September reading review

 Hello friends, and welcome back to another monthly reading recap. I genuinely am losing steam on this whole writing about what I'm reading thing, BUT if I backed out now, I don't think my sister would ever forgive me. So 4 more posts, starting with this one!

Book 1: Midnight Sun 

Yikes, how are we still talking about Twilight? This book was massive! Like, good grief, it's not that many additional pages over Twilight, and yet somehow it was an absolute slog to get through. Edward as a narrator was neurotic, which was hilarious at times and absolutely infuriating most of the time. Like, bro needs so much therapy, and also what the heck is Stephanie Meyers on? 

Truthfully, I did think it was better than Twilight. In part because it was her what, ninth? book vs. her first. I also found it funny how she actually wrote Bella into a fully formed character in this vs. her being white bread untoasted in Twilight.  Would I ever read it again? Nope. Will I check out Netflix's TV show based on it? Maybe. 

Book 2: Nightlight: A parody

Okay, this book was bad, but sadly it was bad in the same way that Twilight was bad, and that's sad because Twilight was actually trying, haha. This was a short read that I enjoyed for what it was: quick, funny, and not much else. 

Book 3: The Thursday Murder Club 

A delightful read! The mystery had enough red herrings to keep you invested and guessing. I enjoyed the narrative style, with Joyce's journal entries alongside the 3rd-person storytelling.

The movie was very well done, and I initially found out about it. It was nice to have the actors' faces and voices while I read. It was a comfy read, a fun story, and quite a cozy experience. 10/10 (: I will definitely be back for the rest of the series. 

Book 4: The Tao of Pooh

I actually deeply enjoyed this book. I'm not sure I fully understand Taoism from it, but that's okay.

I did think there were messages relevant to me. Many of the principles taught were good, but I found I had to look at the story example in an open-minded way and not take the message at face value to find the real nugget of gold. I would 100% recommend the audiobook form of this book. It was just so sweet to hear the characters as they interacted throughout the story.

Ultimately, it's a short and sweet book that gives just a little more Pooh in an adult-acceptable form.

Book 5: A Far Wilder Magic

I have only read 1 other book by this author, and I loved it! It was wonderful, and so naturally I thought, I should read her other books and see if they are good too. I started with this one in part because I was significantly less interested in it haha. The premise didn't quite do it for me, BUT it was overall well reviewed, so I went for it. It was an interesting book. The story moved at a slow pace. Honestly, it wasn't until maybe the last 1/3 that I started to feel the pace pick up, and my ability to put it down decreased. 

Overall, I think the world-building was good, if a little confusing. The author didn't waste any time explaining things; they just got right to the story. Which is how I prefer my world-building, if I'm honest. But I would've enjoyed slightly less pining and drama and more explaining the magic, religion, etc., of the world we were in. The main characters were... interesting. Sometimes I found them deeply annoying, if I'm honest. And the constant "I can't trust him," "She's not like other girls," blah blah blah was dreadful. Just ugh. 

A final note on spicy levels. I felt this book read much more like Young Adult than Teen. The description of the spicy scenes was pretty mild, but the yearning was turned all the way up. I feel it would be age-appropriate for 18+. 

Alright, I did it! As usual, go check out my sister's post here, and I'll see you in the next one.