Bookish Academy Awards 2016

The Oscars were on Sunday. I don't watch them. I go on the Internet the next day and look at all the pretty dresses, but I don't actually watch the Oscars. Regardless, I like the history of the awards, and I love movies. Not in the same way I love books, but I can appreciate beautiful cinematography with the best of them, as well as witty dialogue and beautiful costumes. And, well, I'm a sucker for musicals. Anyway, this isn't really a tag, but I thought I would host my own Bookish Academy Awards here on Bookworm Basics. This was created by Little Book Owl. I changed some of the categories to fit me, so I'll put a little asterisk next to the ones I changed. To make things simple, I will only use books I read in the year of 2016, hence the "2016" in the title. Maybe I'll do this yearly.

And so, here is: The First Annual Bookish Academy Awards here at Bookworm Basics!

Best Actor: Cameron Wolfe (Underdogs)
(Best Male Protagonist)
I love Cameron Wolfe from Underdogs by Markus Zusak. There's just something about this boy that went straight to my heart. Zusak has the most lovable main characters I've ever read, and Cameron Wolfe is no exception. 
Also in the running were: 
Alexei Kalugin (The Tsar of Love and Techno)
Aaron Rowe (The Dead I Know)
Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom)
Count Alexander Rostov (A Gentleman in Moscow)

Best Actress: Citra Terranova (Scythe)
(Best Female Protagonist)
Neal Shusterman knows how to write female characters better than most female authors do. I loved Citra; she reminded me of a female version of Connor Lassiter. She was smart and funny and utterly badass. Hands down my favorite female protagonist of the year.
Also in the running:
Kady Grant (Illuminae)
Inej Ghafa (Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom)
Joana Vilkas (Salt to the Sea)
Sadie Kingston (The Lies About Truth)

Best Cinematography: The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra
(Best Writing)*
Here's another one I changed because I couldn't for the life of me figure out a book with a good plot twist. So I went with best writing because it fit better and also because I loved this book so much it needed acknowledgement. If you haven't read this book it comes highly recommended.

Best Costume Design: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
(Best Book Cover)
I feel like Six of Crows is that movie that everyone loves and expects to clean up but only ends up winning like one or two awards-and one of the awards is Costume Design. I say this because at least something from Six of Crows always came up whenever I thought about any of these categories, but there was always just another book that did it better. But this book is well deserving of best book cover. Everything about it is just beautiful, and I gasped out loud when opening the Amazon box it came in for the first time. Definitely a winner.
Other contenders include:
Glitter (Aprilynne Pike)
Illuminae (Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff)
Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo)
The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

Best Supporting Actor and Actress: Jesper Fahey (Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom) and Ella Malikova (Gemina)
(Best Male and Female Sidekick)
One boy and one girl for this one. Jesper because I love him, and Ella because she's such a badass.
Other contestants:
Earl Jackson (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)
Genya Safin (The Grisha Trilogy)
Ruben Wolfe (The Underdogs)
Ruth (Never Let Me Go)
Scythe Faraday (Scythe)
Mona (The Memory of Light)
AIDEN (Illuminae)
Mel Mitchell (The Rest of Us Just Live Here)

Best Original Screenplay: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
(Most Unique Plot)
I just put down the first book I could think of, because it was wholly unique and honestly, I can't think of any other book to fit this category.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
(Best Play)*
I wasn't sure what to say for this one because I only watched like one movie adaptation in the year of 2016 and it kind of sucked (it was A Walk in the Woods, if you're curious). So I changed it to best play, even though I only ever read one play. However, it was a damn good one, so I decided to honor it with this award. I'm sure the estate of Arthur Miller is greatly honored.

Best Animated Feature: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
(Best Graphic Novel)*
I read two graphic novels last year and that was enough for me. This was one of them. As someone who has a sister, I liked it just fine.

Best Director: Anthony Marra
(A writer you discovered for the first time)
For an author I didn't discover until December, he sure shot up my list of favorites. His writing style is perfect, and he is honestly now an auto buy. His work is perfection.
Other possible choices include:
Amor Towles
Leigh Bardugo
Courtney C Stevens
AS King

Best Visual Effects: The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
(Best Action in a Book)
Yeah, I didn't know what to say for this one, but I liked the magic system in this trilogy, so I guess that counts for action?

Best Musical Score: TS Eliot
(Best Poet)*
Another one I didn't know what to say for! Because again, I don't watch movies based off books. So I went with best poet, because this year was the year I discovered the work of TS Eliot, who is now probably my favorite poet. Hollow Men is my favorite poem of his, I think. And since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, I think my choice is appropriate. 

Best Short Film: The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner
(Best Novella or Short Book)
I really loved this book. It's an obscure Aussie book, so it's kind of unknown, but damn Aussie authors know how to write! I've only ever come across one Australian author who hasn't worked for me.
Other possible candidates were:
Anna and the Swallow Man (Gavriel Savit)
The Last Execution (Jesper Wung-Sung)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (Neil Gaiman)
Shackled (Tom Leveen)

Best Picture: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
(Best Stand-Alone)
The reason I chose this book should be obvious. It was beautiful and bleak and heartbreaking and highly, highly recommended.

Best Documentary: Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
(Best Non-Fiction)
I love nonfiction, but haven't read much this year. This book was great. Seriously the most punk rock book I've ever read. Highly recommended, but viewer discretion is advised.

So what are some of your choices for these categories? Do you agree? Disagree? Talk to me!

The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“You don't have time to chitty-chat with loose women. We have work to do. And you have to save humanity. That's a lot of shit to get done.”- The House of Tomorrow, Peter Bognanni

Sebastian Prendergast lives in a geodesic dome with his eccentric grandmother, who homeschooled him in the teachings of futurist philosopher R. Buckminster Fuller. But when his grandmother has a stroke, Sebastian is forced to leave the dome and make his own way in town.

Jared Whitcomb is a chain-smoking sixteen-year-old heart-transplant recipient who befriends Sebastian, and begins to teach him about all the things he has been missing, including grape soda, girls, and Sid Vicious. They form a punk band called The Rash, and it's clear that the upcoming Methodist Church talent show has never seen the likes of them. Wholly original, The House of Tomorrow is the story of a young man's self-discovery, a dying woman's last wish, and a band of misfits trying desperately to be heard. 

Last year, one of my favorite nonfiction books was called Please Kill Me, an oral history about the punk movement. Highly recommended, especially since it focused mainly on the New York punk scene (after all, contrary to popular belief that's where punk originated). The punk of the 70s was dramatically different than the punk of today. It was loud and offensive and didn't give a damn whether or not you thought it was loud and offensive. There was always at least one member of each band who was a Neo-Nazi. My mother was a big Ramones fan back in the day, often seeing them at Toad's Place in New Haven, and I grew up listening to punk music. Needless to say, I have a certain fondness towards the movement.

I love the title of this book; it makes me think of some punk music venue. I also find the cover of the paperback more attractive than the hardcover, because it makes me think of The Sex Pistols. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's move on with the actual review.

Going into this novel, I had some pretty set expectations. I figured that I would hate Sebastian, that he would be written like your typical John Greenish hero- kind of like the titular character of Scott Stambach's The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko. I was wrong. Sebastian was far more compassionate and less annoying than those types of protagonists. He was sweeter; his intelligence and almost naivety didn't make him judgmental or pretentious. I could actually root for him, and when he made a mistake or said something that could be offensive he didn't just fall back on an
ambiguous disorder, he apologized and asked what he did wrong so he couldn't do it again. It was so much easier to like him than it was for me to like Ivan or Hazel (a rare female example), for instance. 

However, Sebastian, I felt, was the only really developed character, in my opinion. The other characters had hints of development, but they weren't that deep. Sure, I could tell that Bognanni was trying to have well-rounded characters, but he kind of fell flat, if you will pardon the pun. All the characters in this novel were interesting, but ultimately underdeveloped. Apart from Sebastian, the deepest characters are probably Nana and Janice Whitcomb, the only two adult characters, which I'm guessing is probably because Bognanni is more comfortable with adult characters than with teenager ones. 

Regardless, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. There wasn't as much music as I wanted there to be, but I still had so much fun reading this. It was an interesting and even unique take on how much power music can hold, with very little sugarcoating. Music isn't shown to be a savior, per say, but it does help these characters immensely through their struggles. The writing was very good, it felt like it was from the 90s. Some of Jared's lines had me laughing, too. I can't quite describe the feeling I had while reading this book, but it was not unpleasant. The closest word I could think of would be nostalgic, though I can't tell you what for. I think your enjoyment of the novel might be impacted about what your expectations were going in, and I agree with the Goodreads user who said that as a YA novel this is one of the best, but as an adult novel it's just okay. It's one of those books that could honestly go either way. Personally, as a YA novel I loved it, and as an adult novel I was underwhelmed.

Overall, I'm happy I picked The House of Tomorrow up. Not really much I can say about this book, other than it was worth my time. If you like punk music, or just music in general, I'm sure you'd really like it, too. I highly recommend it in that case.

8 out of 10

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen- Series Thoughts

This series, if you don't know, takes place in New York in the summer of 1929, the last year of the Jazz Age, just a few months before the infamous Black Thursday. We have Astrid Donal, a flapper who is engaged to Charlie Grey, a bootlegger, Cordelia Grey, the half sister of Charlie Grey, who goes to New York to find her father, only to discover he's an infamous bootlegger, and Letty Larkspur, the best friend of Cordelia who runs to New York to become a star. 

I had a lot of fun with these books. I love the Jazz Age, and enjoyed getting lost in the world of these girls, as they try and make it through this last summer before the 30s hit and the world was plunged into recession. Most of my critiques surrounding Godbersen's writing have already been touched upon in my reviews, so I won't mention it too much. My consistently favorite character was probably Astrid, followed by Letty. I mentioned in my The Lucky Ones review that I disliked Cordelia the most because her parts sound like they could be interesting, but end up disappointing as the series continues on and we get more love than bootlegging action.

My favorite book was probably the first one, Bright Young Things, and my least favorite book was by far The Lucky Ones. The ending was a disappointment, as you could read about in my review for The Lucky Ones. The best part about these books were by far the opening scenes (or, in the case of The Lucky Ones, the closing scene), where Godbersen takes on this Fitzgerald-esque writing style, and really it's just beautiful. Overall, I highly recommend this series for a little Jazz Age fun. Already, I'm seeking out a series to fill the hole in my life Bright Young Things has left.

Bright Young Things: 8 out of 10

Beautiful Days: 8 out of 10

The Lucky Ones: 7.5 out of 10

Overall Series Rating: 7.5-8 out of 10

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“Won’t we be quite the pair?—you with your bad heart, me with my bad head. Together, though, we might have something worthwhile.”- Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler 

When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen years old and he is a young army lieutenant stationed in Alabama. Before long, the "ungettable" Zelda has fallen for him despite his unsuitability: Scott isn't wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner, and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. Her father is deeply unimpressed. But after Scott sells his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to Scribner's, Zelda optimistically boards a train north, to marry him in the vestry of St. Patrick's Cathedral and take the rest as it comes.

What comes, here at the dawn of the Jazz Age, is unimagined attention and success and celebrity that will make Scott and Zelda legends in their own time. Everyone wants to meet the dashing young author of the scandalous novel—and his witty, perhaps even more scandalous wife. Zelda bobs her hair, adopts daring new fashions, and revels in this wild new world. Each place they go becomes a playground: New York City, Long Island, Hollywood, Paris, and the French Riviera—where they join the endless party of the glamorous, sometimes doomed Lost Generation that includes Ernest Hemingway, Sara and Gerald Murphy, and Gertrude Stein.

Everything seems new and possible. Troubles, at first, seem to fade like morning mist. But not even Jay Gatsby's parties go on forever. Who is Zelda, other than the wife of a famous—sometimes infamous—husband? How can she forge her own identity while fighting her demons and Scott's, too? With brilliant insight and imagination, Therese Anne Fowler brings us Zelda's irresistible story as she herself might have told it.

I'm a little obsessed with the 1920s, and especially the Fitzgeralds. Also, I wanted to watch the show, so I figured I should give this novel a shot. Going in to this novel, I had high hopes, excited for the chance to spend a few light hours reading about this couple whose toxic relationship maybe have very well been the death of them. 

My first problem with the text was apparent straight off. Zelda's narrative. I think third person or omniscient would have been a better choice for this novel, relieving Fowler of the pressure to have to mimic the voice and thought process of someone as complex as Zelda. And the first half was so dreadfully boring. I found my mind wandering often whenever I tried to read it, and the anachronisms of the dialogue made me feel like I had an itch on my back right where I couldn't get at it. Both Zelda and Scott didn't feel like themselves for some reason. Both seemed dumbed down, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why until I went on Goodreads to read the reviews. The word "whitewashed" appeared in quite a few, and I agree that it fits this book perfectly. Zelda's portrayal in this reminds me of Tarnish's portrayal of Anne Boleyn. Both books changed their interesting, complex, historical women into sanitized versions of themselves, declawing them so they could seem like victims of the patriarchy instead of who they really were. Zelda didn't need that any more than Anne did. I mean, this is the same chick who accused Scott and Hemingway (Hemingway!) of having a homosexual affair together.

Another problem I had with this was that Scott got blamed for Zelda's mental state, or lack thereof. Her insanity was not Scott's fault anymore than his drinking was hers. From my reading and own research into Scott and Zelda's relationship, I came to the conclusion that they had a twisted, toxic relationship. Both were at fault, Zelda was not the sole victim and Scott was not the sole abuser. In my opinion, they were perfect for each other- both selfish, immature, and narcissistic children who may have been creative geniuses (or at least Scott, I've never read anything by Zelda, but it's hard to argue against his genius, even if you don't like his personality), but were absolutely horrible to each other.

I couldn't finish this book, I'm sorry. I got so annoyed with Fowler's portrayal of their relationship and felt pity for Zelda herself to be forced into this victim box. What I want is for a book to have an honest portrayal of fascinating women in history- women like Zelda or Anne- without the author feeling the need to look at them through a feminist lense, where everything that happens to them, and anything even remotely bad they do, is all because of the men in their life. All that does it take away their personality. And that makes me sad. 

3.5 out of 10(DNF)

Wow, my first DNF of the year! I'd like to thank the Academy, and also Therese Anne Fowler, and also Violet wells, whose review of this book I highly encourage you to check out.

Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“I’m a Russian. Without the Motherland, I’d be nothing.”- Sashenka, Simon Sebag Montefiore

Winter, 1916: In St Petersburg, Russia on the brink of revolution. Outside the Smolny Institute for Noble Young Ladies, an English governess is waiting for her young charge to be released from school. But so are the Tsar’s secret police… Beautiful and headstrong, Sashenka Zeitlin is just sixteen. As her mother parties with Rasputin and her dissolute friends, Sashenka slips into the frozen night to play her part in a dangerous game of conspiracy and seduction. Twenty years on, Sashenka has a powerful husband with whom she has two children. Around her people are disappearing, but her own family is safe. But she's about to embark on a forbidden love affair which will have devastating consequences. Sashenka's story lies hidden for half a century, until a young historian goes deep into Stalin's private archives and uncovers a heart-breaking tale of passion and betrayal, savage cruelty and unexpected heroism - and one woman forced to make an unbearable choice.

When looking at my February TBR, I realized I only had one book about Eastern Europe on the list. I needed to rectify that immediately. So I picked up Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore because I recognized the name, having read One Night in Winter back in January. Prior to that, I recognized him as the author of several works about Russian history, particularly the Stalinist era and, most recently, the history of the Romanovs. 

My first impressions were as follows: ugly cover, intimidating. The thing's a little over 500 pages, but looks so much bigger. It took me a little while to get into it; the writing was rough at first, the author very obviously being more used to writing nonfiction than novels. But we are tossed right into the action, and introduced right away to Sashenka, a girl who apparently has "too big a bosom" and an "over wide mouth". I suppose having a huge bosom may be a problem to some, but I am not blessed with that particular issue so I can't comment on it. She's a young communist, apparently, having been converted by her Uncle Mendel. I found the first part to this book probably the most engrossing. The utterly unsugarcoated portrayal of the Russian Court in its final years was fascinating. Montefiore has no qualms about going into the debauchery of the court. 

The tragedy of 20th century Russia is shown well in Sashenka. The country went from drug-abusing, swinging, influence-peddling Imperial Russia ruled by an incompetent monarch to Stalinist Russia, with torture, censorship, and complete government oppression. Montefiore shows both these by showing the nightlife of Sashenka's mother, Ariadna, and later, scenes where they show Sashenka being interrogated by the KGB. This is just an observation, but I've noticed that male authors are more apt to focus and go into detail about the actual mechanics of sex and things like torture or the nitty-gritty, hard to think about things than female authors. That's not necessarily a judgement, again, just an observation. I say this because it is made really obvious in this book. It takes a lot to shock me, but one of the things that really hit me hard was Benya Golden's description of the horrors at the Orphanage for Children of Soviet Traitors (or something along those lines). Another strength I found was that this book was really well researched.

However, I did think that the third part was completely unnecessary. I would have been just fine without discovering what happened to Sashenka and her children. Maybe it's because I had a hard time caring. I did like certain characters, like Satinov (probably because I remembered him from One Night in Winter) and her uncle, but characters and character development is definitely not Montefiore's strong point.

I think I feel the same way about this book as I did about One Night in Winter. Good, but not excellent. I didn't love those books the way I loved Anthony Marra's work or Darragh McKeon's All That is Solid Melts into Air. Perhaps his writing translates better to nonfiction, but if you want an engrossing tale about Russian history mostly throughout the turbulent first half of the 20th century, I would recommend picking up this book.

7.5 of out 10

Envy by Anna Godbersen Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“He was a mystery to her, and every time she tried to solve him it caused her a little more pain. But when she tired to give him up he pursued her in her thoughts, stronger each time.”- Envy, Anna Godbersen

Jealous whispers. Old rivalries. New betrayals.

Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. However, when she refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, those watching New York's favorite family begin to whisper that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No. 17 Gramercy Park.

In this thrilling installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Beauty. Happiness. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets. . . .

I was a lot more excited to get into this book than I was to get into Rumors, but since Rumors pleasantly surprised me I started to look at the series with fresh eyes. Sadly, a whole lotta nothing happened in this book.

Basically, in this book, Elizabeth, Diana, Henry, Penelope, and Carolina all go to Florida, along with Teddy Cutting, Leland Broucard, and Penelope's brother Grayson. And nothing happens. Well, relationship drama happens, but we don't care about that do we? Elizabeth mopes over Will- normally I would feel for her, but because I didn't like Will I got annoyed with her quickly- and the constant will-they-or-won't-they with Henry and Diana got old real fast. I didn't like Penelope or Carolina, but as characters they had far more interesting storylines so I felt as if I could get into their parts more. As a whole, Envy suffered horribly from Middle Book Syndrome. I usually find the third book in quartets to get this the most, and this book was no exception. I think it's because The Luxe kind of functioned as a prequel, and then Rumors acted like the real first book, leaving Envy as the middle book had it been a trilogy.

This book didn't pick up until they got out of Florida, in like the last 100 pages. And then everything happened at once. Both Henry and Teddy joined the army, and I applaud Teddy's decision for it, though I'm a bit suspicious of Henry's. Seriously, though, the last 50 pages are absolutely insane. Especially Elizabeth's parts. Godbersen crammed a whole book's worth of action in like 25 pages. Also, poor Mr Longhorn. Just, poor Mr Longhorn. I actually liked him.

The writing had picked up, though. I liked the transitions between the clothing descriptions (which were fabulous) and the action. Henry's parts were the funniest, and they actually made me laugh out loud at times. I do wonder if Anna Godbersen only has a set amount of different adjectives she could use in each book, because that's her biggest flaw writing-wise. Small frame, wild curls, and bee-stung lips are among the descriptions used several times by her, typically to describe the same character. Also, I don't really get what's so great about Diana. All the guys lust over her, but she just seems kind of generic? I don't know.

So this book wasn't the best in the series. I mean, it was still better than the first book, probably because the ending saved it. The ending is one of the reasons why I'm compelled to pick up the last book. That's how Godbersen hooks you, I think.

6.5-7 out of 10

The Lucky Ones by Anna Godbersen Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“It's our secret.”- The Lucky Ones, Anna Godbersen

In 1929, the Bright Young Things escape Manhattan's heat for the lush lawns and sparkling bays of White Cove, looking for leisure, love, and luck.

New York City's latest It Girl, Cordelia Grey, is flying high with celebrity pilot Max Darby. But Max is a private person with a reputation to uphold—and a secret to hide. A public romance with a bootlegger's daughter could cost him more than just his good name. . . .

Aspiring triple threat Letty Larkspur has finally gotten her big break, but will her talent—and special bond with the married silver-screen star Valentine O'Dell—make her a target in the cutthroat world of Hollywood? Perhaps the ingenue knows how to play the leading lady after all.

Newly married to her longtime sweetheart, socialite Astrid Donal finds herself spending more time with one of her husband's henchmen than with him. With so many secrets between man and wife, is the honeymoon already coming to an end?

As summer reaches its hottest peak, these sun-kissed girls will find out if their luck can last . . . or if dark surprises are on the horizon.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes the riveting conclusion to the one summer these Bright Young Things will never forget.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are at our first series ender of the year. This series has been a ton of fun, and I'm a bit sad it's over. 

This was my least favorite cover of all of them. I feel like this cover was when whoever made the covers just decided to stop trying. I mean, long hair? Really? Sadly, my thoughts on the cover reflect my thoughts on this book as a whole, since this book was definitely my least favorite book of the series.

This was when the plot fell into ridiculousness (as if the first two books weren't, though). I feel like so many of the characters and the character relations we had been building for the last two books just fell apart. I liked Astrid and Charlie, I didn't like Victor- to me, he just kind of swooped in as the love interest. Astrid and Charlie worked in their own strange way. They kind of reminded me of Daisy and Tom, even though I never liked Daisy and Tom together. My feelings towards Letty and Valentine were the same; I thought Valentine just kind of swooped in there. I was actually happy with how that love story turned out, because I adore Grady. Max and Cordelia were hands down my least favorite, though. I found myself skimming through so much of her parts, because I didn't give a damn about either of those two. Probably because I preferred her and Thom, since I'm a sucker for those Romeo and Juliet stories. They spent the entire book swanning around each other, and there was little to no fun bootlegger action.

And I love me some bootleggers. The best parts of these books were those parts. They were action packed and utterly unputdownable. There was some other good in this book, like Godbersen's ear for authentic-sounding dialogue. And the fact that the paparazzi reporter's name was Mr Carrion. And the clothing porn, though there's not as many here as there usually is in her work. And Astrid. I loved Astrid. She's as dumb as a post, but ended up being my favorite character, with Letty next and Cordelia last. I would have liked Cordelia more, but she had the most ridiculous storyline and also the most wasted potential. Seriously, she was given her own speakeasy to run and almost all her chapters were dedicated to romantic drama. I don't even need to tell you how disappointing that is to me.

I noticed a ton of flaws in Godbersen's writing, too. While she does have a good ear for authenticness, and I noticed very few anachronisms, she does have a heavy hand when it comes to writing characters who we aren't supposed to like. Every character who we shouldn't like is a nativist, isolationist, supporter of the Prohibition, and Godbersen ignores the (valid) reasons why people in the 1920s supported these movements. People, women especially, were for temperance because of the problems with alcoholism. I mean, if you're a woman who gets beaten every night because her husband is a drunk, and you've finally got the right to vote, the first thing you're probably going to vote for is for the ratification of the 18th Amendment. And nativists and isolationists were against immigration and American interventionism likely because of the horrors of WWI. I don't necessarily agree with either of those thoughts, but they weren't evil because they believed those things.

The only thing I will mention about the ending was that it was a disappointment. I mean, it was very prettily written, there were some nice quotes I could pull, and I like who the narrator turned out to be, since I liked that character, but other than that, just disappointing. Like this book. I also got the characters right for the "one was married, one was famous, and one was dead" thing, so that was another good thing, I guess.

My thoughts on the series as a whole will be up soonish, as soon as I finish writing the rest of my vacation book reviews. But I will say this for right now, I'm happy I read this series. Now, on to finish The Luxe!

7.5 out of 10

Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“You have this trait... of looking for the mysterious and letting yourself be overcome.”- Wolf Winter, Cecilia Ekbäck 

‘Wolf winter,’ she said, her voice small. ‘I wanted to ask about it. You know, what it is.’
He was silent for a long time. ‘It’s the kind of winter that will remind us we are mortal,’ he said. ‘Mortal and alone.’ 

Swedish Lapland, 1717. Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea arrive from their native Finland, hoping to forget the traumas of their past and put down new roots in this harsh but beautiful land. Above them looms Blackåsen, a mountain whose foreboding presence looms over the valley and whose dark history seems to haunt the lives of those who live in its shadow.

While herding the family’s goats on the mountain, Frederika happens upon the mutilated body of one of their neighbors, Eriksson. The death is dismissed as a wolf attack, but Maija feels certain that the wounds could only have been inflicted by another man. Compelled to investigate despite her neighbors’ strange disinterest in the death and the fate of Eriksson’s widow, Maija is drawn into the dark history of tragedies and betrayals that have taken place on Blackåsen. Young Frederika finds herself pulled towards the mountain as well, feeling something none of the adults around her seem to notice.

As the seasons change, and the “wolf winter,” the harshest winter in memory, descends upon the settlers, Paavo travels to find work, and Maija finds herself struggling for her family’s survival in this land of winter-long darkness. As the snow gathers, the settlers’ secrets are increasingly laid bare. Scarce resources and the never-ending darkness force them to come together, but Maija, not knowing who to trust and who may betray her, is determined to find the answers for herself. Soon, Maija discovers the true cost of survival under the mountain, and what it will take to make it to spring.

I'm a little obsessed with this book. I started and finished it on Saturday, and it's been on my mind ever since then. The setting, the premise, I've just been turning it around over and over in my head. 

This novel is starkly beautiful, and the most atmospheric novel I've read since Hannah Kent's Burial Rites. I discovered this book by reading Goodreads reviews, and stumbled across on reviewer who loved it. Intrigued, I clicked on the book, thought the synopsis sounded interesting, and filed it away for later. This was back in July. Then, a few weeks ago, I heard this title again in reference to Burial Rites, vaguely remembered the title and plot, said what the hell and ordered it. I don't regret it. This book was perfect for a snowy February day in New Hampshire.

The first thing I liked about this book is that we are immediately plunged into the action. This book doesn't have a lengthy preamble while we get to know the characters or get a feel for the setting. No, Wolf Winter forgoes that in favor of getting right to the main mystery. The writing is one of the first things you notice, too. It took me a bit to get myself used to Ekbäck's style, but once I did I found it suited the text perfectly. It's stark, simplistic, and even cold, mirroring the subject matter perfectly. I'm told that this is typical of Scandinavian literature, though I admit that this is my first piece of that particular branch. Unless A Man Called Ove counts, and that book is anything but cold. I first thought it to be choppy, but I'm happy this book was written the way it was. There's no sign of anything purple at all in her writing, which I appreciate. The sentences were poignant, the descriptions simple, but effective in their simplicity. I also enjoyed how this book was set up, with no actual chapters but each heading signifying the different season, with suns equalling summer, leaves equalling autumn, snowflakes for winter (the biggest part of this book), and flowers for spring. I also found myself laughing at times; it's funny in this subtle, dark kind of way.

The word I keep thinking of when I think of adjectives to describe this book is fascinating. The characters, the setting, the plot, all utterly fascinating. I couldn't stop reading because of how engrossed I was by the characters and their lives and the place they all had in common. And the Swedish history, as well as the Sami culture? Wonderful. This book reminded me why I love historical fiction. I read it for the same reason most people read fantasy, because I love getting lost in a different culture and time period. I can't fall in a fantasy world the same way I can fall in another time and place, and I fell hard for this book. 

As the plot got on, I started to get a major Twin Peaks vibe. Which is one of my favorite shows of all time, so I was down, but if you don't really like that kind of stuff, I wouldn't recommend this book. I do have some complaints, too. Nothing is really answered directly, which made some plot points confusing, and the actual mystery had a disappointing resolution. It brought my excitement down just a bit, since I kind of hoped for a more mystical resolution (something you will very rarely hear me say). The twist made sense in plot context, but I wished it was something else.

Other than that, I couldn't put this book down. I wish In the Month of the Midnight Sun was available in my country, so I could pick it up, since I want more of both this story and this setting. Alas, I can only hope it becomes available soon.

8.5-9 out of 10

A List of Cages by Robin Roe Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“Hate ricochets, but kindness does too.”- A List of Cages, Robin Roe

When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian—the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years.

Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He’s still kindhearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what’s really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives…

I picked this book up because I wanted something to break up my reading. Without it, I would have gone directly from reading The Likeness to Wolf Winter, both gorgeously written, atmospheric, and dark adult novels. This functioned as a sort of palate cleanser, so to speak, between the two. Since, to me, the best palate cleansers are contemporary YA- nothing like a little high school drama and teenage issues refresh your brain. Sure, I wonder if I'm not giving this book a fair shot because of that, since I have noticed my ratings for books lower after finishing a couple or even just one really great novel, but in this case I'm pretty sure if I go back and reread I'm going to feel the same way about this book.

I think the biggest problem I have with this book (besides the writing, but I'll get there) is the characters. That is always a problem with me, but especially when the book is meant to be character driven. No, I didn't find Julian to be an adorable little "cinnamon roll" and no, I didn't find Adam to be a loveable and quirky boy next door. In fact, both read far too young to be the age they were. I get why Julian thinks and acts the way he does, but I had serious trouble believing Adam was a senior in high school. It seems like Roe was trying to go for an Antsy Bonano vibe, except it wasn't very successful because Antsy is actually a great character and laugh out loud funny and also like 12. This is because Shusterman has a gift for humor, whereas Roe does not. I feel like I've heard all these jokes before- and they weren't even funny the first time. Every time she tries to mimic one of Shusterman's rambly metaphors or stories that blow up in the end (for lack of a better term) I cringed. Actually, I didn't even cringe, because that would mean she got a reaction out of me. The side characters just fell flat for me as well. There's a glimmer of an interesting villain in Russell, but his actual characterization is just choppy and confusing and makes me think Roe doesn't know what she's doing when it comes to writing villainous characters, Emerald was as flat as cardboard with informed attributes galore, as most cardboard characters do, (also, Emerald? Gag me with a wooden spoon and slap the parents who came up with that one) and bacteria probably have more chemistry than her and Adam do. I was kind of impressed at all the nothing I felt when it came to their relationship. Julian felt like a stereotype- a gifted yet learning disabled kid whose teachers "just don't understand him". Yawn. None of the adults in this novel felt real either, just hollow cliches.

But of course, the writing was awful too. Far too middle grade for my liking, very simplistic, and tons of telling to the point of almost no showing. Every time someone does or acts in a certain way, Roe has one of the characters tell us how that character feels instead of letting the reader figure it out. The dialogue sounded so awkward and unrealistic, as well as the thought processes of the two POV characters- debut awkwardness, perhaps? There was nothing subtle about this novel. Everything was delivered practically with a blow from a sledgehammer to go along with it. Morals and messages everywhere, contrived stories about the boy that beat Julian up in kindergarten but it's okay because he was just a sad person. What a saint his mother was for telling her son that oh so deep and original line. Oh, why do only the good die young? Because of how heavy handed the messages are, I can't take them seriously. In fact, I couldn't take anything in this book seriously. It just read too much like a Disney Channel Original Movie or like one of those movies schools force you to watch during the yearly anti-bullying assembly and then you all talk about your feelings or sing kumbaya or some shit like that. I think at the point where all Adam's friends rally around Julian during his Shakespeare performance was what really cinched it for me. While reading that I couldn't help but think to myself "I'm too cynical for this shit". 

Some nitpicks before I get to the spoiler-y section. Every time I hear homeopathic I cringe. Read some of DocBastard's many, many posts on homeopathic remedies if you want to know how bullshit they are. And Adam's car (by the way, his mother's 37 to his 18? Okay, right). A 1968 Saab delivery van? With an interior that is described as looking a 1950s vision of the future? It's obvious that Roe knows nothing about cars and only gave Adam a vintage car to show how "different" and "quirky" he is. No, even a replaced dashboard still is going to look like a normal car dashboard because it probably won't work otherwise. And the excuse that he drives an old car to save money doesn't fly, because old cars are a shit ton of work no matter what. My father has a 1970 Stingray Corvette in original condition in the garage, doesn't even drive it, and he's still always working on it because with old cars there's always stuff that has to be worked on. It doesn't seem like our man Adam is much of a grease monkey, either.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

Two quick things. Number one: Why would Russell leave the key to the trunk out in the open? Even someone with half a brain would keep it with them at all time. And number two: I'm disgusted at Roe for how she seemed to want to imply that Russell taped Julian getting beaten for child pornography purposes. It seemed just thrown in there as a plot device with a bonus of them being able to give evidence to the court that Julian was beaten (as if the scars aren't enough). The whole child abuse plot seemed like a plot device, too, and that overall just disgusted me. And I don't get disgusted very easily.

MAJOR SPOILER SECTION OVER

Was there some good? Sure. The school nurse scene was the only scene that made me laugh because my mother is a school nurse. I could painfully relate to Julian's hatred of student picked groups, but other than that, I've got nothing. This book was just okay, honestly. In my opinion, Roe should have bumped the ages of both Julian and Adam down to 11 and 13 and set it in a middle school and just made it straight up middle grade. It would have fit much better. I don't know, this book seemed to be one of those "very important books" meant to teach kids the power of friendship and all that jazz, with tons of Goodreads reviews saying that "this book BROKE them" and talking about how "dark" and "nitty-gritty" it is. And then I'm over here, just wondering if maybe, instead of being too cynical for this shit, maybe I'm just too old for it.

5 out of 10

The Likeness by Tana French Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“When you're too close to people, when you spend too much time with them and love them too dearly, sometimes you can't see them”- The Likeness, Tana French

The haunting follow up to the Edgar Award-winning debut In the Woods

Tana French astonished critics and readers alike with her mesmerizing debut novel, In the Woods. Now both French and Detective Cassie Maddox return to unravel a case even more sinister and enigmatic than the first. Six months after the events of In the Woods, an urgent telephone call beckons Cassie to a grisly crime scene. The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used. Suddenly, Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl, but, more importantly, who is this girl?

Sorry about the review gap again. Like I said, I was away, but I got a ton of reading done so there should be lots of reviews coming up soon. But this is the third Tana French book I've read and already, she's become one of my favorite authors. I have been looking for a good, dependable thriller writer for a long time now, and finally found one that probably will become an automatic buy for me. 

I was more or less intimidated going into this book, and if you're at all familiar with her writing you could see why. She's very verbose, especially with her descriptions. They're beautiful, sure, but don't exactly make for quick reads. And this book wasn't a quick read; it was slow, building up to the reveal of whodunnit. While the actual murder happens at the very beginning, that part of the book is mostly reserved for character development as we get to know who we're working with and why we should root for them. In this case, we got to know mostly Cassie Maddox, but also Frank Mackey, Sam O'Neil, and the inhabitants of Whitethorn House- Daniel, Justin, Rafe, and Abby. We also get to know the dead girl, Lexie, but most of what we do know of her is speculation. 

French's characters and character interactions are where she shines as a writer. Her characters are people, each with distinct personality traits. Characters are allowed to have different opinions as the main character and are not made into villains. No informed attributes here, either, if the characters say they are something, then they are. They don't even have to say anything- we get through their actions that Justin is squeamish, for instance, or that Abby is artsy. Mackey is different than Sam who was different from Ryan, and I think that if she had chosen to make this book multiple points of view, each would have been clearly distinguished from the others. I loved especially Cassie, the main character. I loved her passion for history, especially the Whitethorn House. I could relate, as someone who also finds delight in all things old, photographs and houses especially. I also loved Justin, who about broke my heart, along with Rafe (the obvious sexual tension between those two was great, and I wanted more of their story), and Frank and Sam and, honestly, just about everyone. I do miss Rob though, but I love how his absence was worked in. French doesn't just mention it a few times and dismiss it or only bring it up when it's convenient to her character, it's a recurring theme in the book that the events of In the Woods and especially losing Ryan hurt her deeply, and made her so desperately lonely that she fell even harder than she would have into this group of friends in the Whitethorn House. The way she dealt with that was brilliant. It wasn't like when Elliot left in SVU- you know, when Olivia just basically was sad for a day and then never mentioned him again, despite how close they were, until one day when it's convenient for the plot? Yeah, doesn't happen here. I also loved all the characters' senses of humor- while none were really laugh out loud funny, they all still made me giggle or at least snort.

I also absolutely loved the Irish culture and history that was touched upon- a lot actually- in the text. I only know bits and pieces about Irish history, and the parts when French went in detail about the Anglo-Irish families and the resentment that still lingers amongst the Irish of them was fascinating. It made me want to know more about Ireland, and it made me want French to write a historical fiction novel. I will say this, though, the middle dragged on a bit- though the ending completely made up for it. Cassie's life in the Whitethorn House was getting a monotonous, though I suppose that's meant to showcase Cassie falling into this seemingly idyllic world of the House and its occupants, and I am starting to get a feel for the French Formula, if you will (sorry, I have a bit of an affinity for alliteration). Beginning sets up case, middle focuses mostly on the psychological effects the case has on the main character (some of the side characters, too), with a ton of red herrings thrown in with each given a detailed backstory and potential MO, and then the end, where the actual killer is revealed. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Mystery novels are, after all, the most formulaic books you can write, apart from romance novels, and most mystery authors have their own formula that works for them. This is great for me, because sometimes I want an author who I can rely on, whose books take on this comforting path and are still excellent. So let's talk about the ending.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

Honestly, I had Daniel pegged from the start as the man, or if not the actual killer than the ringleader. Honestly, I had the killer from In the Woods pegged from the start too, but in both cases I enjoyed watching it unfold and got really happy when it turned out my instincts were right. Like dancing around in my chair happy. Even though he was an absolutely fascinating character- shame it had the ending it did- his parts honestly kind of bored me. Like when he was going on and on to Cassie about why they had to kill Lexie and oh my God just shut up already. I get that a big part of his character was the fact he goes off on long rants, but still. I do wish his psyche/ thought process was explored a little bit more. I can't even consider the reveal of the killer(s) to be a twist, because it was so well done and obviously what the book was building up to. So many twists just feel so half-assed, or like the author thought that a twist was meant to blindside you completely and make no sense, when in reality there has to be little hints leading up to the Big Reveal. I also loved how each red herring had reasons to kill, as I mentioned before, and even has done things that I wouldn't personally approve of, but they are still not the killer. It's like in Twin Peaks, when both Leo and Ben are potential killers and they have the motive and everything and they're both horrible people, but they didn't do it. As much as we want them to have done it because it makes sense in our minds, it's still not them. I was absolutely glued to the pages during Justin, Rafe, and Abby's tale about what happened the night Lexie died (and really wanted to give Justin a hug). A few other, more minor spoilers to touch on, because really the whole ending was so. Freaking. Good. French made sure to wrap up the mystery of who Lexie really was, probably still feeling the public outcry over In the Woods' unsolved second mystery, which I liked but would have been fine never knowing. I also loved how Sam and Cassie stayed together. I was expecting Cassie to dump him in favor of going back on the Murder Squad, but she didn't! Yay, a couple I like stays together! It's nice that Cassie doesn't have to prove herself as a career-oriented woman by breaking up with Sam. It's nice to know that love doesn't always have to take a backseat, as corny as that sounds.

MAJOR SPOILER SECTION OVER

I needed Faithful Place like yesterday. The fact that it stars Frank Mackey makes me even more excited to get into it. While I loved this book personally, and love this series so far, I will say this. If you don't like verbose descriptions, slow-burning mystery novels, or police procedurals, I wouldn't read these books. These books are not Gillian Flynn thrillers, far from them actually. I, however, happen to love those things, which makes this series absolutely perfect for me.

8.5-9 out of 10