Heart Full of Ink

December-January Book Haul

Summary of The Walled City by Rachel Graudin

Review

What: It’s an opportunity for writers! Every two months, Alyssa at The Devil Orders Takeout and Emily at The Loony Literate post a prompt or question for you to share a snippet of less than 500 words. It’s designed to let you have fun, analyse your work on a smaller level, or just write something to join in. 


This month's themes:

A snippet from page 16

A snippet of 16 or fewer words

A snippet about something new

New Year's Resolutions

Reading Goal #1: I will read 35 books by Dec. 31st, 2016.

Reading Goal #2: I will read 4 nonfiction books by Dec. 31st, 2016.

Writing Goals

Writing Goal #1: Write 50,000 words of Cursed by June 30th, 2016.

Writing Goal #2: Write 50,000+ words of a novel by July 31st, 2016.

The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

First off, thank you to Alyssa at The Devil Orders Takeout for the tag! Check out her blog for her answers.

Secondly, I found it difficult to find books for some of these "hate" prompts because, usually, if I don't like a book or a character, I won't finish the book. So, I felt it wouldn't be fair to include a book in this post which I haven't finished.

Now, on to my unpopular opinions!

1. A popular book or series you didn't like



The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

 All of the characters are selfish, self-centered and pretty much do not have any redeeming qualities. Why am I supposed to care about what happens to them? The Great Gatsby started off as a short story, and in my opinion, it should've stayed that way. I can handle reading a short story about awful people, but an entire book about them? No thanks.

2. A popular book/series everybody hates but you love


I don't know how many people "hate" Sarah Dessen books, but a colleague of mine did say Sarah Dessen books are bad and do the same thing over and over again. I respectfully disagree. I have a soft spot for Sarah Dessen books.

3. A love triangle where you didn't like who the main character ended up with


The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare.

I love The Infernal Devices books and think the love triangle is much better than the one in The Mortal Instruments series, but I think Clare took the chicken way out of the love triangle in The Infernal Devices.

4. A popular genre you hardly read

Contemporary Fiction. I'm more of a fantasy and paranormal type of gal, and I think I always will be.

5. A popular/beloved character you hate

I thought long and hard about this one, but I honestly couldn't think of a character everyone loves that I hate. As I said before, if I don't like a character, especially if it's the main character, I won't finish reading the book. All other characters that people like, I generally like as well.

6. A popular author you can't seem to get into



Alexandre Dumas. I bought a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo in Edinburgh over three years ago, and I have yet to get past the first chapter. I've heard people rave about The Count of Monte Cristo, but I just can't get into it. I do like classics, but I couldn't get into this story.

7. A popular trope you're tired of reading

Two words: love triangles. While Twilight didn't invent the idea of a love triangle, it certainly seemed to spark the flood of love triangles in which YA books are currently drowning. "Are you Team Boy A or Team Boy B?" I am pretty sick of books in which a female protagonist has to choose between two boys. Attention YA Authors: There are more obstacles to love besides having two boys competing for your love. Let's start writing about those instead. You can find a list of obstacles to love here.

8. A popular series you have no interest in reading



A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice) series by George R. R. Martin

I read the first book and have no interest in reading the rest. George R. R. Martin's writing style doesn't float my boat. First, he spends way too much time on descriptions. Second, the book is told from multiple characters' points of views. Normally, I don't mind a story being told through different characters, but I was only interested in one or two of the characters' story lines and didn't really care about what was happening during the other characters' viewpoints. I couldn't care less about Jon Snow and the Wall storyline. Also, I found it annoying that Martin described a battle from one character's viewpoint and in the next chapter described the exact same battle from another character's viewpoint. The second description of the battle was completely unnecessary in my opinion. No real new information was revealed in the second chapter.

9. A movie you liked better than the book.



Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Sorry, Neil Gaiman. I love your books, but for some reason I liked the movie better than the book.

I tag S J Bouquet, Tash, B K Rivers, Aentee, and anyone else who feels so inclined.

Do you agree with my choices? Share some of your unpopular opinions in the comments below!

Summary of Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

It's 1943 and a British plane has just crash landed in Nazi occupied France. Both the pilot and the passenger, a female British spy, are best friends. When "Verity" is captured by the Gestapo, she is given two choices: reveal her mission or be executed. As she confesses her mission, Verity starts at the very beginning, detailing her past and how she came to be friends with the pilot Maddie. Verity will tell the Gestapo anything they want to know, but will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

Review

Have you ever read a book that was so well written, so masterfully plotted that when you finish reading it, you sit in a dazed stupor? That is exactly how I felt at the end of Code Name Verity. The two female main characters develop beautifully throughout the story and the plot twists in this book will play some serious mind games on you.

I haven't read much historical fiction, but what drew me to this book was the fact that it focuses on people history often overlooks. For hundreds and hundreds of years, women were ignored by history. Their stories weren't deemed worthy of being recorded. So, when I saw this book was about a female pilot and a female spy, I knew I had to read it. Before reading this book, I didn't even know there were female pilots during World War II! Elizabeth Wein definitely did her research. 

Wein also created strong female heroines who were strong in different ways. Maddie, a pilot, holds her own in a male dominated profession, while Verity's confidence in herself helps save lives and makes her an excellent spy.  The story of these two courageous young women encourages women to follow their passion even if the job isn't "normal" for a woman to do and tells them confidence is something to be celebrated. The friendship which blossoms between these two strong young women is natural and heartwarming. I also loved the fact that friendship is the main focus in this story. After reading so many YA books where romance is the focus, it was a nice change of pace to read about Maddie and Verity's friendship.

I don't want to spoil any of the plot twists which make Code Name Verity such a rollercoaster of a read; however, I will say that it is the type of story that will stay with you for a very long time. If you're looking to read a historical fiction book with strong female characters and a plot that will have you second guessing everything you know, read Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. 

Summary of Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Lottie knows her boyfriend is going to propose to her. He's been dropping none too subtle hints, and she is so ready to be engaged. When it turns out his "big question" had nothing to do with marriage, Lottie is completely crushed, and her sister, Fliss, is afraid Lottie is going to make one of her "Unfortunate Choices" again like getting a tattoo or going abroad for a year. Unfortunately for Fliss, this time Lottie's "Unfortunate Choice" is to marry an old flame she hasn't seen for fifteen years. No dates, no moving in together, they'll just get married. Fliss thinks Lottie is making a big mistake and will do anything to stop her. Lottie, on the other hand, is determined to tie the knot for better or for worse.

Review

Wedding Night is the second book by Sophie Kinsella that I've read. The first was I've Got Your Number. Both books are hilarious romantic comedies with characters you can't help but like. If you are looking for a fun romance Sophie Kinsella's books are definitely for you.

What I loved so much about Wedding Night was that it is essentially a modern day version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Fliss is one part Elizabeth Bennet and two parts Emma Woodhouse. Her sister Lottie is basically Lydia Bennet. While Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite classics, I never really cared for Emma which is why I am surprised to find I enjoyed reading Wedding Night so much.

Kinsella has a truly remarkable ability to make me like characters I normally wouldn't. For example, Lottie is so desperate to get married and is so in love with the idea of marriage that she is blinded to what's actually important in life. Normally, I strongly dislike characters (and people in real life) like Lottie. They are vapid and are only concerned with appearances. However, Kinsella makes Lottie so unbelievably human and relatable that I couldn't help but see her side of the story. The "Unfortunate Choices" (planning to get a Masters degree, getting a tattoo, getting a drastic haircut, losing weight, reading more) Lottie makes after going through a breakup are so realistic. When something bad happens in our lives, and we feel like we have very little control over what's happening, it's natural to want to make a change. We're not happy with the way things are, so obviously we need a change. While I don't think I would ever go to the extreme of planning to marry someone without truly getting to know them first, like Lottie did, I can understand wanting to make a big change in your life to be happier. Lottie is a less annoying version of Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

Another Jane Austen character I never particularly liked was Emma Woodhouse. I found her poking her nose into other people's business distasteful, and I couldn't believe Knightley saw anything in her. In Wedding Night, Fliss shares a lot in common with Emma. She is constantly interfering in her sister's life, even going so far as to try to ruin Lottie's honeymoon so as to convince her to get an annulment. It is exactly the type of heavy-handed, cringeworthy action Emma would take. By rights, that means I should dislike Fliss as well, but I found the exact opposite to be true. I found myself rationalizing Fliss's actions by saying to myself "she just wants her sister to be happy."  It took another character pointing out to Fliss that it was Lottie's life, not hers, for me to realize I was buying into the Fliss/Emma crazy logic. I have been in similar situation as Fliss where a friend of mine was thinking of getting back together with her horrible ex-boyfriend who was emotionally abusive to her and basically made her life miserable. It is sorely tempting to want to stop someone from making what you think to be a horrible mistake. While I never went to the lengths Fliss goes to, I can definitely see why she does what she does. I applaud Kinsella for being able to make me relate to Fliss, something I never had been able to do with Emma.

Besides the well-rounded characters, Wedding Night is also chockfull of the normal romantic comedy shenanigans, misunderstandings, and grand declarations of love. It is the type of story which will make you laugh, shake your head, yell at the characters for being so stupid, and then make you believe that maybe there truly is someone out there for everyone. I stayed up way past my bedtime reading the book yet at the same time I didn't want it to end.