Glamour in Glass

 Glamour in Glass is the second book in the Glamorist Histories books by Mary Robinette Kowal. 

"In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates his throne, Jane and Vincent go to Belgium for their honeymoon. While there, the deposed emperor escapes his exile in Elba, throwing the continent into turmoil. With no easy way back to England, Jane and Vincent's concerns turn from enjoying their honeymoon...to escaping it. Left with no outward salvation, Jane must persevere over her trying personal circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband from prison... and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded on the shoals of another country's war." 

I read this back in May of 2023, a year and a half ago, and boy do I remember being upset by it. 

Plot and Theme: I got half way through it and skimmed the rest to see if it got better. It got worse. Jane's "trying circumstances" were that she was pregnant and while pregnant she isn't supposed to use glamour otherwise she could lose the baby. So her fight over her own independence and freedoms vs the... scariness of soon becoming a mom and not being able to do something she loved doing for nine months. I get it. Putting things down for a time because of children can be hard, but that amount of selfishness and practically intentionally aborting her baby did not set well with me. To have this be the major plot point of the book made me put this down. It wasn't a "she will persevere or think of another way around the problem of her husband being in prison and needing to help him escape." You aren't all Glamour girl! Use your brain and come up with another plan. Don't have the major plot be, kill the baby to save the husband. And the fact that she felt so relieved to be rid of this burden made me sick.

Setting and Writing Style: It has been a minute since I read the book, but from what I recall it's setting and the way it was written was pretty good. I enjoyed the set up of Napoleon breaking out and the French country side being up in arms one way or another. I don't remember being upset by the way Mary Robinette Kowal wrote it, just the themes and plot. 

Spice: The fact that Jane gets pregnant means that there was something going on behind the curtains, but that is where it stayed. Which is perfectly fine with me. When it comes to Jane and Vincent's relationship, I remember there being problems with the fact that he was away all the time. That's not how you spend a honeymoon, dearies. Yes, they've both got to work, but besides one scene where "the curtains fall" that is all the romantic encounters I remember. The rest of the time they seemed extremely mad at each other. Such a happy marriage. 

Characters: From what I recall the characters were actually decently developed. They had differing opinions and backgrounds. Even the side characters had thoughts about Napoleon and how the previous war went with England which was kind of refreshing. I don't recall any Mary-Sue's which is great. Jane was having some major growing pains and she chose extremely poorly in my opinion. She ended up being a character that I couldn't get along with and wasn't someone I cared to read about anymore. 

Overall: Never again. I'm done with Mary Robinette Kowal. Miscarriage is something I've dealt with more often than I would like to and abortion is not something I support. It was her relief at the end that killed it all for me. Apparently she gets pregnant in another book and is all happy hunky dory, but that seemed like it was even more of a reason why I wouldn't want to pick up anything else Kowal wrote. 

Okay, So Let Me Explain...

 Okay, so I've been on hiatus and haven't written about any of the 40 some-odd books or series I've read over the last year and a half. 

Many of the were great, some of them not so much. 

I think I was getting a bit overwhelmed by writing these and then more and more books just kept pilling up that I just stopped. It happens especially when it is honestly probably just a project for myself. At which point, this post may or may not get to anyone else, but that's okay.  I've still been reading though some dry spells have happened. 

Anyway, going forward I figured I'd be a bit more methodical than I had been before. For the most part, before I was just typing out my thoughts and hoped they'd make sense and flow. But now I'm making an assignment out them. 

Each of the posts from now on will be more organized, like I would probably do if I were writing it out on paper or literally doing it for an assignment for a class. My potential lack of BS words would probably get me lower grades in a college class, but, hey, I already graduated from there so their grades mean NOTHING! After all this is mainly for myself in the first place (even though, funily enough, it started out as an assignment in college). 

    1. I will start out each post with the Title and Author, and potentially the book number of the series it's in. 

    2. I'll give the Book Summary that I find on Goodreads. 

    3. Will be my General Thoughts or Impressions about the book. 

    4.  My thoughts on the Plot and Themes of the book. I'm trying to get into the "Self vs _____" ideas again and am interested in the critiques that the author is looking at. 

    5. My thoughts on the Setting and how easily I was able to get lost in the book. If it was jarring or strange or brilliant. Some authors do a really good job at world building, others not so much and I don't get as lost as I would like. 

    6. Oh! The Characters! Characters can make or break a book. If I don't  like the POV character, I will put the book down. I've done that a few times with books I've listed here. My DNF list isn't long, but most of the time I didn't finish a book because the MC annoyed me or there was too much Spice for my liking. 

    7.  Speaking of Spice. I'll give a 0-5 rating on Spicy Chilis. I do not read spicy books. If there is a 5 on this list it will probably be on the DNF list and get 1 star.

0 - "This is a Children's book or nonfiction of some kind"

1 - The Suggestion of Romance,  Serious Flirting /"Guess what? We held hands!"

2 - Light Romance, "All we did was kiss"

3 - It Got A Little Passionate There/ "The curtains fell and the scene went black"

4 - "Poetic Intimacy" / Curtains were open but nothing was seen

5 - Smut/P*rn -- I will stop reading   

Most things I read are probably between the 0-3 range. I get iffy when it comes to 4's and will drop the book so fast if it gets beyond there. It would have to be the most amazing book I've ever read before then to make me continue reading. So if you're looking for those recommendations, you might consider a different blog or let me give you a different recommendation. There are plenty of other brilliant books. 

    8. Writing Styles and how different authors do write differently. Different ages mean different ideas of writing. Modern writing is not like Shakespeare, who didn't writing like Jane Austen, who wasn't Tolkien, who wasn't a 1980's fantasy author. Different audiences, different reasons to critique, and different world all together. All in all they are fun! 

    9. And lastly, my Overall thoughts. Often short, they will be my excitement for the next book, or final thoughts that didn't necessarily fit in to the other categories I listed above.  

How I do this is subject to change, as nearly all things in this world are. Over the next weeks, I'll be publishing more reviews of the books that I read over the last year and a half. It's a lot and I enjoyed almost every minute of it. 

It's kind of interesting to see how my reading habits have changed over the course of a year. In the colder months, I am more willing to just sit down and read the "harder" books, the longer books, the books from a different age; while in the summer, manga and graphic novels alongside young adult books tend to be the thing that sparks my interest. 

I wonder what your reading cycles look like?

I hope you enjoy your own reading journeys and that I might be able to help someone find a good book to read. 

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year

Caitlyn 

The Lost Metal

The last book in the Wax and Wayne series in the Misborn world of the Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson. 
 

It's now been six years since Elendel's world has been opened. Meeting the people from the south and trying to keep political schisms at bay has proved difficult, but somewhat doable. Wax and Steris have taken more control of the political sides of their lives and grown their family, while Wayne and Marsi work as constables as partners. But happenings happen and they find out that Wax's sister has big plans with her secret society which includes blowing up Elendel with equivocally a nuclear bomb. Why would Telsin want to do this? What would this "protect" the rest of the world from? And how much bigger is the cosmere than they think?

I can only be okay with the ending, because HE was okay with the ending. That is all I'm going to say about it. 

I loved that Brandon brought so many more worldhoppers into the series. They introduced so much more than we even have in the Cosmere books to begin with. Seeing some of my favorite characters, not just Hoid, in more of their glory than we ever had before makes me so happy. 

It was fast paced and constantly moving forward while still letting things be explained. It took me a while because I knew what was coming (stupid spoilers) and I didn't want it to happen, but it never felt like it was bogged down. 

I love the characters. All of them. They make me happy. I don't know how to say more. 

The books in this series are smaller comparatively so they are easier to binge and love over and over again. Which means I probably will do that sooner rather than later. 

The Ruins of Gorlan

 Book one in the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. 

Will is an orphan and Ward in Castle Redmont. He has dreams of becoming a knight, like he believes his father was--though who and what his father was is only in his dreams too. But when he is called up to become an apprentice, he is denied from battle school because of his stature. When Halt the Ranger gives the Baron a note and doesn't divulge what it says, Will has to find out and sneaks into the Baron's office to sneak a peek at it, only Halt and the Baron catch him as if they knew he was going to do it. With Halt's commendation, Will becomes the Ranger's Apprentice where he learns to be more sneaky and archery and tactics of being a ranger. His other Ward mates become apprentices to cooks, diplomates, scholars, and Horace goes to battle school. Horace struggles with battle school bullies. Bullies aren't going to be the only problems. Morgarath, an enemy to the crown who's been hold out on in the mountains, has sent beasts to kill leaders. It will be Halt and Will's job to stop them. 

This series is a long series of 16 books. Previously I've read the first four, so this will be an adventure reading the other ones. This has the same kind of feeling as Revenge of the Witch but with far less hibi-jibi's and more friends, which I find I like better. 

It's a very basic story, which can be nice. There is plenty of world building in a basic "medieval" world which makes it different. Different peoples and cultures, though they share some similarities with history-ish. There were some times when it was a little long, going through the plains was maybe a bit unneeded. 

My son really liked that the bullies got beat up. I was glad that it gave us an opportunity to talk about bullies and that it's important to let adults know what is going on, that "hazing" isn't okay either. 

We can kinda tell that it is a debut novel. There is a handful of repetitive words that were weird or alliteration that was off that probably should have been caught by an editor, but somehow didn't. 

I'd Tell You That I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You

I just couldn't do it. I couldn't finish it, because... ya know... junior high was bad enough. I don't wanna go back. 

Cammie is the daughter of the head master for Galligher Girl's School. What everyone else in the world doesn't know is that it's not just some prestigious girls school for the smart and rich, instead it's a school that teaches those smart girls how to be spies. Cammie has become an expert at not being seen and blending in due to her upbringing, so much so that it's become a detriment to any social life that she could possibly have, not that the girls get out much to socialize in public spaces much in the first place. But on Cammie's first "mission" out at the nearby town carnival, she's actually seen by someone. And not just anyone. A boy. With the "help" of her friends, she now has to figure out if he's just some small town boy who just thinks she's cute and wants to get to know her, or if there are ulterior motives that could put their national security at risk. 

I'm sure the story is fine, that's why I would have given it three stars. It probably has a great story, I just couldn't finish it. I don't think this aged well as the slang in particular is so heavy. I know I talked that way and heard may kids talk similarly to the way they do in the book, but ya know I don't need flash backs to the acne, boys, and hard time junior high school actually was. 

Ally Carter, you did a great job at your research, possibly too well for me. I'm sorry. 

I also think the characters were a bit stereotypical. Goth girl rebelling against her rich, snobby parents. Poor but brilliantly book-smart girl who gets on by scholarship. Amazing at everything and anything girl who still is super awesome and best friend to main character. Everyone has everything except stealth and blending in, which our MC has. They all seem fairly like Mary Sue's to me and it makes it hard to relate in the first place. This is why I dropped it to two stars. 

Ella Enchanted

 Another retelling of Cinderella. 

Ella was "blessed," more like cursed, when she was a baby by a fairy named Lucinda to be Obedient, therefore she must do everything someone, anyone, tells her to do. She tries to fight against the curse going at it slowly or obnoxiously, but eventually she has to give in to whatever someone says. After her beloved mother dies, she is forced to go to finishing school with two nasty girls (who'd eventually become her step sister). On her way there, Hattie figures out that Ella has to be obedient and starts making her life miserable. She runs away, trying to find Lucinda to take the curse away (with the help of her own fairly godmother) but things don't go as planned. 

A simple, very fanciful retelling of the traditional story, it "fixes" a few of the things that modern audiences have problems with. Why didn't Cinderella leave? Why does she have to do what she's told? Why would the Prince marry her at the end without even knowing her? Historically, those questions wouldn't have mattered. Arranged marriages happened all the time and not being able to leave your home or position was obvious. But it gives our modern eyes reasons and explanations. 

I enjoy Ella and Char as a characters. I like the way their relationship is friendly and develops over the course of the story. Often we don't get that in a Cinderella story (which is why I think it is retold so much and why we get so many versions of it, the romance is open ended). I think their relationship is what makes this story. Yes, Ella goes on an adventure, but them together or their letters to each other is what really draws us through the story. 

Sapphire Blue

 The continuation of Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier happens two seconds after the conclusion of the first one. 

Gwen and Gideon get themselves and their fancy clothes back to the House of the Guardians, but Gwen's head is still spinning because he kissed her! and there is a new gargoyle hanging around who won't leave her alone. Maybe he can be of some use, though, when he's not making fun of her. Things are becoming more chaotic and confusing as her world shifts and sways with the new information Gwen keeps getting. Lucy and Paul are trying to get in contact with her, but she's constantly being told that they are dangerous, but are they or are the Guardians or the Count hiding things they don't want her to understand? Then there is Gideon who keeping flip flopping on if he's going to kiss her or scorn her and look the other way. Gwen is only 16, how is she supposed to deal with all of this? 

I enjoyed this one more than the first. Probably because we were more into the story and got a few more answers. I also enjoyed meeting Gwen's grandpa--makes me miss mine. 

I'm intrigued by the bad guy of the series. His motives are understandable and he seems cunning enough to almost get it done. Obviously he won't succeed, at least for long, but I want to know more about this ingenious, charismatic, narsisistic man. 

I can also understand why some people in their reviews give this series a bad time. Gwen, being sixteen, doesn't know what she's feeling and does get led on. She's not the "eat my dust," "all boys suck," "I can do everything myself" kinda girl which is getting shoved down everyone's throat. The "girl power" here is lacking and I think that makes it more believable. I remember being sixteen and seventeen and how windswept you can feel when you find out a boy loves you and kisses you. I remember needing "blowy-upy movies" for a bit after the first break up. It's hard and it's confusing and I think it's portrayed realistically here.

One reviewer in particular hated how Gwen forgave so easily and how she still fauns over Gideon, but didn't we all back then? We want that first love to be real so much that we do stupid things? The fact that everyone keeps commenting that they can see her affection for Gideon so boldly on her face is proof that she doesn't quite know what she's doing, because she has no idea how to hide it! I do believe *SPOILER* Gideon is being manipulative at the start, but I think this is more the romantic troupe of "it started out that way, but then I actually fell in love with you and it's real" like in How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days or other ones like that *end of spoiler.* 

I can't give this one a perfect 5 stars because it's ending was so abrupt again. I think it would have worked better as a single volume instead of three separate books. It would flow better I think.