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Book Review: Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Book Review: Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

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Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Published: 9th September (Vintage)

 

 

It’s her first day at college, but Chloe Sevre isn’t nervous at all. She has a plan. Get rid of Mom, take the best room before her dorm-mate arrives, make 6-8 new friends before 4pm, and find Will. If you’re thinking ‘how sweet’, she must be looking for her boyfriend, you’re dead wrong. Will’s days are numbered (literally, the book includes a countdown), because the main reason Chloe came to John Adams University is to kill him. And she doesn’t plan on giving up till it’s done…

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Book Review: The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin, #4) by Daniel Abraham

Book Review: The Widow’s House (The Dagger and the Coin, #4) by Daniel Abraham

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The Widow’s House by Daniel Abraham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Dagger and the Coin (Book #4 of 5)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 531 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 5th August 2014 by Orbit

A penultimate installment filled with war, tactics, and intrigues. The stage for the conclusion of the series has been established nicely.

“These are the weapons that greater forces use against each other. Put two boys to fighting each other with sticks, and the boys may come away well or poorly, but the sticks will always be shattered.”

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Book Review: Warriors of the Storm (The Last Kingdom, #9) by Bernard Cornwell

Book Review: Warriors of the Storm (The Last Kingdom, #9) by Bernard Cornwell

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Warriors of the Storm by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Last Kingdom (Book #9 of 13)

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 325 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 8th October 2015 by HarperCollins

Warriors of the Storm has violence, funny moments, and an engaging turn of events. …

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Book Review: Revival Season by Monica West

Book Review: Revival Season by Monica West

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Revival Season by Monica West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Revival Season is not the kind of story I can read completely objectively. My faith is a huge part of my identity. I’m a Christian, and I’ve attended Baptist churches my entire life. When something is so integral to who you are, it’s difficult to remove yourself from a story that centers so profoundly around that trait or belief. And that was one of my biggest problems with this book. There were so many religious red flags that I wanted to take the whole fictional family to counseling. This was a twisted, maimed version of my faith staring back at me from the page, a funhouse reflection of what I believe.  I just wanted to look away.  I didn’t.  I finished the book.  But it was a struggle for me. …

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Book Review: City of Blades (The Divine Cities, #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: City of Blades (The Divine Cities, #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Divine Cities (Book 2 of 3)

Genre: Urban fantasy, fantasy, post-apocalyptic

Published: 26th January 2016 by Broadway Books (US) & 7th January 2016 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)

City of Blades was one of the best sequels I’ve read; it has everything I could ask for that expands upon an already fantastic start to a trilogy.

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Book Review: Mistress of the Empire (Riftwar: Empire, #3) by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts

Book Review: Mistress of the Empire (Riftwar: Empire, #3) by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts

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Mistress of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Riftwar: Empire (Book #3 of 3), The Riftwar Cycle (Book #7 of 31)

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

Pages: 864 pages (UK Paperback edition)

Published: 1st April 1992 by Doubleday

This is the second series I finished this year, and it’s a thrilling and rewarding conclusion to the Riftwar: Empire trilogy.

“Love doesn’t demand; it accepts. It has taken me my life to learn this.”

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Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

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Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nine Perfect Strangers was not a book I intended to pick up. The idea of a novel this long set at a health resort sounded tedious to me. But after seeing the trailer for the Hulu series, I found myself intrigued. I enjoyed another of Moriarty’s books, Big Little Lies, and it was also a story whose premise did nothing for me, so I decided to give Nine Perfect Strangers a try. I’m glad I did, because it ended up being one of the best non-fantasy novels I’ve read all year. I was honestly incredibly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. …

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Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in May 2018)

Cover art illustrated by: Sam Weber

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series:The Divine Cities (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Urban fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Horror

Pages: 452 pages (US paperback edition)

Published: 9th September 2014 by Broadway Books (US) & 2nd April 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)

A truly wonderful start to a trilogy and one of the most original world-building I’ve ever had the chance to experience in a novel. …

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Book Review: Shadowblack (Spellslinger, #2) by Sebastian De Castell

Book Review: Shadowblack (Spellslinger, #2) by Sebastian De Castell

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Shadowblack by Sebastian de Castell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Spellslinger (Book 2 of 6)

Genre: Fantasy, YA fantasy

Published:  5th October 2017 by Hot Key Books (UK) and 21st August 2018 by Orbit (US)

Enjoyable and engaging, Shadowblack was an excellent sequel which builds on the characters and the intriguing world they live in.

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Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

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City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Divine Cities (Book 1 of 3)

Genre: Urban fantasy, fantasy, post-apocalyptic

Published: 9th September 2014 by Broadway Books (US) & 2nd April 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)

It had been a while since I’ve come across such a magnificent start to a series or trilogy; City of Stairs was a fine example of genre-redefining for urban fantasy.

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