Over the course of the past month and a half, I have read the entirety of two books, and am currently in the midst of another. The two books I have read are “Bones And All” by Camille DeAngelis and “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo. I am currently reading “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles.
Both of the books I have read have been immensely impactful and enjoyable. I enjoyed DeAngelis’ novel because of the author’s writing style. Her use of flashbacks and story progression made the flow of the story smooth and captivating, as I was slowly able to understand the story and the character’s context over the course of the entire novel. The book itself is about a 17-year-old girl, Maren, who is a cannibal. I found it interesting to write a romance book about two cannibals, Maren and 18-year-old Lee, as cannibalism is illegal and has a very negative connotation. However, by showing two people who have strong morals and merely want to live as people, DeAngelis was able to successfully create two anti-heroes, whom I was able to relate to (of course, not in the cannibalism aspect).
“Six of Crows” was reread, but I found the first time I read this book I was unable to fully comprehend the plot, and instead skimmed through the book, finishing it in a few days. During this reading of the book, I was able to immerse myself in the story, as Bardugo’s world-building is incredible. The book is of the fantasy genre and follows six teenagers as they attempt an impossible heist. Whilst rereading this book, I was able to understand the characters of the story, their perspectives, strengths, weaknesses, and hopes for the future. Bardugo doesn’t use much figurative language, however, her understanding of the fantastical world and the characters she has created are nothing to be trifled with. I was able to understand everything the characters did or didn’t do, and learnt about them to the point that they could walk out of the pages and into Mr Dalton’s classroom. I liked this story because of its characters whilst the plot is quite intriguing, it felt over-complicated and contained too many hidden aspects or plot twists towards the end.
As for my current read, I am enjoying reading a historical fiction as opposed to the previous books’ realistic and fantasy aesthetics. However, I am unsure whether I will finish this book because the language and text are quite lengthy, and whilst interesting, exceedingly slow. I’m enjoying reading about aspects of the Russian Revolution, but the plot, as of the first 100 pages, is somewhat lacklustre? Since this was highly recommended I am finding it a bit disappointing.
I do not have any plans for books I will read in the future, but I would like to read more books from the classics genre, though I do suspect I will reread the sequel to “Six of Crows” as well.