Tag: Young Adult

Posted in Books

Book Ban Update

Posted on by Evallone

Way back at the start of this hell year, I made myself a challenge that I wouldn’t buy any new books for 2020. The only exceptions were my Kindle Subscriptions, Audible and the new Dresden Files book.

Temptation is everywhere

I hadn’t realised on the one hand how freaking easy it would be because I’ve not been in a bookshop since… November? Obviously Amazon keep tempting me with their Kindle Daily Deals with amazing books for only 99p, but I’m resisting! I have also cancelled my Kindle Unlimited sub because I’m not reading the books I have in real life, never mind those on my online shelf. I got through a few of them before it cancelled. I have also put Audible on pause for a few months since I’ve quite a collection of lecture series to listen to. Plus, I’m skint.

I like Big Books and I cannot lie

Being home so much has got me looking at the books which I want to read but are too big and awkward to take out to read. One is Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. I’m very much into the Shadowhunters books, but felt the departure from Jace and Clary with the new trilogy, The Dark Artifices – Lady Midnight quite strongly and it took me a bit to warm up to Emma and Julian. Needless to say I was quickly hooked and rushed out to buy the blue edged paperback of Lord of Shadows when it came out… then it sat on my shelf for years. And I’m sorry it did. It was great. I won’t go into a full review here, but I’m pissed as hell at the ending, if you can call it an ending and not a total ploy into making you buy the next book: Queen of Air and Darkness. Which of course, I priced on Amazon – but book ban! I didn’t buy it. My birthday is in November, perhaps the book fairy might visit.

Damn you, Butcher!

While taking a wee break from reading last week, I noticed Prime added the old Dresden Files TV show. I’ve heard so many bad things about it but Paul Blackthorne is a good actor and I watched the Shadowhunters movie twice. Needless to say the show was cancelled after only one season, and I imagine because the fans couldn’t get behind it. They changed so many little things that make no sense why they would need to be changed. The casting was odd for Murphy and the actress who played Susan gave it a good shot, but she was not Susan. I won’t say much more other than, where’s the damn Beetle (car)?, Why is Bob a person? and a drumstick?!?!

Alas, it got me thinking about the new book and that I should probably read back over the summaries and maybe read the last few books to refresh my memory since it’s been six years since the last book. So I jumped onto Jim Butcher’s website and saw the artwork has been released for Peace Talks.

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher

Isn’t it beautiful?

Then I noticed on the upcoming works… a very interesting sentence:

THIS JUST IN: TWO DRESDEN BOOKS WILL BE RELEASED IN 2020! PEACE TALKS HITS STORES JULY 14TH, AND BATTLE GROUND COMES OUT SEPTEMBER 29TH!

Jim-Butcher.com

OMG! That crazy freaking wonderful man has decided to treat us to two books this year! After all it is the 20th Anniversary of The Dresden Files (how wild is that?) I’ve only been around for the last ten years of it and it’s such a big part of my literary life.

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

Finally some good news during this hell year! I’m holding off pre-ordering just now, maybe I’m hoping against hope but I’d imagine if bookshops are open again by July that they might do a midnight launch of Peace Talks… I guess we’ll see.

Anyway, I’m off to stir myself into further hysteria with all the YA and Urban Fantasy books I have.

Have any of you read the Dresden Files? Might you be inclined to try it now? Would you go to a midnight launch if there was one?

Stay safe and keep reading!

e x

Posted in Books

Currently Reading – Flawed

Posted on by Evallone

So at the time of writing this I’m currently reading Flawed by Cecelia Ahern. I love her writing and her style. To be fair I haven’t read all of her stuff, but of what I have read, I’ve loved. The wit, the whimsy, the unbelievable – she makes it real, she makes you care. Now this is a slight departure from her usual stuff, it’s YA for starters and it’s the first in a series. I should warn you before you read any further, if you are sick to the back teeth of YA dystopian novels, then stop reading and await my next blog, if not then keep reading – but you have been warned!

I won’t give away spoilers but to say that at just over halfway through, I can already see the familiar triangle forming, the reluctant teen forced into a situation in which she must give up her desire to flee and instead learn to fight. Everything she took for granted is now gone, those she trusted are no longer trustworthy etc. But, I don’t even care! There is another different edge to this story, it’s not Hunger Games targeting the kids, it’s targeting everyone – a bit more Minority Report in its brand of justice. Effectively, there are a list of things a member of ordinary society must abide by, lest they be tried and condemned as Flawed, at which point they are branded with a perfect F… the irony isn’t lost on the narrator. Celestine is seventeen, and as annoying as most studious seventeen-year-olds are, more concerned with following the rules to a tee and her future life at uni than whether her world is fair and just for all. As she is annoying, this will allow for the greatest character development, she is falling fast and when she hits bottom, then I can feel sorry for her. Too many main characters start off as noble, likeable, honorable, selfless, etc, whereas Celestine is a proper teenager; bitchy, moody, out of her depth, and rightfully pissed off at her treatment.

I’m still trying to decipher the landscape, perhaps like most Ahern books it is set in Ireland or at least a fictional version, thus it already has a different taste than the deluge of American world dystopias. This book has been on my TBR pile for a while but I’m glad I’m cracking on with it, it’s fun and enjoyable! Who decided that there can only be one bestseller of each genre? Who decided that after Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Divergent that the world had tired of YA dystopians? Because according to the sheer volume of such books that are being sold in print and on Kindle, it’s not coming from the readers!

luego,

e x