The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle #1) by Patrick Rothfuss

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Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

I need someone to explain to me why so many people love this book so much. I'm so confused about the hype and why readers think that this is one of the best fantasy books ever written.

I found my mind wandering and becoming bored so often while I was reading. I am convinced that the only reason I finished was because it was a book club book and I was already half way through such a hefty novel and it felt like a waste not to finish it.

Name of the Wind wasn't a bad book by any means. It was well written and I enjoyed Kvothe as a character. He was damaged and continued to suffer at the hands of others because he refused to back down and submit. The book was interesting in its own way. However, it read like a memoir or diary that absolutely nothing happened in. I felt like I was some kind of sidekick following the main character around and being told to sit to the side while he took care of business. I wanted more action and adventure. There were three moments in the story where I thought that the book might take a turn and I would become more invested but even the small bits of action felt bland and unmemorable.

I wanted to love this book so much and I'm disappointed that I didn't. I don't think that I will continue the series which is somewhat of a relief considering that the author seems to have stopped writing it. I'm glad that I don't have to suffer like the readers that are still waiting for the third book. 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

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Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

It's hard to believe that this book was written by the same person that wrote Pride and Prejudice. It didn't feel like a romance at all. There didn't seem to be chemistry between any of the characters and the love interests. There were only two characters that I liked and I wished that they would end up together but that wasn't the case. I didn't understand why the author decided on the couplings that she did or why she feels the need to put one annoying female character and a complete jerk male character in her books. I know that I have only read two of her novels but it seems to be a pattern so far. I went into this book hoping to like it and was disappointed that wasn't the case. The plot was uninteresting and difficult to follow at points. I felt like the ending was rushed and didn't really make any sense due to certain characters motivations changing so drastically without much forethought or explanation. This just wasn't the book for me. I will probably try another book by Jane Austen but if I feel similarly to how I feel about Sense and Sensibility then I might decide to give up on Jane Austen books.