Well, I only made it through five books this month. I really shouldn't be all that disappointed, considering this still beats my goal of a book a week (and actually, by the end of April I've already read more books this year than I read the entire year of 2014, so that's something). It's just clear that all my luxurious nursing reading time is a thing of the past, and I'm back to fighting and scraping to find time for reading amidst all the other demands on my time. Also, I'm in the middle of two really good books right now that I had hoped to finish last week but alas, the time did not materialize. Anyway, I've actually written about most of these books already, so these reviews will be short with links to my other posts.
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery
It was charming and delightful, but I missed Anne. More thoughts here.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Stunningly beautiful. Beautiful story, beautiful writing, five star read. More thoughts here.
Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Not the same kind of love as for the earlier Anne books, but still really good as a WWI book. More thoughts here.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Still really well written, but lost some of the novelty of the first in this duology (Six of Crows). Also, a bit dark and violent. Mentioned in this post.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
I finished this one for a special mini book club Book Blab episode with Amy, but then she went and had her baby, so we didn't get the episode filmed this month. I'm saving all my thoughts for whenever we do get that episode filmed, so stay tuned for that (but read it yourself first, because spoilers!).
Actually, I just realized that I "read" a few more books this month by way of read-alouds and audio books with my son, but I'm still on the fence about counting those toward my personal reading goals. I'll share more about those in an upcoming post. Let me know if you've read any of these ones, would love to here your thoughts!
You're making me want to finish the Anne series because I didn't finish after no. 6 because I too missed Anne and I thought her kids were too perfect, haha! But I read those years ago and I've only re-visited the first and third one. I missed Anne's quirks in the later books but I should probably give the last books another try. The Six of Crows has been on my list for a little bit but good to know about the 2nd book. Usually in a trilogy the 2nd one is a little slow and drawn out so maybe it'll get better with the next one? And I read The Girl Who Drank the Moon last year and I was actually pleasantly surprised with the book. It's not an absolute favorite but I can see young audiences getting some great bit of wisdom in it. I'm excited to hear your thoughts in the Book Blab. And I'm dying to know the two books you're really loving right now!
ReplyDeleteYep, those later books are really very different in tone and it is so sad the way Anne just fades into the background, but they are still good in their own way. You probably won't regret reading them. Also, just a note on Six of Crows, it's a duology, so there are only these two books in the series. I still would probably recommend reading them if you enjoy fantasy, just because the first one was so unique for the genre. Also, while there are only two books in this series, it was heavily connected to her first trilogy, and I suspect she will write more series taking place in this world that all generally interconnect. I love it when an author does that, and hopefully some of the hanging parts from this duology will be resolved later on. (Just for you, the two books I'm in the middle of right now are The Boys in the Boat and People of the Book, and both so far are really good :).
DeleteOh I cried for a week over Rainbow Valley when a child, devastated!
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