Gaston Library discussion
Gaston Library
Books mentioned in this topic
Human Acts (other topics)Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (other topics)
A Court of Silver Flames (other topics)
Iron Flame (other topics)
The House Across the Lake (other topics)
Human Acts by Han Kang- This was a fascinating piece of history to dive into for me as I had never heard about the Gwangju Uprising before. While this is a fictional account surrounding a young boy named Dong-ho and those around him I feel like it did a really good job of putting you into the events and giving you an understanding about what was happening. It was difficult to read emotionally as this is a very heavy piece of history but nevertheless the writing is absolutely beautiful and captivating. As the novel tells the story of those around Dong-ho throughout the years of the uprising and many years after it does a great job at putting you in the experiences and emotions of the characters.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman- I loved this one so much! It was a sweet heartwarming tale of healing and even the journey of realizing you need to heal in the first place. Eleanor and her character arc through this journey are very well done. The author did a really great job of putting you in Eleanors head and showing you how she is thinking. I loved that we got to unravel the traumas of her past with her and be on that journey with her. I highly recommend this one.
A Court of Silver Flames of Sarah J. Maas- I listened to this one on audio. This one was just ok. I’m invested in the characters of this series, so I did like getting to see them more. However, the other characters didn’t really do much/Feyre’s storyline in this one seemed a little weird. It was interesting to learn more about Nesta and Cassian, but this book was more romance than anything else. There is some build up and tension in the post war with Hybern world and a stand off with Queen Briallyn, but it feels like a small part of this rather large book. I really wanted more about the Valkyries too. Also, hot take on this series as a whole; Tamlin deserves a redemption arc please.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros- This one was an obviously highly anticipated read. I liked it a lot and it felt like a good follow up. I don’t think it was as good as Fourth Wing, but still very enjoyable. I liked diving more into the rebellion and learning more about the world beyond Naverre. I fell even more in love with the dragons in this one too, they are my favorite characters in this book! I am excited to see where things go next, especially after that cliffhanger. IYKYK. One of the worst cliffhangers since The Last Graduate, so I’m watching you Yarros. Get to writing so we can have book 3! Haha.
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager- Did I read this book solely because it begins with a quote from one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs? Absolutely! Do I regret it? Nope. I enjoyed this up until the very last chapter. There was good tension, great plot twists, and I loved the magical realism elements that came into play as the story went on. However, the last chapter/twist at the very end just brought the whole thing down a notch. It just felt forced and like it didn’t fit with the rest of everything going on. End the story before that twist and this may have been a 5 star book, so I’m just going to mentally block out that part and choose to believe it ended before then.
What did you read this month? Be sure to share down below!
Happy Reading!