Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

On occasion I will buy/borrow a book based purely on the cover/title. I won't read the synopsis or anything, I will just get the book and read it. I do this because I like to be surprised. Usually I will pick these books up because I see them on other peoples' bookshelves, but not with Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. The title intrigued me like nobody's business and I just couldn't resist it.

Penumbra's is the story of Clay, an unemployed web designer who finds a job working as the graveyard shift clerk at Penumbra's bookstore. As he works there he discovers the bookstore has some mysterious customers and some mysterious books.

That, I guess is the best synopsis I can give without spoiling anything. I'm glad I went into this book blind. It was fun slowly unraveling the mystery with Clay. He constantly made me nervous as he broke rules and pushed boundaries to figure out what was going on with the bookstore.

I liked the characters, especially Mr. Penumbra. He was very well drawn as an elderly eccentric who genuinely loved what he was doing. Another character I liked was Kat, she was very interesting as someone who worked for Google who was obsessed with the idea of living forever.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I wouldn't say that it was anything revolutionary or amazing, but it was a fun read. I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

*****

Unfinished Book Read-a-thon: Blitz!

So... It's been almost a year since I started the unfinished book read-a-thon. The important thing here isn't time though, the important thing is I finished, well almost. I still haven't finished Beautiful Creatures, and I don't think I will ever finish that book. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through and I just can't do it, I'm just not a fan, I'm sorry to all of you Beautiful Creatures fans out there but I just can't. I liked the movie. Is that blasphemy? Oh well. Here are my blitz reviews of the rest of the books that I did finish. Click on the title of the book for a link to its Goodreads page.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein was such a good book. It left a really strong impression on me. I loved the characters and the plot and everything about it. The use of the unreliable narrator in the first half of the book was brilliant and compelling. I was gripped through the entire story. It may sound cliché but I shared their heartbreaks and their triumphs. It was just a moving story. 5/5 stars

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins was okay. I would say I liked it but didn't love it. I
had a hard time with the character of Anna. I struggled with her attitude about the boy back home especially. I thought her relationship with St. Clair was really cute and fun and that is what kept me reading. 3/5 stars

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare was a great ending to the Mortal Instruments series, I have no idea what she is going to do with the rest of the books in the series but I'm excited to find out. I really enjoyed how exciting City of Glass was. I don't want to give any details in order to not spoil anything but it was a really fun and intense ride. 4/5 stars

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare- I loved this book so much! I am on the Infernal Devices, Will Herondale bandwagon with everyone else in the world. The only reason this book was on this list was because I got bogged down in the first chapters when Tessa was trapped by the Dark Sisters. As soon as I got past that though, I couldn't put it down. 5/5 stars

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon is one of my favorite books now. I love love love it. The world building is amazing, the relationship at the center between Paige and Warden is so interesting. The pacing is well balanced. I have nothing bad to say about this book. I'm so excited for the rest of the series. 5/5 stars

Unfinished Book Read-a-thon: The Scorch Trials

Oh My GOSH people! This book is bat-poop crazy! I just finished it and I am reeling. All I want to do is pick up The Death Cure and start reading it right away. I'm not going to spoil any of it for those of you who haven't read it, but man...

Okay, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I will try to coherently express my thoughts... The Scorch Trials barely feels like a sequel to The Maze Runner at all. If Dashner had used different names, I'm not sure I would even recognize it as happening in the same world as the first book. That being said, I was completely gripped the entire way through, caring deeply about Thomas and some of his friends and entirely mistrusting the rest of the characters. It has mostly short chapters and nearly every chapter ends with a sharp turn. I simultaneously love and despise the unpredictability of this book. You never know what is going to happen next, and that is refreshing.

I wouldn't say that I had fun reading this book but I can say that it was an experience. And I think I value an intense experience just as much as lighthearted fun. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone who likes action adventure mystery stories, or anyone who values an intense experience.