I decided to start compiling a collection of reviews for books I read. It'll be five books for each post, just to keep it organized.
Date Finished: January 12
Irregular Witches doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a gritty young adult novel about a woman trying to find her place in the world? Or is it a twee, cheesy novel about a “found family” learning to love each other?
The most jarring thing about this novel was the plot twist, which disturbed me at how causally it was handled.
The tonal dissonance throughout the book really highlights a problem I have with this genre of fiction, that by trying so hard to please, it creates unintentionally horrible aesops in the name of coziness.
Date Finished: January 12
The Spellshop isn’t the most creative book I’ve read. It wears the “cozy magic” genre like a badge rather than something to snip random plot elements from here and there.
I don’t mind stories that don’t shake the needle as long as the overall plot is decent, which it is. Mostly.
My only issue is that Sarah Beth Durst’s writing felt like it tried too hard to invoke a sense of "whimsical magic" wonder to the detriment of readability. I wish she turned it down after the first few times.
Date Finished: January 29
Goblin Market is a lovely, yet twisted fairy tale that uses fruit allegory to craft its story. The symbolism is rather direct and on the nose. Hideous goblins (men) temptingly sell fruit to virginal young women, once they eat it, they become addicted to it, craving more fruit all night and day. Yep, very obvious.
Of course, what Christina Rossetti is trying to say about female sensuality in the end is up to the reader. Is it a critique of those who dare give in or is it an ode to sisterhood?
I do enjoy topics like this though. Maybe it’s in my own personal way of thinking, but it’s rather fun to see masculine figures be portrayed as the “evil seducer” rather than the other way around.
Date Finished: February 15
If I could use one word to describe this book, it would be milquetoast.
It doesn't anger me because of some perceived slight, nor have I been deeply entranced by the writing or effort. There's no feeling in the characters and story.
It's really depressing in a way. I always feel the best part of a book is picking apart the words that give the story life. The Herbwitch Apprentice has no life. It's only boring, overdone tropes slapped together to make a book.
Date Started: February 13
Date Finished: February 28
A cute premise in theory, however, it suffers from underwhelming execution.
The writing is mediocre with a glaring lack of good dialogue and an even worse romance. I often found myself questioning the merits of Lan and Vivi’s whirlwind romance throughout the story, which definitely isn't something you want the reader to do.
Don’t get me wrong, I do like a lot of the cultural touches the story had, and I admittedly learned some new things about Vietnamese mythology as someone foreign to it, which is the most positive thing I can take from reading this.
In the end, it didn't feel like the author had a narrative goal in mind other than just getting this “meet cute” concept published and then read by an easily pleased crowd of readers.
