Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley – Nice cover. Interesting
core idea. Disappointing execution. Nothing happens in the first 10% of the
book. Aza’s never ending stream of conscience is awfully annoying. There are no
ordinary people in this book; everyone is special in some way. Love triangle
and insta love. Ugh. Once she gets to Magonia, no one takes the time to explain
anything to her. She’s sent directly to mop the floors. *facepalm* Weak
worldbuilding that makes little sense. 2/5 stars
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas – This was my
first encounter with Mrs. Maas’s writing style and I found it too dense and
slow. I didn’t really care for the main couple. Lucien and Rhys were more
interesting, though we only get each for half the story as if they couldn’t
have been contracted for the whole book. Nesta would be a good match for either
of them, hehe. And now I’m in the mood to watch Beauty and the Beast cartoon,
which I haven’t seen in twenty years. 3/5 stars
How to Talk to Girls at Parties by Neil Gaiman – Beautifully
written as usual despite the weird factor, but the story felt unfinished. 3/5
stars
A Tall Tail by Charles Stross – A lot of science was put
into this one, which was fine, but I would have liked to be able to tell which
was real and which was not. Alas, they don’t teach this kind of advanced
chemistry in high school around here. 3/5 stars
Galaxis. Noua opera spatiala edited by Antuza Genescu – I
liked George Lazar’s story best, no surprise there. Since I also have a story
included in this short story collection, I won’t rate it.
I actually had some DNF this summer, which was disappointing because I
was looking forward to read these books, but then for various reason, including
voice and style, I discovered I couldn’t get interested in them and after
several efforts, I gave up:
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
The Fireman by Joe Hill
Map of Time by Felix J. Palma
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson – Overly long and
disjointed. I only cared for one POV character, some of them disappearing for
half the book before getting back to them didn’t help at all, and the urge to
turn the pages and the unexpected plot twists so familiar from Sanderson’s
other books were absent here. 3/5 stars
How to Make Friends with Demons by Graham Joyce – This books
basically shows you what it means to be human. I didn’t care for some parts and
some plot points could have been exploited better, but one line in particular
turned this book into a 4-star book for me. Why are demons always so sad and
waiting? You’ll have to read the book to find out the answer. 4/5 stars
Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell – The banter became
too much in places, but other than that it was a good read. Oh, and it comes
with free fencing lessons! :) 4/5 stars
Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine – I never cared for Romeo
and Juliet’s story, but I quite liked Benevolio in both French musicals so the
idea of the story being told from his POV sounded interesting. Unfortunately, I
prefer Benevolio more mainly and playful than this scared boy who too often
whined like a girl. Some of the plot twists were good and partially explained
the insanity in the original play, but too many characters, relationships, and
plot points were underdeveloped, the magic added nothing to the plot, and the
ending felt rushed. I need to make time to rewatch those musicals. 3/5 stars
