Reviews

Book Review | One by One by Ruth Ware

September 6, 2020 bookishluna4 Comments

*Book given via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Description:

Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?

What I Liked

First and foremost, Ware has once again shown her talent when it comes to creating an atmosphere perfect for a thriller. Again and again Ware has proven that she can in a short time make you feel as if you are in the story along with the characters. You get suspicious of people right away and you feel trapped right along side them on the mountain top chalet. This has always been my favorite aspects when it comes to reading one of her novels, I fall right into the world because she builds it up perfectly. Another thing I really liked was the fact that the feeling I felt while reading One by One are the same feeling I had when I read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

Additionally, I really liked the tech company that was created and used throughout this novel. No only was it used to give structor to the story, it was fun to see a made up company and product that seems like it could really be on the app store. I thought using this company really brings it into modern times and ensures it does not feel like the story takes place long ago. It also lends itself to creating very interesting dynamics that are a key component to this story. The suspicion and high tensions within this story, it really lends itself to the narrative. It leads to emotions getting higher and higher and leads to hidden, deep distrust to come to the surface.

What I Didn’t Like

The only downside was I felt one of the two narrators, I was so happy there were only two main voices in this story, read someone what juvenile from time to time though not consistently. So, it really was not anything that ruined the story or pulled me out of it in anyway. Which, for a thriller to be effective needs to really keep you in the narrative, and this really does.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller. The setting was amazing, the atmosphere was palpable, the characters were interesting as well as their dynamics, and the story fully pulled me in. Once again Ware has proven to be an amazing writer and continues to be one of my auto-buy authors. Even though I received this book for free, I am going to go pick up another on publication day. If you want a good secluded thriller that appears to be a dream come true at first, but turns into a horror, I feel like this is one you should certainly look into.

Author Links

Website: https://ruthware.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthwarewriter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthwarewriter/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthwarewriter/

Book Information

Publication Date: September 8th 2020

Publisher: Scout Press

List Price: $27.99

ISBN: 978-1501188817

Pages: 384 pages

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Reviews

2020 Shakespeare Challenge | August

August 30, 2020August 25, 2020 bookishluna4 Comments

Hello and welcome another check in for my 2020 Shakespeare Challenge. If you would like to learn more you can look at my initial post called, Blogmas | Goals | 2020 Shakespeare Challenge. This month I read The Comedy of Errors and errors there where!

This book is just a mixture of mess ups and miscommunication. It kinda reminded me of the exaggerated outcome of the telephone game, if you are familiar with that. The main aspect of this play is mistaken identity, which has been present in quite a few of his other plays that I have read this year. In this play in particular it it comes from not one, but two sets of twins and their loved ones having no idea who is who and let the mayhem begin.

I have to admit, that this is one of the better plays when it comes to mistaken identity. There were a few times where I giggled to myself while reading this, which is great because not a lot of his comedies have actually made me laugh or feel humor. Maybe I am finally getting Shakespeare’s sense of humor? Either way, without giving away too much, there is a lot of misunderstandings, surprises, and puns galore!

This review isn’t that long due to the fact that I feel like a lot of the humor would be removed from this play if it is really discussed as much as I normally do. I would rather you read it for yourself and truly get the laugh out of it than being ruined by my review. But, overall I think this is one of the better comedies as I said earlier. I think it is worth checking out if you like his other plays or even has not read any of his comedies before.

Next month I am reading another comedy by William Shakespeare called Much Ado About Nothing, I have heard a great deal about this one so I am excited!

What are your thoughts on this play?

What is your favorite play by Shakespeare?

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Let's Talk

Let’s Talk | How I Read 10+ Books a Month

August 23, 2020August 22, 2020 bookishluna10 Comments

Let's Talk

Hello and welcome to a little post where I list a few ways that help me personally read 10+ books a month. Now, this is just my personal experience, but I figured maybe sharing might give some ideas to those who might read this or even maybe get you into the reading mood!

First and foremost, audiobooks! I listen to audiobooks on a few platforms, the one I use the most is free through my library, I use libby. I use this to borrow audiobook (& ebooks), because honestly audiobooks are expensive and I can’t keep up financially with the amount I listen to each month. In second place is scribd, which is a small fee each month that give you access to audiobooks (& ebooks). Lastly, is libro.fm which is an independent bookstore alternative to audible for a monthly fee. I listen to audiobooks when I am cleaning, crocheting, or when my hands are busy, but my mind is not really engaged.

The next thing that helps me is reading before bed each night. A few months ago I wrote a post called, Challenge | One Week Reading Before Bed. Following this challenge, I actually ended up changing up my nighttime routine. I loved my experience so much I kept it as part of my nightly routine. It is really calming for me and helps me wind down after the stress of the day.

Now, this is a bit of an odd one to mention but, I stopped reading books just because of the hype. I realized a lot of the books I was reading I picked up because of the hype. Well, since I realized hyped books I am meh about tend to be slow paced and have little enjoyment, I should just leave them behind. Now I just read books I am really interested in and feel drawn to picking up. Since this switch happened I have read more because I want to pick up my current read more often and for longer periods of time.

Lastly, I am a huge supporter of DNFing books. Now, this is something that I have really embraced over the last few years. I used to have serious feelings of FOMO when I was reading a book I was not liking. I was convinced that there would be a huge turning point and I would see why everyone was loving a book. Well, nine times out of ten, that turning point never really happened. Now, if I don’t like a book after 50-100 pages, depending on the length, I DNF it. For me personally, I have found there is no point in pushing myself to read something I am not enjoying. Not only does it slow down my reading, I could be reading something I am really enjoying.

Well, those are a few ways that help set me up to read 10+ books a month.

What are ways you work reading into your day?

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Wrap Up

Middle Mark | August 2020

August 16, 2020August 12, 2020 bookishluna8 Comments

Middle Mark

Hello and welcome to my Middle Mark post for August! This month has started off on a great note. I have read quite a bit and I hit a few of my year long goals as well. I finally hit 30,000 pages for the year as well as finished up reading a book from every continent. Now, to continue to chip away at the others! Any-who, here are the books I have read so far in August.

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just the perfect eerie book I wanted to read. I actually got quite a few chills reading this horror and I am glad I happened to find it. The whole book felt heavy and it continued to get heavier as I read it. It is one of those rare books that really pulls you into the story and you almost feel like you are in it yourself.

View all my reviews

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As many other reviewers have said, this is a very unique read. It was imaginative, creative, but also painful. I say painful because it deals with a grotesque history of slavery and does not sugar coat it or hide some of the more horrendous actions. In addition, the main character battles with their peoples history, I don’t want to say too much because spoilers. I very rarely say this, but I feel like I would have enjoyed this story more if there was more of it. I wanted to explore this community in more detail and learn more about many of the characters. I feel like this was done on purpose though and when you read it that statement will make a bit more sense if it doesn’t now. But, I will say this, I am going to be looking into other works by this author.

View all my reviews

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is very apparent that this author knows a lot of about the history of Australia the movement of deportation of those not wanted in England. This book deals with social hierarchy, laws, exploration, as well as the stealing of lands of its native people. While this book as a lot of academic value, even though it is historical fiction and not non-fiction, it was difficult to get into. I felt like the authors writing style was just blah for me personally. It read more like a textbook than an actual textbook, I had to really push myself. For me, this is a bit out of the ordinary because I love reading non-fiction and rarely have to push myself to read them.

I will say, this book is best read with someone else, this book brings up quite a few topics that are best explored and discussed. As said, it has great academic value and I feel like it show cases society in London/England as well as the early settlement of convict in Australia and the impact on the indigenous inhabitants.

View all my reviews

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good and wide ranging collection of short stories. They are just a bit out there and at times a bit of a horror feel. I felt that every time I finished one I just wanted to read another one. I always find it hard to review a collection as a whole, but overall I enjoyed a majority of these tales.

View all my reviews

You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance by Chani Nicholas

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don’t feel like this is a beginner book, it does have a good amount of information, but if you are using this book just for yourself, most of the information is not usable/applicable. If you are going to do a chart for everyone and their mom, much more useful. Also, bring a protractor.

View all my reviews

The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Here is a little preview of my review. Overall, this was an average play. I didn’t see anything that really stood out and I can already feel the details of this one slipping away. There is quite a few mistaken identities, which we have seen a bunch of times already from his works time and time again, just with another bow.

View all my reviews

Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shel Silverstein esc type pep talks that I just adored! I will be picking this up from time to time, I can see it.

View all my reviews

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy Murakami’s writing style, the short stories were varied, but tied together nicely. Some I liked more than others, but there was not one I disliked. I normally don’t enjoy short story collections, but there is something about hims writing that I enjoy very much.

View all my reviews

Currently Reading 2

As of writing this, August 12th, I am currently reading quite a few books. I was doing so well with reading one book at a time, for some reason this month I am having trouble doing that.

I just started reading me eArc of One by One by Ruth Ware that I received via netgalley. I am really enjoying it so far, I mean I expected to since she is one of my auto buy authors!

I am also 44% through Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer the newest addition to the Twilight books. Honestly, so far I am enjoying learning more about the Cullens and their family dynamics.

Last, but certainly not least I am currently reading Conjure Women by Afia Atakora. I am about 13% into this book. Conjure Women is a magical realism and historical fiction novel balled up into one. It follows a young girl from a young age until she is older, whose mother can do magic and she follows in her foot steps and acts as a healer for her community. The time frame and location are in the south during slavery and following after it. So, we get a story that not only of a family that is separated by slavery, but also a look into the practice of slavery. The author holds nothing back in their magical story telling and I appreciate that.

What was the last book you read, did you like it?

How are your reading month coming along?

Sign Off 2020

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Hauls & Unboxings

Book of the Month| August 2020

August 9, 2020August 9, 2020 bookishluna6 Comments

Hauls & Unboxings

Hello and welcome to another unboxing of Book of the Month! This month I am very excited about the book I picked for a few reasons, the major ones I will get into more so later in the post, but one I will share up front is that I was able to find this new to me author! As soon as I read the description, I knew I needed to pick it as my book this month.

Description

One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek’s closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens—and Osita struggles to understand Vivek’s escalating crisis—the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom.

Propulsively readable, teeming with unforgettable characters, The Death of Vivek Oji is a novel of family and friendship that challenges expectations—a dramatic story of loss and transcendence that will move every reader. –goodreads.com

Why I Picked This Book

The main reason I picked up this novel is because it seems to have a huge focus around relationships, which is something that we all have. But, I always find it interesting to learn about how others balance their relationships. I also have not read an emotionally charged book in a while and from the description, I am picking up that this will be a heart wrenching one.

Also, I did happen to read a blurb of this book already, just to give myself a look into the authors style. From what I have read already, I think I am going to enjoy their form of writing. I can’t wait to get to it!

What was the most recent book added to your TBR?
Does this book sound interesting to you?

Sign Off 2020

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Let’s Talk | The Prediction Book Tag

August 6, 2020August 6, 2020 bookishluna8 Comments

Hello and welcome to a tag I should have done months ago, I am so sorry Whitney, but better late than never. At least I am hoping. I was so happy when Whitney tagged me back in March, this is such fun tag and I am glad I am able to be apart of it. Now on to the rules and prediction prompts!

Rules

ping back to the creator of the tag, @bookprincessreviews
tag the person who tagged you
find an answer to match each prompt
have fun!

Each Prompt is a Prediction for My

Next Read

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass

As I said in my post, To Be Read | August 2020, I planned on reading this book in August. I did come across some excerpts I read when I was in school and they were all annotated. I didn’t read the annotations, but I am curious of how my annotating will vary this time as opposed to last time when I am done reading.

Next 5-Star Read

After the Quake by Haruki Mauakami

I am not quite sure this counts as cheating, but I am about 50% done with this book already and I am really enjoying it. As long as nothing unforeseen happens, I am probably going to be giving his book 5 stars. It is a great collections of short stories with a unifying thread. It is whimsical, magical, and thought provoking.

Next 1-Star Read

Color Therapy Plain Simple: The Only Book You’ll Ever Need by Nina Ashby

I am going to be honest with this one. I don’t really think it is going to be a 1 star read, but I think it is going to be the lowest rated out of my current TBR. The reason being it has a 2.4 rating on goodreads… that is the lowest one I have. I do have hope though that maybe I will like it better than others.

Next Love Interest

Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz

This is the only book on my owned TBR that has a hint of romance to it. It is a historical fiction/retelling/continuation of sorts of he lives of Jo and Laurie from Little Women. Which, if you did not know is my all time favorite book and series. Yes, there are more Little Women books!

Next Book You’ll Be Buying

Confessions on the 7:45: A Novel by Lisa Unger

I think the next book I will be buying will actually be a pre-order of this book. It does not come out until October 6th, 2020. I went to a digital author book talk and the author recommended quite a few books, many I read, but this one stood out to me!

Next Book That Will Leave you With a Book Hangover

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

While I do enjoy this series I always have a book hangover of sorts when I finish ones of its tomes. I tend to read two per year because that is all I can handle. I am planning on reading this one at the end of August or in September. I still cannot believe I have made it to book 6 of this series.

I Tag

What book do you think will your next 5 star read be?

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Let’s Talk | The Bookish Baking Tag

August 4, 2020August 3, 2020 bookishluna16 Comments

Let's Talk Hello and welcome to a tag. I have not done one in a while, I am sorry! But, I was so happy when Alexandra over at Reading by Starlight Blog tagged me to do this. I love baking and books, so this is a perfect combination! Also, I want to note I made this a little extra challenging by only picking books I read this year.

☆ Thank whoever tagged you
☆ Link back to them and the original creator (Kay @ Hammock of Books)
☆ Answer the 12 prompts, and feel free to use these graphics
☆ Tag 5+ friends to share the sweetness

Norse Mytholgy by Neil Gaiman, I picked this one because the start of this book Gaiman goes into his personal history with Norse Mythology and it was really interesting and I felt it really set a great tone to the whole book.

Little Women

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, this novel will forever be a holiday book for me because it just feels cozy and it radiates family to me. This also a book I reread often and when I want to relax so either holiday meaning it has it covered!

Firestarter

Charlie from Firestarter by Stephen King, I feel so much for Charlie in this book and I feel like everyone should just protect this poor girl. I don’t want to say much because you know, spoilers. But, I just want her to be safe and with those who care.

Beach Read by Emily Henry, I mean the cover and title alone really say it all. This was a really fun and you probably heard all about it because so many people have been raving about it. It is a fun read that tackles a few sadder themes, but over all it had full on summer vibes and even a summer romance.

Teen Titans: Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo, so this one I am twisting a bit. Raven really made me think about what makes us, well us. In addition to the importance of family. I feel like the, “who am I?”, “What does it all mean?” are questions a lot of us ask of ourselves from time to time, but I feel like it happens a lot as we grow up in high school. Like I said, I am twisting this prompt a little, sorry!

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, I read this a bit ago and it was a really fun classic to read. I loved that the narrator had a sense of humor and was making fun of the book. On top of that it was a very typical love classic into also a horror/thriller esc. classic. It was quote enjoyable. I ended up writing an entire post about this one, Let’s Talk | BuzzFeed Picks My Jane Austen Novel

Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri, this was such a great read. I annotated this book so heavily I needed to buy a new highlighter. This was such a great mixture of memoir and history of slavery all tied together by hair. It is a wonderful anti-racism novel that I think more people need to talk about and read.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu, okay, I admit this is not all fluff, but I just loved the relationships in this graphic novel and the support given! I just had to mention it, I need to read more by these two.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, the message of this book, at least to me, was savor all the time we get to spend with those around us. You never know when things will happen and you don’t want to regret not saying something or showing how you care. This was a beautiful short story.

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, this book is HUGE. Now, I love history and I worked with someone who also loved history at an old job. I knew their taste was generally similar to mine and they were having a hard time reading it saying it was slow and dragged. So, I was really afraid to read it. Well, years later I finally read it and this person could not be more wrong, at least in my opinion.

Girl, Woman, Other

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, such a wonderful book. This book was diverse in so many ways. It was diverse in so many ways, such as age range, race, sexuality, economically. It was a wonderful book and I will say, this should have been the ONLY winner of the 2019 Man Booker Prize.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, as you all probably know. This book has been on booktube, blogs, and just about everywhere I see books talked about. Well, I picked it up and I really did love it! This author is so talented, I can’t wait to see what they do next. It really is amazing when the hype pays off.

You!

Sign Off 2020

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Reviews

2020 Shakespeare Challenge | June & July

July 22, 2020July 23, 2020 bookishluna6 Comments

Shakespeare

Hello and welcome to my check in for my 2020 Shakespeare Challenge. If you would like some more details about the challenge you can find that in my post called, Blogmas | Goals | 2020 Shakespeare Challenge. I would like to apologize I missed posting this last night, but better late than ever. I decided to combined the past two months instead of making two separate posts. Anyway, here are my thoughts on Twelfth Night and The Tempest!

Twelfth Night

So, like many of his works, this one starts with a bit of a tragedy. I think this is one of my “ugh” things when it comes to Shakespeare, he reuses a lot of the same plot points, but dresses them up differently if that makes sense? Anyway, more on this specific play. This play was packed with mistaken identity, disguises, and of course a love story of sorts. This play really thrived on a bunch of misunderstandings and a lot happened that I don’t want to go into it because of spoilers. I will say this is not near the low bunch of the plays I have read by him. I cannot say no to some magic into a story, so that alone won some points for me. I also was not completely disappointed as to how it ended as well.

The Tempest

There are a few things I really liked about this play in particular the first being a ship wreck that reminded me of Odyssey in a way. I am not sure if this was the purpose, but I enjoyed the connection I made. I also liked that in this play there was also magic and magical creatures. As I said about Twelfth Night, I am always a sucker for it. I ended up giving this play 4 stars because I was a bit more into actually reading this and it kept my attention for than Twelfth Night did. It is one of the Shakespeare plays that I actually would not mind reading for a second time, I think Macbeth is the only other one on that list.

Next Month

What is your favorite work by Shakespeare?

What are you thoughts on these plays?

Sign Off 2020

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To Be Read

To Be Read | June 2020

June 1, 2020May 31, 2020 bookishluna1 Comment

To Be Read

Hello and welcome to my June TBR! I am actually excited for the month of June for a few reasons. We are officially in the last month of the first half of the year, which is a bit mind blowing. On top of that I feel like it will be a nice fresh start for my reading since it was a bit subpar last month and I am actually not forgetting about my ebooks for once! I don’t want to ramble this month, but I really feel like it is going to be a great month. On to the books!

Physical Books

The first book is going to be a mystery one that was picked for me by Melinda from Basement Bookcase. It is a new to me author and something that is very outside my normal reading so I am excited to see how it works out.

The first book pictures is Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. Last year I read my first book from him and I really fell in love with his writing style. Plus, one of my goal this year is to read a book recommended by one o my favorite authors and this was on Joe Hill’s list. So, I get to read a book by a great author and cross a 2020 goal off of my list.

Next I have Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King, which is the Stephen King book that I have had on my owned TBR the longest and I am in the mood for something scary so I am picking this up. I am not really sure what to expect because I completely forgot the description at this point. I just remember picking this up at The Strand in NYC at last years Bookcon.

Twelfth Night is my Shakespeare pick for June, I really don’t have a ton of thoughts on this just yet.

Lastly I am buddy reading Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz with Jenna and Reg this month. I have never read anything by Dean Koontz, but I know they are a popular author and I am always seeing their name everywhere so I am excited to give them a shot.

Digital Copies

I have really been neglecting my digital books as of late and I really need to get to them. So, this month I want to read three of these.

The first listed here is The Devil in the White City by by Erik Larson. This story shares some of what transpired around the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, including Americas first serial killer. It is a morbid one, but I really want to know more about the World Fair because I hear about it often, but also about this criminal history.

The second book is I’m Ju I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual by Luvvie Ajayi. The tag line “Perfect for starting important and meaty discussions about all of the topics your mama told you never to bring up at polite dinner parties.” really sold me.

Lastly, we have Your Goddess Year: A Week-by-Week Guide to Invoking the Divine Feminine by Skye Alexander. I have always been interested in leaning about the gods and goddesses from a wide range of civilizations. I feel like a lot of them are not talked about a lot because they are not part of the major circles of gods we study in school so I am excited to learn about 52 new ones!

I just noticed that all my ebooks were nonfiction! This really excites me because I have been meaning to read more of it since I read none last month.

What are you planning to reading this month?

Have you read any of these books, did you like them?

Sign Off 2020

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Reviews

Someone Picks My Books | Evelyn Reads | Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

May 27, 2020May 26, 2020 bookishluna6 Comments

Someone Picks My Books

Hello and welcome to another one of my Someone Picks my Books post! This month Evelyn over at evelynreads.com has picked my read. I was very excited when she picked this months pick because I have read other works by this author and really enjoyed it and I have seen many others have loved this book. I guess I should tell you that the book is Middlegame by Seanan McGuire. This is the first adult book I have read and the longest book I have read by this author so I am curious to see is her talent flows into this age group and length.

Book Description

Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.

Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.

Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.

Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.

Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained. – goodreads.com

Review

I decided that I am going write this post more like my traditional review format where I talk about what I liked and didn’t like and then my overall feelings.

What I Liked

As with other works by Seanan McGuire the worlds she creates is very imaginative, but this is imaginative in a very different way than the there works I have read by her. One of the standout things in this book for me is the mixture of alchemy and science. While I have read quite a few books with these aspects in them, I have never seen them combined in such a way. It was refreshing and interesting, part of my wishes that I saw more of it.

Also, if you know me science fiction isn’t really my thing…like at all. I don’t know what it is, but I am unlikely to enjoy a book with science fictions details in it with a few rare exceptions of 11/22/63, Jacky, and a few others. I have to say that this book also makes that list for me. I think the reason that it does make it on that short list is because it has an old world feel to it, which I love. It is almost like a spooky gothic modern science fiction book? It is really hard to pinpoint what this book truly is because I feel like McGuire melds together so many things so seamlessly.

On top of everything I also mentioned I found it really interesting the “rules” of this world when it came to particular characters interacting as well as the “government”. I felt like a lot of these aspects were shown and not told to me, which was great. Sometimes books that have such “out there” things in them the author can come across as if they are showing an unknowing child something. McGuire just goes through the story and you don’t miss anything.

What I Didn’t Like

One of the things I did not fully like about this book was that in the start I felt like one section of interaction could have been cut and not a ton would have been lost. This is just a personal thing and I feel like a lot of people enjoy seeing these sections interactions. They are still written in a really enjoyable manner and I didn’t feel like I had to seriously push myself to oread them, but I did find myself going “again?”

Overall

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I am so happy that Evelyn picked this for my to read because honestly, while I enjoyed McGuire’s other works I am fairly certain I would not have picked it up. That is the beauty of this series. This was a very imaginative book with a very gothic/dark/old world feel to it that I was craving. On top of that it was well written had great characters.

Next month I am reading a book that is picked by Melinda at Basement Bookcase!

Have you read this book before or is it on your TBR?

Sign Off 2020

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