Welcome to my wrap-up for September 2022 feat. Becca's Bookoplathon. I managed to read 14 books this month which I'm pretty happy with considering there was a solid week in September where I didn't get chance to read anything. (Let's partly blame Dreamlight Valley and partly a busy week in general). I also got through some bigger and unexpected reads thanks to Netgalley! So without further ado, here are my reviews for this month's books!
This is the first book in The Rainwild Chronicles, the fourth series in Robin Hobb's Elderling world. These books explore the the Rainwilds and are sequels The Liveship Traders series; they are set several years after the events in those books. This first book follows a group of characters (Thymara, Sedric, Alise, and Leftrin) who come together to help the struggling fledgling dragons travel to the legendary Elderling city, Kelisingra. We also get the perspective of one of the dragons on the journey - Sintara. The first thing I will say is that Robin Hobb is so skilled at writing characters the I hate. I despise Hest and Sedric so much. There was so much gaslighting and wilful misunderstanding from those characters. Hest is cruel and Sedric just pretty stupid. The way they both treat Alise is awful. It's so good seeing her stand-up for herself and I want her to continue doing so in the next book. Leftrin is really lovely (despite his backstory). I really like seeing the world from the dragon's perspective and her relationship with the humans is very interesting, but it was also very frustrating because they think so differently to humans. I do really like Thymara and I can tell there's going to be a lot of conflict between her and the group that I'm interested in seeing being developed. I will say that this book was clearly meant to be a larger book because it didn't really have a solid beginning, middle, and end - it just kind of ended at an arbitrary place with no real sense of conflict being resolved. That's the main reason this book lost a star rating to be honest. Also, not much happened in this book except bring the characters together; it was all build-up and no pay off. Overall, a solid start to this series and I hope it gets better.
2. Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born by Evan Ross Katz ★★.5
This is a book I have very mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it's about Buffy, my favourite show of all time, on the other, it kind of felt like the marketing had been misleading of what this book was about. This is a non-fiction that's described as exploring the show's cultural relevance through part oral history, part celebration, and part memoir of a personal fandom. However, it mostly feels like it's more memoir than anything else (partly to a detriment of the book).
The first 200 pages were basically a recap of every season with very little commentary on anything other than Katz's personal opinions. Entire pages were taken up with scenes and quotes of the show which, as someone who has seen the episodes numerous times, were just boring to read. The reason we're reading this book is because we love the show, we don't need a full show recap. The autobiographical commentary and opinions often made it feel more like a Buzzfeed article - especially the captions for the pictures in the book. There were also quite a few mistakes considering this is meant to be a comprehensive look at all things Buffy (one photo in the book has a caption that describes the scene being Buffy's birthday in season 6, when the picture is actually showing Buffy's birthday episode from season 5. Also, when it takes about Andrew, they refer to him as Tucker's cousin not brother?).
I will say the last 150 pages were slightly more interesting, but most of the interviews with cast members felt like they were dancing around the subject matter. Understandable if they didn't want to discuss things further, but why include it if it explains nothing at all? There were also random interviews with people not connected to Buffy at all. Despite being marketed as a 'celebration' of Buffy, so much of the book was tied to the Joss Whedon allegations (understandably), that it didn't feel like much of a celebration at all. Overall, this got the stars it did because it's about Buffy; I am happy to read/watch/listen to people's opinions on the show and what it was like filming it, but this book just didn't live up to what it was marketed as - there was no celebration, barely an oral history, and mostly a memoir sprinkled with quotes.
3. The Extremely Busy Woman's Guide to Self-Care by Suzanne Falter ★★★.5
The title of this is pretty self-explanatory as to what it is. This is a non-fiction, interactive self-love activity workbook for women with quizzes, journal prompts, and tools to guide a person on their self-care journey. I really enjoyed parts of this book; I feel like there were good tips and the journalling prompts were useful and probably things I'll refer back to at times when I need them. However, there were a few minor things that pulled this down for me.
The first thing is that a lot of the advice required a very specific lifestyle (office working/working from home), which is fine for me, but not for a lot of people who can't just tailor their daily schedule themselves. The second is that there seemed to be an expectation of having money to do some things (vacations, hiring help, etc.) and this just isn't feasible for so many people. I would also like to put a trigger warning in for anyone who's had disordered eating because I've seen other reviewers mention this, and even I (as someone that doesn't have an eating disorder) picked up on some of the more triggering aspects of her recommended 'healthy eating'. Healthy eating looks very different to each person so cutting out certain 'bad foods' isn't always something that people can just do easily. Quite a lot of what this book was saying wasn't exactly new to me, but I think this is a good book to pick up when I feel like I'm not giving myself enough time, and I can use the advice in each chapter depending on what I need. I do recommend this if you've never given much thought to self-care before.
4. Misery by Stephen King ★★★★
Misery is a classic Stephen King horror novel that you've probably already heard of. If you haven't, this book follows Paul Sheldon, an author, who has just finished the final book in a series. He has killed Misery Chastain, the main character of his book with relief and joy. Misery had made him rich; she was the heroine of a string of bestsellers. And now he wanted to get on to some real writing. That's when the car accident happened, and he woke up in pain in a strange bed. But it wasn't the hospital. Annie Wilkes had pulled him from the wreck, brought him to her remote mountain home, splinted and set his mangled legs. The good news was that Annie was a nurse and has pain-killing drugs. The bad news was that she was Paul's Number One Fan. And when she found out what Paul had done to Misery, she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.
This book was intense. The tension lasts throughout the whole book and doesn't let up once; it's probably the first King book I've read where I felt nervous through the entire story. I think it really helps that this horror is quite short compared his other horrors that I've read (IT and Duma Key being some examples). Despite the fact that there are only two characters in most of the book, there are no moments of boredom. That moment when Paul found the book was easily my favourite - the reveals were so well done. Annie Wilkes is a terrifying figure, partly because she also feels realistic and also because Paul couldn't fight her 'logic'. As a warning, there are a lot of torture/gory scenes, but they don't feel gratuitous; they further the story every time. To be honest, the only slower points were when we went into the Misery book and I just wanted to get back to the main story. Overall, a very scary read and I'm looking forward to seeing the film.
5. Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann ★★★★★
Since this is YA contemporary book, I absolutely did not expect to be giving this 5 stars. However, I also had no idea with was written in verse and I've loved previous books I've read in this format (e.g. The Poet X, The Black Flamingo, etc.). This book follows Amber, a British Indian teenager, who spends her free time running. When Amber runs, it's the only time she feels completely free - far away from her claustrophobic home life. Her father wants her to be a dutiful daughter, waiting for an arranged marriage like her sister Ruby. Running is a quiet rebellion. But Amber wants so much more - and she's ready to fight for it. It's time for a revolution.
This book packs a punch. It covers topics such as racism, class struggles, exploitation, domestic violence, emotional abuse; all of this on top of being a teenager and struggling through secondary school issues with classwork, school bullies, crushes, and friendships. It really made me view my secondary school experience in a different light, knowing how lucky I was compared to people with less money, or more difficult familial situations. I don't want to say much else because it may spoil the book, but I did want to say that I felt so deeply for all the women in Amber's family and the different ways that they dealt with their situations. Amber and Ruby's anger were so well done and made sense for the characters. I think my favourite character was Amber's mum; her courage after going through as much as she did was immense. The poetry was beautiful and the form had such a big impact on the story. This was a fantastic book and I recommend it to anyone.
6. The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne ★★★★★
Oh boy, this book hit me really hard. Holly Bourne is easily my favourite contemporary writer, whether reading her YA or her Adult books. She encapsulates being a young woman in the UK so incredibly well. She conveys relationships, friendships, the pressure of college, growing up, expectations, assault, emotional abuse so well.
This book follows Amelie, a northerner who moves down south, just as she starts college. She meets Reese, a boy who immediately finds her fascinating. Amelie loved Reese. And she thought he loved her. But she’s starting to realise love isn’t supposed to hurt like this. So now she’s retracing their story and untangling what happened by revisiting all the places he made her cry. Because if she works out what went wrong, perhaps she can finally learn to get over him. This sounds like a love story, but it's the opposite. As with a lot of Bourne's books, this novel shows how relationships can be flipped on their heads and the real truth behind what a lot of women go through. Trigger warnings in this book for gaslighting, emotional abuse, rape, and physical abuse.
My heart bled for Amelie. The decisions she makes are so realistic and the way Reese treats her is honestly so true to how I've seen so many men treat their girlfriends. College years are so fragile and it's the time when you feel so grown up but are also still learning about the world and Bourne just captures this perfectly. This is exactly the kind of book all teenagers need at that age. It also made me realise some things about my own past that I hadn't really come to terms with. Honestly, Bourne is a fantastic writer and I can't give her enough credit for the work she does.
7. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty ★★★
I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, this book was a real disappointment to me. The blurb of this book basically says: Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something with the potential to destroy not only the life you have built together but the lives of others as well. And then imagine that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive...
Moriarty's writing was still fantastic, as always. She writes in a very compelling way and it never feels like a chore to pick up her book, even when the story isn't as interesting. However, this book felt just a little odd? It's marketed as a thriller, but there was no plot twist (the small one we had halfway through the book was pretty obvious based on the blurb alone). Tessa's story felt weirdly out of place with the other two women and I felt like we got no real closure with what happened in her relationship or with Felicity. Cecilia was interesting, but the majority of her chapters were filled with 'should I open the letter' and then 'what should I do now that I know what was in the letter', which got very repetitive. I also don't really know why the Berlin Wall featured so heavily throughout the book.
I did like the portrayal of actions having lasting consequences that you can't foresee, especially with the Epilogue. I actually just wish we'd had more of the Epilogue. Overall, this book was a quick read, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as her other book. I think this is more of a dark contemporary novel than a typical thriller, which is what I was expecting and wanting when I picked it up. I still recommend trying Liane Moriarty's books though and I'll definitely read more of her work in the future.
8. Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb ★★★.5
This is the second book in the Rainwild Chronicles and it immediately picks up where the first book ended. I won't say much about the actual plot of this book to avoid spoilers, but I will just say my general thoughts. As always with Hobb books, I felt very frustrated with a lot of the characters and their decisions, but in the best way. I really disliked Tats in this book and it surprised me that he'd be so horrible to Thymara. I was impressed with the conversation about women's reproductive rights, but I wish more of the male characters had heard the conversations and actually listened. I do love the character development that's happening with a lot of them (Sedric especially, but also with the dragons) and I also love Alise and Leftrin and their relationship. Rapskal is fast becoming a favourite character too. I will say I was surprised that some of the characters causing the most conflict have disappeared in this book; it makes me wonder where the next two books will go. Overall, I do love Hobb's writing and I think I'll always enjoy her books, but this one was probably one of my least favourite books from her. This is mostly because the journey of the dragons is getting very repetitive and a little boring. I understand why it's needed but it just feels like not a ton is happening.
9. Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell ★★.5
I've heard a lot about the Disney Twisted Tales books and I was really hoping I would love this. Unfortunately, I just found the book to be very meh. This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but with (you guessed it) a twist. I feel like this book would've had a lot more impact if we hadn't been told it was a dream from the very beginning. Knowing that, we spend the first 100 pages just waiting for Aurora to also figure it out. Then the next 350 pages were just her and Phillip walking through a wood. Aurora's character was very difficult to grasp as the reader because she herself didn't know who she really was, so I was left feeling kind of detached from her.
This was at least a quick read, but I feel like it's definitely for a very young YA audience rather than an older one, which is what I was expecting. The writing style was also quite simplistic and there were so many ALL CAPS sentences that made it feel more like a fanfiction. Overall, the plot was a clever idea but the execution didn't really have the pay-off I was hoping for.
10. Babel by R.F. Kuang ★★★★★
11. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb ★★★★
Next up is the third book in The Rainwild Chronicles. I actually enjoyed this a lot more than the first two books in the series. Now that we know the characters better and other characters from previous series are taking larger roles, I'm definitely finding these books more intriguing. It's fascinating how much character development has happened with certain characters; I especially like seeing Rapskal and Heeby and where they are now. Thymara and Leftrin are probably my favourite characters. Of course, I despise Hest even more in this book than I did in the previous two. It was also interesting to see more of different cultures that haven't been explored in the other series. I don't want to say too much more in case of spoilers, but it does feel like this book was a lot shorter than it should have been; each chapter was very long and the chapters follow so many characters now that it feels like not a lot happened overall. It did make for a very quick read though and I'm looking forward to finishing this series.
12. Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson ★★★★.5
I have a full review of this book here. At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls - Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle - took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.
The witchy atmosphere in this book permeates every page and character. Honestly, reading this book about all these strong women with solid female friendships just filled me with everything I needed for spooky season. This book felt like it embodied everything I wanted from a modern-day witch book. I really loved Niamh - she was so sweet and kind, but also a complete badass. Leonie's coven was great to see and it was interesting to explore the politics of this world through her newly-created coven. Dawson also explores so many important topics within this world: feminism, racism, and LGBTQA+ rights, just to name a few. She handles these topics so well and sensitively. Theo is thought to be an incredibly powerful warlock until it's discovered that she identifies as a woman; the book cleverly explores the impact her gender has on the society of witches, because it doesn't seem like they've ever thought about how trans witches or warlocks can fit into their world comfortably. Reading from the perspective of someone who is a white supremacist TERF is incredibly frustrating (mostly because of how sadly realistic that sort of character is in our world), but we also get the perspectives of progressive women who support Theo and Leonie, and that is wonderful to see.
Overall, I really loved this book and it's perfect for the autumn/witchy season. If you're looking for a fantastic urban fantasy with great queer representation then I highly recommend picking this book up. I already can't wait for the sequel, especially after that cliff-hanger ending.
13. The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith ★★★.5
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I found the characters wonderful; they were so fleshed out and their development throughout the book was incredible. On the other hand, the story itself just wasn't that compelling for me and I wasn't often drawn to pick the book up when I put it down. This book follows Claire, Leto, Brevity, and Hero Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing—a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto. But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible.
Claire was a fascinating character. However, I wish we'd seen more of her early character than we did because it really felt like the reveal halfway through this book was so out of place for the strict librarian she'd been characterised as. I loved Leto and his story was so interesting and sad - it broke my heart when we found out more about him. Hero was probably my favourite character overall; his twist was very well done and I loved the ending with him.
The worldbuilding in this book was also fantastic. I love the concept of the Unwritten Library being in Hell and how demons could checkout books. The idea of characters escaping their books to find their authors was brilliant and I wish we could've seen even more of that. I will say that the pacing of the plot felt a little off to me, especially near the end; it felt like the desert underworld went on for longer than it needed to. Overall, this was a great book, but not a new favourite for me. I do recommend it for anyone who likes books about books though.
14. Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb ★★★★.5
This is the fourth and final book in The Rain Wild Chronicle series. As with the others, I won't say too much on the plot for obvious reasons. I'm happy to say that this was easily my favourite book in this series. Earlier, I talked about some of the previous books being slightly more boring, but I do think if we hadn't had as much build up as we had then this book would've had less impact so (as with all Hobb's works) I appreciate now what they did.
We saw so much history in this book that explained so much from Hobb's other series, and I'm excited to see how it ties in to the final Fitz trilogy. I loved seeing the comeuppance that certain characters had - it was *chef's kiss* perfect. When you look at how far these characters have come since the first book it truly is amazing. I will say that I grew to dislike Rapskal more and more as these books went on, which made me sad as he was a favourite character at one point. My favourite characters were Alise, Malta, Lefrit, and Chassim. I wish we had some more of certain characters though. For example, despite Sintara being a main character for so much of the series, she kind of dropped off in this one and it felt like her perspective was a little pointless overall. I'll definitely be interested to see how the world politics changes after the events in this book. It was a great finale to the series and I'm excited to continue with Hobb's books.
So, that was my September Wrap-Up. Have you read any of these books and what did you think of them? What did you read in September? Let me know below and I'll see you in the next post!
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