2014 December Reading List

November was a tough month, and the beginning of December was even worse, so Bujold became my comfort read. It was either that or eating unhealthy amounts of chocolate. So:

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold – The story felt disjointed. I liked the first part, but the second used too many clichés. 3/5 stars Amazon

The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold – Short, good read, but I didn’t enjoy the overall bleak feeling. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold – A bit too many parties for my taste but it was almost as good as The Warrior’s Apprentice. 4/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer – The main character spends the whole time obsessing over her dead husband instead of focusing on the terrible things happening around her. The  absence of any kind of explanation at the end makes it feel like one long hallucination. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison – Normally, this would get 4 stars from me, but I had a few issues with the book. My grandma was called Maia, so all my life I believed Maia was a woman’s name. It took me several chapters to get used to associate it with a man. The other names are much worse, long and hard to remember, and too similar, which makes it hard to tell the characters apart. The writing is good except for some debut novel typical issues, which makes no sense since this isn’t the author’s first book. But this isn’t what annoyed me. We have this uneducated 19 y.o. boy, who has never dreamed about becoming an emperor so he’s totally unprepared for it, but still he never makes major mistakes, not even once. Really, no one is that perfect! And he keeps whining, and being afraid, and blushing constantly like a bride on her wedding day. He should have been a girl. The other part that didn’t sit well with me was the plot that didn’t seem to go anywhere, we just go with the motion, day after day after day of the emperor’s reign, and then the book stops with no ending at all. Huh? 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

The Iron Trail by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black – Kiddie stuff. Not as funny as Clare’s other books. It brings nothing new, and all the characters behave like idiots for illogical reasons at one point or another.  I don’t think I’ve ever been at the right age for this. 2/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff – A sweet, fast read, not very deep and often exaggerated. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been familiar with more of the titles mentioned in the book. 4/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg – It reminded me a lot of the magic system in Brandon Sanderson’s The Rithmatist. It feels better written, but we spend too much time inside the magician’s heart. That’s a good way to bring in back story but not when it lasts for half a book and the plot stands still all this time. Oh, and the magician is too perfect and swoon worthy. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository