Book reviews: Girl of Fire and Thorns

I've been thinking about doing book reviews. But the thing is, I don't yearn to read book reviews, so I'm kind of hesitant to foist them on the world.

My dad is a fanatic library patron. He goes by there at least twice a week, for as long as I can remember. He visits with the librarians, drops off his plastic bags for recycling, and walks along the "new books" shelves picking up anything that looks interesting. Sometimes the librarians point out something he or my mom might like, but I think he picks most of the books based on the cover and a quick glance at the flap.

I used to be one of those kids who carefully investigated at the cover, read the flap/back, read the first chapter, and THEN decided if I wanted to read it, but as I've gotten older, I've gotten more like him. I just pick up stuff that catches my eye. If I read a review (or part of a review; I hate spoilers) I'll add it to the e-reserve list, and by the time it comes in I've probably forgotten why I wanted to read it. Sometimes I slog through bad books, sometimes I read part of them then toss them back in the pile, and sometimes I really like what I've read!

So I think I'll try to document the crap I read. I'll give you a genre, a vague summary, who might like the book, and if I remember the source, a link to a real review.

Last night I finished Girl of Fire and Thorns. It's a first novel, YA, with a fat princess and real magic/God. Lots of main character growth. It's book 1 in a series but it wraps up nicely. A very fast read. I didn't adore it as much as this review, but I did finish it without regrets.