Rowan’s Book Nook

I review books :)

[rowansbooknook]

Magical Readathon - Autumn Equinox TBR

I’ve been participating in the Magical Readathon hosted by G at BookRoast on YouTube since 2023. I have two characters, so therefore two callings. I really recommend it if you like Dungeons and Dragons and non-competitive readathons!

—

Zephyr Swiftwind

Calliope Darksong

[rowansbooknook]

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (REVIEW)

Rating: 4.75

HRCYED prompts: Around the World - Antarctica/Award Season - Semifinalist

TW: attempted suicide

This book really made me think and it hit me where it hurt, in the best possible way.

I didn’t realize it was so polarizing, so many people hate it. But why? Nora going through all of her lives made her realize that she can do anything with the current life she has, even if it’s not perfect. Maybe I’m sappy but I liked the whole vibe, it was really inspirational to me. It reminds me of my therapy sessions, I think I might actually recommend it to my therapist.

I like being reminded that there *are* good things in life and life is worth living, it helps me and my own suicidal thoughts. I think this was definitely a “right book, right time” situation for me. It felt like talking someone off the bridge and I really love that shit. I know it doesn’t work for some people but for my own mental health, it helps.

[rowansbooknook]

The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

Rating: 4.5

HRCYED Prompt: by the 100s - 200 pages

This seems to be where the action really picks up. You meet the Quagmires in this one and they really get the mystery going and make it super interesting to read about. Up until now, the stories have been kind of repetitive. But now the mystery is starting to unfold and you get your first glimpse of VFD.

The Quagmires are lovely kids and I’m happy that the Baudelaires finally have some friends. But that’s about where the nice characters end in this book. Nero is possibly the most annoying character I have ever read in a book. I know that’s the point but my god…it was almost unbearable to read his parts sometimes. Also Carmelita. She’s an absolute menace and so horrible. Mr. Poe is Mr. Poe and Olaf is Olaf, nothing much has changed there. But each new guardian is worse than the last (which, again, I know is the point) and sometimes it just gets draining to read about them. I’m just about done with the adults in this series to be perfectly honest lol

Overall, I had a good time, this was one of the more interesting plotlines and you’re getting your first glimpses of what twisted madness is about to come. Off to book 6!

[rowansbooknook]

The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket (REVIEW)

Rating: 3.5

HRCYED Prompts: By the 100s - 100-199/Become the Avatar - Fire on the cover

This one was a little boring if I’m being honest. Watching kids (and adults) work at a lumber mill isn’t exactly exciting. Maybe that was intentional though, to make us feel how bored the kids were since the author made a point to mention how boring the work was.

Maybe I missed it, but how exactly did we end up here? I don’t think Sir is related to them in any way so why did Mr. Poe think it was okay to ship them off to a lumber mill with dangerous machinery, when the guy “caring” for them isn’t even a relative? Also I believe the will said they had to be raised somewhere geographically close to their house, and they had to take a train to the middle of nowhere to get to Paltryville. It makes no sense. Mr. Poe really is the real villain of this series, he just seems like he wants the kids out of the way as fast as possible and doesn’t care what environment they end up in.

Even though the story wasn’t my favorite, the humor and wit was still there and I still liked it, just not as much as the others so far. I’m still excited to continue the series!

[rowansbooknook]

The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket (REVIEW)

Rating: 4

HRCYED Prompts: 24 hour readathon/become the avatar - air on the cover

I’m knocking off a star for this one for a couple reasons. One, the audiobooks are no longer narrated by Tim Curry. This made me so sad, he was such a great narrator. I’ve decided to just physically read them now because I don’t want any other narrator 😂

Two, Aunt Josephine is infuriating. And honestly really shallow and a terrible guardian. Her constant grammar correction is unnecessarily annoying. I realize it’s a plot device that was important later but it was just irritating to read. Also, her fears, while some are perfectly rational, most are not. She needs therapy. Like yesterday.

How she treated the kids at the end was horrible too. She wouldn’t put them before herself, she was selfish and quite honestly, a wimp. You need to be a stronger person if you’re going to take on three traumatized children who are running from a murderous fiend.

The last half of the book was actually very exciting and, seeing as I haven’t read these books in years, I didn’t actually remember much of what happened, so I was on the edge of my seat. I feel like this is the turning point of the series, where it goes from just kind of unfortunate to incredibly dark, twisted, and exhilarating.

So despite its setbacks, I did enjoy this one, just not to the extent that I could’ve. I’m still excited to continue the series and can’t wait to dive in to book 4!

[rowansbooknook]

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket (REVIEW)

Rating: 5

HRCYED Prompt: 24 hour readathon/Animals are Better - Exotic pets

We love himbo Uncle Monty in this house. This one is like a false sense of security, even though the author blatantly tells you that things don’t end well.

Monty is such a wonderful character, albeit a bit…naive. I’m convinced he would’ve been the best guardian for them, if he weren’t so stupid. He let Olaf back into their lives, left them alone with him (someone he himself was suspicious of, for different reasons, and someone he barely knew), and also kept poisonous substances unsecured. But he was also very kind and well-intentioned, and very nice to read about. He’s a good guardian, just…has no common sense.

Olaf was always violent but this one was even more so. The descriptions of how he’s going to kill the children after he gets their fortune were very graphic. It was a bit eye-opening, especially remembering that these books are made for kids.

Overall, I had a great time with this one too. Tim Curry’s narration was on point yet again and the humor and story were incredible. Looks like we’re going in a great direction!

[rowansbooknook]

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (REVIEW)

Rating: 5

HRCYED Prompt: 24 hour readathon/adaptations (no, not the movie, have a little more faith in me)

This series is a reread for me but I haven’t read them since middle school.

I LOVE THIS SERIES! I forgot how much I loved it since it’s been so long. The humor is on point. I love how sarcastic and dark it is, despite the situation being terrible. I think I appreciate it more as an adult since I can understand the adult jokes put into it.

I wasn’t even mad at the vocabulary words being defined because I loved how he wrote them. My favorite was “faked—a word which here means ‘phony’”. That one made me laugh really hard.

I will say, regarding the actual content of the story, it’s dreadful and horrible obviously. But it’s written in such a way that it’s very entertaining to read. Somehow, Snicket made it so you’re giggling but also feeling bad for these kids. I don’t know how he did it but he did.

The audiobook was also incredible! They’re narrated by Tim Curry and he does great voices for Olaf and the theater troupe and lots of coughing for Mr. Poe. I believe he won an award for his narration and it’s so well deserved, he’s an actual treasure.

One bad thing is, I didn’t realize how badly Mr. Poe handled things until I read them as an adult. This man is the real villain in my opinion. He shipped them off to a “relative” that they’ve never met who is obviously suspicious, didn’t listen to them when they voiced their concerns about his abuse, and even the way he told them about their parents was devoid of emotion and empathy. My guy should not be left in charge of children, he obviously doesn’t care.

Overall this is a 5 star start to what I assume will be a 5 star series. Since I’m reading them all in a row (as many as I can in 24 hours), be prepared for lots of posts.

Off to watch the Netflix show now!

[rowansbooknook]

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (REVIEW)

Rating: 4.25

HRCYED Prompt: Series Staircase - Quadrilogy

This was technically a reread but I don’t remember much from the original read.

I liked this one, but a little less than book one. The first half was kind of lackluster, even though I knew it was character development. My ADHD doesnt love when books do that, I get bored very quickly. But I also felt like this book was weak in the character development field. By the end, I couldn’t keep all the characters that we were supposed to feel bad for straight, they weren’t very interesting or memorable. Probably because the author was, again, focusing on the relationship between Katniss and Peeta. Which still has no chemistry.

For all its shortcomings, I did really like the exploration of trauma in the first half and thought it was done really well. Despite Katniss and Peeta winning and finally being rich, they were still dealing with the aftermath and also dealing with how horrible the Capitol really is for making them do it in the first place. And then they’re just shoved into another game, obviously the trauma is gonna be extreme. I think the author explored and portrayed that very well.

The second half was where this book had me, though. The action was heart-pounding and there was no mercy. Things just kept happening and happening right up until the last page, where we were left dangling off a cliff. I don’t know how I survived as a kid waiting for book three to come out. I love the direction this series is going and can’t wait to get on to book three!

[rowansbooknook]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (REVIEW)

Rating: 4.5

HRCYED Prompt: Series Staircase - Quadrilogy

—

This is a reread for me, but I haven’t read it since high school so it’s basically like reading with fresh eyes. And it’s even better the second time around.

It was so great to be back in this world again, it’s comforting despite how bleak it is. The story is gripping and the world is inventive.

The only thing keeping me from a 5 star rating is Peeta. While the other characters are interesting and three dimensional, he isn’t very special. He’s kind of bland and forgettable to me. Also, this whole romance shouldn’t have happened. It’s trauma bonding at its finest, not a real romance. I would’ve much preferred if they just stayed friends instead of Collins pushing this romance on us. I do understand the point of it in the story but by the end, Katniss had developed feelings for him when there really was no chemistry there. We didn’t get to see them interact very much and for the most part, it was forced. I personally just don’t like the romance between them and much prefer if Katniss and Gale were together. They actually had chemistry despite us not seeing much of Gale.

Overall I had a great time with this book, I finished it in one day. Off to watch the movie now!

[a-silly-poll-side-blog-yay]

You’ve just been adopted by the last fictional family you saw (in a show, in a book, in a game - anything) how is it going?

good

bad

great

awful

results

Voting ended onJul 3, 2025

[rowansbooknook]

RIP I’m reading Anne Frank’s diary 🙃

[rowansbooknook]

July TBR, brought to you by HRCYED from Qwordy on Youtube!