Heyo, peoples! So I mentioned in my Epic Return post that I wasn’t sure if I’d do a lot of book reviews on this blog, but hey, I am a book...

Les Petites Revues #1: The Books of January

Alexa Mintah

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Heyo, peoples! So I mentioned in my Epic Return post that I wasn’t sure if I’d do a lot of book reviews on this blog, but hey, I am a book blogger and a writer, plus I love to talk about books and I desperately needed to update my Goodreads. So I have decided to post monthly mini-reviews (roughly translated in French to “les petites revues,” which I think sounds super elegant) about a few of the most notable books I read each month. :)

So. Let us begin.

The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove

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Review: As I was planning the post, I went back and reread a few sections of this book—just to kinda refresh my memory since I’d finished it almost a month ago—and within a single page, it had drawn me right back in to the narrative. The writing is that softer sort of magical, enchanting you and immersing you in the story so gently, that you don’t even realizing it until you try to come up for air. The plot is neat and interesting, not particularly deep, but it is an exciting ride; plus it’s based on such a fantastic idea (the world suddenly and utterly without explanation splitting up into different time periods all at once), that I could give it top stars just for that. In fact, if I could use one word to describe this whole novel, I would probably call it “unique,” Everything from the premise to the worldbuilding (GORGEOUSNESS AND BEAUTY), from the antagonist to the other characters (don’t want to give spoilers but I love what the author did with Theo) is unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

In short, this book is rather brilliant. I have the second one on my shelf, and I cannot wait until I get to read it. :D

Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

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Review: I kinda have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the plot is riveting and intense, the descriptions are fantastically creepy, and it includes a lot of deep concepts and questions with the potential to provoke a lot of deep thought (which I rather love). But then... then there’s Serafina. She... well, she’s one of those characters who has a lot of those moments in which they exhibit an extreme lack of sense. And I don’t know, I mean, she was only 12 and she had had basically no contact with the outside world, so maybe her reactions were perfectly reasonable, all things considered and I’m just being unfair. But... I just feel like a lot of the choices she made didn’t really make sense and that, even considering her situation, she should’ve known better than to do a lot of the things that she did. And because I’m a Ravenclaw, even if everything else is super cool, when characters make a lot of decisions that seem obviously bad to me, I tend to find myself really annoyed. :p

Rating: 2 3/4 stars out of 5

Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

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Review: Guys, I am so fantastically in love with this novel. Everything about is beautiful: the premise, the writing, the plot and delivery, the characters, oh my goodness, these characters, though. They’re just so gorgeously intricate and interesting and real. They’re not unique, perse, but they seem... more nuanced, I guess. Like the author took the kids from your average orphan stories and added a few dimensions to them: “some extra strength here, a deep explanation for that there, oh, and here’s a hefty dose of that sarcastic sibling banter you ordered.” Just, everything about it is funny and creative and intensely exciting, plus the climax is epicness. It’s probably my favorite read so far this year (the only one that might beat it is Little Women. Go figure), and I am so glad that my library has the next two books, because I know what I’mma be reading this spring. ;)

Rating: 5 constellations out of 5 (because 5 stars is simply not enough)

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And that’s all for this post! Have you read any of the books I mentioned? What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year, and what’s next on your TBR? Can’t wait to see you in the comment section, and have a fantastic day! :D

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