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lady_ragnell) wrote2023-01-15 08:11 pm
lady_ragnell) wrote2023-01-15 08:11 pm
2023 Books, Post 1
Off we go! And yes, I said I should read more slowly this year and promptly read ten books in two weeks, but in my defense, I started three of these in 2022.
Three Twins at the Crater School by Chaz Brenchley
I ran across a mention of this, which is a British girls' school adventure set on Mars, and knew right away that I had to read it. It very much is that, and also I suspect that it it's more faithful to girls' school adventures than I was expecting, because I've only read things that reference the genre rather than specifically being part of it. So for that, I discovered that I'm not sure I would like those original books very much, simply because everything about the Russian Spies Plot happening in this one bored me when what I wanted was Martian scenery (and more worldbuilding about the aliens!!) and pranks and shenanigans.
In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti
A little high-heat Regency novella that I snapped up in an evening. It could have used more space to bloom in, but it was fun! That's really all I've got to say about it.
A Sword Named Truth by Sherwood Smith
I really want to read more Smith because of how formative Crown Duel was for me, and I have read a few of hers across the years, but much as I love books about young rulers trying to grapple with their lives and their power, this one didn't do it for me. Most of that's on me: it's simply that epic fantasy isn't a subgenre I can do much of, which is why it took me about 3 weeks, on and off, to finish this one, and why there was skimming. Some of it is on Smith: when you've been writing a world for 50 years and try to add new depth while staying true to what you built at first, things can get a little messy, and the massive amount of child characters in what's clearly an adult fantasy felt a little unbalanced even though that was the point behind this subseries, the growing alliance of young rulers--but there, in the end, is the messiest part, because this is a world where there's a powerful but apparently commonly done spell called the "child spell," which freezes someone at the age they are when the spell is cast, and which seems to mostly, as the name implies, be done by and for children. I think all but maybe two of the young rulers have done this spell, as well as many of their friends, and there's only one, I think, confirmed to have done this spell at older than 15. There are two characters for whom this makes sense (one is the portal fantasied main character of Smith's first books, who was abused by her guardians on earth, the other is a young queen who explicitly wants to put off being used as a marriage piece). For the rest of them, being children is a disadvantage at best, and they would have been way smarter to cast the spell at, say, 20. The whole thing felt baffling to me for that reason. I probably won't be continuing this, though Smith does say on her website that in the future she may write about these people as young adults, which I would be more interested in reading. Phew!
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Do I need to say anything about this book at this point? It's just a comfort whenever I need one.
Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake
A nice Regency! It uses a lot of the same beats and tropes as Thomas's The Luckiest Lady in London, which I read late last year. With, as the title implies, a Cinderella addition! I think it could have leaned into the Cinderella thing more, because what it used of it was clever (there are two Cinderella things! I'd been so disappointed at how little it had done with the story until the end, when it redeemed at least 2/3 of my mental complaints about not leaning in). However, I liked it, and even if the heroine isn't quite what I prefer in my Cinderella-retelling heroines these days, it was a lovely day's read.
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Naomi Alderman et al
First things first: it is credited as such because there is NO LISTED EDITOR ON THIS HIGH-PROFILE SHORT STORY COLLECTION. Christie's estate is credited, and the publisher, but someone edited these pieces, or several someones, and I am incensed that this person is not credited as such anywhere on the physical object or, as far as I can tell, online. For the actual substance of the text, it was fun! Several of the authors mentioned various things I hadn't heard of in the Marple books I'd read, they nearly all seemed determined to place them after Christie had them set, from the impression I get. (I do need to read more Christie.) No standout favorites and no standout dislikes, though because it was under the aegis of the estate it only glanced at some things I'd have loved to see rather than engaging them. I'd picked it up in part because Alyssa Cole was involved, and her story was fine but actually turned out to be one of my less favorite ones in the anthology.
Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey
I really disliked Winfrey's first book (Waiting for Tom Hanks) and then adored her second (Very Sincerely Yours) (or was that her third? There's one of hers I haven't read). This fell somewhere in between. I'd have loved it to have his POV as well as hers, which is always hard in a first person book, but I'm not fond of first person romance anyway, in general, so I guess I just wanted it formatted like a more traditional romance. It does a decent job of balancing a clearly beloved small town with the heroine's resurging desire to get out of it and see more of the world, engages with the Hallmark "you always stay in the small town as the happy ending" ethos in a way that mostly worked for me, and is an exes romance where I didn't spend the whole time going "no, you should stay broken up." It is also very clearly set in a fantasy world where everyone lives in harmony and politics do not at all matter in this small town, which felt plastic to me in a book where the heroine's emotional arc cut me up in a few places.
Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton
A comic compilation! Saw it while looking for TBR books on my state library's ebooks portal (which had something like 8 books out of a TBR list somewhere around 80-100 books long, ouch), and I'd been meaning to read it for ages, so I spent a lovely afternoon going through it. Not the most pleasant ereader experience because of the tiny text at the bottom of intro pages, but lots of beloved comics and others that I know well, it was a lot of fun.
The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster
I think I'd run across the companion novel on a list of fantasy romances and thought I'd start earlier in the series, but while this was a fun read (fey shit! Interesting magic! A mystery! Estate management!), I don't think I liked the main couple enough to read three more books about them attempting to get married. They were fun to read about here! But the thought of three more books left me cold. I may read the companion book I originally saw the rec for at some point, though!
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Plucked this off my sister's shelf for a reread while dogsitting, since I'd thought of it recently. It was interesting to return to! The amount of patriotism and belief in the glory of sacrifice, combined with the closest thing to a local villain being a pacifist, was uncomfortable for me. (Which, I know the ethics of modern warfare are different, and that it really was how things frequently were, but still, got to admit to my feelings here!) It was an interesting read, but not the pleasant escape that Montgomery can so frequently be.
There are my first reads of the year! We'll see what I choose off the shelf next, I have a lot of pleasant prospects upcoming. I don't think any of these ten are likely to be in my yearly top ten unless I have a WILDLY disappointing year, but there's always the next batch!
What's your first read of the year?
Three Twins at the Crater School by Chaz Brenchley
I ran across a mention of this, which is a British girls' school adventure set on Mars, and knew right away that I had to read it. It very much is that, and also I suspect that it it's more faithful to girls' school adventures than I was expecting, because I've only read things that reference the genre rather than specifically being part of it. So for that, I discovered that I'm not sure I would like those original books very much, simply because everything about the Russian Spies Plot happening in this one bored me when what I wanted was Martian scenery (and more worldbuilding about the aliens!!) and pranks and shenanigans.
In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation by Alexandra Vasti
A little high-heat Regency novella that I snapped up in an evening. It could have used more space to bloom in, but it was fun! That's really all I've got to say about it.
A Sword Named Truth by Sherwood Smith
I really want to read more Smith because of how formative Crown Duel was for me, and I have read a few of hers across the years, but much as I love books about young rulers trying to grapple with their lives and their power, this one didn't do it for me. Most of that's on me: it's simply that epic fantasy isn't a subgenre I can do much of, which is why it took me about 3 weeks, on and off, to finish this one, and why there was skimming. Some of it is on Smith: when you've been writing a world for 50 years and try to add new depth while staying true to what you built at first, things can get a little messy, and the massive amount of child characters in what's clearly an adult fantasy felt a little unbalanced even though that was the point behind this subseries, the growing alliance of young rulers--but there, in the end, is the messiest part, because this is a world where there's a powerful but apparently commonly done spell called the "child spell," which freezes someone at the age they are when the spell is cast, and which seems to mostly, as the name implies, be done by and for children. I think all but maybe two of the young rulers have done this spell, as well as many of their friends, and there's only one, I think, confirmed to have done this spell at older than 15. There are two characters for whom this makes sense (one is the portal fantasied main character of Smith's first books, who was abused by her guardians on earth, the other is a young queen who explicitly wants to put off being used as a marriage piece). For the rest of them, being children is a disadvantage at best, and they would have been way smarter to cast the spell at, say, 20. The whole thing felt baffling to me for that reason. I probably won't be continuing this, though Smith does say on her website that in the future she may write about these people as young adults, which I would be more interested in reading. Phew!
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Do I need to say anything about this book at this point? It's just a comfort whenever I need one.
Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake
A nice Regency! It uses a lot of the same beats and tropes as Thomas's The Luckiest Lady in London, which I read late last year. With, as the title implies, a Cinderella addition! I think it could have leaned into the Cinderella thing more, because what it used of it was clever (there are two Cinderella things! I'd been so disappointed at how little it had done with the story until the end, when it redeemed at least 2/3 of my mental complaints about not leaning in). However, I liked it, and even if the heroine isn't quite what I prefer in my Cinderella-retelling heroines these days, it was a lovely day's read.
Marple: Twelve New Mysteries by Naomi Alderman et al
First things first: it is credited as such because there is NO LISTED EDITOR ON THIS HIGH-PROFILE SHORT STORY COLLECTION. Christie's estate is credited, and the publisher, but someone edited these pieces, or several someones, and I am incensed that this person is not credited as such anywhere on the physical object or, as far as I can tell, online. For the actual substance of the text, it was fun! Several of the authors mentioned various things I hadn't heard of in the Marple books I'd read, they nearly all seemed determined to place them after Christie had them set, from the impression I get. (I do need to read more Christie.) No standout favorites and no standout dislikes, though because it was under the aegis of the estate it only glanced at some things I'd have loved to see rather than engaging them. I'd picked it up in part because Alyssa Cole was involved, and her story was fine but actually turned out to be one of my less favorite ones in the anthology.
Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey
I really disliked Winfrey's first book (Waiting for Tom Hanks) and then adored her second (Very Sincerely Yours) (or was that her third? There's one of hers I haven't read). This fell somewhere in between. I'd have loved it to have his POV as well as hers, which is always hard in a first person book, but I'm not fond of first person romance anyway, in general, so I guess I just wanted it formatted like a more traditional romance. It does a decent job of balancing a clearly beloved small town with the heroine's resurging desire to get out of it and see more of the world, engages with the Hallmark "you always stay in the small town as the happy ending" ethos in a way that mostly worked for me, and is an exes romance where I didn't spend the whole time going "no, you should stay broken up." It is also very clearly set in a fantasy world where everyone lives in harmony and politics do not at all matter in this small town, which felt plastic to me in a book where the heroine's emotional arc cut me up in a few places.
Step Aside, Pops by Kate Beaton
A comic compilation! Saw it while looking for TBR books on my state library's ebooks portal (which had something like 8 books out of a TBR list somewhere around 80-100 books long, ouch), and I'd been meaning to read it for ages, so I spent a lovely afternoon going through it. Not the most pleasant ereader experience because of the tiny text at the bottom of intro pages, but lots of beloved comics and others that I know well, it was a lot of fun.
The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster
I think I'd run across the companion novel on a list of fantasy romances and thought I'd start earlier in the series, but while this was a fun read (fey shit! Interesting magic! A mystery! Estate management!), I don't think I liked the main couple enough to read three more books about them attempting to get married. They were fun to read about here! But the thought of three more books left me cold. I may read the companion book I originally saw the rec for at some point, though!
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Plucked this off my sister's shelf for a reread while dogsitting, since I'd thought of it recently. It was interesting to return to! The amount of patriotism and belief in the glory of sacrifice, combined with the closest thing to a local villain being a pacifist, was uncomfortable for me. (Which, I know the ethics of modern warfare are different, and that it really was how things frequently were, but still, got to admit to my feelings here!) It was an interesting read, but not the pleasant escape that Montgomery can so frequently be.
There are my first reads of the year! We'll see what I choose off the shelf next, I have a lot of pleasant prospects upcoming. I don't think any of these ten are likely to be in my yearly top ten unless I have a WILDLY disappointing year, but there's always the next batch!
What's your first read of the year?