Book Review | Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

Source: Preordered purchase. This is a review of my personal reading experience.

Comfort Me With Apples is a new horror novella by Catherynne M. Valente.

Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze...

But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

I anticipate this review being a struggle to write. I loved this book but was also underwhelmed by this book. I highly recommend it - and - I don't.

I love Catherynne M. Valente. Her writing is so wonderful and her imagination is perfection. I love entering her worlds and reading her words. Comfort Me with Apples was no exception to this. The reading experience - consuming Valente's words - was a wonderful way to spend my afternoon. 

However - this type of allegorical whimsy is hard for me to fully embrace in an adult book. Overall, I enjoyed the writing very much, but I just never connected to the story.

3/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐★★

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Book Review | Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

Space Opera is a science fiction novel by Catherynne M. Valente.

IN SPACE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU SING

A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding.

Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete.

This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny - they must sing.

A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London - Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes - have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.

The only Valente books I had read prior to reading Space Opera were the Fairyland books, but Space Opera was every bit as imaginative as her Fairyland series. I'm anxious to hunt down a lot more of Valente's adult novels.

Despite being a huge fan of Valente's writing, I would have loved more variety in her writing style throughout Space Opera. It was easy for me to put it down at times.

Overall, though, Space Opera was a really fun read. I loved the story, and I enjoyed the cast of characters. As wacky (and awesome) as the book blurbed sounded, Valente was able to pull it off.

7/10: Recommended Read

Review copy provided by publisher

February 29 | Currently Reading

Happy Leap Year!

If you missed it last week, the final nominees were announced for the Bram Stoker awards. You can check out my post here.

Books Read Last Week

I will have a full review up toward the end of the week for Fiona Barton's The Widow, but I really enjoyed it. I think there will be a lot of talk about this one.

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two (Fairyland #3) by Catherynne M. Valente

I really love these Fairyland books. The excellent writing and the beautiful imagery are still present in this third installment, but I don't think the story can stand on its own.

6/10: Good Read

Books Currently Reading

I just started reading Jordanna Max Brodsky's The Immortals. All of the reviews I've seen so far have been positive.

What about you? What are you reading this week? Be sure to let me know in the comments or leave me a link!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

My Favorite Books Read in 2013

Where did 2013 go?! It was an awesome, albeit stressful, year for me. With a new baby and a new home, it's all a bit of a blur, but I did read quite a few awesome books this year. Most of them were not published this year, but that's how it goes.

In no particular order:



The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Review)

This book surprised me, and I still think about it all the time. It's a great mix of science fiction and horror. If you've been passing it by, consider giving it a read.



Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (Goodreads)

This is the second book in the Locke Lamora trilogy. I love when a series only gets better.



Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (Goodreads)

THIS BOOK. This book is now forever in my favorites of all time. READ THIS BOOK.



NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (Goodreads)

My FAVORITE book of the year. I was seriously blown away. If you need something epic to read... NOS4A2.



The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (Review)

This first Fairyland book was a beautiful and imaginative read. If you love books like A Wrinkle in Time, I highly recommend this book.



The Spark: A Mother's Story of Nurturing Genius by Kristine Barnett (Goodreads)

The Spark was my favorite non-fiction read of the year. I judged the hell out of the mother the whole way through, but I was so captivated. I could not tear myself away from the pages.



Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill (Review)

Dreams and Shadows was another surprise read for me. It was a really great dark urban fantasy. As soon as I'm done with this Harry Potter reread, I'm diving into the sequel to this gem.

Thank you so much for spending another year with me. I appreciate each and every person who takes the time to read my blog. I hope 2013 was an awesome year for you, and I hope you will join me in 2014.

Book Review | The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is the first book in Catherynne M. Valente's Fairyland series.

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

I just went six months without a single 5-star read and then suddenly I read two in a row!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was a beautiful read. The writing was so brilliant and so imaginative. I absolutely loved it.

There was a lot of this:

One ought not to judge her: all children are Heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb high trees and say shocking things and leap so very high grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless At All. September stood very generally in the middle on the day the Green Wind took her, Somewhat Heartless, and Somewhat Grown.

And it made me feel just like this:

There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin pie, where leaves are always orange and fresh-cut wood is always burning and it is always, just always Halloween.

That's one of the best feelings in the world right there, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was simply a joy to read.

There was a whole host of imaginative characters in The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, and I loved every single one of them. Even the evil Marquess. September was an awesome little girl to follow on an adventure. I totally fell in love with her, and I cannot wait to start another adventure with her in the second book.

I have to say, the ending to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is exactly how I wish all books in a series would end. There was enough closure to feel like I was given the entire story, but also a spark of excitement for what's to come.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is an imaginative coming-of-age fairy tale that I highly recommend to anyone who is young at heart. It is one I am certain to revisit again and again.

10/10: Awesome