Compulsory by Martha Wells
Murderbot shortly returns, in a book that I was happy to pay $0.99 for to get as much of the world as I possibly could. As someone who spent all last week happily reading and then having to spring out of bed/sofa to catch my father about to trip or someone who needed help with something that definitely didn’t NEED my help but probably justified it, I understand exactly where Murderbot is coming from and where it wants to go (back into Sanctuary Moon).
Side note wouldn’t a Sanctuary Moon adaptation be truly wicked?? I would definitely pay to watch that, as opposed to a sexy adaptation of a novel that is markedly unsexy and all about a happily asexual robot, APPLE TV.
Would recommend for competionists, essentially, but it’s not necessary to understand Murderbot’s vibe or the latest novel at all. Probably can be found elsewhere for free?
Forever Your Rogue by Erin Langston
The biggest issue with reading as much as one does is that it gets harder and harder for a novel to be truly stimulating (HEHE). I pulled this from a NYT list of recommended romance novels, but here about half a year after reading it I cannot remember anything about the plot and have to refresh my memory to see why I gave it four stars regardless.
And we’re back! I vaguely remember this was an enjoyable forced marriage trope type novel (fake engagement as it were) and includes some adorable moppets who didn’t tip over into the annoying category, which is always a problem when there are moppets around. Since Cora, Lady Dane is a widow, there’s none of that “BUT SHE’S A VIRGIN” nonsense of dispatch with, which is always a bit of a challenge with this genre of novel. There’s also a happy ending, which is always a plus.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
A different set of entries in my “become British, at least referentially so” challenge. This was an enjoyable vacation read, which I made last as long as I did because I was doing the very important job of Beach every day, no matter what the challenges that stood in my way. Herein we have the story of Thomas Cromwell, ladder climbing political operative, and his attempts to deal with the mercurial and well known unstable person Henry the Eighth, he of the multiple dead wives and paranoia.
There’s lots to enjoy here, and Mantel’s death was truly a loss to the world of British novel writing. You can see the seeds of Cromwell’s future fall (not much of a spoiler if you have even the slightly awareness of how people in Henry VIII’s orbit turned out) and root for Cromwell anyhow, to finally somehow succeed despite the odds.
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
As evidenced by the length of time it took me to finish this volume vs the previous, which isn’t much different in length, you can tell that I was completely sucked into the Cromwell Extended Universe. Also I was doing a rest and relaxation staycation, as opposed to a see the things vacation, so that helps.
Here, the pieces are being picked up quickly. Anne Boleyn got what she wanted…or did she? Without an heir to the throne, she’s quickly falling to Henry’s bad side (which, to be fair, are most of them) and Cromwell has been tasked with the job of picking up the pieces and bringing up the bodies, so to speak. It’s a precarious position for someone without any real standing of his own, who is always reliant on his use and worth to the king to stay on top. As with the first novel, you can see how things will go poorly but wish that it won’t…
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
This book I thought was a KJ Charles entry, and that’s a real compliment! Sebastian is one of my favorite HR novelists writing today, because she always manages to work in some real social commentary in a way that doesn’t feel preachy or takes you out of the enjoyment of a novel. Like look, I get that things are bad in ye old England and the 1950s or really any time period that isn’t today (and today’s got its issues as well) but the balance between acknowledging these issues and letting me enjoy some escapism is small and she straddles it well.
In this case, we’re in the journalism sphere of romcoms, and you’ve got the ditzy nepotism hire (the son of the owner) and the muckraking journalist who doesn’t have the ability to glide by on connections who are paired up. Super enjoyable, take a gander for those who enjoyed the adventures of Kit and Marian.
Knockout by Sarah MacLean
I will come back and review this in some more depth after the deadline hehe
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
This was a recommendation by my friend Aileen but was never going to go well for me, someone who really dislikes age gaps in romances (especially when it’s a heterosexual relationship, and the woman is the younger party). In this case, it’s particularly weird because the male character KNEW the female character when she was underage (although there is no hint of attraction at that point, so not everything is terrible and needs to be thrown away immediately).
In general, though, I though the plot of this was a bit overbearing and got in the way of what was trying to be a feel good story about a teacher trying to do the best she could for a child she loves and wants to adopt. I don’t think that there’s any way to make that plotline unappealing, but it does get a bit buried in the other elements (plus it’s hard to reference a beloved child’s book series and make us feel the belovedness).
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
This was one of my most looked forward to books of the year, a rewrite of a Reylo fic by one of my all-time favorite Star Wars fanfic authors! Unfortunately, this was bogged down in a lot of plot re: world building and magic that didn’t quite add up, along with a romance that wasn’t entirely earnt and worked better as the original EU-adaptation that it was.
The issue too is that I think this could have been a really great novel with a little more build up to some of the main plot points! There wasn’t enough time to learn about our main characters and their motivations before giant war ships with unexplained gem-based powers started showing up and forcing plot movement through deux ex machina and “you’re going to die unless you do this” ness. And while E2L is my favorite trope of all time, the enemies bit was way too built up (uh…dude…you’ve murdered countless thousands of people) to make the turn to quasi-lovers realistic. Not entirely sure I’ll read the next novels (might? We’ll see).
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
THIS was the book for Banned Books Bookclub, which makes sense because its about gender and that’s time for all the Million (or, three) Moms to FREAK OUT because reading about gender will only make your kids GENDER WEIRD!
Actually, I’m going to take this space to talk about how reading about gender (and sexuality) has influenced my gender identity, because it goes to show that even a progressive lefty easily influenced by whatever petition is shoved in front of me at the farmers market can think for herself (/sarcasm). I grew up a bit of tomboy by default as a backlash to pink and feminism, sort of? I thought girly things were weak until one day in high school I realized that so many of the women I admired were also feminine? So then I became more comfortable in traditional trappings of femininity, without much thought to how it influenced by gender identity and expression.
Which is all to say, reading about other people’s gender identities has made me realize that actually, I’m really into performative femme-ity! That’s right, reading about Kobabe’s journey towards being gender queer made me realize that I really like being super, stereotypically feminine in my presentation towards the world! It’s almost like reading about the spectrum of available expressions makes you consider…all expressions? And not just the one literally in front of you?
All that to say, excellent book for any audience, would recommend!
The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel
How sad that this is the last review I’m going to be able to eke out just before the deadline, and it’s going to be this truncated review for a book I actually called one of my favorites for the year (note to self: procrastination doesn’t wor—ooh what’s this new shiny book to read???).
As I noted in my year end roundup, I’m not sure that this is the best novel in the series! But it is the last, and as such I a) really appreciate that Mantel actually finished the series, and b) stuck to one novel instead of spreading it over two, which I think she could have easily done and c) it’s so satisfying to see the various threads come to fruition and watch Cromwell’s inevitable decline after two whole novels of seeing him always come out on top.
There’s something so humbling and infuriating about this last sequence, and if you don’t leave it a bit of an anti-monarchist there’s something that you need to revisit (i.e., I’m not sure you got the point of these books, or a point). Henry VIII is in his latter years, he’s paranoid and distrustful despite finally having what he wants (a son and heir) and getting all that he desires (the land and holdings of the former Catholic monasteries throughout England). And yet, the man to whom most of this is owed (Cromwell) sits on a pile of logs and one slight misstep is enough to bring the whole edifice tumbling down.
There’s nothing more satisfying than a trilogy or series brought to a definitive close, and given that this one ends with off with his head (spoilers for a historical event that took place hundreds of years ago!) there are precious few threads left to pull when it does end. Like all great historical fiction, I immediately went and read up about Cromwell and the eventual and only non-monarch head of the UK (Oliver Cromwell), so all’s well that ends well.