Books for September
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend - MJ. Wassmer, 1.5/5, 350 pages
Unfortunately the last part of the title could also have been the title of this review: "Do Not Recommend". I had expected a dystopian novel, with people trying to figure out their new normal - perhaps a bit like "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer. What I got was a common-day "Lord of the Flies" - a less humorous and less believable (amazingly enough) version of "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray.
Rico was one-dimensional evil for no particular reason, the "lovely" influencer and her preacher husband got on my nerves something fierce, and I desperately hope this is not how events would have turned out in real life. I have to believe that, or I would loose all faith in humanity.
I considered giving up on the book on multiple occasions, but I did want to know if there was any sort of resolution, so I stuck with it. And there was, but not really a satisfying one. While the explanation was fine, there was still a lack of closure.
So yeah, I don't understand all the high ratings on Goodreads. This was definitely a "do not recommend" for me, and the book goes straight in the trash.
Nightworld Academy - L.J. Swallow, 2.5/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
Hard book to review. I mostly liked it, I think? I liked the characters, I liked the setting, I liked the "coming into her powers" trope ... but at the end of the day, there wasn't really anything new to it. It was a story that had been told - and told better - before. I liked the school, but thought too little page time was given to the classes. I liked the characters, but the animosity of the mean girls wasn't really explained. I liked Maeve's powers, but her hesitancy to tell anybody about them seemed unnecessary.
Mostly though, nothing seemed resolved at the end of the book! I thought it was - but then the author threw a cliffhanger at me at the very last minute.
So 2.5 stars - rounded up on Goodreads, because I really did enjoy it for most of the time I listened to it.
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman, 2.5/5, 430 pages
NB: This is not a bad rating! Goodreads translates 2 stars to "It was okay", which it was. I wasn't blown away by it, I didn't particularly like it - but it was okay.
I think part of it is that the book suffered from too much hype. I had had it sold to me as "an amazing read" and it just ... wasn't. I didn't grow to care for the characters, I wasn't really interested in the whodunnit part of it ... the writing style was fine, so it wasn't any great hardship to finish it, but I'm going to just leave it at the one and not bother with the rest of the series.
The Summer Seekers - Sarah Morgan, 5/5, Audiobook ~11hrs
This immediately became a new favourite. It hits so many of my favourite tropes.
* Roadtrip? Check.
* Intergenerational friendships? Check.
* Personal growth? Check.
* Fraught relationships that are fixed by - wonder of wonders - communication? Check!
I loved seen Kathleen and Martha's friendship grow. I loved that Kathleen and Liza actually talked about their issues. I LOVED that Sean took the bull by the horns and realized he and Liza needed to talk. I was so, so, so grateful that Finn was a non-issue.
No third-act breakup, no annoying misunderstandings caused by lack of communication. Just a sweet and poignant story about very realistic relationships.
Loved it!
The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl - Annika Martin, 4/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
This was the perfect book to keep me company on a 4 hour drive. It had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions and I loved the banter between Lizzie and Theo as well as between Lizzie and Mia.
The romance was super sweet and the third act breakup less contrived than it often is in romance novels. Sasha's (I think that's her name anyways) behavior did subtract the final star though - it just seemed too malicious to be believable ... even within the book's own universe.
I wish we could have heard more about the bakery. I want a follow up that focuses on that!
Funny, cute and sizzling. Grumpy/sunshine and high levels of spice.
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer*, 4/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer*, 4/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
I felt like rereading these after talking "Twilight" with my niece. I don't have the first one as an audiobook, so that's why I started with book 2 :-P They aren't high literature, but they are ridiculously readable and I ended up listening to 30 hours in a week!
The Little House In the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~4hrs
I heard this as an audiobook this time where the narrator actually performed the songs - that was a nice touch, even if it was a tad louder than the spoken word, so I had to adjust it. Still a nice addition.
Books Read: 83 (+ 2 by Jordan that are not on goodreads).
Pages Read: 11.966
Hours Listened to: 402
Book of the Month: "The Summer Seekers" - really sweet and poignant.
Biggest Disappointment: "Zero Stars..." - do definitely NOT recommend! "The Thursday Murder Club" was also a disappointment, but that was more because I had expected it to be better than it was - not because it was a bad book as such.
Unfortunately the last part of the title could also have been the title of this review: "Do Not Recommend". I had expected a dystopian novel, with people trying to figure out their new normal - perhaps a bit like "Life As We Knew It" by Susan Beth Pfeffer. What I got was a common-day "Lord of the Flies" - a less humorous and less believable (amazingly enough) version of "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray.
Rico was one-dimensional evil for no particular reason, the "lovely" influencer and her preacher husband got on my nerves something fierce, and I desperately hope this is not how events would have turned out in real life. I have to believe that, or I would loose all faith in humanity.
I considered giving up on the book on multiple occasions, but I did want to know if there was any sort of resolution, so I stuck with it. And there was, but not really a satisfying one. While the explanation was fine, there was still a lack of closure.
So yeah, I don't understand all the high ratings on Goodreads. This was definitely a "do not recommend" for me, and the book goes straight in the trash.
Nightworld Academy - L.J. Swallow, 2.5/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
Hard book to review. I mostly liked it, I think? I liked the characters, I liked the setting, I liked the "coming into her powers" trope ... but at the end of the day, there wasn't really anything new to it. It was a story that had been told - and told better - before. I liked the school, but thought too little page time was given to the classes. I liked the characters, but the animosity of the mean girls wasn't really explained. I liked Maeve's powers, but her hesitancy to tell anybody about them seemed unnecessary.
Mostly though, nothing seemed resolved at the end of the book! I thought it was - but then the author threw a cliffhanger at me at the very last minute.
So 2.5 stars - rounded up on Goodreads, because I really did enjoy it for most of the time I listened to it.
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman, 2.5/5, 430 pages
NB: This is not a bad rating! Goodreads translates 2 stars to "It was okay", which it was. I wasn't blown away by it, I didn't particularly like it - but it was okay.
I think part of it is that the book suffered from too much hype. I had had it sold to me as "an amazing read" and it just ... wasn't. I didn't grow to care for the characters, I wasn't really interested in the whodunnit part of it ... the writing style was fine, so it wasn't any great hardship to finish it, but I'm going to just leave it at the one and not bother with the rest of the series.
The Summer Seekers - Sarah Morgan, 5/5, Audiobook ~11hrs
This immediately became a new favourite. It hits so many of my favourite tropes.
* Roadtrip? Check.
* Intergenerational friendships? Check.
* Personal growth? Check.
* Fraught relationships that are fixed by - wonder of wonders - communication? Check!
I loved seen Kathleen and Martha's friendship grow. I loved that Kathleen and Liza actually talked about their issues. I LOVED that Sean took the bull by the horns and realized he and Liza needed to talk. I was so, so, so grateful that Finn was a non-issue.
No third-act breakup, no annoying misunderstandings caused by lack of communication. Just a sweet and poignant story about very realistic relationships.
Loved it!
The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl - Annika Martin, 4/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
This was the perfect book to keep me company on a 4 hour drive. It had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions and I loved the banter between Lizzie and Theo as well as between Lizzie and Mia.
The romance was super sweet and the third act breakup less contrived than it often is in romance novels. Sasha's (I think that's her name anyways) behavior did subtract the final star though - it just seemed too malicious to be believable ... even within the book's own universe.
I wish we could have heard more about the bakery. I want a follow up that focuses on that!
Funny, cute and sizzling. Grumpy/sunshine and high levels of spice.
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer*, 4/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer*, 4/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
I felt like rereading these after talking "Twilight" with my niece. I don't have the first one as an audiobook, so that's why I started with book 2 :-P They aren't high literature, but they are ridiculously readable and I ended up listening to 30 hours in a week!
The Little House In the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~4hrs
I heard this as an audiobook this time where the narrator actually performed the songs - that was a nice touch, even if it was a tad louder than the spoken word, so I had to adjust it. Still a nice addition.
Books Read: 83 (+ 2 by Jordan that are not on goodreads).
Pages Read: 11.966
Hours Listened to: 402
Book of the Month: "The Summer Seekers" - really sweet and poignant.
Biggest Disappointment: "Zero Stars..." - do definitely NOT recommend! "The Thursday Murder Club" was also a disappointment, but that was more because I had expected it to be better than it was - not because it was a bad book as such.