Book Review: Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin ★★★★

January 26, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“I-I’ve never seen anyone savor anything the way you do everything. You make me feel alive. Just being in your presence – it’s addictive. You’re addictive . . . The way you see the world . . . I want to see it that way too.”

I had an inkling I would like this book, but I wasn’t 100% sure, based on all of the mixed reviews I kept seeing. Granted, most of the negative reviews were talking about problematic elements and I, being someone that doesn’t give a hoot if a book is “problematic,” was still very much interested in reading it. And guess what guys?? I freaking loveddddddddd ittttttt. This was the first book in SO LONG that kept me up until almost 3 AM on a work night, just so I could keep reading. It was fabulous and I have already purchased myself a permanent copy 😏. So begone haters!

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Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ★★★★★

January 23, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“But these thoughts broke apart in his head and were replaced by strange fragments: This is my soul and the world unwinding, this is my heart in the still winter air. Finally whispering the same two words over and over: “Keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking.””

Oh my god. This book. It was so amazing. I was expecting to like this book, but I had no idea it would be so moving and powerful. It is beautiful. 5 brilliant stars.

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Book Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah ★★★

January 21, 2020 / crmullen / 1 Comment

“She was crying for it all at last–for the pain and loss and fear and anger, for the war and what it had done to her and to all of them, for the knowledge of evil she could never shake, for the horror of where she’d been and what she’d done to survive.”

Hmm I liked this book. I liked it, but it certainly wasn’t the best thing I have ever read and it didn’t really meet my expectations – expectations that were heightened because of all of the hype surrounding it. Overall, I would give the book 3 stars.

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Book Review: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn ★★★

January 17, 2020January 17, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“I’m a self-didact. (Not a dirty word, look it up.) I read constantly. I think. But I lack formal education. So I’m left with the feeling that I’m smarter than everyone around me but that if I ever got around really smart people—people who went to universities and drank wine and spoke Latin—that they’d be bored as hell by me. It’s a lonely way to go through life.”

This was an okay little novella. I picked it up on a whim and I really enjoyed the beginning, but the end fell kind of flat for me.

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Book Review: The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker ★★★

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“Nobody looks him in the face now, it’s as if his grief frightens them. What are they afraid of? That one day they’ll have to endure pain like this? Or that they never will, that they’re incapable of it, because grief’s only ever as deep as the love it’s replaced.”

I am not sure how I feel about this book, to be honest. I was really excited about it, when I first heard of it. I have loved the character of Briseis for years and enjoyed her complicated dynamic with Achilles (from what I have encountered in both the Iliad and various adaptations/retellings). So this book instantly caught my eye. On the one hand, it was very interesting and beautifully written. But on the other hand….I don’t know. It felt like something was missing.

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Book Review: The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden ★★★★

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“He spoke of Russia. Not Muscovy, or Tver, or Vladimir, the principalities of the sons of Kiev, but of Russia itself, of its skies and its soil, its people and its pride.

She listened in rapt stillness, eyes vast and filled like cups with shadow. “That is what we are fighting for,” said Sasha. “Not for Moscow, or even Dmitrii; not for the sake of any of her squabbling princes. But for the land that bore us; man and devil alike.””

Another fantastic finale! I was really pleased with how this series came to a close and I think this final installment might be the strongest book yet. It was very well done!

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Book Review: The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black ★★★★

January 9, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“And if the serpent grows in monstrousness and corruption, if it poisons the land of Elfhame itself, then let me be the queen of monsters. Let me rule over that blackened land with my redcap father as a puppet by my side. Let me be feared and never again afraid.”

I finally read it! I have been highly anticipating this book for months and holy crap did it live up to my high expectations. I adored it. It was amazing. 4.5 stars!!

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Book Review: An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard ★★

January 7, 2020 / crmullen / Leave a comment

“Magic, at its heart, starts with sacrifice. You have to give up something to get something, and because magic is big, with all that it allows you access to, what you give up has to be big. It has to be meaningful.”

So ultimately, I am really disappointed in this book. I requested this one from my library and I have heard a lot of good things about it, so I was really excited when it finally came in and I could get my hands on it. I had heard people call this one “adult Harry Potter” and it was (originally) a stand-alone. All things I was very interested in! However, it just fell very flat for me in the end😕😕

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