"The times are turbulent, and so are the romantic tangles. 

On the long train journey from Samanbar to her new home in Alsalem, Lea Chantry is intrigued by a handsome and taciturn Mitrione officer, quite enough to disregard the deep-rooted familial hatred of the dreaded paramilitary force and make a nuisance of herself."

The first installment to The Sunshine Time has an endearing leading lady in no-filter, irreverent Lea Chantry. The story's most entertaining moments come from whenever she opens her mouth, and I found the dynamics of her family fascinating. I found it difficult to grasp the context this story exists in, however. 

Once upon a time, before I had access to cable television and internet connection, I was a fairly sheltered kid with limited knowledge of Western pop culture. These days, it's easy to Google something, but back then, if I didn't understand a reference in a novel, I pretty much guessed from context. So when I started reading The Princess Diaries, there was a lot of guessing going on. I figured Lifetime had a lot of weird, cheesy movies. The Blair Witch Project was probably a horror movie. I never watched Party of Five or Pretty in Pink, but they sounded like cute movies. (Mind you, I was also around eleven years old at this time.) 

Even now that I have more exposure to Hollywood and such, there are still references I stumble over. When a character talks a lot about bands I never listen to, for example, or movies that are a classic but I've never seen (for instance: The Rocky Horror Picture Show references in Perks of Being a Wallflower). I generally don't mind guessing (or Googling), but there are times when having to do that stops me from relating to the character's passion or understanding what they're talking about.

On the other hand, it can be argued that having to Google those references can be educational. Though I still have never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I know who Frank-N-Furter is now. My friend, an avid reader of The Princess Diaries, told me that she looked up the books and movies mentioned in the series - which she otherwise wouldn't have heard of - then proceeded to read/watch  (and sometimes enjoy) them.

References to popular culture in books are unavoidable, considering that some pieces of it can be a kind of shorthand that everyone gets. I don't mind those shorthands sprinkled across a story, because then I can either move past it or learn something new. But when the story is drowning in them and I don't get them, they would likely put me right off reading it.

I started this feature to hold myself accountable regarding my TBR, as I have a tendency to pick up a new book despite a pile of unread books. Given I read 3 out of the 4 books I listed, I'd say it worked! So here we go again.

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Why I Want to Read It: Because I still haven't! 😢This is the book from my previous list that I didn't get around to. I actually started reading the first five pages, but found that I wasn't in the right mood to engage with the story. 

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

What's on your TBR right now?

Timekeeper gets its first line perfectly right. Two o'clock was missing. Right away, my curiousity was piqued. I had to know how this world works! The world-building that followed matched that first line in terms of intrigue. The plot too was fascinating, the mystery unfolding well throughout the book. Unfortunately, I wasn't as invested as I wanted to be in the characters. 

Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost.

But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love?"

Blood for Blood gave me one of the worst book hangovers I've had in the last few years, and I wasn't even finished reading. I read this book on a tram one morning, and had this moment of having to remind myself that I was in a peaceful, beautiful city - not war-torn Germany. There were times when I had to put the book down for a moment because I was getting upset, yet I'd pick it right back up. It's intense in terms of emotions and actions, and the stakes never let up once. In short, it lived up to every expectation I had following Wolf by Wolf.

I'm excited for November! I'm halfway through my course, it's time for NaNo, and we're moving ever closer to Christmas. All in all, it should be a good month (even with the revision that I'm currently putting off). Looking back, October wasn't too bad either. Once I've pushed past the deadlines, that is. I'm desperate for a proper holiday, but I feel that my life is on the right track at the moment. It's a nice feeling, and I really hope it lasts.

Anyway, onto bookish and blogging matters!