2015 April Reading List

Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson – It didn’t work for me. I felt no connection to the characters and I didn’t see what the end game was for such a world. It felt like a small part of a bigger story. 3/5 stars Amazon

It Started with a Scandal by Julie Anne Long – I’m beginning to see a pattern here. JAL introduces a secondary character and makes him/her fit for the current plot. Then in the book in which he/she becomes the hero/heroine, she changes him/her to make him/her appropriate for the new plot. It worked for Jonathan but not so much here. I prefer the Laval from the earl’s book. And after all this teasing, Lion better be bloody awesome when he finally shows up! 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

The Silkworm by Robert Galbrith – It flew better than the first book in the series, and despite the overload of details, it was a fast read. A bit gory and I was disappointed by the killer reveal, rather smart though, but other than that it was fine. So I guess now we have to wait until season fifth finale for a real kiss, eh? 4/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers – With a decent editor who didn’t do only line editing (that could have been better too) but also development editing, this could have been a great book. I was 14% into the book and, other than world building, nothing had happened. I’m sorry, but I need to have a plot in my books. This felt like a series of separate events the author threw together just because the author thought it would be fun to have them happen. And in a way it was, but it made the book terribly slow and disjointed, and that’s too bad. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

250 Things You Should Know About Writing by Chuck Wendig – A good motivational speech for the beginning writers, only entertaining for the rest. 4/5 stars Amazon

The Explorer by James Smythe – As a writer, I thought this was an interesting exercise. As a reader, I strongly believe writers shouldn’t subject their readers to their exercises. I found the book to have similar issues and patterns to Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation: MC obsessed with his ex, showing less than normal interest in what’s going in around him, secondary characters remain strangers right until the end, zero explanation, and zero plot. And the overly long paragraphs didn’t help the reading experience at all. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin – Amusing, a bit cliché, real, sad, distant, but fun. You can hardly go wrong when you write about books. 3/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository

Warm Up by V. E. Schwab – This short story needs to be read after you read the novel. Otherwise it feel like too much is missing. 3/5 stars Amazon 

Vicious by V. E. Schwab – Two broken boys who become even more broken, only one doesn’t realize it and the other one is past the point of caring. Or is he? I fell in love with the book after the first few pages, which hasn’t happened to me in a while. Without the flashbacks repeated from a second perspective, this would be close to a 5 star book. 4/5 stars Amazon Bookdepository