Back to the World of From Blood and Ash. This is the 1st book in the prequel series Poppy’s grandparents. The Primal of Death and his consort. So far, it’s kinda of a retread of the first book but I’ll give it a chance.
Sarah J Maas is known for her fantasy writing. This series has all the twist and turns of her other series but with a more modern twist. I guess you can say it’s a mix of high fantasy and contemporary urban fiction.
I’ve restarted this twice since October. Maybe now I can finish it!
I would like to say that this means that the dry spell is over and that you’ll be reading more reviews from me going forward but I make no promises. We’re taking things one book at a time this year. Gentle reader, what should I pick up next?
I do really love Poppy. I love her curious nature and her willingness to put others first despite everything she’s been through. I’m not sure how I feel about Hawke, though. He’s great but there are also some red flags there. So I guess our typically YA love interest.
I am sucker for this type of fantasy books.
What happens to the heroes after they have vanquished the big bad and save the world? The 5 chosen ones were teenagers when they were chosen to fight the Dark One. 10 years later after the final battle and they still are fighting demons but this time it’s their own. Everyone else has moved on but why can’t they? I really like this premise so I’m super stoked to read it.
I received The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman at a White Elephant book exchange (everyone masked and vaxxed) with my book group! So far I have read a page.
I HAVE READ A PAGE OF A BOOK! A BOOK I AM READING FOR FUN!
This shouldn’t be a big deal, and yet here we are. Welcome to 2022, everyone!
Inspired to reread this book after listening to the Bad Women podcast. I do hope that Maureen Johnson is able to finish this series some day. I really love this series and it’s a shame that we don’t know what happens to Rory, Stephen and the rest of the Shades of London.
I feel bad making this post because I don’t think I reviewed anything in 2021. And I barely read anything. I just haven’t had the bandwidth for books. Maybe it is that I need to really focus and put down my phone more because social media has broken my brain. or maybe it is the pandemic. Perhaps it is that I work in an industry where the bulk of the employees, myself included, are on varying lengths of short-term contracts and I am never not looking for my next job. Meh. I don’t know. So, I don’t think I finished five books this year. I have listened to a fair number of podcasts that have inspired my reading, so here are my faves from this year, as thin on the ground as they are.
In April, I listened to Jamie Loftus’s Lolita podcast. I think Vladimir Nabokov is a thoughtful and adept writer and his controversial classic, Lolita, falls into my favorite genre of horror, where the absolutely horrifying thing is presented as normal or even desirable. (Dolores Haze is twelve years old when the book begins. Twelve.) So, I was interested in the podcast and found the added context and the number of different ways of approaching the material presented interesting. Following the podcast, I listened to the memoir Being Lolita by Alisson Wood. This is also a thoughtfully presented, if uncomfortable, narrative about an inappropriate relationship between a high school student and a teacher.
Most weekdays I start my day with a series of news podcasts and some music. Spotify makes a couple of lists. What a Day from Crooked Media is often on the list. I like Gideon Resnick and I love former co-host, Akilah Hughes. The new co-hosts Josie Duffy Rice, Tre’vell Anderson, and Priyanka Aribindi have big shoes to fill, but they’re doing a good job. More than once this year they interviewed Stacey Abrams. I already knew she wrote romance novels, but through these interviews, I found out her first thriller was released this year. It’s called When Justice Sleeps and a big part of the story is about what we do when a supreme court justice is incapacitated but not dead. The founding fathers did not anticipate a world in which there were living wills and life support. I don’t read a lot of thrillers, but this was a lot of fun. I do recommend it.
I read a book that incorporated the lore surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. It was okay, I guess. I don’t actually remember a lot about it. How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather. The book trailer is here. It wasn’t a bad read around Halloween. I started Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, but I haven’t finished it. I will, though. If I can get back to it. I’m also listening to the Ripper podcast and I would like to read the book The Five by Hallie Rubenhold but I haven’t gotten to it yet. I know I’ve listened to a few romance novels on various road trips but… I can’t remember which ones or what they were about. Except romance. Obviously.
This year has been a lot. Last year was a lot. Next year one of my goals is to get back to listening to audiobooks while I cook. If you have suggestions, I am all ears! What have your favorites (in particular non-fiction) been?
2 Women, So Many Books 