I read this book because I loved the author’s novel, Matterhorn. What It Is Like to Go to War is a non-fiction book that is, essentially, a behind the scenes look at Matterhorn. It also reads as two different books and I have mixed feelings about the two parts. The first part, which represents nearly the first two-thirds of the book, is Marlantes discussing his decision to join the Marines during Vietnam and his experiences in combat. I found this aspect of the book very […]
To the stars who listen – and the dreams that are answered
Spoiler warning! This is book 2 in a series, and it’s impossible for me to review this book without giving some spoilers for the book that came before. If you haven’t read the first book, A Court of Thorns and Roses, you should maybe give this review a miss until you’re caught up. There will also be some spoilers for this book, because it’s impossible to talk about what happens in it without them. Feyre is back at the Spring Court a vastly changed woman, […]
Throwing a kitten out a window was only a warning shot.
Halfway through Moonglow, I caught myself with my hand over my mouth, trying to keep my breath inside my body because the prose was so exceptionally beautiful. I had my worries before reading this book. I have only recently discovered Chabon, and have only otherwise read The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, which was so stunning that it made me want to punch something. There is a lot of hype surrounding Moonglow, and even I only got it by accident from the library on a strict, one […]
Stockholm syndromed by a crappy book.
It’s hard for me to know exactly what I’m reviewing when I review this book. It was my first audiobook, and the narrator was awful. Am I really reviewing the concept of audiobooks, new to me after 24 years as an avid reader? Am I reviewing the narrator, kind of? Or the book? One thing is certain: the latter two things were terrible. So I guess it really doesn’t matter. Dr. Mike Scanlon is a podiatrist serving in the Army, repairing feet blown up by […]
This book will consume you.
Oh, lordy. This book chewed me up and spat me out. This isn’t going to be one of those reviews where I say a lot. The book was too good, and too overwhelming. I could do it, but it might break me to try. And I’d rather not be broken. So instead, in this review, you will probably get a bunch of nonsense strung together in some stream-of-consciousness excuse for review writing. I DON’T EVEN FEEL BAD ABOUT IT. The Likeness is the second book […]
What makes a ‘perfect soldier’, and how does that translate into a ‘marriageable man’?
I don’t know how popular author Grace Burrowes is – I’ve heard her name a few times on book sites, but I don’t get the impression that she’s a well-known, go-to regency author, and – if The Soldier is anything to go by – that’s a damned shame. Because what struck me about this book, which deals with a lot of heavy things (most notably a soldier with very definite PTSD symptoms and both a heroine and a young girl who are trying to pick […]