Book blog #338: Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

 

Title: Solutions and Other Problems

Author: Allie Brosh

# of Pages: 513 (hardback)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Adult, Autobiography

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.

Review: I wanted to like this book, but I just didn't enjoy it.

This is something I picked up on a whim - I haven't read Brosh's first book, Hyperbole and a Half, nor have I heard of these books before. I was picking up a different non-fiction book from the library and saw this on a recently-returned cart, standing out amongst all the boring travel guides. The book blurb was simply "this is a book," which was hilarious enough for me to check it out without further investigation. 

Despite the thickness of the book, it's a very quick read due to it being mostly pictures. I was able to complete it in one sitting, although it felt like much longer than it should have taken had I enjoyed it. Brosh claims that this book, much like life, has no point. This is mostly correct - this book is a stream of consciousness loosely tied to loneliness and death. The lack of focus would be fine if not for two things: I was not entertained and hearing about these random thoughts/experiences felt like a waste of time. 

Reminiscent of Diary of the Wimpy Kid or Dear Dumb Diary, this book might have been more appealing to a younger audience. The lack of focus here (and lack of substantial things HAPPENING on this book at all) is what makes it struggle to be a successful book. I can imagine this being a webtoon or some brainless content to doomscroll through, but not something worth the effort to sit down and "read." 

Book Blog #337: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title: Iron Flame

Author: Rebecca Yarros

# of Pages: 895 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky. Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves. Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules. But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year. Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

Review: Much better balance of fantasy elements and romance than in the first book. HOWEVER, there are some gaps in the story that don't get addressed (and reading through the Goodreads Questions for this book shows that some things go unexplained by the end of the book). 

One critical point from the Fourth Wing is that Violet must live for Xaden to live - this is reiterated repeated. However, at one point in this book, that notion seems to be forgotten. There's also a returning character who's actions and presence at Basgiath don't make sense...but I bet (and hope) that Yarros will make something up to justify what's happening in this book. 

Overall the writing is still sloppy, but there's enough world building and attachment to characters to have a successful series going here. Iron Flame could have actually been broken up into two books since the first half and the second half are so different (but the first half dragged on longer than necessary). 

This series is strangely addictive - despite it's flaws, I'll consider reading the third book in the series when it comes out. If you enjoyed first book, you'll likely enjoy the second book. 

Book blog #336: Spare by Prince Harry

 

Title: Spare

Author: Prince Harry

# of Pages / Duration: 16 hours (audiobook)

Genre: Non-fiction, Autobiography

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is that story at last. Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight. At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love. Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

Review: Defensive, whiney, entitled. 

Gave this one a listen at 1.25x speed since I knew I wouldn't be able to get through a book about public figure I'm not interested in without their story being forced into my brain. 

I would rather him plainly tell his story from his perspective. Instead, Prince Harry tells his story through clickbait headlines and tries to argue against them. As someone who only knows a bit about the Royal Family from pop culture (and takes tabloid headlines with a grain of salt), most of the articles he mentions I've never even heard of (or if I have, it's from one of the many interview he and Meg have done). 

Normal people don’t worry about how history will remember them - they worry about whether they’ll be remembered at all. Prince Harry is still thinking like a royal, and it shows in this book. Instead of worrying about his own life, Prince Harry cares a lot about how he's perceived and will be perceived in history. 

Unlike Jennette McCurdy's stunning book last year (another celebrity who's life I don't pay much attention to), Prince Harry's life is pretty boring. The part that touched me the most was when he talks about losing his mother and being in denial - it felt like he was speaking from the heart and sharing HIS experience rather than sharing how he was influenced by others (paparazzi or otherwise). The rest of the book goes over mostly his experience in the military which is incredibly dry. It also open up more opportunities to complain how his life was negatively affected. This includes a section about how his penis got frostbite - while amusing it doesn't tell me much about Prince Harry other than he had a bad experience and wants the reader to feel sorry for him. 

Even if you're a Royal family drama fan, I do not recommend this book. Just watch their interviews to get the highlights if you're curious. 

Book Blog #335: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

 

Title: Fourth Wing

Author: Rebecca Yarros

# of Pages: 498 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Review: This one lands somewhere between 2 and 3 stars.

The story is told in first person from Violet's POV, but there is a single first person POV switch that is completely unnecessary. 2 stars.

This book is the 2023 Romantasy winner, where Romantasy is a genre where the romance and fantasy are equally important. The romance seemed to be more of a focus as the fantasy world build was quite mediocre. I'm used to fantasy and sci-fi to have gaps - some "traditions" in the world the author builds sometimes don't quite make sense. There were too many instances of this in the Basigiath War College world. 2 stars.

Take a shot anytime a character raises an eyebrow. 2 stars. 

Violet's character development is sloppy. Is the reader suppose to imagine she's a frail book worm? Or is she a strong, sassy woman who is somehow skilled with a knife? Yarros tries to lean into the stereotypes while also writing Violet's character in whatever way best fits the scene, even if it's inconsistent with the character's growth. 2 stars.

The romance is written like a chick-lit. The love triangle was predictable, and there's a considerable focus on how horny the characters are. Some of the lines the characters say are so cringe that I was laughing out loud to soothe the pain. 2 stars.

But I can still be a sucker for a poorly written chick lit. 3 stars. 

I was actually pretty interested in what was going to happen next. Even though the reader can predict the romantic outcomes, Yarros does a good job at keeping the reader on their toes on when the romantic outcomes will finally happen. Easy romance isn't good romance, so Yarros employs plenty of challenges (even if they're problems seem a bit forces) to keep things interesting. 3 stars. 

Despite being on the longer side, it's a pretty quick read (took me <1 week with mini reading session most days). When I wasn't reading it, I found myself excited to go home and pick it up again. 4 stars. 

I wouldn't recommend this book in a hurry, and there's a lot of room for improvement. That being said, I might still read the second book in the series (this one ends on a cliff hanger, as many books of a planned series do).