I’m atrocious at keeping up with reviews these days, so I thought more mini reviews could only be a good idea! For this purpose, I am completely skipping plot summaries and just sharing with you my own thoughts on the books below. Some of the reason I blog is to keep books straight in my mind later on, after all, so I wanted to share at least a few thoughts.
The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson
I had no idea that this was about Jack the Ripper, which led to an eerie night as I discovered that while reading in bed! This is my first read by Maureen Johnson and I definitely enjoyed it, though; I loved the edge of creepiness the whole book had, the boarding school rivalries, the London atmosphere, and the engaging plot. Really looking forward to more of these.
A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway
This book deserves way more than it’s going to get in these few sentences, but suffice it to say that I found it an insightful glimpse into Hemingway’s early life as a writer. Excellent paired with The Paris Wife, which is why I read it in the first place. Anyone struggling with Hemingway will be pleasantly surprised by how easy this is to read, as well.
Storm Front, Jim Butcher
Ah, urban fantasy. I perpetually love it and find myself going back to it, so I’m always finding new series to read. This was my latest choice, and the first installment was enough to keep me reading. Harry Dresden is your average urban fantasy main character, always kicking butt and getting severely injured for good. If you like the genre, give this a go.
Fool Moon, Jim Butcher
In the same vein as the last, but just that extra touch deeper with the backstory from the first book. Things get more exciting and more dangerous, a villainous character reveals another side, and Harry gets himself nearly killed. All good. I have books 3 and 4 of this series and will probably be reading them very soon – hopefully at least for one of those I’ll manage a full review.
Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord, Sarah MacLean
I myself adored MacLean’s first book in this series, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, so it was kind of inevitable that I’d be disappointed by this one. I actually liked both main characters, but the spark struggled to appear and I couldn’t really get into their relationship. I am definitely going to continue reading MacLean, though, as I already have her next book lined up on my TBR shelf!
I started The Name of the Star and was enjoying it, but it is one of the books that suffered because of my reading slump as of late… I am hoping to get back to it soon!
You’ve been doing some good reading. I’ve heard so much about The Name of the Star and really want to read it.
Plenty of good choices here! I loved Name of the Star, reread Storm Front this year as part of the RIP challenge and intend to read more, and was very excited to see that the first book in Sarah Maclean’s next series is currently available on Netgalley!
The title Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord made me snort with laughter! It’s not really my sort of book, but props for hilarity like that
I really enjoyed The Name of the Star, though I didn’t know much of what it was about before I started it other than Jack the Ripper (so I found one of the twists rather disappointing, to be honest). But I loved how unremorsefully Southern Rory was (with her love of gravy and fried things)- not something I usually see since Southern tends to be somewhat stigmatized (or shorthand for bitchy pageant-queen).
Plus, I loved her art-history assignment where they were seeking out the best butts in the National Gallery and she preferred reclining butts and he liked ‘action’ butts. Such a great passage!
I have Storm Front here — have I read it? No. I really should take your lead and write up some mini reviews.
I really want to read A Moveable Feast, and think that I am going to make it a priority in the new year. There is something about the classics that is calling to me right now, and I really want to indulge in a few. These were great mini-reviews. I enjoyed them!
I do wonder about the McLean books, since I read 11 but not 9 and 10. And she had charm
I really enjoyed THE NAME OF THE STAR, as well. It was very spooky! I’ve also read the Jim Butcher books (before I started blogging) and they’re pretty good.
You’ve done some really diverse reading as always. Out of them I think The Name of the Star appeals the most.