Book Review: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Book title: The Vaster Wilds
Author: Lauren Groff
Genre: Historical fiction
Published: September 12, 2023
256 pages
My rating: 5/5

“She had chosen to flee, and in so choosing, she had left behind her everything she had, her roof, her home, her country, her language, the only family she had ever known, the child Bess, who had been born into her care when she was herself a small child of four years or so, her innocence, her understanding who she was, her dreams of who she might one day be if only she could survive this starving time.”

Virginia, 1600s. In the last days of winter, a servant girl escapes from a famished and disease-ridden colonial settlement of Jamestown into the wilderness. Carrying only her wits and a few possessions, she attempts to travel north to the safety of another colony. But in the vast wilderness around her, threats loom behind every tree: hostile men, hungry animals, and the forest itself.

What an amazing read! The Vaster Wilds is Lauren Groff’s historical fiction. The writing is lyrical and poetic, and the (mostly nameless) main character is a determined and strong female lead.

November Wrap-Up and December Hopefuls

November Reads

November Wrap-Up

• Finished: 5
• Started but not finished: 3
• Total pages read: 2,125
• Average rating: 3.75

I finished two novels in November, Leigh Bardugo’s young adult fantasy duology Six of Crows (4/5 stars) and Crooked Kingdom (also 4/5 stars). I had hoped that they’d both be instant five-star reads, but unfortunately, they didn’t quite live up to the hype. I did give both four stars, because I liked the worldbuilding and in the end, even came to care for a few of the characters. Click the links if you want to learn more about what I thought of the books.

Book Review: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Book title: Crooked Kingdom
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult fantasy
Published: September 27, 2016
561 pages
My rating: 4/5

“I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together – knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.”

Kaz Brekker and his team have just pulled off a daring heist, but instead of enjoying their reward, they have been double-crossed by the merchant who recruited them. Determined to get their revenge and their money while the whole city is after them, the group plans another series of elaborate schemes to destroy their enemies – and maybe to save a few Grisha as well.

Crooked Kingdom is the second book in Leigh Bardugo’s young adult fantasy duology set in her Grishaverse. While the first book Six of Crows left me a little disappointed, it also lowered my expectations enough so that I could be pleasantly surprised with Crooked Kingdom. I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this book a lot more.

The Writers Not Writing: Get to Know Me

I've seen a few authortubers do the "Writers Not Writing tag" on YouTube, and I wanted to join in on the fun! Check the video below to find out what I'm doing when I'm not writing. You'll learn about my day job, reading and other hobbies, dream job as a child, and if I have any pets. As well as the answer to the age-old question: tea or coffee (hint: it's neither).

Book Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Book title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Young Adult fantasy
Published: September 29, 2015
491 pages
My rating: 4/5

“Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason. Those were the words whispered on the streets of Ketterdam, in the taverns and coffeehouses, in the dark and bleeding alleys of the pleasure district known as the Barrel. The boy they called Dirtyhands didn’t need a reason any more than he needed permission – to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man’s fortunes with the turn of a card.”

Criminal mastermind Kaz Brekker has been offered a deal of a lifetime: break into an unbreakable fortress of the Ice Court and retrieve a hostage, and he will become a millionaire. But he can’t pull it off by himself. Together with a team of five other outcasts, he sets out to carry an impossible heist.

Six of Crows is the first book in a duology set in Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy world Grishaverse. I read Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy a year ago, and I must admit I was slightly disappointed. You can find my reviews of Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising behind the links. However, several people told me that Six of Crows is a better series than the first trilogy set in Grishaverse, so I was excited to read this book. But again, I wasn’t as enamored with the book as I had hoped to be. I think my expectations were too high, and that led to an inevitable disappointment.

Favorite Classics: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

 

William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. I have only read one of his books, but I loved it so much it deserves its own post (here are some of my other favorite classics). Originally published in serial form in 1847–1848, Vanity Fair is probably Thackeray’s most well-known work. The Penguin Classics edition I read follows the text of Thackeray’s revised edition of 1853.

October Wrap-Up and November Hopefuls

October Reads

October Wrap-Up

• Finished: 22
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 3,603
• Average rating: 4.25

Twenty-two books, are you kidding me? To be honest, only two of them were novels, and they were the only two books that I rated. I read R.F. Kuang’s dark academia historical fantasy Babel (4.5/5 stars). The themes in that book were hugely important, but unfortunately I didn’t quite love it enough to give it five stars. The second book I finished was Heather Fawcett’s light academia fantasy Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (4/5 stars), which was a perfect cozy fall read.