Review: Alchemised by SenLinYu

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I wished I liked this more. For one thing, it was way too long. Secondly, over the course of the novel, I started to get really annoyed with Helena. Kaine clocked her when he said that she made so many promises that she gets to pick the ones she wants to keep so she can feel better about herself. She often goes back on her word once she gets what she wants. Her hero complex of wanting to save everyone ended up barely saving anyone at all. I swear, every decision she made only made things worse, not just for her but for everyone. If she had just listened to Kaine in the first place and stayed put, they could have been spared two years of suffering and two-thirds of this book. I didn’t know this when I started reading it, but this started as a Hermione/Draco fan-fiction. As fun as that is, Hermione was ten times more clever than Helena. True Helena eventually figures out how to win the day, so many people suffered because of her and Kaine along the way. If you want to take the time to read, know that there is an upsetting subplot in The Handmaid’s Tale, and because it is about war, there are a fair number of depictions of violence. Honestly, it’s not worth the time.

Review: Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

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In the first book, Butcher and Blackbird, Sloane and Rowan are serial killers who fall in love. Leather and Lark follows Sloane’s best friend, Lark, and Rowan’s older brother, Lachlan, who is a serial killer and contract killer, respectively. Interesting group of people. I have to wonder if everyone they know is a killer. I am starting to think so. Anyhoo, Lachlan and Lark get married in an attempt to save their brother and friend. You see, Lark’s family is into organized crime, and someone is targeting their business, and they think it’s Lachlan. In true Mob fashion, they have no problem targeting his family. So they get married. Lark’s family wouldn’t dare go after her husband. Kind of slim reasoning, but however to get the plot rolling. This book was fine. Lark is a fun character. It’s not as focused on murder as the first book, but there are some fun death scenes. I liked Butcher and Blackbird better. It was just easier to get into. It wasn’t that this book was slow, but I wasn’t as interested in Lachlan and Lark as I was in Rowan and Sloane. I think it’s because I didn’t really find Lachlan all that interesting. He fits the noble hero role, who will do what it takes to protect his family, even if that means committing murder for hire. Lark is similar in that regard. It is her idea that they get married to protect Sloane and Rowan. Not a bad book by any means, but not as exciting as the first.

Review: Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

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People online were not kidding when they said the show is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book. As I was reading it, I was seeing the scene play out in the show, and it was still great. The advantage that books have over shows or movies is that they can go deeper into characters’ thoughts. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Shane’s own personal homophobia from Hudson Williams’ performance in the show, but in the book, I truly got the depths of it and the true fear of being gay and what they would mean not just for his career but for him personally. For all the bravado and torment that Connor Storrie brought to Ilya in the show, in the book, we really see how deeply he feels unworthy of Shane’s love. There wasn’t a lot that was left out from the show, and while it would have been interesting, it didn’t take away from the story. The book was enjoyable to read. I finished it in three days. It had the same heart, yearning, and laughs I got from the show. Showrunner Jacob Tierney said that he approaches writing the show by staying true to the spirit of the books, and he did. There is a reason that people loved the books to begin with, and there was an interest to turn it into a show, so why mess with that? I am really looking forward to reading the sequel in a couple of months when it becomes available from my library. Knowing what I know so far, it isn’t going to be the light-hearted romance this one was.

Quick Review: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

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How far would you go to get a recommendation letter? Alice Law would go to Hell and back. So would Peter. Both Alice and Peter are post-grad students whose professor and advisor died. He’s the best in the field, and a recommendation letter from him would guarantee any job they want. But he’s dead, and they only have to traverse hell to get it. They take a Dante-inspired trip to try to find their professor. They don’t know which level he must be on, so they have to go through them one by one. As they go through, we learn more about both of them and their professor, and sadly, he is exactly the type of person you would expect him to be. The story is mostly narrated by Alice. She has always been the best in her class until she came to Cambridge. She meets Peter, who is the golden boy. I like that we don’t shy away from her morally gray personality. She does some questionable things to get what she wants, but she is not a bad person. Like most women, she has to navigate a male-dominated world. Does that excuse her of some of what she does, or at least tries to do? In the end, she gets the catharsis she needs, and while we don’t know what will happen to her in the future. She is definitely in a better headspace than she was at the beginning of the book. I generally enjoyed this book. It did take a while to get into it, but once I did, it was a fast read. I am sure that a lot of people in academia will identify with her struggles but for me, it was just entertaining. ,

What I’m Listening to Now: Leather and Lark by Brynne Weaver Read by: Samantha Brentmoor and Eric Nolan

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I have been on the waiting list for 4 books for months, and now they have all become available in the past two weeks. So I have to double up on my books. I am almost done with Katabasis, and I started reading Leather and Lark during work yesterday. (a benefit of working from home). I don’t think I could have picked two different books to read at once.