Book Review: Jackaby

Author: William Ritter
Genre; Historical/Paranormal
Published: 2014, Algonquin Young Readers
Rating: 4.25/5 Stars

Abigail Rook makes her way to the United States in 1892 after a failed adventure in paleontology. She desperately needs a job, and she happens upon an ad for an investigative assistant. This leads her to the home of R.F. Jackaby, an eccentric, scatter-brained detective who specializes in things normally unseen. Abigail is tossed into the fray immediately, joining Jackaby as he checks out a murder scene, and she becomes involved in world of crime and impossible creatures.

I had heard so many mixed things about this book that my expectations were average to low. I don't know if that had any effect on my enjoyment of it, but I thought Jackaby was incredibly entertaining and fun. Goodreads describes it as a mix of Doctor Who and Sherlock, and that's probably the most accurate description for this book. It's quite short and fast-paced, so I flew through it in just a couple hours. 

I loved the characters. I was impressed by how well-rounded and dynamic they were given the length of the book. Jackaby reminds me very much of Matt Smith in Doctor Who, which I appreciated. Abigail was smart, bold, and brave - she didn't shy away from speaking her mind. 

The minor characters were great as well. They actually served a purpose in the story and weren't just taking up space, and I can see the potential for more character development for them in the subsequent books in this series.

I thought the plot was compelling - it definitely kept me interested the entire time. If you are very squeamish or easily scared, maybe pass on this book. It's not all that bloody or frightening, but there are some scenes that are a  bit gross and creepy. For me, it was just the right amount of gross and creepy. Not over the top, but realistic for the events of the story. If you're looking for something fun with entertaining characters, I highly recommend Jackaby. I've already read the sequel and can't wait for the third book!

February Wrap-Up

WOW this is late. Sorry. Better late than never, right? I've been feeling the school crunch lately, and I honestly forgot what I read this month until I referred to my Goodreads just now. Well. Apparently February was a okay reading month for me; there were some good ones, but a few brought me down.

The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

5/5 Stars

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

5/5 Stars

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

5/5 Stars

The Martian by Andy Weir

2.75/5 Stars

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

3.5/5 Stars

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

3.25/5 Stars

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

5/5 Stars

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

4/5 Stars

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

4/5 Stars

Book Review: The Martian

Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Sci-Fi
Published: 2014, Crown Publishing
Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

When a violent dust storm strikes on Mars, Mark Watney's crew prepares to evacuate the red planet. Mark is injured by debris, and the crew believes him to be dead - so they reluctantly leave without him. However, Mark is still alive and now the only person on an entire planet. He must figure out a way to contact NASA and survive despite seemingly impossible odds.

I did something that I never do: I saw the movie before I finished the book. Not on purpose, technically. I went over to a friend's house to find the movie already playing. I was about 50 pages into the book at that point. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing if it was this incident, the massive amount of hype, or just my personal feelings that made this book underwhelming for me.

I had high hopes for this book before I started it and before I ever saw the movie. As most readers know, going into a book with high expectations can be disastrous. I wouldn't say it was disastrous in this case, but I was disappointed.

Mark, while occasionally funny, didn't make me laugh out loud (which many people apparently did frequently). I liked him, but I didn't care about him as much as I should have. I should have been cheering him on, but I found myself liking the chapters that focused on NASA and Mark's crew much more. 

I found it difficult to suspend my belief. Mark faces some insane challenges that he miraculously overcomes. I get easily annoyed when characters nearly die multiple times - it really takes me out of the story. I know the whole point of the book is that its a survival story, but I'm thinking that maybe that's just not my thing. Something that I found unique about The Martian is that it's a type of sci-fi that I haven't read much of. There aren't any creatures or aliens or made-up planets; the science is real (although I've heard that there are issues with the math and science in the book). 

This book wasn't for me. There's a lot of math and science jargon that I skimmed over, and I take skimming as a sign of me not liking what I'm reading. This book is super popular, which is why I wanted to develop my own opinion of it, but unfortunately, I'm not a fan.

Book Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Author: Robin Sloan
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2012, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Rating: 3.25/5 Stars

When Clay Jannon loses his job as a web designer due to the recession, he stumbles across a display window with a "Hiring" sign hanging in it. He lands a job at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, and his set-up is pretty nice; hardly anyone comes into the store except a few strange regulars, and books very rarely get purchased. Instead, these odd patrons check out seemingly unreadable tomes and return them a few days later. Clay begins to piece the bookstore's quirks together, and it leads him on a surprising journey.

I gave this book a rating of 3.25 stars because I felt positively neutral about it, if that makes any sense at all. I enjoyed it an average amount, but I liked it enough to give it a slightly higher than average rating. Sounds logical, right? Sure.

A lot of people really enjoy this book - especially a lot of book lovers. I, of course, am a book lover, but there was something about the story that just didn't click with me. I'm not sure if I ever truly connected with the characters. Clay was okay but kind of uninteresting. Kat, the sort-of love interest, was mildly irritating and one-sided. Neel, Clay's best friend, was my favorite character. The plot is slow, even though this isn't a long novel, and I felt like I never got super into it. The best word I can think of to describe my reading experience is "detached."

The mystery aspect of this book was pretty cool. If you're into technology, secret codes, or the history of book printing, you'd probably enjoy this. Honestly, I don't have much to say about this book; it didn't evoke a substantial response from  me, positive or negative, so take that how you want. It's not a book that I would readily recommend to a lot of people. If it intrigues you, definitely go for it. The cover glows in the dark, which has nothing to do with the quality of the content, but it's neat anyway.

Top Five Wednesday: Worst Love Interests

Top Five Wednesday was created by Ginger Reads Lainey. If you are interested in participating, here is the Goodreads page. I thought this was a hilarious topic, so here are the five love interests that I think are just the worst!

1. Aspen from the Selection series by Kiera Cass
He was so boring. And annoying. And why was he even a thing? Why was he ever a contender? Just to create a convenient love triangle? I was team Maxon just by default. I read all three of these books, saw that more were being published, and then gave my books away. No thanks.

2. Char from This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Disclaimer, I didn't like this book a whole lot in the first place, but I really didn't like Char. I could not understand the initial attraction that Elise had to him or why she continued to pine after him. He was a jerk.

3. Adam from the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi
I feel like Adam might be on a lot of lists this week. My feelings about Adam are similar to my feelings about Aspen, but they involve a lot more anger. If you've read the series, you know about the horrible things that Adam does and says to Juliette. I kind of wanted him to die just a little bit.

4. Neal from Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Another book I wasn't a fan of. Is Neal a love interest if he's married to the main character? I dunno. But he was the worst. I wanted to yell at Georgie to stop trying so hard for this guy. He was an arrogant, stubborn, rude, boring bag of pudding. Go away, Neal.

5. Marlena from Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
I've written about Marlena a bit in my review for this book, but wow does she bother me. She was absolutely nothing special, and Jacob was head over heels for her. And she got him into a lot of trouble. Nah, not worth it.

January Wrap-Up

I had a pretty good start to my 2016 reading year. I read 18 books, though a good chunk were graphic novels. I slowed down a little toward the end of the month, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace again soon!

The Rose Society by Marie Lu

4/5 Stars

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

4/5 Stars

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

3/5 Stars

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

3/5 Stars

The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel

4/5 Stars

East of West Volume 1 by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, & Frank Martin

3/5 Stars

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

3.5/5 Stars

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

4/5 Stars

Rat Queens Volume 1 by Kurtis J. Wiebe & Roc Upchurch

5/5 Stars

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

4/5 Stars

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

5/5 Stars

ATLA: The Rift Part 1 by Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, & Gurihiru

5/5 Stars

ATLA: The Rift Part 2 by Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, & Gurihiru

5/5 Stars

ATLA: The Rift Part 3 by Gene Luen Yang, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, & Gurihiru

5/5 Stars

Winter by Marissa Meyer

5/5 Stars

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

4/5 Stars

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

4.5/5 Stars

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

5/5 Stars

Book Review: Bloodlines

Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: 2011, Penguin Group
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Bloodlines is a companion series to Vampire Academy. This series focuses on Sydney Sage, an Alchemist who appears in the Vampire Academy series. Alchemists are responsible for protecting the human world from the vampire world, and Sydney is pulled from her bed one night and given an important mission: she is going to be sent to Palm Springs, California to protect an important Moroi (vampire) girl. Sydney must attend Amberwood Prep, a private high school, as part of the mission. Not only must she repeat her senior year of high school and deal with the ensuing drama, but she also has to live with vampires, whom she has been taught to regard as disgusting monsters. No pressure. 

This book was a lot of fun. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the Vampire Academy books, but it was still good. It's hard to tell at this point, though; I'll make a final decision about that once I finish all six books. I did find it difficult to get into, however, since I read the VA series when I was in high school. 

Oh, well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The story was fairly slow-moving. There was a lot of set up in the beginning, a lot of descriptions of past events and some Alchemist info-dumping. While this was not the most interesting stuff to read, it did help me re-immerse myself into the world. Once Sydney gets to Palm Springs, though, things get more exciting. There are a bunch of familiar characters from Vampire Academy, and I got a little nostalgic seeing them pop up.

I'm currently on the fourth book in this series, The Fiery Heart, so I'm trying to avoid writing any spoilers. Bloodlines is an entertaining book, but it is a lot of set up for the rest of the series.  Each book has its own subplot, but there is an overarching plot that spans all six books. 

I really, really, love the characters, though. I wasn't sure about Sydney at first, but she grew on me. All the characters are so distinct and important to the story; no one is wasted. If you liked the Vampire Academy series, I suggest you pick up Bloodlines. You do need to read all the VA books first, however. I would also recommend this series if you like a good slow-burn romance, because this one is fantastic.