1.
Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer. Amazingly I have never read Artemis Fowl before. I strongly suspect that I would have absolutely loved everything about this book had I been 15 years younger. As it is now, I liked it, even really enjoyed it at times. I love plot-heavy intrigues that seem to be completely separate parts of the puzzle and then to watch them come together at the end is just magical. This book does just that. If only Artemis was five years older, the text wouldn't seem so childish and simple. The plot is actually fairly complicated but the text is simplistic. The best part about this story is Holly Short and I hope she'll be involved in every single sequel story. I will be getting the other books about Artemis. I enjoyed this one too much not to.
2.
Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovitch. It's been years and years since I read the first book in this series and I'm not sure why I didn't immediately pick up the second because I remember liking the first book and the extensive amount of Harry Potter related jokes in it. Sequels are always hard and this one was alright, but had to do a lot more about jazz than anything else and my jazz knowledge is thin to put it mildly. There were still Harry Potter and Doctor Who jokes in it, both of which I highly appreciated, but more than anything this book was about the London jazz scene. Unfortunately, it suffered from being blatantly obvious. Halfway through the book I had figured out who the accidental murderer was and it was just a matter of waiting for the characters to catch up. Which they did in the second to last chapter, hallelujah. That said, the waiting wasn't too bad because the book is written in a humorous way that makes even waiting for the penny to drop for the characters somewhat fun. This book also introduced who I think will be the main antagonist throughout the series and I'm curious to find out what he'll do next, because accidental vampires and absolutely intentional chimerae seem to be just the beginning. Detective stories and crime novels are rarely my cup of tea, but I will continue reading this series. Mainly because I really like the main character and his antics.
3.
A Little Hatred, by Joe Abercrombie. Omg, yeeees! I was excited for this book because it was the continuation of the story from The First Law trilogy and I'm so here for anything Abercrombie writes. Two pages in of this novel and all I could feel was "omg I've missed his writing so much". This book is perfection. Every bit of it that I read, I loved. Unlike even The First Law and especially Heroes that all had some tedious bits, A Little Hatred was so perfectly balanced between action and intrigue as to never be boring. So A Little Hatred takes place ca 30 years after The First Law and a lot has changed, but surprisingly much has stayed the same, especially in the North. While The First Law is firmly set in the medieval knights and magic setting, A Little Hatred has moved the story away from the magic and into an industrial revolution, with all the coal, smoke and pollution that entails. The only magic actually in this book is Rikke's seering (
and perhaps, possibly, something at the end that only Bayaz knows about, but it's so very suspicious). Unsurprisingly, as Glokta was my favourite character in The First Law, Savine dan Glokta, his daughter, became my favourite character of this story. Rikke also became a favourite after she grew up a bit and stopped being so damn sheltered. Abercrombie writes women exceedingly well and a lot of the time the women show up as strong and resilient, who know what they want and they know what to do to get it even if it's by silently watching from a distance and waiting for their moment. In comparison all of the men come across as wheedling, whiny babies. Except for the magnificently clever Eminence of Sand dan Glokta ♥ Nobody builds your subconscious emotions like Abercrombie. Bayaz is a monster, a terrifying beast, as shown in The First Law, and yet I did not expect to actually feel afraid when he showed up in Adua, the same way the characters from the previous trilogy did. But I did, and I can't wait to read The Trouble With Peace.
4.
The Language of Thorns, by Leigh Bardugo. I went in expecting nothing from this short story anthology (a.k.a fairytale collection) and came away have really, thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. But then again I do have a soft spot for fables and fairytales, especially the dark, old ones that Disney haven't touched yet. This anthology contains six stories and I enjoyed every single one except The Too-Clever Fox and Little Knife. Especially The Witch of Duva and When Water Sang Fire hold special places in my heart. The Witch of Duva is a spin on Hansel & Gretel, and When Water Sang Fire is a spin on The Little Mermaid. The majority of these stories have the same lesson: you are your own maker, and I'm absolutely loving it. The illustrations in this book were so beautiful and gave an extra layer to the stories. I especially love the final illustration for The Witch of Duva and When Water Sang Fire, but having the side illustrations to look/glance at while reading The Soldier Prince and When Water Sang Fire definitely added a bit of extra oomph to the storytelling. I want more.
5.
Queen of Ruin, by Tracy Banghart. Oh. My. God. This was amazing. The first book had a weak start and a promising end. This second book had all the character growth, all the plot development and all the twists. I loved it from start to finish. Every hardship the women endured on Mount Ruin literally made me feel my heart drop at every turn. Every tentative sweet moment between Nomi and Malachi had me smile. When Nomi discovered her parents' fate I cried. This book gave me all the feels. Maybe the ending came about a little too easy, but honestly after 300 pages of hardships at every turn I really don't mind an easy conclusion. Was it easy, though? Like a hundred women died throughout this book fighting for their right to choose. What this book does throughout, and it does it well, is to show that women can. And they can just as well as men. Maybe even better because the men seem constantly surprised over the fact. Girl power to the max! I love it. I need a follow-up series, please.
