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| B09PGNYGGL
| 4.00
| 16
| unknown
| Mar 01, 2022
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None
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Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 07, 2022
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Mar 07, 2022
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Mar 07, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| B09J1V65QB
| 4.29
| 34
| unknown
| Oct 2021
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None
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Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 30, 2021
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Dec 30, 2021
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Dec 30, 2021
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| 0374103119
| 9780374103118
| 0374103119
| 4.26
| 4,299
| Jun 12, 2018
| Jun 12, 2018
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it was amazing
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One of the best, most horrifying books I’ve read this year. Review to come.
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Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 23, 2021
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Dec 24, 2021
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Dec 24, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 080215820X
| 9780802158208
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| 3.77
| 2,510
| Feb 09, 2021
| Feb 09, 2021
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really liked it
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Review to come.
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Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 21, 2021
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Dec 21, 2021
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Dec 21, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 1250224357
| 9781250224354
| 1250224357
| 3.84
| 9,581
| Mar 09, 2021
| Mar 09, 2021
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it was amazing
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This book was amazing. Review to come.
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Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 19, 2021
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Dec 20, 2021
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Dec 20, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 0525560688
| 9780525560685
| 0525560688
| 4.06
| 3,163
| Feb 16, 2021
| Feb 16, 2021
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really liked it
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https://sarahsdeepdives.blogspot.com/... I have recently become extremely frustrated by a whole lot of people having a lot of very loud opinions about https://sarahsdeepdives.blogspot.com/... I have recently become extremely frustrated by a whole lot of people having a lot of very loud opinions about stuff they don’t know anything about, and so I’ve decided to make a concentrated effort to not be like that. When an issue arises that a lot of people are yelling about, rather than shouting along with them, I go to my local library and find some books about the issue/region/people and read them. Then, I form my opinions. Due to recent events, the Middle East has been (I think it always kind of is) a hot-button topic. I started out reading a bunch of books about Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda, but one thing leads to another and that particular rabbit hole lead to the book Black Flags, which is about Isis, which lead here, to The Daughters of Kobani. The Daughters of Kobani is a sweeping journalistic endeavor focusing on a few brave Kurdish women in war-stricken Syria in a town called Kobani, which was near the Turkish border but fell within Isis control. In 2014, women in this town in northeastern Syria waged a war against their occupiers, fighting alongside Kurdish men. When one considers the patriarchal society under Isis control, one realizes just how brave and determined these women must have been to stand and fight. Cornered, surrounded by misery and war on all sides, and being regarded basically sub-human under Isis, they still stood and fought. Without training, without a lot of equipment, at extreme risk to themselves, alongside men who often saw them more as a joke than a threat, they fought. If you want a story about people facing down long, impossible odds, I really don't think you can do better than reading about the Kurdish women who fought against Isis. The book is set against a backdrop that is so dramatic, it almost doesn’t seem real. On the one hand, you have Isis, this sweeping fundamentalist group that was so radical even Al Qaeda wanted nothing to do with them. On the other hand, you have the dictator of Syria himself killing his own people, tearing his own nation apart in an effort to retain control. Civil war on the left and a fundamentalist militia on the right. The people of Kobani were stuck in a terrible situation, with no relief and no way out. When Isis swept into Kobani, many people fled. Anyone who could, basically did. Soon, however, it became impossible and those who didn’t leave as soon as they saw trouble brewing were stuck. Isis had snipers on the rooftops, IEDs in the streets. People who were caught trying to flee were captured. Some were used as human shields against US strikes. Some details of Isis slavery are woven throughout this book, including stories of slave markets, women in cages, brides being bought and sold, sex slaves, as well as public executions and the like. The people in Isis-occupied territory faced situations I cannot even begin to imagine. The women in this book ended up doing what they could, how they could. They were outnumbered and underequipped, but despite that, those who could, fought, not only against Isis, but eventually ended up gaining massive toeholds in the women's rights movement as well. Many of them functioned as snipers. Many of them subverted authority where and how they could when they were capable of doing so. The bravery that must have been involved in these actions is staggering, especially considering the situations encroaching from all sides. Despite the odds, however, these women ended up forming the YPJ, or the Kurdish Women’s Protection Unit, and ultimately ended up being one of the deciding factors that turned the tide of Isis, being instrumental in driving them out of Syria and breaking their control over several important cities in the region. The Daughters of Kobani is a short book, clocking in at just under 300 pages, and perhaps this is both its greatest strength and it’s downfall. On the one hand, the length of the book makes it easy to get through. It's not overly long, so it doesn't walk that line between interest and emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, I felt like there was too much packed into these pages. The author was both trying to tell the stories of the fighters and trying to give a detailed history of the region and conflict as well. This made me feel, at times, like too much attention was being put on one thing and not enough on the other. Occasionally, I was so desperate to get back to the stories of the women, I skimmed information. One thing I will say, is that "Kurdish" is a term that gets thrown around a lot on the news when I hear stories regarding this region, and yet I never quite understood what it meant. A nationality? A cultural group? Something else? Due to the fact that these women are Kurdish, I feel like this book informed me quite a bit about what being Kurdish actually means and how it fits into the tapestry of conflict in the region, something I truly appreciate and plan on reading more about so I can better understand. The Daughters of Kobani is a powerful journalistic work telling the stories of the women who became a defining force in a very painful, brutal, bloody conflict. This is a book about good vs. evil, only instead of being on the silver screen, some made up action movie, this is real life. These are real living, breathing people who acted despite all their fear, and anger, and the extremely high risk to themselves. Most of these women lost absolutely everything, things I can’t even imagine losing, and still they fought. Is the book perfect? No, but this is a story that needs to be told. The Daughters of Kobani is a sweeping narrative about the power of women. Ultimately, it’s a story about heroes. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Dec 14, 2021
not set
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Dec 14, 2021
not set
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Dec 14, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 0756416779
| 9780756416775
| 0756416779
| 3.28
| 422
| Dec 07, 2021
| Dec 07, 2021
|
it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/12... I’m a big fan of Bradley P. Beaulieu (writing under the pen name Brendan Bellecourt here), but when I heard ab https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/12... I’m a big fan of Bradley P. Beaulieu (writing under the pen name Brendan Bellecourt here), but when I heard about this book, my excitement really moved to a whole other level. I have a huge interest in books that are set in a time similar to/in the 1920s. I saw “speakeasies” and went all Liz Lemon ala 30 Rock, “I want to go to there.” Thankfully, I apparently annoyed the appropriate people the appropriate amount of times, because the next thing I knew, the author was sending me an audible code for the book. I will say, I loved the narration on this audiobook. It was really easy for me to sink into the story. I usually listen to audiobooks while I do things around the house (when I take editing breaks during my workday, and cook dinner and the like), and I found myself actually wanting to prolong my cleaning/cooking/whatever just so I could listen to the book longer. Simon Vance is basically one of those narrators who could read a phonebook and I’d be one-more-paging that sucker until hell froze over. The combination of his dulcet voice and the story itself really delivered a one-two punch that knocked this one out of the park. One of the first things that stuck out to me regarding Absynthe was the worldbuilding. There are so many different ideas stuck together in a world that, upon first glance, feels too busy to work but once I got into the book, I saw how well all these ideas fit together. A brief glance through reviews so far will show you that elements of this book are being compared to the Pacific Rim, “decopunk”, steampunk, alternative history, and more. There’s a lot going on, and while it can get busy at times, the author has a knack for synthesizing ideas, playing with new concepts, making things that shouldn’t work, work. Nothing in this world was what I expected it to be, and all of it was so carefully executed, I was left with a newfound appreciation of just how profoundly SFF authors can break boundaries. There’s a real interesting synthesis of ideas here, from tommy guns and speakeasies to zeppelins and performance-enhancing biotech. There’s some aspects that will immediately put readers in the mind of the 1920s, like flapper dresses and the jazz age excitement of a big, metropolitan area. Then there’s other elements that will make you think “steampunk” or “Pacific Rim”. It was a really interesting blend of different ideas which all merged together to create a world that was instantly gripping, and absolutely unlike anything I have ever read before. But, while there is a lot of potential for action, and there is action, this book isn’t really about that. At least, in my mind, Absynthe felt a bit more thoughtful, a bit more measured. This world, while fantastic and captivating, is balanced by a bit of darkness as well. A lot of this book, in my mind, was an exploration of some of the results of war we rarely see in books like this. This careful exploration of poignant emotional and social themes really balanced out some of the larger-than-life worldbuilding elements, grounding them in a reality many of us will find one uncomfortable step removed from our own. And maybe that’s where the book the was the most enjoyable for me. I enjoy stories that make me think, explorations of deep themes through the eyes of characters I can really relate to, or feel for. Here, in this world, so much is amazing and wonderful, and yet it doesn’t take long for readers to realize that things aren’t all that great. Veterans are forgotten about and go through life with conditions like PTSD, or have wounds healed with mechanical implants and devices, which present their own host of problems. People are injected with mysterious serums. The citizens of this United States are breaking into factions. Tensions are rising. People are beginning to distrust each other, and the government. There is a very pervasive feel that everything is falling apart, unraveling, and into this milieu, we have our character, one Liam Mulcahey. Liam really stuck out to me. He, like so much of this book, wasn’t what I expected. A thoughtful character who wasn’t afraid to feel, it’s his perspective that really humanizes many of these deeper themes, and layers them into Bellecourt’s unique world in a way that felt pretty natural. Through Liam, some of the ideas, themes, aspects of the world that shouldn’t have worked, actually did work, because he made it all make sense. He was the bridge that spanned these waters, allowing readers to connect the flashy worldbuilding with these deeper issues, like the slow degradation of the social order, the unravelling of trust, the personal, human cost of war. At its core, this book is a mystery, and it is quite fast paced at that. Liam, a war veteran, unexpectedly finds himself in the center of tension and change. He has to make pieces fit and find answers to seemingly unanswerable questions. He finds himself immersed in a situation that’s far larger and deeper than he ever imagined. Ultimately, this journey is profound, as it forces him to question everything from his leaders to his society, to his most important relationships, to himself. Nothing is what it seems to be, and the truth he finds, the truth he is chasing, is far more more pervasive than I anticipated. This book kept me guessing throughout, with no shortage of “ah ha” moments as the clues Bellecourt wove throughout his narrative clicked into place. So, where does this leave us? Absynthe is a fast-paced, wild ride through a stunningly crafted world, but it was the deeper themes and the sympathetic protagonist that truly captivated me. This book is as much a mystery as it is an exploration of the often-overlooked, uncomfortable human cost of some of our actions. Bellecourt managed to write a story that balanced on the knife’s edge between flashy and thought provoking, displaying, for all to see, why he is a master of his craft. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 13, 2021
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Dec 13, 2021
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Dec 13, 2021
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1955959021
| 9781955959025
| B09B1T6BZ7
| 4.09
| 108
| unknown
| Dec 07, 2021
|
really liked it
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/12... Thomas and I connected via Twitter. I believe we both discovered we listen to the same kind of music when we w https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/12... Thomas and I connected via Twitter. I believe we both discovered we listen to the same kind of music when we write. We started sharing songs with each other and it went from there. When I realized he was starting to prepare a book for publication, I became interested in him not just as a fellow music listener, but as an author as well. I was really excited to read this book. He offered me an ARC and I nabbed it. So, here we are. Riley throws readers into the deep end and trusts them to find their way through to the other side. I was a bit overwhelmed at first by all the names and characters thrown at me, but soon all the dust settled and I started knowing who was who. I could identify them and put them in place within the story he’s created. There was a certain “ah ha” moment regarding his characters. They all started to slot in place and knowing who they were in turn made the world and the story itself feel a bit more intimate somehow, probably because everyone had a name and everyone mattered and was given time. One of the things I admire most about We Break Immortals is the worldbuilding. I was constantly in awe of just how much thought Riley put into his world, with every detail put carefully in place. The author has a knack for explaining the strange and wonderful, and it left me with a sense of wonder and awe in a few places. I could feel Riley’s excitement for his world, for the story he’s set into it. The book itself is layered with darkness and depth, but the world balances that out with all its rich details, its color and vibrancy, and the enthusiasm that bled into each page. The care and attention Riley has put into his world also infuses his characters. Characters tend to be my big bugaboo. I really like a book that lets me sink deep into the psyches of the people I’m reading about, and this is one where I was pleasantly surprised. One of the biggest reasons I didn’t mind the (potentially) confusing amount of characters at the start of the book was because I was pretty enchanted by how quickly I learned that Riley’s attention for detail and enthusiasm for the story he’s telling infused his characters as well, even is side characters. Everyone is given time and space. They are not two-dimensional, but rather real and unique. They matter, and that, in turn, makes the story matter. Aren, Keluwen, and Corrin are the three primary characters in this novel. On first glance, they are a misfit group. Aren is a drug addict with a host of mysterious skills. Keluwen is a mage hellbent on revenge. Corrin is a sword fighter who has a really powerful sense of loyalty and morality towards those he considers his own. He felt like the moral core of the group, keeping Keluwen and Aren fairly balanced (though that’s not always easy, nor is it always a given he’ll be successful in that particular venture.) Their differences ended up being both their strength and their weakness. Riley played them off each other quite well, using some moments to strengthen bonds, and others to show the tug-of-war that can often come with relationships in any form. I was quite impressed with how easy it was for me to tell each of them apart. They all had truly unique voices and temperaments, and very different ways of seeing and interacting with the world. Ultimately, that sort of nuance is found throughout the book, and it was an extremely effective way for the author to use his unique characters, his attention to detail, to make not only his world shine, but his plot as well. I felt very invested in this book, and I cared deeply for the characters I was reading about. I will admit, Aren was probably my favorite, but I have always loved those characters that are at war with themselves just as much as they are at war with the world around them. He’s a flawed, emotional power punch that hit me right where it counts. That being said, Riley was smart with the characters he chose as the vehicle through which the story is told. They all balance each other out so well, and while its not always smooth sailing, nor is it easy, they kept the book from ever feeling slow, or like there were any huge lulls in the forward momentum. Their steady stream of banter also lifted the book, keeping it from ever feeling too overwhelmingly serious. The magic (magick) system is really interesting, though it took me a little while to really understand what was happening. Like the names and characters at the start of the book, this might take some time to really grasp and sink into, but once you do, the payoff is huge. Magick essentially leaves behind tracers, which can be seen by certain people, using certain tools. Each trace holds certain elements of its users, kind of like a signature, which allows rogue magick users to be tracked. Aren fits that role in this book. I think there were some infodumps surrounding the magic system, but I also think the payoff for this unique system was large enough to overlook most of that. The plot itself really moves along at a quick pace. There’s an insane serial killer hellbent on making himself a god, and these people have to stop that from happening. That’s pretty interesting, right? Riley has a knack for pacing, for knowing when to lean into moments, up the tension, powerplay emotions, and layer in clues like breadcrumbs all while keeping the book moving forward, ever forward. It’s a good-sized book, too, and I breezed through it really quickly. It didn’t feel long, and that says a lot right there. There are a lot of moments where Riley doesn’t have to use physical battles to make the reader feel like there’s a battle going on. Some of the quietest moments in the book, were the most tension filled. So, where does this leave us? You may or may not struggle a bit with the beginning, but the payoff is well worth it. We Break Immortals was a stunning debut. Riley manages to strike the balance between darkness and light perfectly. Stunning worldbuilding, wry humor, characters that play off each other well, and an unapologetic plot that refuses to quit, this book was an absolute delight from cover to cover. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 10, 2021
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Dec 10, 2021
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Dec 10, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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| 1541672798
| 9781541672796
| 1541672798
| 4.28
| 1,239
| Apr 20, 2021
| Apr 20, 2021
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it was amazing
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https://sarahsdeepdives.blogspot.com/... I have read this book twice, and I’ve put off reviewing it both times until now. The reason for the delay isn’ https://sarahsdeepdives.blogspot.com/... I have read this book twice, and I’ve put off reviewing it both times until now. The reason for the delay isn’t that grand. It’s nothing that will impress you. This is just one of those books I don’t quite know how to review. One big reason for that is because, with all things history, Stalin is one of my obsessions. The guy was just so… Stalin. So much of history hinged on him, and he was such a huge player on the global stage, but for various reasons, we don’t hear a whole lot about him in the west. I think, at this point, I’ve read at least fifteen Stalin biographies, and countless books about his various purges, and other pivotal things that took place while he was in power. I mean, when I say the guy fascinates me, I mean it. I don’t admire him, but I find the dynamics of his particular brand of power absolutely captivating. So when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. World War II is also interesting to me, probably right below Stalin on my personal interest level chart, but it’s hard to get any really good accounts of the Eastern Front of World War II. In school, we learned all about what happened in England and France, but it wasn’t until I was older, doing my own nonfiction reading in my free time, that I learned about the true meat and potatoes of World War II. The power struggle between Stalin and Hitler, the fact that the real heart of that particular part of the global conflict was in neither France nor England, but in the Eastern European borderlands where a war of ideology was waged between nationalists and communists. Stalin’s War is one of those rare books that scratched an intellectual itch as nothing else has. A lot is going on in this book, but the Soviet policies in the 1920s and 1930s were fascinating, and really helped me understand how and why Stalin felt he needed to position himself on the global stage in a certain way in response to some of the European conflicts and changes happening nearby, leading up to 1939. It gave a bit of context for the Nazi-Soviet pact, which has always had a lot of attention because it was so unexpected. However, this book, with all its context and information, does show that Stalin wasn’t, perhaps, as hoodwinked and surprised by Hitler as popular belief might have it. According to this book, Stalin wasn’t surprised by Hitler acting against the pact. Rather than being blindsided, McMeekin argues that Stalin knew Hitler would invade eventually, and he prepared for that very thing to happen, but the Soviet army, for all its size, was just not nearly as good at mobile warfare as the Nazis. This book, in some ways, was a rude awakening. There were a lot of things I didn’t know before reading it that was detailed here. For example, how Stalin and Hitler learned from each other in the 1930s, even occasionally collaborating and carefully staying out of each other’s ways. Stalin’s antisemitism nearly rivaled Hitler’s, and some of his baser policies and actions in that regard are covered as well. Stalin’s various propaganda campaigns are covered here, as well as their purpose. Stalin’s puppet governments in Finland, his gambit with Poland, and various other important political moments are detailed, as well as Churchill and Stalin’s conference when Churchill offered Stalin a good chunk of the Balkans, and the Yalta conference, and many other important political moments. The United States and allied involvement in World War II is covered quite extensively, and McMeekin doesn’t paint everyone in the best light, though I quickly learned I enjoyed having the veneer polished off some of these larger-than-life historical figures. How a lot of the things that happened during World War II ended up playing out after the dust settled, including some policy decisions across the board that lead to the Cold War was absolutely fascinating. History is not a vacuum, and I really appreciated McMeekin’s ability to connect the dots and show just how the dominos fell. The author comes across as strictly anti-communist, but he has done his research, and he has a very balanced way of presenting historical figures and events in a light that feels both justified and not overly favorable or cruel. Balance, perhaps, is one thing a lot of books on this particular topic, featuring these particular men, lacks, and I think McMeekin did an amazing job here. Mostly what I took away from reading this book was how much Stalin was doing without anyone noticing, or if they noticed, they sort of whistled and turned their back on him in an “Oh, don’t look at Stalin, just let him do his thing” kind of way. There was just so much going on in Stalin’s political office that is never really covered by many of the popular World War II books. From setting up puppet governments to allying himself with the right people and then using those alliances to his gains, to the lying and the falsifying information, to the manipulations, the gambles, and more. Stalin was playing the long game. He was at the center of all of it, and due to various political and propaganda reasons, we just don’t see that much of this side of the war in the West. If nothing else, this book underscored my belief that Stalin was perhaps one of the most powerful, adept manipulators in modern history. The guy just knew how to work people. McMeekin comes to a few very interesting, and I’d say controversial conclusions. First, he determines that World War II was probably one of the few historical wars that were absolutely justified and had to happen. That, I think, is inarguable. Secondly, however, he determines the results of the war weren’t exactly as clear-cut as we seem to think they are. If the war was fought to save Eastern Europe, it failed. If the war in Asia was over Manchuria, Stalin ended up gaining territory. If the war was to save Western Europe, it could have likely been achieved with negotiations and a lower death toll. In the end, no matter how you cut it, for at least a while, Stalin was the man behind the curtain, manipulating events, and ultimately, McMeekin argues, he came out the victor. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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not set
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Dec 02, 2021
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.43
| 44
| unknown
| Dec 10, 2022
|
it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I write “sword-free fantasy”. I also write fantasy that deeply explores relationships and the human condition. https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I write “sword-free fantasy”. I also write fantasy that deeply explores relationships and the human condition. It’s my jam. So when this book came across my radar, I knew I had to read it. It’s right up my alley. Fantasy minus the violence, an exploration of the human condition and the fluid, changing nature of relationships is what I’m here for. Sometimes I want something a little softer to read. That being said, I think to say this book is “soft” is misbranding it a bit. A book doesn’t have to have swords to be something that impacts you powerfully. I, by far, find personal stories like this to be more captivating than many other stories. Empires rising and falling are great, but the real meat on the bones of any story I read is with the characters’ personal journeys. The Living Waters was one of those books that filled me with an infectious sense of wonder. In fact, when I think of my experience reading this book, I realize the overall feeling I’m left with is that very same wonder. Fitzgerald writes with a deep appreciation for the natural world, the awe and majesty of it, and its magic. There were times when he dipped his toes into the waters of lyrical prose (which I freaking love) and the world itself came alive with his vibrant descriptions. A few well-placed words, some poetry-lined sentences, and we have a landscape that felt so real, I lived in it. At the core, this book is about the relationship between man and nature, and between man and their fellow man. There’s a lot of relationships in this book, different kinds of them that take different shapes, explore different things, and pull on different emotions. Fitzgerald put a lot of thought into just how he wanted to explore these relationships, and it really pays off with a dynamic book that was both unexpected and extremely thought provoking. Add his careful prose to the mix, and you have a book that is almost hypnotic, it’s so good. Gentle, and yet not, because there is pain here as well, and some mystery. There are moments of inner struggle and emotional turmoil, and yet I never once lost my trust in the author, that he would see me through to the end. We’d arrive on the other shore, safe. The characters are well fleshed out and three-dimensional, even the secondary characters impressed me. The social strata, and the way it is structured was extremely interesting, and a very empathic exploration of what truly divides us as people. With characters on opposite ends of the social ladder, readers get a good perspective of the dynamic spread of this society, and how it has structured itself. Add in the poignant emotional notes and that pervasive sense of wonder, and you have something special on your hands. In a lot of ways, I felt a very unexpected kinship to this book, because it reminded me so much of some of what I was trying to do with my own Songs of Sefate series, and what I try to do with all the fantasy I write. In fact, I will go so far as to say, this might be the first time I’ve ever read a book and thought, “Whatever genre this is, its pretty close to the genre I write.” And you know, I can’t answer what genre this is. Sword-free fantasy works, but I feel like that’s too limiting a term. This is more of an exploration of the inner landscape, which is mirrored in the outer landscape, and I just absolutely love this sort of thing. It’s full of metaphor and meaning, with a macro-level look at characters and their development, how relationships in their numerous forms impact not just those immediately involved but spread outward and have the potential to impact the very world itself. This is my first Dan Fitzgerald book, but it won’t be my last. I look forward to seeing where the next book takes us. The Living Waters came to me at a time when I really needed to read something like this, something a bit more meditative, perhaps. Something that works on a deeper level. Less flash-bang, and more a slowly unfolding story about what it means to be human and and the ripple-effect of relationships. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 30, 2021
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Nov 30, 2021
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Nov 30, 2021
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ebook
| |||||||||||||||||
| 1250765358
| 9781250765352
| 1250765358
| 3.61
| 34,354
| Oct 05, 2021
| Oct 05, 2021
|
it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I have this really bad habit of getting books on Netgalley and then thinking, “Yeah, I’ll remember to review t https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I have this really bad habit of getting books on Netgalley and then thinking, “Yeah, I’ll remember to review them around release date” and then uh… not doing that. So, this review is a bit late, and I’m sorry for that. Life happens, and it happens with shocking regularity. I do the best I can. A Spindle Splintered is the first book I’ve read from Alix E. Harrow, and it will not be the last. I originally decided to go with this book because I absolutely love fairytale retellings (seriously, if I’ve said that once, I’ve said it a thousand times). Plus, I’ve heard a lot about her prose and I wanted to see them for myself. So, when you’ve got an author with killer prose writing a fairytale retelling, you’ve got something that puts my butt in the chair and keeps it there. This book came at me from a direction I didn’t anticipate. I’m used to fairytale retellings all sort of following a similar pattern, and this one absolutely didn’t do that. A Spindle Splintered is a novella, another thing I didn’t realize until after I’d finished reading it (I try to go into each book I read as uninformed as possible). Now, I really enjoy novellas. I think, a lot of times, they can be more powerful than novels, and that’s usually because the author has to shove as much story into fewer pages, so each bit of it is precisely measured for maximum impact. All of this works together to create a novella that really walloped me pretty good. It was a retelling unlike any I have ever read, written with evocative prose that occasionally hit like a hammer blow directly to the feels. What we have here is a book about someone with a chronic, terminal illness. Her name is Zinnia Gray, and it’s her twenty-first birthday. Zinnia, however, knows she won’t live to twenty-two. No one with this particular illness has ever lived that long, and so the book opens with a sort of heartrending, gut churning sorrow, a dark and ominous knowing. Her best friend wants to throw her a party to end all parties, and so she ends up celebrating her twenty-first birthday ala the Disney Princess Sleeping Beauty, in an abandoned castle, with a faulty spinning wheel, and her friends. Only, as you’d expect, things don’t quite end up how anyone expects them to. Zinnia pricks her finger and ends up spiraling out into the multiverse where all Sleeping Beauties who have ever been, and will ever be, dwell. Her story gets tangled up in that of another Sleeping Beauty who is desperate to avoid the fate she knows she is destined for. Together they spin through this multiverse on a quest to wrest themselves from fate. On its surface, this is an interestingly balanced book, with a relentless plot and constant forward motion. There’s wit and snark and love and friendship, passion and all the things that fuel it. Everything needed to make this a fun read is here. However, that’s balanced with weighty topics, like death, like terminal illness, like fate and all the discomfort fate provides. It’s in these darker notes where the book really shone, which shouldn’t be surprising because I tend to gravitate toward dark emotional themes. However, it is these darker aspects of the book that I felt were both understated and where the true magic of what Harrow was doing shows. Yes, A Spindle Splintered is fun, and yes, I enjoyed reading it, but the deeper themes of autonomy, choice, individual will, and destiny were what I found truly gripping, and seeing just how deftly Harrow worked them into her narrative without overpowering any of the lighter aspects was truly inspirational. At the core of it, Sleeping Beauty is a passive character. Her story is one of sleep, wherein she doesn’t even really appear to be the protagonist of her own story. Here, Harrow plays with that idea a bit, shows a multiverse of Sleeping Beauties, all of whom are eager, desperate, for something else. Some other fate. Some chance to be the protagonist in their story. Some small opportunity to make a choice of their own and see it through. It was powerful to see that theme underpinning the book itself. Powerful to see how Harrow dealt with it and used it as a tool to fuel her narrative. Ultimately, there are similarities between Zinnia’s fate, preparing for her death, her passive role in an active story, and her struggles to come to grips with all that is befalling her through no choice of her own, and that of Sleeping Beauty. It’s no wonder she spent much of her life obsessed with the story of Sleeping Beauty, and when she finally finds herself confronted with the story, her bond with Primrose, a Sleeping Beauty, is forged and is deep indeed. Despite their many differences, their similarities are fundamental. Ultimately, A Spindle Splintered was a fantastic novella that balanced a fun story with deeper, darker themes. Harrow’s writing was superb, straddling the knife’s edge of lyrical and utilitarian. This novella sets up an interesting, unexpected series, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 16, 2021
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Nov 16, 2021
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Nov 16, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 1526779358
| 9781526779359
| B09HVWPSY6
| 3.71
| 41
| unknown
| Dec 08, 2021
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really liked it
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https://sarahsdeepdives.blogspot.com/... I don’t know a whole lot about medicine in the Middle Ages. I’ve read a lot of nonfiction books about various https://sarahsdeepdives.blogspot.com/... I don’t know a whole lot about medicine in the Middle Ages. I’ve read a lot of nonfiction books about various plagues that swept through numerous regions during the time period we would define as “Middle Ages” but aside from that, and information gleaned in those books, I don’t know much. However, I want to know more. I find myself, when I read books set in this time period, often wondering how exactly people survived. When I saw Medicine in the Middle Ages, I knew it was a book I had to read, and so I jumped on it. The first thing I was concerned about is accessibility. Anyone who reads a good amount of nonfiction knows that sometimes authors probably think they are being accessible to the every reader, but in the end they are anything but. I didn’t want a book that read like a textbook, and I knew with my limited medical background, I’d need something I could easily sink into and understand, and I will say I found all of that here. Medicine in the Middle Ages might have a somewhat dry title, but the text inside the book is anything but. Cummings does a fantastic job weaving together history and scientific understanding to give readers a well-rounded overview of the topic, of the beliefs in that day and age, where they came from, and how they influenced medical understanding. Cummings spends the first part of the book talking more about how life was lived in the Middle Ages, rather than discussing medicine itself. This part of the book fascinated me, and I discovered pretty early on that it was essential to start the book out this way. You have to understand how people lived to be able to fully appreciate how they interacted with the world when something like a plague swept through. Once this foundation is laid, however, the author immerses herself in her subject matter. Due to the fact that we have some firm foundation upon which to explore this topic, thanks to the first chunk of the book, the information about medicine meant more to me, because I had context with which to address it. The Middle Ages itself is a period of time spanning about 1,000 years, and things change in that amount of time. Cummings spans the era, touching on important moments and historical events, giving some of them an intimate study while glossing over ones that might not be, perhaps, as important to the reader’s general understanding. The Black Death, an infamous plague that wiped out a good chunk of Europe’s population, is covered in detail, and though I have read numerous books on the subject already, I did learn some new things here. She also does not shy away from matters like childbirth, hospitals, and insane asylums, which were things I was really hoping to find in this book, and aren’t very often covered in other books detailing matters in this time period. Context was something I appreciated throughout. Cummings doesn’t just throw readers into the mire, she leads them through. We read about these events from a 21st century standpoint, which is often why I think, “How on earth did anyone survive back then?” We don’t often read about these things from the standpoint of someone living there, at that time. Cummings has a way of peeling back the layers between us and them, and showing readers not just what people practiced in the way of medicine, but why they did it, and their current understanding of what they were doing and why. This allows readers to better grasp what they got right, and what they got wrong, and how well (or poorly) they were doing based on the information they had at the time. From women’s healthcare to war wounds to plagues, each aspect is covered compassionately, and with an obvious understanding for not just why people did what they did, but their understanding of what they were doing as well. Ultimately, I learned a lot more from this book than I expected, and not all of it was about medicine. Due to Cumming’s knack for weaving history and science together into such a smooth narrative, I learned a lot of things about history that I didn’t know already as well. In fact, I went into this book with a general sense of curiosity, and left it with a list as long as my arm of things to google and learn more about. That’s always the sign of a good nonfiction book, in my estimation. They don’t just inform the reader, but they make the reader want to know more, and that’s what this did. Perhaps if I did have one drawback, it’s that this book isn’t terribly long. Clocking in at just under 200 pages, there isn’t a lot of room here for the author to cover topics in extensive detail, and so you might just want to make a list of things to further research, as some of the topics covered felt more like vignettes. Accessibly written with a knack for context and an ability to present complex topics in easily digestible bites, Medicine in the Middle Ages was a fascinating read. I highly recommend it to any nonfiction reader who enjoys books that seamlessly blend science and history. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 16, 2021
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Nov 16, 2021
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Nov 16, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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| 1250816211
| 9781250816214
| 1250816211
| 3.58
| 29,483
| Nov 09, 2021
| Nov 09, 2021
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it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... Catherynne M. Valente is an auto-buy author for me. No, let me up the level of this a bit. Catherynne M. Valent https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... Catherynne M. Valente is an auto-buy author for me. No, let me up the level of this a bit. Catherynne M. Valente is hugely informative to the way I write. I buy all of her books, pre-order, if I remember to, and then read and re-read them all year. I study her prose. I study the way she uses language and words, and how she tells her stories. The way she dishes out information, and clues like breadcrumbs for her readers to follow, and while I don’t try to emulate her, exactly, I do look at her as a guiding light for how I want to tell stories. I see what she has done, how widely she has veered from the expected fantasy path and how fantastically she’s flourished out there, carving her own way through this unique landscape of hers, and I use that as inspiration. In my opinion, she’s one of the best storytellers out there right now, full-stop. So when I saw Comfort Me With Apples was coming out, I jumped on it. Her novellas, for whatever reason, hit me right where it counts. It’s amazing to see what she’s capable of with a shorter length book. In 112 pages, we have a book that was just as deep and fleshed out as any novel double or triple its size. Each word counts and is carefully put exactly where it needs to be. Each twist of the story is deftly orchestrated, the clues laid out in such a way that you don’t really see them until later, but that “ah ha” moment I so love is doubly intense due to it. Comfort Me With Apples is a book that you might not fully grasp right away. I started out reading this not really knowing what I was reading, but it’s Catherynne M. Valente, so I put my trust in the author and knew that, when the time was right, I’d figure it out. So, I sat back and I read. I just gave myself to the story. I watched events transpire through Sophia’s eyes and let her carry me away. Valente is an author you need to trust, because she works on numerous levels, both surface and deeper, and it usually isn’t until somewhere past the halfway point when I really see all the threads she’s working with, and how she’s binding them together. That’s half of what thrills me when I read her work. She trusts her reader to figure it out, and her readers trust her to lead them where they need to go. In the meantime, you get to sit back and enjoy some of the most spectacular writing you’ve ever read. Seriously, her prose drips with beauty. There were so many passages in this novella I highlighted. I think nearly half the book highlighted in my kindle, honestly. She has a way with taking these small moments so many of us wouldn’t notice and making them breathtakingly beautiful. There’s a part toward the start of the book, for example, where Sophia is dusting, and Valente describes how the dust motes catch the light and I just sat back in awe. It’s a tiny thing, something so many of us wouldn’t take the time to notice, much less write, and yet somehow she made it feel like a moment of pure artistry, not just through her description, but through Sophia as well. Not only was it beautiful, but it helped me understand how our protagonist sees the world. Tiny moments of breathtaking beauty, and small moments of unimaginable emotional pain sprinkled throughout. There’s a mystery at the core of this book, but it’s not exactly what I was expecting it to be, and it didn’t end how I expected it to end, either. In fact, for a novella, this one really packed a punch. When I started seeing how all those threads wove together, I honestly had to put the book down and just bask in the glory of it all. Valente paints a picture of this nearly perfect world, think Stepford Wives, and then slowly, carefully peels the layers away and as she does so, twists things just enough. These cracks in this perfect facade is where the story truly dwells. The feeling of wrongness, of everything being awkwardly off-kilter is pervasive, and creeping, almost like a certain understated dread. Sophia doesn’t understand it, and neither will the reader. Not for a while, at least. Then, we layer in the mystery and that growing sense of not-right becomes less creeping and more overt. By that point, things start happening, and the book becomes almost impossible to put down. There’s a lot of comparisons I could use for this novella to other fables and mythology and the like, and I’m afraid if I tell you what they are, it’ll give the book away and I really don’t want that. Suffice it to say, I think everyone will take something different from reading this. I will also say that it might not be the perfect fit for every reader. There’s a lot of twists and turns and a lot of them are subtle, a lot of reality fraying, and plenty of the book will leave you wondering what is happening. If you trust Valente as an author, you’ll understand, this is how she works. She’ll bring you through it, you just have to wait. You have to be patient for it all to unfold. On the other hand, not everyone likes to drink tea with a helping of what the fuck instead of sugar, so depending on which camp you fit into, this may or may not be your fit. I loved Comfort Me With Apples. I can already feel myself aching to re-read it so I can catch all the subtle clues I missed on my first read-through. I think it will likely take its place on my shelf next to Six-Gun Snow White as a book I re-read about once a year just so I can study how she uses words, and so carefully unfolds her story. Valente is one of those authors that I admire so much, not just for how she tells her stories, but for the substance of the stories she tells. This might be a novella, but there is a lot happening here, a lot to unpack, a lot of deep themes about personhood, and independence, about relationships and life itself, all written in a dreamy, almost fairytale way. If you’re looking for a quick-ish read that defiantly deviates from expected fantasy norms, this is your book. Valente is daring and bold, with a grasp for prose, characterization, and story that just wows me every time. She does things with narrative voice here that astounded me and left me reeling. The story itself was a delight, and I didn’t mind a bit that I had to figure things out as I went and wasn’t always completely sure what I was reading. That’s part of the delight of Valente’s work: the exploration, the quick turn off the well-trodden path into a place that blends pure artistry and genius storytelling. I could rave about how much I love Valente’s work for years. Suffice it to say, Comfort Me With Apples is exactly my kind of weird. It’s going to be a re-read for me. Over and over again. Just… wow. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 12, 2021
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Nov 12, 2021
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Nov 12, 2021
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 059333423X
| 9780593334232
| 059333423X
| 3.94
| 23,958
| Sep 30, 2021
| Oct 05, 2021
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it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I will admit, I’m not much of a horror reader. I don’t really get into those kinds of books, and it takes a ve https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I will admit, I’m not much of a horror reader. I don’t really get into those kinds of books, and it takes a very specific kind of scary to get under my skin and actually make me feel much of anything. I do, however, love gothic stories. I love the slow creep of the abnormal, the subtle spread of darkness. Mostly, I love the atmosphere, that oppressive, looming vibe that permeates gothic books so well. If there is one thing gothic horror authors have mastered, it’s atmosphere. The Lighthouse Witches is a slow burn book. The story is told with three different timelines and it will take you some time to be able to figure out how they all mix together and impact each other. This isn’t a book that hands you all the answers right away. Rather, it makes the reader work for them. Not everything is clear, and you won’t understand all the details you’ll want to understand until sometime later in the book. However, once that “ah ha” moment strikes, things move forward at a breakneck pace, picking up momentum until that breathless, unforgettable ending. The book begins with one Olivia Stay, an artist who is hired to paint the inside of a lighthouse on a Scottish island. She, along with her three daughters, travels up there to do the thing. The lighthouse itself is supposedly built atop the ruins of an old prison where witches used to be kept. Sapphire, Olivia’s teenaged daughter, ends up finding an old journal which detailed the events that transpired there hundreds of years ago, the witch burnings which transpired in the 1600s. The village outside of the lighthouse is a place that almost becomes a personality unto itself. The people there are friendly, but deeply superstitious, believing in changelings and various other magical creatures. It’s a small town, and remote, almost closed off by its location, which really allowed C.J. Cooke to lean into its development, and ultimately, use it as a tool to really layer in that subtle, creeping darkness that gothic horror is so known for. And it works in spades. The town, on its surface, is delightful, but it doesn’t take long to realize that not everything is as it should be, and that division between how things appear to how things are, is really where this novel flourishes. The cave under the lighthouse was supposedly where witches were held before they were burnt at the stake. Lore has it, that once upon a time, witches haunted the island, creating a whole host of otherworldly nasties, like changelings and wildlings. The lore of this cave, and the events that transpired there, mix with the quaint town and all its oddities quite nicely, creating an ominous stew that gave the entire book a certain, dark feel that I just loved. That creeping, ominous dread I felt so acutely throughout. Soon, two of Olivia’s daughters go missing, and another thread of the story picks up some twenty-two years later, when the one daughter who did not go missing, Luna, is pregnant with her first child, and still dealing with the trauma of what happened when she was younger on that island. She gets a call from the police that they’ve found one of her sisters, only her sister is still seven, not an adult as she should be. As you can expect, that is quite an event. Luna goes up there to see what’s going on. Ultimately, she has to return to the place where it all went wrong to figure out what happened, and how she can move forward in her own life. Woven in through this is the third timeline, which details events as they transpired in the 1600s. All of this mixes together to create a fascinating slow-burn story, carefully written to not only engage readers, but to wrap them up in a multi-layered mystery that spans generations. The interplay of past to present fascinated me. I really enjoy books that explore how past events impact present situations, and so this timeline hopping as readers go from one thread to another, to another, each in different times, kept me quite engaged. One of the things that I really ended up appreciating was just how well the author wove clues throughout the various narratives, which I didn’t even pick up at the time, but ended up looking back on with appreciation for just the subtle cleverness of them. This is one of those books where things matter that you might not think matter, and as you start drawing conclusions, you’ll look back and see things differently. The moody, quaint landscape also ended up being a huge boon to the story. I don’t know many places much more gothic than a lighthouse on some Scottish island, so the place was chosen well for the story that needed to be told. Woven throughout are bits and pieces of mythology, folklore, things you may or may not recognize from myth and legend. Reality, history, and lore all mix together to create a story that is as moody and broody as the landscape itself. The Lighthouse Witches was a compelling, clever, subtle story told with an artistry I truly appreciated. Beautifully written, with a lot of emotional depths and layers, this book is sure to please any fan of gothic horror. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 08, 2021
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Nov 08, 2021
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Nov 08, 2021
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 0385534752
| 9780385534758
| 0385534752
| 3.82
| 1,238
| Nov 02, 2021
| Nov 02, 2021
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None
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Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 06, 2021
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Dec 18, 2021
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Nov 06, 2021
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Hardcover
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| 1734601132
| 9781734601138
| B089KDMJD6
| 4.21
| 963
| Apr 04, 2021
| Apr 04, 2021
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it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I really enjoyed Zack Argyle’s debut book. It wasn’t perfect, but I loved the story it told and the foundation https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/11... I really enjoyed Zack Argyle’s debut book. It wasn’t perfect, but I loved the story it told and the foundation it established in this new world. Argyle has long said that he thinks book two is stronger than the first book, and so I was pretty excited to read Stones of Light. Added to this, I’ve been on a bit of a “nostalgic fantasy” kick recently, and this fits the bill in some ways. When I had a window open up in my fantasy reading routine, I jumped on this book, and I’m glad I did. Stones of Light took everything I loved about Voice of War and improved upon it. I will say, this is the second book in a series. You need to read Voice of War before you read Stones of Light. I’m also going to try very hard to not drop any spoilers in this review. Some points I’ll make will be vague due to this. This series is scratching a certain itch at the moment. In a lot of ways, Argyle has taken me back to the glory days of fantasy, where there were civilizations rising and falling. Life is perched on the brink, and there is darkness all around. People from numerous walks of life are thrust into the center of a situation that is far larger than anyone anticipates, and it’s through their own ingenuity, and strength of character that they see it through. Add in a helping of magic that kind of reminds me a bit of both Sanderson and Weeks, some poignant emotional moments, and a quiet, simmering malice lurking around the periphery, and we’ve got something quite engrossing on our hands. Stones of Light, as I’ve said above, takes everything I enjoyed about the first book and improves upon it. It also takes some of the aspects that didn’t quite hit the mark in Voice of War and actually makes them work, and made me think, in retrospect, “I understand why that needed to be that way in the first book” (read: AH HA moments all around). I honestly am not sure how Argyle did it, but he basically took book one, which was already amazing, mind you, and levelled up in just about every respect. Even the prose, which was anything but bad to start with, were tighter, more fluid, with some turns of phrase that filled me with admiration. Stones of Light, in a lot of ways, is a book about expansion. The world gets larger, and a bit more firmly realized. There’s a lot of depth added to what readers do see, which makes it feel a bit more realistic. This had the wham-bam effect of making events that transpire in this book feel real, weighed down with higher risks and rewards that mattered to me, personally. I was invested, because I was living it rather than reading about it. The impact of this was felt throughout the novel. The risks were greater, the moments were darker, the attacks and action were more fraught. The characters were more emotionally gripping and memorable. From the ground up, this infusion of realism and carefully executed detail seemed to be the thing that elevated this book to a whole other level. I also want to briefly touch on characters. Similar to the previous paragraph, I felt like the character development and overall character arcs were a lot more firmly rooted in this book. The characters I struggled with the most in Voice of War ended up being some of my favorites in Stones of Light. I was also introduced to some new faces that all offered unique perspectives to the looming conflict(s). What, perhaps, pleased me the most, was the emotional depth layered into these character arcs. There were quiet moments of reflection, and plenty of pain and angst and anger. Things got nice and messy, and it was in all that chaos of emotion and movement that the character arcs and development truly shone. Like the world, I felt like Argyle expanded his skillset a bit in regards to characters, and due to that, they all felt so real to me, which made me feel so invested in their various plights. It made them matter. They stopped being people on the page, and became people that lived and breathed on and off the page. The book is perfectly paced, with a depth of plot and a cadence to the events that transpire that really sucked me in, to the point I found it almost impossible to put it down. I was “just one more chapter”-ing this sucker for hours because I was just that engrossed. When I wasn’t reading it, I was wishing I was reading it. I was surprised by a lot of the twists and turns, by the depth and darkness of some of the plot elements. Mostly, I was in awe of just how Argyle used the foundation he set in Voice of War, and expanded on it, from the world, to the magic, to the characters themselves. There was a lot of artistry here, but the plot never got overwhelmed or bogged down by any of it. The thread of the plot, as complex as it is, stays true to itself throughout, never losing sight of just where things are going, and where they’ve been. There were enough answers at the end of the book to leave me satisfied but I NEED TO READ THE NEXT BOOK, ZACK. LIKE, NOW. I don’t mean to be one of those people who is demanding authors adhere to their personal schedule, but I am really, really excited about this series. I am positively aflutter with anticipation. I want, desperately, to know what happens next. So, where does that leave us? Stones of Light blew me away. A perfect blend of nostalgic fantasy and something that is purely Argyle’s own, reading this book was like drowning in an ocean of awesome. (Okay, worst metaphor ever.) A gripping continuation of an unforgettable saga, Stones of Light truly swept me away. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 02, 2021
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Nov 02, 2021
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Nov 02, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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| unknown
| 4.13
| 3,001
| Oct 26, 2021
| 2021
|
it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10... Last night I was up until five in the morning with COVID booster shot symptoms. I was pretty miserable, and fo https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10... Last night I was up until five in the morning with COVID booster shot symptoms. I was pretty miserable, and for a while I watched TV but then I flipped it off (it was making me dizzy) and decided to read until I finally managed to pass out. I ended up trying to read a few things, but my mind just wasn’t there for any of them. Then, I landed on Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide, and blazed through it in one sitting. First, I should say I was 900 different kinds of miserable, and this book got me to forget about all of that. If you understand how terrible I felt, you’d know what an accomplishment that was. Secondly, it should also say a lot that I read it in one sitting. I don’t have a ton of time these days, for reading outside of my own editing and writing, so devouring a book in one sitting is pretty much something that never happens anymore. I really admire Olson. I guess that’s a weird thing to put in a review, but I kind of want you to know where I’m coming from with her stuff because I feel like the author, in this particular case, is just as important as her work. So, I really admire Olson. I read one of her books for the first time earlier this year, and I knew instantly she was someone special. Someone I wanted to watch. She is unapologetically who she is. In a world where I feel like so many fantasy books are aspiring to the same markers and the same heights, Olson writes exactly what she wants to read, and due to that, her books are infused with a passion and love that I find a lot of others lack. Her enthusiasm for the stories she tells is infectious. Olson is a huge, huge inspiration for my own writing, and a large reason why my upcoming book, The Necessity of Rain, is even a thing that is happening. I look at her, and I see someone who is not only brave, but full of refreshing zeal, and I admire that so much. Okay, so now I’ve told you all about how sick I was, and how amazing Olson is. What about the book itself? Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide is both exactly what I expected, and nothing that I anticipated. I’m not a huge fan of regency books (I know, I know. Don’t kill me.) However, sometimes I find one that just works for me, and this is that. There are a few unique approaches here that kept me from feeling like this is the same old, same old. Our protagonist, one middle-aged Mildred, is the primary reason for this. I haven’t read a ton of books with middle-aged protagonists, and I have absolutely never read a regency-style one and I loved it. Mildred is one of the most vibrant, human, relatable characters I’ve ever come across. She is both flawed and captivating, with a unique voice that really kept me engaged as the book progressed. More, I could feel Mildred. Under Olson’s care, Mildred became three-dimensional. She was positively infused with life and blinding realism. She’s had a rough go at life, and that is evident in her sarcasm and wit, her absolute emotional exhaustion in some ways, and yet she is full of wonder as well. I was actually pretty surprised by how Mildred seemed to punch her way right into my soul and make a home there for herself. By about the fourth paragraph, she stopped being a character I was reading and became part of me. As the book progresses, Mildred sort of comes into her own, and I was really surprised by how empowering that was, and how much I connected with that aspect of her story. Mildred is a bit of a spinster, and in a lot of ways, her world has been grayscale for a while. Then, she inherits a dragon egg, discovers magic, and a bit of romance as well. The transformation from grayscale to her life slowly gaining vibrant dimension and hues is nothing sort of enchanting. This isn’t really a romance, though, and to bottle it as one would be, I think, packaging the book wrong. There is love here, and a touch of that romance, but really at its heart, this is really about the dynamics of power and powerlessness, about self-acceptance, and self-confidence. The force that upsets Mildred’s ho-hum existence is a dragon named Fitz, and he was an absolute delight. Olson weaves humor throughout her book, balancing out the light and dark moments with a bit of levity that worked really well for me. This kept the book from every feeling too weighty, and yet it never came across as ham-handed, nor did it obscure the glory of what was happening in the plot and with the characters. It is very rare that I read a book where I feel like the humor was so effortlessly natural, and yet didn’t overwhelm the book itself. It was, if anything, icing on the cake. The element that tied all of this together stylistically, and brought it from charming, to positively enchanting. Olson has a gift for writing. Her prose are fluid and effortless, never purple and never too dry. She has a knack with hitting the exact tone each scene needs to make it land the way it needs to land. Her world comes to vibrant, blazing life, and so do her characters. Mix that dollop of humor in there as well, and you’ve got this brilliant blend of elements that transported me almost instantly out of my body and into Mildred’s world. I could see the landscape, and the people, and smell the food. Olson is one of those authors I read as much to admire her prose and appreciate how she uses words, as to immerse myself in her stories. I’ve said a few times that this book is empowering, and it really is. Mildred learns to accept and love herself. In spite of outside forces, of the hijinks and the shenanigans that ensue throughout the book, it’s the love story of a middle-aged woman learning to accept herself that really spoke volumes to me. It’s something, I think, I needed to read, and I was left after finishing the book feeling like this is a story a lot of us need right now. Ultimately, Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide left me feeling like I’d just experienced the warmest of hugs. Flawlessly written, enchantingly told, with an unforgettable protagonist and a relentless plot, reading this book was an experience I won’t forget anytime soon. Last night, I felt sicker than I’ve felt in a very, very long time, and Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide got me outside of my body, away from my misery, and pulled me through the darkness. That really says all that needs to be said. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 28, 2021
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Oct 28, 2021
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Oct 28, 2021
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ebook
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| 4.46
| 7,569
| Dec 31, 2021
| Dec 31, 2021
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it was amazing
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Holy mother of god, this book was FANTASTIC. Review to come. |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 26, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
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| 1399900676
| 9781399900676
| B09CW634WH
| 4.16
| 445
| Sep 29, 2021
| Oct 13, 2021
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it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10... There are some people in the world I want to succeed purely because I think they are good humans who deserve w https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10... There are some people in the world I want to succeed purely because I think they are good humans who deserve wonderful things in their life. Trudie Skies is one of those people. This made the reading of her book kind of awkward. I want her to do so well, because I genuinely feel like she deserves success, so what if I read this book and hate it? What then? So, as with most books that I straddle this particular line on, I put off reading it. And then I read it in fits and starts, constantly anticipating something to happen that would ruin the entire experience for me, because isn’t that how life works? You want good things to happen, and the skies pour mud. It is with great relief that I can tell you, that never happened. This book started out, charming me to bits, and ended with me reeling and almost aggressively wanting more. There was never a moment when The Thirteenth Hour was anything less than superb. The first thing I noticed was the worldbuilding, which really deserves a review all on its own. Set in a truly complex world, I was amazed by how much thought and insight went into its crafting. No detail was overlooked. It took a bit of time for me to gather my bearings due to said complexities, but I didn’t honestly mind this in the least. I never felt overly confused or lost in information. Rather, this was a place I didn’t understand, and I wanted to understand it. Different realms ruled by different gods and inhabited by different people with different rules all clash together to create something truly unforgettable. What’s more, Skies’s writing is fluid and careful, staying light and humorous in the right places and somber when needed. Her thoughtful use of words allowed the world to unfold naturally. Gaslamp fantasy with some steampunk-ish minor elements, this book straddles a few lines, and never fully adheres to any one category, which is something I love. Perhaps it is this element of balance which really makes The Thirteenth Hour shine so bright. There is a lot happening in this book. The worldbuilding alone made my head spin (it’s really amazing) and yet Skies kept everything perfectly balanced. Information is offered in easy to digest bites at the perfect moments. Details are given when they are most relevant, and then there is time to let it all sink in and gel in your mind as you read. Yes, it is complex, but Skies balances complexity, plot, and characters perfectly, which combined to make this world something I wanted to explore and study. Chime is an amazing place, and the perfect setting for this book. Here, you get a taste of all the domains. Chime is a place the gods cannot tread. That gives it a sort of tug-and-pull feel, where there’s an intoxicating (and sometimes uncomfortable) clash of cultures, and yet it’s one step removed from the truly terrifying power players. Influence is important, and it is felt everywhere. An ominous feeling sort of crept up on me as the book progressed, as I could see strings being pulled by unseen puppet masters, and while some of them are easy to guess, there’s an ambiguity there as well, which only served to heighten the tension. The Thirteenth Hour is told through two first-person perspectives. I’m a big sucker for first person POVs. I love how they allow me to get into a character’s head, but when you write with more than one first-person POV, it’s important to be able to keep the voices distinct so there’s no confusion. It’s always a risk, and I feel like Skies did a great job here. Kayl and Quen are easy to tell apart, with unique voices and traits. Perhaps the thing that I loved the most about them was how real they were. Kayl forgets everyone’s name and is always late. Quen is kind of dorky but in a really loveable way. They both were so real, I felt like they could hop right out of the book and visit with me in my living room. My attachment to them, my relationship with their quirks, made me care so much about them. It invested me in the story. I wasn’t reading about interesting characters, I was experiencing these events along with two friends. Skies ability to transport me from reading a book to experiencing a story is truly masterful, and it is owed, in large part, to her realistic, carefully crafted characters. The Thirteenth Hour is one of those books that starts out small and gets bigger as things progress. The atmosphere gets more ominous, the characters risk more, lose more, want more. There’s a sort of caper-like vibe to it, but not quite. Again, this book seems to straddle a bunch of lines, never quite being one thing, but rather being the best part of a whole bunch of different things. There are alliances and betrayals, antagonists, and uncomfortable moral quandaries. The surface-level story is gripping and absorbing, extremely hard to put down, and I dare you not to enjoy it. There’s dark moments and light, and plenty of tea and British humor that really round things out nicely… but there were deeper themes here as well, and Skies ability to play on both levels—surface and deeper—truly delighted me. Free will is an important concept in this book, and it can both be limiting and liberating. Skies plays with this idea throughout, in some surprising ways. While there are some truly reprehensible characters in this book, the theme of free will, the puppet master vibe I mentioned above, the very world itself all work together to humanize even the characters I ended up loathing. There are some I never liked, and never will like, and that’s fine because that’s how it’s supposed to be, but even then, through the “free will” lens that Skies crafted, they are somewhat human, and that makes them, in their own way, tragedies. And yeah, I love stuff like that. So where does that leave us? The Thirteenth Hour blew me away. Phenomenal worldbuilding, stunning prose, attention to detail, characters I love, and numerous layers to the story all work together to create one of those gems that I want everyone to read. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 26, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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| 138651683X
| 9781386516835
| B07GZ5T6GL
| 4.28
| 135
| unknown
| May 2021
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it was amazing
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https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10... A while ago, I was in the mood for something different. Something that’s fantasy, but maybe a bit more modern. https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/10... A while ago, I was in the mood for something different. Something that’s fantasy, but maybe a bit more modern. To be honest, I was on a bit of a “why doesn’t anyone ever include technology in their fantasy” bender, and so I happened across the delightful genre of urban fantasy. From there, it was a hop, skip, and jump until I found Peter Hartog. Bloodlines is really one hell of a book. A nonstop thrill ride from page one, with a constant flow of action and an inability to look away from any of it. This book sucked me in quickly and left me gasping and eagerly grabbing book two. Bloodlines is set in a megacity (known as an enclave) called Empire City. That name itself gives me a certain vibe for the place. Instantly, I think of Batman, the dark alleyways and impoverished denizens of a huge metropolis replete with secrets. Empire City makes me picture dark deeds in dark places. For a name, it’s an evocative one, and that’s one of the first things I noticed about Hartog’s writing in general. It’s evocative and extremely vivid, two things I honestly did not expect from this book. Two things that delight me when I run across them. Hartog’s polished prose cuts like a knife. It stabs deep with visceral, vivid, colorful detail, bringing the world of Empire City to blazing life. Hartog, however, doesn’t throw readers into the deep end. He knows just how to weave in information at the right moments, easing readers into the strange, dark, messy beauty of his world and the people who inhabit it. I quickly realized I was just an enamored with his worldbuilding as I was with the characters and the story itself. It’s really rare that I come across a debut work that is this polished, this visceral, and this carefully executed. Bloodlines is told through the first-person perspective of one Tom “Doc” Holliday. Holliday is a former homicide detective. He’s got the brooding vibe of a jaded man that I know and love in many books of this nature, with an unforgettable voice that Hartog really nails. I love first-person perspectives because they allow me to get absolutely immersed in the protagonist’s point of view, his thoughts, emotions, and feelings, and I really think that added another layer that benefitted this book, which pushed it from “very good” to “amazing” in my estimation. Holliday has a dark past and a lot of regrets. Neither he nor life have had an easy go at it, and his somewhat cynical nature kept him interesting and fresh (I love me a good cynic.). When he’s given a chance to redeem himself by joining a Special Crimes Unit, he grabs it with both hands. Soon, he teams up with a bunch of colorful individuals who stand at the periphery of the book, and fill it with more vibrant hues, and some genuine moments that had me really admiring Hartog’s character work. More, I felt connected to these characters, their memorable voices, and the multi-hued dimension they added to this world of Hartog's. More, I will say that the characters and the vivid writing worked together as a sort of one-two punch that not only sucked me into the story and made it genuinely matter to me, but also infused me with a sense of wonder throughout. The plot, as I mentioned above, is relentless. There is always something happening somewhere, and all of it matters. There’s rarely a dull moment, and the constant flow of action kept me one-more-chapter-ing this book late into the night. While there were some points in the book that felt predictable, I was constantly surprised by how carefully Hartog revealed information, and his mastery of misdirection. All in all, Bloodlines really blew me away. From prose, to plot, to characters, to the world itself, every part of this book sang. It’s a strong start to a new series, written by an author to watch. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 25, 2021
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Oct 25, 2021
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Oct 25, 2021
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Kindle Edition
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my rating |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 4.00
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Mar 07, 2022
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Mar 07, 2022
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| 4.29
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Dec 30, 2021
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Dec 30, 2021
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| 4.26
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it was amazing
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Dec 24, 2021
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Dec 24, 2021
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| 3.77
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really liked it
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Dec 21, 2021
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Dec 21, 2021
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| 3.84
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it was amazing
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Dec 20, 2021
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Dec 20, 2021
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| 4.06
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really liked it
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Dec 14, 2021
not set
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Dec 14, 2021
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| 3.28
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it was amazing
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Dec 13, 2021
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Dec 13, 2021
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| 4.09
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really liked it
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Dec 10, 2021
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Dec 10, 2021
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|||||
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| 4.28
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it was amazing
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not set
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Dec 02, 2021
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| 4.43
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it was amazing
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Nov 30, 2021
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Nov 30, 2021
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| 3.61
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it was amazing
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Nov 16, 2021
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Nov 16, 2021
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| 3.71
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really liked it
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Nov 16, 2021
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Nov 16, 2021
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| 3.58
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it was amazing
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Nov 12, 2021
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Nov 12, 2021
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| 3.94
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it was amazing
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Nov 08, 2021
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Nov 08, 2021
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| 3.82
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Dec 18, 2021
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Nov 06, 2021
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| 4.21
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it was amazing
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Nov 02, 2021
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Nov 02, 2021
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| 4.13
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it was amazing
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Oct 28, 2021
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Oct 28, 2021
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| 4.46
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it was amazing
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Oct 26, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
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| 4.16
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it was amazing
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Oct 26, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
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| 4.28
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it was amazing
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Oct 25, 2021
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Oct 25, 2021
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