Dashed expectations and a DNF

I started Single. On Purpose. thinking that it would be a celebration of being single and that it would talk about societal pressures to be in a relationship. I thought (and hoped) it would explore the joys of being on your own and how you can be a complete and happy person without being tied to someone else. I was wrong. While the author does say that being on your own is valuable and meaningful his overall message is that this is only a step toward the ultimate happiness of being in a relationship. And he harps a lot on exercise and weight loss. As someone who has little intention of dating and who is super happy on their own this book felt insulting. Where's the book about being a kick-ass single that doesn't fret about their weight or wearing makeup or having sex? I'm clearly the wrong audience for this book but I'm also super bummed that it wasn't what I thought it would be because that's the book I really wanted to read. 2/10 

[Possible Spoiler: I felt like every bit of advice offered was either something glaringly obvious like 'get more sleep' or 'be happy doing things on your own' or it was bizarrely dangerous like 'go out and have one night stands if you've never done that before' and 'if you encourage your partner to go to therapy there's a better than average chance they will get better and leave you'.]

Source: HarperCollins Publishers

And then there was a wildcard that I picked up at work. The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis (the dream team behind The Wildwood Chronicles which I enjoyed so much) purported to be a wild romp through Marseille following the adventures of a group of thieving youths. But this book falls short. I got nearly halfway through the book before calling it quits because there was entirely too much focus on the buzzwords of thievery to the detriment of a smoothly flowing story. For instance, when our main character meets the whiz mob he is inundated with a long list of jargon to denote where on a person there might be loot (not the word they use by the way) as well as all of the complicated terminology for their roles in the group. And they kept bandying these words around and I kept being pulled from the story because I was trying to puzzle out what the heck they were referencing. (By the way, this is a middle grade book which either makes me a very slow-witted adult or the kids these days really have surpassed me with their slang.) So that's one I didn't finish and don't intend to continue. 2/10 because at least there's a few illustrations.

Source: Amazon

What I'm currently reading: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks which is a site I use all of the time to find used books at an excellent price. A lot of the time I don't even pay for shipping! Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made through this link. You will not be charged anything additional for my commission. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) ** 

Wildwood Chronicles Masterpost OR I can't come up with a clever title

I hadn't intended to marathon the books in this series but fortuitously I was able to get my hands on them only weeks apart. Therefore, I decided to lump them all together in one masterpost. You're welcome! Rather than showing the covers for the books, I've opted to give you a glimpse of the illustrations found inside before each book's review. **If you haven't read past the first book then I highly caution you about reading my reviews for the other 2 books. I've tried to stay spoiler free but there's only so much I can omit.**

Source: Pinterest

Wildwood by Colin Meloy with illustrations by Carson Ellis starts off the Wildwood Chronicles series which as far as I can tell consists of 3 books (although some websites confusingly say there are only 2). The first book follows Prue McKeel, an average 12 year old living in Portland...until one day her baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows. She and a semi-friend from school, Curtis Mehlberg, venture into the Impassable Wilderness in search of the baby and stumble across an entirely different world. It turns out that inside the I.W. there exists a magical place full of talking coyotes, magical sorceresses, mystics that commune with trees, and a gang of roving bandits. There is also a postman, a corrupt government, and territory wars. Maybe things aren't so different from what she's used to after all? No, it's completely different and Prue finds out that she's not as normal as she once thought...

Source: Pinterest

Continuing in Under Wildwood, we find our heroes separated and trying to reconcile themselves to their new existences. Prue is having conversations with the local flora and Curtis is trying to become the best bandit he can possibly be. We're introduced to new characters such as Mr. Joffrey Unthank who is the owner and operator of both a machine shop and orphanage (not necessarily mutually exclusive by the way) as well as Carol Grod who sports a pair of wooden eyeballs. The reader continues to learn more about the Periphery Bind which keeps the Impassable Wilderness and all its environs from encroaching on the Outside. There are assassins, Titans of Industry (capitalization very much required), and danger around every corner. This book marks the turning point into a darker tone as the battle between good and evil gets well and truly under way.

Source: Hoodline

All of this brings us to Wildwood Imperium which (from what I can tell) is the final book of the series. To some extent, all of the books have discussed politics in one form or another but this one is almost entirely about the political system (or lack thereof) in Wildwood and its environs. Prue is still on the lookout for the second Maker (the reader knows who this is and it's frustrating seeing the near misses) while the Verdant Empress speaks to the May Queen from a mirror on a nightstand. (You aren't confused you're just behind in the series.) This is the tensest (and longest) book of the lot and a lot of loose ends are tied up (like where all of the bandits went). (I still have a question about the Elder Mystic's whereabouts but maybe that's just me.) It doesn't feel complete to me though. There's still a lot that could be done with the characters in my opinion but based on what I've seen there doesn't seem to be any plans to continue the series. It's a shame because this married pair makes a powerful literary duo. (They're coming out with a new book on October 24th of this year entitled The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid!)

Overall series rating: 9/10

What's Up Next: The Cabinet of Curiosities: 36 Tales Brief & Sinister by Claire Legrand, Emma Trevayne, Katherine Catmull, and Stefan Bachmann

What I'm Currently Reading: The Time Quartet series by Madeleine L'Engle

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **