Alexis’ Library Haul: Part 2

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Alexis: The little snow that we got turned into mush and then rain, so I was able to get my library books! Here’s a library haul part 2.

  • Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
  • The Afterlife by Thomas Pierce
  • Caraval by Stephanie Garber
  • The River of Doubt by Candice Millard

For a change of pace, I’m intersecting my fantasy reads with some different genres! Even though I love fantasy and YA fantasy, I’m tired of the same tropes being recycled (I’m looking at you, love triangle). Sometimes I need to take a break and read something different. 

Review: Shadow and Bone; Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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Alexis:

I’ve dedicated this past week to reading the first two books in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, and hopefully I can get the last book from the library next week!

I read the Six of Crows Duology last year and I absolutely loved it, so I was looking forward to reading the first books in Bardugo’s Grishaverse.

I seem to agree with everyone else (at least on Goodreads) that the second book in the trilogy is better than the first. I was surprised to find that the first book relied on some tropes, the most prevalent of which is the love triangle. However, I thought that Shadow and Bone did a great job when it came to worldbuilding and introducing the Grisha’s powers. 

The second book’s plot is much more intricate than the first. It honestly reminds me of The Hunger Games. Politics come into play, and Alina starts to become a powerful symbol of hope. I enjoyed the new characters that were introduced, but I felt like Mal’s character wasn’t as strong as he was in the first book. However, Bardugo’s keen sense of humor comes out more in the second book.

Minor spoilers below:

One of the biggest issues I have with the two books is the way that male characters interact with Alina, which, unfortunately, only gets worse in Siege and Storm. Multiple male characters touch and kiss Alina without her consent, and the way the Darkling interacts with her makes me sick. In Siege and Storm, no one respects that Alina and Mal are in a relationship, and she gets kissed and even gets marriage proposals. I understood all of this happens for plot reasons, but here Alina is, in a different love triangle than in the first book, and she even enjoys the attention from Nikolai.

I feel like I say this in every review, but despite my issues with the books, I did enjoy reading them. I love the Grishaverse and I’m interested to see where the third book goes. I just can’t help comparing this series to the Six of Crows Duology. It’s interesting to see how much Bardugo’s writing has evolved.

Shadow and Bone: 3 out of 5 books

Siege and Storm: 4 out of 5 stars

Review: Sugar Run by Mesha Maren

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This review is spoiler-free and from both of us!

There is a dog in this book, so that’s our excuse for featuring a very confused Indy in this.

Alexis:

I’m thankful I had the opportunity to hear Mesha Maren discuss her book, because I feel like I really understood her vision. In Sugar Run, Jodi, the main character, is just released from prison, where she served eighteen years. She enters into a relationship with a young mother named Miranda, and their lives become tangled together. It’s a story of hope and hopelessness.

I love Maren’s lyrical writing style. Her writing has such a hard realness to it. She writes lush descriptions as she paints life in West Virginia. As Maren discussed in her talk, her book is hard to categorize. It’s a noir, crime, Southern Literature, and LGBTQ novel. But this is one of the great things about it: it’s a collage of genres, and it works.

This is a dark book that deals with vices to the max. It deals with crime, murder, sex, and lots of drugs. All of the characters are flawed, and make really bad decisions, yet I cared about them. The first half of the book is more character driven, while the second half is more plot heavy. The chapters alternate between the present (written in past tense) and the past (written in present tense) which I thought worked really well.

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

 

Anna:

Like Alexis, I’m so happy we had the opportunity to meet Maren at the Fountain Bookstore here in Richmond. Hearing an author discuss her book and writing process always enriches my understanding of it as a reader. The way Maren described her characters before I’d read about them made me more invested as a reader.

Maren’s writing is exactly what I love about literary fiction, even though, as Alexis said, this is a blend of genres. It is so dark and violent, but it is beautifully and breathtakingly written and full of nature imagery. The characters are well drawn out and real.

The violence in the lives of all the characters contrast so starkly with Jodi’s obsession with the rural landscape of her homeland. Her love of West Virginia mirrors themes of stability and nostalgia in Jodi’s life. It also offers commentary on the ways humans inflict violence on the earth, as the horrors of fracking is something frequently discussed.

The ending of books is something I’m constantly disappointed by, and, happily, this was not the case with Sugar Run! I thought the conclusion of both the interwoven timelines is so well done, and, most importantly, believable. Maren’s pacing is perfection.

During her talk, Maren touched a bit on the book she’s writing next, and you can bet I’ll be picking that up when that comes out!

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

Review: The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

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Alexis: Read 2/4/19

“There was a hunger in her, and girls were not supposed to be hungry. They were supposed to nibble sparingly when at table, and their minds were supposed to be satisfied with a slim diet too.”

The Lie Tree is both about revenge and finding yourself. It manages to be a murder mystery book while exploring themes of science vs. religion, paleontology, family, and, of course, lies.

The book follows Faith, the 14-year-old daughter of a reverend/scientist, who moves to an island with her family. Throughout the story, she struggles with being a complacent girl in 19th century England while battling her desire to be seen and heard as a person with a brain and scientific ambitions. This was my favorite part of the book. I loved reading about Faith’s navigation through 19th century society and ideals. I felt and understood her frustrations as she dealt with being called useless. I also appreciated that Hardinge explored how her petticoats and corset always got in the way; it just felt very real to me. And, as the book progressed, I loved reading about her showing off her cleverness and proving to her mother, and the men in the book, what she can do.

Faith’s character was a little hard for me to like. I rooted for her to win, even through her ill-fated motives and her willingness to lie. I thought that the unlikability of the characters served the dark nature of the story and the Lie Tree well. However, at times, I found the story hard to get through because of this, and also because the plot was a little slow. Despite this, Hardinge is still a poetic writer and I enjoyed her descriptions and the murder mystery storyline.

VERDICT: 3 ½ out of 5 books

We Met Sugar Run’s Author, Mesha Maren!

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Yesterday, we visited the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond to hear author Mesha Maren talk about her new book, Sugar Run.

Sugar Run has already gotten a lot of attention in the book world, and we loved hearing her talk about her book. Maren discussed her research, writing processes, and inspirations. She discussed how West Virginia, where she grew up, was her inspiration for the book. She even told a story about building a log cabin with her dad when she was 17, a log cabin that is now her writing space.

We enjoyed listening to her talk about identity and how she and her main character, Jodi, navigate being LGBTQ in West Virginia.

We look forward to reading and reviewing Sugar Run!

Review: Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden

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Anna:

I’m excited to share my first 5 star read of the year! T Kira Madden’s memoir is a heartbreaking and beautiful account of growing up in Boca Raton—or Rat’s Mouth— of Florida. It’s so raw and emotional, and not to mention lyrically written, that it’s both hard to read yet impossible to put down. My inability to stop reading, despite the contestant pretense of bleak topics, is something I love about Madden’s writing. She truly has a talent in making the bad beautiful in her writing without diminishing the severity and impact of the bad.

This book comes with a trigger warning for just about everything. A lot of this book deals with drug abuse, alcohol abuse, physical abuse, child pornography and sexual abuse, and basically every kind of abuse you can think of.

Something I really like about this memoir is the cyclical nature of it, which is something I find quite annoying in some memoirs, but that isn’t the case here. Madden never “harps” on certain details or asks the reader to feel bad for her in any way. It is her blunt and rich writing that earned my sympathy and trust.

Something else that stood out to me is Madden’s tremendous ability to forgive, especially in the case of her family and her parents. This lack of anger and blame, despite the difficulties she has experienced, is what has resonated with me the most since finishing this memoir.

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls will be published March 5, 2019 in the U.S. I can’t wait for more people to read this!

VERDICT: 5 out of 5 books

 

Review: In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

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Alexis: Read 2/1/19

In the Midst of Winter is a story of grief, guilt, and love. The book focuses on three main characters: Lucia, a lecturer from Chile; Richard, a professor; and Evelyn, a caregiver from Guatemala. Half of the book is set in 2016, explaining how the three characters meet and become involved in each other’s lives, while the other half explores their complicated, and often depressing, pasts.

I adored the first half of the book, which opens on Lucia’s life in New York City during a snowstorm. It’s such a promising premise. As the reader, you are immediately thrown into the minds of Lucia and Richard, and I enjoyed reading about their contrasting personalities. I love that Lucia has a bug-eyed old Chihuahua, while Richard has four cats that he simply calls one through four in Portuguese. Though I found Evelyn’s life and story interesting, I felt like her dedicated chapters didn’t reveal her character or thoughts as well as Lucia’s and Richard’s.

As usual with Allende’s writing, I love her descriptions in this book and I think they serve the story and the characters well. I also enjoyed reading about the tumultuous histories of Chile and Guatemala, as well as Richard’s time in Brazil.

This book went in a different direction than I expected, however. The morbid reason the three characters go on a journey together works at first, but I found that it didn’t work the further I got in the story. I correctly guessed the twist towards the end. When I finished the book, I was left underwhelmed. It addresses such deep and interesting histories and emotions, yet it ends on an almost “oh, well!” and weirdly cheery note, which dragged down my review.

VERDICT: 3 ½ out of 5 books

What Anna Read in January

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I only read 4 books in January, which is low for me. However, I’m proud of the mix of books I read. I kicked off the year with the conclusion to a well-loved YA fantasy duology, Crooked Kingdom. The very same day I finished it, coincidentally, Netflix announced that they are going to be doing a series set in the Grishaverse!

I’m also still really into memoirs and loved this one by Nell Stevens. I hope to continue to read at least one memoir a month!

Our Endless Numbered Days hooked me on Claire Fuller, and I’ll be picking up Bitter Orange soon. And look out for my review of Grant Park tomorrow!

I lowered my reading goal for 2019 because I knew I was going to be really busy this year, but also because I want to read more classics. That didn’t happen in January, but I think it will in February! Nonetheless, I enjoyed all of these books and gave them each 4 stars.

What did you read in January?

Alexis’ Library Haul

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Alexis:

Library haul time! These are some of my most anticipated reads on my #tbr list.

  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  • Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
  • The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
  • In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

Anna and I went to a coffee shop and got some work and writing done today. And then we went to Ulta, my second favorite store after Barnes and Noble.

I’m starting with In the Midst of Winter since it’s currently 28 degrees outside and dropping! I’ve always loved Isabel Allende’s writing style and I’m enjoying the beginning of the book.

Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

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Alexis: Read 1/28/19

“For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me — as a girl and later as a woman — to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life.”

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a beautifully written historical fiction novel. Lisa See’s writing always flows well, and her writing did not disappoint.

This is a novel about women in 19th century China. I, who usually reads a book in one to three sittings, found myself having to take multiple mental breaks from this book. This was also the case when I read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, which turned out to be one of my favorite books.

The reason for the needed breaks was the heavy topics that this book addresses. I had to push my 21st century Western ideals to the back of my mind while reading this (See even discusses this in the afterword). She addresses some beautiful and fascinating ideas, such as embroidery, nu shu, the secret woman’s language, and friendship. But this book also addresses foot binding in detail, as well as death, starvation, and miscarriages. It deals with the extreme sexism of the time, including abuse and acceptance of the low societal positions from the main characters, Lily and Snow Flower.

If I had held onto my modern viewpoint while reading this, I would have intensely disliked the characters and the storyline. Who wants to read about two women who believe they are utterly worthless unless they have three inch feet, marry, and have all sons?

But I learned so much from reading this book, and I enjoyed learning about Chinese society during this era. You can tell that See did her research. See writes well-rounded characters and doesn’t shy away from giving them flaws, and this is one of the greatest aspects of the book. I loved Lily and Snow Flower in the first half of the book, and I was frustrated with them in the second half. However, Lily hints at this in the very first page, so it wasn’t unexpected.

Overall, if you’re interested in learning about a remote, 19th century Chinese society, and you’re not afraid of a sad story, pick this up. If you’re interested in a woman-centered story, and the complicated love between two women, then pick this up.

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books