Last Year I Was Reading…

This is a meme created by Reading Marie, and I am so excited to participate!

It is so easy to join in and here are the rules:

Take your current read and compare it to what you reading this exact time last year. Which one do you like better? What is different about the books? Any special facts/things you want to make note of or bring attention to

This Year I Am Reading…

Simon and Schuster Canada was kind enough to send me an ARC of Magic Lesson in exchange for an honest review. This is a prequel to Practical Magic and is set in the 1600s. I am 100 pages in and I am in love with this book. Having read both Practical Magic and its first prequel, The Rules of Magic, I knew that I would enjoy Magic Lessons, but I forgot just how much I connect with Hoffman’s writing. Maria Owens is a fantastic main character, and I cannot wait to see where her story goes.

Last Year I Was Reading…

I do not talk about The Doll Factory nearly enough! This has got to be one of the creepiest books that I have ever read. It is set in the 1800s hundreds and follows Iris, who is a muse for a semi-famous artist, and Silas, who has an unhealthy obsession with her. This is one of those books that makes you feel uncomfortable the entire time you are reading and you just know that something sinister is afoot. It also has one of my favourite endings!

Though Magic Lessons and The Doll Factory are set two hundred years apart, they are both historical fiction novels that have similar tones. Both books follow the life of a young woman as she is coming to accept who she is and pushes against what society expects of her. I also think that Hoffman and Macneal have similar writing styles, and I will read anything that either of them writes.

What were you reading this time last year?