I'm doing really good at not just buying everything my eyes land on. I'm rather proud of myself.
Haul: 6
1) Lore Olympus #1 by Rachel Smythe - I saw it and just had to have it. It was one of those webcomics that’s been on my to-read list for a while, but again, I’m no good when it comes to remembering to actually keep up with them. I’m sure it's gone past where book one stops, but that’s cool. I’ll just keep picking up the volumes as they are released in print so I can actually keep up!
2) A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw - It looked the most interesting of the options for the month. Made me think of WandaVision a bit, where people are kind of disappearing on the edge of a town. I've read something by Shea Ernshaw before, and right this minute all I can remember about the book is that it was either black or midnight blue. I remember nothing else. I know I liked it, so I'm hoping I like this as well.
3) The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - I have only read one of Kristin Hannah's other books, and again, I do not remember the title offhand. I really ought to keep a list nearby so that I can reference it or something. In any event, this book looked interesting and of the finalists for this year's book of the year from Book of the Month, it was the one that seemed the most intriguing that I haven't already read.
4) Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - I have seen The Untamed (live action adaptation), I've seen what's available of the donghua, I've heard parts of the radio program that came out. So when I heard that they were finally releasing an English adaptation of the original novel I absolutely had to jump on it. I have wanted to know the original version of the story for so long that I barely even waited to start reading it. I just dove headfirst right in. I'm already enjoying it and hope to get it done by the end of the month.
5) Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - Is anyone really that surprised? I saw the donghua on Netflix (and I am kind of following the production for the live action, which I hope we get to see). I was already a huge fan of hers from her book Mo Dao Zu Shi (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation), so of course I had to grab this one as well, being familiar with the storyline and all. Also, who doesn't love a good romance where someone became an all powerful ghost king just so they would be able to wait to see the person they love?
6) Scum Villain's Self Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - I have no idea what it is about other than I heard it was MXTX roasting herself before anyone else got the chance. If memory serves, this one is actually her first that she wrote. Don't quote me, I could be wrong. It's just what I heard through the grapevine. I figured may as well get it alone with the other two and have all of her available works at hand. I am excited to see what it's about.
Wrap Up: 8
1) The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson - 4 stars for sure. I started this back in November for another readathon, but for the life of me I cannot remember what the readathon even was. Anyways, this book follows Immanuelle Moore, a young woman born in the village of Bethel. Bethel is a very strict place. More or less run by the church, everyone in Bethel follows rules set out for them by a man known as the Prophet. Then there is the Darkwood. A place forbidden for Bethelans to go into. There is a rumor of witches that dwell within the forest that want nothing more than to corrupt the inhabitants of Bethel and turn them to the dark ways of the Mother. We follow Immanuelle as she unravels secrets about Bethel and her own birth. I adored the book. I loved how we learn more and more as Immanuelle herself learns.
2) The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket - This was a reread. I read most of the series as a kid in middle school. I don’t actually remember if I made it all the way to volume 13 or not. I have distinct memories of getting volume 8 from my library and that’s it. I read this for the 2021 Shelf Space Reindeer Games bingo board under the prompt “What Child Is This?: Read a Middle Grade” because it was literally the only middle grade I could think of that I haven’t read yet this year that I own. I did like it, but there were definitely points where it registered that it was not meant for someone over the age of say 14 at best. There were a lot of instances where it was confusing. An example of this would be when Klaus says he and Violet could get jobs. I’m not sure when they are set, but I highly doubt anyone would hire a 12 year old and a 14 year old, despite any of their natural talents.
3) Lore Olympus #1 by Rachel Smythe - Aaaaah it was so good. I loved it. We really see how possessive Demeter is of her daughter in this book and we get to know just how lecherous, that’s not the right word, but it’s the one I got, Zeus and Poseidon are. I enjoyed how they ruthlessly teased their elder brother even when he was very clearly not in the mood for it. I feel bad for Hades. The whole story is set in like some modern alternate universe where Olympus and the Underworld are their own unique cities and the gods dwell within these cities. We follow Persephone as she goes out and ends up being abandoned with Hades, not really abducted. It was well written. I love that Cerberus is not his only dog either. Hades definitely strikes me as a businessman. He gives off the vibes of someone who will protect whomever he is married to. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series to see where it goes from here.
4) The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui - I think this book was based on a manga or anime series? Or possibly both. In either event it went way too quickly for my taste. Something was not quite sitting with me right when they would almost speedrun through scenes. She goes from not really having any kind of emotional attachment to her one friend to bawling hysterically because she loves him and he's going away. What is that? This one got a 2 from me because it was just garbage. I think the original manga/anime version would probably make sense.
5) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - It was...it was interesting. Once I got past the first few chapters, which I found dry and boring, I really got into it. The action picked up and you kind of had to follow Wade and the others through this literally life-threatening situation. I didn't understand quite how the power worked if they were in the middle of a global energy crisis, where were they getting enough power to even use the stuff? It kept me on the edge of my seat when they got closer to the prize though. I'm glad Wade made friends, though. I'm highly considering getting Ready Player Two just to see how it compares to the first book in the series.
6) Scum Villain's Self Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - I think I read this over the course of two days. It was really interesting. The translation left a bit to be desired, but I won't fault them for it. We follow Shen Yuan, who gets transmigrated into the plot of a novel he disliked greatly. He becomes one of the supporting characters, the leader of a branch of the sect known as Shen Qingqiu. He is given the mission of changing the plotline to something he would like more and that's about as much information as we have. It was definitely a very unusual start to a series and I'm going to have to order the next when it comes out so I can find out if he even accomplishes his goal or not.
7) Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - I love this. It was well written, and mostly well translated. Some things got a bit lost or mixed up in the translation, but it didn't take away from the story at all. I liked the way some people recognized him immediately while others were entirely clueless about his current identity. I look forward to getting the rest of the books in the series and continuing on.
8) Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu - It was amazing. I enjoyed it greatly. I liked how even though no one trusted or liked Xie Lian, he didn't let that stop him. He kept doing what was right and what he thought he had to regardless of the opinions of anyone else around him. It was funny how quickly he figured out Hua Cheng and how he didn't let on that he was aware that it was him. The book follows the donghua right to the end, so I'm very much interested in the next volume to see where it goes from there.
No comments:
Post a Comment