Dora Reads: historical fiction

Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts

Tuesday 6 December 2016

Month in Review(s) - November 2016

November; the month in which the USA decided to make the UK's stupid political choices look relatively intelligent in comparison.

All we did was leave the EU... maybe... with no real plans, and a strong sense that nobody WAS LISTENING TO THE INFO ABOUT WHAT THE F**K THEY WERE VOTING FOR.

America decided to go bigger, and elected Trump. *sighs*

Still, we are so, so, so sorry America. We did let Farage faff around your country spreading his toady hatred by campaigning for Trump.

He's now wrecked two countries and potentially the whole world - maybe we shouldn't have given that man a passport.

But, my dearest nerdlets - if you're scared, if you're feeling hurt or alone, please understand this: THERE ARE PEOPLE ACROSS THIS ENTIRE PLANET WHO LOVE YOU AND ARE THINKING OF YOU. I promise.

On the personal side of things, my depression hasn't been as bad as it was last month (woo!) so that's got to be a good thing.

And my blog hit over 45k pageviews, followed by over 50k pageviews in the early days of December!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But what about the books?

Well my nerdlets, here are the books I reviewed in November:

New Adult

Eyes of Persuasion by Adrienne Monson - Novella, Fantasy, Historical Fiction*, Crime*, Romance (M/F)* (*ish)

Adult

God Help the Child by Toni Morrison - contemporary, magic realism* (*ish)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin - classics (modern,) LGBTQ+ (M/M; M/F)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - LGBTQ+ (M/M; M/F,) Mythology, Historical Fiction*, Mythology*, Magic Realism* (*ish)

Graphic Novels

Who Killed Kurt Cobain?: The Story of Boddah by Nicolas Ortero - biography, contemporary, magic realism, non-fiction* (*ish)

Tuesday 29 November 2016

Review Time! - Eyes of Persuasion by Adrienne Monson

Title: Eyes of Persuasion

Author: Adrienne Monson

Genre: New Adult, Novella, Fantasy, Historical Fiction*, Crime*, Romance (M/F)* - (*ish )

Series: Blood Inheritance (#1.5)

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book from the author, Adrienne Monson, via The Review Chain in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Long story considerably shortened - I applied to review a different book of Adrienne Monson's via The Review Chain, and ended up with this one instead.

Just go with it - s'all good ;)

Premise:

Isabeau Maybrick has a lot of cr*p going on - not only does she have to marry some dude because her douche of an uncle is making her, she also has to make money on the side to pay off said douche-y uncle's gambling debts.

(Yes, before you ask - I've had coffee. Let's do this!)

Oh, and to cap it all off? Isabeau has a magic-y eye power which means she can persuade people to do stuff - but it's more than a little hit-and-miss.

Best bits:

This book is hugely enjoyable.

Like dude, it's readable, indulgent, and fun. Kind of like dessert in book form - too much is probably bad for you, but at this amount, you just have to treat yourself.

(Anyone else hungry for chocolate fudge cake right now? Just me? Ok.)

I like Isabeau - she's quite cool. But Meg, her resourceful maid, is clearly more of a bad-a*s, and I would've liked to see more of her.

The idea of Isabeau's magicky-type eye-power thingy is really intriguing - but I also like the way we didn't get caught up in the detail of it.

I think if we'd had too much of the ins-and-outs, it might've spoiled it a bit - the casual way it's approached somehow makes it feel more realistic.

The whole thing is just... fun... in the way of any swashbuckling entertainment with a side of fantasy, and just a smidge of crime as our intrepid heroine faffs about in boy's clothing as an early type of private investigator.

Not so great bits:

I don't like the name Isabeau - I know that's a v personal thing, but it bugged me for pretty much the whole book.

Also, Isabeau feels a little damsel-in-distress-y more than once. Possibly because she makes stupid decisions. #JudgingYou Isabeau - stop doing stupid sh**, m'k?

Unfortunately, there were places where the writing felt sticky and clunky - like it didn't flow right.

In places, it just felt like the author had gripped the prose too tightly, and that can make it feel awkward.

There's violence, a lot of domestic abuse from Isabeau's uncle, as well as references to attempts to force her into prostitution.

There might've been swearing, but I honestly can't remember (note to self: pay more attention to the naughty words.)

Verdict:

This was enjoyable as all hell, and one heck of an adventure :)

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

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Wednesday 23 November 2016

Review Time! - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Title: The Song of Achilles

Author: Madeline Miller

Genre: LGBTQ+ (M/M; M/F,) Mythology, Historical Fiction*, Fantasy*, Magic Realism* (*ish)

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

If any queer men have reviewed this then let me know! I'd love to link to your review.

This was actually a recommendation from the lovely Charlotte @ Bookmarks and Blogging - who was spot-on with her rec! :)

Premise:

This is a retelling of the story of the Iliad (the Trojan War and all that jazz) from the point-of-view (POV) of Patroclus, the beloved companion of hero Achilles.

What follows is a Greek tragedy of love and war.

Best bits:

Uerkjnhrylojmnprkmtnoltknklnmnbreope!!!!!!!! This bookkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys, I love Patroclus - HE WAS A PURE PRECIOUS LITTLE GEMSTONE, AND THEY DIDN'T DESERVE HIM DAMMIT!

The strong voice of Patroclus comes through the POV - and I think this was a smart plan. Achilles is a lot more likeable through Patroclus' eyes than I think he would be in 3rd person.

Honestly, Achilles can be a bit of a douche - and it's only through Patroclus' love and light that we see him as more than just the boring role of 'the perfect hero.'

Patroclus is the first and foremost strong point of this book - he is just so exceptionally... lovely and wonderful, that I would love to actually meet him.

And even though I had some knowledge of the story of the Iliad, and knew how this was going to end, IT STILL RIPPED MY HEART OUT AND HANDED IT TO ME (in a good way.)

And the writing is completely awesome-sauce and good quality :)

Not so great bits:

*rolls up sleeves* - Look, for a book that won a women's fiction prize, I expected less of a sh**y role for the women.

We have few female characters - in a way, that's not too bad, because we're at war with a Greek army, so I wouldn't expect that many women around.

But every woman in this book gets either married off to the highest bidder and/or against her will, raped, murdered, or some combination of all three.

There's a lot of rape here - and it's used as a throwaway plot device, just something that happens. Again, probably not unrealistic - but the emotion, the trauma, and the victim seriously needed more attention.

I've seen - out and about there in Internet-land - criticism of Patroclus' representation.

Some people seem to think that he was overly feminised or forced too much into the 'wife' role in the relationship, but without knowing the backgrounds of the reviewers, I honestly can't tell you whether this is a legitimate concern from queer reviewers, or masculine insecurity from heterosexual reviewers.

What I can tell you is that I didn't find him overly feminised at any point.

There's some sexy-times, much violence, and swearing, as well as the aforementioned references to rape.

Verdict:

OK, there were some issues. But I loved this book.

AND I ADORE PATROCLUS - HE WILL BREAK YOUR HEART DAMMIT!!!!! THEY DID NOT DESERVE HIS PURE GOODNESS!!!!!!!!

Update 19th Feb 2017: I've become aware that this book has issues regarding the Bury Your Gays trope. If anyone has a post or review which discusses this, I would be more than happy to link to it.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

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Wednesday 16 November 2016

My Diverse Welsh Authors TBR

Okie dokes my dearest nerdlets - it's time to combine two of my obsessions, diverse authors and Welsh authors.

A lot of these actually came from a post on black Welsh authors I read the other day, which I will link to here.

So, I give you my modest TBR list of diverse Welsh authors:

Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve by Dannie Abse

Amazon: UK - US

This is a semi-autobiographical novel by Jewish Welsh author and poet Dannie Abse. If you've never read any of his poetry - go. Go and look it up. Read. READ NOW.

dat's love by Leonora Brito

Amazon: UK - US

This is a short-story collection by a black Cardiffian author, and looks pretty awesome.

Sugar & Slate by Charlotte Williams

Amazon: UK - US

This is an autobiography which explores the intersection of Welsh and Guyanese identities - which sounds pretty cool.

Telling Tales by Patience Agbabi

Amazon: UK - US

This is like a re-telling of The Canterbury Tales I think? So I'd probably better read the original first!

Asylum: Docu-Drama by Eric Ngalle Charles

Amazon: UK

This bills itself as a docu-drama(?) based on the true stories of asylum seekers in Wales.

Vicious by Bevin Magama

Amazon: UK - US

This is an autobiography of a Zimbabwean immigrant to Wales, and the tale of his time in the Zimbabwean military.

Proud by Gareth 'Alfie' Thomas

Amazon: UK - US

This is the autobiography of Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas - the first professional sportsman in a team sport to come out as gay, national superstar, and nice local boy t'boot.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Amazon: UK - US

I only realised recently that Sarah Waters is Welsh! And I really want to read this, and possibly some of her other books, because F/F historical fiction dammit!!!!

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Tuesday 1 November 2016

Month In Review(s) - October 2016

October is over!!! And I'm sure most of you are currently stuffed with sweets and/or chocolate from Halloween.

So, without further ado my dearest nerdlets - let's get this wrap-up started!

October was a pretty cr*ppy month for me, depression-wise, but I'm lucky enough to have a) family, b) The Bestie, and c) all of you guys.

Seriously, I appreciate you guys a butt-tonne! You make me smile :)

And even though someone who I once considered cool - a fellow bookworm in fact - unfollowed me when I tweeted about LGBTQ+ things, the number of people actually doing that has reduced from what was happening last month.

This is possibly because I've put Sexually Fluid/Queer on my Twitter bio - so the a*shole bigots probably aren't following me to begin with.

And the very lastest day of this month saw my two-year blog anniversary! And with over 40k pageviews over all, and over 7k pageviews this month, DORA is still going strong (and I'm so surprised and happy, you honestly wouldn't believe it!)

So, to the books I reviewed this month:

Young Adult