I tried to convince myself multiple times the past month that, as an introvert and reader, a stay-at-home order is something I welcome because staying at home and reading is my happy place and now I have no choice but to do so. And yet … and yet I found myself obsessively reading/watching the news, aka my new favorite pastime/nightmare, versus reading.
Eventually I did manage to crack a few books open and actually read them from start-to-finish too. A true accomplishment, if I do say so myself! Best of all – the books were good, even great. And I really needed some great news.
The Books I Loved, Liked and Loathed
Yay, no loathe books this month!!
The Books I Loved
Proof that my cold, dead heart does still beat.
A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Book Description: The curse may be broken in Emberfall but all is not well. The true heir, Grey, remains hidden but must decide whether to stand against Rhen to protect his country and the ones he loves.
Book Review: I won’t lie: I was both incredibly eager to read this book and also full of trepidation. You see, the first book, A Curse so Dark and Lonely, broke a reading slump for me and the second book in trilogies are often the weakest, only existing to bring us to the final, good book. Well, I was a fool! This book was not a let-down, nor was it full of blah, blah, blah that put a girl to sleep. Nope. I love Grey even more than I did in the first book. Lia Mara is awesome. Basically everyone is awesome in Grey’s new crew, except for Rhen. Boy. I’d like to punch him. To an extent, I understand why he did the things he did to Grey but he also crossed a line that’s going to be hard to come back from and be a hero again. I am also excited to see how Kemmerer resolves everything too between Grey and Rhen.
To Read or Not To Read: YES! I love this series so much. The characters are great and I cannot wait until the next book comes out.
The Books I Liked
These are the books I liked, from most liked to liked. Star rankings would be 4 to 3 stars.
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
Book Description: After being released from prison for poisoning her daughter (munchausen by proxy), everyone is shocked when daughter and mother reunite.
Book Review: So how much of a pass does a Mom get due to a horrible childhood? Or, perhaps, the more important question is whether it’s nature or nurture that now forms her daughter? Patty, the Mom, is a pretty straightforward, love-to-hate character but Rose Gold is complicated. You love her; hate her and everything in-between. In the end, she is her mother’s daughter, which may be something her mother comes to regret.
To Read or Not To Read: Yes. It’s a fast read. It surprised me how much I alternated between feeling heartbroken for Rose Gold to really, really hating her, even if I felt a little bad about it. Sometimes.
The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal
Book Description: A beautiful young woman aspires to be an artist, while a chance meeting leads to a man’s dark obsession which may destroy her world forever.
Book Review: This is a fine, pass-the-time read. Oddly enough, the main character, Iris, I found less interesting than Silas or Albie. Nothing happened that surprised me, which is not intended as an insult. I prefer predictable (thus logic) over unnecessary and often poorly done twists. In fact, its predictability or formula was a welcome respite during such an unpredictable time overall.
To Read or Not To Read: Yes. It’s not as cat-and-mouse as I expected, which is probably a good thing. My psyche might not have been able to handle psychological terror right now. 😀
To More Great Books
Once again, I recommend all the books I read last month. A Heart so Fierce and Broken is a must-read for fans of a Curse so Dark and Lonely and I highly recommend that series to those who enjoy YA fantasy. Those who enjoy complicated and generally unlikeable characters should check out Darling Rose Gold. The Doll Factory is a good choice for those who like historical fiction with a bit of romance and mystery.
It’s only been a month since our last link-up, but it feels like a year and whole different world we’re living and reading in. I didn’t get as much reading completed as I expected but I have a handful of books I’m hoping to get through the next month. And I’m trying harder to read a wider variety of genres because it’s a no-go on books with a world-ending virus, too dystopian, or freaking depressing (I’m not in a let’s learn a life-lesson mood right now). Interestingly enough, those stipulations eliminate a lot of books I would typically read! Not sure what that says about me. 😀
As always, I’m linking up with Jana and Steph for their wonderful Show Us Your Books link-up. Be sure to visit the link-up and see what great (or terrible) books everyone read last month and just plain connect with one another.
How are you doing with social distancing and life in general? Reading, eating (or overeating like me), binging (what shows are you watching) or something else? I truly hope everyone is doing well (or the best one can) in this weird, scary time. Stay safe, wash your hands and don’t hoard toilet paper!
Tanya
Congrats on getting some books read – Yay! I struggled to read in March. I just had no interest.
March wasn’t a great reading month for me, but I think April is off to a better start, so we’ll see. It’s definitely tough to focus sometimes. I’m doing okay in general though…weird days, for sure. I am definitely overeating most days and I’m trying to stop. LOL As for binge watching shows, I started Schitt’s Creek on Netflix and I’m on season 2 right now – it’s really good. Just fun.
-Lauren
I just added Darling Rose Gold to my to read list. Sounds like an interesting read. I’m trying to distract myself with reading, but like you, I am watching too much news and I’m getting myself anxious. It’s a Catch-22. I want to know what’s going on, but it’s just too much at times. Hope you and your family are well and safe during this time.
I’m seeing Darling Gold everywhere today- happy to see another positive review! I’ve had a hard time focusing on reading this year, and it only got worse in March, but I’m sloooowly coming out of my rut! I’m also not trying to take on anything to heavy- the world seems heavy and dramatic enough as it is! Hope you are doing well!
i can’t tell you how happy i am that you are enjoying the curse series. the second book was sooo good. i am SO curious for the next one. i am super not in a ‘let’s learn a life-lesson mood’ either. no thanks.
I haven’t heard of any of these. While I haven’t read much at all in the last few weeks, I’m going into this link-up looking for ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS. We all need to pass the time in some way or another.
Self-help is out, dystopia is out, historical fiction is iffy…thrillers might be the way to go for me right now.
Rose Gold is supposed to be arriving once the library reopens. Can’t wait!
WTF is happening reading indeed. That is a good way to describe it.
Time is so weird now and it really does feel like 46000 years since we last had a linkup.
Hello, Tanya!!!!! I had to reach a point to force myself to not watch/read news for a few days. I was overwhelmed and had to step away.
I’m glad to read your review about Darling Rose Gold. For some reason, that title doesn’t work for me, so I would have given it a pass. But, your review tells me it is a book that intrigues me.
I’m with you on the reading struggle bus! I’ve set so many books aside this month, and anything I finish I’m calling a win. I’ve been binge watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta… so not exactly the most edifying activity, lol.
Thanks for a great list. I hadn’t seen these mentioned elsewhere before. I may check into that Brigid Kemmerer trilogy. You made it sound really good. Take care of you and yours!
Rose Gold is on my list, I’ve heard mixed opinions of it, but I think I’ll eventually give it a shot. I was in the minority and didn’t love A Curse So Dark and Lonely–I thought the writing was great and it was engrossing, but I didn’t like the last part of the story. But I was definitely in the minority there, so many people have been raving about the next book in the series.
I’ve seen a lot of buzz about Darling Rose Gold, but the controversial subject matter has kept me from putting it on my TBR. Glad to hear you liked it!
I struggled in March too. Getting better in April.
A Heart so Fierce – I didnt know a 2nd book was already out in that… that makes me happy – I always like when a 2nd book is already out in a series before I read the first.
I’m struggling so much getting my brain calmed down enough to understand reading.
I feel the same way about the news! It’s so distracting. I need to read A Curse So Dark and Lonely. I liked Darling Rose Gold, up till the end!
Darling Rose Gold is on my TBR list.
I can’t read anything right now. I can’t focus for more than a sentence or two. Just haven’t had an interest which is so weird, but what are you going to do, right? 🙁
I just requested the ebook of A Heart So… from my library since I can’t get the physical book. I loved the first one and worried about the second one, too, so I’m happy to hear a good report on it! Rose Gold sounds super interesting, too. You definitely have me intrigued!