“We do not love because people deserve it—nor would I want to be loved because I was the most deserving of some list of candidates. I want to
“We do not love because people deserve it—nor would I want to be loved because I was the most deserving of some list of candidates. I want to be loved for my worst self as well as my best. I want to be forgiven my flaws.�
The Stolen Heir ★★� 1/2 The Prisoner's Throne ★★★★
I've chosen to approach this series from a holistic perspective rather than dissecting each book individually. The expansion of The Elfhame series took me by surprise, although Black had left that possibility open with the way she concluded it. To be candid, I anticipated a continuation of the story, but perhaps not so soon. It seems the lukewarm reception of "Book of Night" drew Black back to the series, along with many of its fans.
I believe it's more fitting to regard this series as "Elfhame books 4 & 5" rather than "The Stolen Heir books 1 & 2," as readers will struggle to enjoy or grasp this series without prior familiarity with the original. On a more superficial note, and I'll be frank here: while the cover of "The Stolen Heir" was acceptable and coherent with the series, "The Prisoner's Throne" deserves a more compelling cover, given its underwhelming nature.
Putting covers aside, the time gap both in reality and within the story made re-immersing myself a bit challenging. Especially with new protagonists introduced and me finding it difficult to recall the finer plot details.
“If anyone wants to torture you, all they need to do is make you talk about your feelings.�
In terms of plot, the political intrigue and betrayals, hallmarks of this series, were more effectively executed in the main trilogy, though slightly improved in "The Prisoner's Throne" compared to "The Stolen Heir." One of the primary draws of these stories for me has always been the characters, yet I found myself less invested in them in this series.
In summary, it's a decent series, but don't expect the same caliber as The Elfhame trilogy. While there are familiar elements, the execution falls somewhat short. Still, it's worth a shot for fans of the original series....more
I first heard about this short story from a friend's review of another book and heard it has a great depiction of mental illness and for a story that I first heard about this short story from a friend's review of another book and heard it has a great depiction of mental illness and for a story that is written at the end of 1800s I have to firmly agree with that.
The story follows a woman who is going through a mental break down and how it is dismissed by her husband who is a physician, nonetheless. It's interesting that one century forward and mental illnesses are still stigmatized and treated that way by some people.
I just wish the story was longer adding more to the abrupt ending, but I think it is worth giving 20-30 minutes of your time! ...more
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it
“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that or earn it. You are allowed to just live.�
I never thought Sci-Fi could be so comforting. Usually Sci-fi novels are bulky, full of jargon and are hard to get into. This was anything but that; short, soothing and very easy to get into.
I did not know what to expect as it is my first Chambers book, but I definitely enjoyed it. Reading this felt like drinking a hot cup of tea -see what I did there- and I loved the idea of a tea monk and the stories of the people at the beginning but then it shifts when the monk meets the Robot and there are all kind of discussions about life, existence and what's our purpose. I usually don't like philosophy in books, but this was different. A short story but with a big impact!...more
“Don’t we all hope for some form of immortality? We might not be able to breathe forever but there are other ways to stay alive.�
This is m
“Don’t we all hope for some form of immortality? We might not be able to breathe forever but there are other ways to stay alive.�
This is my 8th book by Boyne and at this point I should stop thinking of him as a novel author for me. He already has cemented himself a place amongst my favorite authors and I am slowly going through all of his published works.
A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom is certainly one of the weirdest books I read. We have an unknown narrator telling the story that spans two millenniums with multiple secondary characters. That can be confusing at first but then we get to know these characters through special traits which means the names don't matter very much.
I thought about this strange narrative choice and what was the author trying to achieve and I am still not very sure what the answer is. On one hand I may have preferred a normal story either in the past or the present time. On the other hand, I think it gave Boyne some flexibility to write through different eras using different voices and I kind of like that. But I am not very sure if that added any literary depth to the story.
As to the plot line itself. It is also a bit jumbled. Because it starts with a similar plot mostly about the narrator's family and then it quickly turns into a revenge story and ends up on a totally different note. The author discusses topics as female rights, the queer community and other minor topics too and as usual, Boyne does some self-insert into the story which I don't mind.
Summary: I thought this was a very weird book, but I ended up enjoying it, nonetheless. There is something refreshing in Boyne's writing mixing humor with criticism that I love. I don't think it is his best works, but it was certainly worth the time -pun intended- ...more
“There are moments when something we’ve idealized all our lives changes and becomes something less.�
It is not a common thing when my ratin
“There are moments when something we’ve idealized all our lives changes and becomes something less.�
It is not a common thing when my rating is higher than the book's average rating but, in this case, I am a bit surprised this doesn't have a higher rating. I went into this not knowing much other than the fact that it is a thriller story and that two of the readers I trust very much loved it.
The story follows a biracial Korean-American family in Virginia whose lives are upended when their beloved father and husband goes missing. Sounds like a very basic thriller story but in fact, this is so much more. This is a character-study novel with a tinge of mystery. I have been craving a family drama story for a while and this finally hit the spot.
This is my first time reading a book by Angie Kim, she has very good writing that even prior to reading the acknowledgment and postscript parts, I knew that she had a real-life experience in the subjects that she was writing about, and those latter parts confirmed that. I loved how the writing is poetic yet organized and well researched. I loved the jumbled rants and thoughts that the protagonist Mia had which often times seemed random until Kim masterfully weaves them into the story. There were a few times when the happiness discussions went overboard, and it felt like reading a non-fiction book -an interesting one nonetheless-
The characters are unique as each one adds something different to the story, Mia is the protagonist, and we get the story through her POV, a music prodigy adding areas of her expertise into the story. She is 20 years old and is stumbling in her university life, a thing that resonated with me. She has an autistic brother which may be the real focus of the story and I learned a lot about this topic from this book. Even making me empathetic more to families with chronically ill patients that I meet at my job. Mia's mom also has her own part to add with discussions about sexism and how being verbal affects our life. There was a mix between music, math and language which are all things that I love and never have I imagined a book bringing them all together!
The plotline is interesting but there was a quick switch in my brain from what I expected this story to be and what it is actually about. The thriller/ mystery part is there, and we get some answers toward the end, and I am intentionally saying some as some of the threads are left hanging which may have bothered me in other stories, but this felt deliberate here and it reflects real life that I really can't complain about this.
“Our brains are hardwired to want resolution, to want the answer. The bigger and broader the mystery, the deeper the satisfaction when it’s resolved (a variation on Dad’s low baseline theory). They turn the pages and join the search party, to accelerate the process of solving the puzzle, of turning it into a different kind of story.�
Summary: This was slightly different from my expectations of it prior to reading it but in a better way. There are a lot of good thrillers out there but not many well-researched stories that just get the human nature which is what this exactly is. Kim succeeded in impressing me with this book and I will keep an eye on her other books in the future. ...more
When I picked up the book to read it, I realized that I don't know anything about it. I bought this just because Petrik said it was a masterpiece and When I picked up the book to read it, I realized that I don't know anything about it. I bought this just because Petrik said it was a masterpiece and the rest was history. I really wanted to get a hardcover but ever since BD closed, I am trying to find alternatives and so I settles for a paperback copy of this, and I am still impressed by the quality of production.
The story follows ex-mercenary Jespar Dal'Varek when he accepts a mission to investigate the king's mysterious coma. The title of the story comes from here as the king is dying and they need to save him before it is too late. This book was weird -in a good way though- mixing fantasy elements with psychological horror and there was even romance thrown in this mix.
The story is based on the Enderal world which is a video game that I did not play but, in my copy, the author mentions that he had to change some of the names and stuff including the name of the series which changed to "The Twelfth World" and I guess there is some drama there. My point here is that whether you are familiar with the world or not, it doesn't really matter, as the story can be perfectly understood without any previous knowledge. Furthermore, the story is very character driven despite the interesting plot twists. Jespar is a very interesting character along with his companions. The representation of mental illness here specially depression is some of the best I read in a fantasy book, and I think it reflects something personal.
The world is interesting and there are different kinds of creatures and Gods and then there are the weird dreams which I enjoyed despite me not being a fan of horror. Most of the events of the book takes place in one week and the majority of the plotline happens there. The story then continues for roughly a period of a month losing some of the momentum given the premature conclusion of events.
Summary: Good production quality, great writing and characterization. Excellent mental illness representation with an okay pacing. This was a unique story that has something for fans of all genres!...more
“That the things in life which don't go to plan are usually more important, more formative, in the long run, than the things that do�
I fir
“That the things in life which don't go to plan are usually more important, more formative, in the long run, than the things that do�
I first came upon this book last July when I stumbled upon a social media post about books that doctors should read. I had already read a couple of those books and made my way through that list slowly. I wasn't initially interested in this book for some reason I can't recall. Fortunately, that list had good recommendations and I was getting out of audiobooks to read so I decided to listen to this book, and I am very glad I gave it a chance.
This is O'Farrell's memoir depicting some of her near-death experiences and it may be hard to believe that one person could have so many of those interactions. I think the author does a great job of explaining those situations, even convincing the reader that they had such occasions. I don't think the author uses a higher-than-thou tone because of those brushes with death, and thinking about it, the author is a chronically ill patient and I know some kids in our wards who had similar experiences at such young ages so I can buy what O'Farrell is presenting here.
And I think I should take the opportunity here to say that Daisy Donovan who narrated the audiobook made this an even greater experience. O'Farrell has an excellent prose with a knack for drama and Donovan gives life to this narration. I really couldn't ask for a better duo!
The stories are interesting, and O'Farrell has a great way with words. At some points this felt like reading a fiction story and I mostly enjoyed the most personal ones which involves "the cerebellum" as Maggie's most personal story and "Daughter" which I think is self-explanatory. After finishing this book, I immediately checked the author's other books as I wanted to discover more of her works, and I think I will give her fiction novels a chance in the near future. ...more
Apparently, this series is just not for me! I loved Thorne's The Hating Game but can't connect to her other books. This was a hot mess as it was so unreApparently, this series is just not for me! I loved Thorne's The Hating Game but can't connect to her other books. This was a hot mess as it was so unrealistic. Not a single thing made sense to me even given that it is an Improbable Meet-Cute series. I don't want to read the other books at this point....more
The Fall ★★★★ Of Blood and Fire ★★★★ Of Darkness and Light ★★★★ 1/2 The Exile ★★★★ Of War and Ruin ★★★★� The Ice ★★★★
Lore Olympus: Volume One ★★� 1/2 Lore Olympus: Volume Two ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Three ★★★★ 1/4 Lore Olympus: Volume Four ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume FivLore Olympus: Volume One ★★� 1/2 Lore Olympus: Volume Two ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Three ★★★★ 1/4 Lore Olympus: Volume Four ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Five ★★★★ Lore Olympus: Volume Six ★★★★ 1/4 Lore Olympus: Volume Seven ★★★★ 1/4
Although this doesn't have a cover yet and in fact, book six is yet to be published. I couldn't help myself from reading this entry as it has been a while since I last read it and it is getting harder to hold myself from just binge reading the whole thing.
The story is getting better for sure, and a lot of the drama is being exposed specially that this entry involves a trial with many things being finally out. The bad thing is that this ends with such a cliffhanger and I don't think I have it in me to wait one whole year for the next book to be out. I am getting addicted to this in the best possible way! ...more
The Fall ★★★★ Of Blood and Fire ★★★★ Of Darkness and Light ★★★★ 1/2 The Exile ★★★★ Of War and Ruin ★★★★�
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First five stars of the year And book #1100!The Fall ★★★★ Of Blood and Fire ★★★★ Of Darkness and Light ★★★★ 1/2 The Exile ★★★★ Of War and Ruin ★★★★�
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First five stars of the year And book #1100!! ...more
I am convinced that Christie was brilliant when it comes to murder mysteries but less so when it comes to thrillers and espionActual Rating: 2.5 Stars
I am convinced that Christie was brilliant when it comes to murder mysteries but less so when it comes to thrillers and espionage stories. I am also not a fan of those political stories, and I was this specific story lacking compared to her Marple or Poirot stories.
It was better than the Tommy and Tuppence stories, but it was still slow, confusing and the ending wasn't very exciting. I just prefer the format used in other stories of a murder mystery and then getting to know the characters well and then solving the mystery. I thought I did not care about the characters very much in this novel. The good news is that I have some Poirot stories in storage to read....more
The Bladed Faith ★★★★ The Sapphire Altar ★★★★ The Slain Divine ★★★★
“The wise can rebuild a better world from the ashes, but for there to be ashe
The Bladed Faith ★★★★ The Sapphire Altar ★★★★ The Slain Divine ★★★★
“The wise can rebuild a better world from the ashes, but for there to be ashes, we must first burn down the old and the rotten. I say we get to burning.�
I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the entire series without giving away any spoilers. This is the second series I’ve read by Dalglish, and it certainly won’t be my last. He himself describes it as the “definitive Dalglish novel.� The story follows Prince Cyrus, whose life is upended at twelve when his gods and parents are killed. He then joins a revolutionary group and transforms into an exceptionally skilled assassin.
As you can see from my ratings, I gave each book in the series 4 stars, which indicates that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is consistently solid, though each installment has its strengths and weaknesses—some excel in character development, while others shine in pacing or plot.
Dalglish has a knack for creating well-rounded and unique characters. There are several memorable figures with distinct abilities and backgrounds that make them hard not to appreciate. I particularly enjoyed the training arc in the first book, which allowed us to witness Cyrus's gradual growth rather than him suddenly gaining powers. This realistic approach is often overlooked in other narratives. In the second and third books, new characters are introduced, and they’re just as well-crafted.
While the plot may not be the most original, Dalglish manages to put his own spin on familiar fantasy tropes, making the story feel fresh rather than recycled. The pacing is generally fast, and with high stakes and large-scale battles, it becomes an addictive read.
The world-building is impressive as well. Having read only one of Dalglish's works prior, I was already aware of his creativity in this area, and this series does not disappoint. It’s filled with intriguing and imaginative concepts.
In summary, this series is another triumph for Dalglish. The writing is strong, the characters are well-developed, and the world-building is exceptional. Each book excels in different aspects, but they all deliver a great experience. I’m eagerly anticipating Dalglish's next series—maybe I’ll even explore his earlier works! ...more
“We are all unreliable narrators of our own lives.�
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
This is my third Michaelides novel, and I can't say I was very
“We are all unreliable narrators of our own lives.�
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
This is my third Michaelides novel, and I can't say I was very impressed. To be honest, I think Alex gave his best writing in his debut The Silent Patient. The Maidens was weird, and it made me go into this book with less expectations but it still disappointed me.
My problem with Michaelides novels is that you can clearly see him trying to imitate Christie's style and I think that's not possible. This may seem like an accusation, but the plot of The Silent Patient was very familiar to one of Christie's books and I still enjoyed it as it was well written. This time, the author decided to let the narrator even mention Christie in a sarcastic way; "If this was a Christie novel then ...." and I was like this could never be a Christie novel honey. I don't think it was meant to be in a demeaning way since he consistently mentions her as one of his inspirations in the acknowledgments, but it still felt weird to me.
So, the story follows a murder mystery on an island, and it is told from the POV of one of them. Here is where things get tricky. I like to be fair to authors so I am going to start with the good parts which were the short chapters and fast pacing making this very easy to go through and I will be lying to say if I was not intrigued despite my annoyance on things I will later mention. Michaelides uses this format in all of his novels, and I think he does it well.
The less good parts involve the mystery part itself as I guessed who did it very early from the start of the book and it is not because I am a genius, it is because the author insists on using the same trick all the time. The author mentions -through the narrator- that this is not a whodunit story -and here he mentions Christie's stories- but a whydunit and here is where I don't agree. I think the focus was still on who did the crime because if you want to focus on the Whys of the crime then I need to connect to the characters, and it was never the case here -and it always is in Christie's novels which is sarcastic-
Elliot is an annoying narrator because he keeps mentioning he is an unreliable one and it gets redundant at one point. The story is also told again and again through different timelines and point of views which can be confusing (I wasn't confused and thought it interesting). Also, some of the things felt just illogical! And I think some threads were left hanging and I still have questions specially regarding the secondary characters.
Summary: In short, I wanted to like this one. I just think it was all over the place and I wasn't a fan of the narrative choices. Still felt like a breeze to go through and didn't really consider not finishing it. Maybe I won't just auto-read his next novel....more
I went into this not knowing anything other than that people liked it and that it is written by Christina Lauren. My problem wActual Rating: 3.5 Stars
I went into this not knowing anything other than that people liked it and that it is written by Christina Lauren. My problem with the book is that it felt too unrealistic, and this may be a funny thing to say when the series is called "The Improbable Meet-Cute" but let me explain.
The first 50% of the book is written in emails formula which was a breeze to go through. In fact, the whole book took me 40 mins to read. The story follows T and C when C sends an email by mistake to T and then it stars an annual thing between them to exchange emails on Valentine's Day each year. For us reader, this feels cute to read those exchanges between 2014 to 2024 and in one of those emails T confesses she has a crush on C which felt very weird to me given that they have talked less than 10 times in a decade and never met before.
The rest of the story is more believable with the usual cliched hot smart tall, nice guy and the shy girl which was tall in the case and maybe this was the plot twist instead of the petite girl we always have in those books.
So, I thought it was cute, but I wanted more as I am used to from these authors.
“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.�
This
“Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.�
This is my fifth book by Gladwell, and it is a bummer because I am running out of his books to read. I think this was my least favorite out of those I read or listened to, but it was still an interesting book.
I think readers will disagree about Gladwell's books and whether he is biased or not. Whether they have any true literature value or not and I understand that, but I think we can all agree that he is one heck of a storyteller. Other than the fact that I think he is a good writer, I need to mention that he is also a great narrator. I read two of his books and then decided to listen to the third one and since then I have never looked back and decided that audiobooks -narrated by him- are the way to go!!
Although these are non-fiction books, the way that Gladwell tells his stories makes them super intriguing. I like that we start from point A but then move to point B to understand a specific point and even point C to make things clearer. It is like zooming in and out through a microscope to get the whole picture and I just love that!
My only critique is that in this specific book, I was less interested in some of the stories. It was like half good and half less interesting stories. For example, I loved the parts about War, Basketball, classes but less so when it comes to certain political things. I also always end up taking something from these books no matter how small it is. It is funny how I was listening to the inverted U curve part and then a colleague of mine told me two days later that he feels more doctors in the ER is not necessarily a good thing as things can get less organized and I was literally thinking about the same thing after reading this book.
I enjoyed the book and at this point, I want to listen to whatever Gladwell is going to release. I am also going to make my way through the two other books I haven't read yet. But if you enjoyed Gladwell's books previously or if you are looking for good non-fiction stories then this is worth giving a shot! ...more
Every Heart a Doorway ★★� 1/2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★� 3/4 Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★ In an Absent Dream ★★★★ Come Tumbling Down ★★� 1/2 Across Every Heart a Doorway ★★� 1/2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★� 3/4 Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★ In an Absent Dream ★★★★ Come Tumbling Down ★★� 1/2 Across the Green Grass Fields ★★� 1/2 Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★★★ In Mercy, Rain ★★� Lost in the Moment & Found ★★� 1/2
Cute story. It doesn't add much to the main storyline though. ...more
Every Heart a Doorway ★★� 1/2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★� 3/4 Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★ In an Absent Dream ★★★★ Come Tumbling Down ★★� 1/2 Across Every Heart a Doorway ★★� 1/2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones ★★� 3/4 Beneath the Sugar Sky ★★★★ In an Absent Dream ★★★★ Come Tumbling Down ★★� 1/2 Across the Green Grass Fields ★★� 1/2 Where the Drowned Girls Go ★★★★ In Mercy, Rain ★★� Lost in the Moment & Found ★★� 1/2 Mislaids in Parts Half-Known ★★ 1/2
This last entry in the series is a bit different from all the other novellas in that it is a continuation of the last book "Lost in the Moment & Found". I appreciate the stories and that they always have a message behind them, but this particular entry felt all over the place and that's why I enjoyed it the least one so far.
The writing in those novellas is just so magical and every time I pick one up, I am in awe of McGuire's prose specially the way those stories are started. I think some of this magic is lost when it comes to the plot. I liked the first entries more because they felt like standalones in the same world but with the last entries, they seemed more like a continuation of a series that I started in 2018 and I don't remember some of the important details to the story.
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known tackles more than one character with more than one theme and it made it a bit chaotic and hard to follow. I think I liked this series more when it introduced a new character and showed their stories and then how they come to join the school. I could read endless of those stories which actually made me stick to the series so far. Things seem to be getting different though and I am starting to question whether I am going to continue this series or not. I think I will give the next book a chance and see how things go.
Speaking of continuing it: Does anyone know how many books are planned in the series? ...more
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