Notice: Blogging Hiatus through 12/15/20

Taking a Break:

Hiatus on Blogging through December 15

Hello,

Firstly, thank you to everyone who stops by my blog. I know that I have followers, but I'm also thanking all those people just pass by or look for specific posts or reviews. Never in a million years could I have imagined being able to share my thoughts about something I am so passionate about and have people share in those thoughts. So truly, thank you.

Secondly, I want to let you all know that I will not be updating my blog through the middle of December. I know I haven't posted here in a long time, so I probably should have done this sooner, and there have been long stretches in the past when I should have made an announcement like this, but I felt the need to let you all know that I'm not done with the blog, I'm just taking a break. Why? The short version is, I'm too stressed and I don't have time. So if that's all you need in the explanation, cool, love you (lowkey as a reader I'd probably be you), there it is. The rest of this is just going to be more in-depth reasoning. 

For one thing, I'm still in school and this semester is b r u t a l. I had another semester sort of like this about three years ago, but even that was different. Three years ago I was so stressed because I was taking the hardest classes for my major on top of working 3-4 jobs/positions. Insanity. This semester, I am working only one job, but I also have a clinic and research positions on top of a full credit load. And I have to factor in a commute time where I'm driving 20-25 minutes one way. Plus, yet again on top of that all, one of the classes is incredibly stressful for me in a way I have never had to deal with before. So there's just a whole bunch of new and usual things I'm learning to deal with in addition to studying and being a good student.

I'm also going to throw in the pandemic, because there are "little" things like needing to go grocery shopping for family that simply take up time. And by no means am I complaining about doing that -- they're my family, I love them and want them safe --  but it's just a fact of reality at this point and I need to acknowledge it. I have different responsibilities and concerns now that affect my behaviour and mental health.

And then there's my basic physical health. I really, really, want to start taking better physical care of myself, so I've been trying to at least go outside if not work out once a day. And I'm okay at doing that. There are still days when I literally go from a 6am wake up to a 9pm finish with only taking breaks to go to the bathroom. Yeah-- that crazy and I'm not exaggerating either. But with that, on the days I do have a "spare" hour or so, I want to make sure I am keeping myself in the best health condition that I can. 

To look at my schedule as a whole, I have worked nearly every day including weekends since the middle of September (I took a Friday off in early October). And I'm still, objectively speaking, behind on my work. It is absolute madness and I felt like I needed to release something just to give me more breathing room. Blogging is, unfortunately, the only real viable option at this point.

"But it's only blogging." I really don't think any of you would say that, but just in case, it's not "only blogging." On average, I spend between an hour and a half to just over two hours writing and editing a book review, and that's after I have read the book and seriously considered it's merits, my potential biases, and the key pieces I want to highlight. And I love doing this! It's why I started posting my reviews online! But the reality is that it takes me awhile to do this. I don't ever want to just post a random review to get it out of the way. Even when I get books for free from publishers, I don't ever just blow through a review because it's an expectation. I make sure I take the time to do it properly. 

Will I still be reading? Yes, for sure. Reading is part of my stress management because I can disengage from the world and give my body a break from the anxiety. That being said, I don't even want to know how behind I am on my reading challenge and I'll probably revert to reading only my absolute favorites for stress-reading. For example, I'm rereading the Lux series right now (Jennifer Armentrout) because it fits the bill perfectly. I've read it a bajillion times before and I'll likely read it a bajillion more times in the future. The only down side to this is that I had so many books I was really looking forward to reading that I now will be pushing back to make sure I can completely enjoy them. 

 

I love blogging and I love reading. Going on hiatus right now is just as much to protect my love for those things as it is to give myself more time and stress-relief. I hope you all understand and I am already looking forward to the middle of December when I'll be posting again. :) 

Best wishes,

All I Need Are Books and Tea

Thanks for reading!

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe REVIEW

 A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

3.40 out of 5 Stars

***Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!***

 

Honestly, this review is going to be a little hard to write, just because there's a giant boulder of something I didn't like sitting in the middle of a beautiful setting full of everything this book did wonderfully, and I'm not sure how to handle it. As a whole, A Golden Fury was an excellently written, original take on a concept that I personally haven't come across since my baby Harry Potter days. With a backdrop of late eighteenth century revolution, we follow Thea as she studies alchemy and the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. The story starts in France but quickly moves to mostly take place in England after Thea's mother goes mad from the Stone's curse.

 

I loved the writing. I was fine with the historical backdrop really just being a backdrop and nothing more. I really enjoyed the alchemy and the development of the Stone. My biggest, biggest issue was with Thea herself, which is unfortunate. She was, for lack of a better description, a weak character. And not in development, but truly in her character. And without getting into too much detail so I don't spoil anything at this point, it was doubly frustrating because there is a great opportunity for contrast between strong-as-in-independent and strong-as-in-arrogant-and-overbearing, but the opportunity was missed. 

 

SPOILERS

PLOT

As far as fantasies go, I really really loved this plot! At first, I was a little hesitant with the whole "Philosopher's Stone" thing, but it ended up being really refreshing. I think my main concern was that the story would be a typical quest for eternal life, but it really was about intellectual achievement, which made the story all the more refreshing. Even better was the twisted turn the story took with how the madness was a result of the Stone feeding off the minds of the other alchemists. It was so cool in a sort of creepy way how the Stone was a sentient being, parasitical in nature. It was so interesting, I wish he had more depth of that portion of the plot. Very quickly, we move from Thea finding out the Stone is consuming the minds of Dominic and her mother (along with all the others) to Thea willing to drown and die so that the Stone is killed as well. I would've loved to see more of that, not just because I think it would have drawn out the ending more, but because it was just so, so interesting.

CHARACTERS

So, A Golden Fury was... good. But here's the thing, I pretty much only had issues with the main character, and while that might seem like a pretty good position for a review, books in this situation are the most frustrating and borderline-infuriating thing ever. Like, it's so close to being excellent. It's just the main character of the story is maddening and that's kind of a big ******* deal. And while Thea was only slightly annoying in the beginning (her pining after Will did not make sense to me), she was distractedly annoying by the end of the book. As I thought about it -- because I typically try to give a lot of leeway to allow characters to grow over the course of their book -- I realized I was so annoyed because Thea is just as unhealthily dependent on outside emotional attachment at the end of the book as she is in the beginning. Let's delve into this a bit deeper:

I'm not saying she should be like her mother because let's be real, her mother is wack. A great character, but her disdain for any compassion, sympathy, empathy... emotion in general... is bad for any person. But while Thea shouldn't be like her mother, I thought she was trying to cling too tightly to the idea of acceptance by someone else as opposed to accepting herself by herself. Thea is a brilliant alchemist, achieves the greatest scientific feat of all time, etc., but so often, she is so passive, reaching for approval or support from the men around her. It does make sense to some degree. Growing up, she was surrounded, really, by only her robotic mother, which means she's probably starved for attention and affection. However, I don't believe becoming the stark opposite of her mother is the solution, but this is the development portrayed in the book. I would have rather seen Thea learn to find a balance between learning how to have relationships with the people around her and knowing her own value and worth herself outside of what other people can give her. Even at the end, the only plan we see her form is to follow her father back to Oxford. And it's him that's spitballing potential studies for her while she just sort of sits there and agrees with him. *sigh*

Outside of Thea, I thought the characters were pretty good. They weren't extraordinary, but they weren't completely flat either. There was just enough depth to each of them to balance the story on the edge between basic simple storytelling and heart-gripping engagement. Could they have been deeper and more complex? Yes. Did they have to be to improve the story? Eh? I don't really think so.

Also, last random note on characters- I loved Valentin. I know he's like, "one of the bad guys," but is he really? He was one of the most interesting and in-depth characters of the entire book I thought. I was so curious about his background, his morals, his actions and motivations. At one point, I was lowkey rooting for him and Thea to be a thing, but there wasn't really much romance in the book at all besides Thea's pining for Will.

WRITING

The writing was also really impressive. Even though the book was over 300 pages, I completely flew through it. It was captivating and just descriptive enough to give me a full picture of the world of the story without stopping the pacing or slowing it down. With that, if you're looking for a fully engrossing fantasy, this would not be the book for you. If you're looking for a quick dip into a fantastical, magical realism world, this book is spot on.

A Golden Fury: a good first book. For me, one of the best things about reading this was that while I was annoyed with Thea, I really enjoyed the novelty of the plot and the way the author writes, so I'm looking forward to her futures works because I think as her complexity and skills as a writer grow, her characters and depth will grow as well. And the writing style is already there, so huge win on that front!

Thanks for reading!

 

Last of 2020 Anticipated Releases

 End of the Year Releases!

Somehow, it is already October, which means there are only a handful of months left for new books to come out this year. Here are the ones that I am really looking forward to!!! (There's a lot, and there's a ****ton in October.)

OCTOBER

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo

A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe

All About Us by Tom Ellen

Come On In by Adi Alsaid (editor)

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston

The Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

Magic Dark and Strange by Kelly Powell

Nemesis and the Swan by Lindsay K. Bandy

NOVEMBER

A Curse of Ash and Ember by Jo Spurrier

The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar

I Would Leave Me if I Could by Halsey

One Life by Megan Rapinoe

Soulswift by Megan Bannen

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

DECEMBER

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams

The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn

The Chanel Sisters by Judithe Little

Thanks for reading!

(Also, apologies for the boring no-images post. I'm finding the new blogger update hard to use and I'll probably be switching platforms soon.)