The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I feel a sequel coming on.
It took me a while to get in to this book. I'd heard a lot of great hype about it and was really excited to read it but it didn't immediately suck me in so I started off a bit disappointed. It did get better, when you got used to the terminology and setting. The pacing was a bit awkward at times but I'm not sure if that was a fault with the editing or a story-telling device.



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The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm not sure what I feel about this book. It was well written and the characters were great but they were framed in such an odd and specific frame that it almost took away from the story if you weren't interested in botany, but maybe that's just me. I definitely liked Eat, Pray, Love better.

This review is based on an advanced copy received from the publisher.



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Evil and the Mask by Fuminori Nakamura

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Interesting, surprising, and very well written. Really sucked me in and made me interested in where the story was going. Interesting combination of the simple and the complex sides of human nature. I'd be interested in reading more of this author's work.

This review is based on a free copy received from the publisher.



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The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Loyd

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book took me a while to get in to it but then I had a hard time putting it down and pretty much read it all the way through on my day off. It was a bit different than what I was expecting but still a very good character portrait, the narrator felt very real. Nice little story about how opening up ourselves to others helps us open up to ourself.

This review is based on an advanced copy received from the publisher.



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Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I let this book sit on my stack for quite a while because I'm not fond of reading letters. My mom recently read it a loved it so I decided to give it a chance. What a really sweet story!! I pretty much devoured it. Great love story.

This is based on an advanced edition received from the publisher.



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Havisham: A Novel by Ronald Frame

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Wide Sargasso Sea set the bar really high, in my opinion, for this type of character-centric prequel. When there is such a wonderful and iconic character, such as Miss Havisham, and you hear someone is writing their back story it is easy to get excited about it. Unfortunately, this book does not live up to such great expectations. A character like this deserves a thorough psychological exploration so you can see how they became the person you already know them to be. This felt more like snippets from a diary and just did not delve deeply enough.


This review is based on an advanced copy received from the publisher.



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