Tag: book nerd

Soulless-A Book Review

Lauren2 Comments

Originally when I sat down to review this book, I was going to review the whole series, and then other books happened and now here we are several weeks later and I have two books left in this five book series.

Oh well. I’ll get to it, eventually.

Soulless, by Gail Carriger, follows Ms. Alexia Tarabotti, a preternatural. Which means she is lacking a soul. In olden times, her kind would have hunted vampires and werewolves and exercised ghosts, but these days such creatures are welcomed in the world as full citizens of the British empire. When Alexia accidentally kills a vampire at a party she is attending, she stumbles onto a mystery that draws her into the depths of the supernatural world.

Gail creates a wonderful world full of rich and vibrant characters, each one more intriguing than the last. I love the flamboyant Lord Akledama, a rove vampire of some stature. And Lord Maccon, the werewolf alpha and head of BUR (the constabulary for supernaturals), is fantastically gruff. His relationship with Alexia is amazingly complex.

Also, I feel like I use “rich and vibrant” to describe characters a lot. Maybe I should invest in a thesaurus.

Alexia herself is a bit of an outcast, being half Italian and half English. Though almost no one, not even her mother, knows of her status as a preternatural. She is stubborn, but well mannered, as befits the times. And unmarried, which is quite the scandal, and quite often refers to herself as a spinster.

Did I mention this book is set in Victorian London?

No?

My bad.

The plot is great. Finding out why a rove vampire would attack a preternatural at a party is the start of a great adventure. And it’s a fast paced story from beginning to end.

I will warn you that while it is described as steampunk, that really doesn’t come into play until later books. So don’t expect much in that realm from this particular entry in the series.

To sum up, I loved this book. I originally gave it four stars because I was upset there wasn’t more steampunky-ness. I later amended my review to five stars. It’s a fun read!

Every New Release I Want-August 2021

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I have searched the finest internets to find these, the newest of releases!

Huzzah!

Shard of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky-August 3rd

The war is over. Its heroes forgotten. Until one chance discovery . . . Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one of humanity’s heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers. After earth was destroyed, mankind created a fighting elite to save their species, enhanced humans such as Idris. In the silence of space they could communicate, mind-to-mind, with the enemy. Then their alien aggressors, the Architects, simply disappeared—and Idris and his kind became obsolete. Now, fifty years later, Idris and his crew have discovered something strange abandoned in space. It’s clearly the work of the Architects—but are they returning? And if so, why? Hunted by gangsters, cults and governments, Idris and his crew race across the galaxy hunting for answers. For they now possess something of incalculable value, that many would kill to obtain.

I’ve heard good things about this particular author, but I’ve never read any of his other work. This seems a good place to start.

Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger-August 3rd

Walli Beckwith is a model astronaut. She graduated at the top of her class from the Naval Academy, had a successful career flying fighter jets, and has spent more than three hundred days in space. So when she refuses to leave her post aboard the International Space Station following an accident that forces her fellow astronauts to evacuate, her American and Russian colleagues are mystified. For Walli, the matter at hand feels all too clear and terrifying for her to be worried about ruining her career. She is stuck in a race against time to save a part of the world that seems to have been forgotten, and also the life of the person she loves the most. She will go to any length necessary, using the only tool she has, to accomplish what she knows is right.

Mysteries! In space! Aboard the ISS! Also, that cover is fabulous.

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan-August 24th

Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path – one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier’s life in the king’s army.
 
Fighting under the command of Lady Evadine Courlain, a noblewoman beset by visions of a demonic apocalypse, Alwyn must survive war and the deadly intrigues of the nobility if he hopes to claim his vengeance. But as dark forces, both human and arcane, gather to oppose Evadine’s rise, Alwyn faces a choice: can he be a warrior, or will he always be an outlaw?

Betrayal, the apocalypse, and venegance? I’ll take it. Sounds like a season of Buffy the Vampire slayer to me.

The Other Me by Sarah Zachrich Jeng- August 10th

Her birthday should be like any other night.

One minute Kelly’s a free-spirited artist in Chicago going to her best friend’s art show. The next, she opens a door and mysteriously emerges in her Michigan hometown. Suddenly her life is unrecognizable: She’s got twelve years of the wrong memories in her head and she’s married to Eric, a man she barely knew in high school.

Racing to get back to her old life, Kelly’s search leads only to more questions. In this life, she loves Eric and wants to trust him, but everything she discovers about him—including a connection to a mysterious tech startup—tells her she shouldn’t. And strange things keep happening. The tattoos she had when she was an artist briefly reappear on her skin, she remembers fights with Eric that he says never happened, and her relationships with loved ones both new and familiar seem to change without warning.

But the closer Kelly gets to putting the pieces together, the more her reality seems to shift. And if she can’t figure out what happened on her birthday, the next change could cost her everything…

This is time travel-y. I like the sound of this one.

In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu- August 31st

The city of Ora is watching.

Anima is an extrasensory human tasked with surveilling and protecting Ora’s citizens via a complex living network called the Gleaming. Although ær world is restricted to what æ can see and experience through the Gleaming, Anima takes pride and comfort in keeping Ora safe from harm.

When a mysterious outsider enters the city carrying a cabinet of curiosities from around with the world with a story attached to each item, Anima’s world expands beyond the borders of Ora to places—and possibilities—æ never before imagined to exist. But such knowledge leaves Anima with a question that throws into doubt ær entire purpose: What good is a city if it can’t protect its people?

This book sounds very intriguing. I wants it.

The Shimmering State by Meredith Westgate- August 10th

Lucien moves to Los Angeles to be with his grandmother as she undergoes an experimental memory treatment for Alzheimer’s using the new drug, Memoroxin. An emerging photographer, he’s also running from the sudden death of his mother, a well-known artist whose legacy haunts Lucien.

Sophie has just landed the lead in the upcoming performance of La Sylphide with the Los Angeles Ballet Company. She still waitresses at the Chateau Marmont during her off hours, witnessing the recreational use of Memoroxin—or Mem—among the Hollywood elite.

When Lucien and Sophie meet at The Center, founded by the ambitious yet conflicted Dr. Angelica Sloane to treat patients who’ve abused Mem, they have no memory of how they got there—or why they feel so inexplicably drawn to each other. Is it attraction, or something they cannot remember from “before”?

Books that play with memory have become more and more interesting to me recently. But having your memory messed with by a drug, now that’s interesting.

What books are you looking forward to this month?

A Month of Myths-An August 2021 TBR

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As you can guess by the title, I have decided to dedicate this month to retellings. But not just any retellings. Greek myth retellings.

Why am I doing this, you may be asking? Well, it’s because I have a few of them (re:5) and I want to read them. Plus I bought one I had my eye on specifically for this TBR, so that’s fun.

On to the books!

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The story of Patroclus, Achilles and the Trojan war. I have been told to expect feelings while reading this. So yeah.

Circe by Madeline Miller

This is the story of Circe, the sorceress from the Odyssey. It sounds fascinating and I’ve had it for a while, so I’m looking forward to reading it.

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

The story of the women at the heart of The Trojan War. Yes, another Trojan War story. It’s a pretty famous conflict.

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Some of the ancient gods rebelled, now every seven years they must walk the world as mortals, only to be hunted by ancient enemies. This one just sounds good, and, bonus, a friend of mine really liked it.

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

Ariadne is the sister to the famed Minotaur of Crete. This is her story. The minotaur isn’t a story that gets told enough, so it will be fun to read this one.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The half human son of Neptune goes to a camp for other half human children of the Greek pantheon. I’ve wanted to read this one for a while, basically ever since I saw the movie, which I have since learned is a very bad interpretation of the books.

And there you have it, my TBR for the month of August. Here’s hoping I can finish all of these!

Every Book I Bought-July 2021

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Well, I didn’t do as bad this month as I did last month.

Improvement is always a welcome thing.

Also, I bought quite a few newer releases, and that ate up my budget. And the cookbook. I can’t forget the cookbook.

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

Robots up and walked out into the wilderness one day in what humanity calls The Great Awakening. Now, years later, a traveling monk happens to meet a robot who has come to find out how humanity has done, and it asks the question, what does humanity need?

Soulless by Gail Carriger

This book was chosen by one of my book clubs for the month of July, and was described as Buffy meets Jane Austin. I like Buffy, so I picked it up.

The Unbroken by C.L Clark

This book had me at the tagline: “Every Empire Demands Revolution”. The description also mentions assassinations and massacres. So naturally, when Orbit books emailed about it being on sale, I snapped it up.

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

A collection of essays, notes, and stories the author wrote to himself to remind his future self that things aren’t always that bad. I loved the way he wrote the Midnight Library, so I snatched this up.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

A group of “final girls” form a support group to help each other deal with what they have been through. But someone starts picking off the girls one by one, it’s up to them to figure it out and save themselves. I loved The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, so I thought I’d give this one a try. I’m hoping it works out, especially since I’m not a big horror person. This could end badly.

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Danso is on the verge of achieving greatness. There is just one small problem, he doesn’t want it. I love that concept. And when I saw this book in the store, I may have snatched it up super quick. Like, embarrassingly quick.

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Prince Kiem has long been a family disappointment, and he is commanded to marry Count Jainan, widower and murder suspect. I’ve been intrigued since I heard about this earlier this year, so I bought whilst in the bookstore. I should just avoid those at all costs.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Complete and Annotated by Luke Dempsey

This is pretty much what it says on the cover. The whole of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, complete with annotations. I bought it as a gift for the hubs, as he loves Monty Python. Picked it up for ten bucks! It’s on Amazon for fifty.

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winters

After those he loves are brutally murdered, Tau wants vengeance, and will stop at nothing to achieve it. Also, there is magic, which Tau does not posses. This book has been all over the bookish community for a while now, so I thought I’d pick it up. I also thought the hubs might like it to read while I was out of town for two weeks.

Marvel Eat the Universe: the Offical Cookbook by Justin Warner

TikTok is a terrible place where people can learn all about interesting books. Take this cookbook that I turned around and bought two seconds after learning that it existed. There be nerds up in here.

The Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger

This series is about Alxia Tarabotti, a preturnatural, one who is born without a soul. It was described on the Amazon listing as Buffy meets Jane Austin, and yes, I did buy all 5. The first one was a book club pick for the month, so I picked it up. Stay tuned for a review!

And that’s it, that’s all the books I bought last month. A smaller list compared to the two previous months. I’m going to try to buy fewer books next month, but that may not work out so well.

We shall see.

WWW Wednesday-August 4th!

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Well hello there!

Any excuse to use that gif, honestly.

It’s WWW Wednesday! This bookish meme is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. I had so much fun doing it last week that I thought I’d give it a try again this week.

All you have to do for this meme is answer three simple questions: What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? And what do you think you’ll read next?

Onto the questions!

What are you currently reading?

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I stated reading this one, like, today. As in, I got five pages into it when I remembered that I had this post to write up so I can tell you absolutely nothing about this book. Go me! I can tell you based on what I have read that I am excited to continue it.

Introducing Quantum Theory: A Graphic Guide by J.P McEvoy & Oscar Zarate

This is an informative read that I picked up on Kindle Unlimited a while back and actually just started getting into reading it. It’s very informative. And the illustrations range from actual art to copies of actual pictures from history. It’s pretty neat. Also, yes, I am that kind of nerd.

What did you recently finish reading?

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The story of a boy who thinks he’s just a regular, if troubled, kid who finds out he’s a demigod and then has to go on a quest? Yes, I will read that. Except I didn’t like this book. I didn’t hate it either. It was just meh. I looked up some reviews online and found out the series does get better, but I don’t know, should I continue it?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Do I know if I’ll actually read this book next? I have no idea. I’m a mood reader with a TBR. It doesn’t always work out. But this is one of my book club’s pick for August, so I do need to read it. Might as well be sooner rather than later, right?

And there we go, a nice new empire, I mean list of books for WWW Wednesday. What are you reading?

TTT-Titles or Covers That Made Want to Read/Buy the Book

Lauren6 Comments

So I was scrolling the interwebs and came across the Top Ten Tuesday meme.

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.”-taken directly from That Artsy Reader Girl’s site.

I thought I would mosey around (mosey around? Who is writing this, a cowboy from the old west?) the meme and see if I could put together a list for one of the topics.

Turns out, I can.

Without further ado: A list of the ten titles or covers that made me want to read or buy the book.

1.The Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn

There was no way I wasn’t going to pick this book. Look at that art! The cover art is by Michael Whelan so you know it’s good.

2.Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Have I read it yet? Nope. But I bought it just because of that stunning cover.

3.For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

The cover was the first thing I noticed about this book with it’s striking blues and reds. But it was the little castle detail on the bottom that made me check it out.

4.Cursed by Thomas Wheeler, art by Frank Miller

Um, yes. I love how striking the black looks against the bright orange background.

5.The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett

I owned this book on Kindle and thought the cover was too stunning not to own a physical copy of.

6.Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey

I love the work Jody Lee has done here. She set the tone of the art of the Valdemar books so well.

7.Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Dan Dos Santos has been doing the cover art for all of the Mercy Thompson series, and it shows that he really knows the subject matter. I would have walked right past these books if it hadn’t been for that cover.

8.The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I loved this cover. The image of the old school, tent style circus on the cover is what drew me in.

9.The Broken Crown by Michelle West

Another Jody Lee work of art. I don’t remember much about this book, other than I had to have because of that image on the cover.

10.The Dragon and the Unicorn by A.A. Attanasio

This cover is so well done. I love the black, white and red of it all. And how the dragon and the unicorn make up each other? I enjoy this cover so much!

Well, there is my first list for Top Ten Tuesday! What do you think? What would you have put on this list?

Every Book I Read-July 2021

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Well, I made travel TBR last month. How did it go?

We shall see!

Bestiary by K-Ming Chang

The story of a girl who is told a story about a woman who has a tiger spirit by her mom, only to wake up with the same tiger spirit in her! I’m not gonna lie, I DNF’d this book. I just couldn’t get past the writing style and as a result had a hard time getting into the story. I know there is an audience out there for this book, it just isn’t with me.

The Left Handed Book Sellers of London by Garth Nix

When Susan heads to London to find her father, she accidentally stumbles across Merlin, who is part of a shadowy organization called the Booksellers who protect society from the otherworldly. I gave this quirky little book 4 stars. I really hope we get another book set in this world.

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

Red has the misfortune of being born the second daughter. This means she will be sacrificed to the Wolf of the Wilderwoods. You can read my full review of this book here, but it’s safe to say I loved it. 5 stars.

Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

This story follows Chih as they learn about the exiled Empress In-Yo from Rabbit, a member of the Empresses house. This short novella was expertly done, and I can’t wait to read the next story in Chih’s journey to chronicle to truth of things. 5 stars.

Bow Legged Buccaneers From Outer Space by David Owain Huges

So the premise of this book is a little weird. A group of uber nerds from the 1990s takes over a city that ends up being walled up as a result of the lawlessness that reigns inside it. A friend, who shares my bookish tastes recommended this one to me. Um, I gotta disagree with her. I DNF’d this one. I don’t chaotic writing styles, and that’s what this book had. Also, it was just a little too weird for me.

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

The story of a monk, Sibling Dex, who heads off into the remote woods and meets Mosscap, a robot who asks what humainty needs. I loved this short novella and fell in love with the characters. Becky Chambers certainly doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. I gave it 5 stars.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

The story of Alexia, a preturnatural, who wants to solve the mystery of why a vampire attacked her. I have a review on this book forthcoming, so stay tuned to find out my thoughts on this book! Spoiler alert, I bought the whole series.

Changeless by Gail Carriger

The sequel to Soulless. Sorry that I can’t tell you what it’s about, it would spoil the ending for Soulless! I will say it’s very good. 5 stars.

Blameless by Gail Carriger

And this is the sequel to Changeless. Again, the plot would spoil the previous book. But it was good. I enjoyed it muchly. Oh wait, 5 stars…again.

Well, look at that! 9 books (2640 pages)! Huzzah!

But as far as that original TBR went, I failed it. I read 3 of the 5 books on that list. So I still have those to read later on at some point. Oh well, that’s how the cookie crumbles.

Mmm…cookies.

On to the stats!

I love posting my stats each month. They give me an opportunity to look back and see how I’ve done with my reading and, well, yeah, I love it. As always the stats are brought to you by The Storygraph.

Moods

I read 9 books this month, and it seems that every one of them was adventurous. It was interesting to see that three of them were dark. I only figured on two of them being considered dark. Oh well.

Pace

It’s seems I was quite fond of medium paced books this month, reading 4 of those.

Page Numbers

Books over 300 pages are coming in hot this month!

Genres

I love seeing the genre break down of my books. I always assume that Fantasy is my most read Genre, given it’s what I am drawn to the most.

Star Ratings

Um, I may have a problem with handing out 5 star ratings. Maybe.

Also, if you don’t follow Jaysen on the TikTok what are you even doing with your life? He goes by Ezeekat if you want to check him out.

If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna have to go buy some cookies now.

Monthly Wrap Up-July 2021

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Hello and well met! It’s time for the monthly wrap up, where I wrap up my blog posts for the month into one nice, neat place in case you missed one!

Did you miss one? That’s okay. You can always sign up to follow the blog in the bar to the right of the post! That way you don’t miss anything!

Now that I have begged sufficiently for this month, on to the wrap up!

Every Book I Read-June 2021: June was a great reading month for me. I read 8 titles and completed my TBR. If you count DNF’ing one of the books as completing it.

Every Book I Bought in June 2021: I gave up on the book buying ban in May, and June was no exception. I bought a fair few books in June, and my pocket book was angry with me as a result.

Every New Release I Want-June 2021: I love looking up all the new releases from the internets. A point I seem to make every month when I make this post. I also managed to pick up a few of the new releases this month, which is unusual for me, as I normally buy older releases from, say, book outlet.

Two Week Trip TBR: I went away for a fun (and chaotic) two weeks with my mom and my brother’s kids. I made a TBR to satisfy my reading needs during the long drives while we were gone.

Project Hail Mary: A Book Review: In which I reviewed Andy Weir’s latest offering. Check out my spoiler free review here!

Somewhere New: I’m going on a trip! I’m very excited and I know my fellow travelers are as well! Squee!

Bookish T-Shirts: I went online, out of curiosity, and fell down a rabbit hole of book related t-shirts. I was nice enough to take you with me.

For the Wolf-A Book Review: Well look at that! I achieved my goal of writing two book reviews this month. Go me!

WWW Wednesday-July 28th: I tried my hand at the WWW Wednesday meme. I gotta say, I enjoyed it. I may not be able to do it every week, because I am a mood reader, but we shall see!

And there you have it. A comprehensive list of all the blog posts I put up in July! I hope I inspired you to pick up a book this month!

WWW Wednesday- July 28th

Lauren1 Comment

Well hello! Me, posting on a Wednesday? Whatever is happening?

I’ve seen this post going around the blog-o’sphere and thought I’d give it a try! WWW Wednesday is hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words! It’s a pretty simple concept. Every week you answer three questions:

What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?

Now, I won’t do this every week, because I don’t read that many books in a month to make it worth doing. Also, I’m mood reader so I don’t always know what I’m reading next, but I know what I’m doing this week, so I figured, why not!

What are you currently reading?

Blameless by Gail Carriger. I’m loving this series. I read the first one for a virtual book club I’m in and I couldn’t put it down. It was described as Buffy meets Jane Austin and I would have to agree…although there is a little bit of spice thrown in there.

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides is good, but it’s also a slow read for me. I started it while on my two week trip and am still working on it now.

Could i be reading two more different books?

What did you recently finish reading?

Changeless by Gail Carriger was great. I’m telling you, this series is fire, and it starts with Soulless, so pick that up! I’m moving through it at a fast clip and should be done with it before the month is out. I started reading it last week.

Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers was a great book. I would absolutely love to see more of this world and am hoping for exactly that. It’s very heartwarming and Mosscap made me smile.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Heartless by Gail Carriger. This one was easy. I’m very excited to finish this series. One book left after this one, and then there is a follow up series set in the same world. I love it when I find an author whose work just sucks me in.

That was fun! What do you think? Do you like seeing what people have read, are reading, and will be reading? Let me know!

For the Wolf- A Book Review

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I read one of the books on my Two Week Trip TBR! Go me!

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten is a story about two sisters, Red and Neve. Red is a second daughter, the one who must be sacrificed to the Wolf of the Wilderwood to help keep her land safe. And Neve will do anything to get her back.

I have noticed for a while now that I have become a fan of Orbit Books, that’s the publisher behind For the Wolf. Everything they publish seems to be great. I’m drawn to their titles, so much so that I signed up for their newsletter so I could be up to date on the newest releases. For the Wolf is another example of their excellence.

The plot is what drew me in. A unique retelling of beauty and the beast, this take makes the beast a man. Right from the get go you’re intrigued by what lies ahead for Red in the Wilderwood. And what is going to happen to her sister, Neve, as she does everything in her power to retrieve Red.

The characters are rich and and beautifully written. Eammon is interesting and complex, the perfect foil for Red. Red is daring, but unsure of herself in the Wilderwood. Because the Wilderwood is it’s own character. It has a life of it’s own and it doesn’t hesitate to let you know it. Neve is ruthless in doing whatever it takes to get her sister back.

The magic system is amazing and unique and complex. I won’t go into here because it would spoil the story too much. Just, I loved the magic in this book.

I did sorta see the twist coming, but I didn’t figure it out so early on in the book that I was displeased by it at the big reveal.

In the end I gave this book 5 stars, and I am really looking forward to the sequel.