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!

Unpopular Opinion Book Tag – 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!

Songbird (Griffinsong #1) By J. Victoria Michael – Book Review

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Songbird by J. Victoria Michael is about a young woman named Irenya who is suddenly transported to another world. Unable to return the same way she came, she has to try to find another way home.

For a book less than 300 hundred pages, I was expecting this to be faster paced. It started out well enough when Irenya suddenly goes through a portal and finds herself in another world. She is naturally confused and afraid, especially when met with hostility. The people of this new world are wary of her, thinking her some type of invader. She has to endure a few nasty things that make her fear and hate the archprince, who rules the castle she has ended up in.

When she fails to leave this new world by way of the mirror she came through, she immediately falls into depression. I can understand her initial fear and confusion and even her depression at not being able to leave like she wants but her crying and whining about her situation goes on for literally months.

Irenya finds some solace in music and singing but also refuses to play for her hosts for a significant amount of time. What bothers me the most about her is how she just takes for granted that these people are feeding and clothing her for basically nothing. She isn’t expected to do any type of chores (though she does occasionally help in the kitchen) or manual labor to earn her keep. All she really does is learn how to ride a horse and play music. She constantly jumps to conclusions about people, especially the archprince, and doesn’t take the time to really learn anything about the world she’s in.

After being there for a few months, she does start going to the library to learn a little, but honestly, her efforts are weak at best. I found the pov’s of other characters (brief as they were) far more interesting than Irenya’s.

It wasn’t until about halfway through or maybe three quarters that the plot starts to pick up. The ending felt rather abrupt but made sure I’d be interested in the next book. I really hope to see Irenya grow as a character, to see from the point of view of the people around her and realize that she could be more grateful to them. I am curious where this story is going and will read the next installment.

My rating for this book is 3 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend it to people who enjoy portal fantasy, slow pace and an unreliable narrator.

Have you read this book? Let me know what you thought in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

Monthly Wrap Up – August 2022

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Wow, tomorrow is the first day of September! Where has this year gone? Seriously, wasn’t it just Easter?

Well, in terms in reading, August wasn’t the best month. I only finished two books, but they were both fairly long books so I’ll cut myself a little slack there.

Lately, I’ve felt like I want to make things. So, I’ve started doing cross stitch and really want to get back into crocheting, which is something I haven’t done in many years.

So, as I have a tendency to do, I’m obsessing over those two things, pending most of my evenings working on my current cross stitch project and spending other free time looking up patterns online. This also means I’m spending all my money on getting supplies for these new projects. Thankfully, I was able to borrow a few things from friends and family so I don’t have to buy everything.

I haven’t completely ignored reading, though. I still try to read at least one chapter a night. In September I may focus on a few shorter books to sustain me while I continue with the cross stitch and crochet stuff.

So, how was August for you? What are your plans for September?

Fantasy Book Review – Spirit Gate – Crossroads #1 by Kate Elliott

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Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

For hundreds of years the Guardians have ruled the world of the Hundred, but these powerful gods no longer exert their will on the world. Only the reeves, who patrol on enormous eagles, still represent the Guardians’ power. And the reeves are losing their authority; for there is a dark shadow across the land that not even the reeves can stop.

A group of fanatics has risen to devour villages, towns, and cities in their drive to annihilate all who oppose them. No one knows who leads them; they seem inhumanly cruel and powerful. Mai and Anji, riding with a company of dedicated warriors and a single reeve who may hold a key to stopping the deadly advance of the devouring horde, must try, or the world will be lost to the carnage. But a young woman sworn to the Goddess may prove more important than them all . . . if they are not too late.

I have just finished reading this and to be honest, I’m not sure what I think of it.

I expected the giant eagles would be something more along the lines of the Companions in the Valdemar series. I thought they would have some type of bond or telepathic connection with their Reeves, but they don’t. The only similarities are that the eagles choose their Reeves and Companions choose their Heralds. It’s also never really explained how exactly an eagle chooses a person to become a Reeve.

I felt like this book lacked enough action to truly keep me engaged. My mind wandered often while reading. A lot of the narrative just feels like a long set up before getting to the point. I’m not sure what the point even was. The journeys of the different characters do bring them together as the plot intertwines.

As for the characters, I like Mai and her husband Anji. Mai is beautiful and therefore not expected to be smart. Most of her life she has molded herself to what she believed others wanted her to be. Once she is married and leaves her hometown, she is suddenly free to become who she truly is. It’s also nice that Anji is a good man who never forces her into anything.

Mai’s uncle, Shai, who left with his niece and her new husband hasn’t really grown on me. Sometimes he was just kind of whiney and I didn’t care much for his POV. Reeve Joss is a broken man who is grieving the loss of his lover even after 20 years.

One thing I did really like is that the cultures were based more in Asian cultures than western ones. A woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin is thought to be a demon or the spawn of a demon because her colouring is so unusual. The majority of the people, including all the main characters, have darker skin tones, hair and eyes. In a genre that often defaults to a more mid-evil Europe type of settings, this was refreshing.

There was nothing in particular that I disliked about this book, but I would have liked more action, more sense of urgency to keep me more engaged as I read. The ending of the book was certainly enough to guarantee that I will read the next book. I just hope the next two books are more engaging.

Oddly, there is no type of magic system here. It is mentioned that there is some type of magic around the eagles to help them choose Reeves but what exactly that magic is or where it comes from, isn’t mentioned.

My rating for this novel is 3 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend it to those who enjoy a slower paced fantasy with little to no magic.

Thanks for reading!

Book Talk – Fantasy Fun- Unicorns

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Unicorns.

Beautiful, majestic creatures synonymous with purity. The legend around unicorns doesn’t vary much by country, or really since they were first believed to exist. Many believed that unicorn horns contained magical properties and could cure any illness. Therefore, unicorn horns were widely sought after, and fake ones were often pedaled as the real thing. It was believed that a young maiden could entrance a unicorn, that if she sat calmly a unicorn would come, lay down and put it’s head in her lap. This was supposedly the method used to capture unicorns.

Now a days, unicorns are every where. I don’t think I can go into a store of one kind or another and not see something with a unicorn on it. Granted, these unicorns are more the cartoon-y type ones as opposed to the majestic, graceful ones. Not that there’s a problem with this. I myself have several of the TY unicorns, in varying colours.

Where I don’t see unicorns very much is in fantasy novels. As I was thinking of writing this article, I realized I could only think of 3 instances, that I’ve read, of unicorns in books. The Last Unicorn, The Obsidian Trilogy and The Twelve Kingdoms. And to be fair, in the Twelve Kingdoms, they are Kirin, the Japanese version of unicorns.

A quick search on Goodreads for the word “unicorn” brought up mostly children’s and middle grade books about unicorns. There was very little that I could see that would be YA or adult fiction. Why is this? Are unicorns not a staple of the fantasy genre? When you think of “fantasy” do unicorns not come to mind?

Do you know of some fantasy fiction about unicorns? Do you want to see more unicorns in fantasy novels? Why do you think unicorns are written about as much as some other fantasy creature?

Monthly Wrap Up – July 2022

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I’m a bit late on the wrap up for this month, but I have been feeling a bit out of sorts the last few days.

July was not a great month for reading for me. I only finished two books and I’m now two books behind on my Goodreads Reading Challenge. I don’t know if I’m going to catch up on that this month or not. I’m thinking probably not as the book I started reading last night is a longer one, as are it’s sequels, so I’d be surprised if I got through those quickly.

July had a focus on other hobbies for me. I started a jigsaw puzzle which I pick at periodically and I also started doing cross stitch for the first time. I even completed two projects. (pictures on my instagram if you’re interested) I have two other patterns now waiting for my attention. One is definitely going to take quite a while to complete. It’s of a butterfly and I intend to give it to my mom after it’s complete because she loves butterflies. The other is of a black cat that I just thought was really cute. Not sure what I will do with that when it’s done.

I also rewatched all of Ted Lasso for the third time while working on my cross stitch and started watching the Boys. A review of season 1 will be posted shortly.

So, how was July for you? Did you read lots or not so much? Were you able to enjoy summer at all? Maybe read on a beach?

I’d love to know about it in the comments or link me to your own monthly wrap up!

Thanks for reading!

Fantasy Book Review – These Gossamer Strings – The Last Gift #3 by Allegra Pescatore

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Synopsis (From Goodreads):

A God is Dead. A Queen is Missing. Secrets are Unraveling.

On trial for the murder of the King, Elenor and Gabriel must become allies if they want to survive. His magic is spiraling out of control, awakening a mystery hidden in the very walls of the palace. She has one month to pass her Water Rite and find a way out of the marriage her parents set up. But things are about to get much more complicated.

Between sadistic family members intent on taking Elenor’s throne, Tirit Mindel breathing down Gabriel’s neck, and a Golden Dragon appearing in the sky above the Mondaer Desert with an ominous warning, more than the Kingdom of Lirin is at stake.

If that weren’t bad enough, time is ticking down for Fedrik and Fay as well. With the desert turning against them and Daemon as a questionable new ally, figuring out how to control Fedrik’s Gift has become a matter of life and death.

Picking up in the fallout of Where Shadows Lie, In Silence Abiding is the long-awaited and non-stop second instalment of The Last Gift. Dive back into the world of Dracona and hold onto your hats. Things are about to get… salty.

Allegra Pescatore is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. Her writing is amazing from beginning to end and this novel is no exception.

The author has created an amazing world in The Last Gift series. It is rich and detailed, filled with magic and political intrigue. There’s always something happening. Even when you think “ok, these people have been through enough, give them a break” no! They are thrown into more impossible or dire situations. Every time I think these characters can’t possibly handle any more, some new horrible situation arises for them to deal with. Honestly, if I were any of these characters I’m pretty sure I would have had a mental breakdown in the first book.

I love how each chapter begins with a snippet from a letter or journal entry, giving a glimpse into the past, which adds understanding into some situations and relationships. These snippets add depth in a way flashbacks never could.

Several plot point were wrapped up in this novel, but several others are still hanging loosely, fluttering in the wind, taunting me until the next book comes out. Not sure how I will wait that long. There was one thing I predicted would happen in the first book that has finally come to pass (I don’t want to spoil what that is) but other than that one thing, this series is the last thing from predictable. I never knew what was going to happen next. My attention was constantly engaged and rarely wandered. I truly can’t wait what is in store for this world and it’s characters next.

There were a couple sex scenes in this novel, normally something I’m not a fan of, but somehow, I felt like the scenes added to the relationship between the characters instead of just being a sex scene.

I think I might have a bit of a crush on Gabriel. He’s just such a good person, truly caring and understanding of others, fiercely loyal and protective of the people he cares about. Best of all, he knows when people just need a hug and is willing to give one, no strings attached.

I really want to gush how amazing this novel is as well as the series itself, but instead, I’m just going to tell you to read it yourself. If you are a fan of any kind of fantasy, I think you will enjoy this novel. I’m rating it 5 out of 5 stars and hope more people will come to pick up this series and enjoy it as much as I have.

Have you read this book or any of the books in the series? I’d really love to know what you think if you have.

Thanks for reading 🙂

Check out my reviews of the previous books in this series: Whispers of Stone and Where Shadows Lie

The Death Gate Cycle Series Review

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I had fully intended to write reviews for all seven books of the Death Gate Cycle series. However, I soon got to a point where I didn’t really know what to say anymore and I just wanted to get through the books and finish the series.

So, overall, what did I think of this series? Well, for starters, the world building was a amazing. Each of the four worlds is very unique, each with their own beauty and dangers.

After the first book, some things were a bit predictable. It was fairly clear that Haplo would be visiting each of the four worlds and that each visit would take place within a single book. What happened after that was much less predictable.

Haplo changes significantly as a character. In the beginning, his loyalty to his lord and his lord’s cause is unwavering. He cares nothing for the people of the world’s he visits. He simply goes there to complete his mission. It isn’t long, though, before Haplo begins to change. The more time he spends around the various people of the different world’s and especially around the bumbling Alfred, he begins to see that his lord may not be the perfect ruler for all the worlds.

Other characters through out the series are interesting as well. Just don’t get too attached as they often have a tendency to die quite suddenly. Although, not every one stays dead.

I liked that the characters from the first four books made reappearances in later volumes. It may them feel more part of the story as a whole as opposed to just filler characters thrown in to serve Haplo’s journey.

I thought the magic system of the Sartans and Patryns was an interesting one. Rune magic isn’t an uncommon thing in fantasy but they way it was used here was less common. Each of the two races has their own set of runes, which the other race cannot use. The runes being tattooed on the skin of the Patryns was pretty cool in my opinion. Their race has existed in a horrid place, the Labyrinth, for centuries and they’ve found a way to help protect themselves and give warning of near by danger without having to actively use their magic.

My biggest dislike in this series is the references back to our modern world. I said this in a previous review that doing that in fantasy always annoys me. I read fantasy novels because I want to escape into an entirely new and different world that came from the author’s imagination. I feel like making that fantasy world into some distant future of our own world is just lazy and unnecessary. I’m sure there are times when it is done well, but I have yet to come across one.

Overall, this series is a solid 4 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it to any and all lovers of fantasy. I think this would be a good series for someone who is looking to dip their toe into the genre for the first time.

Thanks for reading!

Monthly Wrap Up – June 2022

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I have to say, June has been a very good month for reading for me. I completed 6 books, have a 7th that I’m almost finished and another to finish a series lined up. My main focus this past month was on the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I’m currently on book 6, which I hope to finish this evening then just have the 7th and final book and that series will be finished.

Once I’m finished that, I will probably read a couple of ebooks I have that I accepted review requests on. That should be a nice palate cleanser before I move on to a new series or trilogy.

I’ve been steadily working my way through a list of books that I own where the series or trilogy is complete. When I started, the list had close to 100 books on it. It is now down to 58. I’m 2 books behind on reaching my goal of 52 books this year, but hopefully I can make that up.

How was your reading in June? How’s July looking?