#laurenslibrary

[laurens-little-library]

The Hollow Gods

"Sustaining life meant taking life--that to live was to devour."

I had really high hopes for The Hollow Gods. It started off strong, with an interesting premise and great reviews. It started off pretty okay. We're just doing character development, right? It's okay if it's slow. But I felt like every time I was starting to understand or relate to a character, we would get a perspective shift. This made it really hard to be invested in any character in particular, since it was told from three separate points of view.So let's talk about characters.

"Was she really a lamb, or a timid lioness?"

Miya is the main character, a young girl who's struggling in school and with mental health. None of this comes back up after the first few chapters, and she becomes a sort of blank slate for the reader to project themselves onto.Kai is the love interest, a surly wolf/man who's first response to anything is to see if he can make it bleed. Except for Miya, who he would protect with his life if need be, and who he nicknames "Lambchop". He's also perfect in every way and heals up instantly when wounded, but is deeply traumatized and takes his anger out on other people and can smell when people are ovulating. Do with that what you will.Mason is a doctor. He's in Black Hollow on vacation to get away from the stress of his regular life. He becomes obsessed with Kai and his blood, and spends the whole book trying to prove that the mysteries around Black Hollow aren't real. I honestly feel like he could have been removed from the book entirely and it would've been fine, having him as one of the three main perspectives seemed to only drag out the length of the book.A little about the plot:

"Stories aren't told to convey the facts. They're told to convey the truth."

Sentences like this one sort of summed up how I felt about much of the plot. There were a lot of sentences that seemed heavy at a glance, but there's not really that much behind them. Everything moved way too slowly, until it didn't. And then we did a world-record speed run to the end. Miya and Kai have an instant love connection, so if that's your thing it's here. Personally, I'd rather talk to a guy more than once before following him into the woods to the ramshackle shed he's squatting in and sleep with him, all while suspecting him of being a murderer. But they're in love. What can you do?The end of the book is riddled with dream sequences, which are confusing and have pretty large logic leaps to carry you to the end of the book. Everything seems to have deeper meaning, with loads of metaphors. The author does a lot of showing rather than telling, so she'll land these interesting metaphors, and then go on to explain how they're a metaphor just in case you missed it. Which is fine, but I want to be trusted more as a reader.I think overall this book was fine. It just wasn't really for me. It wasn't really horror, and I never felt that any of the main characters were in any risk. The pacing seemed off, the characters were hard for me to relate to. I think a YA audience would be more suited for this, especially fans of series like Vampire Academy, or Byrne House.Thanks to Booksirens for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[libraryoflauren]

“Amelia Earhart, SOS!”

I grabbed this short story on Audible, and  Alone with the Stars made my commute fly by (wink wink)! It tells the story of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, along with weaving the story of a girl, Lizzie, who may have heard her distress signal. I learned more about Amelia’s relationships that I found very interesting. Some parts had me cringing, not going to lie. There was a pro-feminist dynamic in a time where feminism seemed to be looked down on. Lizzie’s teacher graded her poorly for a perfectly good paper, saying she’d have to work twice as hard as the boys to get the same grade. It seemed to imply Lizzie would thank her later. But it seemed to me like she was just reinforcing misogyny. 

The whole thing was so short though! Immediately after it was over I found myself googling tidbits from the book to see how accurate they were to history. I wanted to know more, and I wish the story had been expanded on, even more speculatively. Amelia Earhart’s story is one that fascinates me, and I always love learning more about her.

Read with me on my Goodreads!

[laurens-little-library]

House of Earth and Blood

I did my best not to read anything about this book when I saw it was coming out. I knew I liked Maas, the cover was jaw dropping, and I didn't want to give myself even a hint of a spoiler. So I went into this book totally blind to what I was walking into. I have to say, I absolutely loved it. This book made me laugh out loud, I ugly cried, I was absolutely invested in the characters. Despite the "adult" rating here, this is a story about friendship, the power of love in all of its forms. Through love, all is possible. I thought the book was tastefully written, and I already have a book hangover from reading it.

In more detail: Bryce Quinlan is half human and half fae. This makes her a more undesireable sort of person in this setting. She has no magical ability, is weak, a "party girl", and rather useless. Dannika, on the other hand, is incredibly powerful, a wolf-shifter (which isn't quite the same as a werewolf), alpha of her pack, and a leading force in the city. The pair have a friendship that drives this entire story, that makes this whole book so powerful. The love interest is cool - he's pretty typical. The love aspect was less interesting to me than the friendship. There were some swoon worthy scenes, but also some that were more problematic. Bryce says she doesn't like "alphaholes", but Hunt definitely is one. He intervenes in things she specifically asks him not to, is protective and dominating in many aspects of her life. But because he's hot, it's fine.

The beginning of the book is admittedly pretty slow. I felt like I was barely staying afloat with the amount of info-dump and world building that Maas was throwing at me. There were a lot of people, a lot of organizations, a lot of creatures and communities that I struggled to visualize how they all fit together. Over time, it did all link together to create a cohesive and functioning world that felt very real to me. About halfway through, the book ramps up. Like, a LOT. I had put it down for a bit when all of the quarantine stuff started happening, right around 40% of the way through. I'd been trudging through the info dump for a couple of weeks. When I picked the book back up, I couldn't put it down. I finished the last 60% in two days. All of the little details that Maas sprinkled through the beginning came back, and were important. Small moments that I shrugged off as characterization were actually plot. Little things that I had forgotten about were suddenly hugely important. I'm doing my best to keep things spoiler free, but my goodness, there's just so much I want to talk about in this book. I sobbed. Like a child. If you've read it, you probably know the part I'm talking about. And when I finally stopped, my boyfriend came into the room and saw my tear streaked face and asked if I was okay, and then the floodgates opened again. 

These characters felt so real. The relationships were deep and strong. The climax of the book was perfect. I feel so satisfied with how it ended, I don't mind if there's not a sequel. Not everything is neatly tied up, but there's a sense of closure. The last 100 pages or so had me riding an emotional rollercoaster that I'm still not sure if I've dismounted from. I loved this book. And even though some parts of it weren't perfect, the ending alone makes it impossible for me to rate it less than 5 stars.

[laurens-little-library]

my first love is dead & nothing about my life has changed. but of course, everything is different.

Life of the Party was unsettlingly relatable. The book is brave in the face of fear, strong in the spaces where we tremble, hates in places where love is demanded.

Olivia Gatwood refuses to apologize for her brutally bold statements, and it’s beautiful.

the pain I don't say out loud, builds a home inside me.

This is a book that speaks to my body as much as my brain. I found myself pausing to just sit and let each poem resonate, to roll it around my mouth before moving on to the next. Many of the poems were deeply moving, deeply wounding, and all too real.

Poetry is subjective, so I had some that I loved more than others, and some that I didn't like at all. But my overall opinion on this collection is that it is a thing of beauty, and the forever teenager in me wants to tape the pages to my walls.

[laurens-little-library]

Project Hero

I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving an honest review voluntarily in exchange.

Project Hero wasn't what I was expecting. It was light-hearted, silly, fun, just an enjoyable read. It's not a book that's going to win any awards, but it's not trying to be one. The book was adorable and heartwarming, with reminders that being yourself is the most important way to be. Fair warning to anyone who picks this up - there's quite a few steamy scenes, which caught me way off guard. 

A little bit about it: Andy is your typical nerd. He thinks that he's normal in every single way. He's a physics major who wants to go to MIT. Andy is smart, verbose, and funny. Law is your typical washed out athlete. After having heart problems, he resigns from playing hockey and starts coaching, much to his parents' disappointment. Andy and Law should not get along. But, as the saying goes, opposites attract, and the pair find themselves intertwined as they both work to help Law's hockey team from failing a college class.

All in all, the story is predictable, but that doesn't make it less fun. Don't expect something life changing, and just enjoy the ride!

[laurens-little-library]

Beneath Pale Water

Beneath Pale Water was much more than I was expecting when I picked it up. Written almost lyrically, the whole book is packed with beautiful details and scenery, and is almost nostalgic in style. Delia is a sculptor, who we learn early on lost her boyfriend. Jane is Delia's model and had a past relationship with Luke, and Luke is a wandering nomad who resembles Delia's lost boyfriend. Throughout the book, we learn the unlikely ways that all three lives are intertwined in a beautiful and memorable story. The story that was interwoven between these three characters delves deep into their psychology, making for an intricate story that left me guessing all the way until the end. The end did seem a little rushed, but not enough to take away my overall enjoyment from the story. I received an advance review copy of this book for free, but that doesn't effect how I'm reviewing this book.

[laurens-little-library]

The Water Dancer

There’s no denying that Ta-Nahisi Coates is an extraordinary writer. Many of his sentences were poetic, lyrical, beautiful. The struggles and hardships his characters endured were brutal, the relationships were strong.

But despite all of this, I found the story difficult to get into. Harim is difficult to relate to, and I never quite understood him as a character, despite the book being from his perspective. The magical elements were interesting, but not quite as impactful as I’d hoped. The story has a phenomenal premise, but I felt like the delivery just lacked a little bit. As a study for beautiful language, this book should get five stars. But personally I felt there was too much that was flowery and not enough that moved the story forward

[laurens-little-library]

“Of all the animals that travelled the long road through the ages with us, dogs have always walked closest.”

Animals are something I am deeply passionate about, especially dogs. So if someone stole my dog, you better believe I would do everything in my power, chase them to the ends of the earth, to get her back. In this, at least, I relate to Griz, the main character in A Boy And His Dog At The End Of The World. We follow our main character in their journey to retrieve their stolen dog, but we find so much more than that along the way. The loyalty of a pet, the bond of friendship and joint survival, family, and a world that is so close, yet beyond understanding.

This book is a deep and striking character portrait that says so much more than just the words on the page. It’s a book that I think will haunt me for a long time.

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