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Month: June 2020

Book Review: Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3) by Joe Abercrombie

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Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The First Law (Book #3 of 3), First Law World (Book, #3 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Published: 20th March 2008 by Gollancz (UK) & 8th September 2015 by Orbit (US)

I’ve been meaning to read The First Law trilogy for years, after hearing loads of accolades from far and wide across the fantasy bibliosphere. Now that I’ve done so, I could safely say that Abercrombie deserved all those praises, and I’ll contribute by heaping on more of the same.
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Book Review: Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett

Book Review: Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett

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Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the past few years, I’ve developed a deep love for any memoir in which someone details their crazy childhood and how they managed to rise above it. While they are radically different, Hollywood Park is joining Educated as one of my favorites in this random subgenre for which I’ve developed such a fondness. Hearing about Mikel Jollett’s earliest years was incredibly illuminating, and was yet another true story that made me so incredibly thankful for the wonderful, easy childhood I had, and how foundational that gilded upbringing was in my becoming the person I am today.

“Those nights I just go blank, like I could tie every bad thing inside me to a balloon and just let it float up into the sky, disappearing beyond the clouds.”

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Book Review: Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, #7) by Jim Butcher

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Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #7 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 408 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 3rd May 2005 by Roc (US)

We human don’t deserve dogs, but how about Tyrannosaurus?

“Time after time, history demonstrates that when people don’t want to believe something, they have enormous skills of ignoring it altogether.”

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Book Review: Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Book Review: Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

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Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

We all have our insecurities, reasons we sell ourselves short and chicken out on following our dreams. Reasons we don’t think we deserve those dreams. And we’re all wrong. We all, every single one of us, deserve those dreams. And we need to respect ourselves enough to get out of our own way and to at least try. The worst that can happen is that we fail, right? And how is that worse than never trying at all?

Big Summer is a breezy, very current murder mystery. The perspective character, Daphne, is a plus-sized Instagram influencer who is about to be part of the biggest wedding to ever hit social media. But when someone winds up dead, Daphne finds herself trying to track down the murderer instead.
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Book Review: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Book Review: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

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The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is billed as “Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meets Dracula.” I have never been as immediately excited by the promise of such a weird marriage. While I didn’t find the book nearly as Southern in tone and setting as the title promised, it was still a fun read. Fun and infuriating and, on occasion, very very gross. I should have remembered how nasty My Best Friend’s Exorcism was in places, but I had evidently blocked that out. This book didn’t reach quite the same level of ick, but there was definitely some ick within these pages.
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Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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Cover illustration by: Matt Duffin

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #4 of 4)

Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery

Pages: 833 pages (US Kindle edition)

Translated Edition Published: 2018 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & Harper (US)

An absorbing literary masterpiece embedded with every range of emotions.

“Tell our stories to the world, and never forget that we exist so long as someone remembers us.”

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Book Review: Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2) by Joe Abercrombie

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Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The First Law (Book #2 of 3), First Law World (Book, #2 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy

Published: 15th March 2007 by Gollancz (UK) & 8th September 2015 by Orbit (US)

This is when I start to bemoan about picking up this trilogy so late. To think that I actually met Abercrombie at WorldCon last year before completing The First Law. It was such a travesty of an opportunity, and I’m repentant for it.

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Book Review: Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

Book Review: Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

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Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella
My rating: 6 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Random House) and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ghosts of Harvard completely blew me away. At its core, it houses such a poignant window into mental illness and the victims it leaves behind when those struggling with it take their own lives. The portrayal of grief is brutal and beautiful and real. And yet this story is so much more than that. As she explores the Harvard campus on which her brother took his own life, Cady is faced with a plethora of mysteries. While her brother’s last days consume her from the start, she also finds herself digging into the university’s past as she grapples with fear over her own future. Ghosts of Harvard is a brilliant and seamless bridging of so many ideas and genres. I am in awe of how much research went into the writing of this book, and how Serritella was able to convey so much without a single aspect feeling forced. She struck a perfect balance in so many ways, and she truly gave the world a gift through the publication of this novel.
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Book Review: The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke

Book Review: The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke

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ARC received from the publisher, Puffin UK, in exchange for an honest review.

The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Genre: Middle grade, children’s fiction

Published: 21st July 2020 by Viking Books for Young Readers (US), and 23rd July 2020 by Puffin (UK).

The Unadoptables caught my eye because of its adorably whimsical cover, and I’m so glad to have read this wonderful tale of friendship and found family during this bleak and trying time.
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