Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros

For Twenty yr old Violet Sorrengail, the life that she was supposed to have - entering the quiet peaceful life of the Scribe Quadrant - is not where is currently is. Her tough as nails general mother has ordered her into the death elite Dragon Rider quadrant following the path of her older brother who died and her older sister.  Her whole life she's struggled - she's smaller than everyone and her body is brittle - so this new struggle isn't anything new.  But Dragons don't bond with fragile humans and the Rider's quadrant isn't just fraught with them - other cadets want to kill you too for the chance and Violet has the biggest bullseye on her back just being the generals daughter.  It's a cut throat quadrant.  But what others see as weaknesses in Violet, is actually her greatest strength and there are a few that see that strength in her too. 

This was actually a pretty good novel.  I enjoyed the obstacles that Violet had to overcome within herself and the premise.  The book had the right amount of politics, romance, character growth and world building.  It's not the next greatest novel but for a series beginner it did itself justice and I would recommend.

Gild - Raven Kennedy

 

The legend of King Midas - but what happens after he gets the golden touch?  This book is from the perspective of the love interest and willingly taken and "gilded" as the favorite of Midas.   

3 chapters.  I read 3 chapters and I was done.  I was sooooooo looking forward to this one and the premise was something that highly intrigued me.  Literally the first paragraph was gratuitous sex scene. Yes this book comes with a trigger warning.  Yes I knew that there was going to be darkness but honestly I felt like the author didn't even try. All men are absolutely cringe characters, or at least all the ones introduced in 3 chapters, from reading other reviews now there isn't one redeeming or character building one.  The mc is an absolute snore fest.  Ya she has a bad past and she was "saved" from the streets but she has no personality other than - I'm bored being a golden saddle.  Ya.  Women in Midas's palace are referred to as saddles.  And yes it is precisely what you think that means.  The mc just happens to be the golden favorite saddle.  I just couldn't continue.

1000% would NOT recommend.  Save yourself.

The Invisible Hour - Alice Hoffman

 Mia Jacobs lives in an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden.  As a child she sneaks into the closest towns library, befriends the librarian and a whole new world is open to her through pages.  Opportunity presents itself for her to leave the oppressive community after her mother dies and she strikes out and away from it but her past comes back to haunt her.

This was an...interesting book.  It covers oppression/cult upbring, time travel, coming of age and longing.  I will say that Alice Hoffman is a beautiful writer.  Her style is very ethereal and fantasy like but grounded in reality.  The premise of the book was intriguing however she kinda lost me after the main character left the cult and grew up and found a cabin in the woods and met an author from the 1800s and has a romantic affair with him.  I feel like the author wants the reader to feel the longing and connection with books but felt that she took it too far with a relationship.  It didn't make sense it leaves you feeling discombobulated.

Overall I appreciated the writing style and the premise but in the end probably would recommend this book.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Switching gears yet again.  Classic novel and I have to admit that I know the story but have never read the book.

Handsome Dorian Gray had his portrait painted at 18.  After an admirer stated "life is nothing without beauty and sensuous gratification" Dorian gets scared of growing old and make a fateful wish that the painted image should age rather than himself.  Fearless of the consequence, he launches himself into a life of excess and depravity.  And every sin that he commit is reflected in the picture.  Banishing the portrait to the attic where it becomes so loathsome to Dorian he tries to destroy it.

A shorter read, The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of Irish author and poet Oscar Wilde's acclaimed works of writing. 

Its a shorter read but of the older english style