored the art style and the character designs of Kasumi and Kyousuke.
Speculate: A Collection of Microlit by Eugen Bacon & Dominique Hecq *** - I recently read Eugen Bacon’s The Road to Woop Woop & Other Stories and really enjoyed it but I didn’t know much about Speculate other than it is a blend of prose and poetry and that it is the two authors “replying” to each other in a way so I was really intrigued to see what the mere 136 pages had in store for me. I have to say before I begin this review I have a love/hate relationship with both speculative fiction, which at times I can find confusing or lacking purpose, and poetry, which I find rather boring unless it is a topic or theme that really catches my attention. That being said I felt I had to read more of Bacon’s work since I loved The Road to Woop Woop which was at times confusing, strange and yet utterly delightful at the same time.
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