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msrichardsreads89's reviews
2620 reviews
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
A Sorceress Comes to Call is a dark fairy tale retelling of The Goose Girl that blends horror with historical fantasy. This was a captivating story that explores parental abuse, narcissism, and the resilience of humans. The characters were dynamic and fascinating, and the world and magic were very well done. I loved the dual points of view perspective, and I did not want to put this one down! Cordelia and Hester were my favorite characters, and their plot lines were so deliciously gripping! Kingfisher has a strong, quirky authorial voice that can hold the reader's attention and blend genres effortlessly, and I am very much looking forward to reading more of her work.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Emotional abuse
How Do You Live? by GenzaburÅ Yoshino
Did not finish book. Stopped at 63%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 63%.
DNF @63%. The writing was nice and the characters were charming, but I was so bored. This felt very drawn out and too long.
Abbeychurch: or, Self Control and Self Conceit by Charlotte Mary Yonge
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Abbeychurch is the charming first novel of Charlotte Mary Yonge. Overall, I found this to be a middle of the road Yonge novel, but I enjoyed seeing the foundations of her writing as well as how she improves in later books. Her characters have sparkling wit that are reminiscent of Jane Austen characters, and her family dynamics are always so well done. This plot wasn't as engaging to me as her other works, but I am glad I read this one, and it was an enjoyable read!
Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
dark
tense
slow-paced
This is a marmite book - you either love it or hate it. Unfortunately I fell into the hate it category. It took me four tries to get into this book, and the longer I read, the more irritated I became. I went in with a bit of excitement because the premise of this book sounds fantastic: a murder and the Gordon Riots. However, the riots themselves were so boring, and all the plotting was exhausting. The villains get most of the page time, and I had no one to root for. One of the things I love about Dickens's writing is his character development, and in this book it was sorely lacking. We meet them for a bit and then go back to the villains. Then the good guys pop back up for a bit and then get tossed aside again. For as much page time as the villains get, they are also not developed well. There is no character growth, and for a character reader like myself, it was incredibly frustrating. I gave up caring around the halfway mark. After over 700 pages, I was so glad to see the back of this book. Barnaby Rudge was a major trudge.
TL;DR: Who cares? I want these hours of my life back.
TL;DR: Who cares? I want these hours of my life back.
The Lifted Veil and Brother Jacob by George Eliot
reflective
slow-paced
I must admit that I went into this one with high expectations because George Eliot is one of my absolute favorite authors. These stories are very different from Eliot's usual style, and both stories are quite different! "The Lifted Veil" is pretty ominous with a weird yet shocking plot twist. I've read it three times, and I find it pretty unmemorable except for the end. "Brother Jacob" is a bit more clever. I read this with a lovely group of friends, and most of them found this one humorous, but for me the humor fell flat and was borderline cringeworthy. I enjoyed the themes explored in both stories, but overall they were fun but very mid for me. In my opinion, George Eliot really shines in novel form.