Since I've Been Gone: January & February Wrap Up

I'm back from hiatus! But with uni starting again this week, I don't expect I'll be blogging very frequently as I have lots of other things to do. In the meantime, what happened while I was gone?

  

Life

• I've been learning to drive! So far so good with the automatic, need lots of practice with the manual. And then we'll have to see about parking...
• I had a summer job and saved a bit of money, yay! Now I'm back home I have to keep looking for part-time jobs, though...
• My holiday was generally pretty great, and I felt completely on top of things, like I'd got my shit together after two years of not being very motivated, and it felt good.

Posts

5 Things I Loved About Goddess by Kelly Gardiner

Read

Click the covers to go to the Goodreads links. 

             
   
     

 

How have the last 2 months been for you? What cool posts around the blogosphere did I miss? Have you read any of the books I read?

Read More

5 Things I Loved About Goddess by Kelly Gardiner

If this swashbuckling heroine doesn't define awesome, I don't know what does.

Hi everyone! This is my first review in a long time because I'm finally back. I read this book a month or two back, and I loved it so much I had to take notes so I could share the awesomeness with you all. So without further ado, here are 5 things I loved about Kelly Gardiner's Goddess.

1. Fascinating main character

Julie is a crossdressing, bisexual French opera singer and swordswoman from the 17th-18th Centuries. She reminds me a bit of Casanova. That’s interesting in itself. But I also loved her confidence, as it’s rare to find a female character who knows she’s beautiful or/and brilliant. Julie knows she’s great; she calls herself a goddess, and it's refreshing. (Wonder where the title came from, hmm?)

2. Interesting story

This novel is an adventure and a half. Julie has a very eventful (albeit short) life and what’s more, the author didn’t make it up; Julie d’Aubigny was a real historical woman and the events in the novel are based on documented events. I couldn’t believe it when I read the author’s note at the end and found this out. I also couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this awesome woman. The best thing? She was not the only crossdressing, swashbuckling lady at the time.

Julie d'Aubigny

Kelly Gardiner has a blog post about the real life of Julie d’Aubigny here.

3. Unique voice and tone

The book is set up as a transcript of Julie’s deathbed confession to a priest. It’s written as a monologue, including her responses to what the priest says (which is not included, so you have to be smart and guess). She’s sassy and intelligent, which makes for fun reading.

4. Beautiful language

The writing flows and is a joy to read. It’s concise yet descriptive and is also emotional, especially at the end. Julie has a lot to say, but her story fits in at under 300 pages, all the while affecting me enough to rate it 5 stars. French words scattered through the text also make it feel more authentic, although sometimes I wanted to look them up to check a) what they meant and b) if they were real words…

5. Women living on their own terms in an oppressive historical society

Refer to 1 and 2. Need I say more? 

Conclusion

If you love history and interesting women, do yourself a favour and read this hidden gem! I’ve read a lot of Kelly Gardiner’s books, so I can also vouch for her as a good author. What are you waiting for?

Summary

Versailles, 1686: Julie d'Aubigny, a striking young girl taught to fence and fight in the court of the Sun King, is taken as mistress by the King's Master of Horse. Tempestuous, swashbuckling and volatile, within two years she has run away with her fencing master, fallen in love with a nun and is hiding from the authorities, sentenced to be burnt at the stake. Within another year, she has become Mademoiselle de Maupin, a beloved star at the famed Paris Opéra. Her lovers include some of Europe's most powerful men and France's most beautiful women. Yet Julie is destined to die alone in a convent at the age of 33.

Based on an extraordinary true story, this is an original, dazzling and witty novel - a compelling portrait of an unforgettable woman.

For all those readers who love Sarah Dunant, Sarah Waters and Hilary Mantel.

Add it on Goodreads

Read More

Summer Hiatus & December Wrap Up

This month has gone so fast! So what's the goss, you ask?

  

Life

• I finally got my learner's licence! I passed the theory test with 100%.
• Our prime minister resigned out of the blue - whaaat?
• On Boxing Day (26th December) I'm going away for an indefinite period and will most likely not have internet access, so I'm taking a break from blogging. This "holiday" is so I can work but I'm hoping to get a lot of reading and writing done too, I just won't be able to blog about it. So have a great Christmas and New Year, everybody, and I'll see you in 2017!

Posts

Top 5 Writers That Were New to Me in 2016

5 Ways My Reading Habits Have Changed in 2016

Smashing & Dashing Characters of 2016 Awards  

Read

           

 

Around the blogosphere

Puput at Sparkling Letters discussed the secrets of writing negative and unpopular reviews.

Cait at Paper Fury wrote about the 8 types of book reviewers. Which type(s) are you?
Greg at Book Haven posted the best book covers of the year.

How was your December? How was your year? Any plans or goals for 2017?

Read More

Smashing & Dashing Characters of 2016 Awards

Cait at Paper Fury created this awesome book tag and I had to do it. Because fictional characters! So, here are the best and worst characters from the books I read this year (the books don't have to be published in 2016, otherwise I couldn't do the challenge). Not spoiler-free, but I won't go into too much detail.

MOST RELATABLE CHARACTER

The character I most related to was Marya Bolkonskaya (War and Peace). Apart from the fact that she's very religious and I'm not, I definitely identified with her.

MOST PURE AND PRECIOUS ANIMAL COMPANION

Maruman, the cat from The Red Queen. He's grumpy and cynical, and that is what makes him pure and precious.

 

FIERCEST FIGHTER

Colonel Jack Collins in Ancients. Some of the fighting he does is so he doesn't have to think about his dying girlfriend. Ouch.

MOST AMAZING SIDEKICK

I haven't  read many sidekick characters in 2016, but Ana and Swallow in The Red Queen are both cool sidekicks.

ONE YOU’RE SURPRISED YOU LOVED

Nikolai Rostov (War and Peace). I was neutral about him in the BBC mini-series, which I watched first, but I found him hilarious in the book. He's a problematic fave and not the nicest person, but still a fave.

BEST SASSMASTER

That's Maruman again.

 

BEST ANTI-HERO AND MORALLY GREY GRAPE

Frances Wray in The Paying Guests. She has an affair with a married woman and covers up the manslaughter of her lover's husband, but it's with the best intentions.

BEST WORST VILLAIN TO HATE

Anatole Kuragin (War and Peace). I cannot stand him. He gets his comeuppance in an emotionally traumatic scene, though.

TRULY ASTOUNDING WORST YA PARENT

Old Prince Bolkonsky from War and Peace is a shit dad. He's completely awful to his daughter. You can't just treat people like that.

TRULY ASTOUNDING BEST YA PARENT

Countess Natalya Rostova's relationship with her sons and her daughter Natasha in War and Peace is very cute. She loves them and is so proud of them. Too bad she forgets about her other daughter Vera and treats her niece Sonya shockingly.

TOOT TOOT BEST SHIP OF THEM ALL

Andrei and Natasha (War and Peace). Because happy ships are boring.

THE MOST IN NEED OF PROTECTION

#ProtectMaryaBolkonskaya

MOST BORING AS A BARNACLE

Masha in Enchantments had a very interesting history but still managed to not have a personality. Given the overall quality of the book, I can't even be surprised or disappointed.

BEST LITTLE ROYAL

Dragon from The Red Queen, who is, in fact, the Red Queen. She just rides up to the city centre on a horse and the people make her their queen and revolt against their oppressive system. Goals.

VERY SURPRISED YOU’RE STILL ALIVE

Elspeth Gordie. Actually, a lot of characters in The Red Queen survived when I thought they wouldn't.

BEST AT HORRIBLE DECISION MAKING

It's a tie between Nikolai "Gambled Away My Family's Money" Rostov and his sister Natasha "Cheated On My Beloved With A Man I'd Known For 3 Days" Rostova.

CUTEST DORK

Florence Banner (Tipping the Velvet). Don't ask how a serious, Victorian socialist can be a cute dork. I don't know.

CLEVEREST LITTLE HELLION

Nancy King (Tipping the Velvet) wins this award for always making her way in the world.

MOST IN NEED OF A NAP

Elspeth Gordie deserves a long sleep by her choice this time.

WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT YOU

Mademoiselle Amelie Bourienne from War and Peace. She's a minor character who's there in the background throughout the entire book, but she's so mysterious. She's a Frenchwoman in Russia during the Napoleonic invasion - what does she think about it all??? I want to know!

I'm tagging everyone reading this post - if you haven't already done the thing, do the thing!

Read More

5 Ways My Reading Habits Have Changed in 2016

As we've already established, 2016 hasn't been my best reading year in terms in number of books read (as of today, I've finished 22 books this whole year). Apart from reading fewer books, how else have my reading habits changed this year? Quite a lot, it turns out.

I haven't been afraid to DNF books 

I've officially DNFed 3 books, and I've put at least one book down after reading the first page. I'm also taking a break from a book I started last month. I've realised that life's too short to bother with finishing books I'm not enjoying, especially when my TBR's as enormous as it is... My most notable DNF was Fallen Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes.

I've read less contemporary, more historical

My historical fiction to contemporary fiction ratio is more than 2:1. I've always loved historical fiction, but this year I've loved historical fiction and haven't been very interested in contemporary. History nerdiness strikes again. The most notable historical fiction I read was Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, and the most notable contemporary I read was The Flywheel by Erin Gough.

 

I've read fewer series

In the past I've been mad about series, especially epic fantasy series. This year, enough was enough and I leaned more towards standalones. Apart from the standalones I read a couple of books I didn't know were in the middle of a series, I read several first-in-a-series, and the others were the last in their respective series. I'm a changed woman and could live without reading book series for the rest of my life. Once I've finished all the series I'm in the middle of, of course. The most epic standalone I read was War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, while the most epic in-a-series I read was The Red Queen (the conclusion to the Obernewtyn Chronicles) by Isobelle Carmody.

I've read less YA

Less than half the books I've read this year have been YA, and I've enjoyed the Adult books more. I'm just not in the target YA audience anymore, I suppose, as I can't relate to the characters now. I'm older and I never had a lot of the experiences these characters have, especially the relationship and/or high school dramas. I think it's safe to say that, although I still have a lot of YA on my TBR, Adult fiction has won me over. The most notable Adult fiction I read was Love in the Land of Midas by Kapka Kassabova; the most notable YA was Solitaire by Alice Oseman.

I've read fewer ebooks

I read ebooks faster than I read physical books, so I wonder if picking ebooks over physical books this year would've meant I'd read more. It's quite possible. But I suppose my ereader has had a small break, as I've only read maybe 9 ebooks this year. The best physical book I read was If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho translated by Anne Carson. The best ebook I read was A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. Okay, my goal for next year is to pick ebooks over physical books, as it's faster. Let's see how that affects my reading stats for 2017!

How have your reading habits changed this year? What about your reading stats? Did you meet any goals? How do you anticipate your 2017 reading year?

Read More