MOONSTONE: THE BOY WHO NEVER WAS BY SJÓN

I didn’t care for this at all. Not the kind of writing style I enjoy, and I prefer a narrative that is less slippery and has more substance. Also, I just didn’t find it very interesting, but it gets bonus points for being extremely short. ★★☆☆☆

UNCONQUERABLE SUN BY KATE ELLIOTT

This started out well, but lost steam around the halfway point. Too many characters to care for any in particular, and I barely know enough to spot the obvious Alexander the Great “nods” (Boukephalas, Sun’s relationships with Hetty and Eirene) never mind the sly ones.

I felt it got bogged down by interminable “action scenes” described in excruciating detail, and I honestly just got bored. It’s not a bad book, but not to my tastes and I read it during a period I needed distraction, not something I found myself avoiding picking up. ★★☆☆☆

MEET ME IN ANOTHER LIFE BY CATRIONA SILVEY

This book has an intriguing premise, but though the writing is fair, the protagonists are dull, and the book itself is basically chapter after endless chapter of conversation.

The dénouement doesn’t save it, merely serves to point out how good this idea could have been in another’s hands. It’s also the softest sci-fi imaginable, and probably better suited to those who don’t generally read sci-fi. ★★☆☆☆

SOURDOUGH BY ROBIN SLOAN

About a woman working at a tech company in San Francisco who, after being gifted a sourdough starter, becomes enamoured then obsessed with baking bread and what happens.

It started out fine, a bit odd but fine, and then gradually devolved into a silliness of a type I abhor. I really did not enjoy this at all. I don’t mind satire when biting and funny, but I found this pointless, boring and a waste of my time. Not for me. ★★☆☆☆

COSTANZA BY RACHEL BLACKMORE

I really struggled with this book, taking a long time to finish it because I found myself avoiding it. I hated the protagonist, didn’t like any other characters, didn’t get a sense of time or place, and just found it very dull.

The prose was too florid for my tastes and without enjoyable or interesting characters, the plot was nowhere near enough to keep my interest. Not for me. ★★☆☆☆

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS BY RYKA AOKI

The blurb I read touted this as “Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in a defiantly joyful adventure”, which is not how I’d describe it. Though I quite liked the prose itself, I was either annoyed or irritated by every single character, I hated the Faustian/sci-fi crossover, found the endless descriptions of music and food tedious after a time, and thought the ending was obvious and then silly.

If this is your type of thing, you’ll like it. I’m not overly sentimental and found it mawkish. Not for me. ★★☆☆☆

LOLLY WILLOWES, OR, THE LOVING HUNTSMAN BY SYLVIA TOWNSEND WARNER

I didn’t care for this almost 100-year-old novel at all. It’s a slow, tedious meander through Lolly’s life until she, around age 50, decides to go live in a village and then suddenly witches.

I thought the book would be more enjoyable once the devil showed up, but Warner sure showed me how to suck the fun out of a surprise Satan. Not a book for me, but at least it wasn’t very long. ★★☆☆☆

CLAIRMONT BY LESLEY MCDOWELL

I eagerly started this highly-rated novel about Clair Clairmont, being very interested in reading about her. After having finished it, I can’t understand the glowing reviews. I didn’t care for it at all, finding it disjointed, tedious and brimming with unlikeable, boring characters (Mary Shelley! Byron! Boring?!) wandering around in mind-numbingly dull settings (including the Year Without Summer FFS!) that skip back and forth in time.

Not for me! Two stars only because I actually finished it. ★★☆☆☆

WHALEFALL BY DANIEL KRAUS

This short novel, described as a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver swallowed by a sperm whale, was not for me. It seemed to be chapter after chapter of either repetitive daddy issues, long-winded descriptions of diving and diving equipment, or tedious descriptions of escape attempts.

The writing was marred by flourishes clearly meant to ramp up tension, but which just became extremely annoying. I almost put it down multiple times, but forced my way to the end. I wish I hadn’t bothered. ★★☆☆☆

A PALE VIEW OF HILLS BY KAZUO ISHIGURO

The second Kazuo Ishiguro book I’ve read, and had it been my first, it would also have been my last. I found the story lacking and the dialogue irrelevant and banal. The characters felt flat and affectless. There was just nothing here for me. Apparently a book too subtle for me to enjoy.

The biggest surprise about it was how much I disliked it after really enjoying Never Let Me Go. ★★☆☆☆