Stars: 5 out of 5 This was terrifying y’all!  My problem with a lot of horror books is that the characters in them are either not fully realized or so unpleasant that sometimes you wish the monsters got them, so it’s hard to root for them. Not so in this book. The author has a … Continue reading Lockdown (Escape from Furnace 1) by Alexander Gordon Smith →</a

Stars: 2 out of 5 DNF at 45%. There are the makings of a good book in there, that’s why I am not giving it a one star review, but the execution was sorely lacking, at least for my taste. First of all, it drags. Even the battles move slowly and the narrative parts between … Continue reading The Bladed Faith (The Vagrant Gods 1) by David Dalglish →</a

Stars: 4 out of  5. I think this series is getting better with each new book, which is an exciting occurrence. I’ve seen too many series putter out after the first few books because the author didn’t plan the overarching arc well enough or just ran out of ideas, but has contracted to write more … Continue reading A Plain-Dealing Villain (Daniel Faust 4) by Craig Schaefer →</a

Stars: 5 out of 5 I am continuing my dive into my TBR list. This book was languishing on my list since 2014, and I’m really not sure why I didn’t read it sooner. I even had the ebook on my Kindle and all that… Anyway, I finally got to it and I’m happy that … Continue reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman →</a

Stars: 4 out of 5 Sometimes you pick up a book because you like the cover or the blurb and discover a hidden gem. This is what happened to me with Empire of Exiles. I haven’t read other books by this author, so this book was a surprise hit for me. Now I have a … Continue reading Empire of Exiles (Books of the Usurper 1) by Erin M. Evans →</a

Stars: 3 out of 5 I love me a good heist and I am always excited to read about London in urban fantasy. It’s such an ancient and wonderful city that adding a magical element only adds to it’s fascination. So I dived into this series without reservation and read this book in a day.  … Continue reading The Best Thing You Can Steal (Gideon Sable 1) by Simon R Green →</a

Stars: 3 out of 5 For about 80% of this book I thought it would be a solid 5 stars… then the weird codas happened that turned me completely off. But since I was engaged with the story and the characters for most of the book, I am willing to still give it 3 stars. … Continue reading Redshirts by John Scalzi →</a

Stars: 2 out of 5 DNF at 45%. There is a good book hidden somewhere in there. Unfortunately, it’s buried under tons of overwritten plot and bad characterization. It feels like this story isn’t quite done yet. It need more time to “cook” in the author’s head, or maybe a strong developmental edit. The premise … Continue reading Flotsam (Peridot Shift 1) by R J Theodore →</a

Stars: 3.5 out of 5. If you can give one thing to Brandon Sanderson, it’s that he has a knack for creating unique and complex magical systems. Allomancy is a delight to read about and you can see that a lot of thought went into figuring out how this system would work and what its … Continue reading The Final Empire (Mistborn 1) by Brandon Sanderson →</a

Stars: 4 out of 5 This is the third series I have picked up by this author and I can say with confidence that Django Wexler is a creator of worlds, which is good praise in my books. Each of his series has a very distinct feel, with an original world and engaging characters.  I … Continue reading Ashes of the Sun (Burningblade and Silvereye 1) by Django Wexler →</a

Stars: 2 out of 5 I am a sucker for an end of the world as we know it book. That’s probably why I regularly dip into zombie books, even though finding good ones becomes a challenge. So the Passage was right up my alley. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a slog of a … Continue reading The Passage (The Passage 1) by Justin Cronin →</a

Stars: 2.5 out of 5 I am not sure why this was published as a book. As far as story goes, it’s only Part 1 of a bigger book. The part that sets up the characters and the premise and doesn’t nothing else. By the end of Steel in the Blood, the main conflict of … Continue reading Steel in the Blood (The Reckoning Cycle 1) by N.T. Narbutovskih →</a

Stars: 2 out of 5 Well, this was a disappointment. Do you sometimes happen across a book that should, by all accounts, be right up your alley, but realize that it’s a complete miss? This is what happened to me with this book. First, I didn’t like the worldbuilding itself. The world is too reminiscent … Continue reading Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.R. Matthews →</a

Stars: 2 out of 5. DNF at 60% I tried so hard to like this book, or baring that at least finish it before I reviewed. I struggled for the last 10-15% of the story, hoping to get some answer or that the story would get more interesting. Unfortunately, it didn’t, so I am calling … Continue reading Book of Sand by Theo Clare →</a

Stars: 5 out of 5. Do you have those rare occasions when a book just “click” with you? That you get so immersed in it that you love every single moment. And even if you can see some flaws, they don’t distract you from the pure joy of reading it? Well, that’s what happened to … Continue reading Nightwatch on the Hinterlands (The Weep 1) by K. Eason →</a

Stars: 3.5 out of 5. I liked the idea behind this book better than the execution, but it was still an enjoyable read all in all. Raine in particular is an interesting character with a lot of flaws and a lot of trauma in her past, who manages to stay relatable. I loved her character … Continue reading Daughter of Redwinter (The Redwinter Chronicles 1) by Ed McDonald →</a

Stars: 5 out of 5 (Extra extra star for the gorgeous cover) I don’t often read non-fiction unless I need it for work, so I was a bit skeptical when I picked up this book. But that cover drew me in like a magnet, so I decided to give it a try. And I must … Continue reading Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror by Lee Murray →</a

DNF at 50 %. This had so much promise! A small town cut off from the rest of the world by a snow storm. Mysterious creatures attacking its inhabitants. A lone policewoman trying to keep order and make sure as many people survive this as possible… Yup, the description was right up my alley, so … Continue reading The Hollows by Daniel Church →</a

Stars: 3 out of 5. I feel bad giving this book less than a stellar rating, because it raises some pretty important issues about inclusion and the casual mistreatment of those who are different. It also talks about trauma and healing and finding your purpose in life. So all the things that should be right … Continue reading Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki →</a

Stars: 3 out of 5 This book, even though it was a satisfactory conclusion to the trilogy, felt less well structured than the previous two. Also, it dragged. Hence the 3 star rating where the previous two books were solid 5 stars for me.  I think my biggest problem is that this book spends too … Continue reading The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance 3) by Naomi Novik →</a