Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson

I’m sad to say that I was disappointed in this book. I really enjoyed “The Kind Worth Killing” by Peter Swanson and was excited to read this book, but felt the execution was lacking and the characters were flat.

It was clever to tell this story in reverse, and with the reveal at the end it tied it together well, however before the reveal the story just drags and is quite boring. Thom and Wendy are certainly not the good guys which we find out very early, however they weren’t even interesting villains. Again, I was just bored with their characters and annoyed by their personalities.

Nothing really happened in the first part of the book that added to their characters or the overall story. Things started to pick up in the last fourth of the book but by then it was too late to really be excited by anything, and it didn’t tie in the first part really. I didn’t have any moments where I was like oooh, I get why it was slow or now I see why that scene happened. Nope, you only get one tie in from the very beginning and very end.

So I’m sorry to say I won’t be recommending this book, but I’ll still give Swanson a try on other books.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Reptitive - explaining same moments from both POVs but nothing new added in the second recollection

Synopsis: Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early twenties, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave.

View my Review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7884322577

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

I was so disappointed when this book ended because I was enjoying it so much and wanted more! I spent the entire book thinking it was a part of a duology and found out in the last few pages that it was only a stand-alone and oh man that was rough.

Rebecca Ross once again wrote a fantastic story of magic and gods. Earlier this year, I read “A River Enchanted” and “A Fire Endless” and fell in love with the characters and story and was excited to read this book once it was announced. I really enjoyed that this story was partially narrated by Matilda, a young goddess who was learning her place among the gods and how to survive their cruel and power hungry ways. Ross gave us insight to several different gods, not just glossing over them, to give a rich story full of politics and distrust that made for such a compelling and intriguing plot. Matilda is a herald, destined to run messages between realms and thus not a threat to other gods, however there may be something more to her… The other POV was from Vincent, a mortal that is tied into Matilda’s fate and had Matilda questioning certain things about the gods’ existence as he no longer wants to worship the gods. I enjoyed the back and forth, getting their inner thoughts and how they were entwined.

As much as I enjoyed this story, I do wish it had been a duology or longer in order to go into more depth with some of the gods and the ten years that passed early on. I think it would have made the story richer and I understand why it was a standalone, but I would have happily enjoyed a larger book to get this. Especially the end of the book, no spoilers, but it did feel a bit abrupt after everything and I felt the characters deserved more explanation at that point or just a few more scenes of their lives then.

It was also interesting how this book tied into her other duology, “Divine Rivals” but as I didn’t like those books quite as much, I don’t think I appreciated as much as other readers will. It was a clever tie in, but I was more intrigued by these new characters so I wasn’t as excited.

Overall, this was definitely a fantasy story I’d recommend. It is a good mix of dark moments from power hungry gods and humans mixed with romance, friendship and finding your way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

Synopsis:

Born ​in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods often kill each other to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry words and letters through the realms, but she holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest of allies to ensure her survival. And to complicate matters . . . there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met in the waking world.

Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life―begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. When his request went unanswered, Vincent moved on, becoming the hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda. That is, until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.

As Fate would have it, Matilda and Vincent were destined to find each other beyond dreams. There may be a chance for Matilda to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, but at immense sacrifice. She will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: to be vulnerable, and to allow herself to finally be loved.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7883433788

It's a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

This is only the second book of Monaghan’s that I’ve read and it made me excited to read more! I first read “Nora Goes Off Script” and felt it was a bit meh especially with the relationship development. So I was a bit nervous for this one but luckily it was much better and one I’d recommend.

The beginning is a little slow with the buildup of meeting our main characters, Jane and Dan. I was a bit confused by some of Jane’s mannerisms until I realized it was her anxiety coming into play. This made a lot more sense and added a wonderful depth to the storyline. Jane and Dan are both feeling trapped in past identities and find it difficult to be comfortable just as they are. It was wonderful seeing them both accept things about themselves and pushing past other’s expectations of them. There were several sweet and entertaining scenes and the banter was funny while still being realistic.

I was a bit disappointed near the end with the final conflict. It felt a bit forced, overdramatic and only lasted a few pages, so I felt like it could have been handled in a different way without the cliche third act break-up situation. There had been so much growth and emotional intimacy between the characters, so sliding so far backwards was really just for dramatic effect.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Jane Jackson knows that true love is a lie. Laughter is the only truth—you can’t fake a belly laugh. Jane should know, she spent her adolescence as "Poor Janey Jakes," the barbecue-sauce-in-her-braces punchline on America's fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios and she’s living by a new mantra: Fake it till you make it.

Except, she might have faked it too far. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she opened her mouth and a big fat fib fell out. She claimed that Jack Quinlan, hottest popstar of the moment, has promised to write an original song for the soundtrack. Jack may have been her first kiss—and greatest source of shame—but she hasn’t spoken to him in twenty years.

Now, Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan while facing down her past is Jane's idea of hell, but Dan just might surprise her. While covering up her lie, can they find something true?

View my Review on Goodreads

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman

This series was set in a wonderful fantasy world full of intriguing characters, adventures, self-discovery and pure magic. I didn’t want the story to end and it is now definitely one of my favorite series to date.

In "The Golden Compass”, we meet Lyra, a headstrong girl that has a way of lying and searching for adventures. Along with Lyra is her daemon, Pantalaimon, or Pan. I loved the world building and explanations regarding the daemons that everyone has in this world, animals that are an external physical manifestation of a person’s inner-self or soul and can speak. Daemons can keep changing their animal form when their person is a child, but has a fixed form when they are adults. This story begins as a rescue mission but Lyra becomes involved with a search for so much more. It is wonderfully written and there are multiple plot turns that kept you engaged.

The second installment, “The Subtle Knife” introduces a new character, Will, in our own modern world. This was a great addition as Will and Lyra learn to trust each other on their journeys and develop a tentative truce as Will is outed to Lyra as a murderer. There are new dark twists in this book and Will and Lyra have a lot of adventures, not all of them positive. Once again, this book was wonderfully written and exciting the whole way through.

The final novel of the series, “The Amber Spyglass”, has Lyra and Will fighting together to save the world. It is an epic fight of good versus evil but also a question of who is truly good or evil and what makes them bear that title? This ending was wonderful and heartbreaking and just made the series an overall amazing story.

The Golden Compass Synopsis: Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

The Subtle Knife Synopsis: She had asked: What is he? A friend or an enemy? The alethiometer answered: He is a murderer.
When she saw the answer, she relaxed at once.
Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted otherworld – Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: twelve-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another's, has also stumbled into this strange new realm. On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will uncover a deadly secret: an object of extraordinary and devastating power, and the shattering truth of their own destiny.

The Amber Spyglass Synopsis: Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel - by the command of his dying father. But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and intrigues that beset him.

The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for together they are on their way to battle, an inevitable journey that will even take them to the world of the dead...