Tag Archives: Review

Review: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

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This follows the pattern of Ali Hazelwood’s other academic romances, but if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. Rue is a brilliant scientist who is doing research to prolong the shelf life of food. Eli is part of an Equity firm that has bought the loan of her company. They first meet on an app for hookups, and the attraction is immediate, which only complicates things because Eli is trying to ruin Rue’s mentor. They both have their issues. This book deals with serious topics of food insecurities, neglect, and abuse. All play a role in why they both try so hard not to admit what they are in love. What I love about Ali’s books and many of the romance novels that I have read is that Eli is always so patient. Consent is important in every relationship. He fully admits he wants more from her, but respects her boundaries. As their relationship grows and secrets start to come out about others and each other, Rue begins to open herself up to new things. She starts to trust Eli, but also herself in stating what she wants and how she wants it. As for the big reveal of who the “big bad” is, if there is one in this book. Minor spoilers, but it is pretty obvious from the beginning. It reminded me of something Kate has said about her time in Grad School. While they were women in her field, who have become successful, they haven’t done much to form paths for the women that came after them. Rue’s mentor does help Rue. There is no denying that, but when push comes to shove. She only cares about herself and will sacrifice anyone, no matter how close she is to them, to save herself. Things do have a happy ending because this is, after all, a romance, but not the ending. We will see more of Rue and Eli in the sequel.

Quick Review: Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir

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I don’t know what I was expecting, but it’s definitely not a murder mystery. I am not complaining, but I was led to believe this was a sci-fi novel about lesbian necromancers. There was a little bit of that, but you know. Gideon hates living in the Ninth House and wants out. She is allowed to be the Cavalier to Harrow, the Ninth’s Necromancer. They head to the first house, where Harrow will compete against the other houses to become the kingdom’s Lichter. I really enjoyed the banter between Gideon and Harrow but I am also a sucker for the “Enemies to Lovers” trope. Gideon is smart and sarcastic. Just how I like my heroines. They must work together to figure out what is going on and who is murdering the other houses. This was a fun read, and I am looking forward to the sequel.

Review: The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare

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This took me a little bit longer to finish than it normally would. Not because I didn’t like it, but mostly because I’ve been working from home more recently and commuting less. I do most of my reading these days on the subway. I thought this was a good sequel. It picks up not much after the end of the last book. I will admit that some of what happened was predictable, but there was one reveal at the end that I did not see coming. Lin, who claimed she is the Goddess, now has to prove it. Kel is investigating the Shining Gallery incident with the Ragpicker King’s and his crew’s help. Conor is doing his best to be mature and rule, and Antonetta is prepping to marry. A lot is going on, and they have no idea where the real threat is coming from. I do like how Clare can weave together so many interconnected stories so seamlessly. It just flows very nicely together. For me the character that really was the star was Conor. The events of the last book and his feelings for Lin have changed his perspective, and we can see that growth. I do think people underestimate him. That he knows more of what is going on than he leads people to believe. I am really looking forward to where is story goes next. I do love a good mystery, and adding a bit of magic is just a bonus.

Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Read by Kate Kellgren

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This month’s Theme for our TBR Project book club was Cottagecore. Since it’s officially Spring, we wanted to read something sweet, simple, and a little rustic. I chose Pride and Prejudice because I have seen many versions of the story in movies and TV, but I have never actually read the book. I didn’t realize until after I started reading that it is the 20th Anniversary of the Kiera Knightley movie. For those interested, it’s being rereleased in theaters to celebrate. I digress. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there are so many details left out of the many interpretations. The lives of Lizzie and her sister is much more lively than they came across to me in any movie or TV show ever gave me an impression. They are all involved in the running of the house and in the town. While the focus may be on marriage, they all had other interests. It was good to get to know Jane a bit more. She is always portrayed as stoic, which she is, but she is also a lot more observant than she is given credit for. Even Wickham became a more interesting character. Same with Darcy. We get a little bit more incite into his mind much earlier in the novel than I believe we do in most adaptations. He’s not just rude but socially awkward. Who can’t relate to that? Anyway, it was delightful. I am glad I have finally read it.

Review: Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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The third installment in the Fourth Wing series started off pretty well and then was a bit of a slog in the middle before hitting with the big finale at the end. I wouldn’t say this was the best in the series. It didn’t have the same sense of purpose as the first two. Which is weird since we have three books in the world, and we have a better sense of the world and what is at stake. Part of it might have been that the scenes between Violet and Xaden were a bit tedious. Which is a problem since they are the heart of the story. This might show my age, but their obsession with each other is beyond toxic. Like, they really need to go to therapy. I do appreciate that at least other characters do call out how truly problematic their relationship is. So at least, it’s not gone on notice and younger readers will read it and think As entertaining as this story is, their relationship should not be relationship goals by any means.

My real issue with this book was the middle. It spent way more time island hopping, looking for Adarna’s dragon family. I can understand what Yarros was going for. It not only expanded the world. Showed that not everywhere in this world has magic or mystical creatures and gave more incite into the Gods of this world. I do have a feeling that they will be playing a bigger role as the story moves forward. However, I stopped caring if they ever found the Irid dragons and even forgot at one point why they were doing all of it in the first place. All I can say is that whatever was trying to be set up in this portion of the book better pay off in later books. So yeah, a good installment to the story. Not great, but good. The ending does set up a pretty interesting storyline for the next book. Let’s hope Yarros can keep the momentum going.

Review: Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy and John Jennings

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When we decided on this month’s topic for our TBR book club, I knew this would be the book I would read. I felt a bit ashamed that I hadn’t read any of Octavia Butler’s work before. This one seems the most relevant because so much of fiction is just pattern recognition and Ms. Butler was very good at that. I didn’t mean to read the graphic novel, but I wasn’t really paying attention to the version I was checking out from the library, and I had already been on the waiting list for a month when it came available, so it had to be. I wasn’t mad at the idea and i think it did see it illustrated only magnified the story. I do want to eventually read the original novel because I feel this book needs it to be read in it’s original prose.

Lauren is an hyperempathy so not only can she feel everything around her but she also very observant. She sees clearly what so many do not or do not want to. Her narration brings the people and her neighborhood to life. I felt just as devastated for her when her family was taken as she was. I wanted to shield her from all the pain and tragedy around her but knew that I couldn’t. It’s not that she needed because Lauren is probably the most resilient, strong character I have ever read. It’s not that the events of her life did not affect her. They did and more, but she persevered and kept moving and inspired others to join her. The illustrations also brought the story alive. It was muted and sharp and gave a true atmosphere to the reading experience. This is not a feel good book. It wasn’t meant to be. It was supposed to be a warning that we ignored. We can only hope that we have learned enough to avoid the tragedies Lauren and her family endured. Time will only tell if this work of fiction will become our reality.

Review: Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

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This was a trip to read at this time. I read this as my monthly pick about leadership because it is based on the first Empress of China. Xetian is a girl from a small village that has turned the world on its head. At the end of The Iron Widow, she starts a rebellion and finds the last Emperor from 200 years ago. She wakes him up but gets more than she bargains for. She is forced to work with him to achieve her goals. This book was too close to home as they rebel against an oligarchic government. They are rallying the workers and people to their cause but change is hard. As a woman, it doesn’t matter how much power she possesses or what she has accomplished, she will still be seen as a woman who cannot be trusted. Even as she gets to the new Emperor, she knows she can never let her guard down because his goals are not hers. She is smart and uses the time she has to learn as much as she can to set herself up for the future. I do love a morally ambiguous heroine. She does some rather questionable things but it’s all to make the world better. For some reason, I thought this was a duology but there’s another book coming, and what a showdown it’s going to be.

Review: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

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Reading this, I couldn’t help thinking about the TV show The Librarians wondered which came first because they are very similar. Both are about a secret Library that sends its Librarians to alternate realities to bring back books for their collection. I think the show brought back more than just books, but you get the idea. The Invisible Library follows Irene, a junior librarian, who is given a mission and a new student after she has just returned from another mission. She and Kai head off to a different reality to find a book of Grimm’s fairy tales. They are immediately swept up in a mystery as the book has been stolen. A vampire has been killed. Fairies also want it and there are werewolves too. I really like Irene. She’s spunky and a little quirky. She’s quick-thinking and can easily adapt to any situation. She knows immediately that there is something not quite right about this mission but she is loyal to the Library so she doesn’t question it. Unlike the other Librarians, she was born into it. Both of her parents are Librarians. While she did attend a private school in Switzerland, her unusual upbringing, she is a bit awkward. I like the chemistry between her and Kai, her new trainee that she has to show the ropes. Kai is very eager to get out and start working. It’s kind of cute as to how excited he gets during their first fight. I understand why so many people like this series and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Review: Babel by R. F. Kuang (Read by Chris Lew Kim Hoi and Billie Fulford-Brown)

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This is an alternate history set in a world where magic exists and it can be spoken into existence by translators who find the magic in spaces between what words mean in 2 different languages. If you’ve ever learned another language, you are aware that exact translations where a word has the same meaning and connotations in two different languages are uncommon. The magic in this alternate history is based on that idea. Truly fluent speakers of languages can find the magic in pairs of words and they can do all sorts of things, like make carriage rides smoother or trains faster. Our hero, Robin Swift, is rescued from cholera that took his mother and the rest of his family in Canton by Professor Lovell, who takes him back to England and takes him on as a ward. Robin lives with the professor and learns Greek and Latin, all one day hoping to get to study at the translation institute at Oxford, where he will learn how to do magic.

This is a story of student revolution, the problems of colonialism, and resistance. It was thoughtful and poignant and I absolutely binged it. Robin must decide if he is going to continue to support the world as it is or if he is going to fight for a world that is fairer and more equitable. This was staggeringly good and I cannot recommend it enough.

Review: Heir by Sabaa Tahir

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I will admit that I didn’t realize that this was a companion series to Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series. I wasn’t made about it. I enjoyed that series. I also didn’t realize it was a duology. I guess I should be grateful it is only two books. Heir takes place twenty years after the end of the previous series. It is told from the perspective of three people. Quil, the Heir to the Martial throne and nephew to the Empress. Aiz, an orphan with some anger issues from a Keger and Sirsha, an outcast hired to track down a killer.

A Few Spoilers for both series ahead.

Laia, Elias and Helene from the An Ember in the Ashes series all appear but as minor roles. This story is about their children or nephews. Quil is the son of former Emperor Marcus and Livia Aquillius and he doesn’t want to be Emperor for fear he will become like his father. Laia and Elias’ son Sufiyan is one of Quil’s closest friends. In a neighboring country, Keger attacks the Martials and Quil must escape to find Tas, his friend and spy to fight back. On the way, he meets Sirsha, a tracker who has been hired to find a killer who is plaguing the Empire. Their objectives align. Aiz is an orphan from Keger, a small country in the south with little connection to the rest of the world but obviously will collide with the other two. I do appreciate an angsty hero and a witty protagonist. Quil and Sirsha are such a great couple. Good Chemistry. About halfway through the book, it is revealed that one of the POVs is not happening in the same timeline as the other two but in an earlier time frame. As soon as I realized that, I knew exactly where the story was going. I wasn’t completely right but I did figure out who the murderer was based on the reveal and clues about this character that I have already learned. I didn’t mind it because the writing made the journey to get to that destination fun. I wanted to know how they turned. My one critique would be that I thought It was a little too long. It kind of dragged on a bit for me but left enough of a cliffhanger that I am looking forward to the next one.