update #400: from saving the world to slice of life
I still have the last two books in the Lymond Chronicles to review, and I’ve remembered that I mentioned but never properly reviewed Love in the Blitz.
• Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: Sequel to Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning (which means Aurora Ending would have fitted the pattern better).
After the first two books, I’d recalibrated my expectations and this met them. All the timey-wimey stuff was quite entertaining, and if one was more attached than I, the twists and revelations could make this story tense and emotional. (Possibly it appeals more strongly to its target teenage audience?)“If you're asking where I found the skill, courage, and general fabulousness to perform emergency surgery in the middle of all this chaos, well. If you think that after auditioning all those guys to find the perfect boyfriend I was going to let a little thing like a tracheotomy get in the way of true love, you've clearly underestimated how tired I am of the search.”
• Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth: Ten years ago Sloane was one of five teenagers who defeated the Dark One. The beginning is compelling, a sharp portrayal of the aftermath of being a chosen one, and how trauma and intense public scrutiny interfere with moving on and living an ordinary life. Then the story twists in an utterly unexpected direction. I wasn’t very invested in this development and, unlike in the first part, found the worldbuilding too infodumpy.
But I persevered and the third section pulls the narrative together. It reminded more in tone of Roth’s other books in tone, too. It didn’t fulfil the potential promised in its opening scenes but I ended up liking it more than, at one point, I’d thought I was going to.She was by the river, the cold air burning her lungs, as she stared across the bridge at the Dark One right before their last battle. Part of her always would be.
She had lived half her life wanting only one thing -- to save the world -- and the other half wanting to be left alone, which was almost the same thing as wanting nothing at all. She didn't know what it was like to desire something between those two extremes. She wasn't sure she was even capable of it.
• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: I really liked some of the worldbuilding and the ideas, especially the robots who have long since left civilisation for the wilderness and the travelling tea monk with a tiny house.
I found it hard to connect with Dex, perhaps because Dex themself doesn’t understand what they want -- which is, after all, what this story is about. But of course the advantage of a novella is that it isn’t a huge commitment and I’m more willing to see how things unfold. I’ll be curious to see if I feel more strongly about the sequel. Every night, Dex let their god hear a sigh of thanks as they climbed the ladder and collapsed into the embracing bed. They rarely used the lights up there, preferring instead to slide open the rooftop shade. They fell asleep in starlight, breathing in the muddled snap of a hundred spices, listening to the gurgle of water pumps feeding happy roots in little pots.
Despite these blessings, sometimes Dex could not sleep. In those hours, they frequently asked themself what it was they were doing. They never truly felt like they got a handle on that. They kept doing it all the same.
• Gothel and the Maiden Prince by W.R. Gingell: A twist on Rapunzel. Lots of men have turned up at Gothel’s tower wanting to “rescue” the kidnapped princess, but Lucien, the youngest prince of Lombargy, is more interested in getting to know Gothel and discovering her reasons for kidnapping.
I really enjoyed this as a retelling! I’d have liked it even more if it hadn’t leaned quite so much into the typical happily-ever-after ending, but, hey, minor quibble. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I’m innocent of the crimes I’m accused of,” said Gothel. “I’m not. Go away now. I don’t have time to deal with you.”
“You can’t -- you can’t kidnap princesses,” said Lucien, still trying to catch his breath.
“Of course you can!” Gothel said scornfully. “It’s not easy, naturally, but it’s very possible.”
• The Love Con by Seressia Glass: This caught my eye as I scrolled through the library catalogue. When Kenya Davenport is a finalist in a televised cosplay competition she refers to her friend Cam as her boyfriend -- and hopes Cam will be willing to play along.
Because Kenya and Cam are best friends, roommmates and business partners, and both secretly harbour feelings for the other, their relationship is less fake dating (one of my favourite tropes) and more backing up Kenya’s story by actually dating.
I disliked the reality TV aspect -- the filming crew are invasive and manipulative, and that was just irritating to read about. But I liked the fandom references and the romance is sweet (if not wholly my cup of tea).
• The Musgraves (1960) by D.E. Stevenson: This is about the widowed Esther Musgrave, her three nearly-all-grown-up daughters and her estranged step-son.
I came away not quite satisfied with this as a narrative -- I have liked all the other Stevenson books I’ve read this year more -- but I still enjoyed the process of reading this one. Esther is likeable, the family dynamics are insightfully portrayed, the descriptions of summer are lovely, and Delia’s new friend Eulalie Winters’ story was unexpected. I was also very interested by how Margaret’s experience of being a young married woman was similar to that of my grandmothers.
I have had less headspace for reading books in the last few months and have had to exert extra self-discipline to focus on most of these books, but Stevenson captures my attention easily.
(I listened to the audiobook, so no quotes bookmarked.) Originally @ Dreamwidth.
• Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: Sequel to Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning (which means Aurora Ending would have fitted the pattern better).
After the first two books, I’d recalibrated my expectations and this met them. All the timey-wimey stuff was quite entertaining, and if one was more attached than I, the twists and revelations could make this story tense and emotional. (Possibly it appeals more strongly to its target teenage audience?)“If you're asking where I found the skill, courage, and general fabulousness to perform emergency surgery in the middle of all this chaos, well. If you think that after auditioning all those guys to find the perfect boyfriend I was going to let a little thing like a tracheotomy get in the way of true love, you've clearly underestimated how tired I am of the search.”
• Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth: Ten years ago Sloane was one of five teenagers who defeated the Dark One. The beginning is compelling, a sharp portrayal of the aftermath of being a chosen one, and how trauma and intense public scrutiny interfere with moving on and living an ordinary life. Then the story twists in an utterly unexpected direction. I wasn’t very invested in this development and, unlike in the first part, found the worldbuilding too infodumpy.
But I persevered and the third section pulls the narrative together. It reminded more in tone of Roth’s other books in tone, too. It didn’t fulfil the potential promised in its opening scenes but I ended up liking it more than, at one point, I’d thought I was going to.She was by the river, the cold air burning her lungs, as she stared across the bridge at the Dark One right before their last battle. Part of her always would be.
She had lived half her life wanting only one thing -- to save the world -- and the other half wanting to be left alone, which was almost the same thing as wanting nothing at all. She didn't know what it was like to desire something between those two extremes. She wasn't sure she was even capable of it.
• A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: I really liked some of the worldbuilding and the ideas, especially the robots who have long since left civilisation for the wilderness and the travelling tea monk with a tiny house.
I found it hard to connect with Dex, perhaps because Dex themself doesn’t understand what they want -- which is, after all, what this story is about. But of course the advantage of a novella is that it isn’t a huge commitment and I’m more willing to see how things unfold. I’ll be curious to see if I feel more strongly about the sequel. Every night, Dex let their god hear a sigh of thanks as they climbed the ladder and collapsed into the embracing bed. They rarely used the lights up there, preferring instead to slide open the rooftop shade. They fell asleep in starlight, breathing in the muddled snap of a hundred spices, listening to the gurgle of water pumps feeding happy roots in little pots.
Despite these blessings, sometimes Dex could not sleep. In those hours, they frequently asked themself what it was they were doing. They never truly felt like they got a handle on that. They kept doing it all the same.
• Gothel and the Maiden Prince by W.R. Gingell: A twist on Rapunzel. Lots of men have turned up at Gothel’s tower wanting to “rescue” the kidnapped princess, but Lucien, the youngest prince of Lombargy, is more interested in getting to know Gothel and discovering her reasons for kidnapping.
I really enjoyed this as a retelling! I’d have liked it even more if it hadn’t leaned quite so much into the typical happily-ever-after ending, but, hey, minor quibble. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I’m innocent of the crimes I’m accused of,” said Gothel. “I’m not. Go away now. I don’t have time to deal with you.”
“You can’t -- you can’t kidnap princesses,” said Lucien, still trying to catch his breath.
“Of course you can!” Gothel said scornfully. “It’s not easy, naturally, but it’s very possible.”
• The Love Con by Seressia Glass: This caught my eye as I scrolled through the library catalogue. When Kenya Davenport is a finalist in a televised cosplay competition she refers to her friend Cam as her boyfriend -- and hopes Cam will be willing to play along.
Because Kenya and Cam are best friends, roommmates and business partners, and both secretly harbour feelings for the other, their relationship is less fake dating (one of my favourite tropes) and more backing up Kenya’s story by actually dating.
I disliked the reality TV aspect -- the filming crew are invasive and manipulative, and that was just irritating to read about. But I liked the fandom references and the romance is sweet (if not wholly my cup of tea).
• The Musgraves (1960) by D.E. Stevenson: This is about the widowed Esther Musgrave, her three nearly-all-grown-up daughters and her estranged step-son.
I came away not quite satisfied with this as a narrative -- I have liked all the other Stevenson books I’ve read this year more -- but I still enjoyed the process of reading this one. Esther is likeable, the family dynamics are insightfully portrayed, the descriptions of summer are lovely, and Delia’s new friend Eulalie Winters’ story was unexpected. I was also very interested by how Margaret’s experience of being a young married woman was similar to that of my grandmothers.
I have had less headspace for reading books in the last few months and have had to exert extra self-discipline to focus on most of these books, but Stevenson captures my attention easily.
(I listened to the audiobook, so no quotes bookmarked.) Originally @ Dreamwidth.