I read seven things this month - four novels and three graphic novels. Onto the wrap-up!
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Persepolis, #1-2) by Marjane Satrapi
4 stars
I recently discovered the wonder that is the graphic novel section of my local library, which remains glorious despite its small selection. There were some graphic novels I'd been interested in, but volume one wasn't available... so I ended up getting the Persepolis duology. These were books I'd been interested in, but never interested enough to actually go out and buy them. With all of the conflict happening in the Middle East right now, it was a good time to pick these up.
Persepolis: The Story of a Return (Persepolis, #3-4) by Marjane Satrapi
4 stars
Both of the Persepolis volumes were fairly equal in my mind. The art left a lot to be desired. You can easily flick through the pages and see that Satrapi uses a very simple art style. I knew what I was getting into when I picked this up, so it wasn't really a problem, but it is worth noting. I didn't feel like I had a full understanding of the political conflict that Satrapi had been a part of, but I suppose as a memoir this is not supposed to be a history textbook. Overall I think these graphic novels combined make up a great coming-of-age story.
3 stars
You can read my full review here.
The Kiss of Deception was getting a lot of hype over on Booktube, so naturally I had to pick it up. I was ultimately really let down, as this ended up being much more romance than high fantasy, the latter being what I had hoped for. The mystery that drew a lot of readers in made me feel more annoyed than anything, and I felt cheated on a lot of elements that Pearson introduced but never did anything with. I liked the writing style but was disappointed by the actual story that Pearson decided to tell. Not sure if I'll be continuing with this trilogy, but I wasn't left feeling like I needed to keep reading.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
4 stars
Will have a full review soon.
I ended up reading The Way of Kings for the #augustofkings read-along with some Booktube friends. This is now the longest book I've ever read, if we're going to compare it to A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. The amount of world-building in this book was ridiculous (in a good way). I felt like this could have been much shorter - there were a lot of chapters that felt repetitive and didn't contribute much to the plot, character development or need-to-know world-building. I have a feeling the sequel, Words of Radiance, will be a lot better since it won't have the responsibility of being the foundation for a massive ten-book series.
3.5 stars
You can read my full review here.
In preparation for the release of Heir of Fire, I knew I had to finally read all of the Throne of Glass novellas. These don't contribute much of anything to the series in terms of plot - everything that happens in the prequel novellas is mentioned in later books and they're not crucial need-to-know events, as is typical with novellas. I really appreciated that The Assassin's Blade had an overarching story, even though it's a collection of five separate novellas, and I thought these novellas were a lot of fun overall.
Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine
3.5 stars
Will have a full review soon.
For anyone looking for diverse YA, Of Metal and Wishes is a good place to start. I've read two books by Sarah Fine before, the first two books in the Guards of the Shadowlands trilogy, and really enjoyed them. Fine has a talent for addressing sensitive topics while maintaining a fast-paced story, and she pulled that off once again in Of Metal and Wishes. While this was a really quick and enjoyable read, the world-building was lacking and the story itself just wasn't that memorable. I respect Fine's attempt at addressing social issues like sexism and racism, and I also must give props to the publisher for resisting whitewashing the cover and keeping it accurate to the story.
3 stars
This was the other graphic novel I picked up at the library. I've watched the Game of Thrones TV show and read all of the A Song of Ice and Fire books, so I figured I might as well try out the graphic novels too. The art wasn't my favorite, which was disappointing as that was sort of the point of picking these up. The panels felt really busy most of the time and a lot of the characters didn't look all that different. There were some pages that consisted just of white dudes with long brown or red hair and similar faces. It was still enjoyable and I'll probably pick up some of the other volumes if I see them at the library.
What was your favorite book that you read in August?
Enchantology is run by Paige Firth, a 21-year-old lover of SFF. Here you'll find book reviews and other bookish goodness...
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