LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 111
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 110
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 109
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 108
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 107
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 106
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE BY CLAIRE KEEGAN
Novella about a man who grew up the son of an unwed mother in 1940s Ireland. Mainly concerning his inner life as he goes about the daily grind of life, and how something in him changes after some chance encounters at the local nunnery (aka Magdalen Laundry). This one was not for me. The writing was fine, and the topic something I feel strongly about, but I didn’t enjoy this nor did it elicit any strong feelings in me. Found it vaguely tedious. ★★★☆☆
THE ANGEL OF THE CROWS BY KATHERINE ADDISON
I enjoyed the characters, the world building, and found it a fresh and interesting take on Holmesian fiction, and I really liked Crow in particular. At times, it felt a little disjointed, and though I really liked some parts, there were other parts that didn’t appeal quite so much. Overall, an enjoyable read. ★★★☆☆
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 105
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 104
GODKILLER BY HANNAH KANER
The fates of a Godkiller, a baker, and a young girl and her pet God intertwine in this fantasy novel. I really wanted to like this more than I did, but for some reason neither the world, the story nor the characters really captured my interest. However, it really picked up by the end and pushed me into probable sequel-reading territory. ★★★☆☆
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 103
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 102
ALL THE HIDDEN PATHS BY FOZ MEADOWS
Though I devoured this as fast as I did the first book in The Tithenai Chronicles series, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much. There was a little too much rumination on self-worth (or the lack thereof) for my tastes. Still enjoy the world building and the characters a lot. I did like the addition of the new POV character and could easily have read a chapter or two more of their story. Liked it enough to read a threequel. ★★★☆☆
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 101
A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE
I really enjoyed A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows. An unabashedly queer novel, deliciously somehow saturated with both tenderness and sweetness even though there are a lot of rather grim situations (murders/rape/abuse). After finishing, I was left with the same kind of feelings I have after Becky Chambers or Katherine Addison novels. Absolutely delightful. ★★★★☆
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 100
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 99
LAKE OF SOULS
As a huge fan of Ann Leckie, but not someone who generally enjoys short stories very much, “Lake of Souls” was a bit mixed bag for me. I enjoyed the final two stories the most, the penultimate being the absolute delight that is “Saving Bacon”. I loved it, and I love Slale Vachash-Troer and his family so, so much. ★★★☆☆
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 98
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 97
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 96
THE SUNNE IN SPLENDOUR
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman was both interesting and well-written. I found it particularly interesting as it deals with a time frame I’m not very familiar with as most histories, biographies, and novels I’ve favoured previously have covered the Tudor period.
Obviously, reading it for the first time in 2024 changes how I came to it as a reader. The de-villianisation of Richard III has been going strong for a few years now, but I can imagine this would have been a very different and interesting take when first published.
In conclusion, my short, very reductive review of this book is that I did not expect to finish it having the hots for Richard III, but here I am. ★★★☆☆
LEARNING TO DRAW IN 2024! DAY 95
