A Wrap Up: March 2019 Part One

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

Today's post is the first half of my monthly ratings & reviews. If you want to keep up to date on what I'm reading and rating, you can follow my reviews/add me as a friend on Goodreads here. 

Orlagh Collins’s All the Invisible Things

3.5-4stars

The first 40% or so of this book felt a little average to me, and I was pretty sure I'd rate it 3 stars, if that (I wasn't especially surprised by this reaction because I wasn't a massive fan of this author's debut, No Filter, either) but then the story really took off and became something so much more significant. It did a great job of tackling taboo topics such as addiction, pornography and masturbation as well as identifying as bisexual and the process of coming out.

Maggie Stiefvater’s Forever

4 stars

This book felt so superior to the first two, to me. I love the Isabel & Cole storyline (so much more than the Sam & Grace one, in my opinion) and Cole's character in particular is so charismatic and interesting and the way in which he brought the topic of suicide into the story for discussion was really well done, I thought. I also really enjoyed the scientific element, the whole search for the cure thing, which I think is not too often explored in the other wolf-y stories I've read.

Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments

5 stars

Rainbow Rowell's Adult fiction is just as special, funny & original as her YA - how is that fair?! This book was absolutely hilarious - the email exchanges reminded me so much of one of my best friends, so I think that's probably why they felt so special. I also think this book did a good job at looking at loneliness as a real problem, amongst young people too and not just the older generations. Rainbow Rowell also writes about grief and motherhood and being a woman and falling in & out of love with the same person SO beautifully. 

Kate Scelsa’s Fans of the Impossible Life

3.5 stars

In contrast, it was the first half of this book that I really enjoyed. Reading about Sebby's effusive charm (which so obviously masked his pain, but was beautifully written) and Jeremy's blossoming friendships and the way in which having meaningful relationships and connections with people can change your life was all great. Things started to get steadily darker, though, and whilst I appreciated what was being done, it felt like a very different story for the last like 30% in particular - I'm, in particular, not a great fan of stories about drugs, to be honest, but that's a subjective opinion, of course.

JoJo Moyes’s The Girl You Left Behind

3 stars

I knew I wouldn't love the historical element of this book, because historical fiction just isn't something I massively enjoy, but I still thought those sections were well written & emotive. I enjoyed the court case/painting storyline and I think it propelled the narrative as well as providing a good source of tension.

Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper: Vol 1

5 stars

I loved every single page of this book - the story is sweet and realistic, the artwork is gorgeous and all of the dialogue is both adorable & relatable. Alice Oseman is such a talented person, it's almost unfair!! I can't wait to read the rest.

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of women & Witchcraft – An Anthology

4 STARS (AVG.)

This is absolutely one of the best anthologies I've ever read. It goes so beyond just witchcraft (although that element of every single story felt exciting and nuanced and original); there's so much in here about what it means to be a woman, feminism & misogyny, sexuality (particularly there's a lot of great lesbian representation), race & culture. My favourite stories were Death in the Sawtooths by Lindsay Smith, The Truth about Queenie by Brandy Colbert, The One who Stayed by Nova Ren Suma (this one is heartbreaking), Why They Watch Us Burn by Elizabeth May (absolutely stunning and also frightening) and finally, the best of the bunch for me, The Gherin Girls by Emery Lord (of course it was the Emery Lord story I loved the most! I want to read an entire, like, 400-page novel of this).

So those are the books I've read so far in March! Let me know the best book you've read thus far, by leaving a comment down below.

Till next time

Katie