Reading round up (67)

Reading round up is a weekly journal where I record my daily reading progress, my thoughts on each book as I read it, and any books I've acquired during the week.

23rd February

I read some pages of Crow Moon by Anna McKerrow. Maybe ten. I didn't even record how many because it was so little. I also read 12% of Blades of Magic by Terah Edun because I have no idea why. Today was just a really weird reading day.

24th February

Taking a break from whatever the heck yesterday was to read The Buried Life by Carrie Patel (42% read). It's SO COOL!! Has a fantasy vibe but it's really unique - I love the underground city and I love the characters even more. I'm super into Roman, who might turn out to be a psychopath but hey. 

25th February

I read 14% of The Buried Life. Not as much as I'd hoped to read because I was busy with other things but I like this book, even though it has fallen into a sort of lull in the last ten percent.

26th February

Sooo close to finishing The Buried Life. I'm at 92%.

27th February

Finished The Buried Life. FINALLY. This book felt really long, and slow, and hard to get through but I enjoyed the world and the characters. The second half was weaker than the first though.

I also started The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg (71% read) and I love everything about it. The magic is so fun, Emery is adorable, I love the historical tone of it, and the quest is SO COOL. I don't wanna put it down!

28th February

Finished The Paper Magician (29%) and it stayed strong and awesome the whole way through!! And the trip through Emery's heart? Never read a thing like it before! So so good and undeniably unique. I am really happy I read this. I also started the next book, The Glass Magician (28% read) and I'm loving it.

As well as this, I read Justice Calling by Annie Bellet (119 pages) which was too short to be any good. It did have a Native American protag, though, which was cool!

I ALSO started Smoulder by Brenna Yovanoff (pages) because I couldn't find an UF book on my shelves and this was as close as I got. I really want another great urban fantasy like Melissa Wright's Descendants series, but I haven't had much look. Smoulder isn't bad so far - pretty intriguing.

29th February

Finished The Glass Magician (72% read) and I loved it. This series is co cute and whimsical and original. I need the next book ASAP!

Books finished this week: 4
Books DNF'd this week: 0

Blood Bound | Rachel Vincent

Shadow Bound | Rachel Vincent

You know Rachel Vincent is my fave. These were on sale on Kindle and I had to have them

A Furious Muse | A J Nuest

Everlasting | Candace Knoebel

The first was an impulse download. The second is for my NA project. Both were free :)

The Buried Life

The Paper Magician (scheduled for March 3rd)

Justice Calling (scheduled for March 6th)

The Glass Magician (scheduled for March 13th)

The Buried Life (ARC Review)

Buried Life: The Buried Life | Carrie Patel

Published by: Angry Robot, March 3rd 2015

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Steampunk

Pages: 336

Format: Ebook

Source: Angry Robot, via Netgalley

The gaslight and shadows of the underground city of Recoletta hide secrets and lies. When Inspector Liesl Malone investigates the murder of a renowned historian, she finds herself stonewalled by the all-powerful Directorate of Preservation – Recoletta’s top-secret historical research facility. 
 
When a second high-profile murder threatens the very fabric of city society, Malone and her rookie partner Rafe Sundar must tread carefully, lest they fall victim to not only the criminals they seek, but the government which purports to protect them. Knowledge is power, and power must be preserved at all costs…

The Buried Life started off great. A well-crafted world, characters with depth and integrity, endless secrets, and a complex murder mystery. I was hooked.

I liked the first half better than the second, honestly. I loved the mystery around the murders, the build up, the investigation in the beginning. I started to lose interest around the middle, when the plot felt to lull, but I still really enjoyed the story. The characters aren't exactly easy to love but they're fascinating. They make you want to know more about them. I liked some more than others; Roman was my favourite - he's charming and secretive and intimidating. Plus he was a complete mystery and it drew me in.

The world is great - Recoletta is a vivid underground city with a touch of magic. I honestly loved the setting; it was probably my favourite part of the whole book, how unique the language used to describe it was, and how it created a clear visual in my mind.

My only problem was it felt to seriously slow around the halfway point and I wasn't as excited by it as I was in the beginning. Because of that it took me a while to read, which lessened by enjoyment. It felt like it had a hundred extra pages at least.

Still, a dark and gripping mystery with a rich and well imagined world.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★★☆

Writing ★★★☆☆