Seven Letters: J.P. Monninger (A book published in 2019)

I was so excited when I won this book. I love books about or in Ireland and about or with Irish people. They just make my heart so happy, so I was really excited to win an ARC of this book from a Goodreads Giveaway. This book will be published in October, 2019.

My favorite part of the book was reading the landscape descriptions of Ireland. Every time the Monninger introduced a new landscape, I had to Google it so that I could fully visualize the location, and while that was fun, it made me yearn to visit Ireland all the more, which isn't super helpful...

I enjoyed the first half a lot; I really enjoyed watching the relationship of Ozzie and Kate, and I remember being so confused when they get married and it's not even halfway through the book. I was thinking, "What else can possible happen during the rest of the novel?" Then lots more happened, which was nice.

I struggle to explain how I feel about this book. I had a lot of thoughts in different directions. Yes, I loved watching the romance bloom, but it happened too fast to be believable in any way. There were never conversations (at least, no conversations for the readers to be a part of) that helped grow the relationship to the point we were to believe it was at. They spent a lot of time together, sure, but I never understood how they grew to be in love to the point of marriage.

Which is why I wasn't surprised at all when the marriage ended in the separation. They had no depth to the relationship. It was built on hormones and lust. I can't imaging that works well.

However, even the separation caused me much confusion. They are sailing, they hit a storm, and all of the sudden, Kate realizes that she married a monster, is how I interpret her feelings. So she runs from him. And she never looks back. And that's the part where Monninger really lost me. I didn't understand why she just left without even contacting Ozzie, without even trying or communicating with him at all. She just leaves. And part of the confusion is that I don't understand why she leaves in the first place. Maybe it's because she finally starts to understand how little she actually knows him.

But even then, they never actually get divorced. It seems like all along, Kate is hopping and thinking that Ozzie will come running to her again and they can start fresh. But she never does anything for the relationship, and starts dating other men, never actually letting go of her relationship with Ozzie. Again, for reasons that are confusing to me.

But of course. The book can't end there.

Death strikes, and Kate has to go on this soul searching adventures to find answers for her husband, and I guess along the way heals from the loss? But again, I don't understand this. There relationship seemed surface level at best. There was no depth. There was nothing to support it. Why did she travel the world for answers? Who knows.

Then Ozzie returns, of course, and they live happily ever after... together. What? Why? How? I have no idea.

So to summarize.

I loved the book because I love all things Ireland. I loved the landscapes and the sights and the sounds and the smells that Monninger evokes through the detailed writing. I love the cute doggie. I hate everything else.

The Name of the Wind: Patrick Rothfuss (A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature)

As a rule, I don't like fantasy. My one exception has thus far been Harry Potter. I guess I always had trouble getting caught up in things that are way beyond the possibilities of this life. With this book, however, that was not the case.

I was so intimidated a. by the length of this book and b. by the fact that it's a fantasy novel, but enough people told me to read it, so I did. It took me quite a bit to get into the book. I'm talking about 100 pages, which out of 700ish isn't really that bad. Once I got into it, I really got into it.

I think what captured me was the extraordinary science behind Kvote's learning. It was beautiful and excellent and magical. I wanted it to be as real as the glass of water sitting next to me. I wanted to learn all the Kvote was learning, and I was fascinated by the progress and scope of the teaching he received.

My favorite parts were definitely anything that happened at the University. That's where you have the best enemy, the best friends, the love interest, and, most importantly to me, the vast majority of his learning. And every chapter ended with me wondering if he would be expelled in the next chapter because much of what he did warranted expulsion.

Another fascinating aspect occurred to me as I picked the second book off my shelf. The book says, "The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two." Then I realized that this whole book is the span of one day. 722 pages make up one day. The second book is over 1000 pages, but it's just day two. I'm glad I only just now figured that out because otherwise that would have made it hard for me to keep going.

But I loved the way this book is written. Kvote is narrating his life to an audience of two, and sometimes you get a bit of what is happening in the present, but that's not what's important. I'm sure it will be important later on, but for now, the past matters. It helped keep me engrossed in the story. Switching back to Kvote's present made me yearn for the past and helped keep the momentum going for me.

There are parts with dragons and demons that aren't super great for me because that's not my kind of book, but even those are find to read. I got through them, and I can say that I somewhat enjoyed them. I'm sure there will be more of that in the future books, which I'm not looking forward to, but given how much I enjoyed this first book, I'll enjoy those aspects as well.

The length of this book was the only thing that made it challenging for me. The writing is really easy to understand and follow. Rothfuss writes in a way that is simple yet exciting and engaging. He sucks his readers right in!

"I learned to love the feel of good words."