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Month: October 2020

Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig


The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”

This is the premise of The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s newest novel. I’ve never read anything by Haig before this book, but I can guarantee that this oversight will be addressed. Because The Midnight Library was wonderful. There’s incredible philosophical depth packed into relatively few pages. And for a book that begins with a suicide attempt, it ended up being surprisingly positive and uplifting. Not only is it a thoughtful novel, it inspired deep contemplation within the reader, but in a way that is comfortingly gentle for the times in which we’re living.

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Book Review: Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1) by Jim Butcher

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Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #15.1 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 444 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 5th June 2018 by Orbit (UK) & Roc (US)


This collection, especially Zoo Day, is mostly worth it just for the non-Harry’s POV stories.

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Cover Reveal: Pawn’s Gambit (Mortal Techniques, #2) by Rob J. Hayes

Cover Reveal: Pawn’s Gambit (Mortal Techniques, #2) by Rob J. Hayes

Hi everyone! Petrik from Novel Notions here!

Today we’re here to bring you a cover reveal of Pawn’s Gambit! This is the second standalone novel in the Mortal Techniques series by Rob J. Hayes, and for those of you who don’t know, I am a HUGE fan of the previous standalone book in the series: Never Die. Once you have seen the beautiful cover art, you can read my spoiler-free review of Never Die if you haven’t read the book! Without further ado, here is the cover of Pawn’s Gambit!

Cover art: Felix Ortiz

Cover design: STK.Kreations

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Audiobook Review: The Original by Brandon Sanderson & Mary Robinette Kowal

Audiobook Review: The Original by Brandon Sanderson & Mary Robinette Kowal

ARC received from the publisher, Recorded Books, in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Science fiction

Published: 14th Sept 2020 by Recorded Books (in collaboration with Mainframe)


The Original is a fascinating yet chilling look into a possible future where a person can be cloned into a replicant used to hunt down his or her ‘original’. This science-fiction collaboration between Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal thoroughly engages and satisfies with its solid characterisation and worldbuilding in a novella spanning just over 3hrs long of audio narration.

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Book Review: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Book Review: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

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Cover illustration by: Quentin Trollip

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi, Thriller, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction

Pages: 464 pages (US Hardback)

Published: 10th March 2016 by Head of Zeus (UK) & 8th March 2016 by Gallery / Saga Press (US)


The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is an intimately powerful and beautiful collection of stories that encompassed some of the most relatable themes to our society, and some stories contained in this collection felt personal and evocative to me.

“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”

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Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke


Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lovely. Odd, incredibly odd, but lovely both in spite of and due to the oddity. There’s an elegance to this book that feels like a rarity. For a novel that is less than 300 pages, Piranesi is quite the slow burn. The first half of this short book took me four days to read. Not that it was boring, mind you. It was meditative, inviting you as the reader to mull and ponder instead of racing forward to see what happens next. But then I read the second half in one sitting. When things finally picked up in the narrative, my attention never wavered.

“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.”

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Book Review: A Fool’s Hope (The Last War, #2) by Mike Shackle

Book Review: A Fool’s Hope (The Last War, #2) by Mike Shackle

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ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover illustration by: Tomas Almeida

A Fool’s Hope by Mike Shackle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Last War (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy

Pages: 608 pages

Published: 3rd December 2020 by Gollancz


A Fool’s Hope wonderfully surprised me; it is one of the finest middle installment I’ve ever read.

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Book Review: Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) by Jim Butcher

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Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

Skin Game by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #15 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 610 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 27th May 2014 by Orbit (UK) & Roc (US)


Skin Game is a parkour to 5 stars. Parkour!

“Did you shout ‘Parkour’?” Michael asked.
“Well, sure,” I said. “That was kinda Parkour-like.”
Michael fought to keep a smile off his face. “Harry,” he said, “I’m almost certain one does not shout ‘Parkour.’ I believe one is supposed to simply do Parkour.”
“Do I criticize your Latin battle cries? No, never once.”

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Book Review: Wintersteel (Cradle, #8) by Will Wight

Book Review: Wintersteel (Cradle, #8) by Will Wight

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Cover illustration by: Patrick Foster

Wintersteel by Will Wight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Cradle (Book #8 of 12)

Genre: Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Xianxia

Pages: 540 pages

Published: 6th October 2020 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)


Wintersteel is the most action-packed volume, with some of the finest action scenes, within the series so far.

“There are a million Paths in this world, Lindon, but any sage will tell you they can all be reduced to one. Improve yourself.”

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Book Review: Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) by Stephen King

Book Review: Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) by Stephen King


Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Dark Tower has completely captured my heart and mind. I feel as though I am part of the gunslinger’s ka-tet, making the trek right along with them. And so far, it’s one of the most fulfilling literary journeys I’ve ever embarked upon. Wizard and Glass did nothing but reinforce that feeling.

“And now, all these years later, it seemed to him that the most horrible fact of human existence was that broken hearts mended.”

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