Hey, ya’ll!
Sweet dear Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, trying to do these book reviews and my mind is such a muddle. I’m seriously thinking of scraping them, because the last few weeks I’ve just been here, there, and everywhere, and the books have turned into this massive, messy, non-sensical story in my head. I worry that I actually may hate something I think I liked and hate something I assume I loved.
Seriously, don’t know why I have a mind at all. It’s MIA so often these days; I might as well be drooling on auto-pilot. It’s hereditary too, by the time I’m 80, I’ll probably have no idea who I am and spend my time making snarky comments about people’s wallpaper. Anyway, without further ado, my books reviews for the last little bit.
Snow, Glass, Apples, by Neil Gaiman and Illustrated by Colleen Doran
Yes, I know it’s a graphic novel, and I’m totally counting it, so deal. First, can I say the drawings in this are freaking phenomenal! Just gorgeous, I would have bought this for the pictures alone, but the story is pretty awesome too. I’m a sucker for fairy-tale retellings, and I cannot believe how onboard I am with Snow White being a vampire. I love the total switch to the evil queen being the good guy and Snow White taking on the creepy role as the villain. Made my freaking day. Short, aesthetically pleasing cannot recommend this more.
Please note that I would rate this R. There’re a few sexually explicit scenes that I wouldn’t recommend for a younger crowd. So, you know, don’t buy this for your 6-year-old.
Heads Will Roll, by Kate McKinnon
This one is also a cheat. It’s closer to a radio-show than an audiobook. I have 3-words for you. Kate-Fucking-McKinnon. This was hilarious. It’s all about Queen Mo of the dark realm and her minion JoJo, who is a princess who was turned into a crow by a hag. It reminds me of that Netflix series, Disenchantment. Which, I also enjoyed a lot. Light-hearted, funny, exactly the pick me up you need!
The Strawberry Theif, by Joanne Harris
So, this was a big glorious surprise for me. I bought this book thinking I liked the Chocolat series and would give something else of her’s a go. It turns out it’s the fourth and final installment of the Chocolat series. Oh, happy accidents. Anyway, on to the review.
This book had a lot of ups and downs for me. The biggest downer being that Anouk was missing from all but the last pages of the book. She was so important in the other novels. I was disappointed that her main appearance was in her mother’s thoughts as a sort of obsession. I don’t feel satisfied with her absence.
Then there’s Vianne. I fell in love with her in Chocolat, then was a little bored with her in The Girl with No Shadow, however, she won me back in Peaches for Monsieur le Curé, and now I’m back on forth on loving her and hating her. She showed some ugly colors in this book, and I’m not entirely ready to forgive her. On that note, you have to love a character to have this kind of relationship with them, so take that for what you will.
And what was up with Roux? In the last two books he seemed really dedicated and wanting to settle down with Vianne and their daughter, but then in this book, they’re little better than friends with benefits? It just seemed like an odd change, and I didn’t like it at all.
I was pleased with the ends for Rosette and Reynaud. Rosette got her freedom and her voice back, which is all you could ask for. But Reynaud, there is a man with a character arc. He is a character that has grown through the books, and I was so happy that he found absolution and faced down his demons. Of all the characters, Ms. Harris created, I have to say, she did right by him. If you loved the other books, you’re going to want to find out how it all ends! Check it out for yourself.
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