I really loved the first half of the book. It reads like an enjoyable contemporary that addresses serious issues like assault and racism. Mexican FolkI really loved the first half of the book. It reads like an enjoyable contemporary that addresses serious issues like assault and racism. Mexican Folklore is blended in seamlessly and those aspects were my favorite part.
I actually struggled through the second half with the aliens. I kept putting it down and coming back to it due to not being able to get into the new alien aspect. I'm usually SFF fan but this wasn't hitting the spot for me. If anything, it was detracting from the folklore and family aspect I was enjoying so much.
I also didn't love that it's split into 200+ short chapters.
Overall, this probably more of a 3.5-3.75 star book for me.
Thanks so much to Libro.fm and Simon and Schuster Audio for the audiobook!...more
This had more "twists" than I expected and was so powerful. It wasn't as heartbreaking as A Man Called Ove and I didn't personally connect t4.5 stars!
This had more "twists" than I expected and was so powerful. It wasn't as heartbreaking as A Man Called Ove and I didn't personally connect to the themes as much as others might but it was an excellent read.
The narrator didn't add much for me and I might have enjoyed it a tiny bit more if I'd read it instead. ...more
This made for an excellent audiobook! It's read by the author himself and really adds to the authenticity and intimacy of the story which was extremelThis made for an excellent audiobook! It's read by the author himself and really adds to the authenticity and intimacy of the story which was extremely powerful, heart wrenching, moving and every term in between. Yohance is the quintessential success story. He was fortunate enough to have people in his life who helped him along the way but at the end of the day, it was his drive that allowed him to claw his way out. I look forward to hearing the rest of the story in books 2 and 3.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio arc!...more
I considered not finishing this a few times because I was having such a hard time getting into it. I had high hopes for it since I love a go3.25 stars
I considered not finishing this a few times because I was having such a hard time getting into it. I had high hopes for it since I love a good Puritanical society read but the society was a little too simplistic to be enjoyable. I also never became invested in any of the characters and more often than not found myself annoyed with Immanuelle.
I did enjoy the parts about the Darkwood, I love a good creepy forest setting. Unfortunately, very little time is spent in it and it's the same with the Witches. They are often talked about but almost never seen which definitely hurt my rating since they were what I was most looking forward to.
Overall, my expectations may have been high but this book missed the mark for me.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc....more
This was a really cute read! I was skeptical of the senior citizen romance but it Eileen is sassy and I love her. I am always down for a go4.25 Stars!
This was a really cute read! I was skeptical of the senior citizen romance but it Eileen is sassy and I love her. I am always down for a good life swap story and this really made me want to watch The Holiday. I wasn't as interested in Leena's arc but it wrapped up nicely and I would 100% love to live in Hamleigh. It was full of self discovery, grief, family and humor.
Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones are great narrators but Alison Steadman was absolutely perfect for the role of Eileen.
Thanks so much to Netgalley, the Publisher, and Libro.fm for the arcs!...more
4.5 stars! Check out my blog post for a full review!
World-building: The Handmaid’s Tale vibes were clear right off the bat. The Sisterhood is very rem4.5 stars! Check out my blog post for a full review!
World-building: The Handmaid’s Tale vibes were clear right off the bat. The Sisterhood is very reminiscent of the Handmaid/Aunt system in Gilead. The hierarchy within the Icarii reminded me of the Red Rising Colors but with a little more fluidity.
The Geans: super religious and live on Earth and Mars. The Sisterhood is part of their Society The Icarii: technologically advanced and live on Mercury and Venus. “Middle” names denote status, aka the sol in Lito sol Lucius. The Asters: Former humans who essentially underwent speciation when they moved out to the Asteroid Belt and are now considered completely different species and are the lowest of the low (Low Reds for you Howlers out there) Synthetics: Only alluded to in regards to a war that broke out when AIs rebelled.
The Gaens and Icarii are at war and the poor Asters are in the middle of it.
Characters: There are 3 protagonists, First Sister, Lito sol Lucius and Hiro val Akira. Hiro’s POV is told via voice recordings which was an interesting way for an entire Point-of-view to be told. Sisters have their voices surgically removed upon becoming a full-fledged sister so most of First Sister’s POV is inner monologue and conveying things by gesturing. Lito and First Sister have a lot of internal struggle, First Sister because she has no voice and Lito because his mind isn’t solely his own thanks to the neural transplant and partner system the Icarii use.
Plot: This plot kept me on my toes for sure! There were a lot of twists and I was constantly trying to connect the threads of the three main characters and secondary character, Saito Ren. I won’t say too much here to avoid spoiling anything but I will say that it starts slow and takes some time to get going but once it does, things get crazy fast!
Other Notable Things: I loved how diverse the characters were too! Hiro is non-binary, First Sister is bi-sexual and gender is presented as very fluid.
The book also gets extra points for the author being so interactive and nice!
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the Publisher for the e-arc!...more
I loved the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass! They are as whimsical and delightful as I imagined. I was surprise4.5 stars!
I loved the stories of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass! They are as whimsical and delightful as I imagined. I was surprised to discover how young Alice was, 7 and a half according to Through the Looking Glass. I had always imagined her in the 10-12 year old range. I was skeptical of a male narrator but Simon Bubb did an excellent job narrating.
The only thing I disliked was A Tangled Tale but I'm not much of a fan of very short stories so they felt random and disjointed.
Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio-arc!...more
Raybearer didn't hook me from the start, it took me awhile to really get into it. The first half of the book is pretty slow and is predominat3.5 stars
Raybearer didn't hook me from the start, it took me awhile to really get into it. The first half of the book is pretty slow and is predominately world building.
I really enjoyed Tarisai's character but struggled with the other council members. They were all supposed to be really close, brothers and sisters in a sense, but we knew very little about 8 of them. The magical system was very interesting and it's always enjoyable to read another African inspired fantasy book.
The narrator was great and the accents used really added to the overall experience.
I loved that Marva is hardcore into the importance of voting and have nothing but respect for her persistence since I know I would have given up halfwI loved that Marva is hardcore into the importance of voting and have nothing but respect for her persistence since I know I would have given up halfway through the day. I don't usually go for the "romance in a day" trope but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was a really cute read that addressed a surprising number of issues such as voter suppression, police brutality, gun violence, and more.
Thanks so much to Libro.fm and the publisher for the audiobook!...more
This was an adorable YA read with a decently diverse set of characters. I loved the drama of life working at the castle and was glad that while thingsThis was an adorable YA read with a decently diverse set of characters. I loved the drama of life working at the castle and was glad that while things ended well, it was still realistic. I still cringed every time I heard the term "wenching."...more
Sam Glasbrenner
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Books:
audiobooks-2020
(50)
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