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Tag: standalone

Book Review: Truth Cursed by Angie Dickinson

Book Review: Truth Cursed by Angie Dickinson

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Truth Cursed by Angie Dickinson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Truth Cursed was billed to me as Black Widow by way of Ella Enchanted, and that description honestly isn’t far off. The opening paragraph immediately put me in mind of Ella Enchanted, both in tone and in the condition of our main character. Also, while I’ve never read the Finishing School series by Gail Carriger, I have a feeling this novel would scratch that same itch. There was mystery and suspense and intrigue, with a dash of romance thrown in. Honesty was contrasted with open communication, appreciation for one’s abilities contrasted with acceptance of oneself. But while there were some important themes, couched subtly within the story, it was the story itself and the development of its characters that kept me turning the pages. It was such a fun, romp of a tale. …

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Book Review: The Left Hand of Darkness (The Hainish Cycle, #4) by Ursula K. Le Guin

Book Review: The Left Hand of Darkness (The Hainish Cycle, #4) by Ursula K. Le Guin

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The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone, The Hainish Cycle (Book #4)

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 367 pages (ebook edition)

Word Count: 92,000 words

Publish date: March 1969 by Ace Books

The Left Hand of Darkness is a great example of a book conveying big themes in a small package.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

…

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Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Book Review: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

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A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 496 pages (Kindle edition)

Publish date: 6th of September 2016 by Penguin Books

A Gentleman in Moscow is a beautifully written book with minimal suspense, conflict, or captivating drama.

“It is a sad but unavoidable fact of life… that as we age our social circles grow smaller. Whether from increased habit or diminished vigor, we suddenly find ourselves in the company of just a few familiar faces.”

…

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Book Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Book Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

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Cover art illustrated by Dave McKean

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Pages: 201 pages (Lyra’s Books Hardcover edition)

Word Count: 31,000 words

Published: 2nd July 2002 by Harper Collins

Coraline is the best book by Neil Gaiman that I’ve read. And maybe, all this time, I might have picked the wrong Neil Gaiman books to read.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

…

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Petrik’s Top 19 Books of the Year! (2023)

Petrik’s Top 19 Books of the Year! (2023)

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Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read so far this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2023)

Between 1st January 2023 and 31st December 2023, I read 80 books + 177 manga/manhwa volumes (76.8k pages).

Please read this first. There will be three rules I set in this list for me to give appreciation to more authors rather than having only a few authors hoarding this list. These rules allow me to highlight more authors, and at the same time, I’ll also be able to include both new and older books (many of them still need attention) that I read this year.

  • Rereads aren’t included.
  • One book per series.
  • The books listed here are not all exclusively published this year; the list consists of the top books I read for the first time this year. Non-2023 published books on this list will have their first date of publication included.

Do note that although there’s a rank to this list, I HIGHLY recommend every book/series listed below because I loved all of them immensely, and they received a rating of 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars from me. Honorable mentions are for two best novellas and two short stories I read this year. Without further ado, here are the top 15 (or 19) books I’ve read this year! (All full reviews of the books listed can be found on Novel Notions and my Goodreads page.) …

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Book Review: Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering

Book Review: Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering

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

Cover art by Dusan Markovic

Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 784 pages (Paperback edition)

Published: 23rd November 2022 by Mythology Press (Self-Published)

Heliotrope is a good one-off standalone character-driven fantasy reminiscent of the classic adventurous fantasy novel. …

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Book Review: Long Chills and Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson

Book Review: Long Chills and Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson

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Long Chills and Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Mystery, Detective noir

Pages: 67 pages (ebook edition)

Published: 19th December 2023 by Dragonsteel

If The Sunlit Man was the final book to end the Year of Sanderson, Long Chills and Case Dough is the epilogue to it. …

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Book Review: Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

Book Review: Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

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

Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Horror

Word Count: 91,000 words

Pages:  352 pages (Paperback edition)

Published: 11th July 2023 by Tor Nightfire (US) & 13th July 2023 by Orbit Books (UK)

Well, Boys in the Valley was so good. It was surprisingly so good.

“All of life is a great gift,” he says. “Not because of what it gives us, but because of what it allows us to give others.”

…

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Book Review: The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

Book Review: The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

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The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cosmere

Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera

Word Count: 129,000 words

Pages: 416 pages (Paperback)

Published: 14th January 2020 by Del Rey Books

The Vanished Birds is a beautiful, heartfelt, and tense standalone space opera story about kindness, choices, love, pain, ambition, and found family.

“Geniuses are born all the time, but kindness is rarer, these days especially. The world could use more kindness.”

…

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Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

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This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review on Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.

Cover art by Aliya Chen

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Cosmere

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 479 pages (Kindle)

Published: 1st July 2023 by Dragonsteel Books (Kickstarter) & 11th July 2023 by Tor Books (US Ebook)/Gollancz (UK Ebook)

This was utterly brilliant and satisfying. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter will be the best of the secret project novels, and it is easily one of Sanderson’s finest books in his career. …

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