Review: The Moon by Night

The Moon by Night by Madeleine L'Engle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I always enjoy L'Engle's writing, but this was not one of my favorites by her. It was very character-driven rather than plot-driven. I usually like that, but Vicky Austen (the main character) is not one of my favorite characters. I do think it is probably a very realistic portrayal of a young teenage girl and I am curious about what will happen to her in future books. However, it was a struggle to get through even though it was short. Again, I love L'Engle's writing style in this book and in every book I've read by her, but this was just ok for me.

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Review: Cleopatra's Daughter

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think I must just not be in the mood for historical fiction. I'm counting it as finished even though I probably only read 60% of it and then read a summary of the ending online. I couldn't really get into and then we went on vacation and I didn't have time to listen anymore and I just gave up. I don't think it was bad, but I wasn't in the mood for it. I've been giving up on more books lately, but if I'm not really into it, I haven't been wanting to waste more time on them. I have waaaay too many books to read to spend a lot of time on something I can't get in to. Oh well!

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Review: Long Way Down

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a quick read with an important message about the cycle of violence. I enjoyed the verse format and was surprised by how such a powerful story could be told in such a short amount of time. I thought it was really good!

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Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nothing really happened, but it was somewhat enjoyable. I thought the most interesting part was the preview of the next book, so I'm definitely looking forward to that. Although I don't like Nesta's character at all, I am intrigued. This one was mostly just a fluff piece - a filler to hold people over until the next book. Also, there was a surprising amount of sexually explicit material in this. I knew to expect some because I've read all the other books, but for only being 200 pages, Sarah really managed to pack in a whole lot of it. Still, if you can overlook that and some of the cringeworthy lines, it was entertaining. I'm glad I read it, but more because I'm looking forward to the next book than because I really enjoyed this one.

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Review: Sharp Objects

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars. Definitely disturbing on many levels, but it was interesting. I will say that I was surprised by the ending, (view spoiler)[ but mostly because I predicted it from the beginning and then decided it was far too obvious. I mean, Amma really was terrible right from the first time you see her and it only gets worse. (hide spoiler)]

It was very dark and needs all kinds of trigger warnings on it, so proceed with caution. I almost gave it two stars because I was somewhat upset by the portrayal of some of the content. (view spoiler)[ I was concerned by the sexualization of a thirteen year old girl and I hated it when the main character (who was supposed to be a semi-responsible adult) did drugs with her. I get that they were from a very messed-up family, but still. I did not think she should have taken custody of Amma in the end before the final ending is revealed . . . It was probably a somewhat realistic picture of dysfunctional family dynamics (minus the murdery bits), but I didn't like any of that. I found her descriptions of cutting fairly disturbing also. I also found several of the circumstances in the novel to be too convenient. However, I rounded it up to three stars because I was drawn in to the story and invested the whole time in what was happening. I definitely wanted to find out who the murderer was and what was going to happen. I do plan to read Gillian Flynn's Dark Places, which is her only novel that I haven't read of hers. I could sort of tell that this was a debut novel, so I think her writing has probably improved over time. Still, it was an interesting murder mystery, even if I did have some problems with it. (hide spoiler)]

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Review: Mark of the Thief

Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Another 2.5 stars. I've been striking out on the audiobooks lately. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either. I haven't enjoyed a middle grade book in a while. I think I'd feel differently about this book if I was still in middle school, but I just didn't care that much about any of the characters. I may read the next one, however, because I think it has the potential to improve and I did really like Jennifer Nielsen's last series. We'll see.

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Review: The Royal We

The Royal We by Heather Cocks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was really fun and basically amounts to William and Kate fan fiction. I didn't think it was particularly amazing or anything (hence the three stars), but it was exactly what I wanted while getting ready to watch the new royal wedding with Harry and Meghan. It was cute, light, and fluffy. Don't set your expectations too high, but this can certainly be an enjoyable read.

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Review: Glass Sword

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars. The last third was better than the first two thirds, but I had a hard time getting into this one. I'm unsure about whether or not to continue this series. More of a review coming when I have more time to write. :)

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