Friday Reads! Sarah Waters, Percy Jackson, Moonflower Murders, Good ol’ Potter

[@HardcoverHearts]

So good to see you back! And this video set up is lovely. I do agree that The Paying Guest didn’t deliver for me though I really wanted to like it. I felt the plot wasn’t as cohesive as I wanted. Great review of it! And you don’t need to look at me - I adored The Magpie Murders! 😉

[@SpringboardThought]

I couldn’t get into the Percy Jackson book either. People really speak about it in glowing terms. Maybe it gets a lot better later but who has time to invest in something that could get good eventually? Wow those HP illustrated books look huge! I didn’t know there was a series happening.

[@Paromita_M]

Couldn't get into Percy Jackson. I'm so eager to find something other than HP (people who tell me my love for HP is nostalgia-based, nope, I've reread them as recently as April 2023 and they just hold up so well!) but nothing has clicked - Narnia, HDM, Nevermoor, Inheritance Cycle, Abhorsen, Artemis Fowl, even Bartimaeus - it's not that I didn't like them but nothing for me has captured the wonder of the Wizarding World the way HP has. And I love good children's books so it makes me a bit sad that I'm not able to find that next "wow" book which will really stay with me. On the mystery side, I have searched and searched for a Christie successor and nothing. Closest I got is probably Anthony Horowitz (whom you are reading) and Tana French but Agatha Christie at her best is on another level. I tried the first Cormoran Strike novel and it was alright but not wow. I'm currently retrying War and Peace and hoping yo finish it (last time I DNF at 20%). Great to hear from you and happy reading!

[@frannook]

I totally agree, apart form the 1st and 3rd movie - which was pure excellence - I don't think the Harry Potter movies were done well and they deserve and can be so much more and I'm very excited about the HBO series! I might start rereading the books before it comes out!

[@samg4337]

Te recomiendo que le des una leída a Corazón de Tinta de Cornelia Funke, es de mis sagas infantiles favoritas

[@justjuanreader]

Me encanta! Lo leí de niño y sí recuerdo que era de mis favoritos. Cornelio Funke 🧡

[@SoulStainedInk]

Percy Jackson series was written for kids with ADHD/Dyslexia etc so they can see themselves in the demi-gods/main characters. I've heard a lot of people who do not deal with those symptoms say that they couldn't get into the series, and I can completely understand what you're saying about all of the action sequences without pauses.

[@justjuanreader]

Yes, I read that somewhere and I can see it, It makes sense. Sad that this installment just wasn’t for me. I really want to find a middle grade series I can fanboy over, that’s why I’m trying Fablehaven next.

[@SoulStainedInk]

@@justjuanreader I love Fablehaven and hope that you do too! I would also suggest Tristan Strong Trilogy by Kwame Mbalia, and the Skuduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy (if you haven't tried those yet). Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls is a great first book in a series, but I haven't read book 2 yet. A good horror MG series is Whispering Pines, if you want to try that out.

[@justjuanreader]

@@SoulStainedInk Awesome!! Thank you so much!

[@SoulStainedInk]

@@justjuanreader No problem! I live and breath MG lit (80% of the time) so if those don't pan out, I might have a few more suggestions. (I also highly recommend Tim Tingle, Chris Grabenstein, and Kwame Alexander as great overall MG authors)