I enjoyed Yellowface better than Babel, I think because R. F. Kuang was less heavy handed with the points she wanted to make. Perhaps strangely, considering this book is about some pitfalls of publishing and deciding where the line of plagiarism is, it made me want to start writing again. I think that’s because the passion and love for writing really stand out. I was concerned going into this book because I heard the author wanted it to feel like an anxiety attack, but that thankfully wasn’t my experience. If you’re on the fence about R. F. Kuang, I recommend giving Yellowface a try.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears starts out slow, but around a third of the way in it picks up with Justin Timberlake’s betrayal. Life falls apart for Britney after that as she is used and abused by those who saw dollar signs instead of a person when they looked at her. I cried when Britney thanked her fans for helping free her from the conservatorship. I hope now she gets to have peace surrounded by those who truly love her.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ This one is a bit of a throwback. While it’s a decent read and I’ll continue the series, I don’t think Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell aged well. The ending is rushed and focused on SQL knowledge. It feels like the MC’s niece’s computer skills were the star instead of the MC’s forensic investigative skills.
Swan Dive by Georgina Pazcoguin is a rollicking behind the scenes look at the world of ballet, including one of the top ballet companies in the world, and what it takes to become a soloist there. Georgina includes all the messy details from the injuries to the pranks to the shouting matches, making this autobiography difficult to put down. I came away from this book with massive respect for Georgina’s grit, spunk, and ability to set boundaries. Read by the author, who does an excellent job narrating. A four star read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole is a four star read. It grabbed me from the get go with characters and cultures as vibrant as the cover, and then added dragons and (essentially) mecha! Narrator Keylor Leigh does an excellent job. This was such a fun listen and I look forward to the sequel!
Better late than never! Here’s what I read in February with a brief review for each.
Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you’re looking for an epic fantasy saga that’s not set in a Eurocentric setting, look no further than the Daevabad trilogy. Kingdom of Copper is the second book in this trilogy and is well narrated by Soneela Nankani.
Tendu: Dancing in the Castle by Ailish Sinclair
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A light and fun romance set in the ballet world with touches of magic. Do check trigger warnings as it turns into a thriller at the end. Despite the book having trouble sticking to one genre, I enjoyed it.
Cabriole: Dancing in the City by Ailish Sinclair
⭐️⭐️
Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the sequel. It was filled with too much unnecessary drama for me.
The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second book in the Amelia Peabody series is a fun reimagining of The Hound of the Baskervilles in an Egyptian archaeological setting.
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommended to me by a friend, this book taught me some useful negotiating tactics I’ve used to good effect in real life. I also enjoyed Chris Voss’ stories from his time as an FBI negotiator.
The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
⭐️⭐️⭐️
One of my least favorite Amelia Peabody books because it takes place in England instead of in Egypt. It also features some thoroughly disagreeable children.
Nöthin’ But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the ‘80s Hard Rock Explosion by Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock
✨⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
My first 5 star read for February! A must-read for any fan of ‘80s hard rock, this book is entirely constructed of interviews from the people who were there at the time. You’ll get delicious backstage gossip and come away with great respect for the sheer grit and hard work these musicians put in.
Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed Our World by Mark Pendergrast
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mark Pendergrast really did the work to research this book, even going to Columbia and picking coffee beans himself. A fascinating and eye opening look at a commodity many can’t do without.
Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity by Michele Norris
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was fascinating and eye-opening. A very thought-provoking read about Americans’ thoughts on race, based on six word sentences submitted to the author as part of The Race Card Project. A surprisingly rich conversation arises from just six words, though I did find it overly repetitive at times. If I had submitted six words, they would have been, “Celtic pride is not necessarily racist.”
Lion in the Valley and The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Two more installments in the Amelia Peabody series.
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The narrator, Michael Kramer, took some getting used to and is a little on the dry and monotonous side. Otherwise I enjoyed this mashup of a classic heist and thief saves the world story with a few twists. I read this book for the February Year in Aeldia 2024 prompt and plan to continue the series next month. I’m in a great buddy read chat for this series and feel like I’ve found friends there. That motivates me to keep going.
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck
⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s a romance with magic in and sometimes the plot was moved forward by means of the idiot ball. But I did like it enough I got the sequel on sale and intend to listen to it. Make of that what you will.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
✨⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
My second five star read of February! This book features a Murder on the Orient Express-style murder mystery, magic, snark with heart, and gay romance. I am so glad I got a physical copy instead of waiting to find out if there will be an audiobook (which I still devoutly hope will happen with a decent narrator). In this case you can judge a book by its gorgeous cover. I absolutely loved it!
That wraps up my reading for February 2024! Comment below if you’ve read or plan to read any of these books and your thoughts. Hope to see you back here for the next blog post!
I enjoyed this sequel and plan to continue the series, but I gave it 3 stars for 3 reasons:
The plot dragged in places
The main relationship was less spicy
I started wondering what the bad guys were doing for the 1,000 years they weren’t around and the more I thought about it the more cardboard the villains seemed.
I also read this book to fulfill the January prompt for the Magical Readathon: Orilium A Year in Aeldia Reading Challenge 2024. January presented two choices and my character, Vaughn, chose to rely on his wits to get out of a dungeon, which meant reading an audiobook. Who is Vaughn and why was he in a dungeon? Read on to find out!
Vaughn is an electricity elemental known as a Lightning. Physically he is based on Ken Hidaka from the anime Weiß Kreuz. He uses a pair of goggles with magical liquid crystal display lenses and has a gauntlet that turns into any tool he needs and allows him to channel magic. An apprentice Craftsmage, his original goal in attending Orilium University was to make the first magical database, but his extracurricular experiences may be leading him down another path. Vaughn has already obtained keys to the secret alchemy lab and the secret library, and his new goal is to obtain all the keys to the entire university. He’s started carrying a set of magical lock picks at all times. So when his friend Tori wanted to do some urban spelunking to explore the university’s underground, he was all in! They were arrested for trespassing, but Vaughn wasn’t fazed. He just whipped the lock picks out of his shoe and went to work.
A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin is second in a YA romantasy duology based on tea lore and Chinese mythology. Ning can channel magic through her tea and she must figure out how to use her magic and allies to save her country from a dark god.
I loved the characters, who managed to stay true to themselves while navigating the complexities of the court, a coup, and a counter-revolution. Their motivations, actions, and relationships all made sense. The main character, Ning, has so much love and compassion but isn’t a pushover. She has gumption and common sense. It was a pleasure following her on her adventures. The romance really took a back seat, which was fine with me.
I enjoyed the magic system. Whenever the four Chinese gods come up I can’t help thinking of the anime Fushigi Yuugi, which was my introduction to them, and getting a warm feeling of nostalgia. I also love tea, so it was fascinating to see how the power of the gods was combined with traditional Chinese herbal medicine to create magical teas.
I think the narrators were chosen primarily for their ability to speak Chinese because while they did so well, they were a bit monotone. I prefer this solution, however, to the way Chinese pronunciation was addressed in R. F. Kuang’s Babel. In Babel, the Chinese words were dubbed in by a second narrator who didn’t even sound close to the main reader. I much prefer somewhat monotone narrators who can pronounce Chinese properly themselves. Luckily the excellent writing and vibrant characters in A Venom Dark and Sweetare enough to make up for the deficiencies in narration.
I recommend the Book of Tea duology to anyone looking for a Chinese fantasy.
In this YA fairytale, Clara must rescue her village from a curse by journeying into an enchanted and hostile forest.
I don’t have much to say about this one. The elements for a satisfying fairytale were all there, including retellings of Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Red Riding Hood. It just somehow didn’t add up to anything remarkable. It was enjoyable, but unless you’re as into fairytales as I am, you might want to give it a pass. I won’t be continuing the series.
Welcome! In this post I’ll be explaining how I rate books. I use a spreadsheet developed by Book Roast called CAWPILE. Well, my version is CAWPILEN, but more on that later. 😊
CAWPILE is an acronym that stands for 7 attributes that make up a book’s star rating. The attributes are:
Characters: Did you like them? Are they engaging and lovable? Or are they cardboard cutouts? For nonfiction books this becomes Credibility/Research.
Atmosphere: For nonfiction this becomes Authenticity/Uniqueness
Writing: Did it need another editing pass?
Plot: Was the plot engaging? Did it make sense? For nonfiction this becomes Personal Impact.
Intrigue: Does it keep my interest and make my brain cells dance?
Logic: Did the characters make choices that made my eyes roll? Does the magic system make sense?
Enjoyment: ‘Nuff said.
These attributes are each rated on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being awful and 10 being perfection. Then they are averaged to give the CAWPILE Star Rating, also known as the Story Star Rating here on the blog.
For audiobooks, I then rate narration on a scale of 0-5 stars. (Hence, CAWPILEN 😊). To get my rating I ask questions like: did I like the voice? Did it match my vision of the characters? Was it easy to understand and follow who was speaking? Did the narrator enunciate clearly and speak loudly enough? Did they mispronounce words? For manga and graphic novels I rate the art instead. This is the Narration Star Rating.
I then average the CAWPILE/Story and Narration Star Ratings to get the Overall Star Rating. This way audiobook narration or graphic novel art make up 50% of the final score. I think this is fair considering how important narration and art are to the reader experience.
But what does each star rating mean?
⭐️ = I should have DNF’d this book but I hate-read it instead. Expect a lot of saltiness.
⭐️⭐️ = Ho-hum. Not bad but not particularly good either. Probably lost my interest.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ = A good, solid read but not exceptional. Would recommend for specific tastes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = An above average book I’d recommend generally.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️= Everyone should read this book!!! Now!!
Honeycomb's Hive 