Recently, I finished reading Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo. It is the last book of the Grishaverse trilogy. It’s a young adult fantasy book about Alina and her goal to overthrow the Darkling and make Ravka whole again. In general, I think that this last book tied everything nicely but had a few surprises. I’m glad I read this series because it gave me a bit of a background to the Grishaverse even though Bardugo’s writing has improved greatly ever since. I think her strong suit is writing villains and morally gray characters because I didn’t care that much about Alina or Mal. They were just orphans but Nikolai and the Darkling had these rich pasts. Speaking of Nikolai, I have purchased King of Scars and hope to get to it in the next few months.
My rating: 3/5 stars
Have you read Ruin and Rising? If so, what did you think?
I finished reading The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, a historical gothic fiction about Frances Wray, who accepts lodgers into her home that she shares with her mother. Although meticulously detailed in descriptions, it did tend to drag on in quite a few places. This bothered me more towards the end and it was really annoying waiting for the other shoe to drop especially when the shoe finally did drop, it was very unsatisfying. I also felt that there wasn’t that much chemistry between the main relationship and it felt like instalove. I think it would do good with some serious editing. Also, I consumed this on audiobook going to and from work and if I didn’t, I don’t think I would’ve made it through.
Last week I finished reading Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo, the second book in the Grishaverse Trilogy. We finally get to meet Nikolai, whom everyone has been talking about and I’m sorry to admit, but he was the most exciting thing about the book. Maybe I’m not the target audience for this series. I was more interested in the characters and there’s some great dialogue, some quotable quotes. But I feel like the villain, The Darkling, and Nikolai shine brightest for me in the series. Alina and Mal aren’t that vivid to me and I’m not that interested in them but I have already started the last book, Ruin and Rising.
This week I read Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem and I’m in love. I loved the writing style. I loved the pacing. This book definitely checks all the boxes for my ideal book. We follow Lionel Essrog, an orphaned young man who has Tourette’s. Tourette’s is no laughing matter but I couldn’t help but laugh at the situations it gets Lionel in and his random tics at the most inappropriate times. The novel is heavily character driven and if there wasn’t Lionel Essrog, this would just be another run of the mill crime novel. This book is definitely one my favorites of the year.