The community decided on the best books of 2019, but now it’s my turn! I read a total of 91 books in 2019, which is honestly amazing considering how much of the year I spent whining about being in a book slump. You can read more stats about my year in reading in the 2019 Adventure Log.
Friends, I know this sounds dramatic, but CALL THE POLICE! I’ve been personally victimized by this amazing book. The writing is lush and captivating, the characters are vivid, and the chemistry between characters oozes off the page. Honestly, it has been three months since I read this book and I could write this review from memory.
The atmosphere of this book is all-encompassing. Set in 1870s New Orleans, the city comes alive for the reader. I’ve been there once and felt like the book transported me back onto its streets. The lush descriptions paint such a full picture of being there and draws in the senses. Food is an important part of the city’s culture so it has a place of importance in the story and how Celine experiences New Orleans. The city itself is definitely a character in its own right.
“I think it needs more publicity for children’s fiction. I find MG and YA titles brilliantly written and full of exciting storylines but this is not getting enough publicity. “
Welcome to Reading Around the Globe, a series here on Reader Voracious Blog geared at fostering a culture of understanding in the bookish community about access to books in various countries around the world. Each post in the series highlights a full interview with one international reader. You can read more about this series and catch up on previous interviews on the master post.
What a tense and wild ride this was! Fireborne is an amazing fantasy debut that looks at the period just after a revolution succeeds and asks important questions about politics in general.
“And as with God’s the world quaked, to see them fireborne.”
I love the way that the story unfolds, acclimating the reader to the world and the way that the regime has improved society over the last ten years. By the time talks of war began, I was rooting for the new regime that I really connected with Lee and Annie’s actions. Is new always better? A regime called by any other name is still that: a ruling power.
I wish that I enjoyed this book more than I did, friends. Reading this book was a wild ride of emotions for me because I was interested in the story but also was disengaged from it. The book felt really long while reading it. By the time I was at 85%, I wanted to DNF the book but forced myself to finish since I was so close to the end. Part of me wanted to know. I wish I hadn’t. This book has no discernible meaning or purpose; it is just chaotic neutral.
“‘What you want, gentlemen and lady, is to play God! Turn social order upside down. Claim what should be yours. Go from duds to studs! And so I give you … the God Game!'”
