Sword of Destiny

I’m slowly making my way through all of the The Witcher books. This one is a collection of short stories that are a prequel to the main series, and it’s also what the Netflix series based part of its storyline on.

Some of the stories were okay. It was the last couple that really got me. I loved the story of Ciri and Geralt finally meeting. It makes me really excited for the second season of the show to see where they choose to take the story. Whether they’ll follow canon closely or not.

The Midnight Library

The Midnight Library is one of the most popular books this year, and I was seeing online that a lot of bookstores are sold out of copies. I went into it a bit skeptical, but I’m a sucker for a good story a la It’s a Wonderful Life.

At first, the story seemed a bit predictable as the main character moved through different versions of her life, and decided why maybe that version of her life wasn’t the best.

Then, the Librarian and the main character began talking about why life is worth living. And what life means, and what it takes to be happy in the life you have, and then did I see why this book is so popular.

The prose and ideas were so moving, so beautiful. The book is a quick read, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

City of Girls

This is another very popular book that I was excited about reading. I listened to it on audiobook.

I have to say, the book was okay. I enjoyed it, and I really liked the characters. I will say though, it is one that I probably won’t recommend to people off hand, but if someone were to ask me if they should read it, I will say they should.

The book has a weird format in that it’s written as a letter to someone who asks the main character how she knew her dad. And then the book is nearly 500 pages. I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if the author had left out the letter format.

I will say, don’t read this book if you don’t like books with a lot of sexual content.

The House in the Cerulean Sea

What can I say about this book? This book is magic. This book is brilliance. This book is my second favorite book I’ve read this year.

Linus and Arthur are easily some of my favorite characters I’ve read on the page. Watching Linus come to terms with maybe the status quo way of running the Department for the Control of Magical Youth, was breathtaking. Talk about watching a successful character arc.

The kids were also amazing. They brought the story to life, and I found myself falling in love with them along with Linus.

What a beautiful story about fitting in and prejudice. And a beautifully romantic story.

If you read one book from my list, have it be this.

Little Fires Everywhere

I chose to read this book because I’ve heard a lot of good things, and it was made into a Hulu series.

I will say, this type of book is not one I would typically pick up for myself to read, and while it was nice to read it, I don’t think I’ll be reading it again.

I like my books to be full of likeable characters and preferably with a happy ending, and this book didn’t contain either of those.

I also didn’t really like the prose, and I didn’t like the way the story was told. It felt clunky and confusing.

If you’re into tragic family stories where no one ends up happy, this book is for you. If, like me, you prefer books where there is hope and happiness at the end, then this is not for you. (BOTM)

You Had Me At Hola

One of the year’s most popular romance novels, You had me at Hola is a fun read about a soap opera actress and a telenovela star falling in love as they star together in a new show with a popular streaming service that will be their big break.

The book follows the romance formula, which is comforting, especially after reading Little Fires Everywhere. I love when the story is all about love, and a happy ending where every gets exactly what they want and they live happily ever after.

The characters are all likeable, and I loved them and their development. The prose was well written, and funny, and even when the characters aren’t communicating, you never truly get upset, you know they’ll work it out in the end. If you want a fun romance, this book is for you.

Hiddensee

This was our book club pick for December, but I decided to read it a little early. This book is supposed to be a retelling of the Nutcracker story a la Wicked, but it was a bit of a letdown.

The story felt very disjointed, and very slow. It was really hard to pinpoint what exactly was important and what was filler. Eventually you learn that it was all important, kind of, but again, it’s not the best at indicating it.

I liked that Dirk was really good with kids, and I liked the last part with Klara. Otherwise, the book was a little meh for me.