Mt TBR Report: May 2020
Jun. 1st, 2020 08:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calissaI'd hoped May would be the month I'd get Mt TBR back under 400 books. Then my local library reopened. And on the very last day of the month, the voting packet for the Hugo Awards arrived. It looks like I have my work cut out for me over the next couple of months.
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2020: 427
Mt TBR @ 30 April 2020: 408
Mt TBR @ 31 May 2020: 419
65. Benevolent Passion by Amanda Pillar. Paranormal romance. Second in the Heaven's Heart series. A half-demon doctor and slave finds herself treating a grievously injured angel. Seeing past each others' differences isn't hard... but finding their freedom might be. Entertaining enough, but not exactly brilliant.
66. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. YA sci-fi. Second book in the Aurora Cycle. Our misfit squad return to the Hadfield in an attempt to uncover more of Auri's mysterious past. But getting there isn't easy, especially with Kal's murderous sister breathing down their necks. Action-packed, but with some lovely quiet character moments. And damn, watch out for that cliffhanger.
67. A vow set in stone by naye. Guardian fanfic. After spending the night with Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan finds himself dragooned into a ceremonial marriage to a girl from Dixing. A beautiful piece that captures the characters' yearning well. Bonus points for plausibly slotting into the canon.
68. Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan, illustrated by Molly Ostertag. Superhero graphic novel. Alison Green used to be a teenage superhero. After becoming disillusioned with that life, she left to start college. But she still has to live with her superpowers and the past has a way of catching up to one. This was way less explicitly feminist than I'd expected from the title. It also turned out to be way darker than I'd thought, really leaning into some ethical dilemmas. It had some good things to say, but not entirely my cup of tea.
69. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. Contemporary romance. Second in the Kiss Quotient series. Khai's mother returns from Vietnam with a prospective bride for him. This didn't quite live up to the first book in the series. While the growing attraction between Khai and Esme was well written and there was an acceptance of each other's situation (Khai's autism and Esme's child from a previous relationship), I feel like it fell short of a genuine understanding.
70. Hunted by Meagan Spooner. YA fantasy, fairytale retelling. Brought up to hunt in the forests, Yeva has never quite fit in at court. So, when her father loses his fortune and the family is forced to return to their cabin in the woods, Yeva is secretly relieved. Until her father goes missing. It is up to Yeva to find him and bring him home... or avenge his death. It was a good move to make the Beauty character into a hunter in her own right. Her growing relationship with the Beast was also well-handled. The explicit magic in the book surprised me a little--its companion novel, Sherwood, lacks any. But it suited this story. Unfortunately, the female narrator on the audio book rather struggled with the deep male voices.
71. The Girlfriend's Guide to Gods by Maria Dahvana Headley. Gods won’t save you. Gods will break you. Nevertheless, you will persist, and become anew. A spiky story examining the disastrous relationships of a lifetime and how they have forged strength. Told in second person with the author's distinct style. One of the better short stories I've read this year.
72. St Valentine, St Abigail, St Brigid by C.L. Polk. All magical requests come with a price. A girl with witchcraft, no friends, and only her mother’s bees to confide in will pay whatever’s necessary to keep the girl she loves safe. An evocative story with strong relationships between the characters, though I was a touch ambivalent on the ending.
73. The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee. Book club pick. Middle-grade portal fantasy. When his cousin Susan is kidnapped and taken to another world, Nick sets off to rescue her. Way too plot driven and not enough character development.
74. Beastly by Alex Flinn. YA urban fantasy, fairytale retelling. After angering the witch in his English class, handsome Kyle Kingsbury founds himself under a curse. Apparently, I was on a Beauty and the Beast kick this month. The movie adaption of this book is one of my trashy comfort watches, but the two are rather different. While Kyle has a stronger character arc in the book, I felt it came somewhat at Lindy's expense. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I liked the online support group for cursed teenagers.
75. Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer. Fantasy short story. Upon setting up her Little Free Library, Meigan develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious book borrower. A cute idea, but I felt it lacked tension.
76. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling. MG fantasy. Reread. I snagged the audio copy for free and found it delightfully narrated by Stephen Fry. The only thing stopping me from picking up the sequels is a desire not to hand any further money to its bigoted author.
77. The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Book club pick. YA fantasy. In order to save her young brother from an energy vampire, Laura must team up with the only witch she knows--an older boy attending her school. Beautifully written, with an eye for detail and a real sense of New Zealand in the eighties. The characters are well observed, being flawed but sympathetic (for the most part). The age difference makes the teenage romance a bit uncomfortable in places, but the ending is handled well.
78. Year of Yes: how to dance it out, stand in the sun and be your own person by Shonda Rimes. Memoir. A passing comment from her sister leads a successful TV producer to re-evaluate her life. I listened to this on audio and it was a good choice because the author reads with such flare, confidence and humour.
79. The Red by Tiffany Reisz. Erotica. First in The Red series. Reread.
80. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Fantasy. When a postgrad student in computer game narrative finds a mysterious book in the university library, he finds himself caught up in a battle to save a strange and magical refuge. The Night Circus is a favourite book of mine, so I was a little bit apprehensive going into this. But I need not have worried. It had a similar dreamy feeling, a great mixture of the ordinary and fantastic. I also liked the inclusion of a queer romantic plotline.
81. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Science fantasy. 2020 Hugo Award nominee. When the Emperor calls the heirs of the nine houses to a trial of necromantic skills, Gideon finds herself dragooned into serving as a cavalier to her most hated enemy: the head of her house. This was another book where I was a bit dubious this would live up to the hype, but while I knew it was something akin to lesbian Warhammer, no one told me it was actually a manor house murder mystery in disguise. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Beastly by Alex Flinn
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan, illustrated by Molly Ostertag
Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles
Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes
Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman
Mind Over Mood by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky
Golden in Death by J.D. Robb
Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire
A Field Guide to Australian Fungi by Bruce Fuhrer
Planetfall by Emma Newman
The Pure State of Nature by David Horton
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E. Harrow
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark
Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher
Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Mt TBR Status
Mt TBR @ 1 January 2020: 427
Mt TBR @ 30 April 2020: 408
Mt TBR @ 31 May 2020: 419
Books Read
65. Benevolent Passion by Amanda Pillar. Paranormal romance. Second in the Heaven's Heart series. A half-demon doctor and slave finds herself treating a grievously injured angel. Seeing past each others' differences isn't hard... but finding their freedom might be. Entertaining enough, but not exactly brilliant.
66. Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. YA sci-fi. Second book in the Aurora Cycle. Our misfit squad return to the Hadfield in an attempt to uncover more of Auri's mysterious past. But getting there isn't easy, especially with Kal's murderous sister breathing down their necks. Action-packed, but with some lovely quiet character moments. And damn, watch out for that cliffhanger.
67. A vow set in stone by naye. Guardian fanfic. After spending the night with Shen Wei, Zhao Yunlan finds himself dragooned into a ceremonial marriage to a girl from Dixing. A beautiful piece that captures the characters' yearning well. Bonus points for plausibly slotting into the canon.
68. Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan, illustrated by Molly Ostertag. Superhero graphic novel. Alison Green used to be a teenage superhero. After becoming disillusioned with that life, she left to start college. But she still has to live with her superpowers and the past has a way of catching up to one. This was way less explicitly feminist than I'd expected from the title. It also turned out to be way darker than I'd thought, really leaning into some ethical dilemmas. It had some good things to say, but not entirely my cup of tea.
69. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. Contemporary romance. Second in the Kiss Quotient series. Khai's mother returns from Vietnam with a prospective bride for him. This didn't quite live up to the first book in the series. While the growing attraction between Khai and Esme was well written and there was an acceptance of each other's situation (Khai's autism and Esme's child from a previous relationship), I feel like it fell short of a genuine understanding.
70. Hunted by Meagan Spooner. YA fantasy, fairytale retelling. Brought up to hunt in the forests, Yeva has never quite fit in at court. So, when her father loses his fortune and the family is forced to return to their cabin in the woods, Yeva is secretly relieved. Until her father goes missing. It is up to Yeva to find him and bring him home... or avenge his death. It was a good move to make the Beauty character into a hunter in her own right. Her growing relationship with the Beast was also well-handled. The explicit magic in the book surprised me a little--its companion novel, Sherwood, lacks any. But it suited this story. Unfortunately, the female narrator on the audio book rather struggled with the deep male voices.
71. The Girlfriend's Guide to Gods by Maria Dahvana Headley. Gods won’t save you. Gods will break you. Nevertheless, you will persist, and become anew. A spiky story examining the disastrous relationships of a lifetime and how they have forged strength. Told in second person with the author's distinct style. One of the better short stories I've read this year.
72. St Valentine, St Abigail, St Brigid by C.L. Polk. All magical requests come with a price. A girl with witchcraft, no friends, and only her mother’s bees to confide in will pay whatever’s necessary to keep the girl she loves safe. An evocative story with strong relationships between the characters, though I was a touch ambivalent on the ending.
73. The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee. Book club pick. Middle-grade portal fantasy. When his cousin Susan is kidnapped and taken to another world, Nick sets off to rescue her. Way too plot driven and not enough character development.
74. Beastly by Alex Flinn. YA urban fantasy, fairytale retelling. After angering the witch in his English class, handsome Kyle Kingsbury founds himself under a curse. Apparently, I was on a Beauty and the Beast kick this month. The movie adaption of this book is one of my trashy comfort watches, but the two are rather different. While Kyle has a stronger character arc in the book, I felt it came somewhat at Lindy's expense. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I liked the online support group for cursed teenagers.
75. Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer. Fantasy short story. Upon setting up her Little Free Library, Meigan develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious book borrower. A cute idea, but I felt it lacked tension.
76. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling. MG fantasy. Reread. I snagged the audio copy for free and found it delightfully narrated by Stephen Fry. The only thing stopping me from picking up the sequels is a desire not to hand any further money to its bigoted author.
77. The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Book club pick. YA fantasy. In order to save her young brother from an energy vampire, Laura must team up with the only witch she knows--an older boy attending her school. Beautifully written, with an eye for detail and a real sense of New Zealand in the eighties. The characters are well observed, being flawed but sympathetic (for the most part). The age difference makes the teenage romance a bit uncomfortable in places, but the ending is handled well.
78. Year of Yes: how to dance it out, stand in the sun and be your own person by Shonda Rimes. Memoir. A passing comment from her sister leads a successful TV producer to re-evaluate her life. I listened to this on audio and it was a good choice because the author reads with such flare, confidence and humour.
79. The Red by Tiffany Reisz. Erotica. First in The Red series. Reread.
80. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Fantasy. When a postgrad student in computer game narrative finds a mysterious book in the university library, he finds himself caught up in a battle to save a strange and magical refuge. The Night Circus is a favourite book of mine, so I was a little bit apprehensive going into this. But I need not have worried. It had a similar dreamy feeling, a great mixture of the ordinary and fantastic. I also liked the inclusion of a queer romantic plotline.
81. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Science fantasy. 2020 Hugo Award nominee. When the Emperor calls the heirs of the nine houses to a trial of necromantic skills, Gideon finds herself dragooned into serving as a cavalier to her most hated enemy: the head of her house. This was another book where I was a bit dubious this would live up to the hype, but while I knew it was something akin to lesbian Warhammer, no one told me it was actually a manor house murder mystery in disguise. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Books Acquired
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Beastly by Alex Flinn
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan, illustrated by Molly Ostertag
Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles
Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman
Mind Over Mood by Dennis Greenberger and Christine A. Padesky
Golden in Death by J.D. Robb
Indexing: Reflections by Seanan McGuire
A Field Guide to Australian Fungi by Bruce Fuhrer
Planetfall by Emma Newman
The Pure State of Nature by David Horton
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E. Harrow
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark
Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher
Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
