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Month: July 2022

Book Review: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Book Review: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas


The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Atmospheric, transportive, and often terrifying, The Hacienda was a captivatingly creepy place to visit. I’ve been looking forward to The Hacienda since before its publication. But, true to form for me, I kept putting it off once I had it in my hands, partly because I have such a plethora of books on my shelf calling my name that leads me to constant distraction, and partly due to a slight fear that I wouldn’t love it as much as so many other readers who had already read it and adored it with every fiber of my being. But the stars finally aligned, and a TikTok friend offered to buddy read it with me. While I didn’t adore it as much as some other readers, I did very much enjoy it.

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Book Review: The Alloy of Law (Mistborn: Wax and Wayne, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Book Review: The Alloy of Law (Mistborn: Wax and Wayne, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Cover art illustrated by: Chris McGrath

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Mistborn: Wax and Wayne (Book #1 of 4), Mistborn Saga (Book #4 of 7)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Steampunk

Pages: 392 pages (Mass Market Paperback Edition)

Published: 8th November 2011 by Tor Books (US) & 10th November 2011 by Gollancz (UK)


The Alloy of Law is an immensely enjoyable start to the second era of Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson.

“The measure of a person is not how much they have lived. It’s in how they make use of what life has shown them.”

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Book Review: The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

Book Review: The Storyteller by Dave Grohl


The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The last time I remember reading and connecting with a musical memoir like this was with Hollywood Park, but Grohl’s story is immediately a happier read. I absolutely love his joie de vivre, his unapologetic enthusiasm for life. The Storyteller is a joyful, irreverent, triumphant look at a life lived hard and fast but well. And hearing it told in Grohl’s own voice added even more power to a rocking story. This is one of those books that demands to be heard, though I’m also thankful to have a physical copy that I was able to annotate and which provided some wonderful photos of his life to complement the stories.

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Book Review: Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, #6) by Robert Jordan

Book Review: Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, #6) by Robert Jordan

Cover art illustrated by: Gregory Manchess

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Wheel of Time (Book #6 of 14)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Classic Fantasy

Pages: 1056 pages (Kindle Edition)

Published: 15th October 1994 by Tor Books


Lord of Chaos could potentially become the best book by Robert Jordan for me. Let the Lord of Chaos rule, and rule it did.

“Asha’man, kill!”

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Book Review: The Golden Age (Locke & Key #6.5) by Joe Hill

Book Review: The Golden Age (Locke & Key #6.5) by Joe Hill


Locke & Key: The Golden Age by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I read the original 6 volumes of Locke & Key, I fell head-over-heels in love with every element of it: the story, the art, the characters, the concepts, the setting, all of it completely enchanted me. I consider it one of my favorite series of all time, and definitely my favorite series of graphic novels I’ve ever read. Every single volume was a 5 star experience. I wouldn’t have changed a single sentence or frame. It’s one of those rare instances where the art and the prose carry equal weight in the story, and something about Rodriguez’s art style stole my heart as surely as Hill’s writing did. I loved every single thing about it.

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Book Review: The Jade Setter of Janloon (The Green Bone Saga, #0.5) by Fonda Lee

Book Review: The Jade Setter of Janloon (The Green Bone Saga, #0.5) by Fonda Lee

ARC was provided by the publisher—Subterranean Press—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by: Charis Loke

The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Green Bone Saga (Book #0.5 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 144 pages (Hardback edition)

Published: 30th April 2022 by Subterranean Press


The Jade Setter of Janloon is an exhilarating and heartfelt appetizer or dessert to The Green Bone Saga, depending on when you start this novella.

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Book Review: Sharp Ends (The First Law World, #7) by Joe Abercrombie

Book Review: Sharp Ends (The First Law World, #7) by Joe Abercrombie

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: First Law World (Book #7 of 10)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Westerns

Pages: 369 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 26th April 2016 by Gollancz (UK) and Orbit (US)


Sharp Ends, the ultimate collection of tales from The First Law World by Joe Abercrombie, is a great dessert to provide insights and background for most of the previously established characters in the past six novels.

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Book Review: Dreadgod (Cradle, #11) by Will Wight

Book Review: Dreadgod (Cradle, #11) by Will Wight

Cover art illustration by: Patrick Foster

Dreadgod by Will Wight

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Cradle (Book #11 of 12)

Genre: Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Xianxia

Pages: 504 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 5th July 2022 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)


Dreadgod has prepared the series to reach its epic conclusion, but as an installment, Dreadgod was my third least favorite of the series.

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Book Review: Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire, #1) by Michael J. Sullivan

Book Review: Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire, #1) by Michael J. Sullivan

Cover art illustrated by Marc Simonetti

Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Legends of the First Empire (Book #1 of 6)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 432 pages (Mass Market Paperback)

Published: 28th June 2016 by Del Rey


It’s always a great feeling when you start a new series from an author whose work you loved and find out their storytelling skill in their first installment of a series has improved. Well done, Michael J. Sullivan.

On my first read of Age of Myth, I gave it a 3.5/5 stars rating. Five years later, today, I finished my reread of the book. Similar to my experience of rereading The Riyria Revelations, I loved Age of Myth more on my second read. Let me enlighten you a bit on why this reread worked so well. And to do this, I will have to compare my experience of reading Age of Myth and The Crown Conspiracy, the first book in The Riyria Revelations series, and also my reread experience of them both.

“If given a choice between a potentially great hardship and doing nothing, people gravitated toward what was most familiar and comfortable. That was why leadership was needed. To do what was necessary rather than what was easy.”

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Book Review: Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

Foundryside

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Founders Trilogy (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Urban High Fantasy, Science Fiction

Pages: 512 pages (Hardcover)

Published: 1st August 2018 by Crown (US) & Jo Fletcher (UK)


Thrillingly fun and highly imaginative, Foundryside is one of the most promising starts to a series I have read.

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