Wednesday Reading Meme
What I Just Finished Reading: Two since last time: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles, and My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm making my way through the 620 pages of Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig.
What I'm Plannning to Read Next: I think next will be UnWholly by Neal Shusterman, the next book in the Unwind series. Or one of my library books that I just got on the weekend. Or I'm going to the library book sale on Saturday, so maybe I'll find something awesome there. :)
61. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles
Gareth goes to the countryside to claim a barony from his estranged father’s estate only to discover that the local smuggler is Joss, with whom he’d had a week-long fling a few months prior.
What I loved about this is that the relationship is given time to grow. Gareth had a rough life and he’s got reasons for being commitment-phobic and fearing abandonment, Joss is dealing with family matters, and of course same-sex relationships are both scandalous and illegal. It turns out that the smuggling ring may be more complex than first thought, and Joss & Gareth work together to solve problems on both sides of the equation. When they argue, it’s for logical reasons, and they resolve their problems like adults.
I also really enjoyed all the secondary characters, who are unique and interesting among themselves, and the background given to Joss, a dark-skinned man who also must deal with prejudice in that regard, even among his kin. It’s action-packed and full of charm, and I didn’t even mind that Gareth loves bugs (the bane of my existence.)
And there’s a sequel!
Dates Read: May 15 to 17, 2024
Page Count: 353
5 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - December C - author’s last name starts with C (59/74)
62. My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede is an uptight nurse who needs everything in her life just-so, while her sister Ayoola is a sociopathic beauty who happens to murder every boyfriend she gets. And while there’s certainly an explanation for why the sisters have turned out the way they have in the sparse prose of this novel, ultimately there is neither a deeper meaning nor a dark or satirical humour to the story. If I squint, I might see where it’s trying for both, and maybe that’s why it fails at both as well.
Could that have been improved if the author had fleshed out her story more instead of giving the reader little vignettes in the lives of the sisters? I think so. The snippets need more to link them and to give the story some depth.
Dates Read: May 18 to 19, 2024
Page Count: 226
3 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - November O - author first or last name begins with O (60/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 22 - author from African country (52/52) ** Complete!
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What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm making my way through the 620 pages of Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig.
What I'm Plannning to Read Next: I think next will be UnWholly by Neal Shusterman, the next book in the Unwind series. Or one of my library books that I just got on the weekend. Or I'm going to the library book sale on Saturday, so maybe I'll find something awesome there. :)
61. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles
Gareth goes to the countryside to claim a barony from his estranged father’s estate only to discover that the local smuggler is Joss, with whom he’d had a week-long fling a few months prior.
What I loved about this is that the relationship is given time to grow. Gareth had a rough life and he’s got reasons for being commitment-phobic and fearing abandonment, Joss is dealing with family matters, and of course same-sex relationships are both scandalous and illegal. It turns out that the smuggling ring may be more complex than first thought, and Joss & Gareth work together to solve problems on both sides of the equation. When they argue, it’s for logical reasons, and they resolve their problems like adults.
I also really enjoyed all the secondary characters, who are unique and interesting among themselves, and the background given to Joss, a dark-skinned man who also must deal with prejudice in that regard, even among his kin. It’s action-packed and full of charm, and I didn’t even mind that Gareth loves bugs (the bane of my existence.)
And there’s a sequel!
Dates Read: May 15 to 17, 2024
Page Count: 353
5 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - December C - author’s last name starts with C (59/74)
62. My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede is an uptight nurse who needs everything in her life just-so, while her sister Ayoola is a sociopathic beauty who happens to murder every boyfriend she gets. And while there’s certainly an explanation for why the sisters have turned out the way they have in the sparse prose of this novel, ultimately there is neither a deeper meaning nor a dark or satirical humour to the story. If I squint, I might see where it’s trying for both, and maybe that’s why it fails at both as well.
Could that have been improved if the author had fleshed out her story more instead of giving the reader little vignettes in the lives of the sisters? I think so. The snippets need more to link them and to give the story some depth.
Dates Read: May 18 to 19, 2024
Page Count: 226
3 out of 5 stars
+ Lost Challenges 74 Letters - November O - author first or last name begins with O (60/74)
+ Around the Year in 52 Books 22 - author from African country (52/52) ** Complete!
.