Reading Thoughts

Author: Nathan Lowell
Rating: ★★★★✭
Dates Read: September 29 - December 19, 2024
Format: Audiobook
Page count: 12 hours, 10 minutes

Thoughts: So! I listened to this over a long period of time, mostly when I went around my neighborhood walkies lol, but I still feel like I actually remember a lot more about this than I typically do about books. Overall I enjoyed the narrator and I liked the different voices he did for the different characters. He was very good at doing Shackleford's voice, lol. But yeah! This was a relaxing book for the most part. There were some times where I think I felt a bit stressed out (basically every experience with Naomi), but luckily they were a bit spread out. I think the only thing that really bothered me about this book was how Naomi was introduced. I wasn't a fan of how the author described her, but she seems to be the only woman described that way in the book, so I suppose it's fine?

I remember reading a tiny bit of a review before I finished the book that said that a lot of the "action" happens when Roger isn't in the room. And that's definitely true, but it also didn't bother me that much. I think the book would have maybe been a bit more convoluted that way, and this way just felt much more "accurate" to what Roger's experience would actually be like. One thing that delighted me every time was when Roger would do his "Jeeves bow." It just made me chuckle lol.

I really like how they wrapped up the issue with the amulet. Though the ending of the entire book felt a bit rushed to me. I would have liked to see a more satisfying conclusion to them updating Shackleford house and seeing what they do with it.

But yeah, all in all, I enjoyed this one! I didn't expect to feel captivated the entire time but I really was. Very cozy, very slice of life. I'll probably add this into my regular rotation of audiobooks to play when falling asleep.

Author:Deborah Harkness
Rating: ★★★✭☆
Dates Read: November 18 - December 11, 2024
Format: ebook
Page count: 594 pages

Thoughts: Man, this one took me forever to read. I feel like I read it in bursts, depending on how interested I was in what was happening. There was a point about 60% of the way through where I thought, "fuck, should I even keep reading?" but I'm glad I stuck with it because right after that, things got really juicy again lol. Anyway, this felt like a more interesting and mature version of Twilight. And I make that comparison not just because this book is about vampires (and witches, and daemons), but because there are scenes that feel like they were lifted straight from Twilight lol. I don't know if this is one of those books that started off as fanfiction or if the author just really liked Twilight and took heavy inspiration from it. Either way, they amused me more than they annoyed me, so whatever I suppose.

I think the pacing felt a bit off on this one, though it wasn't the worst thing in the world. There are just a lot of places where the plot slows down heavily and there's a lot of academic talk and a lot of not doing much. Which is fine! I don't mind when things slow down and we get a chance to know the characters. There were just times when that felt a bit heavy handed and it just felt... sooooo slow lol.

I'm glad I didn't read any reviews before reading this because it seems like a lot of the ones on the main page of goodreads are all bad lol. I do think a lot of them make good points, but overall I did enjoy myself. I think the world is interesting, the magic is really interesting, and I really like the characters. I think what helped me like it too is that I actually decided to read this book because I watched two episodes of the tv show and thought it looked cool. Then I decided that I wanted to read the book before finishing the TV show lol. So it helped having some visuals of characters and the setting already in my head when I started reading, and it just made it feel a bit more immersive for me (I do have imagery in my head when I read but it's not as detailed if I don't have specific images ahead of time).

All in all I will probably try out the sequels! I'm interested to see where this goes and to see Diana get stronger. Although looking at the synopsis of the second book, it looks like it's going to be less of a training arc and more Matthew stuff so... idk that's a little disappointing, but I guess we'll see. I'm not sure when I'll read it - I have it on hold at the library and the next one isn't available for 5 more weeks. Not sure if I'm curious enough yet to buy it.

Author:: Mashimesa Emoto
Rating: ★★★✭☆
Dates read: November 12 - November 17, 2024
Format: ebook
Page count: 256

Thoughts: So, my main issue with this is how I feel with most light novels I've tried to read, aside from Ascendance of a Bookworm, and that is that the writing just feels simplistic and repetitive. The author will write something in a pretty simple way, and then "explain" it in the next sentence. Sometimes it's something I can overlook, and sometimes it feels irritating. During this particular volume there were definitely parts where it annoyed me and parts where I didn't mind at all.

That all being said, I feel like there was a tiny bit of relationship progress between Mell and Zara, which was good to see. I saw on Anilist that this series only has 7 volumes, so I'm curious to see if they're actually going to get together by the end of it or if they'll just live as besties forever lol. Mell is one of those characters who is totally oblivious to her own feelings so... I guess we'll see. At the rate that things are happening right now, it doesn't really feel likely.

This volume introduced a new character, Ciel Aiskoletta. And a cute little radish freak named Komerv who I love. Anyway, Ciel is... interesting? He doesn't particularly stand out aside from never taking his helmet off, so I'm not sure how to feel about him. His presence feels very temporary to me, and I was really surprised that he moved in with Mell and Zara. It felt very random, so, idk. I hope he becomes more of a staple character, because right now he just feels like he's just... there.