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Book Review: All That We See or Seem (Julia Z, #1) by Ken Liu

Book Review: All That We See or Seem (Julia Z, #1) by Ken Liu

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


All That We See or Seem by Ken Liu

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Julia Z (Book #1 or 3)

Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller

Pages: 416 pages (Kindle Edition)

Published: 14th October 2025 by Saga Press (US) & 9th October 2025 Head of Zeus (UK)

All That We See or Seem is the newest near-future sci-fi thriller from Ken Liu, one of my favorite authors of all time. Did it manage to live up to the quality of his previous works?

“Freedom, belonging, telling a story about yourself that you love. Dreaming together. Meaning in all that we see or seem.”

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Book Review: Framed in Death (In Death, #61) by J.D. Robb

Book Review: Framed in Death (In Death, #61) by J.D. Robb

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Framed in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for an honest review.

Framed in Death is the 61st installment in the In Death series. I’ve loved Nora Roberts (and her pen name, J.D. Robb) for well over half my life. I’ll read—and have read—pretty much anything that she writes. But there’s something about this series that is just so special to me. I’ve been following the adventures of Eve Dallas and Roarke, Peabody and the rest of the crew, since I was sixteen. Which was twenty years ago. Because Nora publishes two installments in the series per year, it feels like I have this bi-annual chance to catch up with a great group of friends. Some installments are more successful than others, but all of them provide me with that cozy feeling of sitting down to a meal with good friends I haven’t seen in months. That being said, Framed in Death is a very strong installment, one that had me glued to its pages late into the night. …

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Manga Review: Death Note Short Stories by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Manga Review: Death Note Short Stories by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

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Death Note Short Stories by Tsugumi Ohba

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Death Note

Genre: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery

Pages: 226 pages (Paperback)

Published: 10th May 2022 by VIZ

A parting gift to fans of Death Note, even if some of the stories were fillers or too short.

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba (Story) and Takeshi Obata (Art) is one of my favorite manga/anime of all time. I have reread and rewatched Death Note plenty of times. When I knew there was a Death Note Short Stories, I instantly ordered the book without thinking. And upon the arrival of Death Note Short Stories, I did what any sane man would do in the presence of a Death Note. Open it immediately. Then read it non-stop to its completion. …

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TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : Aug 2022

TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : Aug 2022

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Hi everyone!  The month of August had been incredible, and not only from the perspective of the great reads that I had as you will see from the ratings of the books below.

What made this month phenomenal for me was The Sandman TV adaptation on Netflix, which is now one of my all favourite adaptations of all-time.  It’s been almost a full month since its release on 5th August, and I’m still obsessed with the show ( and especially with Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares, etc etc).  I loved the audiobook which came out a couple of years ago, but I’ve to say TV show was better.   It was as faithful an adaptation as it could be to fit the medium, and I personally found that the changes that were made served the story better in current times.  I also couldn’t believe that I would ever say I found a better Morpheus than James McAvoy, but Tom Sturridge was simply sublime and beyond perfect for this role.  I’ve rewatched the entire show at least once, and Morpheus’ scenes countless times.

I could keep rambling on and on about The Sandman, and perhaps I might write a post about it later this year.  For now, let’s get back to my bookish monthly wrap-up shall we?

NB. Books are rated within its genre.  For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.

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TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : July 2022

TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : July 2022

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Hi everyone, can’t believe that I’m back for another monthly wrap-up so soon.  I’ve been getting back in the groove with some high/epic fantasy books in July, although I did feel a need to switch gears a bit after reading a pretty darn big one, which was none other than the massive sixth book in the Wheel of Time series.

NB. Books are rated within its genre.  For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.

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Book Review: Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

Book Review: Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy

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Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m not a lover of thrillers, especially domestic ones. I try, because they often sound so intriguing, but I almost without fail guess the twists so far in advance that I get frustrated with the characters for not seeing what I see. And speaking of the characters, the main “protagonist” is so often a troubled, unreliable female narrator who is billed as highly intelligent but who is constantly making stupid decisions, and I think it’s a trope that has been radically overdone and should be laid to rest. But after hearing Goodnight Beautiful described as brilliant by readers I trust, and being told to go in as blind as possible, I just couldn’t pass this one up when it was offered as a Book of the Month pick. Except, then I didn’t read it for a year and a half.

When I finally did pick up Goodnight Beautiful, I was pretty blown away. …

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TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : May 2022

TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : May 2022

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Hello all!  Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up.

Amazingly, I found my Book of the Month for May right at the very beginning of the month, but that’s not to say that the books that came after that were not good.  Most of them were great reads (in fact, only one book disappointed me), and I’m happy to say that the series conclusion that I was looking forward to delivered very satisfactorily.   I did start to feel a slight burn-out from reading almost non-stop fantasy (albeit mostly Middle Grade) and ended the month with two crime/mystery thrillers.

NB. Books are rated within its genre.  For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.

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Book Review: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Book Review: The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

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The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I was drawn to The Plot by the cover. I try not to judge books by their covers, but the double entrendre of this one, with the book on the book cover and a burial plot in the background of the title, immediately captured my attention. And I did very much enjoy the layers of this story within a story, this nesting doll of layers that Korelitz presents here. But when the premise revolves around the writing of a book with a completely unique plot, one which is not a variation of the same handful of plots we’ve told and retold since before written language came to be, you don’t expect to guess the twist. Alas, that was my experience. The Plot sets out to deliver something new, and does to an extent, but I feel that it promised more than it was able to deliver.

“Good writers borrow, great writers steal. —T. S. Eliot (but possibly stolen from Oscar Wilde)”

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TS’s Best Reads of 2021

TS’s Best Reads of 2021

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This is my journey in books for 2021!

Hi everyone, TS here!  Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge that I’ve been inconsistent in my blogging/reviewing on Novel Notions this year.   I couldn’t find the energy or will or brain-power as I found myself in a new expanded role at work that has a challenging learning curve, and discovered that I enjoy cooking and baking (even embarked on sourdough) so much that I started spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

I did manage to meet my reading challenge of 100 books this year regardless, and it’s probably the most diverse year of reading that I’ve had in my entire life.   While fantasy remains my favourite genre for its sense of wonder, I found myself gravitating a lot towards mysteries this year, and also reading a lot more non-fiction.

I’ve decided to organise my best reads of 2021 a bit differently from prior years, somewhat thematically instead of the usual parameters and rankings.

And we’ll start with….
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