May 2013 Reading List

Okay, okay, I have learned my lesson from too many books in last month's list.

This month will be different!

Well of Shades.

4/5 - Fun and full world.
I had a hard time figuring out which book of Juliet Marillier's I was going to read this month, since I picked up both this and Son of Shadows in an op shop last month. I know I certainly don't have time for two Juliet Marillier novels in a month! And this one has such a whimsical cover. How could I not read it? This one won out also because, well, because the end of last book left me feeling so bereft for the main character of this book. And so I have to see him happy. And, for that, I have to read the book.

Hexed.

4/5 - Enjoyable, but not as fast paced as the first one.
After the amazing success with reading and loving Kevin's first book Hounded, I can't even believe it's taken me a month to get to the next book in the series, I estimate this will take me about two days to read cover to cover.

Fire with Fire.

DNF - There's one in every month.
Another book that has been picked up because of my love and need for more books following my reading list of March 2013. No idea if this will be as good as I thought Promiscuities was, but I'm about to find out!

The Little Stranger.

4/5 - I surprised myself with how much I liked this since it was set in the war.
I realised it had been too long since I read a new Sarah Waters novel. Plus, this was another part of my recent op shop grab. There's really not much to it than that.

Bone Crossed.

5/5 - Love, love, love Patricia's urban fantasy and this was no exception.
This book was originally meant to be Cry Wolf; another series in the same world as her Mercy Thompson books but with different characters. Unfortunately, I do not yet have this book, and the only copy listed in my library ended up being a lost copy. And so, I have my heart set on Patricia Briggs this month, so I guess I'll have to finish Bone Crossed this month. *staples hand to forehead* Oh, woe.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

3/5 - Sadly, this just wasn't as good as the movie.
This was a last minute add on for me, and is directly contributing to a piece of writing that I am hoping to progress on this coming month. Also, it looks as funny as hell. If it's anything like the movie of it, I'm sure I'll be in for a couple of laughs.

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Only five books this month. I can do it :D For anyone interested in following my pursuits, feel free to follow me on Goodreads.com: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6878229.Nicole_D_Fergusson 

March 2013 reading list.

My reading list for March.

Black Heart.
4/5 stars. Very enjoyable read.

The only problem I'm going to have with starting this book is that there aren't going to be any more of the 'Curse Worker' books after I finish this one. The first one left me 'bleh', the second one really excited me. If it continues along in this trajectory, I'm half expecting to want to throw myself off a cliff in anguish at the close of this one. Still, my heart must go on and this one has been on my reading list for so long... I know that I really should get started on it before I forget the important plot points that happened in Red Glove.

Promiscuities.
This gets the 'Surprisingly Awesome' vote for the month. I had some trepidations going in, but I found this a really great read on the whole.

I've been meaning to read a book by Naomi Wolf for a while now. I don't actually know very much about this book at all, only that a friend of mine has most kindly donated it for me to read and I am quite looking forward to it.

Grave Mercy.
2/5 stars. Something was just missing for me here.

The votes on Goodreads were close between The Book Thief and Grave Mercy for this particular monthly read, but Grave Mercy won my heart at the very least, and although it didn't win the larger group's vote, popular demand had us starting a group in which to vent our love of women in long flowing, red dresses.

At least, that's what I'm here for.

Hounded.
5/5 stars. Almost utterly flawless piece of writing.

Last time I was at my library, I walked past a shelf with the fourth book in this series. On the cover boasted a review that Hounded combines "the magic of American Gods by Neil Gaiman with the writing of Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files)" which is just about the fastest way ever to get me to pick up a book I've never heard of. I just hope that it's as good as it sounds!

Emma.
3/5 stars. Fun read without anything particular about it jumping out as amazing.

This is also a book for a Goodreads monthly read. We had so much fun with Northanger Abbey and Persuasion last month that, when someone nominated this for March, how could we say no?
Last month's reading of Persuasion included such dialogue as:


A conversation that happened between me and a girlfriend just now.

Me: Oh god. Such satire! How is this even happening?

Me again: Oh, oh god no! Whyyy!

Me: Okay, okay, I have to read this out to you.

(It is at this point useful to note that my friend has been reading 50 Shades of Grey and has been tormenting me with excerpts for hours.)

Me: *paraphrasing* Anne's friend is saying, 'Oh, I appreciate you coming over. I know that you spent last night with the man you most highly consider.'

Anne: How does she know about Captain Wentworth?

Friend keeps speaking, 'So you must tell me about Mr Elliot.'

Anne says, 'Mr Elliot? Mr Elliot! Oh, goodness, you must only think of us as relatives.'

Anne's friend, 'Oh, I understand. You were not chaperoned. Well, you must tell me when it would be proper to ask you about it again.'

Anne, 'Never! No, never! Not next week, or the week after, I have no designs on Mr Elliot whatsoever!'

Anne's friend, 'I understand. A woman has no designs on any man until he asks her.'

Me: *head explodes!!*

My friend: And that was when Jane Austen Fight Club broke out.

Me: You know, the first rule of Jane Austen Fight Club is that you don't talk about Jane Austen Fight club...

My friend: No, it's a real thing. Look -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InNnf4dI9AE

This leads me finally to...

Restraint.
DNF. Unfortunately there's one every month, and this one was that.

This book came up on my library's website while I was booking Grave Mercy and Hounded. My thoughts were that it looked a little bit in the same vein of 50 Shades of Grey and that could mean one of two things: 1. It's going to be as hilariously awful and so worth a couple of chuckle points, or, 2. It actually could be good. Contemplating this now has also brought me around to thinking, 3. If it really is ludicrously awful, at least it's half the pages to suffer through.

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And that's me for the month! Hopefully I get through them all. I have a to-read list taller than myself. For updates on how I'm going on all these books through the month, follow me on Goodreads.com:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6878229.Nicole_D_Fergusson