After visiting Starling House one night, Opal finds herself drawn back to the sprawling spooky mansion. She ends up convincing the owner, A 3.5 stars
After visiting Starling House one night, Opal finds herself drawn back to the sprawling spooky mansion. She ends up convincing the owner, Arthur, into reluctantly giving her a cleaning job. But there's more to Starling House than meets the eye, and the house wants Opal...
I thought this was a great, atmospheric, spooky little book. It came to my attention when I saw the author Alix Harrow speak at the LA Festival of books and I put it on my tbr after her panel. This is one of those books where I really did like it, but it had a stronger start than finish. I thought Opal and her brother Jasper were such fun characters with a great relationship. Arthur was very intriguing. I just think some of the pacing and plot lacked a bit, hence 3.5 stars and not a higher rating....more
I will start this out by saying I am not the target audience for this book. I read it for a book club and I am actually very proud of mysel 2.5 stars
I will start this out by saying I am not the target audience for this book. I read it for a book club and I am actually very proud of myself for finishing this 19 hour audiobook. Not much to say other than I think I would have liked it more if there had been either a time jump or maybe 200+ pages had been shaved off of this one. It was overly long with subplots that lead nowhere sometimes. At times it reminded me a lot of Robert Jordan's work in that while at its heart I recognize its worth and that there are good parts, but we didn't really need all of that....more
When Mercy's brother Gary shows up at her house incoherent and affected by magic, Mercy and Adam head to Montana to see if they can break the 4 stars
When Mercy's brother Gary shows up at her house incoherent and affected by magic, Mercy and Adam head to Montana to see if they can break the spell. There they find themselves trapped in a resort in the midst of a snowstorm with other guests of the lodge. But not everything is as it seems and Mercy and Adam must find a magical artifact before even worse things begin to happen.
Let me start this with I am being very kind with my 4 star rating. Any other author or series I probably would have rated much lower, but I absolutely love this series and Mercy. But this book really was not up to the standards of the other books in this series. It was very disjointed with bad pacing and took me a very long time to read. But it's like pizza, even when it's bad, it's good. And I'll always welcome more of these characters and this world into my life. I just hope the next installment in the series is more plot forward than this book. This book felt a lot like a side quest.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley. This did not affect my opinions, thoughts, rating, review. ...more
Book 2 in the Dark Rise series, you need to have read book 1 before reading this one. If you haven't, maybe avoid reading my review as it 3.75 stars
Book 2 in the Dark Rise series, you need to have read book 1 before reading this one. If you haven't, maybe avoid reading my review as it may contain spoilers for book 1. Also I won't do any summary, just thoughts on the book.
Dark Heir started out very slow for me, to the point that I almost quit at about 35%. There were a lot of new things thrown at us and lots of names to keep track of, but it got a lot better by the end of the book. I was sad we didn't get more of Violet in this book as she's my favorite character, but it made sense as other plot points needed to be pushed forward.
I am very excited for book 3 but nervous as there's no release date. I really want to know what happens mostly because (view spoiler)[ I was so frustrated with how quickly all of Will's friends turned on him once they found out he was the dark king. (hide spoiler)].
So if you get frustrated reading this push through because the end was great....more
It's really hard to describe the plot of this book in a way that would make sense, so I won't even try. CS Pacat is an author I've read before and didIt's really hard to describe the plot of this book in a way that would make sense, so I won't even try. CS Pacat is an author I've read before and didn't super love, but a book friend asked me to trust them that this was good so I did, and I really liked this book a lot. I listened to the audiobook which was excellently done.
There were lots of fantasy bits that I didn't quite compute, but am told book 2 helps make a lot of sense of book one so I'll read it soon. I really liked the worldbuilding and characters in this book a lot and would love to see more of both in the series. You can also tell when reading this book that the author put their heart and soul into writing it....more
The third book in a series, Disturbing the Dead is not a standalone and you must read the first two books in the series to understand what happens in The third book in a series, Disturbing the Dead is not a standalone and you must read the first two books in the series to understand what happens in this book. Mallory, a woman who time travelled from the modern day into Victorian Scotland into the body of a young and pretty maid helps her employer to solve crimes as police consultants. When asked to attend a party of a mummy unwrapping, Mallory and Dr. Gray find a more recent body instead.
Kelley Armstrong is one of my all time favorite authors and this book proved yet again why I love her. I was riveted by this book and was finding excuses to keep listening to it as much as possible. In some regards in this third book we got some closure as the reader on certain topics. But what I really love is Mallory the main character and all of the relationships she has built with all of the side characters. That's what Kelley does best, bringing a cast of characters to life as if they're people you would know, even in Victorian Scotland.
This has quickly become one of my favorite series, and I hope there's a plan for MANY installments in the future because I cannot get enough of them.
I was gifted an advanced listening copy of this book via libro.fm as a part of their librarian ALC program ...more
Unpopular opinion time: This series should have ended with the second book.
This third book was overly long and over-explained SO MUCH, which yes the fUnpopular opinion time: This series should have ended with the second book.
This third book was overly long and over-explained SO MUCH, which yes the first books also did, but not to this extent. I loved all of the characters in books 1 and 2 and became so attached to them and with this book I did not care at all what happened to them. I almost wish I hadn't read this book and just lived in ignorant bliss with the first two. I devoured the first two books and it took me over two months to finish this one because it was so slow and boring.
I'll still read Novik in the future, but this book made me think she was given too much freedom with her writing and I really wish an editor had come in and cut off a lot of the over-explaining of things because it was just too much....more
A beautifully written fantasy, this book was one of my more happy surprise reads this year!
Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of the Governor, and her A beautifully written fantasy, this book was one of my more happy surprise reads this year!
Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of the Governor, and her mother is Amrithi, outcasts in society. But being half-Amrithi means Mehr has inherited magic and those in power seek to use it for their own gain.
As I said before this book was written so beautifully and I loved listening along to the story. It's not necessarily groundbreaking, but also it doesn't have to be! (I say this because of reviews I saw complaining about that). I loved Mehr and Amun and the wonderful love story they had in this book. Amun is one of the great book boyfriends!
I do wish this book had been slightly shorter, but otherwise I loved it....more
It's not the fault of this book that I don't care for novellas but even though books 1 and 2 of this series were five star reads for me, th 3.5 stars
It's not the fault of this book that I don't care for novellas but even though books 1 and 2 of this series were five star reads for me, this one was too short for me to be invested/love it. Taking place between books 2 and 3, this novella follows Mallory as she follows a housemaid into an underground crime ring.
I mostly read this so I wouldn't be confused reading book 3. Lots of little tidbits and new characters thrown in here that I think will become important. I wish this book was in audio as I think I would have enjoyed it much more in that format....more
Wow that ending! So glad I have the next book ready to go, I can't imagine if I had to wait for the third book to be released!
The Last Gra 4.5 stars!
Wow that ending! So glad I have the next book ready to go, I can't imagine if I had to wait for the third book to be released!
The Last Graduate is the second book in the Scholomance series, picking up right where book one left off. El has been warned by her mother to stay away from her friend (and possibly something more) Orion. El has bigger things on her mind, like trying to make it through the deadly event that is graduation.
I won't say much else plot-wise, but I had a really fun time reading this book. I do think Novik can get a little bit tedious with the spellcasting bits and the schooling parts, but she's very good at world-building and that's essentially what that all was. Novik has never been one to make characters I really like in the past, but this series is different. I love El as an unlikable female heroine and her journey surviving in this school but also discovering things she didn't know about herself. I'm very excited to see what happens in the next book...more
El, short for Galadriel, is an outcast at her school. Every day the students fight creatures called "mals" to survive and take classes at the same timEl, short for Galadriel, is an outcast at her school. Every day the students fight creatures called "mals" to survive and take classes at the same time. When school star Orion saves El from a mal, she sparks his attention when she doesn't act like all of his fawning admirers. But El doesn't want anything from Orion, she just wants to make it to graduation.
At first, when I started reading this book I thought I would DNF it. Naomi Novik is an author who doesn't always work for me and I was skeptical but wanted to give this book a chance. The world-building info dump at the beginning of the book may deter a lot of readers, but once you get past the first 40-50 pages it really picks up the pace from there.
I'm a sucker for an "unlikeable heroine" and El was great. She was mean, unfriendly, and completely vulnerable but had no way to show it. The developing friendship between her and Orion was fun to watch, and I ended up loving a lot of the side characters in this book too. By the end, I was running to the bookstore to buy the next two books because I want to read them as soon as possible....more
Misery is the daughter of one of the most powerful councilmembers in the vampire community, and all her life her father has used her as a pawn. After Misery is the daughter of one of the most powerful councilmembers in the vampire community, and all her life her father has used her as a pawn. After spending more than a decade amongst humans, Misery is now marrying the Alpha of the werewolves in order to broker peace between the wolves and the vampires. But Misery has her own agenda, and she plans to infiltrate the wolves to get what she wants.
I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. Ali Hazelwood, while I love her, has churned out fairly similar contemporary romance novels set in the academic world and I was skeptical that she could write a decent fantasy novel. I shouldn't have been because this book was frickin great! She really pulled off a great urban fantasy romance and I devoured it. I do wish worldbuilding had been a little bit stronger and that there had been a smidge more romance, but overall a great book filled with wonderful characters.
I will say I laughed my butt off when I read (view spoiler)[ that the MC had a knot on his penis that served as a magical vagina plug (hide spoiler)] but otherwise this book was solid....more
The second book in the Regency Faerie Tales series, I ended up enjoying this book way more than I thought I would.
Effie, a housemaid, has fallen in loThe second book in the Regency Faerie Tales series, I ended up enjoying this book way more than I thought I would.
Effie, a housemaid, has fallen in love with a man well above her station. When Effie bumps into fae Lord Blackthorn, she is hesitant to accept any help from him knowing deals with the fae don't always go as planned. But Effie makes the deal to become a lady, and must give him ten thousand stiches in return.
This book focused on inequities of the time it's set, much like the first book. But having this book set from the perspective of a maid showed more of the downstairs viewpoints than the first novel did. Lord Blackthorn was a fun character and I loved seeing the dynamic of him and Effie since the two were so different. Despite focusing on serious issues this is also a fun romantic series and I'm excited to read the third book....more
Not too much historical, not too much fantasy, this was a great story about someone who never felt as if they were enough. Honestly had such a great tNot too much historical, not too much fantasy, this was a great story about someone who never felt as if they were enough. Honestly had such a great time listening to this book, would love to see more fae/faerie books like this one....more
Yet another review that is mostly random thoughts and vibes than a cohesive analysis.
I start every new year by reading a classic novel, and th[image]
Yet another review that is mostly random thoughts and vibes than a cohesive analysis.
I start every new year by reading a classic novel, and this year decided on The Hobbit. For some reason I have read Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien, and nothing else. So it was time to start from the very beginning.
First off, this book made me even angrier that the Hobbit films were three movies. They easily could have been two considering the last 50 or so pages in this book is the entire third film, but whatever.
Tolkien's writing style takes some getting used to but after a while the story flows. Bilbo on this great adventure with a bunch of (ungrateful) dwarves. It's easy to see why this is a beloved classic and how it set the narrative for the fantasy genre that lasts almost a century later.
I didn't love love this book, but I enjoyed it a lot and it was great to spend some time in Middle Earth....more
I want to give this book a higher rating, I do. But it took me over a month to finish reading, had a massive info dump, and honestly... unp 3.5 stars
I want to give this book a higher rating, I do. But it took me over a month to finish reading, had a massive info dump, and honestly... unpopular opinion but this either could have been condensed or separated into two different books. I felt the first half was soooooo different from the second half, and that's fine. But it was a bit jarring for me to reconcile the two parts of the book in one if that makes any sense.
Iron Flame beings with Violet's second year at the Empyrean. With new challenges such as a new malicious commander, Xaden being gone, and having to lie to her friends, Violet is fighting hard to keep it all together. But Violet knows a big threat is coming and she will do whatever it takes to keep her loved ones safe.
This book was fairly slow the first 100 pages, was amazing from there to about 400 pages in and then kind of slowed down for me again. Not sure if it was me personally, or if the pacing of the book was off, but I found some parts riveting and others to be a bit boring. I do love all the characters, that's the strong point of the series for me. The dragons are the best and I loved a lot of the new characters introduced in this book as well.
While I didn't enjoy this book as much as Fourth Wing, it's still very good and I am hoping I won't forget everything by the time the third book comes out....more
Is this book a complete rip off of Throne of Glass? Yes
Is this book poorly written? Yes
Did I still enjoy reading it? Somewhat yes
So I 2.5 stars
Is this book a complete rip off of Throne of Glass? Yes
Is this book poorly written? Yes
Did I still enjoy reading it? Somewhat yes
So I finished the book and didn't DNF it, that says a lot. I actually mostly enjoyed the first 70% of this book, but overall it was just okay. It felt simultaneously a rip off of multiple famous books (Throne of Glass, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Harry Potter 4) with weird "easter eggs" thrown in that really took me out of the book more than anything. I think the author tried but there were too many things with this book that didn't work for me in the end. Not sure I'd be willing to read more in this series....more
To be fair, I am not the target audience for this book. It was both better and worse than I was expecting, and I did laugh quite a bit while reading iTo be fair, I am not the target audience for this book. It was both better and worse than I was expecting, and I did laugh quite a bit while reading it. ...more
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