Shadow and Bone & Siege and Storm (Grisha trilogy books 1 and 2) by Leigh Bardugo.

Overall rating: 9.5

So, this is a first: a review of two books at the the same time. It’s not ideal, but I feel that I have no choice since I only paused for about 3 minutes (at most) between reading the entire first book and the entire second book. Which tells you a lot about how invested I was in the story.

The basis of this series is not an uncommon one in fantasy: a person who thinks she is average discovers she has some kind of occult power and therefore a greater destiny. It is a classic premise and one that I love. In Smoke and Bone and Siege and Storm, this is accomplished with glorious finesse. The writing is good, the characters are engaging, and the world is creative and fascinating. The plot is a roller coaster; I was taken entirely by surprise more than once, which you know is basically my favorite thing. I am also seriously crushing on at least two of the main male characters.

The characters are also very complex, and I don’t just mean the main characters. Even peripheral characters have complicated motivations and clearly have multi-faceted thoughts and feelings about their lives. Except, possibly, for the classic “mean girl” character, but maybe there’s more to come from her in the third book. Either way, she serves her purpose and I don’t mind.

This series is somewhat guilty of a trope that irritates me conceptually: that of an unattractive female protagonist who becomes attractive by the end of the book. Do women always have to be beautiful to achieve great things? I say no. However, the way that Leigh (I’ve decided we’re on first name terms now because she tweeted me) accomplishes this in the Grisha books actually makes sense with the universe of the story, and the way that everything plays out makes me forgive it. I would say more but I don’t want to ruin the surprise.

I can’t help but notice that every book I’ve given a 9.5 or above features a strong female protagonist who can do some kind of magic. Apparently I know what I like, and what I like is girl power.

I’m not sure what else I can tell you. I read these books straight through. If your taste is anything like mine, read these as soon as possible.

Have you entered my giveaway yet? You could win a free pair of diamond earrings!

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

This book is: dull and irritating.
Other elements: pleasing men, washing smalls in a bedsit, poetry, the Russians, Britain in the 1970’s.
Read it: if you’re having trouble falling asleep, or if you like spy stories but prefer to remain very calm at all times.
Overall rating:  4/10

I was excited to read this book for two reasons: first, because McEwan’s Atonement is glorious, and second, because this novel is about a lady secret agent. I imagined a sharp, driven heroine, an engaging protagonist I would admire and hunger to know everything about.

I was wrong.

It was a pretty bleak slog though this one, but there were bright – or less dim – points. As part of Serena’s adventures (I use that word sarcastically) she gets to do some reading. The reader is treated to several of the short stories that she selects, and they’re really quite good. It’s a shame they’re stuck inside such an unappealing framework. But there was a bonus: one of these fictional stories was supposed to have been published in The Kenyon Review, the fabulous literary magazine I had the honor of working for as an undergrad. Kenyon pride!

The novel ends with a big reveal. It’s clearly meant to be shocking, but I was so tired of the characters by that point that I was just excited that the book appeared to be almost over. That, and the letter that the heroine receives which contains the reveal goes on for pages and pages; I skimmed large parts of it, just like I did the novel.

I’ll let the main character conclude this review of Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan herself:

Me too, Serena. Me too.

Whoops. Normally I do a book review roundup every 10 books, but you get a freebie this time because I lost track of things.

Here’s a mini-recap of every book I’ve reviewed so far, along with their ratings and links to the reviews. Decent variety this time: I’ve added a 9, a 4, and a lot of books between 7 and 8/10.

You can also always consult my virtual library, the Index of Book Reviews, to find this list at any time. You wouldn’t want to miss anything, now would you?

Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by Kristin Cashore

Overall rating: 10/10

This book is: an enthralling, beautifully written story.
Other elements: hope, magic, sexy angels, creation myths, a star-crossed-lovers romance, blue hair.
Read it: if you appreciate wonderful writing, vivid description, creative storylines, magic, Prague, art, or romance between people who are very different.
Overall rating: 9.75/10

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.
This book is: Awesome.
Other elements: Humor. Being a woman, being yourself. Life.
Read it: If you admire smart, sane women who have smart, sane things to say about life.
Overall rating: 9.5/10

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
This book is: terrifying and brilliant.
Other elements: parenting, marriage, children, psychopaths, motherhood, school shootings.
Read it: if you enjoy really chillingly brilliant characters. If you’re not prone to nightmares.
Overall rating: 9.25/10

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.
This book is: quiet, eerie, beautiful.
Other elements: growing up, sisters, art, alcoholism, AIDS, family secrets, being a teenager, music, being an outsider, the sacredness of objects, Mozart’s Requiem.
Read it: if you can identify with a young girl who likes to hide in the woods alone so that she can pretend to be in the Middle Ages.
Overall rating: 9/10

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This book is: beautiful.
Other elements: fate, destiny, following your dreams, love.
Read it: if you enjoy a healthy dose of magical realism.
Overall rating: 9/10

Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon.
This book is: a historical fiction time-travel romance.
Other elements: Romance! Adventure! Manly men in kilts! Rebellion. Sex. Botany.
Read it: If you like the idea of adventuring (and romancing) with manly men in kilts.
Overall rating: 9/10

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
This book is: a raucous yarn.
Other elements: elephants, communism, hijinks, bibles, murder, explosives, centenarians, crime, politics, atom bombs.
Read it: if your brain wants a treat.
Overall rating: 8.75/10

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
This book is: a futuristic, dystopian reimagining of the Cinderella story.
Other elements: cyborgs, people who live on the moon, global pandemics, hot Princes, strong and admirable women.
Read it: if you love a good fractured fairy tale.
Overall rating: 8.75/10

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
This book is: charming.
Other elements: walking, befriending strangers, what’s really important in life, marriage, growing old, mortality.
Read it: if you’d enjoy witnessing the adventures of an aging, mild-mannered Englishman.
Overall rating: 8.25/10

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore.
This book is: A YA fantasy novel, the first in a series, about a girl with a supernatural gift for killing.
Other elements: Right vs wrong, romance, friendship.
Read it: If you like YA fantasy, if you enjoy ass-kicking women, if you liked The Hunger Games.
Overall rating: 8/10

Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight by M.E. Thomas

Overall rating: 8/10

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
This book is: a well-written, totally insane psycho/mystery/love/crime story.
Other elements: Lies. Marriage. Public opinion. Love.
Read it: If you enjoy crime shows. If you like having your mind blown.
Overall rating: 8/10

Life of Pi Yann Martel
This book is: about a boy and a boat.
Other elements: tigers, prairie dogs, turtles, boats, survival, religion, science, biology, human and animal relationships, the human mind.
Read it: if you’re interested in zoology, tiger taming, lifeboat survival, or religions. If you enjoy wonderfully precise description.
Overall rating: 8/10

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan
This book is: entertaining.
Other elements: jewelry, marriage, advertising, engagement rings, relationships, diamond rings.
Read it: if you love jewelry or books about relationships.
Overall rating: 7.75/10

The Diviners by Libba Bray.

Overall rating: 7.75/10

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.
This book is: a love story with several different love stories happening around it.
Other elements: old Hollywood glamor, scenic Italian coastlines, curses, Richard Burton.
Read it: if you’re in a romantic mood (or a bubble bath. I read most of this in a bubble bath.).
Overall rating: 7.75/10

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
This book is: an bright, engaging, character-driven novel.
Other elements: friendship, philosophy, being middle-aged.
Read it: if you are fascinated by excellent characters.
Overall rating: 7.75/10

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
This book is: A story told from the point of view of a 15-year old boy with Asperger’s or autism.
Other elements: Pets, parenting a special needs child, math.
Read it: If you’re interested in psychology, if you appreciate excellent first-person perspective.
Overall rating: 7.5/10

The Lies of Locke Lamora (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence #1) by Scott Lynch

The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green.
This book is: silly.
Other elements: urban fantasy, magic, adventure, saving-the-world, conspiracy theories, humor.
Read it: if you have the right sense of humor (do you enjoy Terry Pratchett? Monty Python?).
Overall rating: 7.25/10

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.
This book is: A book about college and relationships.
Other elements: Some degree of bildungsroman, life with manic depression/life with a manic depressive, how your parents affect who you are, the role of religion in a modern world, unrequited love.
Read it: If you are interested in early prescription treatments for manic depression, if you miss college, if you sympathize with characters having religious crises.
Overall rating: 7.2/10

This book is: entertaining.
Other elements: siblings, myths, gods.
Read it: if you like stories about mythical characters, if you like Neil Gaiman, if you love karaoke.

The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro
This book is: a great story.
Other elements: art, crime, forgery, Degas, Isabelle Gardener, the Gardener museum heist, Boston.
Read it: if you have any interest in the art world or if you don’t but you love a good story.
Overall rating: 7/10

The Assassin’s Curse (The Assassin’s Curse, #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke
This book is: the opening of a intriguing YA fantasy series.
Other elements: pirates, magicians, pirate gender roles, supernatural islands, aspiring lady pirates.
Read it: if the draw of a burgeoning 17-year-old lady pirate sounds awesome enough to get you through a slow-starting story.
Overall rating: 7/10

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan.
This book is: about a boy who suddenly finds out that myths are real and he’s related to one. Adventure ensues.
Other elements: Parent/child relationships, Greek mythology, learning disabilities.
Read it: If you like YA fantasy, if you enjoy Greek myths, if you are 10 years old.
Overall rating: 6.9/10

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This book is: creative and haunting.
Other elements: peculiarity, mental health, family dynamics, sheep murderers, reality vs fantasy.
Read it: if you like the idea of fantasy and the real world colliding.
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
This book is: light and dreamy.
Other elements: hats, magic, sisters, love, green slime.
Read it: if you like whimsy and aren’t in the mood to think.
Overall rating: 6.5/10

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
This book is: entertaining in a made-for-tv-movie way.
Other elements: hidden agendas, infidelity, seduction, sex with inappropriate people, poison, snow.
Read it: if you want a sordid, easy read.
Overall rating: 6.25/10

The Passage by Justin Cronin
This book is: a creative, well-written story that just did not float my boat.
Other elements: viruses, vampires, apocalypses, government cover-ups, doomedness of the future.
Read it: if you like adventure, sci fi, and battling monsters created by humankind’s folly.
Overall rating: 6/10

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.
This book is: A gritty crime novel set in a rural town.
Other elements: Class issues, race issues, nature of friendship.
Read it: If you like crime shows, don’t mind dialect, and aren’t easily depressed.
Overall rating: 6/10

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book is: a disappointment.
Other elements: circuses, vagueness, mist, confusion, mysteries, stripes, clocks, incorporeal fathers.
Read it: if your love of description outweighs your desire for a coherent story.
Overall rating: 5/10

Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann
This book is: a great concept that didn’t quite work out.
Other elements: vintage New York, small businesses, affairs, women in the workplace, vintage clothing.
Read it: maybe if you’re really into stories about old New York.
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Against the Light by Dave Duncan
This book is: mediocre.
Other elements: cliches.
Read it: if you’re bored and it’s already in your hand.
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk
This book is: flabbergasting.
Other elements: sex. STDs. Porn. Revulsion. Incest. Dandruff. Suicide.
Read it: if you have absolutely no threshold for depravity.
Overall rating: 4/10

The Reluctant Matchmaker by Shobhan Bantwal.
This book is: boring with sprinkles of offensiveness.
Other elements: fat-shaming, sexism, romance between people of different heights, arranged marriages.
Read it: if the idea of an Indian-American main character is enough to make you forgive a lot of flaws. If you’re not a feminist. If you think women without husbands are pathetic.
Overall rating: 3/10

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.
This book is: Historical fiction about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife.
Other elements: Women not standing up for themselves, adultery, dependence on men, emotional abuse, alcoholism, polyamorous relationships, bullfighting.
Read it: If you are fascinated by Hemingway, if you like Lifetime movies, if you don’t mind weak female characters, you’re stranded somewhere with absolutely nothing else to do and have run out of thoughts.
Overall rating: 2/10

An Escapade and An Engagement by Annie Burrows.
This book is: a romance novel about a horrible woman and a horrible man who have an unconvincing relationship.
Other elements: Sex. Patriarchy. Golden ringlets.
Read it: If your only alternative is death.
Overall rating: 0.01/10