books, books, books: 2018 nov-dec

[meiface]

Wrapping up the last two months of the year as I continue to tackle new books for my 2019!

1. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart - This book is a fantasy novel based on Chinese mythology set in a fictional historical/ancient China. It started off kind of fun as a new fantasy setting/premise, but then it kept building and building on previous story threads that I thought were just fun adventures, and it is such a great climax. So emotional! I loved this book so much and it is almost wistful or nostalgic, because it draws on so many things I've heard of and am slightly familiar with in Chinese mythology, and yet I am just distanced enough from the culture and history that there are elements that I wouldn't know are made up solely by the author. I do wrestle with a little guilt about it being written by a white guy though. But I'm definitely going to get my hands on the sequels, which I'll have to buy used copies of because they're not available via the library.


2. One Piece 80-88 by Oda Eiichiro - In three library trips, caught up on One Piece from where we left off two years ago! So refinished the Dressrosa Arc and moved to Zou, got through that bit and moved to the Big Mom arc. She has way too many kids to keep track of! And it was good to have a little more Sanji backstory, though it's kind of OTT, and moments where I could like him again because he wasn't just the lustful sexist that Oda's ramped him up to be...I did end up liking his and Pudding's eventual (honest) dynamic though. They would be a good/hilarious fit. I hate the crew being split up for so long though; I miss Zoro and Robin. :( So now almost near the end of the Big Mom arc, and I'm interested in how they'll win/delay, and then off to Wano and Kaidoh, I believe...


3. Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews - It was interesting to see Kate and Curran in their post-Pack life! I wouldn't have predicted that's where it was going to go, and then not sure that I would enjoy it, but the plot keeps moving and it remains pretty interesting. I think it works to keep the story/series from falling into a rut, so it was a smart move overall, and moving us toward the big showdown. And the dynamic between Kate and Roland is interesting after all the traumatic events from the previous books; in a way, it's a reset and readjustment for them too, all the while knowing something bigger/an eventual confrontation is pending.


4. Bond Sinister by K.J. Charles - Look, people keep reccing and loving KJ Charles and I keep reading her stuff thinking it might finally work for me, but I think I have to resign myself to the fact that while she is a good writer and I can read her stuff more or less easily enough, we are not good matches on the emotional beats of the story. Or id. Or something. This was fine; enjoyable, even! But left no strong impression on me beyond the fact that it was kind of that Socially Aware (and the author would like you to Be Aware That She Is Aware) brand of historical. Sometimes it works and sometimes it's jarring. I have to say, consent is super sexy/important irl, but blatantly inserted into fiction can feel a little too self-aware, and this was that for me. Oh and the hero had some polyromantic stuff with friends? I seriously barely remember this. I'm glad it exists and I'm glad for the people who love it, but apparently I crave the fucked up and possessively claustrophobic/just the two us/no one else but you obsessiveness of Viewfinder and Totally Capitvated and Boy Princess.


5. That Irresistible Poison by Alessandra Hazard - This author needs to stop trying to write plot and focus on iddy porn. She is terrible at plot. I hate-read most of this and enjoyed about 3 pages of sex scenes. The alien world-building was terrible, the character motivations were paper-thin, and the overall relationships were just...pasted on yey. I wish I could get my money back for this.


6. Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews - Always love the growth and development of Kate and her relationships, and it was nice to see some newer characters showcased here like Christopher and Roman. Seeing the Pack from the outside is also really interesting, and how negotiating with them goes when they're out to protect Pack first and always and Kate and Curran are no longer part of that. I always love Julie and Derek. More action and plot and all that is great too; I think this series balances both character/relationship dynamics and plot really well. I've never felt like saying I only loved one but the other was meh. For this series, it all goes well together.


7. Just a Little Gay by Alessandra Hazard - Yes, this author should stick to iddy thought-I-was-straight gay sex stuff. It's hot. Nick is inscrutable, honestly, and his personality change is really explained or explored in a way that makes him a sympathetic character (though you might be able to guess why). But, I mean, reading for the porn, so I can handwave that. It's very hot, and then it takes a sharp turn into uhhh feminization kink. Which is not my kink at all? Some dirty talk is, but not the brand of feminization fantasy featured here, yet I made it through it being like, okay? It kinda worked, though I would've been happier without it. I guess for me it's like surprise daddy kink showing up in a fic: not my cup of tea, but won't necessarily make me backclick if I've been enjoying the rest of it.


8. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black - Ah, back to the world of faerie, where apparently Holly Black lives. But I enjoyed this, though it seems to very much play into the new Monster Girl, Weaker Boy power fantasy/trope popular in a lot of girl-centric YA these days. Which is not necessarily a trope I'm complaining about. The dynamic between Jude and her twin sister wasn't fully explored, imo, but that may focus mroe in the sequel. I liked the non-romantic take on romance, but these days the subversions of tropes have almost become tropes themselves. Absolutely saw the twist at the end coming, but still nice to read that climactic moment. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.


9. Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister - A non-fiction book! And it was great and I wish I could send a copy to every woman I know. It details the history of women's rage and how it's propelled labor and rights' movements in the past, but also the intersection of the issues women faced with race and class as well. The book could've used a better editor, imo, but all the content is really good: it alternately made me feel very validated and very mad, but the rising kind of anger that makes you want to go out and do things, change things. I might go back and highlight/flag certain passages and send it to Kevin's mom to read. I think she'd really get a lot out of it.


10. The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer - I thought I'd read this before, but I hadn't! A lovely Heyer with a lovely relationship. Everyone was lovely, honestly, and it was such a low stakes thing being able to root for good people and their relationships to work out. And they did! Only cousin Tiffany was a brat, but she was easily seen in an almost indulgent way, both by the characters and the reader; she's selfish but she's young, and hopefully she'll grow, but she's also just this way now and everyone else just kind of has to deal. I definitely see why that could be frustrating for some, but I didn't mind her because it was so easy to root for everyone else and trusting in Heyer to bring about the right kind of happy ending. And things did work out! I was pleased.


11. Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews - Determined to finish this series this year! The last book, the big finale! So I was slightly turned off by it starting off with the birth of Kate and Curran's kid because, okay, I don't feel that drive to procreate and make your own precious child (I did like Kate being so fiercely protective of Julie and considering her her kid earlier), but at least the majority of the book didn't dwell on it. I wasn't sure they would be able to live up to the premise they'd been building up to all this time, but I think it more or less accomplished it. I buy the compromises and alliances they had to make, the hard decisions and the arguments and the planning. Mostly I remember really loving Julie and Derek and the roles they played, though brief. I think Ascanio's role was underused but there were definitely like five million characters in the book gathered from the previous nine books and the world, and they were necessary to fight the war so of course not everyone got equal screen time. It felt like a fitting end though, where the major plot is over but yet nothing is really over. I want to follow Julie! I kinda see why people ship her/Derek, but I kind ship her/Yu Fong after that short story set at her school, and I'd like to see Derek maybe be bi... Anyway, it's a great overall series and really especially developed over the course of the books. I like Kate a lot and while Curran is more "sure, whatever" for me, I buy that she loves him and that they're fitting together. And that's all I ask.

Success for 2018! So now to tackle my 2019 reading list, which of course just keeps growing.