Literary Lundi #6

Tomorrow I'll be continuing my "Bohemian Rhapsody" series, but since I didn't post last week I figured I'd do a big ol' Literary Lundi today. Since there are so many books I got over the past two weeks, I'm just going to put Goodreads links and not write about each individual book. I got a big Nook giftcard for Christmas, which should sustain my next 30-50 books (remember, I said I really only buy books on sale which for ebooks is $1.99-$2.99).

Books Acquired:

Joyland by Stephen King

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Judging a Book by Its Lover by Lauren Leto

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

The Bees by Laline Paull

Panic by Lauren Oliver

The Fever by Megan Abbott

The Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series by Ann Canadeo

Star Trek: Destiny: The Complete Saga

Books Finished:

The Magic Trick by Levi Stack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The 2nd instalment in this series is as exciting as the first, as we see what happens to Viktor and Romulus once the Silent Deal is broken.

This time, we are taken inside Staryi Castle as Viktor and his classmates take classes, ostensibly training to be Apprentices to the Leopard. I can see people complaining a bit about this plot development, mainly in its similarities to other series. Viktor doesn't do very well in Infusions (Potions) class, his teacher is probably evil, and then there are the trials, in which death is a very real possibility. So yes, these are themes we have seen in other books, but the setting and characters here are original.

As with the first book in the series, there are many characters to keep track of, and several plot threads. There is a bit of violence, but nothing terribly graphic. So again, maybe upper middle grade? Or an advanced younger reader? As an adult who regularly reads books for younger readers, I enjoyed it. The Magic Trick ends with a few more mysteries solved, and a few more questions asked. I hope to read the next book in the series as well.

I received my copy of this book from the author.

View all my reviews

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This might be more of a 3.5; it was pretty good but I didn't absolutely LOVE it.

I had heard a lot of hype about this book the year it came out, like it would be the next big series or whatever, and I don't think it lives up to that, but it was a pretty entertaining read. The basic idea is that it's an alternate universe (or alternate history) where people with psychic powers exist and of course society doesn't like/trust them, and of course our protagonist is a girl who is special. Tropes Are Not Bad, so that isn't a complaint, just callin' like it is.

The reader on the audio was really good, she did several different accents of the British Isles, which I liked. There was also a character (Jaxon) who I couldn't help but picture as Mark Shepard. I assume they'll make a movie of this, so they should get him for that role.

If you're into this type of book (YA dystopia) this is a cool addition to the genre, and since it doesn't take place in America the setting and details are a bit different from some of the other big series out there.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading:

I'm almost done with Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko and on audio, The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. I'm enjoying the latter so much that I may make a dedicated blog post about it; it's just really making me think and reflect on a bunch of stuff.

Up Next:

Would you believe I haven't given it much thought? I may finally give in and give up my firstborn for the 4th Harry Potter audiobook, but as for ebooks, I have over a hundred on my Nook and I'm not sure which to read next.

So that's the past two weeks! And if you're into books and stats about books, later this week I'll have a post up analyzing my reading habits from the past three years. There will be graphs!