Hi everyone. Welcome back to Bibliophilia Book Reviews. Today, I’m doing my May Wrap Up. This month I finished 9 books, quite a lot more than I was expecting honestly. And I read more romance too. Shocking, I know. Here are my thoughts on these books.
1. FANTASY AND MYSTERY: Age of Assassins by R.J. Barker
This is the first book of The Wounded Kingdom trilogy and the second book I pick up by this author. In fact, it doesn’t seem like this book and The Bone Ships, also by R.J. Barker, were written by the same person at all. The writing style is completely different. And while that isn’t a bad thing, I didn’t find myself liking this author any more than when I read The Bone Ships a couple years ago. And just like I never picked up the second and third books of The Bone Ships, I doubt that I will continue on with The Wounded Kingdom as well.
Though the book is not bad, some things were missing. For instance, a clearer explanation of the magic system. Yes, it is hinted several times that magic is forbidden but we have very little backstory explaining why that is so. Also, I thought that Girton’s master, a character that had so much potential, was wasted. This was disappointing. I know that Girton is the main character and obviously the story focuses more on him, but this was detrimental to Girton’s master’s character development. Considering that she’s supposed to be a very dangerous and feared assassin, she spends a lot of time on the sidelines and does very little.
Instead of killing someone, Girton and his master are hired to prevent another assassin from killing the prince. This mystery is the backbone of the entire book, and the reason why I picked Age of Assassins up in the first place. It seemed like an intriguing plot. But the execution was a bit lacking in my opinion. True, I did not see who hired the assassin until Girton’s master solves the mystery at the end but still. The conclusion, though surprising, wasn’t enough for me to want to pick up the next book in the series.
I gave this book an I Liked It But Will Probably Never Read It Again rating.
2. CLASSIC AND DRAMA: Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare is hard for me, I admit it. Drama has never been one of my preferred genres, and most of the time I make a gargantuan effort to read a play. Such was the case with Macbeth. This play explores the “psychological toll of guilt, paranoia, and moral decay” of the once brave and honorable general Macbeth when he “succumbs to a series of murderous deeds to secure the throne.” Macbeth’s lust for power allows Shakespeare to show the corrosive effects of unchecked ambition.
I thought King Lear was tragic, depressing, and dark, but this play is darker still. And it is perhaps one the hardest works by this author that I have ever read. I remember having a copy of this play in my parents’ house while I was growing up, but I never picked it up. And come to think of it, we probably got it as required reading for one of my classes in high school but I never read it. And now that I did, I realize that I probably wouldn’t have understood it back then if I had. This, unfortunately, is the case for a lot of required reading books during junior and high school and this is detrimental to both the young reader and the book. Although, if they don’t read these books during high school, then when? So I understand too that there needs to be some kind of balance.
I gave this book an I Liked It rating; I cannot say that I will never pick this book up again, but it will probably be a while before I do though.
3. NONFICTION AND HISTORY: The Trojan War by Barry Strauss
Broadly speaking, this book is a retelling of The Iliad loosely based on archeological and historical evidence. I was interested in the archeological evidence, that’s why I picked this book up. But this is not an archeological study of the ruins of Troy. Instead, this is a nonfiction retelling The Iliad. So when I realized that this book wasn’t going to provide me with anything new I was disappointed. In addition, the author disregards myth and recounts the events in Homer’s epic as if they were historical events and I’m not sure I agree with this. Setting aside mythology and the role the gods played in the war takes away a lot from the poem, including its lyrical features and its ability to show us the way humans lived, and what they believed in, during the Bronze Age.
I gave this book an Okay rating. I probably won’t read it again, and that’s unfortunate because I had had high hopes for this one.
4. CONTEMPORARY AND ROMANCE: Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez
Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez is the first romance book I read this month. I like Abby Jimenez’s books, despite having a love/hate relationship with this genre. I have read all of her books and one of the things that I like about them is the way she uses point of view. We usually get alternating chapters between the female and male main characters and witness what is going on inside their heads throughout the story. And this was a nice change from what I experience in most romance books. Third person narrations make me feel so detached from the characters sometimes that I just can’t root for them to get together, and I put the book down. The writing style matters, I’ve noticed. Granted, this is not always the case and my favorite romance novel to this date is written in the third person but for some reason I just can’t connect with most of them.
Abby Jimenez is also known for tackling hard issues in her stories, and some of these issues may be triggering to some (I understand that) but I also think that not all romance novels do this and that this allows us to connect with the characters to a different level. Abby Jimenez has tackled issues such as infertility, social anxiety, and disease. In Just For The Summer, the female character has to deal with a toxic and controlling parent, past child neglect, and undiagnosed mental illness caused by this trauma. The male main character also has his own issues to deal with, and putting these two together may not have been the best formula to start dating each other but in the end I was glad that they found each other and were able to make a family of their own.
I gave this book an I Really Liked This And Will Probably Read It Again.
5. NONFICTION AND HISTORY: The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes
The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes explores the thousand years of Russia’s history, from the founding of Kievan Rus to Putin’s War against Ukraine, to explain that no other country has reimagined itself and its history so often to stay in step with the shifts of ruling ideologies as Russia has. How the Russians came to tell their story, Orlando Figes says, and revise it so often is not only important to understand their past but also the best way to understand how the country thinks and acts today. The ideas of Russia’s past have guided and shaped how Russians think about that past and the events and personalities that comprise it. These ideas include, for example, the medieval myth of Mother Russia’s holy mission to the world, the imperial tendency to an autocratic rule, the popular belief in a paternal tsar dispensing truth and justice, and always, the nationalist myth of Russia’s unjust treatment by the West.
I picked this book up as a complementary read to The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. And yes, it complements it very well. It gives you a historical background to the way life changes in Russia depending on who is ruling the country at the time. And just as this was true during Stalin’s regime during WWII (and the period of time in which The Master and Margarita occurs), it is also true today. I gave this book an I Liked It rating, because I learned a few things while reading it too. It is also a lot shorter than I expected.
6. CONTEMPORARY AND ROMANCE: A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña
My sister recommended this book to me, and though it took me a bit to pick it up, I really enjoyed it. This book is a heart-warming and entertaining story about giving friendship—and love—a second chance. Kamilah Vega loves El Coquí, her family’s Puerto Rican restaurant in Humboldt Park. But with the gentrification of their neighborhood, the restaurant is on the verge of closing. The only way to save it, Kamilah tells her family, is to modernize it and give it publicity by entering the Chicago Fall Foodie Tour. Her parents refuse but her grandfather, the owner of the restaurant, sees this as the perfect opportunity to ‘convince’ (or blackmail, if needs be) his granddaughter into marrying the love of her life, Liam Kane, the grandson of his best friend Killian.
Killian also thinks they need to encourage the kids into getting together. And he too blackmails Liam. Liam has spent a decade putting his grandfather’s distillery on the map and now that they are about to win a national championship, Killian tells him that he has cancer and wants to see him happy and married before he goes. Killian knows that Liam loves Kamilah, so he blackmails him into accepting his feelings for her. If not, he and Papo Vega will sell the building that houses both El Coquí and Kane Distillery.
Kamilah and Liam relent and get “engaged”. That way, they think, they can outfox their octogenarian grandfathers. But, of course, Papo Vega and Granda know better. Kamilah and Liam have loved each other since they were kids, and now they are forced to accept that for themselves and each other.
Family is very important in this book. Kamilah’s family is just a protagonist in Kamilah and Liam’s love story, as is Liam’s, both living and dead; both Irish and Puerto Rican cultures are also very important for the development of this story and its happy ending. Papo Vega and Killian are funny in their meddling ways, and I really enjoyed how it is the grandfathers, and not the grandmothers, who play cupid. I gave this book an I Really Liked It And Will Probably Read It Again rating.
7. CONTEMPORARY AND ROMANCE: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
In this book, love is home. And home is being with the person you love. This is a lesson that Alexis Montgomery learns when she meets Daniel Grant, the man who swoops her off her feet after he helps her with a flat tire. They are from completely different worlds and they couldn’t possibly work but somehow they do. Alexis has just broken up with an abusive boyfriend and is dealing with the aftermath, including her own parents who are pushing her into getting back together with him. Daniel is dealing with an unstable and absent mother who wants to sell the only home he’s ever known and if he doesn’t make 50,000 dollars soon for a downpayment, he will very likely get evicted from the premises.
Despite all of this, they fall in love.
I liked this couple. And I was rooting for them from the start.
So, yes, I Really Liked this book.
8. CLASSIC AND HISTORICAL: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I reread this book last year and wrote my thoughts about it in my April 2023 Wrap Up post. I picked it up again this year for one of my book clubs and I enjoyed it just as much. This time, however, I had the added bonus of listening to lectures about each one of the book’s three volumes and that enhanced my experience reading it. I Really Like this novel.
9. CONTEMPORARY AND ROMANCE: A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña
This book is the story of Santiago “Saint” Vega and Lola León, another couple who get a second chance at love. Lola is a social justice advocate fighting for the rights of homeless LGBTQ+ kids while Saint is a construction worker forced to come home from Iraq and take care of his 4-year old daughter after his wife dies in a car accident. Separated by their convictions and ideals when they were young, Saint and Lola now get a second chance for happiness. That is, if life doesn’t get in the way. And life very much does get in the way.
In this book, the author addresses the issue of Humboldt Park’s gentrification at a deeper level and this places Saint and Lola at opposing ends; however, in trying to figure out why his daughter is not talking at school, Saint gets closer to Lola when he finds out that she is Rosie’s new kindergarten teacher. I usually don’t like how most children are written in books, but Natalie Caña did a good job with Rosie. She is a 4-year old, and she behaves like one throughout the entire book. She is also an important factor in Saint and Lola getting together in the end, and I liked how the author finished their story. I also liked that Lola learns to accept her body and be happy in her own skin after she realizes that Saint does indeed love her body as it is. She is one of the few heroines that I have read about that doesn’t fit the norm. She is bisexual, bigger than average, and not afraid to speak her mind. I liked that and appreciated the representation and diversification in the romance genre. We need more of that.
That is everything I read in May. Thank you for stopping by.
