Book Review: Being Mrs Darcy

 

 Being Mrs Darcy

Lucy Marin

4/5

This book is very elaborate and well-thought out Pride and Prejudice fanfiction. I discovered this subsection on Kindle Unlimited that's basically just Pride and Prejudice fanfiction and I'm honestly living. I think that if I were rating this solely on the how it made me feel at certain points I would be giving it a 5/5. There were some issues with the writing though that made me hold back on that full 5/5 though.

This is a straight AU. Instead of meeting in typical Pride and Prejudice fashion, Elizabeth and Darcy met when Elizabeth stepped in to save her from Wickham. To save both of their reputations, Darcy and Elizabeth get married. It quiets the rumors and protects everyone, but makes both parties fairly miserable. We all know the things that Darcy said at that first party about Elizabeth, they weren't exactly nice. Their marriage here follows the same awkward progression of love and misunderstandings that made me love the characters when I initially read Pride and Prejudice. 

I wish so much that I could read Pride and Prejudice again for the first time. Honestly one of my favorite reads ever and the retellings that I read are the closest I'll get to ever feeling that way. If you just watched it cause it was added onto Netflix, I'd totally recommend reading this.

Book Review: Real Men Knit

Real Men Knit 

Kwana Jackson

4/5

This was either a really high 3 or a low 4 for me, I think I liked the main female protagonist enough for it to make it over that hump though. After working at a knitting shop with her good friend and mother figure Mama Joy for most of her life, Mama Joy's sudden passing leaves the shop and Kerry Fuller without clear direction. She and Mama Joy's other three sons are shocked when Jesse decides he wants to continue the family legacy by keeping the shop open. He can't do that without Kerry's help though as she's the one who knows how things were done there. 

I liked that it was all about family. All four of the brothers were adopted out of the foster care system and raised by Mama Joy and were able to rise above the circumstances that their earlier childhood's placed them into. I also just loved the message about knitting, so many of my guy friends won't knit because they see it as something too feminine and that's just toxic. I thought it was kind of ridiculous that the four boys she adopted all sprouted into super hot guys who were over six-feet tall but I'll let it slide as she placed them into roles that they'd typically be judged for. 

The romance felt a little rushed considering the premise of it. She had been in love with him since high school, I'm pretty sure he was too, but they never really talked about that fundamental part of their relationship. I thought it was sweet how his family was so defensive of her, but the "player" role was emphasized a little too much for Jesse. I know he tried to right his wrong and that was an intrinsic piece of his transition towards a responsible shop owner, but they didn't have to demonize him so much for it he wasn't that bad. 

That sounds like I'm roasting it a lot but honestly it was a pretty sweet book. It was short, easy to get through, and though the romance wasn't the strongest it was pretty important beyond the romantic element. I'd recommend it if you're just a big fan of contemporary comeback stories.

Book Review: Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (Gaslight Mystery #17)

 

 Murder on Amsterdam Avenue

 Victoria Thompson

5/5

17 books in and I feel like the books are just getting better. There was a point where I hesitated in going on because the 23 released books is a lot to get through and a big commitment if I'm not in love with the characters. I'm in love with the characters, their arc are beautiful. The mystery in this one had me questioning everything from start to finish, just when I felt like I had figured it out it got all mixed up again. 

I think that one of my favorite things about this series is how unusually supportive her family is. Not just with her new relationship with Malloy but with her solving mysteries in general. They actually help her on multiple occasions, this novel especially. I love to see the bonding and them all getting along. I also LOVED the merging of their families at the end. Sarah's parents welcoming Malloy, Catherine calling him her father, Brian calling Sarah his mother. It was beautiful and had me crying. I don't typically like reading such older people but I guess I'm getting old or I got very committed because this one got my heartstrings.

I've said it a billion times but if you haven't started this series yet, you're missing out. I know it's a huge commitment but the individual books aren't that long and they're amazingly enjoyable.

Book Review: Vicious (Villains #1)

Vicious

V.E. Schwab

4/5

Victor is obsessed with being the best and when his friend suggests that he could gain ExtraOrdinary powers by a near death experience, he doesn't waste much time literally killing himself. The progression of events isn't chronological, I was sure I knew who the villain was at first but as events were revealed I found myself shifting sides.

I know that this book was good, maybe that's why I don't have a lot to say about it. I couldn't believe the progression of their arc, like I said I was sure I knew who the villain was until I suddenly didn't anymore. I like anti-heroes but I'm also looking for their to be a clearly identified hero and villain, Victor Vale kind of falls in the middle.

I'd recommend it for fans of science-fiction and urban fantasy. It's V.E. Schwab's first "adult" book and she really did well transitioning into the genre. I'm excited to read the sequel but I also like how she wrote it as a potential standalone. I felt like it was a little rushed at the end- a lot of planning for the midnight meeting to go the way it did but it was still ok. Still a lot of potential for a great sequel though.

Book Review: Rage and Ruin (The Harbinger #2)

Rage and Ruin

Jennifer L. Armentrout

3/5

A high 3/5, but I was kind of disappointed in this sequel. I loved Storm and Fury and so honestly I let my expectations get ahead of me. Trinity really went through it in the last book, she's lost most of the people who she thought cared for her. She has Zayne but not in the ways she really wants to have him. She's facing the inevitability of a complete apocalypse and has been told that she's really the only one who can stop it. So it's kind of a stressful time for her.

Nephilim isn't a super unique topic, I feel like I've read it a lot in YA but probably just my fixation on the shadowhunters. I don't let that stop me from enjoying a book though, especially if there are cool twists like the irony of her degrading eyesight. The book started off strong because we love a supportive male antagonist. He wasn't doing it for any reason either, he was going through his own stuff but still wanted to make sure she was ok given everything she was going through and everything she had lost. Unfortunately, the plot line of their romance was riddled with unnecessary bouts of irrational jealously and just straight anger. Then after all that anger, the resolution felt rushed and kind of unfounded.

What really got me was the ending, which I won't spoil. I saw it coming from a mile away though the foreshadowing was just way too literal. I read a line about a hundred pages from the end and I knew exactly what was going to go down. The last couple of lines confused me a bit but like not to the point where I was losing my mind. It just felt kind of lackluster compared to how much I loved the first book in this series.

I'll still recommend this series because it's fun and the first book is so much better than the second. I just hope that the next book pulls it all together because I'm honestly just too disappointed right now.

Book Review: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)

Clockwork Princess

Cassandra Clare

5/5

I'm not going to lie, this book had be sobbing. The nuances of the romances in this book? Unmatched, nothing has ever made me feel as hard as this book did and continues to do. I don't know why, the actual plot/war in the series isn't very good. I mean, comparative to what I'm seeing in The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours especially. But there's just something about the tragic yet satisfying manner in which things play out that really just has me crying.

The Clockwork War is still mentioned in TLH, but it really just ended as fast as it started. It spans a few months and has like three main battles with only a couple of major deaths. Rereading this seven years later really dulled down the impact of those events for me. When they referenced it in Chain of Gold, they imply that it's a super important event that continues to influence the path of shadowhunters. But really, it feels like the "revolution" of Les Mis that was super impactful on the characters but didn't make a huge difference outside of it. I mean, the Consul and attack on the Council I guess, but also not really?

But the romance, that's something that goes unmatched as time goes on. Will Herondale, Tessa Gray, and Jem Carstairs will always be a great love story in my head. Especially considering how Jem and Tessa's story continues in the newer books. I can't get over it, I don't know how I ever convinced myself that I was over it. I can't wait to get further into TLH and TDA because at this point I really just don't have enough of them and the re-read was so worth it.

Book Review: Murder in Murray Hill (Gaslight Mystery #16)

Murder in Murray Hill

Victoria Thompson

5/5

This addition to the Gaslight Mysteries felt a lot darker than the ones before. It dealt with kidnapping, rape, and emotional manipulation along with a lot of other sensitive topics. It wasn't very graphic, just mentioned in ways that present the issues and really make you think about how many times it must have happened to women without anyone really thinking about it. Like all of the Gaslight Mysteries, it made me learn about elements of history that may have been considered mundane at the time.

The emotional and harsh plot of this book was balanced with the lightness of Sarah and Malloy's confirmed feelings for each other. Their relationship now that they're engaged is so unproblematic and just sweet. I've been waiting fifteen books to get to this moment and I really am so glad that I was able to make it this far.

We're getting into some interesting topics as Malloy moves away from the police and into private detective work. There's also the money factor, excited to see how they both use their money for good since they're not typical millionaires. Overall, just excited to see where things go moving forward!