Operation "Fifty in Twelve": February Round-Up
Okay, I've been, for some reason, really busy in February, reading wise. Not so much in other fields, mostly because a nasty cold laid me up for ten days (and it's still not really gone. There's a really persistent cough that just won't leave, and I'm going seriously stir crazy over not wanting to risk a relapse or worse and thus abstaining from sports. I just want to go running again, and I sear, if I told my eighteen-year-olf self that, I'd declare myself certifiable) but I really rocked this reading thing. It's a pretty mixed bag, too, genre wise as you'll see. So, without further ado, let's see the round-up.
A Torch Against The Night, Sabaa Tahir
Sequel to An Ember In The Ashes, picking up almost immediately after it left off. This time around, we follow Elias, Laia and - yaaaaaay! - Helene taking turns in POV chapters. I have to be honest, I still don't care much for Elias and Laia but at least I wasn't as appaled by them as I was by Katniss and Peeta (or, as I like to call it, That One Time I Actually Threw A Book Against The Wall. You can read the epic rant here), and their part of the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading (although, honestly? Mostly I kept reading them in the hopes of getting to another Helene chapter faster...). The pace of the story is still fast, and it gets even more brutal than Ember, so if you're on the more sensitive side - especially concerning torture and violence, both physical and psychological - this is not the book for you. There are a few really good twists in it, and the world building keeps being superb. I just put the third part (to be released in May) on my wishlist, not just because I don't like to leave a series unfinished but because I'm genuinely interested in how this story will go, so that's definitely a good sign.
Rating: * * * */* * * * *
How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales From The Pentagon, Rosa Brooks
This went on my list the moment it was released. It's a book about US national security politics, written by a woman (who are still vastly underrepresented on just about every professional reading list in the NatSec community. Basically, you'll find more by probably the worst military "historian" of all times (Martin van Creveldt, whom I heartily detest with every fiber of my being) on any reading lists than any woman at all. Actually, 90% of professional NatSec reading lists feature exactly one woman (Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August, standard classic if you're into World War I). This is a major pet peeve of mine and okay I will stop ranting now), so it had to go on that list. I wasn't disappointed. Brooks is a law professor and journalist, who's been an Obama era political appointee at the Pentagon for two years, coming from a family of peaceniks and married to an Army Special Forces officer. She brings a very unique point of view on the Pentagon and takes the reader on a journey to discover both the idiosyncracies and absurdities of military bureaucracy and complex questions of ius ad bellum and ius in bello and the role of the US on the world stage in a changing world order. I found it amusing, eye-opening and challenging. I don't agree with all the points she makes (especially in the chapter on drone use) and I'm not sure I understood all of her points (as NatSec literature goes, this seemed one more suited to advanced readers with a firm fundament on the basics of war, military and security politics) but I'd definitely classify this as essential reading in security politics.
Rating: * * * * */* * * * *
What Happened, Hillary Rodham Clinton
By now, everyone here probably knows that I'm a Hillary Girl at heart, and will forever be one. So, yeah, this is a very biased review, just so you know. Full disclaimer: this is a holdover from last year, so no I didn't read the entire thing in February. Anyway: my first, and before this only, Hillary book was Hard Choices, which is a very policy focused book diving deep into the ocean of foreign policy. It has personal touches here and there but overall, Hard Choices is not a book about Hillary Clinton, it's a book about being Secretary of State. What Happened is the exact opposite. It's probably the most personal book she has ever written, the one where she lets down her guard the most. I originally started reading this on public transport and after a couple attempts stopped doing it because I swear to God it made me tear up every couple of pages. I just couldn't stop thinking "This talented, intelligent, principled, decent and just genuinely nice person is who they could have had. And they threw it all away for a fucking Cheetoh." (for the record: the most common reaction of journalists who actually read the damn e-mails was that they were astonished what a caring and decent boss and just genuinely nice person the Hillary Clinton in those e-mails is, so there). What Happened is painful and even raw at times, making you relive the hell that was the campaign trail in 2015 and 2016, but I was also astonished at how much hope Hillary expresses throughout the book. It honestly made me want to write her and tell her how grateful I am to her for writing this book and for still believing in everything that is good and right and in a generation of women who are 40, even 50 years her junior. I loved this book, y'all.
Rating: * * * * */* * * * *
The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch
Sixth in the Peter Grant series (probably better known as the Rivers of London series). I'm not sure about this one. It was good, as all the Peter Grant books are but something felt... off. Maybe it had something to do that I read most of it during the four days I was constantly fighting fever/elevated temperature and so probably couldn't really appreciate it the way it deserved, or maybe it's been a little long since I read Foxglove Summer (the one before this) but something just didn't click. I guess I also still miss Lesley a lot (and I still refuse to believe that she really went Full Evil Monty, but that's probably just because I like Lesley), because I did love the few parts in which she appeared. This one is also actually pivotal in the series because of one really, really, really important revelation being front and center of the plot, but somehow I really failed to be awed by it. I did like the humor (I'm a big fan of DCI Seawoll and the non-magical crew of Peter's station) but yeah, something felt a little stale about that, too. I'm really looking forward to the book Aaronovitch is currently writing (because judging from his tweets, it's taking place mostly in Germany) but yeah, this one kinda... fell flat with me. It's a good book, it's a fun book, it's an exciting book but yeah... it just didn't click. But maybe that really is the fault of the cold.
Rating: * * * */* * * * *
A Wallflower Christmas, Lisa Kleypas
Yep, it's a romance. A Regency romance. And, for the people who haven't been around for so long, yes, I regularly read romance. I have favorite authors and genres, I get passionate when people disparage romance (yes, even when Hillary does it. Mostly because romance authors and readers have been and still are some of her most fervent supporters), and I have stopped being embarrassed about it, ever (when I'm on an a non-fiction drys spell or have an especially exciting romance, I have zero scruples reading it on public transport. Yes, even with those covers). Kleypas is one of my favorite authors, and this one is more of a novella than a novel. It's a re-read, as I frequently re-read romance novels that have gained a special place in my heart (because those warm and fuzzy feelings I sometimes need? Are back every time I re-read one of my favorite ones). I chose this one because I was still fighting it out with the cold and wanted something else than the gloomy YA thing I'd been reading (let's just say that fever and gloomy YA just don't mix) and because I wanted something short and sweet. This one has the four heroines of my favorite Kleypas series ever, the Wallflowers (it's a quartett, and Devil in Winter is definitely the best, I will fight you on this), and a new one. But honestly? I only chose it because it's so short. It's definitely not up to the loveliness of the original series. I do like the female protagonist - and I love all the chapters dedicated to the ever after of the original Wallflowers - but I just can't stand the male protagonist. I didn't really see the chemistry, either, and yeah, no, this one's mostly forgettable. If you want to pick something Kleypas, don't pick this one.
Rating: * * */* * * * *
Devil in Scotland, Suzanne Enoch
Yeeeees, it's one of those covers! And yes, it's a Regency romance. In the Highlands. Anyone got a bingo yet? Right, thought so. Suzanne Enoch, by the way, was my first romance author, ever. The first ever romance I read was an Enoch (I believe it was Sin and Sensibility), given to me by a friend (who also is the one responsible for my romance reading habit. Thank you, koboldmaki!). I have since then been a very faithful reader, and I have been enjoying practically every Enoch book I ever read tremendously. I liked this one, too, but I have to say it's not her best (that would be, by all accounts, By Love Undone. Enoch is a great humor writer, and this is by far her funniest book). It's the third part of a series, and for some reason, the entire series didn't really click with me. I read them all, and I had fun reading them, too but I just didn't get involved with her characters as much as I did with those in her other books (she has another Highlands series, Scandalous Highlanders, which is far better and which I would recommend much more) and yeah. What I did like about it were the protagonists. I had a little trouble sympathizing with the male protagonist at first because he was doing a lot of stupid things and even though people were calling him out on it, he didn't seem to realize that he was just plain wrong but he did come around, so that actually redeemed him. I liked the female protagonist tremendously, and I didn't even mind the child (children are a bit of a gamble in a romance, but this one was sufficiently cute without being too obnoxious). I also like romance couples with a past, i.e. couples who have known each other instead of falling in love at first sight, so another bonus. All in all, it was a decent, solid romance that was enjoyable but lacked a bit of that certain something that gives them a special place in my heart.
Rating: * * * */* * * * *
Romancing Mr Bridgerton, Julia Quinn
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees, another romance! And also, another re-read. Julia Quinn, by the way, is the queen of Regency romance. There is, honestly, no one who does it better. No one is funnier, no one is more romantic, no one has better plots. No one. Also, Julia doesn't let anyone in her books get away with misogynie, violence against women and sexism, without ever making it feel anachronistic. Which is kind of amazing, considering that her books are set in 19th century England (and, in the newest series, 18th century England). Anyway. Romancing Mr Bridgerton is, yes, part of a series (series are a big thing in the romance world, and quite frankly? Another thing I love about that genre), the Bridgerton series about a family of the peerage of eight siblings. The Bridgertons are rich, good-looking and just so nice. I can't decide whether this is my favorite Bridgerton book or not (the other two contenders are The Viscount Who Loved Me and When He Was Wicked) but it is definitely a favorite Bridgerton book. It gives one of my favorite minor characters from the other books a time to shine as the female protagonist (as Bridgerton series characters go, Penelope Featherington is probably my favorite), and it takes on a rather complicated male protagonist. It also reveals one of the best kept secrets in Julia Quinn's Regency London (most of her books take place in the same 'verse, connecting several different series to each other), and it takes up some nice threads from other series. I also like the minor characters enormously, especially the Bridgerton women (because Bridgerton women are the best) and Lady Danbury (if you don't like Lady Danbury, we can't be friends. Seriously). It also features the trope of two people having known each other for a very long time, unrequited love (and an amazing way of dealing with it) that is being requited in the end and has family and female friendship as two of its central themes. Damn, nobody does it like Julia, honestly.
Rating: * * * * */* * * * *
Book count as of February 28: 11/50.
So hey, right now, I'm ahead of schedule (or maybe I'm right on schedule, I'm honestly not sure), thanks to being busy in February. I'm getting a little worried I'm going to run out of things to read before reaching the 50 but it's not like there aren't a couple new releases scheduled for spring and summer, so I try not to panic already.
What about you? What did you read, if you read anything? Any recommendations?
A Torch Against The Night, Sabaa Tahir
Sequel to An Ember In The Ashes, picking up almost immediately after it left off. This time around, we follow Elias, Laia and - yaaaaaay! - Helene taking turns in POV chapters. I have to be honest, I still don't care much for Elias and Laia but at least I wasn't as appaled by them as I was by Katniss and Peeta (or, as I like to call it, That One Time I Actually Threw A Book Against The Wall. You can read the epic rant here), and their part of the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading (although, honestly? Mostly I kept reading them in the hopes of getting to another Helene chapter faster...). The pace of the story is still fast, and it gets even more brutal than Ember, so if you're on the more sensitive side - especially concerning torture and violence, both physical and psychological - this is not the book for you. There are a few really good twists in it, and the world building keeps being superb. I just put the third part (to be released in May) on my wishlist, not just because I don't like to leave a series unfinished but because I'm genuinely interested in how this story will go, so that's definitely a good sign.
Rating: * * * */* * * * *
How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales From The Pentagon, Rosa Brooks
This went on my list the moment it was released. It's a book about US national security politics, written by a woman (who are still vastly underrepresented on just about every professional reading list in the NatSec community. Basically, you'll find more by probably the worst military "historian" of all times (Martin van Creveldt, whom I heartily detest with every fiber of my being) on any reading lists than any woman at all. Actually, 90% of professional NatSec reading lists feature exactly one woman (Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August, standard classic if you're into World War I). This is a major pet peeve of mine and okay I will stop ranting now), so it had to go on that list. I wasn't disappointed. Brooks is a law professor and journalist, who's been an Obama era political appointee at the Pentagon for two years, coming from a family of peaceniks and married to an Army Special Forces officer. She brings a very unique point of view on the Pentagon and takes the reader on a journey to discover both the idiosyncracies and absurdities of military bureaucracy and complex questions of ius ad bellum and ius in bello and the role of the US on the world stage in a changing world order. I found it amusing, eye-opening and challenging. I don't agree with all the points she makes (especially in the chapter on drone use) and I'm not sure I understood all of her points (as NatSec literature goes, this seemed one more suited to advanced readers with a firm fundament on the basics of war, military and security politics) but I'd definitely classify this as essential reading in security politics.
Rating: * * * * */* * * * *
What Happened, Hillary Rodham Clinton
By now, everyone here probably knows that I'm a Hillary Girl at heart, and will forever be one. So, yeah, this is a very biased review, just so you know. Full disclaimer: this is a holdover from last year, so no I didn't read the entire thing in February. Anyway: my first, and before this only, Hillary book was Hard Choices, which is a very policy focused book diving deep into the ocean of foreign policy. It has personal touches here and there but overall, Hard Choices is not a book about Hillary Clinton, it's a book about being Secretary of State. What Happened is the exact opposite. It's probably the most personal book she has ever written, the one where she lets down her guard the most. I originally started reading this on public transport and after a couple attempts stopped doing it because I swear to God it made me tear up every couple of pages. I just couldn't stop thinking "This talented, intelligent, principled, decent and just genuinely nice person is who they could have had. And they threw it all away for a fucking Cheetoh." (for the record: the most common reaction of journalists who actually read the damn e-mails was that they were astonished what a caring and decent boss and just genuinely nice person the Hillary Clinton in those e-mails is, so there). What Happened is painful and even raw at times, making you relive the hell that was the campaign trail in 2015 and 2016, but I was also astonished at how much hope Hillary expresses throughout the book. It honestly made me want to write her and tell her how grateful I am to her for writing this book and for still believing in everything that is good and right and in a generation of women who are 40, even 50 years her junior. I loved this book, y'all.
Rating: * * * * */* * * * *
The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch
Sixth in the Peter Grant series (probably better known as the Rivers of London series). I'm not sure about this one. It was good, as all the Peter Grant books are but something felt... off. Maybe it had something to do that I read most of it during the four days I was constantly fighting fever/elevated temperature and so probably couldn't really appreciate it the way it deserved, or maybe it's been a little long since I read Foxglove Summer (the one before this) but something just didn't click. I guess I also still miss Lesley a lot (and I still refuse to believe that she really went Full Evil Monty, but that's probably just because I like Lesley), because I did love the few parts in which she appeared. This one is also actually pivotal in the series because of one really, really, really important revelation being front and center of the plot, but somehow I really failed to be awed by it. I did like the humor (I'm a big fan of DCI Seawoll and the non-magical crew of Peter's station) but yeah, something felt a little stale about that, too. I'm really looking forward to the book Aaronovitch is currently writing (because judging from his tweets, it's taking place mostly in Germany) but yeah, this one kinda... fell flat with me. It's a good book, it's a fun book, it's an exciting book but yeah... it just didn't click. But maybe that really is the fault of the cold.
Rating: * * * */* * * * *
A Wallflower Christmas, Lisa Kleypas
Yep, it's a romance. A Regency romance. And, for the people who haven't been around for so long, yes, I regularly read romance. I have favorite authors and genres, I get passionate when people disparage romance (yes, even when Hillary does it. Mostly because romance authors and readers have been and still are some of her most fervent supporters), and I have stopped being embarrassed about it, ever (when I'm on an a non-fiction drys spell or have an especially exciting romance, I have zero scruples reading it on public transport. Yes, even with those covers). Kleypas is one of my favorite authors, and this one is more of a novella than a novel. It's a re-read, as I frequently re-read romance novels that have gained a special place in my heart (because those warm and fuzzy feelings I sometimes need? Are back every time I re-read one of my favorite ones). I chose this one because I was still fighting it out with the cold and wanted something else than the gloomy YA thing I'd been reading (let's just say that fever and gloomy YA just don't mix) and because I wanted something short and sweet. This one has the four heroines of my favorite Kleypas series ever, the Wallflowers (it's a quartett, and Devil in Winter is definitely the best, I will fight you on this), and a new one. But honestly? I only chose it because it's so short. It's definitely not up to the loveliness of the original series. I do like the female protagonist - and I love all the chapters dedicated to the ever after of the original Wallflowers - but I just can't stand the male protagonist. I didn't really see the chemistry, either, and yeah, no, this one's mostly forgettable. If you want to pick something Kleypas, don't pick this one.
Rating: * * */* * * * *
Devil in Scotland, Suzanne Enoch
Yeeeees, it's one of those covers! And yes, it's a Regency romance. In the Highlands. Anyone got a bingo yet? Right, thought so. Suzanne Enoch, by the way, was my first romance author, ever. The first ever romance I read was an Enoch (I believe it was Sin and Sensibility), given to me by a friend (who also is the one responsible for my romance reading habit. Thank you, koboldmaki!). I have since then been a very faithful reader, and I have been enjoying practically every Enoch book I ever read tremendously. I liked this one, too, but I have to say it's not her best (that would be, by all accounts, By Love Undone. Enoch is a great humor writer, and this is by far her funniest book). It's the third part of a series, and for some reason, the entire series didn't really click with me. I read them all, and I had fun reading them, too but I just didn't get involved with her characters as much as I did with those in her other books (she has another Highlands series, Scandalous Highlanders, which is far better and which I would recommend much more) and yeah. What I did like about it were the protagonists. I had a little trouble sympathizing with the male protagonist at first because he was doing a lot of stupid things and even though people were calling him out on it, he didn't seem to realize that he was just plain wrong but he did come around, so that actually redeemed him. I liked the female protagonist tremendously, and I didn't even mind the child (children are a bit of a gamble in a romance, but this one was sufficiently cute without being too obnoxious). I also like romance couples with a past, i.e. couples who have known each other instead of falling in love at first sight, so another bonus. All in all, it was a decent, solid romance that was enjoyable but lacked a bit of that certain something that gives them a special place in my heart.
Rating: * * * */* * * * *
Romancing Mr Bridgerton, Julia Quinn
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees, another romance! And also, another re-read. Julia Quinn, by the way, is the queen of Regency romance. There is, honestly, no one who does it better. No one is funnier, no one is more romantic, no one has better plots. No one. Also, Julia doesn't let anyone in her books get away with misogynie, violence against women and sexism, without ever making it feel anachronistic. Which is kind of amazing, considering that her books are set in 19th century England (and, in the newest series, 18th century England). Anyway. Romancing Mr Bridgerton is, yes, part of a series (series are a big thing in the romance world, and quite frankly? Another thing I love about that genre), the Bridgerton series about a family of the peerage of eight siblings. The Bridgertons are rich, good-looking and just so nice. I can't decide whether this is my favorite Bridgerton book or not (the other two contenders are The Viscount Who Loved Me and When He Was Wicked) but it is definitely a favorite Bridgerton book. It gives one of my favorite minor characters from the other books a time to shine as the female protagonist (as Bridgerton series characters go, Penelope Featherington is probably my favorite), and it takes on a rather complicated male protagonist. It also reveals one of the best kept secrets in Julia Quinn's Regency London (most of her books take place in the same 'verse, connecting several different series to each other), and it takes up some nice threads from other series. I also like the minor characters enormously, especially the Bridgerton women (because Bridgerton women are the best) and Lady Danbury (if you don't like Lady Danbury, we can't be friends. Seriously). It also features the trope of two people having known each other for a very long time, unrequited love (and an amazing way of dealing with it) that is being requited in the end and has family and female friendship as two of its central themes. Damn, nobody does it like Julia, honestly.
Rating: * * * * */* * * * *
Book count as of February 28: 11/50.
So hey, right now, I'm ahead of schedule (or maybe I'm right on schedule, I'm honestly not sure), thanks to being busy in February. I'm getting a little worried I'm going to run out of things to read before reaching the 50 but it's not like there aren't a couple new releases scheduled for spring and summer, so I try not to panic already.
What about you? What did you read, if you read anything? Any recommendations?