Even though it was Camp NaNoWriMo this month, the first one of the year, I still, somehow, found a little bit of time to read. I’m super happy that I managed to read, I just wished they were books from my TBR, but I guess you can’t have everything.
Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz 🌟🌟🌟
Even though I love James Bond, I know that Fleming’s books are often called out for his treatment of women, but I expected Horowitz’ version to be better. I was so very wrong. I can appreciate his efforts to remain loyal to the original character, and, and fan of Casino Royale I understand how that has shaped his view of women, but for a book written in 2015, I did expect better. After all, the plot would not have been affected if the treatment of women was different. Other than that I liked the plot well enough, and the villain was great. It’s defiantly put me in a James Bond mood!
King’s Cage (Red Queen #3) by Victoria Aveyard 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is my second re-read of the third book in the series, as I prepare for the release of War Storm, the final book in the quartet. King’s Cage is easily my favourite book in the series, and I promise that has nothing to do with Maven… okay, well, maybe it has a little to do with him. This book has a lot more big action scenes than the last one, but there’s also a lot of plotting, and conversations that balances it out nicely. Obviously, I’m super pumped for War Storm! As I’m sure I have mentioned a million times, I have a series-so-far review from last year that you can check out if you would like to.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue (Guide #1) by Mackenzi Lee 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This was one of the most anticipated releases on so many people’s blogs last year, and I was interested, but not enough to pick up a copy, until now. A Gentleman’s Guide… is the story of Henry “Monty” Montague as he embarks on his Grand Tour with his best friend (who he may or may not be hopelessly in love with) and his sister. This is an adventure novel plain and simple as this unlikely, but diverse, trio find themselves embroiled in an elaborate plot, and it was a trilling journey. Above all, Monty’s voice, as a first person POV, was a utter joy to read, and is a character that you can’t help but fall just a little bit in love with, dimples and all.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 🌟🌟🌟🌟
I have wanted to read this for the longest time, and received a lovely copy this past Christmas. The story is split into three parts (each part has 6 or 7 chapters) and I’m going to admit that I really struggled with the first part. Told from the point of view of fifteen year old Alex, the language is full of “Nadsat”, a slang made up partly of Russian, and partly English. Even though my edition has a glossary it just took me the longest time to get used to it. I’m sure I don’t need to sit here and tell you that A Clockwork Orange is a fascinating look at good, evil, and free will, because you’ve probably heard it all before. What makes it stand out, however, is this uniquely crafted language. In the vein of Joyce, this book is begging you to take your time, to look at the importance, and unimportance of language, and I can’t help but love it for that!
The Mime Order (The Bone Season #2) by Samantha Shannon 🌟🌟🌟🌟
As I mentioned in my last haul, I recently got to meet Samantha Shannon through my involvement with YA Shot. Set in an alternate version of London, one in which clairvoyance is a criminal offence, The Mime Order manages to blend Shannon’s brand of historical/urban fantasy with the gritty underworld of gangs. It is my third read, and I fall in love with these books over and over again, both with the characters (I’m looking at you, Mr Hall) and the world itself. Even though I call this urban fantasy, with Victorian vibes, it does read like high fantasy so you definitely need to be prepared for the complexities that go along with that.
State of Sorrow (Sorrow #1) by Melinda Salisbury 🌟🌟🌟
I received a lovely hardback copy of this YA fantasy in March’s FairyLoot, and unfortunately it was not my favourite books I’ve ever gotten from them. The plot follows Sorrow, as she seeks to take over the chancellorship from her father, over a country that has too long gone neglected. Sorrow herself felt flat and lifeless, for me the only character who felt fully realised was so evil he may as well have been twirling a moustache and petting a white cat. I also felt that the pacing was way off, with far too much of this book spent doing absolutely nothing. I don’t think I’ll be in a hurry to grab the sequel, unfortunately.
Create Dangerously by Albert Camus 🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is no. 17 in Penguin’s new little modern classics series, one I bought purely because I thought that the title sounded perfect for Camp NaNoWriMo. The book is a collection of three essays, though I have a suspicion that one may be a speech, Create Dangerously, Defend Intellingens, and Bread and Freedom. Overall I quite liked it, and found my first experience of Camus to be a pleasant one. Create Dangerously was my favourite as it was the one that was most focused on art, while the other two started much closer to politics, but it was a nice little taster.
Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) by Amanda Foody 🌟🌟🌟🌟
I have been waiting for this book pretty much since I read her debut, Daughter of the Burning City last summer, and I was not disappointed. In a fantasy wold in which everyone talent, such as dancing or strength, we follow Enne as she travels to the City of Sin in search of her adapted mother, and finds herself embroiled in a plot far more complex than she ever realised. I am hoping to do a full review of this for you, as I have got some tiny little nitpicks, but other than that I adored this book. The characters were amazing both Enne, and Levi, the gang leader who reluctantly agrees to help her, and gave me butterflies. When was the last time I had butterflies?
A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOTAR #3) by Sarah J. Maas 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
In the eleventh hour, before the next book came out, I finished this book, and it made me cry… again. This is a great series conclusion, for the most part. It manages to tie up all those loose ends, and break your heart, which is everything you want from a book like this. If I was going to be really critical, I would say that maybe it is a tad too long, by no more than a handful of chapters, and that the very end is drawn out just a fraction too much, but overall this is a great book. It’s not my favourite, because ACOMAF’s bar is just too high, but it is better than ACOTAR, which you would expect from a third book. Now, I can get onto A Court of Frost and Starlight!
What did you read this month? Did we read any of the same books? Were you too busy with Camp to read?
Thanks for reading!
Victoria
Carton-Manette-Darnay 