I think Angel Martinez has managed to wiggle her way into my "favorites" list, which is always pleasant. I've enjoyed her work for a while (although II think Angel Martinez has managed to wiggle her way into my "favorites" list, which is always pleasant. I've enjoyed her work for a while (although I've had some trouble getting ahold of some of it) and this is the last addition to the "wow, I really, really like it" list.
For the most part, it would be hard for me to explain why I enjoyed the book so much. The world-building was fantastic and mesmerizing, the characters were relatable, real, flawed, and lovable, and the plot was engaging. I really want there to be a followup book and I'm going to see if I can grab more of Martinez's books (although, as I said, some of her books are hard to track down).
I do wish there had been significant women in characters in this book, though. The lack made me sad.
Merged review:
I think Angel Martinez has managed to wiggle her way into my "favorites" list, which is always pleasant. I've enjoyed her work for a while (although I've had some trouble getting ahold of some of it) and this is the last addition to the "wow, I really, really like it" list.
For the most part, it would be hard for me to explain why I enjoyed the book so much. The world-building was fantastic and mesmerizing, the characters were relatable, real, flawed, and lovable, and the plot was engaging. I really want there to be a followup book and I'm going to see if I can grab more of Martinez's books (although, as I said, some of her books are hard to track down).
I do wish there had been significant women in characters in this book, though. The lack made me sad....more
Honestly, I don't know that I even really know what to say about this book. There's so much going on with it. It isn't a book that I probably would haHonestly, I don't know that I even really know what to say about this book. There's so much going on with it. It isn't a book that I probably would have picked up on my own (I generally pick up books to uplift my mood, as escapism). So I don't know if I would have picked up this book at all (although I'm trying to push back into sci-fi, so maybe), and even if I had, I might have noped out in the first couple of pages (Jeeeeeez!), but I'm honestly grateful I read it because whoa, it is so absurdly good.
It's just fantastic. First off, it's an Indigenous YA dystopian novel set in Canada, so right there, this book is filling a gap that the publishing industry has been leaving horrifically unfilled for years. Come to us, oh, glorious book. And the writing is just so stellar. The characters are unique, fleshed out, relatable, understandable, and moving. The worldbuilding is incredible as well, with the reader being filled in at a reasonable pace (info dump: avoided). The plot is not predictable, either; I did not feel, "Yes, this cliched."
I will say that this book required a lot of emotional energy. It was not even close to a light-hearted read. It took a lot out of me.
I particularly enjoyed listening to the book in audiobook form; the narrator did a glorious job and being able to hear the language and occasional sound effects added a lot.
I hear there is a sequel coming out and I'm 100% on board for that. ...more
Ooof, this book is something! I probably liked it even more than the first book. It isn't at all my usual fare, either; I overwhelmingly read escapistOoof, this book is something! I probably liked it even more than the first book. It isn't at all my usual fare, either; I overwhelmingly read escapist books that emotionally uplift me, and this book was emotionally challenging. And I had no idea that it was going to feel so surreal reading parts of it in the current political climate (this isn't really a spoiler, but maybe kind of it is:)
(view spoiler)[As for the beatings, the tarring and feathering, and the destruction of “heathen houses of devil-worship,� he has a simple answer: “Join us! Our doors are open to every nationality, every race! Leave your sinful past behind and become one of us. Help us to make America great again.� (hide spoiler)]
What I found most intriguing and different from the last book was listening to the various voices with such incredibly different perspectives, and these were truly different perspectives, not just different opinions. What had happened? Whose fault was something? What kind of person was someone? What was the value of something? Foundationally, the different voices had different perspectives, and that was fascinating. Very often in books there you'll have different people seeing something, and there will be an attempt to give the characters different perspectives, but ultimately they'll all see the same thing and sometimes have different opinions about that same thing. In this book, what was seen was different.
There were also significant portions that were (from where I stand) hugely depressing. It's not that the whole book was without hope, but a lot of it was really a downer. The horrors of what had happened, not just in the short term but in the long term, and what those long term results meant was really driven home.
This is truly a spectacular book.
There was another quote I wanted to include but I can't find it. If I do, I'll edit it in later....more
Whoa! I finally managed to finish this! I had no idea that it would take me this long to finish an audiobook.
I really liked this book although it verWhoa! I finally managed to finish this! I had no idea that it would take me this long to finish an audiobook.
I really liked this book although it very much isn't my usual fare (I'm sorry, I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to a romance on audiobook). At times it depressed the socks off me. But I still think it was a really quality book and I'm really glad I read it. And that's saying something considering that I often toss "classic" books out the window and say, "Nope, sorry, not for me." The ending felt pretty abrupt, though, so I'm hoping the next one wraps things up a little more. But maybe not, because maybe that's just not the way of the genre....more
Waaah, so absurdly cute! My favorite book in the series so far.
I'm going to be a little vague in this review, even for the first two books, because 1)Waaah, so absurdly cute! My favorite book in the series so far.
I'm going to be a little vague in this review, even for the first two books, because 1) this review is probably going to end up on the timeline of people who haven't read the first two books, and the series is still so new 2) I continued to be vaguely confused why the series wasn't one book.
Anyway, I pulled myself out of bed specifically to read this book on release day, and I was not disappointed. Lovely, adorable, wonderful, sweet! It was just loads of fun.
The Mysterious Drama from book 1 was finally revealed, and it wasn't what I expected, although I'm not sure why. I was all, "Whaaaaat?!" and it wasn't outside the realm of possibility that I could have predicted it, but I didn't. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a bad predictor (I am) or if it's because the story hid it (also possible). You'll have to decide that for yourself.
There was also Great Drama between our beloved Love Interests, and it was really something to watch them go at it, particularly because Asher was so good at implementing for others advice that would have saved himself much pain (as is acknowledged). Of course, we see this in real life as well, woe be to humanity.
Randy and her storyline got more page space again, which just overjoyed me endlessly.
I would have liked to see more of Morgan's family life/family interactions, but it was not to be. Sadz.
I'm going to consider putting this book on my "to buy" list. It's really lovely. ...more
Yesss, Anyta Sunday delvers my first 5 star of the year! Ding ding ding!
This book feels very Antya Sunday-y for me. Very on brand. I don't know what iYesss, Anyta Sunday delvers my first 5 star of the year! Ding ding ding!
This book feels very Antya Sunday-y for me. Very on brand. I don't know what it says about me that her books often feel very similar at their core to me, but I often have very different feelings about them. Often I love them, but sometimes I don't, and they still feel like they have the same foundation to me regardless. What's the difference? I don't know. You'd think I'd either love them all or not love them all if they all feel similar, but that's not the way I roll with Sunday.
Anyway, this book was a real hit with me. I adored the MCs (despite or maybe in part because of their very real and legitimate flaws), I loved reading about their battles, I had fun learning about their backgrounds, I was engrossed seeing how the relationships between the MCs (and the side characters!) developed, I just had a super fun time. I started the book later in the day on a Sunday (the day), and I had trouble setting it down even though I knew I had to get up for work in the morning, and then when I did wake up earlier than I expected, I grabbed the book rather than trying to sneak in some more winks. It was glorious and convinced me that I need to put Sunday on my "to-watch" authors list. She's not going to hit my "auto-buy" list yet, but she's moving up. I was very impressed....more
First off, this book is absolutely glorious. I love it. It's one of two series that I'm buying as soon as I can because I adore it sOk, so here we go!
First off, this book is absolutely glorious. I love it. It's one of two series that I'm buying as soon as I can because I adore it so much. Furthermore, I didn't expect it to be a series where that happened, because it's a kind of cop/military series, and I tend to be pretty "eh" on cop/military series. This series blew me out of the water and I didn't see it coming.
Second, Hayward has done something unusual with the novellas. With most other series (all other series I've read), the novellas (the 1.5s, the 2.4s, whatever), they are bonus material. You can read them if you want, but you don't need to read them for the main novels. The main novels may reference events in the novellas briefly as a kind of bonus shout out, but you aren't really missing anything. And the main novels may not even make a reference to the novellas at all; in the main novels, it may be like the novellas didn't happen.
This is not the case with the "Death and the Devil" books. With the "Death and the Devil" books, if you skip the novellas, you're going to be really feeling that fact. There are going to be stuff going on you miss, serious references you don't get. Plus, because the novellas are so tied up with each other, I don't even feel like I can say, "Buy this novella but not that one." I think you need them all. I can't really chase down all the things that won't be clear to you if you don't read the novellas, but I'll leave you with one giant example: Harry. Basically everything about Harry.
With that out of the way, let's get back to how much I adore this series. I loved watching these two flawed, nuanced, carefully crafted men work themselves out together and apart. I loved the way they had issues that continued across time, and that these issues were meaningful. I loved the way they were important enough to work on these issues. I loved the way they made progress. I loved the way the world existed outside of their relationship and impacted them individually and yet also impacted them as a couple. I loved it all so much. ...more
This is honestly one of my favorite series that I'm reading right now. It's wonderful. I absolutely adore the characters. Weirdly enough, I'm not big This is honestly one of my favorite series that I'm reading right now. It's wonderful. I absolutely adore the characters. Weirdly enough, I'm not big on mystery in general (I can never figure out who done it, ever, even if it's obvious to people who are big on the mystery genre, so the fact that I don't know who did it in a given book means nothing).
Oddly enough, I have a horrible time remembering what happened in this series even though I adore it. It just doesn't seem to stick with me for some reason. I adore it when I read it, I remember that I adore it, and I adore it if I reread it, but I forget it. I'm not sure what's going on with that. I'm perfectly capable of remembering other books/series that I adore, but this one slips away from me. I still adore it, though.
This book was fun to read because it was fun to watch the characters and their relationships develop, including side characters. In some books, characters and relationships just stay stagnant no matter what happens and no matter how many books you move through, but not this book. People change and how they react to each other change, and that was quite lovely. It was wonderful to watch both Sebastian and Calvin start to overcome some of older issues and confront new ones that arose. It was also really nice to see side characters evolve in their relationships.
I look forward to the next book, although I kind of dread wondering how much I might forget. I don't know how to get myself to start remembering what happened in the previous books, and at a certain point I can't just keep rereading them! They series will get too long!...more
It's about a librarian who wants to meet his favorite author, I must read it!
Real review: June 4, 2018
Can you hear that? That is me, screaming. This iIt's about a librarian who wants to meet his favorite author, I must read it!
Real review: June 4, 2018
Can you hear that? That is me, screaming. This is the kind of book from Lanyon that I crave. Yes, yes, I read pretty much all of Lanyon's work (precisely because I love some of her work as much as I am thrilled by this book), but some of it leaves me less than enthused, so Lanyon isn't an auto-buy author for me. For example most of the books that involve two people in the police field don't seem to be my cup of tea; I seem to do better with the books where the couple are in different professions.
And this book? This book did not disappoint. I adored it. I devoured it, staying up way too late to read it and sneaking in nibbles during my breaks at work. I couldn't get enough of Carter, his love life, and his adventures. I was particularly tickled that, as with many Lanyon books, Carter wasn't in the first blush of youth. I also liked seeing a librarian in the mix, although, as someone involved in the library field, I question the accuracy of some of his librarian traits.
I would very much like a sequel, though. The interaction between Carter and his love felt a little . . . lighter than I would have liked. ...more
EDIT 12/2/2018: I've been gifted this book anonymously by Shh...it's a secret! Thank you so much for giving me one of my favorite books! Now I can reaEDIT 12/2/2018: I've been gifted this book anonymously by Shh...it's a secret! Thank you so much for giving me one of my favorite books! Now I can read it whenever I want. Yay!
Oh! I remember reading this book a really long time ago, but I forgot the title and then author (and clearly forgot to review it), but I massively liked it! I couldn't find it, though, and clearly it didn't initially make as big an impression on it as it eventually did (it didn't make its way onto my favorites list at first) but now that I'm poking at my shelves, I've stumbled across it again! Woo! I love this book so much....more
edit: 11/18/2019 Thank you Santa's little hippopotamus for gifting me this book! I really appreciate it! I liked reading this book so much and I seemedit: 11/18/2019 Thank you Santa's little hippopotamus for gifting me this book! I really appreciate it! I liked reading this book so much and I seem to have forgotten to review it, so soon it will be REREAD time!
9/15/2018 It's on sale for $1.99 on Amazon and B&N and Kobo and various other places! Via
This book is so abs9/15/2018 It's on sale for $1.99 on Amazon and B&N and Kobo and various other places! Via
This book is so absurdly good that I regret that I didn't read it earlier.
First, I adored, adored, adored Percy. Let song break out and animal companions flock on to the scene, for he was wonderful. Percy was biracial, and he experienced vividly throughout the story the hardships that came with being biracial. This was one of the best portrayals I've encountered in fiction of race not being brushed aside or forgotten. Again and again and again Percy's race comes up in the book, just as it would have in Percy's life had this actually happened because, well racism. And Henry wasn't off the hook from bumbling into stupidity in regards to Percy's race, oh no: he messed up and said and did insensitive and unthinking and hurtful things, too, despite the fact that he cared about Percy very much.
And then, there was, of course, the secret (view spoiler)[Percy's hidden illness (hide spoiler)] which a certain someone doesn't handle very well, because of course said person doesn't. However, as someone (view spoiler)[who suffers from long term health issues herself (hide spoiler)], I loved the way the secret was handled, both by the one who hend the secret and the surrounding characters, and the way that it was ultimately resolved. I was so, so nervous that when the book introduced (view spoiler)[ a certain level of the occult (hide spoiler)], that the secret would be ultimately poofed away, but instead it was handled with dignity and respect, which pleased me endlessly.
I also liked Felicity, although I didn't think I was going to. Initially I thought she was just going to be a throwaway "annoying little sister" character, but she evolved into a vital, vibrant character, and that was wonderful. I'm always sad when M/M fiction is made up entirely men, or entirely men except for the occasional yucky woman, and I'm always glad when a M/M book can have positive female characters. Go Felicity! Who actually seems to be betting her own book later this year (2018)?
I liked Henry, too, although I wanted to shake him a lot. Stop drinking all the time! And stop doing things that are going to ultimately harm yourself and those around you! No good, no good at all. Although, ultimately, his incredibly foolish behavior turned out for the best, I suppose, and as such was necessary for the plot.
Do you see that in my tag? I put in my favorites list, which I really haven't done recently (I feel like I used to do that moThis. Book. Is. So. Good.
Do you see that in my tag? I put in my favorites list, which I really haven't done recently (I feel like I used to do that more? Maybe I'm becoming more selective . . .).
Anyway! P.S. I Spook You is a book set in modern times about a man named Rain. Yes, you read that right, Rain; his sister is named Sky, and his parents give out such wonderful names because they are gloriously hippy-esque. However, in most ways Rain didn't follow in his parents hippy footsteps: he isn't into aura cleansing, Human Energy Fiend reading, or any of that stuff. No, Rain is in the FBI, determined to be on the straight and narrow . . . except in one way. Rain sees ghosts, making it difficult for him to keep his life too normal.
The other main player in P.S. I Spook You is Danny, Rain's ex, the ex that Rain wants to be over but isn't, the ex that Rain doesn't want to be working with but is. You see, while Rain left Danny some time prior to the start of P.S. I Spook You and moved to DC to be in the FBI, Rain made some . . . questionable choices regarding his ghost senses and ended up on psychiatric leave for a while, followed up by being sent back to Florida while his boss waits for things to cool down a bit regarding his "breakdown." It is here that Rain is once again paired up with Danny to work on a cold case, and where they both have to face their not so over each other-ness.
I really loved this book. I loved the way Danny and Rain interacted, I loved the way that Rain struggled with this ghost senses, I loved the sex scenes (which seems to happen more and more rarely nowadays), I loved the ghosts (especially Ethan), I loved Rain's family, I loved Danny's struggle with his past, I loved the banter between Rain and Danny, I basically loved it all. I really want there to be a sequel, and there is definitely room for one. Give it to me!...more
Loading...
