Article by Sydney Loder
May might have been one of the most confusing months as it relates to what was read, especially in genre and theme. Ranging from a quick feel good read to historical science fiction, there was no pattern to be found. May started with Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong, moved onto The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab and The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black, and ended with It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover. Along with the lack of pattern with these books, there was also a lot of mixed feelings, some of the novels really captured my attention, while others were extremely hard to get through. However, I definitely think we should start with the good first.
Out of the four books throughout the month of May, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue was a clear favorite. The story followed a not so young woman named Addie Larue who had been cursed to an immortal life where she was doomed to be forgotten, until she meets a young man named Henry. Henry also made a deal with the devil, but I’ll let you figure out what it was on your own. This devil, named Luc, battles between Henry for Addies attention and love in her immortal life. However, it’s not just a love story, but one of history, of art, and of becoming. Schwab is able to create a masterpiece of emotion, want, and action that is hardly forgettable. This story was truly one of the most beautiful I’ve read in a while.
Next in line is It Starts With Us, which I happened not to like that much, but it was better than the other two. While being a very quick, feel good read, the book lacked depth completely, especially in the aspect of the relationships. This was shocking to me as it was meant to be a romance novel. I found that the story still revolved around the trauma Lily faced due to her story of domestic abuse, even though it was meant to be happy-go-lucky. Overall, the theme was completely confusing and got lost in the story itself. Furthermore, The Queen of Nothing had similar aspects of confusion as it seemed Black was battling a great storyline with not enough pages. She added a repetitive theme similar to the previous novels in the series and rushed many important details, including relationships, and the plot in general. It left the book feeling unfinished and unedited.
By far, my least favorite novel of the month was Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong. This book took me far too long to read as I never truly found myself enamored by it. This is due to me having no real connection to the characters and finding the storyline to be boring. Now the reason for this is clear to me, I really hate retellings. Feeling like i’ve heard a story before is what I would consider to be my biggest ick in books. I love something that feels original, it gives me the chance to learn characters and truly see their depth in my own personalized way.
I think its safe to say May wasn’t the best, but thats perfectly fine. There is always going to be months with reading blocks and bad books but its important to remember that this is completely subjective to each individual. I would love to hear if anyone has opposing viewpoints to any of these novels to help me see them in a better light. If you do, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment section. See you next month!
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