lady_ragnell (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lady_ragnell) wrote2020-01-15 09:38 pm
lady_ragnell) wrote2020-01-15 09:38 pm
2020 Books, Post 1
The year so far has pretty much been fully shitty, but the silver lining to that is that I get a hell of a lot of reading done! So we are getting our first post for the year after an astounding two weeks and one day.
Elske by Cynthia Voigt
A reread from my high school years! My copy had been given away or gone missing at some point since, but I found a copy for fifty cents and decided to give it a reread. It is a book that falls firmly into the category of Books That Would Have Been Better If They Were Lesbians Together, but other than that? Somewhat brutal, all sorts of politics, fascinating characters ... what's not to love, really? I am shocked that high school me liked this book, but present me is definitely a fan. (It does come with some content warnings, so if this tempts you, be aware that there is no on-screen rape but it is a constant threat and part of several backstories.)
Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra
Ohhhhhh boy. Look. Look. You want to write a Little Women modern AU? That is fine by me! You want to do it where Beth doesn't die so I am contractually obligated to read the sequel despite disliking this one hugely? Fine, sure. But I just ... this book rubbed me the wrong way in SO MANY ways, starting with being set in North Carolina. And there is not anything wrong with the state in general, but it still felt weird considering Mr. March fought for the Union in the original book. And it just felt like Jo had all the teeth taken out of her and no one really felt like themselves and if it hadn't been a Little Women AU I might have liked it, but it failed very much to me on translating the characters in a way that made me still feel like they were themselves? Also Laurie is called Trey and it hurts my soul. AND ALSO IT DOES THE STUPID WOMEN'S FICTION ACCIDENTAL PREGNANCY THING. WHY DO AUTHORS THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. JO MARCH WOULD GET AN ABORTION AND I STAND BY THAT. Ahem. Sorry. I apparently had a lot of feelings about this book.
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
A friend recommended me this a few months back, and I am so glad I finally got around to it! Though it also falls into the category of Books That Would Be Better If They Were Lesbians Together, I found the worldbuilding intriguing, the plot engrossing, and the main character in particular really interesting. And the plot reminded me a bit of Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, at least what of it I know after only reading the first book. I have several theories for what might be going on in a larger sense, and hope to get to the rest of the books (I believe the series is ongoing but moving incredibly slowly?) to figure it out. But really, worth it for the steerswoman element alone.
Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night by Iona Datt Sharma & Katherine Fabian
A novella recced by Scribe, which I meant to get to around the solstice considering the title but which had to wait a bit but still felt properly seasonal! Anyway, I really liked this, especially the magic system in it, and it felt very in-your-face progressive while being very rooted in folk tales and similar at the same time, which is a hard balance to strike but worked beautifully. Not much to say about this one, but I liked it!
Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier
I saw a review of the sequel to this on Tor and thought I should read the first one first even though apparently they both stand alone quite well. Anyway, delightful and competent, with characters I was invested in and a really interesting age-of-exploration type world, characters who made the good choices they could while not always being able to, a nicely done romance I got invested in 25 pages in when one said she could fight her own battles and the other said she shouldn't have to, the occasional sea serpent for flavor, and a lot of focus on fantasy cartography! Overall, a delightful read.
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
I finished the series! That ... I should have more to say about it than that, probably? I think the kandra are the most interesting elements in the books, and the worldbuilding around them. Spook is my favorite character. There were a few neat places of threads being pulled together that I was genuinely impressed by (Vin's earring!). And I like that the ending went for genuine healing, if at an incredibly high cost. Other than that, not a series that's going to stick with me or that I cared very much about. Each book had good elements, and the magic system was solid and interesting, but the characters didn't interest me overmuch. OH, I did forget to say about this one, there's a whole plotline about how communism sucks, basically. I felt like I was suddenly reading something from the Cold War.
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. Look, if you have the least interest in Regency romances, especially f/f ones, I so urge you to give this one a try. I mean, to be fair, it is in part so good because it felt specifically aimed to hit all my weak spots, including embroidery and astronomy and ASTRONOMICAL EMBROIDERY and so many women quietly and loudly changing the world! I am fond of romance novels, but it's been a while since I read one that I loved this deeply, and it's going to take a really good reading year for it not to be in my top ten come next New Year's.
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
Pairs well with The Lady's Guide, actually! This is the first in a series about women in the first women's class at Oxford (all fictional) who are suffragists, set in 1879. The characters are sharp, the sex scenes are well done, the misunderstandings are no sillier than your average romance novel misunderstandings. But what I love about it and about The Lady's Guide is that you get a sense with both that these love stories are the kicking-off points for alternate histories. Not huge differences, maybe, but in one a huge surge in women's acknowledged contributions to science has to be coming, and in the other a duke comes out in favor of changing a law that helps to build a foundation for women's suffrage and his duchess still doing her Oxford studies, and I feel like both of those change the world, in some ways. I really like the idea of love stories leading to alternate histories.
Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha Snyder
A piece of candy of a novella, basically. I was expecting it to be sweeter and less porny, for some reason? Anyway, I think it was just on a list of recommended titles somewhere and it was cheap so I picked it up. Not bad, if terribly melodramatic, with some decent banter. Not much to say about it beyond that!
Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige, illustrated by Stephen Byrne
Graphic novel. the art's nice, the story isn't bad, but it also didn't capture me too much! The romance went too fast to feel fulfilling and so did Mera's character development, though (probably more a problem of length constraints than the author or illustrator's faults, to be fair). Overall, I'd rec it to teens interested in dipping their toes into the land of comics, particularly young women, but considering I liked Aquaman so much, this one left me shrugging, rather.
Next time: I continue to clear out my TBR shelf, which might mean some nonfic upcoming!
In the meantime: questions? Comments? Recommendations?
Elske by Cynthia Voigt
A reread from my high school years! My copy had been given away or gone missing at some point since, but I found a copy for fifty cents and decided to give it a reread. It is a book that falls firmly into the category of Books That Would Have Been Better If They Were Lesbians Together, but other than that? Somewhat brutal, all sorts of politics, fascinating characters ... what's not to love, really? I am shocked that high school me liked this book, but present me is definitely a fan. (It does come with some content warnings, so if this tempts you, be aware that there is no on-screen rape but it is a constant threat and part of several backstories.)
Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra
Ohhhhhh boy. Look. Look. You want to write a Little Women modern AU? That is fine by me! You want to do it where Beth doesn't die so I am contractually obligated to read the sequel despite disliking this one hugely? Fine, sure. But I just ... this book rubbed me the wrong way in SO MANY ways, starting with being set in North Carolina. And there is not anything wrong with the state in general, but it still felt weird considering Mr. March fought for the Union in the original book. And it just felt like Jo had all the teeth taken out of her and no one really felt like themselves and if it hadn't been a Little Women AU I might have liked it, but it failed very much to me on translating the characters in a way that made me still feel like they were themselves? Also Laurie is called Trey and it hurts my soul. AND ALSO IT DOES THE STUPID WOMEN'S FICTION ACCIDENTAL PREGNANCY THING. WHY DO AUTHORS THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. JO MARCH WOULD GET AN ABORTION AND I STAND BY THAT. Ahem. Sorry. I apparently had a lot of feelings about this book.
The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein
A friend recommended me this a few months back, and I am so glad I finally got around to it! Though it also falls into the category of Books That Would Be Better If They Were Lesbians Together, I found the worldbuilding intriguing, the plot engrossing, and the main character in particular really interesting. And the plot reminded me a bit of Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, at least what of it I know after only reading the first book. I have several theories for what might be going on in a larger sense, and hope to get to the rest of the books (I believe the series is ongoing but moving incredibly slowly?) to figure it out. But really, worth it for the steerswoman element alone.
Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night by Iona Datt Sharma & Katherine Fabian
A novella recced by Scribe, which I meant to get to around the solstice considering the title but which had to wait a bit but still felt properly seasonal! Anyway, I really liked this, especially the magic system in it, and it felt very in-your-face progressive while being very rooted in folk tales and similar at the same time, which is a hard balance to strike but worked beautifully. Not much to say about this one, but I liked it!
Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier
I saw a review of the sequel to this on Tor and thought I should read the first one first even though apparently they both stand alone quite well. Anyway, delightful and competent, with characters I was invested in and a really interesting age-of-exploration type world, characters who made the good choices they could while not always being able to, a nicely done romance I got invested in 25 pages in when one said she could fight her own battles and the other said she shouldn't have to, the occasional sea serpent for flavor, and a lot of focus on fantasy cartography! Overall, a delightful read.
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
I finished the series! That ... I should have more to say about it than that, probably? I think the kandra are the most interesting elements in the books, and the worldbuilding around them. Spook is my favorite character. There were a few neat places of threads being pulled together that I was genuinely impressed by (Vin's earring!). And I like that the ending went for genuine healing, if at an incredibly high cost. Other than that, not a series that's going to stick with me or that I cared very much about. Each book had good elements, and the magic system was solid and interesting, but the characters didn't interest me overmuch. OH, I did forget to say about this one, there's a whole plotline about how communism sucks, basically. I felt like I was suddenly reading something from the Cold War.
The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. Look, if you have the least interest in Regency romances, especially f/f ones, I so urge you to give this one a try. I mean, to be fair, it is in part so good because it felt specifically aimed to hit all my weak spots, including embroidery and astronomy and ASTRONOMICAL EMBROIDERY and so many women quietly and loudly changing the world! I am fond of romance novels, but it's been a while since I read one that I loved this deeply, and it's going to take a really good reading year for it not to be in my top ten come next New Year's.
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
Pairs well with The Lady's Guide, actually! This is the first in a series about women in the first women's class at Oxford (all fictional) who are suffragists, set in 1879. The characters are sharp, the sex scenes are well done, the misunderstandings are no sillier than your average romance novel misunderstandings. But what I love about it and about The Lady's Guide is that you get a sense with both that these love stories are the kicking-off points for alternate histories. Not huge differences, maybe, but in one a huge surge in women's acknowledged contributions to science has to be coming, and in the other a duke comes out in favor of changing a law that helps to build a foundation for women's suffrage and his duchess still doing her Oxford studies, and I feel like both of those change the world, in some ways. I really like the idea of love stories leading to alternate histories.
Tikka Chance on Me by Suleikha Snyder
A piece of candy of a novella, basically. I was expecting it to be sweeter and less porny, for some reason? Anyway, I think it was just on a list of recommended titles somewhere and it was cheap so I picked it up. Not bad, if terribly melodramatic, with some decent banter. Not much to say about it beyond that!
Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige, illustrated by Stephen Byrne
Graphic novel. the art's nice, the story isn't bad, but it also didn't capture me too much! The romance went too fast to feel fulfilling and so did Mera's character development, though (probably more a problem of length constraints than the author or illustrator's faults, to be fair). Overall, I'd rec it to teens interested in dipping their toes into the land of comics, particularly young women, but considering I liked Aquaman so much, this one left me shrugging, rather.
Next time: I continue to clear out my TBR shelf, which might mean some nonfic upcoming!
In the meantime: questions? Comments? Recommendations?
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And yeah, the book did kind of push aside some real women (I'm not familiar with Herschel and her work but I trust your knowledge!), which isn't the best, but I do understand why, even if it's not ideal. Ah well!
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For whatever reason I've been in the opposite of reading mood and watched four books I've been wanting to read tick down on the holds list and get returned. Whoops. I'm glad you've been able to dig right into books this year!
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I've slacked way off on reading since posting this, so I hope maybe you got some of my reading energy as it escaped! And that you can get your library holds back.
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Have you read A Memory Called Empire yet? That might be my favorite new book of 2019.
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And yes, I read it in November and LOVED it. I can't wait for the sequel! It's definitely in my top 5 of 2019 (in a year that also contained Murderbot and Daevabad and several other gems, I cannot quite say it was my favorite, but oh boy, was it up there).
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