Book Review | Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Posted July 20, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

When Love cast me out, it was Cruelty who took pity on me.

The land of Terre d’Ange is a place of unsurpassing beauty and grace. It is said that angels found the land and saw it was good…and the ensuing race that rose from the seed of angels and men live by one simple rule: Love as thou wilt.

Phèdre nó Delaunay is a young woman who was born with a scarlet mote in her left eye. Sold into indentured servitude as a child, her bond is purchased by Anafiel Delaunay, a nobleman with very a special mission…and the first one to recognize who and what she is: one pricked by Kushiel’s Dart, chosen to forever experience pain and pleasure as one.

Phèdre is trained equally in the courtly arts and the talents of the bedchamber, but, above all, the ability to observe, remember, and analyze. Almost as talented a spy as she is courtesan, Phèdre stumbles upon a plot that threatens the very foundations of her homeland. Treachery sets her on her path; love and honor goad her further. And in the doing, it will take her to the edge of despair…and beyond. Hateful friend, loving enemy, beloved assassin; they can all wear the same glittering mask in this world, and Phèdre will get but one chance to save all that she holds dear.

Set in a world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess, this is a novel of grandeur, luxuriance, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel’s Dart – a massive tale about the violent death of an old age, and the birth of a new.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #11: Title starting with the letter “K”)
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

I’ve tried reading this book before but gave up a long time ago. Some book buddies of mine were reading it recently and their discussion piqued my interest and so I decided to try again.

The Quotes

“That which yields is not always weak.”

“It’s funny, how one can look back on a sorrow one thought one might well die of at the time, and know that one had not yet reckoned the tenth part of true grief.”

“It is my observations, though, that happiness limits the amount of suffering one is willing to inflict upon others.”

“If I had to fall from Cassiel’s grace, at least I know it took a courtesan worthy of Kings to do it.”

The Narrator(s)

Anne Flosnik. She did a great job, I have no complaints.

My Thoughts

Funny story; I’d picked this book up so many times before but just couldn’t get into it. I was disappointed because I’d heard so much praise about it and I really wanted to like it, but it felt like such a chore to read it so I finally decided that it was not for me. I marked it as dnf, and not as something I would try again in the future, but something that I had made my peace with never reading again. That was in 2020.

Well… recently a couple of my book buddies decided to read it and I was not interested in reading the book with them, but I was interested in their thoughts about it because I wanted to know what I was missing. I never got past Chapter 5 the last times I read it, but the conversations between my friends got me more and more interested the further they got into the book, and as luck would have it, Kushiel’s Dart (and the other books in Kushiel’s Legacy) are currently free on the Audible Plus catalogue, so I thought I might as well try again.

Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered but I still wasn’t very invested during the first third of the book. I kept on with it because it was easy to keep going on audio, and I did enjoy it but I wasn’t enthralled by it or anything. The second third of the book was amazing though. It was my favorite part of the book; it was thrilling, adventurous, the stakes were high, and I enjoyed seeing Phedre and Joscelin navigate their treacherous circumstances. The final third of the book was also interesting, but not as exciting as the middle, but at that point I had become invested.

And again, to be fair, this last couple of months have been weird for me so I’m not as present as usual with my reading. But I think that this book is a success for me and I’m so glad that I finally read it. I think I might even keep going with the rest of the books!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. I’m only rating it three stars because it was still difficult to get into and even though I loved the middle part of the book, I have to rate it as a whole. Hopefully if I reread in the future when I’m more present, I might end up rating it higher.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Posted July 20, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world. Full of striking, singular art, this collection also contains infographics about relevant topics such as lab equipment, rates of women currently working in STEM fields, and an illustrated scientific glossary. The women profiled include well-known figures like primatologist Jane Goodall, as well as lesser-known pioneers such as Katherine Johnson, the African-American physicist and mathematician who calculated the trajectory of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #6: Women in STEM)
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

I needed a book to fit the 2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge for #6: Women in STEM. There were several fiction books I might’ve tried, but I happened to come across this book in the library and was very interested in reading more.

My Thoughts

I loved it! I loved that it featured so many amazing women throughout history who have done so many great things! I loved the little snippets of information and quotes we get on each of their feature pages. I loved how it celebrated women and I love that it made learning about them and the things they did so interesting. I would totally recommend this book to anyone of any age and gender. I think I might buy a copy of my own, it would make a great reference book and a great source of inspiration.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

Posted July 19, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

The dinosaurs. Sixty-six million years ago, the Earth’s most fearsome creatures vanished. Today they remain one of our planet’s great mysteries. Now The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs reveals their extraordinary, 200-million-year-long story as never before.

In this captivating narrative (enlivened with more than seventy original illustrations and photographs), Steve Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field—naming fifteen new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies and fieldwork—masterfully tells the complete, surprising, and new history of the dinosaurs, drawing on cutting-edge science to dramatically bring to life their lost world and illuminate their enigmatic origins, spectacular flourishing, astonishing diversity, cataclysmic extinction, and startling living legacy. Captivating and revelatory, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is a book for the ages.

Brusatte traces the evolution of dinosaurs from their inauspicious start as small shadow dwellers—themselves the beneficiaries of a mass extinction caused by volcanic eruptions at the beginning of the Triassic period—into the dominant array of species every wide-eyed child memorizes today, T. rex, Triceratops, Brontosaurus, and more. This gifted scientist and writer re-creates the dinosaurs’ peak during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, when thousands of species thrived, and winged and feathered dinosaurs, the prehistoric ancestors of modern birds, emerged. The story continues to the end of the Cretaceous period, when a giant asteroid or comet struck the planet and nearly every dinosaur species (but not all) died out, in the most extraordinary extinction event in earth’s history, one full of lessons for today as we confront a “sixth extinction.”

Brusatte also recalls compelling stories from his globe-trotting expeditions during one of the most exciting eras in dinosaur research—which he calls “a new golden age of discovery”—and offers thrilling accounts of some of the remarkable findings he and his colleagues have made, including primitive human-sized tyrannosaurs; monstrous carnivores even larger than T. rex; and paradigm-shifting feathered raptors from China.

An electrifying scientific history that unearths the dinosaurs’ epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be a definitive and treasured account for decades to come.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Our in-person bookclub decided we wanted to go on a road trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum this summer and thought we should read a book that was related to the dinosaurs.

The Quotes

“There is a dinosaur outside my window. I’m watching it as I write this.”

“You could call T. rex the James Dean of dinosaurs: it lived fast and died young.”

“A new species of dinosaur is currently being found, on average, once a week.”

The Narrator(s)

Patrick Lawlor. No complaints, it was great!

My Thoughts

So I had actually bought a physical copy of this book but ended up also borrowing the audiobook through my library. The audiobook went a lot faster and I occasionally refered to the physical book for pictures and illustrations, but I mostly finished it on audio. I thought about writing this review after I reread through the physical book again because I’m not sure I absorbed everything I wanted through audio, but life has been hectic and I don’t think I’ll be able to absorb everything even if I reread in print, so I’m letting it be.

Accepting that, I must say that this was a very interesting book and I really enjoyed listening to it. One of the things that delighted me the most is that I live in Alberta and we have an amazing dinosaur museum and history here that is also referenced in the book.

I’ve actually been to the Royal Tyrrell Museum three times before but the last time was at least five years ago and it’s time to go back and learn more, and hopefully remember more! I do intend to read this book again, eventually, but even if I don’t remember the details, I remember enjoying the process of listening to the book.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Posted July 19, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

It’s one of my most anticipated books this year and the audiobook finally became available on Libby, so I read it!

The Quotes

“Language creates possibility. Sometimes by being used. Sometimes by being kept secret.”

“You think you know hardship, but men have a gift for finding new ways to make women suffer.”

“It is a danger to become nothing. You hope no one will look, and so one day when you go to find yourself, only dust remains, ground down to nothing from sheer neglect.”

“Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to others lands. Writing gives you power to shape your own world when the real one hurts too much.”

The Narrator(s)

Lauren Fortgang. She was pretty good. There were some parts I couldn’t make out very well, and names and pronunciation of certain words were hard to get too, but that’s not unusual for sci-fi and fantasy stories.

My Thoughts

I’m a fan of Leigh Bardugo, but I don’t always enjoy all her books. Some I love, some are just okay, but they are always worth reading to find out! As a story, I loved this one. I thought the premise was very interesting and I didn’t expect the book to go where it did. That’s one of the things I enjoyed most about this book, that it was not very predictable. Some of the elements are familiar, but told in such a new and different way.

My Feels

To be fair, I read this book during a tumultuous time and wasn’t paying a hundred percent attention to it, so I think I didn’t get immersed into the emotional aspect of it as much as I would’ve been. Even so, there were parts where I did get hit in the feels, and they were great, but I think if I had been paying full attention, I might have been more affected by the story. It’s still a great read and I believe I’ll come back to it again one day when I can be more present. I also plan to read it on print so that I won’t get confused by the names and characters!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Posted July 19, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity.

Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

This was my bookclub’s Book of the Month for June, with the theme being LGBQT+ books/writers.

The Quotes

“They say nothing lasts forever but they’re just scared it will last longer than they can love it.”

“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.”

“I am writing because they told me to never start a sentence with because. But I wasn’t trying to make a sentence—I was trying to break free. Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey.”

“Perhaps it was not a destination I sought, but merely a continuation.”

The Narrator(s)

The writer himself, Ocean Vuong. The book was absolutely beautiful and he was the perfect narrator for it.

My Thoughts

I had no idea what to expect going into this book but suffice to say I didn’t know it was going to be so beautiful and lyrical. The book talks about a lot of difficult things, awkward things, painful things, but with such beautiful words and flow that makes it feel like a magical fever dream. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s just one of the most amazing reading experiences and it moves you to the core.

My Feels

I loved it, and I love it some more. There’s so much complexity in this story and the way the story is told. I’m just so blown away.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

Posted July 19, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies.

Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

Inquisitor Glokta, cripple turned torturer, would like nothing better than to see Jezal come home in a box. But then Glokta hates everyone: cutting treason out of the Union one confession at a time leaves little room for friendship. His latest trail of corpses may lead him right to the rotten heart of government, if he can stay alive long enough to follow it.

Enter the wizard, Bayaz. A bald old man with a terrible temper and a pathetic assistant, he could be the First of the Magi, he could be a spectacular fraud, but whatever he is, he’s about to make the lives of Logen, Jezal, and Glokta a whole lot more difficult.

Murderous conspiracies rise to the surface, old scores are ready to be settled, and the line between hero and villain is sharp enough to draw blood.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

My online bookclub had a disagreement about the books, with some saying they loved it and some saying they hated it. I had to see what the fuss was about and where I stood on the matter.

I finished these books way back in May and June, and hadn’t gotten around to reviewing them so I decided to review them as a series and not as individual books.

The Quotes

“You have to be realistic about these things.”

There are so many great quotes in this series and I had a whole post about it a couple of months ago. Check it out for more amazing quotes from the books!

The Narrator(s)

Steven Pacey. He is an amazing narrator for these books! I have to admit that he makes me want to reread the books again just to hear his narration. His portrayal of Glokta is particularly good, but he does a great job with all the characters throughout and I’m really curious to try more of his works.

My Thoughts

The Blade Itself
I started this book not really liking any of the main characters, and ended up loving them all! I think it’s brilliant that they are all so flawed and yet so relatable. I also love the “taglines” and repetitive quotes many of the characters use throughout the book. Some people criticise it as being lazy writing, but I feel like it’s actually quite true to real life because we repeat quotes and sayings all the time, and these characters and this world happen to have their own set of quotes and sayings they use all the time. I loved the first book and it left me wanting more.

Before They Are Hanged
I started the second book almost immediately after, and I loved it even more. I especially love the quest that Logen and his team go on, and the way they all bonded through that journey. A lot of second books aren’t the best, but I think this one might be my favorite book in the trilogy. The stakes get higher, and it’s so thrilling to see some of the ways they resolve their issues. Glokta’s story was very exciting too, and he’s easily one of my favorite characters.

Last Argument of Kings
It took a while to get to the final book because I had to wait on some book buddies, but I’ll be upfront and say I’m not completely satisfied with the resolution of the story in this book. I’m happy with most of it, but I have a problem with Logen’s storyline because I didn’t feel it was consistent what we’ve seen of him before. It’s a whole thing and I could get into it, but I won’t for now (unless provoked! 😂) so I’ll just focus on the positives. Overall, I loved the whole trilogy, and if I can find more audiobooks in set in this world narrated by Steven Pacey, I’m definitely going to read more!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars

Have you read this series? Would you read this series? Did you like the books or do you think you would like them?

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Monthly Wrap Up | June 2024

Posted July 3, 2024 by Haze in Monthly Wrap Up / 2 Comments

Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.

June 2024 Wrap Up

June was a difficult month for me for a few different reasons and I wasn’t able to do a lot on the blog. I didn’t read very many books compared to last month, but I did spend a lot of time escaping into books, which was good. I’ve been emotionally exhausted and haven’t wanted to post on the blog at all, but I get hesitant about reading more books if I’ve left a lot of books unreviewed. I also needed to get this monthly update done because I’d feel like something was missing if I didn’t!

I’m just doing the bare minimum for now, so please bear with me. I’m trying to sort myself out and I’ll be back to normal as soon as I can. Also, I know I have a lot of blog visiting to catch up on. I’m sorry!

My June 2024 TBR Intentions

  1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
  2. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
  3. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  4. Dragons of Winter Night by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  5. Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  6. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  7. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  8. Nina the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  9. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
  10. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
  11. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Books Read in June 2024

  1. Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
  2. Heartstopper 2 by Alice Oseman
  3. Heartstopper 3 by Alice Oseman
  4. Heartstopper 4 by Alice Oseman
  5. Heartstopper 5 by Alice Oseman
  6. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
  7. Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
  8. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  9. Far From You by Tess Sharpe
  10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
  11. You Like It Darker by Stephen King
  12. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Voung

Notable Books This Month

Almost every single book I read this month was great!

I think my favorites were the Heartstopper books, which really surprised me because I didn’t think I’d be interested in reading about teenage boys, but it was the most wholesome, happy, cute book and I loved all the characters!

You Like It Darker by Stephen King was another favorite, but no surprise there, I knew I was going to love anything he wrote. Every single one of the stories were great, and I really just keep wanting more!

Another book that did surprise me is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. I went in not knowing much about it but ended up finishing the book in one day because it was just so lyrical and beautiful and I couldn’t stop listening.

Hello Stranger and David Copperfield were amazing too, but there were too many strong contenders this month! I think Hello Stranger is my favorite Katherine Center book so far, and David Copperfield is just so good especially after reading Demon Copperhead.

It’s not my intention to list every book I read this month, just the notable ones, but it’s not my fault that they were all so good!

Reading Challenges

July 2024 TBR Intentions

This month I want to try to make a dent on more nonfiction and books I own. I’ve neglected them for years, so I want to at least try to get some read!

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
  2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  3. Feeling Good by David Burns
  4. The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
  5. Frequency by Penney Pierce
  6. The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie

I still want to read fiction and books I listed for last month’s TBR, but I want to try to prioritize these for the month.

How was your month in June? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful July with lots of great books!

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Book Review | Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Posted June 28, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #1: Locked room mystery)
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

There was a buddy read for it on my online bookclub and I couldn’t resist! I’ve also had it on my TBR for a while but wasn’t actually planning to read it so soon, but the buddy read got me.

The Quotes

“But Gideon was experiencing one powerful emotion: being sick of everyone’s shit.”

“If you do not find yourself a galaxy, it is not so bad to find yourself a star.”

“Maybe it’s that I find the idea comforting… that thousands of years after you’re gone… is when you really live. That your echo is louder than your voice.”

“They do not have to enjoy each other’s society; they must simply take their togetherness as assumed. The cavalier who will not sleep in the same room as their necromancer must question themselves as to why. Their love is the love that fears only for the other: the love of service on both sides.”

The Narrator(s)

Moira Quirk. I’ve listened to her on other books before and quite enjoy her narration. She was great here too. I think my issue with this book is that it’s not very easy to follow on audio. I get the gist, but I feel like I missed a lot of details and the details are important for this story.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed the story and the narration, but as I said, I think I missed a lot of details that might have been important. I caught the broad strokes, I get what’s happening, but apparently I missed a lot of the nuances, jokes and puns, the little scenes that make it great. I think I’ll come back to this book again on print. Especially since I want to continue with the series and I’d like to be sure I get the details before moving forward.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | You Like It Darker by Stephen King

Posted June 28, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

“Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

The Reason

Because I’m a huge fan of Stephen King’s and he just keeps getting better!

The Quotes

“Imagination is hungry, and needs to be fed.”

“The world is full of rattlesnakes. Sometimes you step on them and they don’t bite. Sometimes you step over them and they bite anyway.”

“Grief sleeps but doesn’t die. At least not until the griever does.”

“He considered this, then looked out the window at the steady rain. Nothing is colder than cold November rain. It crossed my mind that someone should write a song about it… and eventually, someone did.”

The Narrator(s)

Will Patton, and Stephen King for a couple of the stories. I always love Stephen King narrating his own stories, and Will Patton is the next best narrator.

My Thoughts

All the stories are so good and engrossing. I find myself getting sucked in and wanting more. I listened to these stories on audiobook and just flew through them. There were some that were more memorable than others; Two Talented Bastids, Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream, Rattlesnakes, and The Answer Man. Rattlesnakes is very haunting and also refers back to Cujo and Duma Key. I’ve read both, a while ago, and remember loving them but I don’t remember much else and this made me want to reread!

My Feels

I love that Stephen King is such a prolific writer and I have so many more of his books I haven’t read and can look forward to, because he always leaves me wanting more. His stories are just so real, so well-written, and flow so well. I have so much admiration and respect for his mastery.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Posted June 27, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Nine months. Two weeks. Six days.

That’s how long recovering addict Sophie’s been drug-free. Four months ago her best friend, Mina, died in what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong – a deal they think Sophie set up. Only Sophie knows the truth. She and Mina shared a secret, but there was no drug deal. Mina was deliberately murdered.

Forced into rehab for an addiction she’d already beaten, Sophie’s finally out and on the trail of the killer—but can she track them down before they come for her?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge

The Reason

Because I love Tess Sharpe’s other books!

The Quotes

“But my heart isn’t simple or straightforward. It’s a complicated mess of wants and needs, boys and girls: soft, rough, and everything in between, an ever-shifting precipice from which to fall.”

“I’ll choose you. No matter how hard it is. No matter what people say. Every time, I’ll choose you. It’s up to you to choose me back.”

“Bad ideas are sometimes necessary.” It sounds so much like an excuse, it’s such an addict thing to say, that it makes my skin crawl.”

“When you’re kept by a secret, the first time you hear it spoken out loud is mesmerizing.”

The Narrator(s)

The author herself. It was so good, I always love it when an author narrates their own book because you can hear their emphases and expressions.

My Thoughts

Tess Sharpe is one of my favorite YA Thriller authors and I don’t think that anyone even comes close to her when writing these plots and these badass female MCs. I didn’t like this one as much as the others I’ve read by her – The Girls I’ve Been and Barbed Wire Heart – but that’s relative and only because the other two were so good.

My Feels

I love that the MC was so flawed and had her faults; we see her struggling really badly but still tapping into her inner reserves of strength and resolve. I love that she’s so worth rooting for, and I’m really awed by Tess Sharpe’s ability to write such interesting characters.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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