Title: Going BovineAuthor: Libba Bray
Original title: Going Bovine
First published: 2009
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: --
Publisher: Delacorte
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 480
Finished: 08/02/2020
Summary: All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.
My thoughts: Libba Bray is an author that I've read and loved before. She's the person behind one of the series that has truly shaped me as a reader; the "Gemma Doyle" trilogy from 2003-2007. Knowing that those three books were published before "Going Bovine", I feel rather confused about the complete difference in quality.
To put it bluntly, "Going Bovine" wasn't a good book. The main character, Cameron, was a complete asshole that I just couldn't root for at all. He's a douche to everyone he meets and he continues to be that throughout the whole novel. His character development is weak and doesn't make up for the shithead he is. The women in the story are written poorly, which surprises me coming from an author who 1) is a woman herself and 2) has written female characters very well in the past (and future) in relation to the publication year of this novel. It's as if Libba Bray was struggling with writing women from a boy's perspective and ended up making every female character's personality flat. Cameron himself is rather rude to said female characters, while at the same time being very attracted to a number of them. Incel much? I didn't care for all the mentions of his d*ck "perking up" at the sight of girls. The swearing in this novel wasn't handled well either. I'm not against swear words in novels, but they need to be handled with care for them to work in large amounts. Otherwise the language comes off as too informal. That was the case with this novel, and instead of giving the narrative an edge, it came off as childish and stupid.
The story itself sucked. It's a good example of a writer having lots of ideas and can't decide which to include and which to save for another project. Libba Bray threw it all into the mix, and the result is a plotline that is all over the place and seems pointless. Every new direction the story took was unmotivated and unnecessary. The characters would spend time at one place, doing crazy stuff for 10-50 pages, and then move on to the next thing and leave the last one unresolved and never returned to later. Repeat that a dozen times or so and the result is this 480 page novel.
To conclude, the characters sucked, the plot was bad, the writing style left a lot to wish for, and the ending/plot twist was disappointing to say the least.
The few things that were actually good with this novel was that it was quick and easy to read, and the cover is sorta cool. Libba Bray has written such incredible novels, and I was truly surprised to see that a book like this was even published by her. Sorry Libba, but this was a hard miss.
Rating: 2/5
To put it bluntly, "Going Bovine" wasn't a good book. The main character, Cameron, was a complete asshole that I just couldn't root for at all. He's a douche to everyone he meets and he continues to be that throughout the whole novel. His character development is weak and doesn't make up for the shithead he is. The women in the story are written poorly, which surprises me coming from an author who 1) is a woman herself and 2) has written female characters very well in the past (and future) in relation to the publication year of this novel. It's as if Libba Bray was struggling with writing women from a boy's perspective and ended up making every female character's personality flat. Cameron himself is rather rude to said female characters, while at the same time being very attracted to a number of them. Incel much? I didn't care for all the mentions of his d*ck "perking up" at the sight of girls. The swearing in this novel wasn't handled well either. I'm not against swear words in novels, but they need to be handled with care for them to work in large amounts. Otherwise the language comes off as too informal. That was the case with this novel, and instead of giving the narrative an edge, it came off as childish and stupid.
The story itself sucked. It's a good example of a writer having lots of ideas and can't decide which to include and which to save for another project. Libba Bray threw it all into the mix, and the result is a plotline that is all over the place and seems pointless. Every new direction the story took was unmotivated and unnecessary. The characters would spend time at one place, doing crazy stuff for 10-50 pages, and then move on to the next thing and leave the last one unresolved and never returned to later. Repeat that a dozen times or so and the result is this 480 page novel.
To conclude, the characters sucked, the plot was bad, the writing style left a lot to wish for, and the ending/plot twist was disappointing to say the least.
The few things that were actually good with this novel was that it was quick and easy to read, and the cover is sorta cool. Libba Bray has written such incredible novels, and I was truly surprised to see that a book like this was even published by her. Sorry Libba, but this was a hard miss.
Rating: 2/5
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Title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Original title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
First published: 2017
Genre: Historical, YA
Series: Montague Siblings #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 501
Finished: 29/02/2020
Summary: Henry “Monty” Montague doesn’t care that his roguish passions are far from suitable for the gentleman he was born to be. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quests for pleasure and vice are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
So Monty vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.
Author: Mackenzi Lee
Original title: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue
First published: 2017
Genre: Historical, YA
Series: Montague Siblings #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 501
Finished: 29/02/2020
Summary: Henry “Monty” Montague doesn’t care that his roguish passions are far from suitable for the gentleman he was born to be. But as Monty embarks on his grand tour of Europe, his quests for pleasure and vice are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.
So Monty vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.
My thoughts: "The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue" is a real page-turner; adventurous, romantic, witty, and gay. Henry "Monty" Montague is a character filled to the brim with sarcasm, humour, and funny flaws, making him both lovable and absolutely frustrating. I could go from rooting for him to thinking he was quite dimwitted. On one hand he's self centred, has drinking issues, and makes some very foolish choices and mistakes. On the other hand, he's charmingly self aware, has a sharp tongue, and is adorably in love with Percy. I found the romance between the two sweet and endearing. Percy is such a sweetheart, and he deserves all the love he can get.
I was also a big fan of Monty's sister, Felicity, who wouldn't take Monty's nonsense/bullshit and basically was the one who pulled the gang through to the finish line. She is admirably clever and I hope to follow her story more in the sequel.
As for the story and writing style, I think the novel was written in a fun and easy way. It definitely has a unique tone that fits the 1700's setting while also feeling obviously contemporary. The writing style is more entertaining than lyrical and beautiful, but I didn't mind that. Books like this are definitely needed now and then. The plot was a bit all over the place, but still easy to follow as the trio make their way through Europe in a series of discoveries, thefts, ambushes, and escapes. There were parts that I enjoyed less than others, but overall it was a solid plot.
To summarise, I really enjoyed this book, despite going through some tough times in my private life that set me back quite a bit in my reading. Still, this book provided some light in the darkness, and while I couldn't enjoy it fully, I still did like it a fair bit.
Rating: 4,25/5
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Title: Shadow StudyAuthor: Maria V. Snyder
Original title: Shadow Study
First published: 2015
Genre: High fantasy, YA
Series: Chronicles of Ixia #7, Poison Study #4, Soulfinders #1
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Format: Paperback
Pages: 410
Finished: 27/03/2020
Summary: Spoiler alert!When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. But She'd survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek.
Suddenly, though, they are beset on all sides by those vying for power through politics and intrigue. Valek’s job and his life are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover the scope of these plots, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. She must keep that a secret—or her enemies will discover just how vulnerable she really is—while searching for who or what is responsible for neutralizing her powers.
Yes, the days of tasting poisons were much simpler. And certainly not as dangerous…
My thoughts: The "Poison Study" trilogy became a new favourite series of mine a little over a year ago. That series was completed in 2008, and seven years later this sequel trilogy was born. I was excited to finally dive back into the world Snyder created in the original trilogy, and most of all to meet the characters again.
Sadly, "Shadow Study" didn't quite live up to my expectations. Granted, those expectations were sky high and difficult to meet. Maybe I was asking for too much. Regardless, this book fell short. I didn't feel engaged in the story or Yelena's perspective anymore. The side characters didn't appeal to me either. I did, however, really enjoy reading from Valek's perspective and learning more about his backstory. He became my favourite character while reading, and I liked his chapters the most. This left me wishing that the whole book was from Valek's point of view, and that we'd learned even more about his passed and maybe only gotten glimpses of Yelena's story through Valek.
I must add that part of my judgement comes from reading the first series in a translated version (Swedish). I believe maybe the translation was made in a more formal language than the original version, and that's part of what I liked about the series. Switching to the English narrative, it seemed informal in comparison and not as serious. The switch was especially obvious in Valek's ways of expressing himself with word choices that didn't fit with the personality I'd seen previously.
In the end, I'm a little bit disappointed. I fail to see the point of this book. I understand now that Snyder was pressured into writing this sequel series by fans, but I sort of wish that she hadn't. It's not a bad book, just not as good as I'd hoped.
Rating: 3,5/5
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