Lin Rina

All 19-year-old Animant Crumb wants is to read the whole day long, ensconced in her old armchair in the attic. Her mother, however, is determined to marry her off as soon as possible. So what's a regency Victorian heroine to do? Accept a job in London, and put things off for the foreseeable future, provided of course, that said foreseeable future doesn't exceed a month's time.

Rumour has it though, that none of the previous assistants to the librarian have lasted more than a few days. How show more will Animant, whose credentials are nonexistent, make it through the month?

On the surface, this seems to be one of those overused coming-of-age stories which have long since dominated the YA scene. Bookish heroine with a penchant for reading, discovers the wonders of the real world, and even manages to work in a torrid romance. Well, I say torrid, but things don't really go much beyond heated glances...

Yet oddly enough it worked for me. For all that I'm a bookworm myself, I'm not necessarily a fan of like-minded heroines. Hypocritically so, if you must know, as I distinctly recall my BFF laughing at me, when I tried to cram 10 paperbacks into my already bursting suitcase, at the end of my first trip to London.

But as soon as the heroine started her work at the library, I was hooked. She's a pretentious little shit, clumsy, frustrated, and ignorant, but boy does she make up for it in sheer stubbornness. So much so, that I was earnestly cheering for her to succeed from day one. And believe me that's saying a LOT, as her job consisted mostly of cataloguing new books and handling returns during rush hour.

Then there's the romantic aspect, of course. It begins fairly timidly, with some eye-roll inducing paragraphs extolling the wonders of warm hazel eyes, and then slowly but surely turns to deep voices, a bit of casually dashing rescue, and just a whoooooole lot of heated... arguments. Conducted at least 6 feet apart. Except for that one time they hid in the closet. Where no one got ruined. Much...

Score: 3.4/5 stars

There were some rather egregious historical inaccuracies, and the Victorian etiquette was either followed to the letter, or summarily thrown out the window just to suit the plot. Plus the whole mother-daughter arguing and eventual understanding was a bit on the nose. And finally, the epilogue manages to trump it all, with the ad-hoc audience clapping for the kissing couple. Who's still using this crappy trope?!

That said, there's no denying that I've greatly enjoyed reading this book. Admittedly, on occasion, I was mostly laughing at it, rather than with it, but that didn't necessarily detract much from the experience. I read mainly for entertainment, and that's something the book has definitely delivered.

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Book #5 of my "read at least 20 books written in German" challenge.

Review of book 1.5: Animants Welt: Ein Buch über Staubchronik
Review of book 2: Elisa Hemmiltons Kofferkrimi show less

Imagine that you've just finished a 550-page doorstop of a historical YA, which didn't even have the decency to throw a steamy snogging session your way. Enter the sequel, with plenty of jokes, sarcasm, and a whole host of PDA which was missing in the main story. So heck yeah you're jumping on it!

First things first, if you've wanted more public displays of affection between Animant and Thomas, then you've come to the right place. Starting with the 'missing scene' chapter, depicting Thomas' show more pinning session, and ending with a short story where the protagonists visit Thomas' childhood home. The former comes as a nice confirmation of Thomas' feelings for Animant, while the latter has him unload all the pent-up PDA and snogging, that we, and his poor fiancée, had been starved of before.

Other honourable mentions should go to:
- the hilariously stilted interactions between Thomas and his future mother-in-law
- Thomas' cute rant-filled love letter to Animant
- Elisa's origin story
- even some of the cute (and occasionally cheesy) little drawings

About half the book is taken up by author's notes, most of which felt unnecessary, or just didn't add much. It also reminded me why I found Animant so irritating in the main story: her tendency to spell everything out, as she kept going over the same feelings and flashbacks.

Score: 2.51/5 stars

Honestly, it's mostly my love of the Animant-Thomas ship that made me rate this over 2 stars.

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Book #6 of my "read at least 20 books written in German" challenge.

Review of book 1: Animant Crumbs Staubchronic
Review of book 2: Elisa Hemmiltons Kofferkrimi show less

Readers of Animant Crumbs Staubchronik may remember the mysterious suitcase that fell through the glass roof of the library, and how it basically kick-started the romance between Mr. Reed and Animant.

Instead of focusing on the disaster caused in the library, in this book we can see the other destructive trails the luggage left in its wake, such as: mysterious innovative designs, corporate espionage, attempted murder, and a whole lot of misunderstandings.

Told in the form of a police report, show more this story details Elisa Hemmilton and Jamie Lennox co. in their sleuthing endeavours, as they try to unravel the mystery behind the fallen luggage and its intriguing content.

As far as basic story outline goes, this one had potential. Mysterious suitcase wreaks havoc in the library, and in the life of an innocent bystander. Cue rallying of friend(s), and friend(s) of friend(s), and acquaintance(s) turned friend(s) (or more), to investigate and solve the mystery.

The biggest problem I faced was that most characters were not sufficiently fleshed out here or in the prequel to warrant skipping over their backstory. While their past may not always be relevant to the crime being investigated, it does serve a purpose in explaining away their participation in the sleuthing. Add to that the witty police report format, and I could already feel a headache coming on.

I like the idea itself, but the execution has nothing in common with any report I've ever seen or written. The whole formal document gone rogue attempt is very relatable, and I applaud its originality, its tongue-in-cheek footnotes, along with its effort to entertain the reader. Unfortunately, none of that made it practical for a formal report.

A diary format, with its entries a mix of formal statements and long descriptive passages on Mr. Green's many swoon-worthy attributes, would probably have worked better. While it would get rid of Jamie's footnotes, the overall effect would remain the same, given Elisa's tendency to overrule any contradictory opinion.

Score: 3.1/5 stars

Believe it or not, I don't intentionally set out to be this picky, but I did pay full price for the privilege. *points at receipt* I still love the author and her Instagram posts make for excellent marketing for her books.


Click image for full version.

I even love Elisa in all her loud, boisterous, often rash, but ultimately lovable personality. I can totally see Mr. Green gaze at her exasperatedly and lovingly at the same time. But none of that changes the fact that I've spent way more time muttering about the narration than enjoying it.

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Book #9 of my "read at least 20 books written in German" challenge.

Review of book 1: Animant Crumbs Staubchronik
Review of book 1.5: Animants Welt: Ein Buch über Staubchronik show less

En 1890 la mayoría de chicas serían felices con la vida de la joven de 19 años de edad Animant Crumb: una madre dedicada a vestirla con la mejor ropa y a buscarle un marido perfecto. Pero a Ani todo eso no le importa nada, ella ama los libros cuyas historias le han enseñado a soñar en grande. La vida cotidiana de Ani da un giro sorprendente cuando recibe la propuesta inesperada de un viaje a Londres para trabajar en una maravillosa y antigua biblioteca. Allí, Ani conoce a Thomas Reed, show more un malhumorado bibliotecario, un hombre tan extraño como intrigante que despertará en Ani sentimientos que hasta ahora solo conocía por los libros. Pero pronto descubrirá que varios obstáculos se interpondrán en el camino para que su propia historia de amor se convierta en realidad. Siguiendo las huellas de las grandes damas de la literatura clásica como Jane Eyre, la independiente y tenaz Animant Crumb es un personaje del que los lectores se enamorarán al instante. show less