March Reads and Thoughts

Ruthless Vows

Due to the main characters being writers, there are some beautiful passages. This is the second book in a duology called The Letters of Enchantment. The first book Divine Rivals throws us into a world where gods who have been asleep for centuries are at war. There are enchanted typewriters that allow them to write letters to each other. (If you don’t want some spoilers of the first book, stop now.) The first book was an enemies to lovers book, where they end up getting married right before a huge battle. This book picks up after Roman was taken by the underworld god Dacre. Iris is heartbroken but is doing all she can to keep fighting. Overall, I thought it was a beautiful ending, but occasionally I felt like the plot was a little too predictable. I enjoyed the first book, which was very “You’ve Got Mail.”

Pretties

This book started off a bit slow for me. But the change in tone from the last book to this one was intentionally jarring as we are in Tally’s pretty brain. Once she escaped the book got exponentially more interesting. I’m excited to see where this series keeps going. I think it’s great for YA and also has some great themes that encourage deeper thinking, especially about the state of humanity.

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

I think this book has some good ideas, although I am skeptical of the implementation of how she recommends to “tidy” your home. I think there is some value in categorizing and looking at all similar items simultaneously. And although some people may think some of it is a little woo-woo, I think there can also be some value in thanking your objects or saying goodbye to objects you are getting rid of.

Specials

This installment in the series was very full of action. Westerfield continues to do a fantastic job at differentiating the mindset and voice of Tally as changes have happened to her brain.  I think this dystopian series continues to encourage us to think about our current society. I also appreciate the themes of protecting nature and how spending time in nature can help our mental health.

Sunrise on the Reaping

I guess I’m on a dystopian kick right now. I have adored Hunger Games series since they originally came out. I appreciated seeing Haymitch’s Hunger Games. I think it provides good character development and glimpses into who many of the characters were years before the original series. I appreciate how it also tied into The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes as well. I loved the development of the relationship between Maysilee and Haymitch. The end is absolutely heartbreaking, but it establishes why Haymitch is the way he is. A beautiful love story between Lenore and Haymitch. I would absolutely recommend!

Wolf at the Door

Marisela Treviño Orta is writing Latin fairy tales/folklore into a cycle of plays. I appreciated the simplicity and depth of this tale. The play begins with Isadora giving birth- where the son doesn’t live- and shortly after, her abusive husband Séptimo, chains up Yolot against her will. Isadora finds the strength to stand up to him. Yolot is obviously some sort of mystical being, and the twist at the end is very satisfying. I would love to see this play performed in person. It has a lot of potential for a fantastic production.

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