Reading (and a Bookish Blunder)
I’ve had some good and varied reads lately! First, I finished this book: It was interesting, and a little hard to describe, possibly due to the fact that I didn’t always understand what was going on. It’s a sci fi/mystery mashup with a bit of horror and romance mixed in. Two agents are thrown together in the investigation of a dangerous substance called “Prophet.” It turns out the agents have a complicated past, present, and possible future together. The relationship between the two was my favorite part of this book- but I did enjoy the investigation as well. It got intense and scary at the end, so after that I was looking forward to something lighter. Here’s the problem though. I started the book and thought, “Wow, they really throw you right into this.” There was no explanation of who the characters were or any background like that- I almost felt like I was starting the story in the middle. Well, I don’t mind that… I kept reading and after a couple chapters finally figured out that I had gotten the SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES. Don’t ask me HOW I made that mistake, but I did. And, I was on an airplane, and it was the only book I brought with me. ARRRG! I had no other choice but to keep reading. As the book went along, it did reference things that happened in the first book (which means that I don’t want to go back and read that one now, since I know the entire plot). And, I can’t really describe much of the plot of this one without ruining parts of the first book for anyone who hasn’t read it. Sigh. Let’s just say that this series has been compared to Harry Potter. Now, we all know Harry Potter is in a class by itself, but I get the comparison. The main character is a twelve year old girl living in the magical world of Nevermoor. There’s mystery, suspense, and interesting creatures and characters. It was a very fun read- I recommend it, but for the love of God, please start with THE FIRST BOOK, which is The Trials of Morrigan Crow. After that, I dove into one of the books I bought on my trip: In this book, a Scotland Yard inspector is laid up with a broken leg, and decides to delve into history, and the mystery of Richard III. What really happened to the princes in the tower- did Richard kill them, as everyone has been taught to believe? Let’s look at the quote on the cover: “One of the best mysteries of all time.” AHEM. I’m going to push back on that. I think part of the problem is that I don’t really… well, care about Richard Plantagenet and that period of history. It’s not compelling to me to find out what happened to those princes 550 years ago. But, I’m not finished yet. Tey could pull off a stunning ending to this book and I’ll eat my words. I’ll report back soon! Have you read any of these? Would you ever read a series out of order? – Normally I would NOT do such a thing! Top photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash