The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

The Before:

I've tried to read a few of her books before, I always get quickly sucked in by the quickly spat back out.

The Feels:

... Well... that was interesting... DNF

The Reflection:

    Dickerson is very clearly not happy with Catholics. THEN WHY WOULD SHE WRITE A FAIRY TALE THAT TAKES PLACE IN A CATHOLIC VILLAGE IN ENGLAND??? She comes across as very smug... and I think she think's she's being subtle. Don't get me wrong, as a reformed Catholic myself, I take issue with many values of the Catholic Church. However, in order to critique a subject, you must first be able to understand it. I can critique the Catholic Church because I know how it works. I cannot critique a Baptist Church because I DON'T know how it works. In her writing, Dickerson's tone throughout the writing is very condescending of Christian practices at the time. Like the town's priest not having a bible or women being able to read, just not the bible. That's absurd and was not standard practice for the Catholic Church. And the Church is SUCH and easy target when it comes to criticism. Not the pedo priests? Not the abusive nuns? Not the fact that mass was in Latin and 99% of the population didn't understand what was being talked about? NOT THE WITCH TRIALS?!? I mean come on, it was right there! 

    Also, I did not dig the whole "I'm NoT LiKe OtHeR gIrLs" vibe from our main character. Apparently all (other than the main character) women are sluts and hoes and bitches... thanks Dickerson. 

    Honestly, I started off really liking this book. Although I'm not a "Christian" reader, I have been known to like some Christian Romance. The main character, whatever her name was, started off strong, in a more traditionally feminine way, which was really fun. But then she started to interact with other characters and all I could think was oh please make it stop. Felt like going to church and the person giving the sermon really took issue with some irrelevant issues. 

Score:

Writing Style burned down barn/10

Plot 7/10

Meaningfulness 1/10

Ready Player One: The Problem with Nerd Culture

    I am exhausted by nerd culture. For years, I followed multiple fandoms; Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Supernatural, you name it. My favorite place in undergrad was the library. I excited took history classes. I.wrote.fan.fiction.

    And I'm DONE. I just can't anymore. It's too exhausting and I've noticed so much unkindness within nerd culture. This is especially true with it comes to women and people of color, two groups I am a part of. I feel like when talking to other nerds that I have to prove myself and my nerdiness. I refuse to do that any more. It isn't my problem if someone else feels the need to doubt my capabilities and I'm to exhausted by this nonsense to care.

    It really is too bad though. I've been loosing some friendships because of nerd culture. I have/had two friends, a married couple, that are my nerdiest friends. I'm too done with their ignorance. It feels like I have grown in ways they have not. They live in a little nerd bubble and refuse to grow up. They get caught up in the details without noticing their part in the damage of the whole. 

Jenny Nicholson goes over some of this damage/nonsense in this video analysis of Ready Player One https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07w3u8iLa-s&ab_channel=JennyNicholson 

Melt by Demelza Carlton

The Before:

I've read a few other books by Carlton before. Some I have liked more than others. I was excited to see a retelling of one of my favorite, "The Snow Queen".

The Feels:

Uhhhh... It's fine. Not nearly as good as others I have read by her. The plot and writing was a bit of a mess; felt like it was completely random. Feels like she had to crack this one out.

The Reflection:

The initial setting of vague Middle East was a bit of a YIKES. Diversity can be amazing and fun... this is not the way to do it. It also felt like the names were made up, I mean for the vaguely Middle Eastern characters. Maram, Briska, and Amani sound SOOOO close to some very common Arabic names. I Googled them and they are real names, just really really rare; Kurdish, Iraqi, and West African... I think that's too much of a mix when world building. Mariam, Briska, and Armani sound sooo much better in my opinion. (Also did she pick Briska, because it sounds like "brisk" in English?) I'm really disappointed because I KNOW Carlton is a good writer.

Scores:

Plot 2/10

Writing Style 3/10

Meaningfulness 5/10

Christian Romance Novels: A Selection

The Reflection:....

So this post was supposed to be about four different Christian romance novels from the 80s. I couldn't do it. They were the last of the books I purchased this summer and I just couldn't do it! My GAWWDDD those books were bad. I have nothing against Christian authors or romance authors. It was just these specific books. They were sooo trope riddled and there was nothing to the plot. Honestly, Christian readers deserve better than this nonsense. 

Scores:

Plot 0/10

Writing Style Jesus?/10

Meaningfulness -1000/10

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Content Warning: sexual assault, incest, violence, child abuse, and I say this with all sincerity, pretty much any trigger you can think of. This book is riddled with triggers. This is NOT a happy book and it does NOT talk about trauma in an intellectual or informed way. Traumatic events in this book are purely plot points and are handled as such.

The Before:

I've read most of this series before. Is it fucked up that I'm considering it a romance and going to review it between Lady Chatterly's Lover and a Christian Romance novel?... Maybe, but I don't really give a shit. See you in hell.

The Feels:

This book is so absurd, you can't help but laugh. It's not good, but you can't put it down. Lifetime turned this series into a movie series and its some of the best work Lifetime has ever done. This is not a book that will make you smarter. In fact, it might actually make you dumber. But it's 2021, your country is a political dumpster fire, and you need to shut your brain off. 

The Reflection:

There is a rape in this book... um so that's a yikes. This book was not written to be taken seriously. Personally, I struggle with rape scenes, but, strangely, I'm ok with it in this situation. I think this is because this book knows what it is. It is not meant to be nuanced or realistic. It is meant to be shallow trash. This book is so full of over the top trauma that you can't help but not take it seriously. Honestly, the rape scene is the scene treated with the most dignity and that could be why I have some semblance of respect for it. Every trauma that happens is just a random plot point. If you picked up this book and thought it was going to be meaningful, you would have quit long before the rape. That all being said, if you are in a place in your life where you are finding ways to cope with some trauma, this is probably not the book for you right now. However, I hope you can come to a place at some point in your life where you can read this book and be able to laugh at it in a cathartic way. I wish you the very best and I hope for you to be able to find good ways to cope with your trauma. 

This book is for you if you like soap operas, Lifetime Movie Network, classic gothic novels, Downton Abbey, and 1970's pulp novels.

* I will not be review the rest of the books in this series. They are TOOO trash for me. However, I highly recommend the Lifetime movies in this series. One of those rare times that the movie is better than the book.*

Scores:

Plot..... 10/10

Writing Style..... Incest family tree/10

Meaningfulness...... -57/10

Lady Chatterly's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

The Before:

    I had heard of this book and I've seen bits of the 90s BBC series. There was also an episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, where Phryne is seen holding a copy.

The Feels:

    I was honestly shocked by this book, in a good way. Right from the first chapter, I can see how this book was banned in multiple countries... Honestly, I think the banning helped the book's dangerously infamous reputation. 

    The writing and is BEAUTIFUL! It's smut, but that doesn't mean it's also not smart. I was amazed at how well crafted it was. I majored in English, and I'm shocked it was never required reading (or even recommended reading). I mean, the sexual scenes are not event that graphic.

 

The Reflection:

    There was a lot about class in this book, more than I thought would be. I wish it was a little more direct. I also wish our main character interacted with more female characters. I understand her isolation, but it didn't feel genuine. The book was also a little too long.

Scores:

Plot 8/10

Writing Style 9/10

Meaningfulness 10/10

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

 The Before:

    I've read a few books by McKinley before. I even think I've picked this one up before, but just could not get into it. Pretty sure this one is a retelling so Sleeping Beauty.

The Feels:

    OHHHHHHH!! I just loved this one. It reminded me of Ella Enchanted, if anyone remembers that book. It is a cozy little fairytale retelling. Yes, it was Sleeping Beauty, but a lot was added to it. I've made a post on my other blog about CottageCore and OH MY GAWWWDD. This IS the MOST CottageCore. It's a pretty retelling of a fairytale. Not a ton of drama (which I DO NOT need right now). 

The Concerns:

    This is a fluff book, but that's totally ok to read. There really much substance, but I honestly wasn't expecting any. 

Rating:

Plot 8/10

Writing Style 10/10

Meaningfulness 5/10

2021

    A new year is upon us!... and I've finally updated my Goodreads account. This year my goal is to read 50 books and make posts about each one of them for this blog. That means one book a week and one post a week. I know I'll be able to do it! I'm going to start work on some fairytales and then move onto romance for February. I've got some time set aside for mystery! (I thought that would be nice for that icky coldest part of winter.) Then it will be some historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure books. I'm looking for a cozy/adventurous spring.