I first read Invictus by Ryan Graudin in February 2018, and this review was originally posted on my Goodreads account then. Some minor edits have been made to this review. This book was enjoyable! Plenty of other reviews have already compared it to Firefly-with-Doctor-Who-elements, so I won’t spend too much time doing the same. I’ll just say those … Read more
Why do I keep starting new series, when I swore I wouldn’t? Who knows, not me. In Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch by Julie Abe, Eva wants to be as powerful and impressive a witch as her mother, who’s one of the Grand Masters of the realm. To start this process, Eva has to complete a quest to … Read more
You remember when I said I wasn’t confused by the family tree in the first book? Never mind. In The Hawthorne Legacy, Avery is still living in Hawthorne House after being named the heir to Tobias Hawthorne’s massive fortune, despite the dangers from both without and within. To try to establish her connection (or lack thereof) to … Read more
I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. In The Faraway Inn, Calisa is looking to reset. She’s just dumped her cheating boyfriend, and now has to face the … Read more
I’m amused by the fact that, in the review of the first book of this duology, I said I was glad I could pick up the sequel immediately… and then proceeded to wait an entire year to actually read said sequel. Anyway, Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross picks up two weeks after the events at the end … Read more
I love a good retelling. And this is a good retelling! In Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid, Roscille has been raised her whole life knowing that, firstly, she is only useful as a wife and not as a person, and secondly, that she is witch-touched and so her direct gaze will drive men to madness. So she’s been wearing … Read more
It’s Elementary by Elise Bryant tells the story of Mavis Miller, a single mother to seven-year-old Pearl. She’s just trying to keep afloat and balance all her responsibilities, so the last thing she wants to do is add something to her plate—but the PTA president Trisha is a little terrifying and hard to say no to. … Read more
I first read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (the first book in the Reckoners trilogy) in November 2017, so it’s about time I wrote a review for it! Steelheart is set in a near-future Chicago — now called Newcago — in which the landscape, politics, and life in general differ in substantial ways from ours. Here, people with superpowers rule, but … Read more
I can tell I’m probably going to go on a tangent about home decor in this review, but I don’t feel like reigning it in to stay on topic. I will, however, summarize the book first. Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake follows the titular character, about a year after the events of Delilah Green … Read more
I received an advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general. The title is inaccurate. This book is closer to delightful than it is to dreadful. I mean, there’s a garlic festival in … Read more