My last 5 books: Indie and YA

1. The Man in the Abbey, by Harriet Jo. I like the idea. The premise is good. I enjoyed the plot. The characters are engaging. But there are three major reasons why I can't give this book a higher rating. Firstly, the punctuation is all over the place. To the point where I had to stop and go back to reread sentences, or sometimes entire paragraphs, to understand what was actually being said in that sentence because there was a missing comma, or an em dash would've been great, or it could've been two or three short sentences separated by full stops. Single word sentences exist and they're great to promote emphasis or tension or even emotion. On top of that there are so so so many adverbs. So many instantly, and immediately, and completely, and slightly. The sheer amount of them makes the text bloated. They don't help with world-building or creating that movie in my head while reading. They read as stutters. Like the movie in my head keeps buffering. Secondly, the author could benefit from a few rabbit holes of research. The pocket watch that plays a pivotal role in the story for example. Ivy recognises it as a watch and she even looks at the hands move at one point, which tells me the minute hand exists and that it's decently recent for a pocket watch. Now, it's established that Carlisle is stuck in the 18th century. But the minute hand wasn't added to the pocket watches until 1680 at the earliest, which, depending on when in the 18th century he's stuck, the watch wouldn't even be a single century old. Yet Carlisle claims the monks created the watches many centuries ago. Now fair, pocket time pieces have existed since the 15th century, but they looked nothing like what we think today when we think pocket watch. Chances are Ivy wouldn't even recognise it as such. Another historical thing is when Carlisle notes that the green dress would elicit less of a reaction than the purple one... Well, NO SHIT. Purple dye was historically so extraordinarily expensive to produce that purple clothing was worn pretty much exclusively by royals, clergy and aristocracy until the industrialisation of the 19th century brought the cost down and made it available for the average person. The fact that Ivy even had a purple dress to choose from in the 18th century made me raise my eyebrows. Top it off with Carlisle never having heard of a shower and saying it sounds dangerous when the first "modern" shower was patented in the mid-18th century and THE ROMANS HAD SHOWERS. Also Ivy is surprisingly proficient at reading the monks' writings... Thirdly, the timeline is... odd. Carlisle talks about having grown up with Peter and he's stuck in "his" century, which we've established is the 18th century. Yet he talks about the monks as if he knew the abbey when they were there. The monks' sketches of Carlisle unchanging through time, which Ivy finds, add to this idea that he's been there alongside the monks. Okay, so when did the monks leave? What happened? Did Carlisle really come from the 18th century, then? Did Peter? How do these two storylines fit together? Why did Ivy have to leave after exactly one year? Why not wait until the year after? Or the year after that? It's established that the storms and the crossing show up every single year. Why couldn't she return? As far as I can remember it's never established why she can't return, only that the crossing is dangerous, but Ivy seems like she would take that risk. 

2. Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. I did it. I read Twilight. I remain unimpressed, unfortunately. Will I read the rest of the series? Probably at some point. I just felt like I needed a cleanse after this.

3. Beyond Heaven and Hell, by Dan Vecchi. I love when writers play with the mythology of Christianity. It always tickles me in all the good ways. Aside from being a bit obvious at times, this book ticked all my boxes. The language seems a bit stilted at times, but not so bad that it distracts me from the story. I'm a bit peeved that none of the archangels seem to even suspect the old cult when they find out about certain demons having heartbeats, because judging by the prologue it was a pretty big deal. I'm torn on the prologue overall. It sets the stage beautifully, but it also serves to make every question mark regarding Carsten and the dead woman who keeps talking to Natalie being instantly straightened out and as a reader I'm just waiting for the characters to catch up atp. At least regarding that particular plot point. Regarding everything else the story is very exciting and I cannot forgive that cliffhanger T_T

4. Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros. Do I understand the hype? Not really. Was it a good read? Yeah. I felt like it was a slog until Violet got her dragon, so about 170 pages in was when the book actually got going. It was a bit obvious at times, and I had most of the twists figured out before they happened. Whether I like Violet or not depends entirely upon which chapter we're on. I love Xaden though. (Fight me). Dain is an ass. Liam deserved better. TikTok spoiled the twist at the very end for me. Once Violet got her dragon I became pretty invested in the story and I had a good time reading it. I'll be reading the rest of the series as well. 

5. The Deus Deceptor, by D.B. Warren. What the fuck. And I say that in the best possible way with the best possible meaning. What the fuck. Each chapter was a rollercoaster going from 0 to 100 whiplash fast. (Except for the slight meandering pace through the crusades). This entire book is a trigger warning and certainly not for the weak. My reading was fueled by morbid curiosity and fascination. I picked it up because I always enjoy when people play with Christian mythology, and this book certainly does that. In the most perverse way possible. I'm both appalled and entertained and I can't decide whether this was amazing or if I'm disgusted. Probably all of it at once. This was one hell of an experience.