Category: One Paragraph Book Review

Sometimes, I read so many “meh” books in a row that I begin to worry about finding a book I love ever again. As it would happen, Christina Henry’s Lost Boy, arrived just in time. If you, like me, were slightly in love with Peter Pan as a kid, this creepy retelling may well cure you of your childhood love for good. A throwback to the original source materials, Henry’s Pan is less a benevolent, slightly mischievous, hero, and more of a cold-blooded psychopath willing to cut the throat of any boy who crosses him. If you think your heart can take it, pick this one up.

Peter will never let me go…He brought me to the island and he swore I would never leave and so I haven’t.

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Happy Tuesday, book fans!

After a (not-so) brief hiatus while the world put itself back together, I’m excited to announce the re-launch of the monthly “One Paragraph Book Recommendations.”

Wait, wait, you might be thinking, didn’t those used to be *checks notes* book reviews? Weekly, book reviews?

Well, yes. But after spending the pandemic reading a ridiculous amount of books (what else was there to do, really?) I came to the realization that I would rather spend time recommending my favorite reads, rather than expounding on things I didn’t like. The decrease of posts from weekly to monthly is purely logistical: life has gotten busy, and I don’t have the same amount of time I used to have (it’s marching band season for the boys again, and the girl has started tumbling class). However, this means the books that make the cut are only the ones I’m really excited about! (Only the best for you, guys.) The old reviews will remain up for now, but all new posts will feature titles I would want on my own shelves.

As always, I would love your recommendations for titles to feature!

Happy reading!

– E

A One Paragraph Book Review

It won’t come as a surprise to any of you who are following along that I don’t like flowery, over descriptive prose. It’s not that I don’t appreciate an author’s careful description of their fantastical world-building, rather that I don’t appreciate superfluous scenes that seem to exist only so said author can spend pages waxing poetic about characters’ ball gowns. Words must have purpose, they can’t just be pretty. Enter Holly Black and The Cruel Prince: this, ladies and gentlemen, is what “lush” and “decadent” writing looks like. TCP is a delicious example of how vibrant description can work to enhance equally delicious characters and riveting plot to create a story that is not only worth reading, but worth savoring.

A One Paragraph Book Review

My husband asked me recently why I don’t review books I actually like and I argued that I have reviewed books I like; I LIKE most of the books I’ve read in the last year, I just don’t LOVE them. The problem is Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys. It’s ruined me for other books which, admittedly, is a little odd considering that I wasn’t all that interested in the overall plot of the book (Finding the burial place of a Welsh king? Meh.). The characters, though. I would happily read an entire book about Ronan folding his laundry. Gansey and Blue and Adam and Ronan are the kind of characters that make you angry with the world for not having seen fit to make them into real people. They are lovely and, for better or worse, I doubt I will ever love another book quite as much as I love this one.

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A One Paragraph Book Review

I get excited about books, sometimes I get REALLY excited, and Renée Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn was one of those REALLY exciting books. Until I read it (or really, didn’t read it, I couldn’t finish the whole thing). Maybe it’s my own fault; I came in with high hopes of complex characters and conflicting emotions, as a girl destined to die in the morning, not only survives her death sentence, but falls in love with her would-be executioner. But, I just… sigh. If two people are going to fall in love, and I’m expected to care about it, this affection has to have a basis beyond one of them having “kind, velvet brown eyes of soft, chocolate kindness” or some similar nonsense; if you’re looking for a fun weekend read, I’d skip this one.

 

*Go here to learn more about One Paragraph Book Reviews.