All the Books.

"The end all be all of Vampire novels, Stoker's Dracula is not only unique since it deals dark fantasy and it must have been quite shocking when it was first published, but the way that Stoker writes it, through journal entries and newspaper clippings really gave the story a fun, interesting vibe. I'm glad I re-read this, though the text in this graphic novel was miniscule, so glasses were a must."  5 Stars Pros:  The end all be all of Vampire books, I mean, it's Dracula/Stoker definitely made it interesting, keeping the narrative as journals/diaries and newspaper clippings.   Cons:  The print in this edition was so small that I could only read a bit at a time or else, migraine.  Full Review: Jonathan Harker has traveled to Transylvania to help Count Dracula finish his paperwork as he buys a plot of land in England. Soon, what Harker though was a normal business trip to an unusual country, turns into a nightmare. Harker comes to realize that Dracula is not ...

"Little bit Hogwarts, little bit Narnia, little bit Jessica Jones, throw in a vague but believable idea of magic and this is the result.  It was gritty and dark and I both liked and disliked it. I'm intrigued enough to need to know what happens next so, I'll have to find The Magician King soon." 3 Stars Pros:  Grossman made his magical system esoteric enough that it was halfway believable which I liked/I like Eliot better than Quentin, I hope the plucky comic relief lives to see the end.  Cons:  They're all a bit nasty to one another, it seemed unnecessary/Alcohol + kids with immense power with no responsbility and no barriers = chaos/All the lying, cheating, drinking, drugs, sex, revenge. It was all so unnecessary but then, there would be no conflict.  Full Review Magic is real. Quentin Coldwater finds that out when he's randomly transported out of Brooklyn and to Upstate New York, just in time for the exam to start. He's swept into a room with 99 other ...

"An interesting stand alone by Schwab that follows Olivia Prior, an orphan girl whose only link to her past is her mother's journal. On the very last page is a letter to Olivia, expressly telling her to stay away from Gallant. And of course, that's the one place where Olivia ends up. This was an interesting story about family, courage, love and how everything has a balance."  3 Stars Pros:  The idea of a shadow world is an interesting one/Hannah & Edgar 💖/The ending was good but, it hit hard.  Cons:  I do wish we'd gotten to see more of Olivia's parents and the history of the Priors but, I guess that's part of the mystery, the not knowing.   Full Review Olivia Prior has nothing. No friends, no family, no place to call her own. She's lived her entire life in Merilance, an orphanage for independent girls. The girls are cruel, the matrons strict but Olivia just keeps to herself. She's non-verbal and can't communicate with the others, so she...

"A heart wrenching, story of violence, loss and death but told in such beautiful prose, Morrison's writing is transcendent. This book will stay with me forever."  5 Stars Pros:  This was so emotionally and mentally heavy, that sometimes I had to put it down and walk away. Like, take breaks and remember to breathe because Morrison doesn't pull any punches, nor should she. It's no surprise she won the Nobel Prize 👏. And yes, when a book hits me that hard, I consider it a Pro, not a Con. You want books that stay with you.  Cons:  The part where Beloved, Sethe and Denver are all one and the same, those chapters were trippy and threw me for a bit.  Full Review Almost told in reverse, we learn of Sethe, a former slave, who ran away to Ohio, to her Mother in Law, having sent her children ahead of her. They were free, at least for awhile but then something threatened that freedom. We learn that Sethe did something drastic then, to try and preserve what they had.  ...

"The Penultimate in this insane, whirlwind of a series, Corey, as usual, makes the turning of the page effortless. All the same characters with a few new faces and some serious insanity from the Protomolecule had me hooked." 4 Stars Pros:  Teresa Duarte is an entitled little brat, but I like her all the same/Timothy 💖  Cons:  The siege of Laconia was very technical and completely lost on me.   Full Review Since this is the eighth book in a nine-book series, if you haven't already done so, I suggest you stop reading this fascinating blog and go read the first seven books 🤣.  If you've already done so, then please, proceed.  It's unclear how much time has passed since the ending of Persepolis Rising, but it feels like it's been a while. The crew of the Rocinante are all off doing their part to serve the Underground, the rebellion against Laconian rule. Naomi spends her time acting as an agent, sending out communications to other spies, following her o...

"Part research paper, part journal, all parts endearing with an original and fun idea but frankly, the plot got a bite contrived by the end. All the gasping moments of melodramatic realization and "shocking betrayals" just didn't feel all that shocking. It was a fun read but not a real page-turner."   3 Stars Pros:  I did like January for all her doe eyed, lid batting, naiveite.  Cons:  Everything was so melodramatic to January but to me, I was like, "How is this a surprise?" Maybe I was too jaded and bitter for this book 😅 Full Review January Scaller, thinks she's just the Ward of the surprisingly wealthy curator of the New England Archeological Society, Mr. Cornelius Locke. She spends most of her time torturing her nanny and reading in the many attics of Locke House, a palatial estate in the Lake Champlain area of Vermont. When she's not causing trouble, she's playing with the local Grocer's boy, Samuel and distantly waiting for her ...

"What I thought would be a story about one man's slow descent into blindness and how he adapted, turned out to be more of a story about his life, the poor decisions he made, the relationships he ruined and the abject misery that he struggled with, the blindness was more of an aside. I appreciated Knipfel's sardonic wit but his stubbornness and pride left him in a lot of unfortunate situations. He was a frustrating person to read about." 2 Stars Pros:  Knipfel's sardonic voice brings some levity to an otherwise tragic situation/I like that he was contrary from a young age, though at the same time, he made a lot of bad decisions that didn't help his situation any.  Cons: This book turned out to be more of a timeline of how Knipfel's poor decisions impacted his life, while he slowly went blind. The blindness felt like more of an afterthought/Knipfel's struggles with major depression and alcoholism were profound but he didn't really seem to want to get...

"The stranger in a strange land, forced to learn new customs and beliefs with a dash of forbidden romance thrown in is always a draw. And with a strong MMC in Blackthorne the story has promise but is very quickly and heavily weighed down by political intrigue and way too many characters. I think this will have translated well to the screen so I plan on checking out the TV Show."  3 Stars Pros:  Rodrigues and Blackthorne's banter and friendship is tenuous but you want it to be genuine/Of course, the simmering romance between Blackthorne and Mariko was fun.  Cons:  There were a lot of characters and they all called each other by different names, it was extremely confusing. The only one I cared about was Blackthorne and those scenes were what kept me reading/The political plays and betrayals were all very complex and I was just lost in ancestral lineages and who was descended from one of the ancient Clans/The Jesuits and the Catholics and the Protestants, I couldn't kee...

"David Smith would sell his soul for his Art and he does but there's nothing in the contract about falling in love or fame and fortune. McLoud tells a brutal but beautiful story in a stark, steady hand. A truly heart wrenching story that will stick with me for a long time." 4 Stars Pros:  It's a deep, meaningful, gut wrenching story that gets you right in the feels from the start/McLoud doesn't pull any punches but it's so perfectly bittersweet that, his brutal honesty is understandable and necessary.  Cons:  I feel like the scene with the Snipers near the end was a little silly, like that seemed to be a bit of an over-reaction to David's situation/Falling in love after trading your immortal soul is a bit cliche but, it worked.   Full Review David Smith feels washed up and useless. He has no job, no girlfriend and the lease on his expensive Studio is up in two months, so no place to practice his art, the one thing in his life that really matters. He's ...

"What began as an intriguing piece of speculative fiction about finding a new world and attempting to inhabit it, soon turned into a long, drawn out, cycle of characters refusing to confide in one another, holding onto secrets, which inevitably led to hurt feelings, dishonesty and resentment. The end left me feeling unfulfilled and wanting, since, everything that happened is kind of skipped over and left unanswered."  2 Stars Pros:  Gloss has a subtle but straightforward voice that was a little jarring at first but it kind of grew on me.  Cons:  Since the Dusty Miller is basically a Quaker ship, there are long passages of Meetings and many thoughts about God and what it means to see God, be in his presence and understand him, this grew a bit tiresome after awhile/The few glimpses of real depth that we see in the characters are short and fleeting/There didn't feel like there was any resolution between the characters at the end.   Full Review People are leavi...

"What had potential as a dark academia, suspenseful thriller quickly devolved into a "he said, she said" blame game. ciche, "who dun it" murder mystery. The only reason I finished the book was to find out "who dun it" and it was rather a let down in the end." 1 Star Pros:  The idea of the Hyde Scholarship, the whole process had me intrigued but it quickly lost its edge.  Cons:  The characters couldn't have been anymore cliche or one dimensional. A veteran who insists that everyone call him Captain, the bespectacled, black clad, Doc Marten wearing English Major with tattoo sleeves and the good ol' home grown, American boy, Duffy who works on his family farm and I'm pretty sure, actually said, "Aw shucks" at one point/The fact that no one was ever honest with anyone got really old really quickly and is one of the main reasons I don't really read murder mysteries.    Full Review Vincent Gaines, the Vice President of Institu...

"An interesting mix of The Hunger Games meets "Underworld", where a human, Oraya, competes in a once in a century tournament, the Khejari, in hopes of binding herself to her adopted Vampire father, Vincent and gaining his powers in order to search for her family. There's violence, death, manipulation, betrayal and love, all the hallmarks of an engrossing and entertaining read. I'm interested to see how this series progresses." 3 Stars Pros:  Oraya and Raihn did have good banter/The idea of the Khejari was interesting, though I had a feeling I knew how it would end.  Cons:  Some of the terms used during romance scenes were just cringeworthy/Oraya's friendship with Illana needed to be a little more defined for me to really care/Oraya always fighting with everyone, over everything.  Full Review Oraya was found in the rubble of her home after an uprising by the Rishan Vampires in the city of Salinae. Vincent, a Hiaj Vampire and King of the House of Night, re...

"Six Medeians are approached by Atlas Blakely, the caretaker of the Alexandrian Society, a collective that has existed since the burning of the Library many centuries ago. He offers these six initiates one year of study, to hone their craft and they all accept but of course, no one is ever honest and there's always someone working in the shadows to destroy it all. It was a unique concept but it was bogged down by unlikable characters, unecessarily flowery language and just an overall feeling of pretentiousness." 2 Stars Pros:   Callum, for an empath is frighteningly dead inside, though he does make for a good villain, or, at least, an anti-hero.  Cons:  Basically all of these characters were obnoxious in one way or another and were constantly bickering, snarking and fighting with everyone and everything/There were no real moments of cohesion, of friendship and so, it was just reading a book about six people who despised one another/Parisa has absolutely no qualms wha...

"The idea of Fallen Angels and the Book of Enoch has always fascinated me but Fitzpatrick's attempt to weave a love story loosely connected to it just didn't quite work. Also, having an MC with the name Patch, I struggled to take it seriously." 1 Star Pros:  The idea of Fallen Angels and the Book of Enoch has always interested me, that was really the only reason I read this book, to see how Fitzpatrick handled it.  Cons:  Though we eventually find out that Patch is a nickname, we're not actually ever told what his real name is/It was all so terribly convenient that these life or death, facedown with murderers happened in a a timely manner so that Nora wouldn't get in trouble for breaking curfew/The fact that the cops visited Nora's house on multiple occasions and the Mother never knew was just laughable/The whole, I know he's bad but I'm drawn to him cliché is just old/All the characters, especially the men, did not understand the concept of person...

" The Handmaids Tale meets Lord of the Flies, Liggett slams her foot down on the gas and never lets up. This was a terrifying, dark, eerily realistic novel about identity, love, courage, truth and hope. This is one of those books that you just have to read to understand but once you do, it'll stay with you, or I hope it will." 5 Stars Pros: The  grisly, violent oppressiveness of the Patriarchy, always a good setting for dystopian fiction//It was  tied up so well at the end and though it wasn't the ending I thought it would be, it was definitely a good one.  Cons:  There were so many girls in the Grace year that it was hard to remember them all, they kind of faded into background noise/Everyone and their mother was willing to go to the ends of the Earth for the MC.    Full Review Tierney is terrified, knowing that in just a day, her Grace year will start. The time when she and all girls of a similar age are sent off into the wilderness for a year, to survive...

"A quick, fun read about a kid who's just trying to figure out how she fits into everything and every now and again, she asks God, for a little help. This brings back all the angst of being a Tween and though it was nostalgic, I'm glad I'm well past that part of my life." 4 Stars Pros:  It was definitely a reminder of what it's like to be a pre-teen, all the emotions, confusion and attempts to create an identity for yourself and figure out who you are.  Cons:  I had to keep in mind that the MC, Margaret, was an eleven year old girl, so her reaction to everything, IE, everything was the end of the world, was to be expected though, it did get a bit tiresome.  Full Review Margaret Ann Simon is an only child. She's used to her life in New York City. She visits with her Grandmother, almost every single day and she likes her life. Her parents decide to uproot everything and move to Farbrook, New Jersey and to Margaret, she just can't figure out why.  She doe...

"Once Galaxy "Alex" Stern has a goal, there's no stopping her. And since, at the end of Ninth House  she'd made it her mission to figure how to get Darlington out of Hell and back in Lethe where he belongs, well, Hell Bent  is the perfect title and as wild of a ride as you can imagine." 4 Stars Pros: Stern and Darlington's chemistry is exquisitely painful/Darlington is the gentleman Demon and I adore him.  Cons: Bardugo mixed the Eitan storyline in well but at the same time, you want Alex to be able to focus on one thing at a time/Sometimes too many side quests get this old brain confused.  Full Review It's been a long Summer for Alex Stern.  It's been spent mostly reading in the warmth of Il Bastons' safe, secure library and researching everything she can about how to get into Hell.  Once Galaxy (Alex) Stern has a goal, she's off like a shot, or like a cannon ball as she refers to herself on multiple occasions. It's only the beginni...

"It felt like a bit of a forced reboot, Crew of the Rocinante, 2.0 or something. I liked it and I didn't. The time jump was confusing and felt like lot of missed character growth. Not a terrible addition but not my favorite." 3 Stars Pros:  Same cast of characters, so not a lot of new people to remember/Sanchez was frighteningly inept but powerful and that's what made him terrifying.   Cons:  I think it was the pacing that put me off, or the fact that a number of years were supposed to have passed in between Babylon's Ashes  and Persepolis Rising  that made me feel like I'd missed something. I feel like this was trying to be a reboot, kind of like "The Force Awakens" for "Star Wars."  Full Review Years have passed and the crew of the Rocinante have been through it all together. But, there comes a time when the life of derring-do adventure loses its flair and Holden realizes that, he doesn't want to be the pilot of the Rocinante anymore....

"Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom finally feels settled, successful and steady in life. He's married, is a member of the Flying Eagle Country Club and is the head Sales Associate at Springer Motors. He's more or less content but that all changes when Nelson, his son, returns home from College for Summer Break and drops a bombshell. Now Rabbit has to decide how to deal with the consequences and attempt to ignore his first instinct, which is, of course, to run away when things get tough."  3 Stars Pros:  With each novel, about ten years has passed, so it's been an interesting way to see how Rabbit and his family has or hasn't changed and how the world around them has.  Cons:  Rabbit Angstrom is now bordering on creepy, lecherous old man, all he seems to think about is sex/The way Janice, Nelson and Rabbit speak to each other, it's one argument or snide remark after the other. It certainly doesn't make me think of a content, happy family/The things Rabbi...

"A dark and gripping thriller set on the posh and polished campus of Yale University and within the eight Secret Societies. There's more to these houses than famous Alumni, there's magic but it's dangerous and disturbing and Alex Stern, accepted into the House of Lethe, will learn quickly how far people are willing to go when money and power are involved."  4 Stars Pros:  Darlington and Stern's repartee is amusing, since he's so refined and she's rougher around the edges/Though Stern can be headstrong and a little obnoxious, she is a good person to have an ally/The magic in this story is complicated and elaborate but interesting and unique.   Cons:  Stern is street smart but her unwillingness to trust others gets her into a lot of bad situations/The "I'm the only one who can solve this murder" attitude is kind of overdone/The map at the front of the books is impossibly small, so, whenever Bardugo goes into detail about where Stern is at a...

"Instead of the tried and true, "You're special and the Universe has big plans for you" theme of your average self help book, Bishop replaces all that with brutal but beneficial honesty."  5 Stars Pros:  He makes a lot of sense and his wisdom is told in words we can all understand/His ideas, though not unique, were refreshing/enlightening and invigorating thanks to his wit and humor.   Cons:  All Self Help Books, to me, get to be repetitive after awhile, though this one was short enough that it had a good stride, things were repeated but not ad nauseum.   Full Review Bishop expounds his wisdom of how to get out of your head and into your life with personal assertions that are simple, sensible and logical. Shush that annoying little voice in your head that sighs and murmurs, "I'll do it later" and instead, slip on your shoes and get going.  The worst thing you can do is sit there and wait. What you need to do to actually change your life is take ac...

"Norbury's story of mindfulness and "going with the flow" of life is beautifully rendered with images that hit all the feels. " 4 Stars Pros:  Some deep moments and jaw dropping artwork.  Cons:  Not as fun and heart warming as Big Panda Tiny Dragon but more realistic, could be a bit gloomy at times but that was Norbury's point.  Full Review Tiny Dragon confides in his best friend, Big Panda, that something feels off. He feels...not unhappy but kind of, empty, restless. Big Panda decides that they must make a journey to find the meaning of Tiny Dragon's discontent. They set off, content in good company and warm tea.  Things don't go as planned and the two friends are swept off on an adventure that is equal parts beautiful and bittersweet. Not as fun and heart warming as Big Panda Tiny Dragon  but still a genuine, heartfelt read about life and just going with the flow. 

"Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, a tale of two friends and their journey through the seasons of life together. A short, sweet and poignant read accompanied by gorgeous artwork. I would and will recommend this to everyone. "  5 Stars Pros:   Easy, simple, genuine thoughts and feelings beautifully rendered with gorgeous artwork. Some passages and images hit all the feels and had me tearing up.    Cons:  It was reminiscent of The Boy, The Mole The Fox and the Horse  by Mackesy but that book was also incredible so, it's not actually a con, more of an observation.   Full Review:  A chance meeting makes Big Panda and Tiny Dragon friends and together they travel through the Seasons sharing the good, the bad and the quiet moments of life, content with good company and warm tea. Norbury shares his own thoughts and feelings on life with this beautiful piece of Zen Panda, or perhaps, Big Zen Panda moments. A truly breath taking, beautiful read that shou...

"1800s Britain "Eccentric" travels to the far future and returns to tell his fantastic and dark tale. Wells has a unique idea and though he's vague on the details, the idea of time traveling had me hook, line and sinker." 3 Stars Pros:  The more things change, the more they stay the same. Wells had it right that there will always be the good and the bad, no matter how far ahead in time you go. There is always one group that is above the other.  Cons:  The Time Traveler doesn't really explain how his machine works, it just does/How he manages to communicate with the Eloi after only being with them for 3 days is amusing/Though the Traveler seems to like the Eloi well enough, he's always going on about how unintelligent and simple they are, seemed rather judgmental to me.     Full Review:  It all starts when the Time Traveler and his friends are having dinner and he begins to explain that time travel, is, indeed, possible. That's apparently how British ...

"Arnold Spirit, Jr, or "Junior" as he's known on the Rez, does something no Spokane Indian has ever done. He enrolls in Reardon High School and begins the long and often painful process off navigating not only high school and adolescence but also being an outsider. Alexie handles it all with grace, humor and honesty. This was a great read. I would recommend it to anyone."  5 Stars Pros: Alexie handles the ups and downs of not only adolescence, but tragedy and loss in a stark, honest but gut wrenchingly relatable way.  Cons:  Some of Junior's all-consuming guilt, though understandable was a little repetitive but it's all part of being a teenager.  Full Review:  It all starts when Arnold Spirit Jr, or Junior, throws a textbook across the classroom. When he opened the book he saw his mother's name, her maiden name and it enrages him. He's furious that the reservation is so poor that they're learning from thirty-year old textbooks. He doesn't...

"After the events of Nemesis Games , the entire galaxy is left reeling and it's up to Holden and the crew of the Rocinante to pick up the pieces. Old and new allies are made and everyone understands that the only way they can stop another war and more bloodshed is to work together. Of course, that's always easier said than done."  4 Stars Pros: More or less the same cast of characters, so not too many new people to keep track of and the re-introduction of some old favorites/Again, Alex and Amos, two of my favorites and I will be very displeased if something happens to either of them in the series.  Cons:  Filip is a whiney, angsty teenager but, at least he's showing a bit of a moral compass/The slow zone and the Ring are still SO confusing but I just kind of read those parts and hoped I understood it.  Full Review:  Marco Inaros' "Free Navy" the new OPA is alive, thriving and slowly but systematically winning skirmish after skirmish in their fight ag...

"New alliances, new enemies, the whole galaxy on edge, it's hard to know who you can trust. But with the undying hope and optimism of the heroes of the New Republic, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewie and of course, the Droids, everything comes together and is tied up in a neat bow at the end."  3 Stars Pros: Though it's contrite, the ending did bring the trilogy to a satisfying close but also left room for more.  Cons:  Again, Zahn's use of the word growl, to describe how someone speaks. It was just overdone and frankly annoying/A lot of the tactical terms, vectors and other such lingo used during aerial dogfights were confusing/C'Boath and all the posturing/monologuing at the end.  Full Review:  ***Spoiler Alert*** Leia gives birth to twins, Jacen and Jaina but shortly after, a commando team sent by Thrawn infiltrates the Imperial Palace on Coruscant and tries to abduct them. Conveniently, Mara Jade, who was injured and has been convalescing on Coruscant, senses...

"The second installment in the Thrawn trilogy has everyone scattering to different corners of the galaxy in search of information that will help them overthrow the Empire and increase the fledgling strength of the New Republic. But, of course, nothing's ever that simple and our stalwart group of heroes have to fight every step of the way just to survive. And a new threat revealed at the very end shows that the Empire may not be as scattered and weak as the New Republic had hoped. Cliffhanger!"  3 Stars Pros:  Master C'Boath is crazy but in a delightfully, chaotic, Joker way/I can't help but love the Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker bristling tension.   Cons:  Zahn uses the word growl a lot, like, a surprising amount, I just found it odd that an editor wouldn't have picked up on that/Some of the political stuff was burdensome.  Full Review:  If you haven't read Heir to the Empire (Thrawn #1)   you'll want to do that first.  After you've done that...

"When a scientist, Benes, who has integral and world changing information attempts to defect and join our Side, he's injured. A blood  clot forms in his brain and the only way to save his life is to miniaturize the crew of the Proteus and inject them into Benes' body, so they can break up the blood clot from the inside. Of course, one thing after another goes wrong and every chapter is a new catastrophe but it was definitely a fantastic voyage.   2 Stars Pros:  Grant is one dry character but he's a welcome bit of amusement in an otherwise serious and scientific novel.  Cons:  Grant is also SUCH a man that he spends most of the mission staring at saving the one woman board, Cora./Definitely ripe with anatomical lessons and what part of the body they were in. Since I've never been great at anatomy, a lot of it was lost on me and became burdensome near the end.  Full Review: As in all things, there is a good side and a bad side. This book is very vague as...