Author: Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

An avid reader whose current interest lies in mysteries and thrillers. Line 'em up! Also personally love fantasies and any stories to do with magic, and a sucker for the occasional (good) romance.
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Let’s Talk Bookish – Reading NonFiction

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

October 20: Reading Nonfiction (Hannah @ Hannah’s Library)

Prompts: Do you read a lot of nonfiction? What is the last nonfiction book you read? Are there any nonfiction books you always recommend to others? What are your favorite nonfiction subjects to read about?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! October is also flying by, which is crazy. Today’s topic is about reading nonfiction books and I do wonder about the bookish community and how much nonfiction books are read, and if so, what kind? Let us explore this topic a little bit further.

I personally do not read a lot of nonfiction. I have tried time and time again, and I do occasionally read them for book clubs and in other situations. However, I really have yet to come across a major genre of nonfiction that I resonate with and actually enjoy reading. I like the flexibility and imagination that comes with fiction, and I haven’t really read a nonfiction that has changed my mind on that one yet. It might have something to do with reading fiction books as a form of escape (and interest, of course), and just something about that can’t be replicated in a nonfiction.

The last nonfiction I read was The Healing of America (review coming soon!) and it was about the healthcare system in America as compared to many other models used around the world. It’s an interesting read, and it was very palatable in terms of the way the information was presented (anecdotally, and a bit scientifically). If you have an interest in this topic in particular, I would recommend it, though as a general read I probably wouldn’t.

One nonfiction book that I did read was Braiding Sweetgrass, which I did enjoy and think was really excellent. I would definitely recommend it to others, just purely as a form of learning and exposure, but also as a very engaging read. Check out the linked review for a more in-depth reason as to why you should read it, but if you’re interested in the topic at all or interested in nonfiction, that could be a good one for you!

I have yet to find a topic that I particularly like reading about. I definitely know that self-help books tend to be a no-go for me. Too much preaching, or overly aggressive stances in such books also tend to be a flop for me too. I think perhaps more of a diary-style, without overly assertive opinions, but merely presentative of their experience may be the easiest for me to read. If you know of any that you want to recommend, do please let me know!

Do you all like to read nonfiction? If you do, what kind? Let me know in the comments below!

3 star, YA

Review: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.

Ahh, the awaited sequel that I finally got to. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Still, that doesn’t mean I won’t be picking up that sequel immediately when it comes out!

Hell Bent is the follow up story following our protagonist, Alex Stern, as she journeys to hell (and hopefully back) to rescue our old favourite, Darlington. An incredibly dangerous journey, and one well-hidden, of course. With no one left at her disposal to risk her dangerous journey, and people wanting to stop her at every turn, will Alex be able to succeed in bringing back her long-lost mentor?

The characters for the most part were still excellent, as usual. I like that they all have this very human quality, since they don’t always perfectly fit their trope, making them more complex and nuanced characters. There aren’t too too many characters present, so it was easy to have a deeper dive into their characters. Particularly Alex and Darlington are heavily heavily focused on in this book, unsurprisingly. Some characters make a reprise from the first book, but overall I didn’t find them to be too important.

Ah, the plot. This is where I really struggled. I don’t think it was bad necessarily, but I feel like there wasn’t as much happening as I had hoped. It really blends in with many other books that I have read that have a similar theme, and didn’t really stick out as anything that special. There were also a couple of plot points that I’m not sure were totally necessary or that helpful in building the story. Overall I thought the plot was a bit weak, but this may be due to my high expectations based on the first book.

Speaking of my expectations, the world-building was also lacklustre in my opinion. While Ninth House had all the happenings of Yale and adjusting to the secret society life, this book really only had Alex tunnel-visioning on saving Darlington. There is a lot that happens and Alex does travel around, but in general it felt more like subsidiary little (and I mean little) plot lines to continue her on her quest. It didn’t feel as expertly woven together as I have come to expect to really make this magical world come to life. But again, this could just be my overly high expectations.

Overall, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed per se, but I certainly thought the book would be written differently. So I would just say it was different from what I expected, not that it greatly fell short of an objective standard. I think I really was just biased here by my expectations, so take that with a grain of salt for sure. After all, I still am looking forward to the next book!

Overall Recommendations

Hell Bent is the second book in this series following Alex Stern in her magical secret society at Yale. In this book Alex attempts to enter the underworld to rescue her long-lost mentor who had been taken by the shadows. All alone in her efforts as she is stripped of power and privilege, will Alex be able to finally be able to rescue Darlington? The story is heavily focused on this quest, so if you like adventure and heist, you won’t be disappointed with this sequel.

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Let’s Talk Bookish – Rainy day Reading

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

October 13: Rainy Day Reading

Prompts: Are there certain kinds of books that you love to read when it’s raining? What about when it’s sunny? How does the weather correspond to the books you read?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is about rainy day reading, I think something that most of us bookworms are into—though please correct me if I’m wrong. One of the joys in life is definitely to sit down somewhere cozy on a rainy day and just enjoy the opportunity to read and relax!

Books that make me feel more nostalgic or melancholy definitely fit the rainy vibes, I think. That being said, if there’s a book I’ve been meaning to finish, sometimes I feel like the rainy weather gives me that extra push to finish it. It feels a bit like the “Why not? What else is there to do right now?” energy really helps me to just buckle down and finish a book. Thrillers work for me any time, but staying in on a rainy day to read one is also something I love doing.

When it’s sunny and bright outside, I may tend to reach for a less heavy book. For me, that’s probably the fantasies that I will tend to sidestep. When it’s warm and sunny outside, it just doesn’t seem like the time for me personally to dive into a fantasy world and memorize names and magic mechanisms. But that’s just me! I suppose fantasies just tend to be more of an escape for me, and I save those for more special moments.

I don’t think the weather necessarily corresponds directly to what I read, but I think indirectly the season and the weather patterns do subconsciously affect what I end up choosing based on my “mood.” I also think that what my friends are excited about or what’s been popular lately can also really sway what I’m in the mood for, which I think has not much to do with the weather at all! Weather is probably more like one of those passive sways for what I end up reading.

What about you all? How much does the weather affect what you read? Let me know in the comments below!