motherbooker's reviews
599 reviews

Januaries is split into four sections that are named after the season. I've decided that the most useful thing I can do is rate each story individually. Whatever the rating of the different pieces are, I think they're all beautifully written.

Spring:
- The Wish Branch - A very strong start to the collection. I loved this world and was drawn in by the characters. It reminded me of Stardust and I'd happily have stayed in this world. Give me a full version. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The Audit - There was a really good concept here but I don't think it was as strong as it could have been. I liked the start of this one but it didn't go the way I had hoped. Not the worst but I wanted more. ⭐⭐⭐
- Sucker for Pain - I feel like this will be a big hit with a lot of people but it just went on a bit long for me. It's a good story but not the best. Although, I liked the ending. ⭐⭐⭐

Summer:
- The Animation Games - This was a fun one. It's an odd story and it gets a little repetitive. However, I really liked it and could see it being adapted into a fun short film. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The House - A short and lovely piece about marriage and living together. Personally, not my favourite but I can see it being loved by many readers. ⭐⭐⭐
- To Make a Man - It took me a while to get into this one but I loved it by the end. Definitely a slow burner but, once things become clear, it's a lot of fun. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Preexisting Condition - My least favourite story. I just couldn't get into this one and can barely remember what happened. ⭐⭐

Autumn:
- Monster Love - Haunting, dark and absolutely beautiful. It's a great portrayal of motherhood and post-natal depression. This was such an emotional and difficult one to read but it is one that I definitely won't forget in a hurry. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- How to Dispel Friends and Curse People - This had Terry Pratchett vibes and I quickly engaged with it. This is such a cute story and the ending is perfect. I would have loved to see how this played out in a different format. I'm all for epistolary form but it would have been great to go further into this world. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Fates and Consequences - I wanted to like this one but it just didn't work for me. It lacked impact in a short format. I think it needed to be a full-length novel to allow the characters to develop and the story to build naturally.⭐⭐⭐
- Sous-Vide - Another one that I'm not entirely sure about. It has aspects that I really loved but others that I didn't. It wasn't the easiest to get into and a lot was going on. Again, I'm not sure this suited a short format. ⭐⭐⭐

Winter:
- Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures - This frustrated me. It was kind of like Labyrinth but, again, it was just a bit too long. For me, it either needed to be a full-length concept or it needed to be simplified. I don't feel like any of the reveals were that impactful. ⭐⭐⭐
- Chaos Theory - I ended up loving this one but it took a while. It's got some Orphan Black vibes and I think it was a super fun concept. This would be a great concept for a film or tv show. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- A year in January - It's like the Odd Couple if it starred a depressed young woman and an alien. If you'd told me the concept of this one, I'd have expected to hate it. However, it ended up being a really fun and sweet analysis of the human experience. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

I knew that Riley Sager was a man before I started reading this book but, if I hadn't, it would have been immediately obvious. He's probably not the worst offender for men writing women but there were plenty of dodgy moments. For one thing, his constant use of the word "panties". I know so many people claim that "moist" is the worst word in the English language but that doesn't even come close. It's not something to go into now but it's all part of the creepy infantilisation of grown women. I can't believe any well-adjusted woman is comfortable using that word but it appears multiple times in this book. I almost had to top listening because it was winding me up so much. Obviously, that's not the only reason why Riley Sager is bad at writing women. It's the fact that he's written a book about 3 female survivors of mass murderers and they're all so one-dimensional. There's a revelation towards the end of the book that made me pretty mad because of the implications it had for one character. This isn't a book celebrating female resilience as it should be. It's a book that treats women as too naïve and stupid.

The Final Girls of the book's title are Quincy, Lisa and Samantha. Three women who survived terrible experiences only for the media to hail them as pseudo-celebrities and insist on lumping them in one group. The book is told from Quincy's perspective. She was the only survivor after a man butchered all of her friends during a birthday celebration at a cabin in the woods. She has spent years rebuilding her life and finding the strength to go on. She runs a baking blog and is needs her daily dose of Xanax to function. The other two aren't really in her life but she has contacted Lisa before. Even so, the news that Lisa is dead turns Quincy's life upside down. Especially when it's revealed that the supposed suicide was actually murder. Then Sam reappears and Quincy's life starts to unravel. Are the other girls in danger? Who would want to kill these women and is it linked to Quincy's past?

Now, I've done the best job of describing the plot of this book but it's possible you think it sounds a little exciting. Well, you'd be mistaken. For the vast majority of this book, nothing happens. About 3/4 are just building up to something. Even the flashbacks are boring and we know they lead to a teenage bloodbath. This was probably meant to be empowering but he missed the mark. The way the final girls find empowerment is incredibly misguided and cringe. They walk around at night being all she-wolf and making terrible decisions. The way that sex is used in this book also screams "I'm a male writer". I just couldn't get to grips with these characters. It's not that they're not likeable because that's not important. I've loved loads of books featuring terrible people. It's the fact that they don't seem real or nuanced. They're basic cliches and have no development. I hate them.

The bit that Riley Sager really excels at is the violence shown towards women. He bloody loves doing awful things to his female characters. When he's not able to murder or attack innocent young women, Sager just repeats himself. I swear the same scene plays out about 3 times in the whole book. It's weird to know that this book has such positive reviews. I never agree with most of the books on GoodReadsC Choice Awards but how the hell was this nominated? It's not a thriller because there's very little excitement. It's not scary or memorable. The red herrings are so obvious that you can't allow yourself to fall for them. Sager is trying so hard to move your attention away from certain people that it puts them in the spotlight. I will admit that it's not the worst thing I've ever read but that's the nicest thing I can say about it. In a few weeks, I won't remember anything about this book because it just doesn't stand out. It's like every other bland thriller these days. It should have stayed on my shelf. 

As I'd never read anything by Bridget Collins before, I didn't really know what to expect from this one. I kind of went in blind but was expecting something similar to traditional gothic romances. I wanted a creepy house, mysterious figures and hidden secrets. Having read it, I can say that I went in with the wrong expectations. It's not that I didn't like this book but it didn't do what I hoped it would. So, that's my problem and not the book's. It just meant that I ended up being disappointed with the story. I was hoping for something creepy and it was just a bit tame. Yes, there was some weird spider stuff going on but nothing that really got the blood pumping. It was an interesting historical novel but nothing as gothic as I was looking for. The back of the book promised "gothic suspense" but what we got was a long build-up with a few rushed revelations near the end.

I don't think it helped that the book played out in a dual narrative. In 1820, Sophia Ashmore-Percy accompanied her husband on his quest to search for a rare type of spider. While there, she finds herself on a different journey of discovery. Decades later, we meet Henry Latimer, an audiologist who is invited to the house of the industrialist Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy. Henry is challenged to cure Sir Edward's daughter of her deafness but quickly becomes caught up in his business. A business that links to Sophia and those spiders. Their silk can be used to block out the noise of the world and create havens of tranquillity. Henry becomes obsessed with the silk and quickly falls for Sir Edward's charms. But what dark family secrets are also being hidden?

The problem with this structure is that it really destroys the pacing. It loses suspense because you're forever being dragged back into the past. I would have preferred it if the Henry story had fully played out so the tension could build up. It also meant that neither strand was totally developed. Quite a few aspects were half-heartedly introduced and not explored. They were introduced but then didn't really go anywhere. Several things were introduced at the end and then tied up really quickly. In my opinion, the narrative was pretty forgettable and all of the interesting bits were pushed to the side. I would also say that there was a lack of character development. I don't think any of the characters really had much depth and I would have loved spending more time getting to know them. It made it difficult to care about any of them or what happened to them. Something that also didn't help with the suspense.

This book didn't feel cohesive. It was almost like two stories were stitched together and then linked by a few spiders. There's a lot going on and the book was so long. I know that traditional gothic romances were long and it was probably playing up to that. However, even Ann Radcliffe managed to add some suspense in between her lengthy descriptions of trees. Length isn't really a problem if there's something to justify it but I don't think there was here. The story wasn't that exciting, the characters weren't particularly interesting and it didn't really do anything that unique. There were interesting elements to this story that I wish had been developed further. I do think that the writing was beautiful at points and agree that Bridget Collins is talented. I just don't think this can be the best example of that.

One of the things that made Stephen Fry's retellings so engaging was the tone of his writing. He took the Greek myths and retold them in a casual and chatty way. Yet, there's still plenty of authority there. He knows what he's talking about and he knows how to make it digestible for modern readers. He has taken these epic tales and made them slightly less epic, at least in terms of length. There's a quick pace to these books but you don't feel like you're missing out on anything. Not only will this not feel quite so laborious as Odysseus' way home but you'll actually enjoy the journey. As with all of the books, I listened to the audiobook and it really made the experience better. His narration is perfect and he brings the stories to life.

There's a total lack of grandeur here. I don't mean that in a negative way. Instead, these stories are being told to be enjoyed by everyone. They're full of humour and bring the characters to life in an engaging way. He finds every attempt to squeeze comedy from his characters. Agamemnon is far from the King of Men and more like a Tory politician. It's amusing and listening to Fry bring him to life on the audiobook is a must. The focus on comedy doesn't mean that Fry ignores the emotional themes of the story. This is a story that is full of pain and longing. Odysseus misses his wife and son. We see people lose their family members and have to face up to the consequences of the fall of Troy. Thankfully, Fry gives these moments the gravity and sincerity that they deserve. His writing easily moves from being more light-hearted to being more serious. It's got all of the highs and lows that you need.

Are these books the most academic approach to these stories? No. They're rewritten for modern audiences and are littered with contemporary speech and references. Given that they aren't written to be academic, I think that works perfectly. Fry has written this series to introduce readers to these characters. He has been faithful enough to the source material and then transposed the writing to suit a modern reader. That's not to say there isn't substance here. In the footnotes, Fry delves deeper into the stories and provides some of his own theories. These books were obviously a labour of love for the writer and he puts his passion into every page. That's what has made the series such a pleasure to read. Odyssey, like Troy, benefits from a singular narrative focus and it doesn't meander as much as the first two books. It's a strong end to a wonderful series that I will happily return to in a few years.