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Tag: 2.5 stars

Book Review: Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (Song of the Shattered Sands, #1) by Bradley P. Beaulieu

Book Review: Twelve Kings in Sharakhai (Song of the Shattered Sands, #1) by Bradley P. Beaulieu

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Cover art illustrated by: Adam Paquette

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Song of the Shattered Sands (Book #1 of 6)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 584 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 3rd September 2015 by Gollancz (UK) and 1st September 2015 by DAW (US)

For me, Twelve Kings in Sharakhai has everything except the most important one: characters to care for. …

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Book Review: Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2) by Tamsyn Muir

Book Review: Harrow the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #2) by Tamsyn Muir

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Review copy provided by the publisher—Tor.com—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover illustrated by: Tommy Arnold

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Locked Tomb (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Space Opera

Pages: 512 pages (Hardback)

Published: 4th August 2020 by Tor.com

Harrow the Ninth was insanely confusing, and I am both annoyed and impressed at the same time. …

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Book Review: The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle, #1) by Miles Cameron

Book Review: The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle, #1) by Miles Cameron

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Cover Illustration by: Kerem Beyit

The Red Knight by Miles Cameron

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Traitor Son Cycle (Book #1 of 5)

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy

Pages: 784 pages (UK paperback)

Published: 1st September 2012 by Gollancz (UK) & 20th January 2013 by Orbit (US)

Great siege battles and incredibly detailed on how weaponry and armor works, but not gonna lie, I have mixed feelings about The Red Knight.

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Book Review: Side Jobs (The Dresden Files, #12.5) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: Side Jobs (The Dresden Files, #12.5) by Jim Butcher

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Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #12.5 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 434 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 14th April 2011 by Orbit (UK) & 26th October 2010 by Roc (US)

Back Up, The Warrior, and Aftermath were the only noteworthy stories in Side Jobs for me.

“Whenever it gets too dark, think of the good things you have, the good times you’ve had. It will help. I promise.”

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Book Review: Of Darkness and Dawn (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #2) by Will Wight

Book Review: Of Darkness and Dawn (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #2) by Will Wight

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Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein

Of Darkness and Dawn by Will Wight

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Elder Empire: Shadow (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 364 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 10th August 2015 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)

This review is an unpopular opinion; please feel free to ignore this if you’ve read and enjoyed the first book, but in my opinion, Of Darkness and Dawn was a huge downgrade from its predecessor. …

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Book Review: Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse, #3) by James S.A. Corey

Book Review: Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse, #3) by James S.A. Corey

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Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Expanse (Book #3 of 9)

Genre: Sci-fi, Space opera

Pages: 560 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 4th July 2013 by Orbit

This was underwhelming; my least favorite novel in the series so far. …

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Book Review: The Iliad by Homer

Book Review: The Iliad by Homer

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The Iliad by Homer
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Hallelujah. It’s over. Well, at least The Iliad is, though the story continues in The Odyssey. I had forgotten how much the beginning of this epic sounds like a giant group of toddlers fighting over toys. These toddlers just happen to command warships and armies, and the toys happen to be women they view as war prizes. Frankly, it’s disgusting. If these idiotic “heroes” would just view women as actual people who can make their own decisions instead of pretty toys over which to wage war, every single event in this story could have been avoided. Had they just asked Helen who she wanted to be with and respected that decision, hundreds of lives would have been saved. The amount of bloodshed over the “taking” of this woman is just insanely wasteful, even if it’s fictional.
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Book Review: The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat, #1) by Jen Williams

Book Review: The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat, #1) by Jen Williams

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The Copper Promise by Jen Williams

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Copper Cat (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy

Pages: 544 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 13th February 2014 by Headline (UK) & 5th July 2016 by Angry Robot (US)

The Copper Promise should’ve been classified as a collection instead of a full novel. …

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Book Review: The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War, #1) by Jon Skovron

Book Review: The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War, #1) by Jon Skovron

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

The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Goddess War (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 496 pages (UK paperback edition)

Published: 23rd April 2020 by Orbit (UK) & 21st April 2020 by Orbit (US)

Atmospheric, slow-paced, and well-written, but I have mixed feelings.

I haven’t read the series, but I’ve heard many great things about Jon Skovron’s Empire of Storms trilogy. When I saw that Skovron’s newest book, The Ranger of Marzanna, is a Russian inspired fantasy that has Magali Villleneuve as the cover artist—look at that cover art, it’s stunning—I immediately put this book on my radar. The result of the content, however, isn’t as likable as I hoped. I’ll keep this review briefer than usual; there were several factors that I enjoyed reading and parts that didn’t work for me in almost equal measure.

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Book Review: Golden In Death (In Death, #50)

Book Review: Golden In Death (In Death, #50)

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Golden in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I think I let my expectations run a little too wild in regards to this book. Because it’s book 50 (which is crazy, right?!) in a series, I was anticipating something mind-blowing for this installment; instead, I got fairly run-of-the-mill. And I’m so disappointed about it. In case you didn’t know, I absolutely adore Nora Roberts. She’s my ultimate comfort read. I’ve read literally everything she’s written, and I can’t think of another author so prolific (she’s written well over 200 books) that I can say that about. There’s something about her books that feels like coming home from the very first page. This is doubly true for the In Death series. Following the same characters through FIFTY books is a wild experience. Eve and Roarke and Peabody and so many others feel like members of my family that I get to catch up with a couple of times a year. If I’m being honest, these characters often feel more real to me than real people in my life. Or at least, they usually do.
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