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greenconverses · 18 days

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Recently read: The end of March/beginning of April was full of Greek myth-based books. Always nice when I cultivate an accidental reading theme.

Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth was an in-depth exploration on how the various goddesses are portrayed both in the original myths and current pop culture. I don't know if I'd say I enjoyed this book, but it was interesting and a nice refresher on Greek mythology. I do want to read some of Natalie Haynes' other Greek myth books though! (★★★.5)

Lore Olympus: Vol. 4 continues to be fun and enjoyable. Really wish my library would hurry up and get the next two volumes so I can catch up! (★★★★★)

Annnnd then there's the Dark Olympus series, which is the absolute opposite of fun and is annoying dark romance edgy nonsense. I skipped the fifth book because it was a poly quad with characters I have absolutely no interest in seeing together, but decided to give Midnight Ruin a try because hey! Libby had it. Bad decision. I am extremely not into pup play/humilitation kinks and this book has it, soooooooo lmao. Katee Robert, you gotta actually start developing these damn romances and not rely on smut to do the heavy lifting, especially if you're going to keep doing complicated triads and quads. I also still do not give a shit about the main overall series plot. Why are there still five billion books to go in this series before we get to Zeus/Hera and I can stop caring? God. (★)

Girls Before Earls by Anna Bennett started out good, but as the romance developed, it began to lose some of it's shine. I didn't find the heroine's interest in the hero all that believable, possibly because the book felt very wallpaper historical rather than "true" historical. At least it was an easy read. (★★.75)

Legendborn is another book I've had on the shelf foreverrrr that I finally got around to reading. I liked it well enough, but holy god, the exposition and info dumping almost did me in. Aside from the main 3-5 characters, I could not tell you anything about the rest of the Order or a lot of the extended cast. The reveal at the end saved it for me, but the bulk of story was a bit of a slog. Hope the second one is a little less clunky and brings the energy from the ending! (★★★.75)

#books of 2024 #greek mythology #currently reading #ya lit #romance novels

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deathsweetblossoms · 3 months

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I know I can be too much, but I think I’m just enough for you.

MIXED SIGNALS, B. K. Borison

Lovelight Farms (1/4)

#Lovelight farms #mixed signals #b. k. borison #books of 2024 #my moodboards #lovelightmoodboards

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thisbibliophiile · 2 months

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Books of 2024 #4

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

#read #books of 2024 #rebecca #daphne du maurier #⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐#rec

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booksandria · 2 months

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He suffered more than Jesus Christ - a Vampire Armand review

Spoiler alert!

Hi everyone, I finished the book by the second week of january, and I was at a complete loss of words to describe how much I loved it and how much it impacted me, which is why it took me over a month to finally come here to dissect it. Of course I knew I would love it, since Armand is my favorite character from the Vampire Chronicles, but I wasn't at all ready for the absolute banger of a book his memoir is.

Please note I originally wrote this in portuguese and then translated it to english with DeepL, mainly because I could barely form thoughts in my mother language already and just wouldn't be able to rewrite it in english at all. I revised it, but beware it might still have some weird wording and grammar. Sorry for that!

This sixth book in the Vampire Chronicles was a divine gift from Anne Rice to all of us Armand Lovers. "The Vampire Armand" tells, in much more detail, the brief story we had known in "The Vampire Lestat", now through the mouth of Armand himself, who takes us from his childhood abduction to the point where we left him in "Memnoch the Demon". And I have to say, it's no wonder he's like that.

Armand has always been very intriguing to me, ever since, back in Interview with the Vampire, he was just this mysterious, manipulative figure who fell for Louis' charms and was willing to do whatever it took to have him all to himself. But even so, he wasn't much more than that to me, just another vampire trying to use Louis for his own interests.

It was in Vampire Lestat that I fell completely in love with this character and that he earned the title of my favorite of the Chronicles. The contrast between the first time Louis sees Armand in the theater and the first time Lestat sees Armand in the church left me completely confused, after all, how can the guy Louis repeatedly describes as stunning be as wrecked as Lestat describes? What happened to get from one extreme to the other? And of course we find out the answer in the part dedicated to Armand's story in the second book, and of course that chapter solidified him on my list of favorites.

But it's very different to have read Armand's story through Lestat's eyes and now to be reading it through Armand's. In fact, I think that's the great strength of "The Vampire Armand". In all the previous books, all Armand's appearances were described through someone else's eyes (be it Louis, Daniel or Lestat), and that was largely the reason why he remained so mysterious in my eyes. But it's almost impossible to maintain that kind of distance in this sixth book, when everything is told in such a personal, vulnerable way, so close to Armand. He finally speaks for himself and we can finally understand him more deeply.

Of course, this characteristic of the book makes it a story much more linked to the characters than to a plot per se. In other words, the point of this book isn't the crazy twists and turns or headlong adventures we're used to in previous volumes of the Chronicles. The point is Armand and his life story, it's about his relationships over the years, about all the things he's been forced to go through, about his relationship with religion and about what could have led him to do what he did towards the end of Memnoch. There are certain parts that can be tiresome and also some that give the impression of being the same thing in two different places. In addition, this book is the one with the most sexual content of all its predecessors (yes, including The Tale of the Body Thief and Memnoch, trust me!) and also has a strong religious content (but which, in my opinion, has much more of a place than it did in Memnoch. To be honest, I have very strong opinions about Memnoch, but we'll talk about that another time), all of which may put some readers off. But I have to say, and perhaps I'm kinda biased, that all these elements enriched the book for me and are some of the many reasons why I loved it so much.

If I had to summarize this book in two elements, they would be: Christian guilt and the eternal search for love. Assad Zaman, the actor who plays Armand in the AMC series, said in an interview that Armand was simply desperate for love, to love and be loved, and it's the purest truth. Throughout his story, the search for love was defining, and not just any love, but a deep, obsessed, devotional love. Andrei finds this love in Jesus Christ and the Orthodox Church, Amadeo finds this love with Marius and the other apprentices in Venice, Armand is completely tormented precisely because he can't find this love anywhere for most of his life. He needs something to devote himself to completely, which is sad in itself, but is even worse when I remember that, for most of his 500-year long life, he has been lost in this aspect.

As for the question of Christian guilt, I have to say that it actually goes a little further than this concept can illustrate. Vampire Armand's religiosity is central to the plot because it's one of the main dilemmas in his life and, surprisingly, it's one of the most beautiful things in the book for me. I have very strong opinions about Memnoch and Anne Rice's decision to include religiosity like that in the series, but I simply love its place in Vampire Armand. Maybe that's it, after all: that religion has a place in this story, unlike in the previous book.

Andrei grew up as an Orthodox Christian and, as soon as his artistic gifts were discovered, he was taken to live in the monastery, where the concept of religiosity was intrinsically linked to suffering, self-denial, absolute devotion at the expense of one's own well-being. And then he is kidnapped and not only taken to a land full of sin, but forced to live in the very passage to hell. Of course, all this until he is rescued by Marius, at which point Andrei becomes Amadeo and is introduced to a new religious philosophy. It's so obvious that this is a breaking point, on some level, with previous beliefs that in the rescue scene Amadeo believes that Marius is Jesus Christ himself who has come to save him (which is indicative, in a way, of how in this part of his life the god that Amadeo worships is Marius, his master).

As Amadeo, he discovers a life full of love and pleasure, contrary to everything he experienced in the monastery. And I'm not just talking about sexual pleasure, which was a big part of this change, but all the others. The pleasure of dressing luxuriously and buying whatever you want, of being able to eat and drink to your heart's content, of consuming lots and lots of art freely, of being able to study philosophers from the past and a million other things and, of course, eventually, of blood and death.

It's very interesting to see this dichotomy of philosophies in Armand's life, and how he seems to reconcile the two after his visit to Kiev, when he's already a vampire. And my God, what a shattering chapter Kiev was! Definitely my favorite part of the book, I don't think even the iconic "if I'm an angel, paint me with black wings" (yes, go on Edgylord…) can overcome how much I love Kiev. Knowing what happened to Andrei's family, his reunion with his father, the part where he goes back to the monastery, my God, unparalleled!!! But, in fact, the best part of it all is Amadeo finally being able to make peace with this part of his past and finding some balance between everything he learned at the Monastery and everything he learned from Marius.

Unfortunately, theres only so far happiness can go, because then itcomes misfortune. And misfortune comes in the form of the Children of Darkness who literally set fire to everything, including Marius. And then, once again, Amadeo is kidnapped from his home and forced to live against his own principles. He is tortured, forced to starve, forced to watch all the other apprentices being burned alive, forced to feed on Riccardo who was very dear to him and, finally, forced to accept a life so similar to the one he rejected. This is the birth of Armand.

It's also very interesting how the doctrine of the Children of Darkness mirrors the Orthodox doctrine of the Kiev Monastery: self-denial in servitude to the Lord, an extremely rigid doctrine, literally burying oneself alive and living underground. Just another christianity-based cult, right? And, despite having sworn to himself shortly before that he would never surrender to such a life, Armand "converts". Very sad, but not surprising, considering that throughout the book he has been conflicted between these two sides and now one of them is gone forever. Marius is gone, the apprentices are gone, Venice is gone. Armand has nothing left to cling to, only what is forced upon him.

And so we come to the Bridge of Sighs. It's centuries of being brainwashed by this cult, believing that this life was what he deserved, that this was what it meant to be a vampire, until Lestat finally arrives and ends it all. Of course, the cult ending doesn't mean that Armand has finally found himself because, as we know from all the previous books, the poor guy is still in deep shit (and committing atrocities, of course). There's the theater, then Louis, then Daniel, but nothing really seems to fulfill him (even though he loved Louis and Daniel.By the way, poor Daniel oh my god). It's no wonder that, at the first sight of proof of the existence of God in Memnoch, Armand immediately wants to sacrifice himself, after all, even after all this time, religion is still the only thing he "has".

Anyway, after all this, we finally arrive where we left off in the previous book and understand how Armand survived. Benji and Sybelle are perfect, sweethearts, babydarlings and I've never been so happy to see Armand with his little family (and I've never wanted to beat Marius up as much as I did in the last chapter of this book). The scene in the chapel is wonderful and shows me how much Armand and Lestat love each other even though they hate each other, which is also clear from the many times Armand mentions Lestat in the book, always with affection and admiration. Very frenemies of them <3. Btw, just let me say this: it's really funny that people were shocked when Lestat let Armand get close to him and DRINK his blood, when he hadn't let anyone else. That's the thing, I don't even think it was because it was Armand, I honestly think that if any of them (Marius, Louis, Gabrielle) had tried, Lestat would have let them too, but nobody dared after he destroyed a vampire who tried. Maybe he just didn't want a complete stranger trying to take advantage of him while he was in a coma…? Ouch, but anyway, another Lesmand moment for our happiness.

I'm genuinely curious to know what direction Armand will take now, after an obvious rejection from Jesus Christ himself. If this had happened at any other time in his life, I'd be sure that Armand would have completely lost his mind and all meaning in life, but I doubt that this will happen now that he has his children (in whom he has finally found a healthy love). So, I'm left wondering how he's going to cope with everything and I'm waiting for my answers in the next books, even though I know he'll appear again from time to time.

This is definitely my favorite of the Vampire Chronicles and I'm so glad I finally read it!

#the vampire armand #the vampire chronicles #gia reads #books of 2024 #jan 2024 #bookblr #readerblr #readers of tumblr #he is everything to me #i would lay my life for him #and he would let me #he is the absolute worst and he has all the right to be #armandinho #btw didnt talk much about marius in this one #im saving it for when i read blood and gold #i do love him i do #problematic fave

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bigcats-birds-and-books · 18 days

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Books of 2024: THE GREAT CITIES DUOLOGY by N. K. Jemisin.

#books #books of 2024 #the great cities duology #the city we became #the world we make #nk jemisin #book photography #my photography #i SO MUCH LOVE jemisin and i'm SO EXCITED to read these!!#fifth season was world changing for me (especially on the POV front)#i own everything she's written but unfortunately i started collecting them in paperback #and now i am Trapped In Paperback lol #so i had to wait a while for book 2 to come out in paperback #and i KNOW i annihilate her series so i wanted to have them all in hand when i started the first one #but yeah i preordered the first one and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since XD #the springboard here is kaiju preservation society started and ended in NYC and had eldritch sized monster creachers #this is ALSO NYC and eldritchy monsters lmao #*I've Connected The Dots*#i do like threading my TBR for some flow/continuity #(also as a weird aside: i need to read these soon because they have to fit on This Shelf of ~Read This Year~)#(because they're too tall to fit on the next shelf down of ~Read This Year~)#space is a little tight rn lmaooo

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maryannmackey · 3 months

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'But what about the history?' I heard myself say aloud. 'What kind of god would be happy with seeing hundreds of thousands of people expelled from their homes?'

'Rachel!' said Miriam angrily.

She had her pointer finger in her mouth and was biting her nail. I noticed that her thumbnail and ring finger were bitten too, up past the skin. When had she started biting her nails?

It dawned on me then that Miriam might not know how the Palestinians had been expelled- that she might never have learned about it. I wasn't taught this in my Jewish education either.

Mr. Schwebel met my eyes. It seemed he was aware of what I was talking about. Then he looked back down at his plate quickly again and put his fork into a tender piece of beef.

'There's something that the Palestinians call the Nakba,' I said. 'It refers to when they were driven from their homes into exile- when Israel became a state. It sort of puts a different perspective on Israeli independence. I mean, I was taught that the Palestinians went to war with us. But I don't think that's true. If you're kicked out of your home, I don't think you're going to war if you retaliate. You're just defending your home.'

There was silence at the table. Adiv got up and went to the bathroom. Miriam was still chewing on her pointer fingernail. I wondered if I had somehow transmitted the habit to her, if she'd caught it from me.

'That isn't true,' said Mrs. Schwebel. 'I don't know where you got that information, but it's wrong.'

I'd never been a good debater, and I could not point to one place where I'd gotten my information. The Internet, mostly. Students for a Free Palestine. Arguments between stoned people at college parties. Half an audiobook called Disputed Yesterdays: the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Made Simple.

'What part?' I asked. 'That they didn't live there first? That they weren't kicked off their land? That when someone attempts to reclaim what belongs to them, it's not an attack but a defense?'

'All of it,' she said. 'The land belonged to Britain. It didn't belong to anyone else. It did not belong to the Palestinians any more than it belonged to the Christians who lived there. The British gave it to us. It was given as reparation for the Holocaust, because we had nowhere else to go and we should never have nowhere to go again.'

'But there were Palestinians living there,' I said.

'So they were relocated,' said Mrs. Schwebel. 'So what? That's history. It's just how it is.'

'Is it?' I asked.

-Milk Fed, Melissa Border

#Books of 2024 #Book One #Milk Fed #Melissa Broder

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the-chelseahotel · 4 months

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Books read in 2024

Six of crows (04/01/24) (4/5)

Crooked kingdom (07/01/24) (4/5)

#THAT ENDING #I loved how it all came together and got revealed at the end #on to crooked kingdom!#books #reading #books of 2024

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electricalsheep · 4 months

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did this 2 years ago w @kozirog to great success, so wanting to try again for 2024. behold, 10 books i plan to read over the course of the year:

#a couple of these are for work purposes #(no one reads disjointed for fun)#books of 2024 #jac overshares on the internet

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b-oredzoi · 23 days

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Books I read in 2024: Under This Red Rock by Mindy Mcginnis

(Come in under the shadow of this red rock), And I will show you something different from either...

I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

#MINDY MCGINNIS YOU ARE A STAR TO ME #under this red rock #bookblr #moodboard #litedit #litblr #ya reads #book moodboard #books of 2024 #mindy mcginnis

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greenconverses · 3 months

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Recently read: And it's time to start another year of reading wrap-ups! I set my goal to 80 again for the year and have decided to start book journaling, so maybe I'll have more insight for you this time around other than "I liked it! Next!"

No Way Down: Life and Death On K2 by Graham Bowley was a super engaging audiobook - I think I finished it within two days because it was so interesting! While I liked it, the writing just didn't engage me like other mountaineering books have, so it gets a slightly lower score. I've watched documentaries about the 2008 K2 disaster, so not a lot of information in here was super new to me, but if this is your first time hearing about it, it'll be a thorough read/listen. (★★★.75)

Duke Most Wanted was a flop. I thought the other two books in this series were fun, if simple, romances, but this one just bored me to death. Did not buy the romance or the hero's turnaround from being a drunk reprobate in a few weeks. Also, Lenora Bell really likes using (and overusing) similes and metaphors related to her heroine's passion/interest, and it became pretty obnoxious in this book. (★★)

I really wanted to like The Duchess Takes a Husband more than I did because Harper St. George is one of my favorite new historical romance authors, but some of the magic was lacking in this book as compared to the other three in the series. I liked the leads, but their romances could've used some more development. (★★★.5)

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune gets a star because of ACoop's audiobook narration, but this wasn't as strong as his Vanderbilt book. It's not a particularly thorough history of the Astor family and it becomes more about their legacy and cultural impact in later chapters, but I think it's a good intro to New York and the Gilded Age. (★★★.5)

Finally broke down and got new Kate Bateman books! A Wicked Game was simply fun. Loved the characters and the writing style; Bateman knows how to write effective and delightful banter! I finished this while high on various pain meds (whee root canal) so I might need to do a re-read to properly appreciate the final third, but I was very satsified overall. (★★★★)

Please welcome A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch to the top of my DNF pile for the year! God, what an insipid piece of nonsense this was. I was hoping this would maybe course correct the issues I had with the first Glimmer Falls book because we'd be dealing with the dastardly villain and the angry best friend getting paired up... but no! I should have quit this book the second said angry best friend slammed some harassing dude's head into the bar 20 or so pages in (proportional response! learn it!) but instead I toughed it out to about 40% where everyone got into a bar fight for ~fun~ and decided NO MORE. Stop giving me shitty paranormal romances with weird, half-baked acceptance politics storylines that you have to spell out like your readers are five my god. (★)

#books of 2024 #currently reading #romance novels #audiobooks

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