For this mini book review, I’ll be focusing on the following books
- The Gender Games by Bella Forrest
- Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven Bella Forrest
- Mrs Dalloway by Virgina Woolf
- Another Day by David Levithan
- Fledgling by Natasha S Brown
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Before I begin, let me tell you about the facebook group I started—Inclusive Readers Book Club. I noticed a lot of book groups can be quiet judgemental if you told them you read the story via an audiobook. Mostly, because they see the word ‘read’ and say that reading is through the phyical action of turning pages. The word is more complicated than that
Reading can actually mean consuming any text or art—whether that is written, performed, painted, spoken, etc—and extract meaning from it. So my group does not judge how you access text, whether that is audio, printed, screenreader, or some other form. It is a safe space. Everyone is welcome.
The Gender Games by Bella Forrest
Format: audiobook
I got this book YEARS ago because a friend did a presentation on it at uni. So I thought to try it and purchased it on audible. But I didn’t try it straight away… or a year later. It’s been about eight years. Well, this year, I thought to to try it and I can’t stand the narrator. At all. The voice was just too grating. for me (I’m fussy with my narrators).
Went to look for the ebook incase I like the story better when it’s not the narrator. Bella Forrest is in the middle of a lawsuit because the author is a penname and each book has a series of different authors working on them. The lawsuit is around copyright ownership. Without access to the ebook, I have decided to leave this as a DNF (Did Not Finish). I can’t rate it because I can’t actually know whether the book is good or not.
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven Bella Forrest
Format: Audiobook and ebook
This is another Bella Forrest book, but I’m guessing one that is not in the above lawsuit as I got the ebook from kobo plus. I remember—maybe eight years or so ago—the series was advertised daily as the next Harry Potter. As someone who grew up with Harry Potter, I did want to find something I could connect with on the same level. Like the Gender Games though, I never actually got down to listen to it until very recently.
Would I say it’s the next Harry Potter? No. Well, not unless you’re considering the video game where the main character joins hogwarts as a year five student. Because Harley is a mature student… and not really a student either. She’s taught how to use her powers and to get stronger but it’s not a school setting, it’s a convent that she must decide to join.
It has a powerful start but then it kind of gets lost for a bit and I also find it hard to believe people had no idea of her existance considering her family. Not in a rush to read the rest of the series but it was good to listen to when doing idle things.
Mrs Dalloway by Virgina Woolf
Format: Audiobook
I actually did like the narrator on this one. However, I just couldn’t get into the story. It felt a bit too dry for my liking. There didn’t seem to be much action. The characters were mostly talking heads or would say something had happened but you wouldn’t really see much happening.
Another Day by David Levithan
Format: Paperbook
I wanted this book because the first one, Every Day, is just so great. Romances aren’t usually my thing but I liked the romance in these two books. I think because it’s mostly about the character journey. Every Day focuses on a character who must experience a new life each day. Another day tells the story from the crush’s point of view.
I do feel staying in the same character did take some of the magic from the book out of it but at the same time I did like that we also get to see her views on her current relationship before A comes crashing in and changing things. Rhiannon grows as a character, and I don’t think her particular relationship is the worst but as she grows and he stays the same, they are no longer compatable.
I would like to see a story where her boyfriend also grows once he is out of his environment because I feel the mood he switches between is only because of his circumstances. He is angry at life due to his situation and this negatively impacts Rhiannon. Once he is old enough to leave, I see him being able to change. Which is interesting because Levitham doesn’t mention whether he can.
Rhiannon struggles with A switching bodies especially when A is in bodies she doesn’t find attractive, she’s confused, knowing she likes A but not the body A is in. The story questions whether appearance matters when it comes to feelings. This second book also removes the feeling of homophobia that I got from the first book. You see her rejection of A as a girl isn’t about not loving a girl but insecurities about her own beauty and not feeling worthy.
Fledgling by Natasha S Brown
Format: e-book
This was a did not finish for me. The book opened strong. I like YA books that open strong. But what turned me off was the introduction to the romance early on. Romance books are not my cup of tea unless the book has other overarching elements like fantasy. Early on, it is clear that the character is going to be in a love triangle, and not only that… the love felt too Twilightee.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved Twilight in its day, but not for the romance part. I loved it for the whole vampire thing, and later for the werewolf thing. I couldn’t care less if she ended up with Edward or Jacob. But because it gave the love triangle thing within the first 4% of the book, I just had to switch it off. If that sort of romance is for you, you might like this book but for me its a turn off.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Format: e-book
My friend, @sophieabel96, actually already reviewed this book, so I decided my one would be a mini review instead. I forgot how much I enjoyed Suzanne Collin’s writing. Immediately, I was thrown back into Panem and the Hunger Games as if I had never left it behind (last time I read any of the Hunger Games was about 14 years ago). It was great to see the change in Snow and also how the early games look.
I do feel that the ending slightly takes you out of the book. I get that he has paranoia at that point but still, I feel the forest scene is just missing a beat to make it more believable. I’m not sure what the beat it is missing is though. It doesn’t take you fully out of the book and you can somewhat see it happening but it’s the ‘see it happening’ feeling you get when you suspect there’s been things going on behind closed doors and you don’t have any proof but then you see the results after. So yh, there’s just a feeling something is missing in that particular part.
The rest of the book? Oh yh, absolutely no fault with it at all. I loved the characters. All of them. I could see the grandmother. I could see Dr. Volumnia Gau, the snakes, the songbirds. It’s vivid and I need to read Sunrise of the Reaping. I’ve been told that I have until the cinema release to read it 😉
I hope you enjoyed this mini book review. Do feel free to join my Book Club if you love books, it’s mini at the moment but hopefully we will grow together!
Shannon