Rainy Day Reads

I hear amazing things about Jay Kristoff all the time and this book has been sitting on my shelf for a while. When I went on vacation a little while ago I decided it was finally time to tuck into what appeared to be an epic fantasy.  I got settled in on my beach chair and started reading. I found it very slow going, but figured I was just distracted by the heat, the view and the sea calling out for me to jump in and cool off. But I have found out that others have had the same problem with the start of this book. I think it is such slow going at the start because of the intricate world building and the explaining of a bunch of Japanese terms.  Speaking of Japanese terms I think that was a little overdone. There were a multitude of clothing items and weapons, especially, that each had a specific term, and I could never remember which was which. Once I finished the book I realized there is a glossary at the back…But even if I had known about it, I hate flipping b...