Latest Book Reviews and Comments
The first book of the multi-award-winning series, features an imaginative crossroads of different worlds: a boarding school where special children and young people are “safe” until they can return to the place they long for—or learn to adapt if they cannot. The story features intriguing fantasy elements, for which the author deserves credit. The characters, on the other hand, are fairly typical YA characters with their typical struggles. None of them sparked any particular interest. It follows in the footsteps of, say, Narnia and Alice in Wonderland, and I hope that the story and world will develop in a more multidimensional direction in the sequels.
A woman visiting a hunting lodge in an Alpine valley finds herself isolated within a transparent wall surrounding the valley, along with a few animals. Those on the outside appear to be dead. This descriptive, leisurely-paced work, rich in the repetition of everyday life, touches the heart throughout. I am grateful for the author’s narrative choices, which helped a more sensitive reader like me make it all the way to the end. An impressive classic. This book left a lasting impression. Highly recommended.
This is a story about the struggle for survival. It makes you wonder what drives a person to stay alive, and where one finds the willpower not to give up even when all hope seems lost and humanity is nowhere to be found. The story is well told, even though the introduction to the heart of the matter is long... even after about a hundred pages, I was still wondering what the book was really about. The reflections on faith, different religions, and the descriptions of the zoo animals are precise. The book also seemed to convey an important message about the relationship between animals and humans. The text is a plain and unpretentious account of Pi’s reality. But in the end, reality is still open to the reader’s interpretation. The solutions for survival are sometimes brutal. The book kept me hooked, and when it ended, I felt that this book was worth reading. That feeling isn’t easily forgotten. Life of Pi isn’t a light read, but I recommend it anyway, especially to those who have the patience for a slow start and who don’t shy away from the moral lessons of the story.
Leonora Carrington’s The Hearing Trumpet is an empowering novel about older women. The protagonist is a 92-year-old woman with hearing loss who, after receiving an ear trumpet, learns she must move into a nursing home. The nursing home is quite fantastical in itself, as each resident lives in a unique cottage—for example, in a shoe, a birthday cake, or a lookout tower. Otherwise, the nursing home isn’t a very good place, so the elderly women begin to rebel. Women who have been pushed aside because of their gender and, once again, because of their age.
I give this (audio)book 11 out of 10⭐️! I dragged my feet getting started because I wasn’t in the mood for a dystopian book, especially since it was not the sequel to Conform, which left off with such a suspenseful cliffhanger. The Goodreads reviews were spot on and now I get why people are raving about it! I was enthralled throughout the whole story causing me to binge the 15 hr audiobook in less than 24 hours. I was absolutely blown away by the world building, the character depth and growth and the freaking romance! Be still my heart!❤️ The pacing was perfection with a nice balance of action and romance and an impressive way of unfolding the history and the world building in a way that didn’t feel like an info dump. I feel like this prequel trilogy has the potential to outshine the Conform books set in the future. I really liked Conform, quite a bit actually, but this particular book had my heart in a chokehold and my pulse pounding in a way that Conform did not for me. I connected with this book and the characters on such a deeper level. They seem like they were much more fleshed out and deliciously flawed, leaving room for wonderful growth arc opportunities in future books. I absolutely loved the found family and the interactions between them. One reviewer said there were too many characters to keep up with, but I didn’t find that to be true at all because they were so well written and unforgettable, I could picture each one as they were flipping shit at each other. I think the found family trope is my new favorite right up there with enemies to lovers.
This was a really fun mash up of Bluebeard with a female Aladdin character with lots of entertaining banter as well as unexpected twists. I loved getting to know both Zafir & Alia and all their banter as well as how they slowly grew to care about each other. This story also has some fun magic elements including Zafir’s magic wardrobe that has a bit of a mind of it's own and I was happy to learn in the authors notes at the end that the Dragon Pollox in Rapunzel’s Gambit was its maker. The epilogue at the end was also a sweet way of wrapping things up.
The first six books in this series were published when I was in high school and I read them all eagerly. In college I had less time for personal reading and put the series aside, intending to pick it up again when I had more free time, but I never did. I recently watched the first season of the tv series, which was neither especially good nor especially bad, but it did make me want to pick up the books again. The show didn't quite gel with my (admittedly decades old) memories of the first novel, so I thought it best to start from the beginning. It's weird picking up a book that enthralled me at 14 and thinking "it can't be as good I believed it was then", and then finding out it is actually better. For such a long novel it moves at a rather windswept pace, relentless once the heroes are chased from Emond's Field and out into a wider world they have little understanding of. And even at that pace it is incredibly detailed and precise; it really feels like you've spent a lot of time getting to know the characters inside and out, despite the constant peril the find themselves thrown in. It is a young persons' novel that nonetheless feels grown up and world-weary, which, I suppose, describes all the best young persons' novels, before they were dumbed down and marketed as "YA". I'm very happy I revisited this and am looking forward to 49-year-old me reading this series through to the end.
I love the way this story blends the stories for Jack and the Beanstalk with Swan Lake so well as well as how the beginning of this story connects with Falling for the Winged Witch. This story is about Jax & Odessa and I thought both were wonderful characters that I enjoyed getting to know as well as the adorable dragon "Bean" that hatches from the egg Jax had. This story was a lot of fun with some surprising plot twists and amusing bird puns. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
I enjoyed the book. While not a traditional thriller, it was suspenseful and held my interest the entire book. There were many characters but the author did a great job developing each and had no trouble keeping track of the various stories. I really liked how the author intertwined the character stories, all of them with many unexpected twists.
I love the Xarc'n Warriors series so was really excited to see a new one come out. Each book in this series is about a different couple so they can be read as standalones however it is more enjoyable the more familiar with the world you are. This book is about Ror’k & Dottie getting together and they have a fun meet cute. I also enjoyed the cat and her kittens that show up part way through this story. I look forward to continuing this series in the future.
I loved this book and both Rion & Clara's characters. This was such a great story and their text messages are a lot of fun to read and see how they evolve as Rion & Clara's relationship evolves. The epilogue at the end was also so sweet and such a wonderful way of wrapping up this entertaining story. I look forward to reading the next book Never Dance with a Demon.
The best in the series.
Why?
Well, there’s one clear reason for my opinion, and that’s Martin’s ruthless way of toying with his readers’ emotions in the book. At times he gives the reader some slack, making them believe that hey, maybe Arya will actually get to her mother, or Tywin Lannister will turn out to be a man of honor after all — until he pulls the rug out from under the reader’s feet, leaving them lying on the ground in shock. All hope died so suddenly, the reader thought.
Another really good Peter Ash book by Nick Petrie. The book had the usual action. While you definitely want the bad guys to be stopped and punished, the basis for their actions related to disparity in pay, lack of control of decisions, and losing control to technology like artificial intelligence were all real concerns of all current citizens. Their attempted solution clearly unacceptable.
Pacifist science fiction for a change.
An esoteric collection of weird fiction that deserves to be better known than it is.
I get lost in this series and cannot put it down. Though I have lost sleep because I wanted to read just one more chapter, I love where the story line takes me. I know each character like they are standing right in my living room. I can’t wait for the next book!
I thought the first half of the booked dragged as it took 200 pages for character development and some unnecessary info. However, it picked up in the second half and was hard to put down. So overall I enjoyed the book. This was my first book by Finder and I plan to read more.
Kenji Miyazawa’s *Night Train to the Stars and Other Stories* is a very different collection of short stories compared to those I’ve read in recent years. These fairy-tale-like stories, deeply rooted in nature, may not be easy to grasp with a Western mindset. I, for my part, let go and simply went with the flow. I immersed myself in a different era and different landscapes and culture. The stories didn’t have didactic or obvious conclusions, and although I would generally consider the collection aimed at adults, it would be fascinating to see how a child’s mind experiences these stories.
The Palleseen’s relentless pursuit of Perfection and Correctness continues with a few twists and turns along the way, possibly providing a clue has to how the series will conclude.
This novel provides the background story of Sage Invigilator Angilly and whilst it is not essential to have read it before Days of Shattered Faith I'm glad that I had.
This book contains Taken at Dusk (Book #3) and Whispers at Moonrise (Book #4) from the Shadow Falls Series. I remembered really enjoying this series when I first read it several years ago and decided to reread it. Kylie continues her quest to discover who and what she is during these books and also reunites with her biological fathers remaining family. These books do a good job of picking up were books 1 & 2 left off and also introduce a few new characters. This is a really good series with an entertaining plot and fun characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book of this series and seeing how the plot unfolds.
I really enjoyed 5 of the 6 short stories. The only one I did not was “True Story”. The writing approach was different and at first interesting but quickly jumped around too much. I thought the other stories were excellent, good stories and writing.
This isn’t just a werewolf story—it’s packed with lore, shifters, and magical creatures that make the world feel alive. Asher and Lita’s love story is epic and swoon-worthy, and the soulmate angle had me hooked. The side characters, especially Caden and Grayson, brought humor and heart, while the addition of fairies and centaurs added even more depth.
The Dragon’s Gambit is a gripping continuation of the Celestial series—fast-paced, magical, and powered by characters who feel incredibly real. Reiya Chains, half fairy and half werewolf, steals the spotlight with her fiery determination and messy, loveable chaos. Watching her juggle royal expectations, awakening powers, and high-stakes political tensions is completely addictive. The dragons deepen the lore, her bond with Brody adds warmth and heart, and her slow-burn chemistry with Lee delivers that perfect mix of devotion, tension, and sparks strong enough to ignite kingdoms.