jordyn reads too much

7 / 100 books for 2022.

[birdjayreads]

an introduction

hi. i'm jordyn, 31, a new mom, and an avid, avid reader. in the past 5 years, i've read 374 books. up until this point, all my reviews have been on goodreads only, but as i move forward with absolutely devouring books, i thought i'd share my thoughts on a space that's more mine! so hello, and welcome to my thoughts about books.

some things you need to know, going forward: i read really fast. my love of fantasy and magic comes from reading the harry potter series approximately a million times when I was younger.

MY PERSONAL RATING SYSTEM: 5 stars - Perfect in terms of enjoyment. 4 stars - Great, but there were one or two things I didn't like. 3 stars - Okay, but there was a LOT bothering me. 2 stars - Bleh, too much wrong, but I enjoyed at least a little 1 star - Horrible, nothing redeeming at all

it takes a LOT for me to 1. rate lower than four stars, and 2. not finish a book. i'm easily entertained, and pretty forgiving once i finish a book. however, if i get at least 20% of the way into a book and i'm not feeling it? i'm going to DNF it. life's too short to read a book i'm not enjoying -- something more people should be willing to ascribe to.

my reviews are usually quite concise, and sometimes mostly just me shouting about how much i enjoyed it. i’ll try to be a little more verbose going forward, though! i am ALWAYS open to book suggestions, and would love to hear what you guys think on the books i’m reading or reviewing. 

let’s go!

[birdjayreads]

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Originally posted on Goodreads September 3, 2020.

What a sweet version of insta-love. Now, I know most people aren't huge fans of insta-love. It's not super realistic, but the way its done in An Enchantment of Ravens actually works. There's a sweet relationship between a human and a faerie lord. It all starts when Isobel, a master painter, is commissioned by the Autumn Prince, Rook, to do a portrait for him. Everything builds from there. Love and peril, questions about faeries, everything.

There's some really neat world-building done in this novel -- the setting is Whimsy, which seems to be separate from our world somehow, and the faerielands. Whimsy is stuck permanently in summer. It seems humans primarily live here, but faeries come and go. Magic is mysteriously done, not laid out in any particular way. But it's faerie magic, and faerie magic always comes with a price. Wishes and requests must be said precisely to be sure there is no way the request can be twisted.

Unfortunately, An Enchantment of Ravens is rather short. I was so engrossed in the world and the relationship between the main two characters that when the end came I wanted more. More between Isobel and Rook, more about the faeries and what's going to happen with the titles and land involved.

Overall, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Four stars, probably leaning towards four and a half.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Originally posted on Goodreads December 30, 2020.

First thoughts are that this book is absolutely delightful and heartbreaking and just beautifully, beautifully written. VE Schwab has completely outdone herself. If you like your books to have a definite plot, though, you aren't going to like it. This is more of a meandering walk through Addie's life, seeing what happens to her and how she deals with it. There is little to no plot. But that was a-okay for me. I loved watching Addie as she drifted through history, totally invisible. In fact, I wanted more. I could have read another thousand pages of this, quite happily.

Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil for immortality. The side effect being that absolutely no one can remember her...until she meets Henry Strauss. Henry is a teensy on the boring side, but it wasn't a deal breaker or anything. Addie is quite interesting enough for the both of them. Luc, the devil, was the MOST interesting of the three, but you don't get quite enough of him in my opinion. It is rather vague what he is, leaving it up to the reader, I think, if he is indeed a devil or an angel or a god at all.

I will say this book felt more like a romance novel to me than a fantasy, which was fine because I love romance novels. HOWEVER, I can see a lot of people not liking it for that reason. This book is about Addie and her absolute desire to be seen, to be remembered. There is sex, but its not particularly graphic.

If I had an ounce of VE Schwab's talent, I would die happy. The writing in Addie LaRue is just...melt on your tongue, sweet deliciousness. It was gorgeous, gilded and beautiful. I wanted so, so much more, and when I got to the end I was a little disappointed. JUST because there wasn't enough for me. Please note -- the book comes to a perfectly reasonable ending, but I still wanted more.

★★★★★

[birdjayreads]

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

Originally posted on Goodreads January 22, 2021.

Literally just finished this book and honestly, my first reaction is a giant 'meh.' A lot of this story was fascinating, but the way it rounds itself up in a neat little no-death bow was....disappointing? Not that I wanted someone to die, but it feels a little impossible in the world that was set up in all three books. Faerieland was supposed to be cruel and harsh and suddenly everything just works out?

Disappointing.

I did, however, like that Jude finally lightened up a little at the end. She became more likeable as The Queen of Nothing went on, though there were definitely parts where I wanted to shake her senseless.

Oh well, I guess. Another series down.

★★★☆☆

[birdjayreads]

The Wicked King by Holly Black

Originally posted on Goodreads January 22, 2021.

The Wicked King picks up right where The Cruel Prince left off. I like it when books do this -- time jumps usually add nothing to a story but confusion. I'd say I enjoyed this book, but I did spend most of it wondering what Jude's plan actually was. It felt like most of the book she was just flying by the seat of her pants, hoping not to get tricked into anything. Of course, near the end of the book that DOES happen by someone unexpected.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the ending of The Wicked King. It felt a little...out of nowhere, almost? I mean, yeah faeries are tricky but it didn't feel like something that was set up throughout the rest of the book. I guess I'll read the next book and see how that one sits as an end to the whole series.

I will say I still didn't have huge amounts of sympathy for Jude. She's rather unlikeable throughout this and the first book. Maybe that's just me, though. Either way, I enjoyed most of The Wicked King, and will read on.

★★★☆☆

[birdjayreads]

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Originally posted on Goodreads January 13, 2021.

Very very much YA, but an enjoyable sort. I guess I've been on a Fae kick lately or something, because this is another book about faeries.

The Cruel Prince is about a human named Jude, who was raised in Faerie. The fae raising her killed her mom and dad in front of her, and then stole her and her sisters away to Faerie. It took me a while to really like Jude, and even at the end of the book I'm not entirely sure how MUCH I like her. She's cool and calculating, and some of the time, almost cruel. I kinda can't wait to see what she does in the next book.

All the characters have definite personalities, definite ambitions, and plot points. No one is wasted.

I did, however, spend the whole book wondering who Jude was going to end up with. As this is a YA series, I was fully expecting a love triangle of sorts. There really isn't one, but there IS some drama with romances. Nothing I was PARTICULARLY interested in, but there is that note to the book.

I enjoyed The Cruel Prince, and fully expect to read the rest of the series once it's available at my library.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass

Originally posted on Goodreads January 21, 2021.

An Illusion of Thieves struggles in the first few chapters with an inordinate amount of info dumping that really, really isn't necessary. There's a lot of unfamiliar place names, and explanations of history that honestly, really aren't required to understand the novel as a whole. If you took out the huge info dumps at the beginning of this book, it would flow so so much better. BUT DESPITE THAT, An Illusion of Thieves was an enjoyable fantasy novel with a heist twist into it.

Romy is a delightful main character, with a very unique magic power. She's got some sass to her that I really like. Her brother, Neri, on the other hand, I wanted to slap silly. I mean it. SO SO many times he deserves a face-slap. He is the reason behind basically everything that happens in this book and he doesn't ever appear to be apologetic over it.

Readers of the Locke Lamora series should enjoy this one -- same Italian-esque setting with thievery and wit involved.

If you're having a hard time settling into the book, force yourself to get at least 10% of the way in, and then it should get a little better for you.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Originally posted on Goodreads November 4, 2021.

I'll be honest, it took me a little while to get into A Court of Silver Flames. I think the biggest reason for this is that I just did not like Nesta. Not even a tiny sliver of a little bit. She was brash, arrogant, selfish, and just plain MEAN to almost everyone in the ACOTAR universe. I hated her, and I'm not afraid to say it. I know I'm not the only one who felt this way about her. There was not a lot to like about her.

This book will probably change how you feel about Nesta. You get to know her better, get to know why she acts the way she does, and why she's mean. But before all that happens, you'll get the chance to hate her some more. It's not an easy transition for her character, changing into someone who actually acts like a person and not three angry cats in a trench coat. But I promise it does pay off. There is good, if not great, character development.

The over-arching plot is a little on the weaker side for an ACOTAR book, but I believe it is set up for further books in this series. Anyway, the big plot wasn't a HUGE part of this book. ACOSF is mostly about Nesta's journey into acceptance of herself and her place in the world.

Cassian is an absolute delight, and I love him so fucking much. Cass and Nesta play off each other SO well and it was a JOY to read them circling around each other like sharks in bloody water.

As for everyone's favorites, Feyre and Rhys are not in this book a lot, but they do make appearances. I honestly wish we got to see them more, but the book wasn't about them. I'm hoping both of them appear more in Elain's book, if she gets one at some point. (I'm operating under the assumption that Elain/Azriel/Mor/Lucien will get books or share a book.) Rhys does withhold information from Feyre that is important to her health and wellbeing, and I'm SURE people are going to be very angry with him. HOWEVER, I can 100% see where he was coming from and see why he did it. I'm not saying it was the best decision, but one that was justifiable. Don't hate him. He was doing what he could to protect his mate to the best of his ability.

ANYWAY, four stars to ACOSF. Four and not five because the big plot needed some work in my opinion.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Originally posted on Goodreads November 10, 2021.

This was a fascinating deep dive into a fictional actress's complicated life. Super, super interesting -- a definite page turner. Evelyn Hugo's life will make you cry, will make you rage, and ultimately, at the very end, make you upset. There is loads of LGBTQ+ representation, but it is doused in the culture of the time period it takes place in.

I'm not sure how I feel about the main character, Evelyn, yet. I think...my gut instinct is to call her a bitch. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, seemingly without regard for others. She did what she had to, to get the roles and parts she wanted. She was never apologetic, not really, for her actions, either. She ruined several people's lives living her own this way.

I'll have to stew on this one some more, but I really, really enjoyed it.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Originally posted on Goodreads August 7, 2020.

OKAY SO I finished this book last night right before I went to bed, so my thoughts are probably going to be a bit jumbled. Sorry not sorry.

First off -- this book was confusing as hell until the last few chapters when EVERYTHING clicks right into place. If you go into this book, and you have no idea what's going on, don't worry. It's completely and 100% on purpose. Everything will make sense at the end of the book, and I promise it's worth it. The author planned this book out perfectly. I was ready to give this book a negative review right up until everything clicked into place, then I was on BOARD.

I didn't like this book as much as the first because

[THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IS A SPOILER FOR THE FIRST BOOK AND THE END OF HARROW]

Gideon died at the end of Book 1, and the narrator is now Harrow. Harrow is 100% not as interesting as Gideon to me. She's too dark and moody for my personal taste, and that dampened my enjoyment of the book a little. HOWEVER, as soon as we get Gideon back, I was beside myself with joy.

[SPOILER OVER]

Learning more about Lyctors and who they are, and how they got to be where they are was interesting. I wish we had a little more time with them in the book, more actual conversations with them instead of vicariously through another character.

Good god, the MEMES in this book made me laugh and laugh, holy shit.

Questions from the first book are answered, but more questions are asked in this book and I can't wait to see how they're all answered. I am FASCINATED by this world, and how power works, how it is given, and how people who have power are treated. I cannot wait to read the next book. I'm sad it's not out already.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Originally posted on Goodreads August 20, 2020.

This book is phenomenal.

I was a little hesitant at first to even read the book because necromancy ooks me out a bit. I'm so glad I got over that. Necromancy is a HUGE part of this book, but it never really bothered me. I was much, much more interested in the main character and how she navigated the world.

Gideon is a foul-mouthed, sassy little goblin of a character and I love her so freaking much. She's quick with a quip, and uses humor to mask her problems. She's a soldier, a kind of body guard for her necromancer, buuuuuut the thing is... she HATES her necromancer. That spicy relationship was really neat to see play out, and the development between them was very satisfying.

I didn't expect to laugh as much as I did while reading a book about necromancy, but here we are.

The magic, the descriptions of battles, all of it is just plain awesome.

The plot is a little wishy-washy, a kind of Hunger Games-esque trial to become the next elite, but the MYSTERY surrounding it all is what hooked me. There's a big question mark right in the middle of the book, and once you get (some of) the answers, it's like getting hit with a train. The ending will leave you downright gobsmacked.

I can't wait to read the next book.

★★★★★

[birdjayreads]

Court of Venom by Kristin Burchell

Originally posted on Goodreads January 3, 2022.

Thank you to Edelweiss for providing an ARC copy of this novel.

Court of Venom is a face-paced fantasy novel set in an oasis. All around this oasis sits a cursed desert called The Lost. The main character, Badriya, has become an unwilling assassin to the queen. She does what she must to collect money to free her mother's soul from The Lost. The queen is a nasty piece of work who asks Badriya to murder people for the smallest of slights.

This book is quite short, but it is quite the ride. Kristin Burchell's writing is atmospheric and absolutely gorgeous. Throughout the entire novel, you really feel as if you are there with Badriya, living in the middle of a desert. As a main character, Badriya is quite melancholy and desperate, with good reason that I won't get into here as it's a spoiler.

I have minor complaints about only a couple of things --

1. The love interest comes into the novel quite late -- I wish he'd been introduced earlier. As the book is so short, it feels as if we barely spend time with him before everything is over.

2. I wish there had been a map included somewhere of all the locations mentioned in the novel. It would have helped situate where things were, and why some alliances were needed/wanted.

Overall, Court of Venom is a good read.

Court of Venom comes out April 5, 2022.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly by  Jamie Pacton

Originally posted on Goodreads April 25, 2021.

The Life and Medieval Times of Kit Sweetly is a cute book about a girl wanting to be a knight at a Medieval Times-esque restaurant and being told that only cis-male people can become knights. The book has a good message at heart, and is rather entertaining at parts.

HOWEVER -- I was blown away at the descriptions of smoking in this book. It's projected as something cool to do around other people, and done socially. At one point, I think the main character even mentions craving a cigarette. Am I insane in thinking this is AWFUL? This book isn't years and years old. It came out LAST YEAR in 2020. We should not be hyping cigarette smoking up anymore, I don't care if it's in a fictional book. Honestly, the smoking sections of the book are not necessary plot-wise, and frequently tugged me right out of the fantasy of the book.

So, yeah, mostly-cute book about gender representation and feminism that was partially ruined for me by depictions of smoking.

★★★☆☆

[birdjayreads]

A Coin for the Ferryman by Megan Edwards

Thank you to Edelweiss for providing an ARC copy of this novel.

A Coin for the Ferryman has all the makings of what could be a fantastic novel. However, it needs a heavy-handed editor to make it into such a book. A Coin For the Ferryman is a novel about time-travel in the veins of The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.. There's a heavy scientific lean, though not much description is actually given of how anything works. (Which is fair bc time-travel isn't real!) But despite that, there could have been slightly more time spent on the mechanics, rather than describing all the women characters eight million times. BUT I DIGRESS.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.'s faults were that too much of the novel was taken up working up TO the time-travel, and unfortunately, the same thing happens in A Coin for the Ferryman. I don't think anything really interesting happens until maybe 40% of the way into the novel. I actually debating DNF-ing the book a couple times. The first half of the book is basically spent setting up the characters, when it really, really didn't need to.

The best parts of the book were when Caesar was on page. I had a hard time putting the book down at that point -- I really, really wanted to find out if anything was going to go wrong with the mechanics there. I won't spoil, of course, but it is definitely worth reading.

In the end, the book is decent, it just needs more polishing, in my personal opinion. In the first 40% of the book, the time jumps around and it is confusing as hell. It needs to be more obvious what's in the present and what's in the past. The 'notes' at the end of the book are unnecessary as well. They didn't add anything to the novel.

HAIL CAESAR.

A Coin for the Ferryman comes out March 1, 2022.

★★★☆☆

[birdjayreads]

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Originally posted on Goodreads February 26, 2021.

A lot of people have been describing Lore as a mash-up between the Hunger Games and Percy Jackson, and I'd say that's a fair comparison. However, where Lore differs is that I didn't care one single iota about any of the characters. I don't know if that's a me problem or if it's something in the way the book is written but it read like a bland TV show for me. I really WANTED to enjoy it, because it has all the markers of something that I'd really get a kick out of, but meh.

Lore herself is supposedly a kick-ass teenager trying to win glory back for her house, and to end the Agon -- a challenge to kill Gods and take their power. She's mourning her entire family as they were killed at the end of the LAST Agon. I didn't feel the loss in any of the writing. There was one scene where we actually witness Lore discover her family murdered, but it just felt flat to me.

I really wanted more from the Gods. I wanted to see more of them, wanted to feel their presence as something truly awesome, but you barely get a glimpse of any of them.

I think a lot of people will really love this book, but it just didn't really do it for me.

★★★☆☆

[birdjayreads]

Trailer Park Trickster by David R. Slayton

Originally posted on Goodreads November 1, 2021.

Remember how much I loved the first Adam Binder novel? WELL, THE SECOND ENTRY IS JUST AS GOOD. All the characters from White Trash Warlock get expanded upon in Trailer Park Trickster in the best way possible. They all get a little more flesh on their bones, you get to know them and their motivations a lot more, which is what you what in a series like this. Vic got a lot more embellishment in this book, which is good because he was something of a mystery in the first novel. Adam's family also gets a lot more added to them, which is the main source of plot in Trailer Park Trickster.

I'm sad these books aren't longer, but paranormal series like this one tend to stick to shorter entries for whatever reason. Just means I go through them like fun-sized candy.

THAT ENDING THOUGH. WOOF. Cliff-hanger endings are the worst, but they do work. I can't WAIT to read the next one of these.

★★★★☆

[birdjayreads]

White Trash Warlock by  David R. Slayton

Originally posted on Goodreads October 28, 2021.

God, I just love a good urban fantasy/paranormal romance book. White Trash Warlock hit ALL my buttons in the best possible way. Adam Binder is a scruffy dirt-poor magic user who does his best to try and save a bunch of innocents from a horrible entity that's formed in a Chicago hospital. There's leprechauns, elves, dwarves, time-twisty things, Death itself and all sorts of cool characters.

This book is GAY, gay, gay in the best way. It's not subtle, it's not underhanded, it's not hidden, read-between the lines like some books are. This is gay romance, and it's done GOOD. There's even the typical paranormal romance love triangle thing going on.

I'm DEFINITELY here to stay for this series. Can't wait to read the next.

★★★★★