Review: Fourth Wing

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Review:

I had written a much longer review but I’m revising because…reasons. 4 star to 3. This book is predictable, I won’t lie. But it was also stupid entertaining. I love dragons and I miss that no one writes good stories with them in it. Everything else besides the dragons, I’m kind of over it. Romantasy is probably the Twilight vampire craze of now and needs to die. I’m over the smut. And very much over the words growl and molten. My eyes cannot roll any harder than they did reading those repeatedly. Xaden and Violet weren’t the worst characters, in fact there were things about them I liked, their humor mostly but I can’t get behind a romance that’s based almost exclusively on how much they want to do one another. That’s not love at all, it’s just lust. Even when the author tries to undo it by having Violet realize she can’t sleep with Xaden because she’s caught feelings for him and sex without commitment or feelings is meaningless, it falls flat when it lasts for all of a couple chapters and she goes right back into bed knowing his emotions are still not where hers are.

Blog Update:

Hi everyone! So, if you haven’t noticed, I’m not posting on here as often anymore. This is due to a few different factors. One is that I used to mostly use this blog for my advanced copy reviews and I seldom am doing those anymore. The reason for that is unfortunately many publishing houses are putting out content in books I do not wish to read or promote, therefore I’m not asking for advanced copies anymore or taking on copies sent to me. As such this last year my reading has been comprised mainly of re-reads, Christian books and some classics, all wonderful choices but not necessarily ones I am going to write lengthy reviews on.

This is where another factor comes in. Since I am reading different types of books now, I am posting more on Goodreads when I do review as the reviews tend to be shorter in nature or just my basic thoughts. Lastly, the way WordPress has changed hasn’t left me wanting to use it all that much. The new format for writing is glitchy and difficult to work with and getting notifications is patchy since I have chosen not to download JetPack and use my computer when I can find the time.

All of this to say, I still love my blog and adore everyone who follows it but if you don’t see many reviews from me lately, this is why. I’ve gone back and posted a few of my longer reviews on Goodreads from books I read this year but have no idea if email notifies of this since I’m unaware how that system works. For now that is likely how I am to post on this blog going forward unless I decide to take on any advanced copies, but given my above statement on content, I doubt I will anytime soon. For those who wish to keep seeing some reviews from me, I would love for you to friend me on Goodreads! I’ll leave the link below for anyone who wishes to check out my page. Thanks to everyone for following my reviews all this time and who continue to do so, even if I don’t update on the regular. Know that I have appreciated every like, comment and follow. Hope to see you over on Goodreads!

📚 My Goodreads Profile,

Taylor 💕

Review: Miracles

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Review:

This one was a doozy. I’ll admit to being lost in what Lewis was even saying or trying to get across for most of the book and I’m a Christian. Personally I think to read this you’ve got to be pretty solid in understanding Christian faith and core doctrine because then when Lewis goes off on speculative thoughts regarding heaven, the Old Testament and Christ’s bodily appearances, his thoughts can be taken less as fact and more his ideas.

After awhile I did lose the point of what this book was even about he went down so many seemingly twisted rabbit holes that were too steep for me to follow, or really I felt almost incorrect in his thinking. Sometimes I find with Lewis that he can have singularly brilliant points about Christian topics but on the flip side his astute mind can also create books like this that seem an endless ramble of disconnected thoughts on differing subjects. To him they appear connected I’m sure but to me by the end of the book I was lost.

Review: The Men We Need

Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

“To be a gentle man is to be the sort who is more than capable of hurting the weak…but doesn’t do it.”

I love this book. Am I the targeted audience for it? As a woman, no I’m not but I’ve enjoyed all of Brant’s books so far and when I saw he was tackling this topic I had to see what he would write. 100% not disappointed. I was practically highlighting something every other page. Do I disagree with some finer points here and there, sure.

For instance I don’t believe wives should work at all and especially not make more than their husbands as mentioned in a part of the book. Even if the wife has to work for some reason and makes more money but the husband is able to find purpose in his job, I still find it questionable whether this would work long term. Also, on financial security I disagree that parents should “rent a place in a trailer park” simply to acquire more time with their kids. Yes time is a precious resource not to be wasted with loved ones but there is a middle ground between living in a trailer park, potentially creating financial instability and giving in to a life of luxury and vacation, overworking to give kids education they may not need down the line.

Review: The Great Divorce

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review:

As per usual with C.S. Lewis the amount of depth he’s managed to cram into a book that can be read in half a day is astounding. To digest everything that was in this little book would take me longer than it did to read it. The discussions between the Ghosts and Spirits alone was haunting, knowing eternity is hanging in the balance and how accurately he’s able to depict people. I knocked a star off simply because I’ll admit I didn’t understand much at the end with the woman and the Dwarf, everything else was great and getting better but that lost me. So I’ll leave this short review with a couple quotes I loved from the book, it’s certainly worth a read even if I always feel like I need a Bible in hand and way more research to understand everything Lewis was talking about haha.

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it.”

”Those that hate goodness are sometimes nearer than those that know nothing at all about it and think they have it already.”

Review: Pride & Prejudice

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review:

Originally I had a different review for this book, arguably far more on the critical side. After sitting on it for some time though I’ve changed my opinion somewhat. That’s the interesting thing about this book, it does tend to stick with you.

My main problems originally had to do with feeling that the romance in the book wasn’t much of one, also that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth themselves weren’t particularly likable characters. I’ve realized that my idea of the romantic part of the book is heavily colored by the 2005 adaptation in film, also just romantic sentiments of the modern age. While now we view romance/love as largely passionate and feeling driven, that wasn’t necessarily the case then. Love as viewed then was a choice made between two people based on shared desires, values and willingness to commit to one another despite potential smaller detractions. So with Darcy and Elizabeth, a lot of their romance doesn’t feel particularly romantic in the sense of sweeping feelings or gestures but in the quiet display of affection whereby another person shows genuine commitment and gentle admiration, that is what they share. The most meaningful parts of Darcy and Elizabeth’s budding relationship is built in some of the smallest parts of the book, their encounters on the grounds at Pemberley and when she meets his sister. To me these showed the growing of true affection, where Darcy was making a choice to be kind towards Elizabeth despite her rebuff and she was softening her heart after coming to understand her wrongs in the whole situation. By the end their agreement to marry can feel more transactional than the acceptance of two people in passionate love but I think their love is the best because it is grounded in a firm decision, both of each others faults and of their good qualities, knowing that they make a match well suited to one another and can pursue a comfortable happiness.

Review: Amazing Grace

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review:

William Wilberforce is a figure of history that has always fascinated me. He’s someone whose Christian character has always stood out amongst the rest, his accomplishments changing the fabric of nations. But as this book goes to show, Wilberforce would not credit an ounce of his work to himself. His desire to do God’s will and for the betterment of those around him was truly his driving force. Metaxis brings together an excellent timeline of Wilberforce’s life and the journey to abolition of the slave trade, showing all the while what only God could have achieved.

This was my first foray into reading a book by Metaxis and he has a truly unique writing style. At points in the book he takes us down rabbit trails that don’t necessarily connect with the Wilberforce / abolition narrative. Even though these trails are generally highly informative and on topics I would like to know about and could even read a whole book on, they don’t usually help me understand why they’re relevant to the topic of the book itself. I’m sure to Metaxis the connection is clear but if only a sentence or two shout out is made to the informations relevancy, then most of it tends to get lost in the overloaded shuffle.

Exciting News!

I don’t think I’ve ever posted a general update on this blog but the other day I got an email telling me this blog had been selected by Feedspot as one of the Top 100 Young Adult Book Blogs on the web!! I’m thrilled this blog, which is just my humble collection of reviews, was even considered and so thankful for you all who follow the blog. I’ve posted the link to the list below, thanks again to Feedspot for the feature and happy reading everyone!

Top 100 Young Adult Book Blogs List

DNF: A Multitude of Dreams

Release Date: August 29th, 2023

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (I only rated because I made it to 50% of the way through.)

Review:

DNF at 51%. Normally I would never DNF an advanced review title. I’m grateful to get to receive books ahead of time and I try to always get through the book even if I have my gripes with it but honestly, at halfway through I was just done with this book.

I’ll admit I had not read ‘The Mask of the Red Death’ by Edgar Allen Poe before reading this and maybe that would’ve helped inform me better on what this book was supposed to be like. The main reason I struggled to get through this is it felt like the author was trying to tell two different stories. One consisted of a commentary on Jewish oppression during the Black Plague and the other is a fantasy version of the plague, filled with dark, thriller-like atmosphere and because other reviewers have already spoiled it, vampires. These two just don’t go together. One is a social piece on a historical time period and treatment of people during that period. The other is a fantasy that leans into its gothic backdrop and ill-defined setting and time period. When they’re together the story loses what makes it interesting, the chilling undertones, the subtle hints of paranormal. It all gets confused when the “real” elements keep crashing back in like Seraphina wanting to remind us of her Jewish heritage at every opportunity.

Review: Judgement Call

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Review:

Out in the open, no shame was as awful as it appeared when hidden in the dark.

The last novella I read in this series was the second, Final Chance, which I really enjoyed. I wish I could say the same for this one but unfortunately I can’t. Somehow reading this novella felt like it had been written by an entirely different author.

For one thing, the POV switched from third person perspective to first, going back and forth from Kiva and Preen’s perspective. While I usually like first person perspective reads, in this one it didn’t seem to work as well, the reason being that the characters themselves appeared to be different than the last time I read about them. Now, could this be because the last novella I read was in 2020 maybe but I don’t believe so as I went back and skimmed Final Chance just to see about some of the differences.