Books read in June 2018
Sunday, 15 July 2018 21:29![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhatsUpdraft - Fran Wilde
The Covert Captain: Or, A Marriage of Equals - Jeanelle M. Ferreira
Decalog ed Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker
Decalog 2: Lost Property ed Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker
Heart of Iron - Ashley Poston
I came into this month in a terrible book slump, feeling like it had been ages since I'd really loved or been engrossed by a book*. This hit something of a peak with The Covert Captain, which I really wanted to love but really didn't (see below), so I spent quite a lot of this month hiding in early nineties Doctor Who short stories, on the grounds that I wasn't expecting to have any reaction to them stronger than "well, that was entirely fine".
But then Doctor Who came through for me, as it so often does: Decalog 2 had two unexpectedly charming stories that made me feel like maybe I do know how to enjoy books after all. "Where The Heart Is" by Andy Lane was a lovely little slice of UNIT era goodness (Jo rescued the Doctor! The Doctor told the Brig that he does actually respect him! The Brig stole the last vol-au-vent off Yates's plate!), and "Timeshare" by Vanessa Bishop somehow managed to be a delight despite committing the two standard sins of Six and Peri stories (hewing towards the meaner end of their relationship and harping on Six's size). Good work both, much appreciated.
*Not necessarily the same thing; I'm still not sure how I feel about Too Like the Lightning, but it certainly gripped me.
Updraft
This book had some really cool elements, like growing city-spires made of bone, mysterious mouth-creatures stalking the skies and artificial wings as the primary mode of transport between towers. But the characters really didn't register for me and all the plot beats were frustratingly predictable.
The Covert Captain
I found this f/f regency romance a very frustrating read. A lot of what was there I liked a lot (I wasn't super into all the plot beats, but I suspect that's just that romance tropes don't work for me and not the book's fault), but it was so choppy and fragmentary. Big emotional moments were just skipped over, and it made it really hard to connect with or care about the characters or their romance. I didn't understand why the characters did anything they did.
...ok now I've chilled out a little after my initial wail of dismay that this book didn't work for me, I do think part of the issue was that I'm just not invested enough in romance in general to do the work of connecting the dots? Or not able to grasp instinctively and emotionally what's going on in romance storylines without a lot more handholding. Idk, I definitely don't think it was all me, but it was probably at least some me.
Heart of Iron
Friends, I loved this. I had a few tiny niggles so couldn't quite give it five stars, but it was a very enthusiastic four star rating. It's a YA retelling of Anastasia, but in space, and with a secondary cast full of queer people; it was just tremendous fun and I am glad there will be more books so I'll get to spend more time with these characters.
The Covert Captain: Or, A Marriage of Equals - Jeanelle M. Ferreira
Decalog ed Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker
Decalog 2: Lost Property ed Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker
Heart of Iron - Ashley Poston
I came into this month in a terrible book slump, feeling like it had been ages since I'd really loved or been engrossed by a book*. This hit something of a peak with The Covert Captain, which I really wanted to love but really didn't (see below), so I spent quite a lot of this month hiding in early nineties Doctor Who short stories, on the grounds that I wasn't expecting to have any reaction to them stronger than "well, that was entirely fine".
But then Doctor Who came through for me, as it so often does: Decalog 2 had two unexpectedly charming stories that made me feel like maybe I do know how to enjoy books after all. "Where The Heart Is" by Andy Lane was a lovely little slice of UNIT era goodness (Jo rescued the Doctor! The Doctor told the Brig that he does actually respect him! The Brig stole the last vol-au-vent off Yates's plate!), and "Timeshare" by Vanessa Bishop somehow managed to be a delight despite committing the two standard sins of Six and Peri stories (hewing towards the meaner end of their relationship and harping on Six's size). Good work both, much appreciated.
*Not necessarily the same thing; I'm still not sure how I feel about Too Like the Lightning, but it certainly gripped me.
Updraft
This book had some really cool elements, like growing city-spires made of bone, mysterious mouth-creatures stalking the skies and artificial wings as the primary mode of transport between towers. But the characters really didn't register for me and all the plot beats were frustratingly predictable.
The Covert Captain
I found this f/f regency romance a very frustrating read. A lot of what was there I liked a lot (I wasn't super into all the plot beats, but I suspect that's just that romance tropes don't work for me and not the book's fault), but it was so choppy and fragmentary. Big emotional moments were just skipped over, and it made it really hard to connect with or care about the characters or their romance. I didn't understand why the characters did anything they did.
...ok now I've chilled out a little after my initial wail of dismay that this book didn't work for me, I do think part of the issue was that I'm just not invested enough in romance in general to do the work of connecting the dots? Or not able to grasp instinctively and emotionally what's going on in romance storylines without a lot more handholding. Idk, I definitely don't think it was all me, but it was probably at least some me.
Heart of Iron
Friends, I loved this. I had a few tiny niggles so couldn't quite give it five stars, but it was a very enthusiastic four star rating. It's a YA retelling of Anastasia, but in space, and with a secondary cast full of queer people; it was just tremendous fun and I am glad there will be more books so I'll get to spend more time with these characters.