books

Monthly Wrap Up – March 2023

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Well, I have to say, I’m kind of disappointed in myself. It’s the end of March already and I’ve only read 5 books this year. 5 books in 3 months? For me, that’s pretty unusual. I’ve read 5 books in a month before! Am I in a reading slump? No, I’m actually recovering from one. So, maybe 5 books in 3 months is pretty good considering…

I recently reopened my Etsy shop and have been making jewelry again, as well as crochet stuff. I finished the cross stich I was working on. (forgot to take a picture of it so can’t share that). I saw the Irish Rovers live. That was really cool.

Wow, this is a really short update.

Fantasy Book Review – Vorodin’s Lair

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Synopsis:

Ominous Omens

Daemus, a low Keeper of the Cathedral of the Watchful Eye, isn’t the only one having visions. His nightmares speak of the ageless sorcerer, Vorodin, who may be able to help. But the answers he seeks may bring him—and the realm—to the brink of war.

Elven princess, Addilyn Elspeth, must discover why she’s receiving visitations from a mysterious creature that shouldn’t exist. She combines forces with Daemus on their harrowing journey to the scholar city of Abacus, where Vorodin’s Lair awaits.

A Plot of Revenge

Their powerful adversary and fallen Keeper, Graytorris the Mad, continues to chase the young Keeper throughout the realm, seeking vengeance against his order while trying to find a cure for his own affliction.

Explore the realm of Warminster, as fantasy and magic mixes with epic adventure and romance. Omens, battles and plot twists await you in the pages of Vorodin’s Lair.

Have you read The Last Keeper, Book 1 of the Warminster series? No? Go read it right now and then come back to this because this review will contact spoilers for the first book.

Read it? Ok, good. Now you can read this review for book 2.

Vorodin’s Lair picks up right where The Last Keeper left off. Faux and Arjun are in jail with a death sentence hanging over their heads. To secure their freedom, they are given the chance to protect Daemus and secure the help of a neighboring ruler.

At the same time, Prince Montgomery is sent elsewhere to secure more allies for Thronehelm, as war is officially declared with the recent defectors.

There are multiple threads of the plot happening in various places to different characters. I started to feel like this novel was going in a similar direction as The Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire series have, with so many characters, POV’s and subplots going on that the story doesn’t really move forward. Although I wouldn’t say that I was bored or that I dislike any particular character as to not want to read their POV, there were times when I wish the story stayed with some of the more central characters. Most of all, as a reader, I don’t always want to know everything that is going on. Not knowing what is happening with the bad guys can enhance the plot in a different way.

That being said, it would also been seen as a positive. Yes, I occasionally forgot that other characters existed as I was reading about a different set, but that is more likely because the writing is so good that the reader gets sucked into what is happening in the moment and everything else fades to the background.

J.V. Hilliard has such amazing descriptive skills in his writing, especially during battle scenes, that it’s impossible to put this book down. I felt like my heart was in my throat at times. Deaths can occur so suddenly and I just kept hoping the ones I liked most wouldn’t be the next to die.

I truly look forward to the next installment in this series and to see how the story continues on.

My rating for Vorodin’s Lair is 4 out of 5 stars and I highly recommend it to all lovers of fantasy, just don’t forget to read The Last Keeper first.

I’d like to thank the author, J.V. Hilliard for providing me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and this review was 100% written by me.

Thanks for reading!

Fantasy Book Review – Heir to Sevenwaters

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Synopsis: The chieftains of Sevenwaters have long been custodians of a vast and mysterious forest?and a new heir has been born. But the family’s joy turns to despair when the baby is taken, and something unnatural is left in his place. To reclaim her newborn brother, Clodagh must enter the shadowy Otherworld and confront the powerful prince who rules there?

Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier is the 4th book in the Sevenwaters series. This book is told in the first person point of view of Clodagh, one of six daughters of Lord Sean and Lady Aisling.

Clodagh is seen as the “domestic” daughter. Her skills are thought to be that of a housewife, and therefore rather boring. Her other sisters have talents of their own, as a healer, a seer and just a more outgoing personality.

This book begins with Clodagh tying a ribbon as an offering to a tree in the forest to pray for the safe delivery of her newest sibling. Lady Aisling is older now, has already had six children and her health is not at it’s best. There is an oppressive sense of doom hanging over everything even though the house is also preparing for Clodagh’s sister’s wedding. With her mother mostly confined to bed, Clodagh is expected to keep the household running.

Clodagh is an interesting character, one I felt I could relate to. She is expected to keep the house running smoothly, take care of wedding preparations, as well as keeping her sister, the bride from going a bit crazy. I felt her sense of duty to her family, how she pushed herself to keep going even when she was exhausted and kept up appearances of being calm and in control. When the new baby is born, a son, Clodagh is the first to step up and help care for the baby. She even tells herself that there is no sense in thinking of what her own marriage might entail because she is needed at home to help her mother care for the baby. When the baby unexpectedly disappears and a changeling is left in his place, only Clodagh can see that he is a living being, the only one who can hear his cries.

Since she was the one watching the baby when the abduction occurs, she is blamed by her father for not watching every second. Although men are sent to search for the baby, Clodagh knows that this isn’t a normal sort of abduction and that the Fair Folk have something to do with it. Clodagh sets out on a perilous journey to find her brother, facing all kinds of dangers and heartache along the way.

This woman, who most dismiss as the “housewife” type of daughter has more courage and love than most people have in their little finger. When she puts her mind to something, she will see it through no matter the personal cost.

Based on the title of this novel, Heir to Sevenwaters, I had expectations of how the story would likely go. I’m so glad that my expectations were completely dashed. This story is in no way predictable and a complete rollercoaster of emotions.

After reading several books with multiple POV, this first person POV felt like a breath of fresh air. The reader doesn’t know anything that Clodagh doesn’t. We don’t see what the bad guys are up to, or even other people in the household. I love that.

Although I can rarely pronounce the names correctly, Celtic fantasy has to be one of my favorite subgenres of fantasy. The three books that precede Heir of Sevenwaters are all excellent and I look forward to the rest of the series.

My rating for this book is 5 out of 5 stars! I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Celtic fantasy, though I’d recommend reading the three previous books first.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Thanks for reading!

Fantasy Book Review – The Last Keeper by J.V. Hilliard

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Synopsis:

A young boy’s prophetic visions.
Blind at birth, Daemus Alaric is blessed with the gift of prophetic Sight. Now, as a Keeper of the Forbidden, he must use his powers of the Sight to foil the plans of a fallen Keeper, Graytorris the Mad.

An elven Princess with a horrifying secret.
Princess Addilyn Elspeth travels from Eldwal, the magically hidden home of the Vermilion elves, to begin her life as a diplomat to the human capital of Castleshire. During her journey, she stumbles upon a mystical creature foretelling ill tidings.

A terrifying force of evil.
Daemus’ recurring nightmare vision threatens to catapult him into a terrifying struggle that will leave the fate of the Keepers—and the realm—hanging in the balance. Daemus and Princess Addilyn must set out to face the menace that threatens their very existence.

Will the entire realm fall to its knees?
The Last Keeper is the first book in The Warminster Series. With gripping, epic action and heart-pounding adventure, you’ll love this new adventure series.

When I first started reading this book, I was in the beginning of a pretty bad reading slump. I couldn’t focus. There seemed like there were a lot of characters and I just couldn’t keep track of who was who. I had to stop as I knew I wasn’t doing this book justice by continuing. When my focus did return, I decided to start this book over from the beginning, which I’m very glad I did. The way I felt about the book completely changed. There weren’t too many characters, how could I not keep track of them in the first place? I don’t know if was because I’d already read the beginning that I absorbed more on the second attempt or if I was just back to normal in terms of reading. I’m going to go with the latter as what I hadn’t read the first time continued to feel fresh and exciting.

From the beginning, I didn’t quite know what to expect, which was great. As the first book in a series, there is a lot of set up going on, introducing characters, establishing the world and it’s rules. Thankfully, I didn’t feel like I was being told about the world. The author has an amazing was of describing things that feels natural and really helps a visual person like me picture the characters and events. Everything feels incredibly natural and the words just flow so well.

The characters are all very interesting and I have to say that I really love the diversity of the races in this world. There are people with crimson eyes or blue skin. Although there are what is known as trollborn – which are basically half breeds – that are sometimes looked down upon or discriminated, there are so many of them that it isn’t as horrible as it could be. I’m not really explaining that correctly. There are some that would say “trollborn” with scorn but most don’t. They are simply a part of the world as a whole.

If there was one think I didn’t like, it was how often the point of view would change during tense scenes. For instance, in the middle of a battle, the POV would constantly switch after a couple of paragraphs from one side of the battle to the other, from one character to another. I think this novel could have benefitted from showing less of what the villainous side was up to. Sometimes, as the reader, I prefer not to know everything . It can be too much information and I lose track of what character knows what.

Overall, this is an excellent novel. I never found it predictable, it was exciting, tense and emotional. It also ended on quite the cliffhanger so I’ll be needing the next book sooner rather than later.

My rating for The Last Keeper is 4 out of 5 stars and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fresh and exciting fantasy novel.

Thanks for reading!

Book Review – In Full Color by Rachel Dolezal

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Before I begin this review, I want to say that I am not the type of person who pays a lot of attention to the news, nor am I American, so I had no idea who Rachel Dolezal was until I saw her documentary on Netflix. I found the documentary very interesting, perhaps more so because I had no previous knowledge of the media storm that had become her life and therefore, had no bias going in. It was from the documentary that I learned about this book and I decided to add it to my Christmas list. My brother was kind enough to get it for me and I was excited to read it.

I’m really glad I went into this with no preconceived notions about her or her life. I was able to read this with no real expectations and I think that going that way allowed me to simply absorb her life story without judgement.

Rachel Dolezal did not have an easy life from the very beginning. Her parents were horrible people, her older brother molested her and when her parents decided to adopt four babies within a year, she basically became a live-in free nanny.

I actually don’t want to say too much about her life, as I think it’s better to read this book knowing as little about her as possible. This book is well written and written from her heart. It’s clear she wants people to understand her better and really, there was no other way than writing a book. So many people have judged her and jumped to conclusions. The hate she has directed at her is not deserved. She tried her entire life to help others, to make life better for Black Americans. She should be seen as an inspiration, not a liar and pariah.

I’m not BIPOC, so I can never understand that perspective. I can never understand what it is like to grow up as a Black person in America. I can however, relate to her feelings of “other” of being on the outside, of not fitting in. I think a lot of people experience this, especially in their formative years, but as a society, we never talk about it. We’re expected to behave in a certain way, to see ourselves in a certain way, so that when we don’t others can’t understand.

Identity is something that is spoken of a lot nowadays. There’s gender identity, racial identity, etc. Society is on the path to being more inclusive and diverse, of recognizing that people don’t always identify with the gender they are born with. So, I wonder, is feeling that you are more connected to a different race that much different? I don’t know the answer to that and wouldn’t presume to give an answer.

Mostly, I feel like this book and Rachel Dolezal’s life and subsequent media scandal is very thought provoking. I can’t help but wonder where she would be now had that particular interview never occurred. Certainly, she wouldn’t be harassed online nearly as much. Which is another thing that bothers me. Having read this book about her life, she truly doesn’t deserve the harassment she and her family get. Telling her son that his mother should kill herself, calling a new born baby the N word. How does saying stuff like that online make those people any better than they perceive her to be? In my eyes, it makes them worse. Hate her all you want, telling someone that they are a family member should kill themselves is NOT ok. I wish people would stop and think before they post horrible things like that.

I’m sure very few, if anyone, will read this post, and I know this isn’t much of a review of the book itself, and if anyone does read this, I could get some hate directed at me for saying what I have, but I also feel like it needs to be said.

I would truly recommend that people read this book. I would encourage going into it with an open mind and try to forget anything you may have seen in the media. I’m giving this book 5 out of 5 stars as it was probably one of the most though provoking books I’ve ever read.

Thank you for reading and please give it a chance!

Traitors Gate – Crossroads # 3 by Kate Elliott – Fantasy Book Review

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Synopsis: In Spirit Gate and Shadow Gate, Kate Elliott took readers to the fascinating world of the Hundred, a land teeming with an array of cultures, gods, and conflicts blighted by the shadow of chaos and destruction. Now, with the same intensity and dramatic sweep that has brought this epic to life, Elliott returns to the exquisitely crafted cities and landscapes of the Hundred, in a thunderous conclusion to the saga.

In the darkness of war and destruction, forces gather to reclaim the peace: Those immortal Guardians who still serve justice seek a means to end the devastating reign of one of their own; a hired outlander army struggles to halt the advance of the horde that has despoiled vast lands and slaughtered countless people in its murderous wake, while still guarding against a burgeoning threat from an aggressively expansionist empire; and the eagle reeves who have long been the only law enforcers of the Hundred struggle to reorganize after a devastating massacre has decimated their numbers. But even as these forces give hope to those who would live in peace, a terrible danger looms: a traitor with Imperial ambitions, the most dreaded, least anticipated threat of all…

In the unfolding drama of political upheaval and violent change, nothing is certain, as alliances dissolve and power shifts with the unpredictability of a desert sandstorm. A riotous epic with the vast breadth and excitement only masterful storyteller Kate Elliott can summon, Traitors’ Gate will leave her many readers begging for more. 

From the very beginning of Traitors Gate, this did not feel like the conclusion to a trilogy. To me, it felt more like the third book in an ongoing series. There was just so much that was happening, new characters being introduced and conflicts that needed to be resolved. Despite this novel being close to 900 pages, I kept wondering through out how the author was going to resolve everything. Well, I wouldn’t really say that she did. This trilogy could easily become longer series. In fact, I would love to read another book in this world continuing from Traitors Gate.

As for the book itself, I think this has to be the best of the three. There was a lot more action, sense of danger and tension between characters. Shai in particular really comes into his own. In the beginning of Spirit Gate, he was a quiet recluse. By the end of Traitors Gate he’s become strong and confident. Putting himself in danger time after time to protect innocent lives. His adventure alone would be a worthy tale.

Unfortunately, I feel like this book (and the whole trilogy really) suffered from having too many characters. There were certain characters that I was far more interested in than others and I felt like the ones I actually cared about didn’t get very much page time. Marit and Kirit, for example, I didn’t get nearly enough of. I really wanted more about the Guardians in general. They were far more interesting than some of the other characters, but perhaps the author meant to keep an air of mystery around them.

One thing that really bothered me, not just about this book but the whole trilogy, was the prevalent misogyny. Men can basically do whatever they want in some cultures in this world. A man can literally go to a woman’s father and just buy her as a wife and there’s nothing she can do about it. She can’t say no. In one culture, the women aren’t even allowed to show there faces outside and their names can’t be spoken to outsiders. If her face is seen by a man not her kin, she’ll basically be disowned. It irritated me throughout that men, especially those in positions of power could just buy or take a woman if they wanted.

And the slavery! I’m sure the author was trying to show how horrible slaves are treated and that it is wrong and bad, but the things that happened to some of them was stomach turning. Did she have to go so far as to include pedophilia?

Kate Elliott knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats, ending chapters in such a way that you have to keep going. So many times, I was like “omg, I can’t believe that just happened!” There were so many unexpected things here.

Overall, I think Crossroads is a great fantasy trilogy that any fan of the genre would enjoy. My rating for Traitors Gate is 4 out of 5 stars and I would recommend it to fans of fantasy who also enjoy political intrigue and multiple points of view.

Have you read this trilogy? What did you think?

Thanks for reading!

Book Talk – How Many Characters is Too Many?

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I have been reading fantasy novels basically as long as I could read. For the sake of argument, I’ll say I’ve been reading adult fantasy novels for over 25 years. In that time, I’ve read several hundred books and I’d like to share something that has really come to bother me in the last little while.

How many characters is too many characters? 10? 20?

Fantasy is often made up of sweeping epics that can get quite long. It’s fairly normal for a fantasy novel to have 500 – 1000 pages. In a lot of these novels, there are a lot of characters. Though some may die throughout the series, there’s always more being introduced. As I’ve been reading my current book and going through these different characters points of view, I’m wondering, was that really necessary? Is this character actually adding anything to the overall story here? Would it have made a difference if this character never existed?

Epics like A Song of Ice and Fire, The Wheel of Time, Dragonlance, etc, have so many characters that it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. And when you go to a new chapter and suddenly you’re following a new character (and a character you don’t even like) it can be somewhat jarring. It can take you out of the story as you now have to adjust what this person is doing instead of the person before.

Honestly, this is one of the biggest reasons why I only read two books of the Song of Ice and Fire series. I didn’t like most of the characters, which means I didn’t care about them, so I didn’t care about the story. I only actually liked two or three characters and naturally one of them dies by the end of the first book. I couldn’t keep going.

I can only think of one series (that I’ve read) that has a first person point of view that stays with the same character. Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series sticks with the same character from beginning to end for each of the 3 trilogies that make up the series. You never see what other characters are doing except from the main character’s perspective. This may be one of the reasons I love this series so much. Do you know of any others? I’d really love to know!

This turned into more of a rant than I had intended. I would like to know what other people’s opinions on the subject are. Do you prefer to read from the first person point of view of only one character, or do you enjoy getting into the minds of various different people? Let me know in the comments.

2022 – A Year of Reading (and not)

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2022 has officially come to an end and I wish I could say that it was an amazing year for reading and that I got through more books than I ever have before, but that would be an absolute lie.

I had set a goal of 52 books ( 1 book a week) for 2022 and sadly only made it to 31. I fell into a pretty significant reading slump around September. I just couldn’t get myself into reading. Instead, I wanted to make something. So, first I decided to try cross stitch. That was something I thought I would never have the patience for but in the end, I really enjoyed it. It can take quite awhile to finish a project, if it isn’t something small. Plus, I’ve found it difficult to find patterns I like and actually want to do. Funnily, while looking for something else, I found a small bag packed full of embroidery floss. I don’t think I will ever need to buy more in my life lol.

Not long after that, I also got back into crotchet. This was something I hadn’t done in well over a decade, but suddenly I just really wanted to. I decided to make scarves and stuff for my friends for Christmas, which then took up most of my free time. I’m still working on a few projects but I’m not quite as gung ho about it as I was a month or so ago.

Throughout this time I kept thinking about reading. I had a book I had started that was good but I just couldn’t get myself to sit down and read it. I’ve learned over the years that I can’t force myself out of a reading slump. I will always get tired of reading at some point and become really focused on a different hobby. So, I just go with the flow and do whatever it is that I feel like doing at the time.

I’m feeling more like reading now and I have set a goal of 50 books for this year. I’m also hoping to spend more time on this blog in 2023. I’m sure I’ve said that before and I think the new year always makes me feel optimistic about things and I make plans that don’t always work out.

What are your reading goals for 2023? How was 2022 for you? I’ve love to hear about what your goals are and what books you have planned on your TBR.

Thanks for reading!

Book Talk – Reading Slumps

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Reading slumps. Every reader has experienced them at one time or another. Maybe you just finished a book, or a series or trilogy and you don’t know what to read next. Maybe you start something new and it just isn’t what you’re in the mood for. You stare at your book shelf (or digital library) and try to decide what to read, what looks good. Nothing appeals to you in the moment so you walk away. But then you stay away.

Now you find something else that grabs your attention. Maybe it’s a TV show, or a jigsaw puzzle. It could be anything. But what does this mean? Well, I’m sorry to say, you’re in a reading slump. So, what should you do about it? There are all kinds of lists and videos by booktubers, booktokers on what to read to get you out of a reading slump. You can certainly try any of those. You may find something you really like.

But, you’re here reading this and not one of those lists, so what is my advice? How should you get yourself out of a reading slump? By not doing anything!

Reading, like all hobbies, should be done because you enjoy it. Forcing yourself to read when you really don’t want to isn’t going to accomplish anything. Instead, do what makes you happy in the moment. Perhaps you’re interested in trying out a new hobby. Or maybe that pile of jigsaw puzzles gathering dust suddenly needs your attention. It doesn’t matter what you do instead as long as you get enjoyment out of what you are doing.

There was a time when I would feel guilty when I was in a reading slump. I’d look at my bookshelf at all my unread books and know that my yearly goal wasn’t going to be achieved and feel like I should be reading, but I just didn’t want to. I’ve learned to get over that. Life is too short to force yourself to do something you don’t want to do.

I am currently in a reading slump, and since this is a book blog, it means I’ve also been in a blogging slump. I wish I could believe that my readers have missed me but I know that I don’t have many readers.

So, what have I been doing instead of reading? Well, I started doing cross stitch and I recently got back into crocheting, which I haven’t done in over a decade. With wanting to do that, I decided to make gifts for my friends this year so I’ve been busy getting that done before the holidays.

I did start reading a new book yesterday and got about 100 pages in (total around 700 pages) so I’m feeling pretty good about that. I’m hoping I can keep that going as I did enjoy reading again. So, hopefully, I’ll be back with a new book review in the near future.

Thanks for reading!

Book Talk – Unpopular Opinion – The Lord of the Rings

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Let me start this by saying that I have absolute respect for J.R.R. Tolkein and what his books have done for the modern fantasy genre, however, in my opinion, these are not good books.

I first read these books when the movies came out so I would have been in my late teens/early twenties. I’d read a few fantasy series before this so I wasn’t new to the genre. Reading these books was an absolute slog! I don’t think it has ever taken me as long to read a single book as it did to read the Fellowship of the Ring. there was nothing intriguing about it, nothing to make me want to keep reading or pick it up again. That novel sat in my night stand for months waiting for me to read it and I just couldn’t. Every time I looked at it, I cringed.

Somehow, I did eventually read all 3 of the novels. That was only because at that time in my life I refused to not finish a book. I honestly wish I’d never picked these books up. They were so bogged down with needless description and no sense of urgency whatsoever. I didn’t care about the characters in the least or the story. Honestly, couldn’t the golden eagles have taken the ring and just dropped it into Mordor? Problem solved. Story over.

The endings went on forever. Yes, endings. There were several endings that just kept adding needless information that I really didn’t care about. And when they put all that into the last movie it was painful to sit through in a movie theatre. It was boring and I didn’t care.

I know the Lord of the Rings is a beloved classic and J.R.R. Tolkein is considered the “father of modern fantasy” but I honestly believe that if he hadn’t ever written anything, someone else would have come along and written an epic fantasy series that would take the world by storm and everyone else would copy for generations to come.

And now, with the new show, Rings of Power, it feels like the producers or anyone who benefits from this production are just milking the franchise for all it’s worth. I haven’t watched any of it so I won’t comment further on that except to say that people getting upset about black elves and dwarves need to get over it already.

It’s unlikely that anyone will actually read this post so thankfully I won’t have hordes of die hard fans screaming at me and sending death threats in the comments, but if anyone should read this and is interested in friendly discussion, I’m always open for that.

Thanks for reading!