Penryn & the End of Days Fan Art
Raffe, Paige and Penryn
from Susan Ee's Penryn & the End of Days
Isa Lavinia
I'll read anything, even the back of shampoo bottles, if there's nothing else.
4
After The Ending by Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey Pogue
arc provided by L2 Books through Netgalley
DNF at 20%
What... what was this?
This was published?
How? Why?
Dani and Zoe are bff and they are at opposite sides of the country when a flu-like pandemic strikes and kills almost everyone. Their objective is to reach each other.
Seems like a pretty good set up for a dystopia, right? Girl power! Friendship between two girls who've known each other since they were kids taking precedence over the tired clichés of hunky dudes lusting after the main character.
WRONG.
The book starts off with Dani going on and on and ON about how perfect her boyfriend Cam is. No seriously.
"Cam, my adorable boyfriend"
"Cam’s been making soup for Callie…he’s so sweet."
"Cam’s unfailing support"
"Go to sleep, my Cam. I’ll be right here. I love you"
"Cam gave you a bear hug and said, “I love how much you love her!”"
Then he croaks and she's all "Waaaah! He can't do this to me, he promised we'd grow old together and have kids and our kids would marry my bff's kids and then he could die!"
BUT WAIT, because Jason, her bff's brother shows up to save the day and omg, isn't he dreamy? Cam who? Oh right, Cam, her boyfriend whom she remembers because the disposal of his rotting body caused some sexy contention with the hunk, Jason.
As annoying as Dani's narrative is, (and it really is!) it's not as bad as Zoe's. I don't mean plot wise or their personalities, they're both incredibly annoying people - I mean the writing skill. Dani's POV isn't anything special. It's bad, really, but Zoe's POV is My Immortal fanfic bad.
"I unzipped my knee-high, black, calfskin boots and flung them into the corner. The brisk air in the room was a reprieve, cooling my legs which had been fermenting in their leather confines."
"I pulled off my brown pencil skirt and laid it across the bed."
"Pulling my dark hair from its bun, I watched it cascade past my shoulders and settle just above my waist, uncreased despite the twisted knot it had been in all day. I tried to imagine what I’d look like with Dani’s wild curls and rolled my eyes. Wondering was pointless. My hair was boring and straight, but contrasted nicely with my light skin and blue-green eyes.
My dad had blue eyes, but not quite the same color as mine. They were paler, and his hair was so much lighter. I must look more like Mom…"
But does it have a strong message? Simply because female characters are annoying, and the story is written poorly, doesn't mean it can't convey a sense of girl power.
Haha, no.
Dani, in particular, is incredibly fond of girl hate. She makes mean comments and hates on other women for so much as looking at Jason - even though she's not even with Jason since what's his name, the love of her life, oh that's right, Cade. No Cam! Cam. As I was saying, since Cam just died and all.
And she complains about it. Endlessly. No, not about Cam's death. lol that dead dude? No. She complains about Jason not wanting to be with her, and choosing to patrol with a girl soldier instead of civilian old Dani. Why isn't he falling at her feet?! That bitch is totally trying to take him from her, even though he's not even hers to begin with! Look at that slut, trying to take her not-her-man!
Welcome to the Apocalypse, where women spend their days crushing over dreamy guys and emailing their bff about what bitches other girls are.
Because throughout this whole thing Dani and Zoe email each. And then they email each other some more. And some more. And some more.
They even email each other using their phones, even though phones were mentioned to be down, but whatever, because everything works for Mary Sues.
So I'm thinking, "Well, at least this can't get any worse..."
And that's when they gain super powers.
Lindsey Fairleigh's official site
Lindsey Pogue's official site
Buy After The Ending
@ The Book Depository (with free worlwide delivery!)
1
Alien Abduction (Beastmen of Ator #1) by Kaitlyn O'Connor
I'm only making this post to share a quote - I'll admit it, Kaitlyn O'Connor's books are a guilty pleasure of mine, I don't know why I keep reading them, they all have the same plot: Mars Needs Women trope, lady is abducted or crash lands in the middle of an all dude's civilization, they bang, babies, HEA.
But sometimes you get these gems, this is why I keep reading... Are you ready? Here you go:
You are all welcome, btw.
World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee
Confession: It took me forever (2 years) to actually get to read Angelfall, and then only because Susana insisted it was so amazing (thank you, by the way!).
There was this new fad (do people still say "fad"?) of ~angel romance~ going on in YA at the time Angelfall came out. And, to me, that was nightmarish.
Why, you ask? The Nephilim.
I don't know if you know about the Nephilim but they're the result of angel dudes banging human women and what they are is GIANTS. GIANTS who come out of regular (I assume) sized vag holes. GIANTS. Ripping through lady bits.
So it was with the utmost reluctance I began reading Angelfall, flinching at every page turn. But I am glad to report that, not only was it an excellent book, it was thoroughly lacking in torn vaginas.
The Nephilim in Penryn & the End of Days aren't exactly like the ones in the Bible, but I still cringe away from any angel/human romance - it's a visceral reaction. Well, not so much visceral, but, you know... more down below, from the undercarriage.
So what I believe will be the main complaint against World After - the lack of Raffe for most of it - to me is, I don't want to say a godsend, because haha not a good thing in this context, but I wasn't bothered.
Make no mistake, I genuinely like Raffe - I wouldn't even mind too much if he and Penryn became a couple, I like them together. It's just... it's just that torn lady bits are not my idea of HEA, is all.
That aside, World After certainly had none of the dreaded 2nd book syndrome. It was action packed, it was riveting, it was heartbreaking.
It focused on Penryn and on her sister Paige, and their mother, which is something I love: portrayals of families (even if dysfunctional ones) in YA. And it was so, so agonizing to witness what happened to Penryn's sister, to go through Penryn's guilt regarding her reactions to this "new version" of Paige.
It wasn't all sadness. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are around for a good bit of the book and, as in the first book, I loved them. Believe me when I tell you, Penryn would be better off with one of them, or both (though ménage doesn't really show up in YA, does it? Pity, since it would solve all those wretched love triangles I hate) - go for the guy who makes you laugh, ladies. Or guys, whatever, I'm not judging.
But back to the plot: it seems that, while in captivity, Penryn's sister developed a case of Stockholm Syndrome for Beliel, the douche nozzle demon who is wearing Raffe's wings. I find Beliel to be a bit of a missed opportunity. I don't know, it's probably all that Paradise Lost stuff getting to me, but I always feel so sorry for the fallen ones... We do get to see a bit of a glimpse of what Beliel could have been, had Susan Ee decided to make a more thorough exploration of his character - but I understand, books need villains, and Beliel is a good one.
Penryn was not at ease with her sister. She found her too strange, too other, too... monstrous. And so do the rebels with whom they're staying. So when the opportunity appears Paige runs away, and Penryn fears she's going to Beliel.
It's up to Penryn to save her sister.
Yes, again, but it's so good! I'm famously stingy with my ratings, so you know a 5 star one is amazing!
So, go read it!
Also, for the Raffe fans, he does show up eventually, so fear not!
Susan Ee's official site
Buy World After
@ The Book Depository (with free worlwide delivery!)
Review and Giveaway: Cobweb Empire by Vera Nazarian
Do you ever regret giving 5 stars to the first book of a series, not because it doesn't deserve it, but because the second book is even better and you have no way to make the rating reflect that?
Because that's the case here.
I absolutely LOVED Cobweb Bride, I think I ended up making myself somewhat of a nuisance and recommending it to my entire friends' list on Goodreads because I couldn't bear the thought that someone somewhere was not, as I was, still trapped in that book's universe and willingly searching for Death's Keep in the Northern Forest. No, they were just going on with their lives...
Cobweb Empire picks up right where Cobweb Bride left off - I can't say where, and how, exactly, because that would just spoil the whole first book for those who haven't read it, but let's just say that Percy is a girl on a mission, appointed by Death himself (this is still weird for me, by the way - in Portuguese Death is a woman...) and the whole troupe is there with her.
But things are getting progressively worse in the world. It's not just the fact that people have ceased dying - places are disappearing at dusk, going missing into the shadows and sometimes, when light returns, they do not come back.
So Percy's mission, which she undertakes accompanied by the Black Knight Beltain, must be completed with the utmost urgency.
Still, Percy has some trouble dealing with her new "status", shall we say...
We revisit the delightful Lady Amaryllis and Lord Nathan of Morphea, who are still prisoners and have the most imaginative escape I've ever read! I love these two so much! I really hope we'll get to see more of them!
We are introduced to some new characters - I'll let everyone discover them on their own when they read the book, with one exception: the Sovereign of the Sapphire Court, Rumanar Avalais. I could spend the rest of my life writing about my fascination and, dare I say it, love for evil ladies. For instance, Princess Aurora is so dull, all she does is sleep and sing, but Maleficent? That's a lady with a plan, an awesome name, an amazing wardrobe, a clever pet, and the ability to turn into a dragon. Also, Izma, and Ursula, and all the awesome poisoners, schemers, power hungry women in every story ever. Evil ladies, what can I say? Role models, really.
Her Brilliance (a title I shall claim if my plans to rule the world come to fruition) Rumanar Avalais entered right away into this pantheon. She has the most amazing beauty routine, which consists of draining the life out of beautiful young girls and keeping herself forever young. Right there I was quite taken - but she did all this while ruling her own kingdom and being the very definition of "all shall love me and despair". Plus, she's quite the trickster as we come to find out in the very last page...
I shall say no more but that Rumanar Avalais is probably my second favourite character of this series.
The first being, of course, the undead Infanta Claere Liguon who though admittedly lacking in evil ways makes up for it by being a very frail lady who suddenly finds herself empowered by her death (...or undeath) at the hands of her murderer turned... what? Yes, that's the only downside to this book. I was really looking forward to Claere and Vlau and their complex relationship. Because really, what do you do when you kill someone and then fall in love with them?
Still, I loved this book so, so much! I'm still suffering from an absolutely soul crushing book hangover because of it. Send help. In the form of the third book, preferably.
So join me on this book hangover and enter our:
5
Ravishing in Red (The Rarest Blooms #1) by Madeline Hunter
The thing with this book is that it starts exactly as it promises on its description, and it fills you with hope for some genuine love/hate romance filled with witty repartee, until the hero and heroine are overcome by their feelings and confess their mutual love - hopefully keeping up with the witty repartee.
What it delivers actually, is a very believable, historically accurate and, I must admit it, a bit boring story focused on a mystery that wasn't even that interesting because the main theme in this book is one I hate: Honour Before Reason (caution, this link leads to tv tropes where you may be willingly trapped for days).
A quick example of this trope:
See, someone has been selling adulterated gunpowder with disastrous consequences for the soldiers in the peninsular war - Sebastian, an MP who involved himself in this investigation because... HONOUR!, ended up tracking the mill responsible - one in which Audrianna's father was the official responsible for ensuring the quality in ordnance, so obviously when accusations of his negligence appear he fights to the bitter end to prove his innocence and clear his name. Haha, no. He commits suicide, leaving his wife and two daughters nearly destitute and social pariahs because HONOUR!
Thankfully this stupid HONOUR! gene seems to have skipped Audrianna - or maybe it's a man thing?
In period films they do tend to show them all, from bright young things to wise elders, suffering from huge amounts of ~man pain~ over always doing the honourable thing and how that is always a stupid idea because in the real world no one pats you on the back and goes, "Wow so honourable, I admire you greatly and bow to your manliness." No, they just take advantage of your stupidity.
But I digress.
Audrianna finds a notice in the paper requesting a meeting with her dead father - one almost expects to see the old boy pop out of the grave not to dishonour himself by keeping someone waiting, but thankfully death is the definite cure for this sort of gentleman, so Audrianna decides to meet this mysterious man requesting a meeting herself - risking what is left of her reputation by going alone into an inn, and waiting for a strange man in a room. Because she realises that HONOUR! is not more important than clearing your name and regaining your status so you can go back to your life.
Sebastian, however, also saw the notice and decides to pretend to be Audrianna's father because he is not certain he was indeed guilty and wishes to get to the bottom of this investigation - I cannot vouch that he wouldn't have showed up in place of the dead man just because HONOUR! demands he do so - after all, it was his diligent investigation that drove the man to kill himself, best to HONOUR! his commitments.
In the room he finds Audrianna - he thinks she's the mysterious person who has placed the notice, she believes the same of him, and then suddenly they're making out because that's what you do when a lady is pointing a gun at you demanding answers/a complete stranger shows up in your room demanding answers.
That was the beginning of the romance. That was it. No slow build, agonizing over falling for the man who destroyed her father, no witty repartees, no hate, just arrows.
Yes, arrows, that's how the author describes sexual desire:
"Wicked little arrows of stimulation shot around her body. She valiantly fought to thwart his effect, but those arrows just flashed along their exciting paths, ignoring her ladylike dismay."
So while they're busy... arrowing each other the actual guy who set up the meeting shows up, there's a huge mess, the gun goes off, Sebastian is wounded, the Justice of Peace is called, and now the whole thing turns into a sordid encounter - so obviously Sebastian has to marry Audrianna because HONOUR! demands it.
Don't expect lust/hate filled encounters in their wedding, or loathing slowly turning into love or whatever. They pretty much find themselves married and that's it, they live like a normal married couple with Sebastian's brother, the Marquess who was paralysed during the war, and their mother who is one of society's grand dames but you can't really tell because she only shows up to nag.
I think this is a missed opportunity - there are strong believable women in this book: Audrianna and her friends. But they're all of the passive sort, that old chin up and bear it. Why not have Audrianna take a more active role in the investigation? Why not have the dowager marchioness be a truly strong opponent. Don't tell me ladies can't be ruthless, we'd be here forever if I had to name all the badass ladies ever.
But just an example, from a show filled with ~man pain~, even:
So, the mystery is resolved following a pattern, I'm sure you've managed to divine from this post. Let us hear it...
But when it's all said and done, it is a good book.
Just not what I was expecting...
Madeline Hunter's official site
Buy Ravishing in Red
@ The Book Depository (with free worlwide delivery!)
Just not what I was expecting...
Madeline Hunter's official site
Buy Ravishing in Red
@ The Book Depository (with free worlwide delivery!)
4
6
Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology by Cory O'Brien
This is an absolutely hilarious book!
Despite living on the internet, I had never come across Cory O'Brien's website Myths RETOLD - have I been missing OUT!
I must admit I'm not familiar with all the pantheons presented. The ones I knew (Greek, Norse, Judeo-Christian and Egyptian - I know, I'm so lame) obviously were much more amusing to me, since I knew the myths in questions. However, the great thing about this book is that by introducing me to these other pantheons in such a funny way it made me want to go and check out the so-called legit versions, and thus broaden my knowledge.
I saw the Content for this book on tumblr and afterwards I just had to read it! So, hoping it'll do the same for you, here it goes:
Does any of this sound AWESOME?
If yes, then get your hands on this book!
Myths RETOLD
Buy Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
If yes, then get your hands on this book!
Myths RETOLD
Buy Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart
This book is exactly what it says on the tin, and while I do find Miranda Hart quite funny, and I did laugh while reading this book, there were just these huge blocks of pages and pages which were, at best mildly amusing, and at worst a bit boring. This book needed to be shorter, it's not particularly lengthy at 323 pages, but Hart did not have enough comedic material for it.
Not to say it's not well worth the read, if you're ever feeling down, please do read it! In it you can find such amusing stories of Miranda's life such as:
- The time she thought Kanye West was a tube stop on the Picadilly Line.
- The time Little Miranda (her 18 year old self who appears frequently throughout the book) put lemon in her hair so it'd go a bit frizzy and blond in the sun but wasps kept attacking her.
- The time she's mistaken for a shop assistant while shopping and, not wanting to make the mistaken fellow customer feel stupid, ends up finding them a pair of jeans in their size and doing a four-hour shift.
- The time she went to get fitted for a bra and swiped the lady doing the fitting in the eye with her nipple.
- The time when, during a children's birthday party, she bent to pick up a crying toddler and mistakenly picked up a 42 year old dwarf woman.
- The time in her teens she was so upset she ran to the loo and ate her shoulder pads (which were actually two crusty bread rolls under her bra straps)
- The time she invited a fellow guest at a house party for a bit of a snog in a cupboard and he never showed up, but she had been in the cupboard for too long and it would be too embarrassing to come out so she just waited 'till 4 a.m. to leave, startling the host.
So, if you find any of that funny (and how could you not?!), go ahead and read it!
Miranda Hart's official site
Buy Is It Just Me?
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
1
Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre
TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE AND VICTIM BLAMING
Let me make my rating clear, since this option wasn't available:
I actually re-read this because the new one came out and I just looked at most of the reviews for this one and thought, "Damn, maybe I was just in a bad mood when I read it."
The re-reading actually made me lower the rating from 2 stars to 1.
The first time I read it I was in the middle of exams, and I wasn't really thinking about what I was reading, it was mostly to get my mind off things for a bit - and it failed even at that, since I only gave it a 2 back then.
But now that I've re-read it... I mean, what. the. fuck.
Seriously what the fuck is this bullshit? A girl is gang raped for years and spends most of her life giving birth to still-born babies only to be raped again and again, and the main character goes on and on about how weak this girl is? How she should have died fighting her rapists?
I mean are you serious with this shit?!
Victim blaming people who've been raped doesn't belong in any book EVER, but it certainly belongs even less in YA!
Then the guy who was the rapists's leader becomes a love interest for the main character...
I JUST CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS LEVEL OF FUCKERY!
The re-reading actually made me lower the rating from 2 stars to 1.
The first time I read it I was in the middle of exams, and I wasn't really thinking about what I was reading, it was mostly to get my mind off things for a bit - and it failed even at that, since I only gave it a 2 back then.
But now that I've re-read it... I mean, what. the. fuck.
Seriously what the fuck is this bullshit? A girl is gang raped for years and spends most of her life giving birth to still-born babies only to be raped again and again, and the main character goes on and on about how weak this girl is? How she should have died fighting her rapists?
I mean are you serious with this shit?!
Victim blaming people who've been raped doesn't belong in any book EVER, but it certainly belongs even less in YA!
Then the guy who was the rapists's leader becomes a love interest for the main character...
I JUST CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS LEVEL OF FUCKERY!
Ann Aguirre's official site
Not adding a "Buy this book" link because I will have no part in the support of rape culture and victim blaming.
Mistwood by Leah Cypess
I've re-read this book more times than I count and it's still amazing every time I read it.
The tricky unreliable narrator is written beautifully. Honestly, it must be so difficult to write a character with no memory of who she was, with a less than stellar personality, and a stunning lack of empathy, but still make the reader want her to succeed! And to write a character with enough powers to label her a Mary-Sue but always avoid her becoming a Mary-Sue? I'd say that's near impossible, and for the life of me I can't figure out how the author did it - hence the re-readings. Well done, Leah Cypess!
The tricky unreliable narrator is written beautifully. Honestly, it must be so difficult to write a character with no memory of who she was, with a less than stellar personality, and a stunning lack of empathy, but still make the reader want her to succeed! And to write a character with enough powers to label her a Mary-Sue but always avoid her becoming a Mary-Sue? I'd say that's near impossible, and for the life of me I can't figure out how the author did it - hence the re-readings. Well done, Leah Cypess!
Prince Rokan is about to be crowned as King, but even if he makes it to the day of his coronation without being assassinated, the days afterwards will be far from peaceful. Not everyone wants him, or any of his family on the throne.
It's time to look for the Shifter, an immortal creature who watches over the ruling family of Samorna.
Deep in the Shifter's Mistwood Rokan finds her and binds her to his line with an enchanted bracelet - though not before the Shifter, Isabel, manages to scratch his face. And that, in itself, is weird... the Shifter should not be able to so much as think to cause harm to a member of the royal family...
Rokan is lying to Isabel, she can tell he is, she can tell there is something the entire royal family is keeping her from finding out. But Isabel has secrets of her own - for though she is the shifter she finds herself unable to do any significant shifting. She can change her hair and she can make herself impervious to blades or quickly heal wounds she's sustained protecting the Prince. But she can't change herself into a cat, she can't change herself into an eagle. What good is a Shifter who cannot shift?
Then events come to light and Isabel's allegiance, something that should be set in stone for the Shifter is a creature with a single purpose, starts wavering.
Rokan was a delightful character! He is not one of those boring alpha male warriors we so often encounter in the fantasy genre. He doubts himself, he's unsure if he'll make a good king, he loves and trusts too easily, he is betrayed, he's too much of a romantic in love with legends and too little of the ruthless ruler he's supposed to be.
His sister, Clarisse, seems more suited to rule but she finds her ruling ambitions thwarted because she was not born a man. This doesn't stop her from delving deeply into political intrigue and playing everyone to the point where the reader isn't even sure where her loyalties lie.
And then, of course, there is Isabel who, as I wrote, has everything to be a Mary-Sue but never becomes one, who is off-putting, and has no patience for anyone. Who is not nice and finds no problem with this. Who is more than she seems...
Leah Cypess' official site
Buy Mistwood
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks
arc provided by Random House UK through Netgalley
I was so incredibly happy to have been approved to review this title! P.G. Wodehouse is my absolutely favourite author and I do not allow a year to go by without rereading a few of his works, they really brighten up your day.
Faulks, in an author's note, made clear that he, "didn’t want to write too close an imitation of that distinctive music for fear of sounding flat or sharp." In my opinion this was a mistake.
It's absolutely jarring to read these beloved characters sounding as not quite the real thing. Yes, Wodehouse's style is far from easy to imitate - but if you search the vastness that is the internet you'll find plenty of tributes (viz.: fanfiction) which, despite portraying unlikely scenarios, manage to perfectly capture the tone in which the books were written.
Then again, this too is fanfiction, so when non-published fanfiction is doing it better... well.
Faulks chose to place the action is a very specific time: the 1926 General Strike, something Wodehouse avoided, and with good reason - reading a Wodehouse book is leaving the real world behind and entering a world where your major concerns should be avoiding aunts and how to get your valet to approve your latest sartorial faux pas. If you ready yourself to read about Bertie Wooster's latest imbroglio you do so expecting levity, not the reminder that 800,000 coal miners were fighting for their income not to be further diminished.
The plot was not up to Wodehouse standards. There is romance in the Jeeves books, there is comedy. But there is no romantic comedy, which is what this book turned out to be.
I'm being too harsh, I do realise it, and it must be said that I do it only because these characters are so dear to me.
The book, on its own, is quite enjoyable - had it featured other characters and not have been published as "Jeeves #16" I would have given it a higher rating. Faulks can write, and he can spin a good yarn. ...It's just not up to Wodehouse standards but, then again, what is?
I see this book intends to entice a new audience to experience Wodehouse and I wish it all the success in that endeavour but, to be honest, the best way to entice someone to read Wodehouse is to direct them towards the master's work itself, there is no short supply of it, for he was a marvellously prolific writer.
I'd like to express my most heartfelt gratitude to the publishers for accepting my request to review this book! My review may, sadly, not be the best one to promote the book, but it was still a treat to get to read it!
Sebastian Faulk's official site
Buy Jeeves and the Wedding Bells
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
4
The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas
This was so much fun!
I wish all HR characters were written like this: as rational, pragmatic people.
Louisa has several unmarried sisters, and a widowed mother, therefore she must marry, and marry well if she wants to be able to assure they'll be cared for - especially her youngest sister, who suffers from epilepsy.
I wish all HR characters were written like this: as rational, pragmatic people.
Louisa has several unmarried sisters, and a widowed mother, therefore she must marry, and marry well if she wants to be able to assure they'll be cared for - especially her youngest sister, who suffers from epilepsy.
She doesn't set her sights high, she merely needs a husband who can support them to live in comfort.
So she makes a list of potential candidates and prepares herself by padding her breasts and pretending to be interested in everything gentlemen have to say.
Enter Felix - The Ideal Gentleman. Everyone in society thinks him to be perfect and it's an image he works hard to maintain. Felix's parents hated each other and used him as a weapon in their marriage, so Felix is determined to choose some empty-headed young lady for a wife - but only when he's in his 40's (which are still some years away), so he won't be encumbered by that hassle that is being in love .
But then he meets Louisa, who sees through the Ideal Gentleman façade and who doesn't bother to hide her distrust and her lust for him. No point to it, really, since he's not part of her plans.
It's so refreshing to see a heroine in charge of her sexuality, with no hangups and shames - I'd say in HR, but at this point the baffling focus on naïve young virgin heroines with no say on the sexual facet of their relationships crosses all genres... and it's getting tiresome.
Not here! Louisa knows what she wants, and has no problem wanting and getting it, and Felix finds this as refreshing as us readers.
The drama may have dragged for a bit too long, but it was never annoying or forced. Their relationship and the way they grew as a couple and characters more than makes up for it. It was also charming the way they both shared an interest in astronomy and mathematics!
If you're looking for a comfy HR to go with a warm cup of tea to pass these cold Autumn days, this should definitely be at the top of your list!
So she makes a list of potential candidates and prepares herself by padding her breasts and pretending to be interested in everything gentlemen have to say.
Enter Felix - The Ideal Gentleman. Everyone in society thinks him to be perfect and it's an image he works hard to maintain. Felix's parents hated each other and used him as a weapon in their marriage, so Felix is determined to choose some empty-headed young lady for a wife - but only when he's in his 40's (which are still some years away), so he won't be encumbered by that hassle that is being in love .
But then he meets Louisa, who sees through the Ideal Gentleman façade and who doesn't bother to hide her distrust and her lust for him. No point to it, really, since he's not part of her plans.
It's so refreshing to see a heroine in charge of her sexuality, with no hangups and shames - I'd say in HR, but at this point the baffling focus on naïve young virgin heroines with no say on the sexual facet of their relationships crosses all genres... and it's getting tiresome.
Not here! Louisa knows what she wants, and has no problem wanting and getting it, and Felix finds this as refreshing as us readers.
The drama may have dragged for a bit too long, but it was never annoying or forced. Their relationship and the way they grew as a couple and characters more than makes up for it. It was also charming the way they both shared an interest in astronomy and mathematics!
If you're looking for a comfy HR to go with a warm cup of tea to pass these cold Autumn days, this should definitely be at the top of your list!
Sherry Thomas' official site
Buy The Luckiest Lady in London
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
I admit it, I'm a long time fan of Hyperbole and a Half, that site is genius and Allie Brosh is hilarious.
This book includes a few of the stories she'd already posted on her site and a few (awesome!) new ones. Sadly... no Alot.
But there was plenty of Simple Dog - as an owner of a very Simple Dog I appreciate knowing I am not alone in this plight. I, too, tested my dog and he failed just as miserably.
It's worth mentioning my dog's eternal love for "the cone of shame". He had to wear one when he was neutered and once it was removed he went into severe dog depression (standing on his bed making a penetrating "EEeeeEEEEeeeEEEeeEEeee" noise of anguish). I thought, "Poor thing, obviously missing his balls." But no, it was the cone of shame he missed. Somehow he became convinced that the cone of shame was the height of dog couture, and like an Elizabethan courtier he wanted it around his neck, the bigger the better. So we had to wean him out of wearing the cone of shame, as if it were cocaine, or something.
Right now he's wearing one (he broke a nail, which had to be removed) and he struts everywhere like a model on a runway, filled with the greatest happiness a dog can experience.
Not looking forward to the time he'll have to stop wearing it...
Brosh's stories about depression were poignant and, quite honestly, the best way I've come across to describe depression to someone who doesn't suffer from it. Next time I have to explain to someone what it's like suffering from depression, I'll just refer them to this book.
As a person with a lifelong distrust of geese, her goose story was as terrifying as one of Stephen King's books. Think Cujo - but with a goose.
More importantly: Allie Brosh's parents. They deserve all the awards, seriously.
In conclusion:
Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half
Buy Hyperbole and a Half
@ The Book Depository (with free worlwide delivery!)
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X-Files Season 10 Volume 1
arc provided by IDW Publishing through netgalley
Okay, I know I totally signed up for this once I downloaded it from Netgalley, but I spent the whole story going, "I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS!" because OH MY GOD.
We all have our favourite X Files episodes, you know, the creepiest ones, like Home - with the amputee mother kept under a bed who kept popping out babies conceived by boinking her own deformed sons. I remember closing the shutters that night and screaming my lungs out because my cat was innocently (if cats can ever be innocent...) sitting on the windowsill. That was 17 years ago and it still freaks me out.
This volume was very much like one of those creepy episodes.
It tricks you: Mulder and Scully are living together under false identities, everything is happy and normal then BAM! - CREEPY CHILD! HORRIFYING SHAPE SHIFTERS! SOMEONE IS OUT TO GET SCULLY'S BABY!
Listen, I was freaking out reading this, I read it all in an hour, tops, I couldn't stop scrolling to find out what came next. I'll tell you what came next: pure AWESOMENESS. It really was like one of those X Files episodes that haunt you for years to come.
So as soon as you can, GO READ IT!
I'll just be here, languishing until the next one comes out.
author Joe Harris' site
illustrator Michael Walsh's tumblr
Buy X-Files Season 10 Volume 1
@ The Book Depository (with free worldwide delivery!)
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