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Author: Celeste

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

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

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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

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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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Book Review: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Book Review: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

I was drawn to The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by a two-pronged attack of adorable cover art and interesting comparisons. I was told that this book had Howl’s Moving Castle vibes, and I can only see that if I squint, and only as regards that personalities of the main characters. I was also informed that it was basically You’ve Got Mail but in a fantasy world, and I get this comparison even though I’ve never actually watched that movie. (Yes, yes. I know. I promise to rectify that eventually.) While romance hasn’t been my genre of choice this year because I read so much of it last year, I decided to give this a go anyway simply because I thought the premise sounded fun. And I’m so glad that I did, because The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was a snarky delight of a rom-com housed in a fascinating fantasy world. …

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Book Review: Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman

Book Review: Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman

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Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

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

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but that’s what initially drew me to Pandora. While not yet officially available in the US, it’s been out in the UK since January of 2022, and I had read some mixed reviews about it. But something about it still called to me, and when the audio became available to request on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance. I’m incredibly glad that I did, because this story was incredible, and I actually don’t know that I would have enjoyed it quite so much in any other format. …

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Book Review: Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

Book Review: Always Never by Jordi Lafebre

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Always Never by Jordi Lafebre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think reading this made my heart grow three sizes.

Always Never is one of the loveliest graphic novels, and most unique love stories, I’ve ever experienced. Spanish cartoonist Jordi Lafebre both wrote and illustrated this himself, and there’s a level of cohesion to the prose and the art that feels incredibly rare to me because of that. I was captured from the very beginning by both the art and the unique format. …

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Book Review: Prey Without Ceasing by Andrew Franks

Book Review: Prey Without Ceasing by Andrew Franks

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Prey Without Ceasing by Andrew Franks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I became friends with Andrew Franks on TikTok before I realized he was an author, because I enjoyed his taste and his content. When he reached out offering a code to the audiobook for Prey Without Ceasing, I was both excited and nervous. I tend to shy away from reading books written by people I’ve developed any kind of relationship with, because I try to be as (kindly) honest as I can be about every book I read, and this has cost me relationships in the past. But the synopsis of this book called to me so strongly that I accepted his offer and also purchased the Kindle book so I could tandem read and make notes. I made the right decision. This was definitely a book worth reading, and I related to portions of it so deeply that it was painful. …

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Book Review: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Book Review: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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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 Storyteller by Dave Grohl

Book Review: The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

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

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

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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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Celeste’s 5 Star Reads of 2022 (January 1st – June 30th)

Celeste’s 5 Star Reads of 2022 (January 1st – June 30th)

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I read 78 books in the first half of 2022. (Which is, I admit, excessive.) Of those, 23 of them have been 5 star reads. (Which is also excessive.) This is in part due to the fact that I’m ridiculously easy to please, but it’s also because I have found some truly phenomenal books (and even new-to-me authors) this year. I wanted to share these with you, in the order that I read them.
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