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Tag: 4 stars

Book Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Book Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune


The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Change often starts with the smallest of whispers.”

How many books have been written proclaiming that different doesn’t mean wrong? Countless. And yet that message is still just as desperately needed, if not moreso, than it’s every been. We live in a world divided, a world in which diversity is still viewed with suspicion by many fronts. But though we still have a long way to go, inclusion and acceptance of those different than ourselves has come a long way over the course of the past century. While it may seem as though we’ve taken a step back in recent years, we’ve actually come so far that we’re better able to recognize our failings than ever before. Just as waking a sleeping limb is painful but necessary in order for our body to properly function, being able to see the areas in which we’re lacking is painful but necessary if we want to keep moving forward into a world in which people are valued for their souls and dreams instead of cast out for being different. After all, aren’t our differences what make us beautiful? The world would be a boring place if we were all carbon copies of one another. I for one am thankful to live in a world in which uniqueness abounds.

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Book Review: Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, #8) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files, #8) by Jim Butcher

Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #8 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 428 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 1st February 2006 by Roc (US)


Not as good as Dead Beat, but this is another great read, as expected.

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Book Review: The Fury Yet To Come (The Raincatcher’s Ballad, #0.5) by Steven McKinnon

Book Review: The Fury Yet To Come (The Raincatcher’s Ballad, #0.5) by Steven McKinnon

Cover illustration by: James T. Egan of Bookfly Design

The Fury Yet To Come by Steven McKinnon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Raincatcher’s Ballad (Book #0.5 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy

Pages: 124 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 25th June 2018 by Steven McKinnon DBA Vividarium Books (Indie)


This incredible action-packed grimdark novella is free. If you’re a fan of the sub-genre, I highly suggest you take this opportunity to get the book by subscribing to the author’s blog.

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Book Review: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Book Review: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix


The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is billed as “Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meets Dracula.” I have never been as immediately excited by the promise of such a weird marriage. While I didn’t find the book nearly as Southern in tone and setting as the title promised, it was still a fun read. Fun and infuriating and, on occasion, very very gross. I should have remembered how nasty My Best Friend’s Exorcism was in places, but I had evidently blocked that out. This book didn’t reach quite the same level of ick, but there was definitely some ick within these pages.

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Book Review: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Book Review: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett


Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bel Canto is a beautiful novel. I’ve never read Ann Patchett before, but I quickly became infatuated with her storytelling over the course of this novel. To be completely honest, this was a 5 star read until the last ten pages. I shouldn’t have been so blindsided by the climactic events. The story does, after all, revolve around opera. But I was indeed blindsided. I feel slightly scarred. It was still a great book, and one that I might even read again someday, but the list of people to whom I would recommend it shrunk significantly in those last pages.

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Book Review: Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: Blood Rites (The Dresden Files, #6) by Jim Butcher

Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #6 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 372 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 3rd August 2004 by Roc (US)


“The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.”

As if anyone would believe that, Harry.

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Book Review: Fid’s Crusade (The Chronicles of Fid, #1) by David H. Reiss

Book Review: Fid’s Crusade (The Chronicles of Fid, #1) by David H. Reiss

Review copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Fid’s Crusade by David H. Reiss

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Chronicles of Fid (Book 1 of 3)

Genre: Superhero, science fiction

Published: 23rd March 2018 (self-published); Re-release with new cover: 1st January 2020 (Atian Press)


I can’t say that I’ve read many superhero/villain stories.  But for what it’s worth, I’d say that Fid’s Crusade was a great read; an engaging anti-hero story that balanced fascinating character work with clever plotting and cool action scenes.

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