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Tag: 3.5 stars

The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)

The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)

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The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Petrik’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Here it is, I’m riding the winds of time! Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Another massive fantasy series to finish, a new epic adventure to undertake. Like many modern fantasy readers, the last three books finished by Brandon Sanderson played a huge motivational drive in my attempt to start and finish The Wheel of Time. I honestly find this series to be even more intimidating than Malazan Book of the Fallen due to the sheer number of word counts in it. To give a bit of information on how intimidating this series is, the last two massive series I began and finished last year was The Realm of Elderlings (4.1 million words) by Robin Hobb and Malazan Book of the Fallen (3.3 million words) by Steven Erikson; the entirety of The Wheel of Time consists of 4.4 million words. That’s how gigantic this series is. If it weren’t because Sanderson is one of my top favorite authors of all time and the fact that I’ve completely run out of his adult fantasy books to read, I probably wouldn’t have started this series at all. That being said, no matter what the initial reason is, I’m really glad that I’ve taken the important first step towards conquering The Wheel of Time.

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The Procurement of Souls

The Procurement of Souls

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I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Procurement of Souls by Benjamin Hope
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars.

A commendable debut, The Procurement of Souls is a dark and fantastical tale that will satisfy gothic fans.

Right from the very start, there was a disturbing scene of a man trapped and strapped down on a chair by a mad scientist, Dr Weimer, who duly inserted a long tube with a metal barb at its end down his victim’s mouth, throat and even further to extract something out of that poor man. And that something is where the book got its title.
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Little Fires Everywhere

Little Fires Everywhere

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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Little Fires Everywhere is a powerful story that I never would have read had I known what it was actually about. I’m glad that I read it, and I applaud Ng’s astute and canny characterizations. However, this book is the closest I’ve ever come to actually being triggered by something, which I’ll explain further below. I’ve read books in the past that were very dark or depressing, but I could recognize those elements and finish the book, knowing that the book wasn’t really for me but no worse off for having read it. But this book messed with my head and brought back to the forefront of my mind feelings I thought had been laid to rest.

“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.”

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Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2)

Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2)

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Finders Keepers by Stephen King
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I had no plans to pick this book up because I was so disappointed in Mr. Mercedes, the first book in the trilogy. (You can read my Goodreads review of that book here.) My major complaint with that book was its blandness; it just felt incredibly forgettable to me. Not so with Finders Keepers. In this story we have a much more multifaceted plot and, even better, a plot that revolves around books!

I’m a huge sucker for books about books. Even though Finders Keepers is at its core a suspense and a crime drama, fiction played a huge role in the story. A Salinger-esque author has hidden himself from the world, but continues to handwrite more stories and poems and essays, locking the notebooks away in his safe instead of sharing them with the public. When he’s murdered and the notebooks go missing, the author becomes even more cloaked in mystery. …

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Faycalibur (Less Valued Knights, #2)

Faycalibur (Less Valued Knights, #2)

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You can get the first book of this series for FREE by subscribing to the author’s newsletter here: http://liamperrin.com/free-sir-thomas/

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Faycalibur by Liam Perrin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The Less Valued Knights is back to bring a smile upon your face.

Faycalibur is the second book Liam Perrin’s Less Valued Knights series. The story continues straight from where the first book left off and it mainly revolves around Thomas as he undertakes a quest to find the missing wizard, Merlin, in order to bring glory to the Table of Less Valued Knights; which as always are… less valued. Same as the first book, the story was very light-hearted in tone, filled with moments that will make you smile, it almost never took itself seriously. There were a few jokes that really stood out, like the usage of “who” and “whom” which was greatly implemented. However, beneath the jokes, fun, and lighthearted moments, I found the book to be quite full of inspirational message. Faycalibur is a valuable book about that centered its themes on bravery, friendship, trust, and to always stay true to who you are.

“If a bad person can make himself look like a good person. How do you know who’s who? How do you know who to help? You know. If you’re a good person?

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You

You

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You by Caroline Kepnes
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I turn on my Kindle and there you are. Waiting for me. Teasing me with your lovely cover and interesting premise. Taunting me.

“I’m a show on Netflix now,” you say. “I’ll understand if you just want to watch me instead of reading me first.”

But you know I won’t do that. You read me as clearly as you know I’ll be reading you. You tease me because you know I can’t help but give into you.

Dirty, compelling, popular

You. …

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Hero Forged (Ethereal Earth, #1)

Hero Forged (Ethereal Earth, #1)

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Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Hero Forged (Ethereal Earth #1)Hero Forged by Josh Erikson
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A solid beginning to an urban fantasy series.

I’ll first start this review by saying that urban fantasy is a rare hit for me. In fact, other than The Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett, Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron, Paternus Trilogy by Dyrk Ashton, and Jade City by Fonda Lee, I’ve been mostly disappointed with what I’ve read so far. Hero Forged is a new rising urban fantasy that’s well-loved by some reviewers I know. However, knowing my hit and miss statistics with the sub-genre, I was actually going to decline the request to review this book. The author then told me that the main character resembles Vash the Stampede from Trigun; there’s no way I would decline reviewing the book after hearing that and I’m glad I gave it a go. …

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The Ace of Skulls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #4)

The Ace of Skulls (Tales of the Ketty Jay, #4)

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The Ace of Skulls by Chris Wooding
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

The Ace of Skulls gave mostly a satisfying ending to the Tales of the Ketty Jay but as a volume, this was a slight step back in quality.

Tales of the Ketty Jay has always been consistently good from the first book; the third and penultimate book was a huge step up for the series in which almost every element from the previous books was improved efficiently. That’s why it saddened me to say that even though I still loved this one, I didn’t enjoy reading the majority of this book as much as I did before with the previous three books. …

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Ball Lightning

Ball Lightning

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Ball LightningBall Lightning by Liu Cixin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

In Ball Lightning, Cixin Liu greatly examined the effects of obsession with science and weaponry.

I’m a fan of Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth Past trilogy. The second book in that series, The Dark Forest remains in my personal top three sci-fi novels of all time and will most likely stay there for a very long time. Plus, the fact that Ball Lightning is translated by Joel Martinsen, the same translator of The Dark Forest, made me eager to read this one. …

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Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels, #10)

Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels, #10)

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Magic Triumphs by Ilona Andrews

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is an extremely difficult book to review, friends. 

It’s no secret that I fell in love with this series, its humor and atmosphere since the first book. I fell in love with Kate, I fell in love with Curran, with Derek, with Doolittle, with unexpected characters that slowly grew on me over the 10 books (but not with Julie. NOPE. Sorry, I tried but nope. To think that a trilogy is dedicated to her in the future *sighs*). I fell in love with the damaged world and with the alternating tech and magic waves. And I fell in love with the friendships and with the loyalty and dedication they inspired.

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