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ladybusinessFebruary is over! I'm sure I will regret my (lack) of reading this month in September but for now I'm pretty happy with it. I'm not going to finish any books before February ends abruptly like it always does, so I will celebrate my stats now!
I'm blaming February for being short and weird and busy. I'm excited because I liked all these books and all of them are parts of a series so there's more to read. :D I'm at 12/100 — probably time to start some of the novelettes and novellas I've been saving. :)
When I pulled the title for Week 9, I laughed out loud because so many people have been on me to read this book. Congratulations, friends! This week's book, presented by Doreen, is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.
I'm also reading Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, which is aces so far. Ana is enjoying this week, as I read all the things she's been waving at me for months. :D
Larklight by Philip Reeve & David Wyatt — This was a reread for Fangirl Happy Hour as part of our regular dives into the Fangirl Vault of things we loved in the past. Time did not change my love of this book at all. It's still a delightful steampunk romp with great friendships and awesome ladies and an adorable romance. This time around I was able to pick up on more of the satirical way the characters talk about England, even though the book doesn't truly get around to critiquing the colonialism inherent in the book. But it's also for kids, so maybe my adult expectations are a little high. :) Bottom line: still cute!
Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith — I was turned onto Radiant by people telling me there was an awesome friendship between two girls. I was not misled! But this book has a ton going on:
Xhea has no magic and takes a job holding a ghost, Shai, for two days. Xhea doesn't have magic, but she does have the ability to see the ghosts that linger and to sever the tethers that hold them in the world, as well as attach those tethers to herself. At the beginning with Xhea agrees to hold Shai's tether from Shai's father, it seems like a normal job. When Shai comes into her life, though, everything changes because Shai isn't a normal ghost, or even a normal magic user. Shai has secrets and is going to bust Xhea's world — and her experience with magic — wide open.
I loved the friendship between Xhea and Shai, which is complicated, hard earned, and a little bit of a mystery as we learn about their pasts and how their lives have changed them enough to trust one another. Sadly, a lot of the plot stuff is dropped on you very suddenly, in a burst of information, and so I was pretty lost to understand a lot of motivations until the book finally gave me the info I needed. It felt less like layer cake and more like a dump cake; kind of uneven and lumpy with its revelations but still pretty tasty. Since I was busy trying to truly understand how the magic worked and what the rules were, though, this bothered me less than it might have otherwise.
Anyway, the friendship is great and I highly recommend it. And now I want cake.
Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa — After several years, Ira has finally managed to get Fullmetal Alchemist into my hands. Am I the last person on the planet who generally likes reading manga to read this? (I mean, probably not, but it feels like it.) This first volume is all about introductions: to Edward, Alphonse, alchemy, and their past. Edward is a brat and a half, while Alphonse is the gentler, more patient brother, putting a spin on what I'm used to (the older brother being the Voice of Reason). Edward's pushing that jerk with a heart of gold thing to the limit in some parts of this story, but it works out for me. This volume contains: a skeevy religion, a coal mine town, and alchemists on a train. It's super funny, too! There's some political rumblings due to the fact that Edward is a National Alchemist, which I assume will be explained as things progress. SO YOU CAN REST EASY, FRIENDS. I like it and will read more. :)
- Sophia McDougall (Mars Evacuees)
- Karina Sumner-Smith (Radiant)
- Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist 1)
I'm blaming February for being short and weird and busy. I'm excited because I liked all these books and all of them are parts of a series so there's more to read. :D I'm at 12/100 — probably time to start some of the novelettes and novellas I've been saving. :)
CHALLENGE: 100 Unique Women Writers
Week 8: I chose Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa, which I chose to interpret as the universe giving me a break. It was cute! I also finished a book from a previous week, Radiant. Downbelow Station: still in progress. Possibly I should have chosen an easier Cherryh to start with but I'm over halfway through so there's no turning back now. :DWhen I pulled the title for Week 9, I laughed out loud because so many people have been on me to read this book. Congratulations, friends! This week's book, presented by Doreen, is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab.
I'm also reading Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, which is aces so far. Ana is enjoying this week, as I read all the things she's been waving at me for months. :D
- Larklight by Philip Reeve and David Wyatt
- Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith
- Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
Larklight by Philip Reeve & David Wyatt — This was a reread for Fangirl Happy Hour as part of our regular dives into the Fangirl Vault of things we loved in the past. Time did not change my love of this book at all. It's still a delightful steampunk romp with great friendships and awesome ladies and an adorable romance. This time around I was able to pick up on more of the satirical way the characters talk about England, even though the book doesn't truly get around to critiquing the colonialism inherent in the book. But it's also for kids, so maybe my adult expectations are a little high. :) Bottom line: still cute!
Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith — I was turned onto Radiant by people telling me there was an awesome friendship between two girls. I was not misled! But this book has a ton going on:
- Ghosts who cling to the world after their death and are tethered to places and things and most notably for the purposes of this story, people.
- A crapsack world where everyone on the ground lives in various states of insecurity or indentured servitude while everyone in magical floating towers seems to have a great life but it comes with some seriously bummer caveats.
- There are zombies that come out at night to screw up your everything.
- Not having magic is the equivalent of not having a government ID that says you're a person who needs to eat food to survive. Also, people with magic treat you like you have the plague.
Xhea has no magic and takes a job holding a ghost, Shai, for two days. Xhea doesn't have magic, but she does have the ability to see the ghosts that linger and to sever the tethers that hold them in the world, as well as attach those tethers to herself. At the beginning with Xhea agrees to hold Shai's tether from Shai's father, it seems like a normal job. When Shai comes into her life, though, everything changes because Shai isn't a normal ghost, or even a normal magic user. Shai has secrets and is going to bust Xhea's world — and her experience with magic — wide open.
I loved the friendship between Xhea and Shai, which is complicated, hard earned, and a little bit of a mystery as we learn about their pasts and how their lives have changed them enough to trust one another. Sadly, a lot of the plot stuff is dropped on you very suddenly, in a burst of information, and so I was pretty lost to understand a lot of motivations until the book finally gave me the info I needed. It felt less like layer cake and more like a dump cake; kind of uneven and lumpy with its revelations but still pretty tasty. Since I was busy trying to truly understand how the magic worked and what the rules were, though, this bothered me less than it might have otherwise.
Anyway, the friendship is great and I highly recommend it. And now I want cake.
Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa — After several years, Ira has finally managed to get Fullmetal Alchemist into my hands. Am I the last person on the planet who generally likes reading manga to read this? (I mean, probably not, but it feels like it.) This first volume is all about introductions: to Edward, Alphonse, alchemy, and their past. Edward is a brat and a half, while Alphonse is the gentler, more patient brother, putting a spin on what I'm used to (the older brother being the Voice of Reason). Edward's pushing that jerk with a heart of gold thing to the limit in some parts of this story, but it works out for me. This volume contains: a skeevy religion, a coal mine town, and alchemists on a train. It's super funny, too! There's some political rumblings due to the fact that Edward is a National Alchemist, which I assume will be explained as things progress. SO YOU CAN REST EASY, FRIENDS. I like it and will read more. :)
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