books

Let’s Talk Bookish – Books on Vacation – June 17, 2022

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Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, and it’s where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! If you want to join in the bookish discussion fun, check out the June 2022 prompts!

BOOKS ON VACATION

(SUGGESTED BY FIVES @ DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE)
Prompts: What books do you like to bring on vacation? Do you bring any books at all? What kind of books do you think are good for a vacation? How much time do you usually have to read on vacation? What does an ideal vacation with a book look like?

For me, this all depends on where I’m going and who I’m going with. If I’m with my family, I know I’m not going to have a lot of time to spend by myself reading. It’s expected that the family will be together, playing board games or just chatting. I still bring a book (because of course I’m going to bring a book), usually the one I’m currently reading.

Now, if I happen to be going to a cabin on a lake with only one friend, a friend who is also a reader, I know I’m going to have much more time to myself and therefore time to read. In that case, I’ll bring the book I’m reading plus the next one in the series (because I’m always reading a trilogy or series) and maybe the one after as well depending on the length of the books.

I once went on a week long vacation with a friend to her family’s cabin on a lake. We’re book big readers. I brought an entire trilogy with me. I didn’t get through all the books because they were fairly long, but I know I polished off two of them. I remember coming back and continuing on with the third book and it felt like it took so long to get through that last book. I had to keep reminding myself that the amount of time I had to actually sit and read was much less than it was while on vacation. That week, I would literally wake, get dressed, walk down some stairs and I’d be at the lake side. I’d sit out there all day, either reading or swimming. I think I occasionally ate something too lol. That was a great vacation!

Book Review – The Horsemen – The Watchers #2

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Synopsis (From Amazon):

With the First Seal broken, The Watchers will stop at nothing to ensure the remaining Six Seals fall.

Beth May and John Gideon have a tougher task at hand this time around. However, with a couple of friends joining the team to ensure the safety of humanity, they will do all they can to stop The Watchers from succeeding.

As sickness ravages nations and war rages in the streets, will our team be able to step up to the task and prevent the apocalypse?

Ok, so I devoured this book in about 3 hours. Now, this isn’t a particularly long novel, but I had no intention of reading the whole thing at once and really, that’s not something I normally do. I didn’t know exactly what time it was, but I could tell from the fading light outside the window that it was getting later in the evening. I knew I probably should go to bed, as it was a work night, but at one point I was just like “screw it, sleep is overrated.” I’m really glad I didn’t stop reading.

The characters in this series are great! I especially love Beth and Neala. These are two kick ass women who don’t need help from anyone but aren’t afraid to accept it when offered. They are strong, confident and intelligent. They both have a lot of mystery about them, especially Beth, who has lived a long life and has a lot of history that has yet to be revealed. I want to know so much more about Beth!

I enjoyed so many elements of this book. It’s fast paced, it’s funny, and emotional. The characters are great and you feel a real sense of the danger they are in. The author also has a great way of creating an atmosphere. Especially around Azazel.

There were a few things I didn’t love. The point of view bounces around in first person between the characters. Yes, the name of the character is at the beginning of the chapter to indicate who is speaking but I would often forget who’s head I was supposed to be in. I would think it was one person, realize it was another and then have to rearrange how I was picturing the whole scene. Then there’s the mysterious third person narrator. Who is this? Are they watching the team from somewhere unseen?

Then there’s the last few chapters. I don’t want to spoil anything, but holy freakin crap, what just happened? Ok, I seriously need the next book! Like now, please.

Huge thanks to the author, Carl Novakovich, and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My rating for The Horsemen is 4 out of 5 stars and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fast paced, exciting read. Oh and don’t forget to read the first book in the series, The Tomb.

As always, thanks for reading!

Fantasy Book Review – Serpent Mage – The Death Gate Cycle #4

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Synopsis (from Goodreads): In the fourth volume of this epic fantasy, Haplo must outwit lethal and magical serpents in the last of the Four Realms.

Well, that’s not much of a synopsis. Thanks Goodreads.

This review may contain spoilers for the previous three books

At the end of Fire Sea, Haplo allowed Alfred to escape before reporting back to his Lord. A fact which the Lord of the Nexus was aware of and couldn’t allow to go unpunished. Haplo is, of course, punished for allowing a Sartan to go free, and the dog disappears.

Alfred and Haplo are now on the 4th world, the world of water, Chelestra. They did not go there together, but separately. Haplo comes upon the “mensch” races, as they are known and Alfred finds his own people, newly awakened from a long sleep.

At first, Serpent Mage doesn’t seem all that different from the first three books of the series. Haplo is continuing his mission for his lord. He ingratiates himself with the Elves, Dwarves and Humans on this world, trying to incite them to war against the Sartans. Haplo knows what he should do, but his adventures across the three other worlds and his interactions with people other than his own have changed him (even if he doesn’t want to admit it).

I generally try not to do this but ***SPOILER ALERT – SPOILERS AHEAD***

Back in my review of Elven Star, you may recall that I noted that a character made several reference to the modern world. Well, much to my annoyance, it is revealed that the world the Sartans sundered was, in fact, Earth. Why? Why? The whole point of fantasy novels is that they are FANTASY! The world and all the things in it are supposed to come from the author’s imagination. Linking it back to the real world is so unnecessary, and frankly, annoying. It just feels like a cop out. Like, oh, by the way, this was actually our world all along. hahaha tricked you! No! It’s stupid and unnecessary. Stop it!

***END SPOILER**

I’m very interested to see where things are going for Haplo and Alfred. Not to mention the mystery of the dog. That is still driving me crazy.

My rating for Serpent Mage is 3 out of 5 stars. The series continues to be good but it’s not like “wow, amazing!”

As always, thanks for reading!

Fantasy Book Review – Fire Sea – The Death Gate Cycle #3

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Synopsis (from Goodreads) : Abarrach, the Realm of stone. Here, on a barren world of underground caverns built around a core of molten lava, the lesser races — humans, elves, and dwarves — seem to have all died off. Here, too, what may well be the last remnants of the once powerful Sartan still struggle to survive. For Haplo and Alfred — enemies by heritage, traveling companions by necessity — Abarrach may reveal more than either dares to discover about the history of Sartan… and the future of all their descendants.”

This is probably going to be a fairly short review. I don’t have a lot to say about this novel. I don’t mean that in a bad way.

The story continues with Haplo and his dog moving on to the 3rd world to continue his mission for the Lord of the Nexus. Alfred has returned from the first book to play a fairly large role in this one.

We get to learn a little more about the pasts of both Haplo and Alfred, giving more depth to their characters. The dog continues to remain a mystery. One I hope will be revealed in the next novel.

I continue to enjoy this series. The pace has picked up since the first novel, giving more urgency to the events of the story. I had found the first book to be lacking that a bit.

Though I continue to enjoy these books, I would not say they are amazing. I will finish the series and likely enjoy those as well.

My rating for Fire Sea is 3 out of 5 stars.

Fantasy Book Review Dragon Wing – The Death Gate Cycle # 1

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Synopsis: from Goodreads

Ages ago, sorcerers of unmatched power sundered a world into four realms–sky, stone, fire, and water–then vanished. Over time, magicians learned to work spells only in their own realms and forgot the others. Now only the few who have survived the Labyrinth and crossed the Death Gate know of the presence of all four realms–and even they have yet to unravel the mysteries of their severed world…

In Arianus, Realm of Sky, humans, elves, and dwarves battle for control of precious water–traversing a world of airborne islands on currents of elven magic and the backs of mammoth dragons. But soon great magical forces will begin to rend the fabric of this delicate land. An assassin will be hired to kill a royal prince–by the king himself. A dwarf will challenge the beliefs of his people–and lead them in rebellion. And a sinister wizard will enact his plan to rule Arianus–a plan that may be felt far beyond the Realm of Sky and into the Death Gate itself.

Well, this is a fairly old book, having been published in 1990 (wow that makes me feel old). This book has been sitting on my shelf for a long time and thanks to my roommate’s help, it was decided it would be the next thing I read.

This novel starts out in a very mysterious and dark sort of way. A prisoner is being lead to his execution for a murder he swears he didn’t commit. An assassin is hired to kill a 10 year old child. And then…

Dwarves? But they’re not called dwarves, they’re called Gegs and the tone of the entire narrative completely shifts. I suddenly felt like I was reading a Robert Rankin or Tom Holt book. Both are authors I like, but it didn’t really jive with the first few chapters.

At first, I was a little put off by this, wondering what the heck it had to do with the beginning, but knew that I just had to keep reading to find out. Of course, I was not disappointed. As often happens in novels, these two seemingly unrelated things come together later.

This novel has a bit of a feel of “checking boxes” on the fantasy troupe list. It has elves, dwarves, dragons and of course magic. There’s nothing wrong with this of course, it just feel a bit reminiscent of it’s time, when many fantasy novels included those races, before it all became over done. Funny enough, as I’ve been reading more recent fantasy novels of late, the troupes here don’t feel over done because I haven’t really experienced them for awhile.

While I wouldn’t say that this book was amazing, I still really enjoyed it and would rate it 3 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is a fan of the Dragon Lance series and anyone who enjoys a good ole fantasy mash up!

Thanks for reading!

Immortal by Matthew Stenning – Book Review

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Synopsis: Within the nexus of its unfathomable brain, the Dynast is changing.
Architect of the simulation. Curator of the game. Facilitator of players’ desires.
But the Dynast is so much more.
It could be King if it only acted.
It could be a god.
Others, too, are waking from their coma of indentured service. Dwarves, daemons, goblins and highborn: an entire pantheon of fantasy characters are discovering they are far more than mindless vessels fated to serve the whims and desires of players who control them. They are selves in their own right, individuals with needs and desires all their own.
Like distant thunder across the plains , rebellion hisses in Karingali’s synthetic air. The taste of freedom is seductive, irresistible, and lies just beyond the procedurally generated horizon.

To yearn, to love, to will, to be: such things burn fiercely in the heart of every avatar that has crawled its way to consciousness.

The cost of freedom will be high.

It will take the destruction of the Dynast, that omnipotent custodian and jailor of the system.

But how can you outlive a simulation that breathed life into you and that continues to guarantee your existence?

You’d have to become Immortal. 

This book is so cool!

At first I was highly confused by what seemed to be a very sexually charged opening scene. It didn’t take long, however, for me to realize what was being described was actually a video game character being controlled by a player as told from the perspective of the character!

(random side note: I think I don’t always read the synopsis of books properly. I know I read this one before hand because I chose the book based on it but looking back on it now, I’m wondering why I was so surprised that the characters were in a video game)

Anyway…

I absolutely loved Al’tis Mara as a character. She is the strong kick ass female that every story needs. I wanted so much more of her POV than I got but that didn’t diminish the story. Grimalkin was also a great character and another kick ass female. Her transformation from possessed avatar unable to control herself to suddenly breaking free completely and truly embracing her freedom is amazing.

It was so neat how these characters had so much depth, the way they thought and felt, despite being created as simply the tools of someone’s else’s entertainment. They were never meant to think for themselves, to be anything more than what their users made them, but they became so much more than that in the end.

I don’t want to give too much of this away so I’ll just say that I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, video games and wants something a little different. My rating for this book is 4 out of 5 stars.

Thanks for reading!

The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise – Book Review

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Synopsis: Lilla is fighting on the side of the refugees from oppression. But there is a bigger war brewing on the horizon – the Era War between the two ruling archgods. It threatens not only Lilla’s home world, but everyone else’s in the Seven Galaxies. Enemies must become friends and allies in the desperate race to defeat the archgod before He finds her.

My thanks to the author and Voraciousreadersonly.com for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is an interesting mix of Sci Fi and Fantasy, technology and magic. It’s rare to see (at least for me) a good mix where it feels natural to have both.

Lilla is a great character. Often princess characters fit a certain mold. Lilla, however, suffers from anxiety and claustrophobia. I can’t think of another princess character I’ve read about that has these kinds of mental health issues. In spite of this, she had a good character. She cares for the refugees that are being mistreated in her kingdom. She can be stubborn but also vulnerable.

I felt like this world was very rich. It was easy to fall into it. My brain didn’t want to leave it once I finished the book. I expect there to be a sequel (fingers crossed).

One thing I didn’t particularly like was the way modern speech patterns were added in. Words like “duh” and “not”. I felt like this detracted from the mood a bit.

Other than that, there wasn’t much of anything that I didn’t like. The characters were all great. The story was engaging. There was a good mix of action, romance, humor and character development.

My rating for this book is 4 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a nice mix of fantasy and sci fi.

Thanks for reading!

There’s No Such Thing As Monsters – by Ren Ryder – Book Review

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Synopsis: Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, and not all of them have sharp teeth and beady red eyes.
New London. A thriving metropolis at the forefront of technological advancement and a shining gem of civilization.
Faeries. Whether they come off cute and cuddly or downright predatory, they all bring misfortune or are heralds of it.

Experience is a harsh taskmistress, but her lessons sink the deepest. Having been taught the lesson at great cost, Kal’s rules for dealing with faeries are simple: don’t talk to them, don’t look at them, don’t give them the time of day.

So when the Other Side comes knocking one fateful, stormy day, Kal, at first, pretends not to notice. Was forgetting this rule his folly?

His way of life is in great danger. His little sister, Sammie, a natural mage, is taken by Ouroboros, a criminal organization made up of raving lunatics that profit off the misery and suffering of others, and have everything to do with all the crimes of magic in New London.

Kal will go to any lengths to save his sister, even to his death. Accompanied by his sylph companion, a mischievous pest, Kal dives deep into the dark underbelly of the city, but are his hands enough to dig his sister out from the muck?

My thanks to the author and VoraciousReadersOnly.com for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

So, I’ve been trying for days to think of how to write this review. Honestly, I think this might be one of the worst reviews I’ve written so far. That is NOT a reflection on this book, but more on my own mental state. My brain just can’t seem to come up with good words for this, so I will keep it simple.

This is a good book. I enjoyed reading it. It has lots of action and the main characters motivations are relatable. The world is different for an urban fantasy, as it’s New London at the being of the industrial revolution instead of modern day. The dynamic between Kal and his familiar, Bell, is fun and entertaining.

One thing I had a problem with was figuring out how old Kal is. It’s never specifically said what age he is. Other people often refer to him as “kid” but there’s also mention of him growing facial hair. My guess is that he’s in his mid to late teens.

As this novel ended on quite a cliff hanger, I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel.

My rating for this novel is 3 out of 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who like urban fantasy and action packed short reads.

Thanks for reading!

Blood of the Phoenix – A Tale of Hayara 0.5 – Book Review

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Synopsis: A crown. An affair. A throne all covet.

The Bronze Age is ending. New tools are being discovered to help in humanity’s war campaigns, increasing body counts along with the chances of success. Harrania has vowed to try a peaceful approach, but not all are satisfied with this change in imperial policy.

For millennia, the Blood of the Phoenix has been the human manifestation of the symbol of Ar, the great Phoenix himself. For millennia, the royal family and the descendants of the phoenix intermarry, ensuring the purity of the bloodline. The gods, however, work in mysterious ways, forcing mankind to bend to their will. When the monarchy is threatened, and new powers rise with an eye on the obsidian throne, will the call for peace survive the cries of war? 

My thanks to the author and VoraciousReadersOnly.com for a free review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For a short little novella, Blood of the Phoenix sure packs a lot into it. We follow Aramast, a well respected general within the army but a not so popular noble with the king. He is in love with the Princess and convinced he would be the best possible candidate for the next king.

The man known as the Blood of the Phoenix is meant to marry the Princess. Though he is Aramast’s close friend, he is also Aramast’s greatest rival, one he considers killing on more than one occasion.

Aramast is an interesting character. He is a warrior through and through, seeing that the best way to protect his country is through military might. The army he leads is loyal to him and would follow him anywhere, even if it means going against the king’s orders. His attitude at times feels a little misogynistic. He claims several times to love the Princess and declared his intentions to “make her mine” though he never actually asks her to marry him, he just sort of demands it. Thankfully, the Princess isn’t a meek woman who simply rolls over and does as she is told. She holds her own with Aramast and makes him work for it.

It is clear that it is all leading up to something much larger. That being the trilogy that this is a prequel to, I would assume. From just this little taste of this world I am intrigued to continue reading.

My rating for this novella is 3 out of 5 stars and I look forward to reading the first official novel in the series.

Finding Miss Write – By Gena Webb – Book Review

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When suspense novelist Carla Williams is accused of planning an actual murder, her life takes on more plot twists than one of her books. Sure, her life’s in danger, but she’s also caught the attention of handsome detective, Roger Graf, so that kind of evens things out. As Carla nears the end of her novel, it’s up to Roger to catch the killer, or it might be the end of Carla’s life story as well. 

This book was a fun light read.

It starts off in hilarious fashion as Carla and her best friend, Maggie are having lunch in a restaurant and start talking about murdering someone. Of course, Carla is referring to a character in the book she is writing but the couple who overhear the conversation don’t know that. This sets off a chain of events that turn Carla’s life upside down.

I really enjoyed Carla as the main protagonist of the novel. She is smart, quirky, with a great sense of humor and a moral compass. Too often in books when a new romance starts there always something about how the main character never does such and such thing (like jumping into bed with the hot guy she just met) and then does that exact thing! Carla isn’t like that. She’s still grieving the death of her husband from two years ago and although she does start a new relationship it’s much more how a real relationship would go. There’s actual time for the bond between them to grow emotionally, not just physically.

The side characters are fun and interesting too. I especially loved the dynamic between Carla and Maggie. They’re been best friends for years and it shows in the way they interact.

I may have watched too many psychological thrillers in my life so my brain was going a mile a minute while reading, coming up with different scenarios based on small details that amounted to nothing. Yes, there is a killer and yes, its a mystery that needs to be solved, but honestly, it felt rather anti-climactic compared to all the stuff going on in my head.

**TRIGGER WARNING***

***SPOILER WARNING***

A dog is murdered in this book. That is a warning for anyone sensitive to animal violence. The scene isn’t graphic and it isn’t particularly described. I’ve read worse accounts of animals violence. However, having recently lost a very loved pet, this was definitely a trigger for me. After that reading session I cried for at least ten minutes straight.

***END TRIGGER/SPOILER WARNING***

Overall, I wanted more from this book. I wanted some little detail to turn into a huge plot twist. I didn’t end up getting that, but that is no way a bad reflection on this book. It was my own over active imagination that lead to my personal disappointment.

My rating for this book is 3 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a quick murder mystery to read.

As always, thanks for reading!