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Author: Celeste

Book Review: Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8) by Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8) by Seanan McGuire


Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Tordotcom, in exchange for an honest review.

One of my personal holiday traditions has become reading the newest Wayward Children novella on or right after Christmas. Tordotcom has been kind enough to facilitate that tradition for the past 6 years by sending me a galley copy of each installment before its publication, usually in January. It’s always one of my most exciting pieces of book mail of the year. Some installments have been more successful (for me) than others, but this year’s release, Where the Drowned Girls Go, brought me back to the magic of the first book. There we were introduced to the dark sister school of Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, but we also begin to see various storylines from previous novellas finally tying themselves together. Because of this, my hopes for this newest installment, Lost in the Moment and Found, were very high, and I was expecting even more of the series to come together.

Lost in the Moment and Found is nothing like I expected while still being everything I hoped it would be.

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Book Review: The Choice (Dragon Heart Legacy, #3) by Nora Roberts

Book Review: The Choice (Dragon Heart Legacy, #3) by Nora Roberts


The Choice by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The Choice is the epic conclusion of Nora Roberts’ Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy. Here we have portals to other worlds, mythical creatures, magic light and dark, and battles between good and evil on both large scale and small. There is a charming, diverse cast of characters, a couple of lovely romances, and a wonderful emphasis on family, whether bound by blood or chosen by heart. In this trilogy and her last, Chronicles of the One, Nora has made a radical departure from the cozy and comfortable storytelling I fell in love with as a teen. I can see where some lifelong fans of her writing might be disappointed in the shift, but I really respect it. This trilogy, and the one published before it, are stories that I would have no qualms recommending to fantasy fans who have never had much interest in Nora’s work.

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Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus


Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lessons in Chemistry was so much better than I anticipated, even after hearing it so lauded by so many readers. I blame this partly on the cover. While very cute, it doesn’t do justice to the story it contains, conveying something similar in feel to a rom-com instead of what the cover truly hides, which is an empowering historical fiction novel that is by turns heart-wrenching and hilarious. And always, always, so smart. This is a feminist manifesto of the highest, most egalitarian caliber, while also telling a wonderfully compelling story with even more compelling characters.

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Book Review: A Fire Endless (Elements of Cadence, #2) by Rebecca Ross

Book Review: A Fire Endless (Elements of Cadence, #2) by Rebecca Ross


A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Harper Voyager, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever read a sequel that retroactively made you love its predecessor even more, to the point that you actually go back and change your original rating? I originally loved A River Enchanted but had a few issues with it. But upon reading A Fire Endless, all of those issues have evaporated. I think this might be the closest thing to a perfect duology I’ve ever consumed. The balance hear is exquisite, the writing became more and more lyrically beautiful as the story progressed, and there’s just something to be said for a tale of hope and healing; those are woefully infrequent, and I was thrilled to find such a story within the pages of the Elements of Cadence duology.

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Book Review: A River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence, #1) by Rebecca Ross

Book Review: A River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence, #1) by Rebecca Ross


A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A River Enchanted is lovely fantasy brimming with Celtic-inspired lore. I felt utterly transported by it. The setting was lush, a balance of both familiar and fresh. The cast was varied, with some very interesting characters; some were even lovable. The magic was wild and enchanting and costly, and fascinatingly different across the island. The plot and the mystery element were intriguing enough to keep me invested while letting the setting and lore and characters be the true stars of the show. And the romance was beautifully balanced, core to the story without ever overwhelming the plot. There were multiple slow-burn relationships in these pages that didn’t capture me at first, but my investment in them grew as the story progressed. While it did take me a while to warm up to various aspects of this book, I grew to love it.

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Book Review: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

Book Review: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill


20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

20th Century Ghosts is not the first short story collection I’ve read by Hill, but it’s the first one he released. As a whole, I think it might be a touch stronger than Full Throttle, a more recent short story collection of his I read in 2019. However, I also found the individual stories largely less memorable. It was more even across the board, but that meant that there were fewer that stood out to me. That being said, I really enjoyed my time with this collection, and there wasn’t a single story that I legitimately hated. In a collection of 15 stories, I’d say that’s a pretty fantastic achievement. Below are micro-reviews of each story.

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Book Review: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Book Review: Fairy Tale by Stephen King


Fairy Tale by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“That much is true about songs (and many stories) even in my own world. They speak mind to mind, but only if you listen.”

Fairy Tale has been one of my most anticipated reads of the 2022 since it was announced. I preordered it in February, the day it first became available. So to say my expectations were sky-high would be an understatement. Reading anything you’ve been looking forward to for that long with your hopes for it residing somewhere in the clouds is always a tenuous undertaking. While Fairy Tale didn’t disappoint, it couldn’t quite live up to the hype in my head.

“it’s the stories of our childhood that make the deepest impressions and last the longest.”

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Book Review: Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, by R.F. Kuang

Book Review: Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, by R.F. Kuang


Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.”

Every once in a while, you read a book that you can tell is something special. Not just because the story or characters are exceptional. Not just because the pacing is perfect and the prose is exquisite. Not just because it covers important topics in new ways. No, sometimes the book you’re reading is special because you know that it will go beyond standing the test of time; it’s destined to become a classic. You can see this book not only still being read a century from now, but being discussed in a classroom setting. Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translator’s Revolution is such a book. It tackles some truly weighty material, specifically colonialism and racism, in profoundly eye-opening ways. It houses a discourse on etymology and translation that is absolutely fascinating. And even while balancing all of these dense topics, Kuang still manages to create an incredible cast of characters that experience a phenomenal among of growth, as well as a perfectly paced, page-turning plot where the stakes are high and the emotions wrought in the reader are even higher. I can’t think of a superlative strong enough to adequately convey how powerful and nigh-on perfect Babel is as a piece of art.

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Book Review: Ithaca (Penelope, #1) by Claire North

Book Review: Ithaca (Penelope, #1) by Claire North


Ithaca by Claire North
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, Redhook via Orbit Books, in exchange for an honest review.

I have such a weakness for Greek myth. Mythology of any kind fascinates me, but I’ve been obsessed with Greek mythology almost since I learned to read. Because of this love, I often find myself divided on retellings. On the one hand, I love any chance to revisit these stories I love, especially if told in a way that gives me a new perspective. On the other, I tend to judge these a bit harshly because of my love for the source material. But when I find a book that not only retells one of these timeless stories, it breathes new life into it, it becomes an instant favorite.

Ithaca? Definitely an instant favorite.

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Book Review: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Book Review: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang


Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes you need to read something that stretches you. Or at least, I do. Because reading is such a vital part of my life, and something to which I give such a large portion of my time, I try to read things on occasion that push me to think outside of myself. It’s been a long while since I found a book that did that as successfully as Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life and Others. I felt as if I were trying to keep my head above water the entire time I was reading it, but in the best way possible. Chiang raises some truly profound moral, theological, and philosophical questions, and he does so in a way that doesn’t lead you to any specific conclusion. Sometimes it’s enough to think and to question, and Chiang’s stories give readers the freedom to do just that. It was completely unclear what type of worldview he was writing from, which I actually loved. More than one of these stories had some heavy religious connotations, but felt neither like proselytization or a subtle ridicule of believers. That is a very difficult balance to strike in one story, let along an entire collection. I am in awe of Chiang’s mind, and was equally awed by every single story housed in this book.

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