Well, I graduated from college!! FINALLY.
I thought that would allow me more time for reading and doing all of the things that I love, but this whole summer I have been super busy busting my ass working 5/6 days per week and working on my Etsy, moving for the first time in 3 years, and planning a super special trip to Europe (kind of...ehhhh- I leave in less than two weeks and not much planning has happened). Excuses, excuses. I will admit that this has been my worst year for reading EVER! Until a few weeks ago...
So in March, my friend from school insisted that I read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I was hesitant at first: though I've been wanting to read it for awhile, I was always too afraid to buy it or check it out from the library because it is always categorized as "Romance". Although there were many parts that were definitely smutty, it was a very fun read.
The months passed and I read halfway through like 5 books without finishing them...
Finally things started to settle down in mid August after being fully moved in and having some spare time to enjoy. After lending Ali Daughter of the Forest, she bought Son of the Shadows and Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier, the remaining books in the Sevenwaters trilogy. I loved Son of the Shadows. Liadan was a really cool main character, having admirable traits such as loyalty and honesty. As with the prior book I was intrigued by the familial relationships. I totally just love the setting of the forest, and the druidic, environmental, and celtic mythology influences in the writing. I found that it was quite similar in plot to Outlander which was a little confusing for remembering which book was which- the main character a brunette curly haired healer, gets kidnapped and falls in love with one of her captors.
I wasn't as impressed with Child of the Prophecy. I didn't like the whiny, dishonest, insecure main character, who didn't seem to have many redeeming traits beyond being super magical and beautiful. TBH I didn't really like any of the characters other than Finbar who had a minimal role in this book. It barely took place in the forest. I guess it was interesting to view the drama of the previous books from a different point of view but at the same time the different point of view (Lady Oonagh) was clearly flawed and psychotic so it wasn't really like a sympathy check. Also the ending was kind of dumb, like she is marrying this guy who wants to travel the world and be adventurous and awesome but he is stuck on this island with no other company other than her and her children- and she hopes that one day her daughter will marry a shipwrecked sailor because she will have no other company?? It is so vastly different from #1 and #2 that it just didn't settle well with me.
Anyways, then Ali checked out Beauty by Robin McKinley from the library. I'm certain I read it when I was younger but I couldn't remember any of it, I probably liked it. Even after reading and disliking the Blue Sword four summers ago, I thought I would give the author another shot. I was disappointed to find the characters blah, the plot slow and not very engaging, with a weird pace. I kind of want to give her other Beauty and the Beast book written 20 years later a shot but at the same time I don't want to waste my time.
Then Ali checked out like 6 books and I was on a roll, so I read The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. I really liked this one! The bad characters were infuriating and the drama was enticing. Hale is an excellent storyteller with a knack for pacing action and garnering the readers interest. Some of the characters were a bit flat but the story was enough to keep me going. It was just adulty enough to keep my interest, and the love between Ani and Geric was cute. I feel like I totally would have loved this as an early teenager.
Then I read Princess Academy by Hale as well. I'd heard of it but was reluctant to read it because of the stupid title- envisioning something along the lines of the Princess Diaries. However, I liked this one as well. Like the Goose Girl, this book read like a folktale. It was simple and sweet, and had very strong themes of family, friendship, teamwork, cooperation, loyalty, love, and hard work. I loved that Miri's physical traits were never really described, and she had a lot of character. She was caring, funny, and smart. I feel like book characters are never really funny so that was really cool to see. I connected a lot with her haha. Also her love with Peder was cute too, Hale seems to have a knack for writing uncomfortable and exciting first loves. I think the only downside to this book was the ending, the plot with Britta was like a little weird. Also it was a little bit too childish for my taste, but it's definitely a book I would have enjoyed in elementary school. When the 19 teenage girls were abducted by grimy ass bandits I just found it a bit unbelievable that none made a single suggestive comment or action, but hey that's children's fiction for you, and it was kind of refreshing to not have to deal with the added stress of the situation.
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