January Reviews

Happy 2023! I'd love to say that I set a resolution to read more this year (and that I'm already off to a great start with my January stack), but honestly my only "resolution" (if we can even call it that) was just the idea of Less. Less stress, less worry, less time spent on things I don't love, so I can make room for More. More love, more joy, more peace. And maybe I should focus more on that idea of more, but it feels almost like all the things I don't really like about resolutions. There's a pressure with more. There's something freeing in less. So here's to less bad stuff, to make room for more good stuff (including books).

Let's get started!

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

This book is a companion to Last Night At The Telegraph Club, which I really really liked, so I figured why not try out some more Malinda Lo. And while I didn't like it as much, it was still a very well written story.

Aria Tang West has been sent to San Francisco to spend the summer with her grandmother, after a rather unfortunate incident at school. Feeling isolated and bored, she strikes up an unexpected friendship with Steph, her grandmother's gardener, and is introduced to San Francisco queer culture right in the aftermath of gay marriage being legalized. Her summer quickly heats up, as does her relationship with Steph, until it goes from being a summer of exile to something that completely changes her life.

I fought with this book a little bit. The situation that sent Aria to California for the summer was handled very poorly by everyone and left me feeling so frustrated for her (and a little bit with her, if I'm being completely honest). Her relationships are all very strained (with her parents, with her friends), except for her grandmother, Joan, in the beginning, which set it up quite nicely for the introduction to Steph and her friends. From the get go Aria was very attracted to Steph and figuring out her sexuality, which was great, we love a summer of exploration. Except, Steph was already in a monogamous relationship and (spoiler alert) remained in a relationship even after things started between her and Aria. I hate infidelity stories, they've never made any sense to me (why cheat on someone? If you're not happy, break up or figure your shit out, don't involve another person in your problematic relationship) so I had to put the book aside for a few days to just go "Aria nooo whyyyyy" for a bit, before finishing it out.

Outside of that, though, the story was well written and I generally enjoyed it. The prose is beautiful, and has a lot of introspective things to say about time and art and life. Aria is on the cusp of adulthood, graduated and ready to take on the world, so seeing her summer become another type of discovery was all very coming of age, and kind of a fun twist since I had my own high school graduation and subsequent queer discoveries in 2013.

Overall I got kind of stuck with this book, caught between the story being a really beautiful look at time and love and self-discovery while also being about a cheating relationship. Still beautiful, just a bit harder for me to get through.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark

A friend of mine listened to the audio book of this and said it changes the experience, since they brought the voice actors back to read the stories. I have a hard time with audio books (big visual learner) so I read the hardcover, but it was still a pretty decent time.

This book is a compilation of retellings from The Clone Wars animated series, covering different episodes about various characters, from Obi-Wan and Anakin to Darth Maul and Ventress. Overall it does feel kind of like a play by play of episodes I remembered watching, but it was still fun to get a refresher.

I most appreciated the last story about a nightsister that wasn't explored in a Clone Wars episode. I liked getting something new rather than getting a rehash of a story I was already pretty familiar with. The retellings did bring bnew perspective to certain events, but some of them were more like episode recaps.

Still a pretty good quick read Star Wars time, just not quite what I was hoping for. Maybe I'll hit up the audiobooks and see if that does make a difference.

Star Wars: Stories of Jedi and Sith

I actually picked this one up at the same time as Stories of Light and Dark (hello yes Target sales I love you) and figured the best way to get my Stars Wars fix while waiting for season 3 of The Mandalorian would be to read them back to back. And I actually liked this one even more than Light and Dark.

New stories told from the perspective of various Jedi and Sith characters (or the people they interact with) Stories of Jedi and Sith tells several tales about the balance of the universe and what it means to be a Jedi or a Sith. I appreciated that it was both familiar and new characters, spanning from the Clone Wars era to the most recent Star Wars trilogy. And there were certainly ones I liked more than others, but all of them had something interesting to say about the characters or the nature of the universe filled with light and dark.

I love reading collections like this because we get so many perspectives and writing styles wrapped into one thing, but it makes it more difficult to write reviews, since I have to either stay vague or devote more energy to reviewing each story individually. And honestly I'm not feeling the multiple reviews in one, especially since a good chunk of the compilations I read are Star Wars themed. If you like Star Wars, try this out. If you don't, then maybe pick a different compilation.

Overall I thought the balance was pretty good; there were more Jedi than Sith stories, but I appreciated that, and enjoyed having the opportunity to move between the two.

Never Every Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

I love a book with bi rep, and this one definitely had that in spades.

Maya had her heart broken (and then re reputation trashed) by her ex boyfriend Jordy Miller, who moved to Canada and cheated on her. Two years later, he's the star of a reality TV show, all about a second chance with one of his ex's. Figuring this may be her best shot at revenge, Maya reluctantly agrees to be a part of the show. Enter Skye, the girl Jordy cheated on her with. Maya isn't expecting to get along with her, let alone start to like her, but their connection can't be helped, especially when they get on the same page about what a douchebag Jordy is. Together, they might find something even better than revenge; love.

First and foremost, this book is hilarious. The premise is wild but not outlandish, and the way it takes on reality TV is so, SO funny. Everything is a little bit of a caricature, including and especially Jordy, who is such a narcissistic asshole that I was actually angry reading this book. Fuck Jordy Miller and his manipulation tactics. But the girls (not just Maya and Skye, but the four other exes that came on the show) get their just desserts, even if it takes to the verd end (and some well timed social media usage).

Maya and Skye both go into the story with very different expectations, and while their initial misunderstandings and miscommunications are pretty awful (Jordy's fault, fully and completely) the way their relationship grows from there is a blast. Maya is sarcastic and witty and way too on the fly for poor planer Skye, but they find such a fabulous compromise in one another. I also liked the friendships they managed to form with the other girls (truly uteruses before duderuses).

I'll probably keep this short, because I'm ill, but overall this was a really enjoyable read. It tackles what a terrible relationship looks like and how you can let that person who wronged you live in your brain through that hatred. And how moving on is sometimes the best form of revenge (aside from actual revenge, which is sometimes totally worth it). Very fun love story, featuring a bunch of girls who are truly too good for the guy they all dated.

Even Though I Knew The End by C.L. Polk

This was a super quick read that packed in a lot of action and world building in under 200 pages.

Helen is an investigator trying to make her last few days count; she's on a ticking clock after she gave up her soul to save her brother. But in her last 48 hours a new case emerges, and with it the opportunity to get her soul back and live out the rest of her life with her love Edith. She's got to catch a serial killer first, one that's killing soulless people, and Helen is next on their list.

I actually do really like a murder mystery, and with the added bonus of astrology and myths and weird supernatural stuff, I was hooked pretty instantly. The story is compelling by itself, but the stakes added--Helen's actual soul on the line--made that much more interesting. I also liked all the secret society stuff, especially since it was set in the 1930s. Very noir, even if I did sometimes have to shake myself out of a Supernatural comparison.

The 1930s setting was also compelling for Helen and her relationship with Edith. Not quite at the lavender scare but fully in the era of when homosexuality was considered a form of insanity, they had to be careful, almost as careful as they had to be of a supernatural serial killer. Edith even played a big role in the investigation in a twist that was absolutely fascinating.

Overall this was a very short but very cool and fun read, one that tells you the ending in the title, but not quite how you expect.

Verity by Colleen Hoover

I read this at a coworkers behest. I've been burned by internet book recommendations in the past, and I'd heard too much about Colleen Hoover's romances to risk it, but she'd wanted someone to talk to about it so I figured I'd give it a try, if just for her.

Lower is a writer on the tail end of her mother's drawn out death, desperate for a way to make ends meet. When she's called in to finish a bestselling series by reclusive author Verity Crawford, she almost refuses. But Verity's husband is hurting after the accident that left her paralyzed, and the money is too good to pass up. So she moves into Verity's house to spend through her office in search of an outline, instead finding an autobiography filled with terrible information that may just tear the already grieving family apart.

The mystery and suspense aspect of this book was actually really good. The horror of it was gripping, the pace compelling enough that I actually read it in a single day. It was horrific in places and truly frightening in others, and as a horror mystery I could appreciate the twists and ominous turns.

But if I'm being completely honest, I was really put off by the amount of sex involved in the book. Lowen was horny, Verity's autobiography about her and her husband was horny; it felt like every chapter had an explicit sex scene. And not to mention the infidelity aspect--as previously mentioned, I hate cheating storylines (the musical Waitress is truly the only exception to that rule). And it made me really dislike Lowen as a character.

The ending threw me, and I actually finished the book frustrated. I felt like I did when I finished Gone Girl but less satisfied. One last twist is always great for the road, but Lowen and Jeremy's solution to their problems absolutely had me saying "what the fuck." I put it down after I finished and just sort of. Frowned a lot. Like. Alright. That sure was an ending. I will admit it stuck with me, so, you, props for that.

Ultimately I think I did enjoy reading it more than I disliked aspects of it. I'm not going to read any more of her books, but I can say I read this one.

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

This book was a gift from my beloved friend, and she knows my taste very, very well.

A Thousand Ships is a retelling of the aftermath of the Trojan war from the perspective of the women. The chapters all all little vignettes from different perspectives, from letters Penelope wrote to Odysseus to the Trojan women divvied up and forced to watch their city burn and their sisters ripped away from them. It's all tied together by a muse, Calliope, urged by a poet to sing a story that he can write, and his clear dismissal of the women who have a far braver and more terrifying story than the men who's stories are told instead.

There is bravery in waiting. There is bravery in silence. There is a bravery in death rather than servitude, and a bravery in survival in the face of it. There is bravery in cunning, in sharing, in raising your children without or in spite of their fathers. There is bravery in women than is often overlooked.

There's one line in particular from Penelope that talks about how people say Menelaus is brave for raising an army to find his wife, when there is more bravery in the women raising their children left behind in the aftermath, waiting for husband that might never come home from a fight they should never have gone too. I love retellings and different perspectives, to getting to see these familiar myths from different mouths was absolutely incredible, simultaneously harrowing and uplifting. The women in Greek myths are often relegated to who their husbands are or the men who raped them; myth is not a safe place for a woman. And this story doesn't look away from that, doesn't pretend that these things don't happen. It just shows that they are more than that--they survive, they take revenge, or they find peace. And there is a humanity in that, in telling stories and living.

Goddesses are also very present, from their role in starting the war to their many squabbles and interactions. I appreciate the full difference between them and the human storytellers, but also the similarities, the way the gods are simply humans without consequences.

The story itself isn't linear, skipping around to many years before the war to the thick of it to the twenty years Odysseus spent failing to come home afterwards, and I loved the newness as well as the familiarity. It is blunt and poetic and very beautifully told in all of it's triumph and tragedy. If you like Greek mythology, this is a fabulous book to read, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

And that's it! Overall I think the 2023 reading is off to a great start. What are you looking forward to reading this year?

Literary recommendation: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Media recommendation: season two of The Legends of Vox Machina is currently being released, and that has been a very emotional delight