A Bookworm's Book Reviews

Blood Bound – Ellis Hunter

Title: Blood Bound

Author: Ellis Hunter

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Astrid has been training for a duel for her country’s fate her whole life. If she wins the duel, she earns the heart, the source of all magic. The heart can heal the blight that’s ruining her kingdom. But her opponent is Prince Zryan, one of the most powerful dragon riders. Astrid knows her chances of winning are slim, but she has no choice. Then Skylar appears in the city with her group of traveling performers. When people with magic, called Blooded, around Skylar start begin disappearing, Skylar and friends wonder why. Then Astrid’s mother finds Skylar and realizes that she’s the true heir to Prince Zryan’s kingdom. Now Skylar has to fight in the duel and Astrid has a chance to win. But the more Astrid and Skylar learn about the heart, the disappearances, and king and queen, the more they question their upcoming duel. Will Astrid and Skylar be able to find a way out of their duel? Can they protect those they love? Or will everyone they love be lost?

Opinion: 4.0 – a different style of magic and dragons

Rating: This was an interesting book. It took me a little bit to get into the book, but I ended up really enjoying it. The authors did a great job of setting up the first book for a series. The set up was great at world building without overwhelming the reader. I liked the fact that there were different kinds of magic and different strengths of magic users. I also liked the fact that dragons aren’t entirely tame. They picked the humans they wanted to ride them. I found it interesting that the dragon’s amplified their bonded human’s power. There was also interesting that wording of spells came into play. I liked that meanings of words and phrases came into play with the spell that created the duel. Could certain things happen or not happen based on certain phrases in the spell? The authors did a great job writing the characters. Everyone seemed well written with their own personalities and motivations. They did a great job making the reader dislike the ‘bad guys’ and making the true bad guys a little more secretive. The few things I wish there’d been a little more details about the blooded magic and there’d been a few more hints at other worlds in the book. The subtle hints at politics were annoying, but I understand it why the authors did it. But overall, I really did enjoy this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves magic and dragons.

Poppy War Trilogy – R. F. Kuang

Trigger warning: book 1 talks in depth about war crimes and what soldiers did to the people they concurred, men and women.

Titles: Book 1 – The Poppy War, Book 2 – The Dragon Empire, Book 3 – The Burning God

Author: R. F. Kuang

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Plot: 1 – Rin is bound and determined to make a better life for herself. She was taken in as a war orphan by a cruel family in Tarkany, a poor southern city. There is one way for Rin to escape her life, the Keju. It’s a test to determine which school you can enter and make a better life. Rin finds a tutor and begs him to teach her. The tutor reluctantly agrees. Somehow, Rin finds out she aced the test and can attend Sineguard, the most elite military academy in the Nikara. There, she finds only more discrimination, as the only poor student from the south. She uses her cunning and ingenuity to find ways around the discrimination. While at school, the threat of the enemy Mungenese Empire across the sea is growing. When Rin shows an unusual talent, Master Jiang takes Rin under his wing. Rin starts to learn how to use her new talents, and starts to become a shaman. Then the war begins and Rin and her schoolmates are called to fight. Can Rin harness her newfound powers in time? Or will her powers and enemies get the best of her?

2 – Thanks to Rin, the Mungenese Empire has been almost completely destroyed. Most people are upset with how Rin handled things at the end of the war. But the Dragon Warlord, Yin Vaisra, sees potential in her. He seems like the best teacher for Rin. And he needs her help to unite Nikara under him. Which doesn’t help her issues with poppy addiction and her fight to control her powers with the Phoenix god. To top it off, they find Daji, the former empress. Can she be trusted? Does the Dragon Warlord really have the country’s best interests at heart? Will Rin ever be able to completely control her powers?

3 – Rin has become a legend and an almost god to the people of the southern part of Nikara. She has decided that she wants a better life for the entire country, not just the north. Which leads to her disillusionment with the Dragon Warlord. She abandons him and returns to southern Nikara. The south has been ravaged. Rin must find a way to unite the south and raise an army. Her new ragtag army is slow to gain traction. All of her ideas come up short. All of her allies end up dying or abandoning her as well. All this while the Dragon Warlord has allied with the new enemy, the Hesparians. These new enemies have much more advanced weaponry and airships to better fight the southern army. Rin despises them as they think the Nikarans, her people, are lesser in every way. She wants them all destroyed. She’ll stop at nothing to rid the world of them. Rin finally finds a way to defeat all of her enemies. But can she actually accomplish all of her goals? Or will her enemies overwhelm her and her army?

Rating: 3.5 – a detailed historical fantasy

Opinion: I had high hopes for this trilogy. I’d heard so many good things about these books online. While the trilogy was good, just not as good of all of the hype. I almost gave up after the first one. There was so much world building and politics and history of the world, that I got frustrated with the lack of plot. While the politics and history was important to the story, I feel like it could’ve been spread out more in the first book. Though, it got better after the first half of the first book, it still wasn’t amazing. It was good enough for me to keep reading it. It had a harder time keeping my interest because of all of the politics and drama between the characters. I kept reading because I wanted to see if Rin and her allies could actually overthrow the governments. I always love a good underdog story. But the characters couldn’t catch a break. The betrayals got a little repetitive for me. Luckily the characters do learn lessons with the mistakes they make, while becoming a little more paranoid along the way. I really enjoyed seeing the parallels with real world history and the fantasy world the author created. I did like that the author added the hardships that happen after characters overthrow the evil governments. I’m glad the characters still struggled after achieving all of their goals. While I’m okay with the trilogy aspect, I feel like this trilogy would’ve been better with shorter books. Keep all of the story, but break it up into smaller books. Maybe I would’ve liked it more. While I liked the ideas in the book and wanted the best for the characters, it wasn’t an amazing trilogy. I really wanted to love the series, but there was too much politics and betrayals for me to really enjoy the books. I’d recommend for those who enjoy historical fantasies with lots of world building, history, and don’t mind politics.

I Was Anastasia – Ariel Lawhon

Title: I was Anastasia

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Narrators: Jane Collingwood, Sion Thomas, Ariel Lawhon read her intro and author’s note

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: Tsarivna Anastasia is the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicolas II. The Russian revolution has begun. Anastasia, her three sisters and brother Alexi, and her parents are sentenced to house arrest at first. Her family is forced to label and take care of the grounds by the soldiers enforcing their arrest. The soldiers have eyes for her older sisters, especially Olga. But they bide their time. As the revolution escalates, the family is moved to an abandoned governor’s house in Siberia. Again the family is forced to work and take care of the house and grounds. The family manages to find ways to hide things from the guards. The guards still let them have sense of normalcy for the time, school for the children and family reading time at the end of the day. Then a new revolution starts up with new people in charge. The new soldiers are harsher. They allow the family less and less freedom. Until the family is separated. The Tsar and his wife are sent to prison with Anastasia’s sister, Maria. They’re treated well until Anastasia, Alexi, and two sisters are asked to meet their parents. On the train they’re not treated well. Will Anastasia and her family survive? Or will they all be killed? Or will Anastasia survive like the legends say?

Anna Anderson is a woman who has a striking resemblance to the lost Russian princess, Anastasia. That’s what most of the world believes. There are some who are unconvinced. Anna tries her best to prove that she is the lost Russian princess. There is a fair amount of evidence that says she could be Anastasia, but there’s also evidence that she is not. Anna is quiet about her past and what happened before she was found in Berlin. She doesn’t want to speak much Russian, which has some people concerned. The more evidence both sides collect, the greater the divide between people who believe, and those who don’t. Anna continues to let people believe what they want to believe. She plays along and lets people take care of her as long as they want to. Until they get annoyed with her lack of answers and behavior. Then she’s shuffled off to someone else. But is Anna really the lost princess, Anastasia? Or is she a fake? Either way, why did she go through all of these charades?

Opinion: 4.0 – a great retelling of story of Anastasia

Rating: I really enjoyed listening to this book. Both the narrators, one for Anna and one for Anastasia, did an excellent job. They made each character’s voice unique. It made it easy to remember who was who. There were so many of them to keep track of. So the different voices were amazing. The history of both stories was incredible. The author clearly did her research. Though some parts of the story felt embellished. In the chaos of the times, it’s hard to find accurate information to what really happened. The characters felt well written. Along with the different character voices, they each felt well written and well developed. Everyone has their own development and growth. When hard things happened to the characters, the author did a good job how it affected different characters and how they related to each other. The author did a good job writing one character going forward in time, and the other character going back in time. The book started with the end of one character’s story, and the beginning of the other’s. I was wondering if the author would write the historically accurate ending, or the happy ending of the legend of Anastasia. I was happy with the ending and how the author explained why she chose that ending. Overall, I really liked this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves historical fiction.

Skin – Ted Dekker

Title: Skin

Author: Ted Dekker

Narrator: Adam Verner

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Wendy is driving through the Nevada desert to meet her mom in Utah. It’s pouring outside and she can hardly see the road. Suddenly there’s a pickup truck. She crashes. Wendy goes to see what happened to the truck. But no one’s there and the truck’s been shot. When someone down the road calls for help, Wendy goes to help. She meets Carey and Nicole, brother and sister. Nicole was bitten by a snake. Wendy offers to help. They take Nicole to the closest town, Summerville. Colt is a cop in Summerville. He’s dealing with a gunman, who calls himself Sterling Red, who’s taking down cops when Carey, Nicole, and Wendy drive into town. The three of them beg Colt for help. Colt reluctantly agrees and takes them to find the town doctor. There, they’re forced to hunker down when the storm gets worse with Nicole getting worse. Morning comes and they can leave. But Colt’s car is dead and phones are down, so they’re forced to stay. Then Sterling Red finds them. He demands they play his sick game. The ugliest dies, or he kills seven more people. But who really is Red? What does he really want? How do they escape? Play his game? Or beat him? Is that really possible? Whatever the case, they have six hours to figure it out.

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting case of who done it

Opinion: I thought this was an interesting book. It’d been awhile since I’ve read anything by Ted Dekker, and I wanted to give this one a try. And I wanted to see if his audiobooks were just as creepy. I wouldn’t call it creepy, but more of a psychological thriller. It makes a really good case for a who’s really pulling the strings? and can I really trust my neighbor/partner/friend? The more the characters learned, the deeper you realize the rabbit hole is. They realize who they can really trust, and who’s really who they say they are. The technology and video game addition was a nice touch. It was a nice that the mysteries were slowly revealed. The way the author wrote the ending made me wonder if the author wrote a sequel. He didn’t but it drove the point home of can I trust what’s going on inside my head? The book did a great job of making the characters question their reality. The little bit of romance in this book made more sense than in other Ted Dekker books I’ve read, but still felt unnecessary. I could see it coming and I just rolled my eyes. I get that it helped some of the characters overcome their past hurts, but it still didn’t feel completely necessary. I’ll give Ted Dekker credit for weaving this romance in better and not forcing it as much this time. I also enjoyed the narrator in the book. He did a good job giving each character their own voice and inflections. I also liked that the narrator played with the sounds in the book. He put in a good effort to make the sounds realistic. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I’d recommend this book for anyone looking for a good psychological thriller.

Hemlock & Silver – T. Kingfisher

Title: Hemlock & Silver

Author: T. Kingfisher

Narrator: Jennifer Pickens

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Anja is local poison expert. She’s dedicated years of her life to saving those who’ve been poisoned. The one day the king appears in her doorway, asking for help. His daughter, Snow, is sick and he thinks she’s being poisoned. Anja agrees but makes no promises of a cure. Two guards, Aaron and Javier escort her to the desert city for privacy. There she meets Snow and sees how sick she is. Anja runs every test she knows to see what kinds of poison it could be. When all else fails, she searches the castle for answers. In a garden, she sees Snow eat a mysterious apple. Anja knows this is the key to all the answers, but it doesn’t easily give up its answers. Until she stumbles into the mirror, literally. With all of her scientific knowledge, Anja struggles with the idea that the answer could be magic. But will Anja find an answer and a cure for Snow in time? Or will whoever is behind Snow’s ailment get her out of the picture first?

Rating: 4.0 – a different kind of fairy tale

Opinion: I decided to give another audiobook a try. I liked this one so much more. I think it helped the narrator didn’t have as much of a monotone as the last one. The narrator did character voices, not great but she did try. I also listened to the book at a slightly faster pace, which might’ve also helped. The book itself was more my style anyway. But the characters were well written and witty. I liked that Anja wasn’t your typical protagonist. She was a little older, not small and petite, and knew her strengths and weaknesses. Anja knew she might not be the best at comforting, but did it the best way she knew how. She was willing to help and was willing to admit that she might not have a cure. She was okay with asking for help when she needed it. I liked that when she didn’t know something, she sought answers scientifically. When someone challenged her ideas, she was willing to look at things in a new way, and consider new possibilities, as scientific as she was. I also that this was a new tales of the magic mirror and poisoned apple story of Snow White. The author wasn’t afraid to make it her own and make it a little darker. It wasn’t as dark as the original Grimm’s Fairy Tale but darker than Disney’s Snow White. I liked this author’s writing style. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book with a sarcastic narrator. It made everything a little brighter, made me smile. I found some lines that made me laugh out loud. It helped me listen to and enjoy the story better. Even when things got a little creepy. The story’s plot took a little to pick up, but was still interesting throughout the whole thing. The romance could’ve developed a little more in the first half, but the author still made it work. Overall, I really liked this book. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who wants a new twist on a classic fantasy book.

James – Percival Everett

Title: James

Author: Percival Everett

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot: James is a slave in Missouri. Two local white boys, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, like James because he’ll ‘play’ with the boys. One day, James hears rumors that his master is going to sell him. So he makes the brave decision to runaway. While James hides out on Jefferson Island, Huck Finn finds him. Huck says he’s running away from his abusive father and says he faked his death. At first, James is upset because the white people will think James killed Huck. But allows Huck to tag along when they’re finally able to make a break for freedom. They follow the Mississippi River to freedom. Along the way, they meet two conmen, the Duke and the King, and are separated after a con goes wrong. The story follows James as he keeps getting passed from white person to white person. Through everything, he keeps his head up and keeps his hopes to free his family with whatever money he earns. When he finds Huck again, he must make some difficult choices. Can he save his new friends? Will he be able to save his family? Or will James and Huck have to keep running?

Rating: 4.5 – a great retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Opinion: I found this book interesting. I’d read parts of Huck Finn in high school. I never got around to finishing it though. From what I remember, James follows the original book well, but puts his own twist on it. I’m glad they made James smarter than in the original book, but he had to hide it because of the white people’s ideas of what black people could and couldn’t do. This makes sense considering the historical context. The book does a good job with the fact that slaves were much smarter than white people thought. I found it interesting that some slaves were ‘brainwashed’ into thinking they had a good life as a slave. I could see why that would happen, but still found it strange. It helps that the book was written by a black author. He was better able to give an insider’s perspective about what really went on during that time. He was better able to understand what happened during that time and find more accurate information about what went on during that time. The story was well written and well paced. It was easy to see that the author did his research. It kept me interested even when things got slow. I enjoyed seeing a classic tale retold in a new, and probably more accurate, way. This is the second book about this time period that I’ve read this year that is written by a black person. It makes me very happy that this stories are being written and doing well. Overall, I really liked this book. I’d highly recommend this book for anyone who’s read Huck Finn and/or likes historical fiction.

You Like it Darker – Stephen King

Title: You Like it Darker

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Short Stories, Thriller

Plot: This is a collection of short stories. The main ones are Two Talented Bastids, Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream, Rattlesnakes, The Dreamers, and The Answer Man. Two Talented Bastids is about how a reporter learns how two old friends became so popular in their respective fields. What really happened? And why are they no longer friends? Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream is about Danny’s dream about a murder victim turns his life upside down. When his dream turns out to be true, the police think he did it. But did he really do it? Or was it someone else? Rattlesnakes is about Vic Trenton forty years after the events of Cujo and his time at his friend’s house in Florida. But when the neighbor is pushing an empty stroller and saying her twins are there, what is really going on? The Dreamers is about what happened to a Vietnam vet turned stenographer sees something he shouldn’t have. The Answer Man is about a man who meets someone with all the answers. The answers will cost him, but what?

Rating: 3.5 – an interesting collection of short stories

Opinion: This was a good collection of stories. I wish I would’ve read the first couple short stories when I was more awake. I was super tired when I started the book. The two shortest stories didn’t really capture my attention as much as the other ones did. I might go try to reread them someday. But they were a little too short for me to get to know the characters. Rattlesnakes was my favorite short story. It was the sequel to Cujo. It talked about grief, loss, and forgiving yourself. This one was also the most typical Stephen King story. Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream was a little annoying for me. It was about all consuming obsession. I kept thinking there’d be a huge fight at the end. I was presently surprised when it ended fairly smoothly and with an unanswered question. I find it interesting that Stephen King finds ways to connect most, or all, of his stories. Maybe I’ll reread the shorter stories again, when I’m more in the mood for a short story. Overall, I’d recommend this collection of short stories to anyone who enjoys Stephen King’s books.

Daindreth’s Series 1 & 2- Elisabeth Wheatley

Titles: Book 1 – Daindreth’s Assassin, Book 2 – Daindreth’s Outlaw

Author: Elisabeth Wheatley

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Book 1 – Ever since Amira’s been thrown aside by her father and her mother and her people have been cast out of the kingdom, she’s been cursed to be her father’s assassin. Sent out to get rid of whomever her father deems a threat to the kingdom. When her latest assignment fails, she has to flea for her life. Then her assignment shows up at the castle, as the archduke Daindreth, and heir to the empire. The archduke has asked for her sister’s hand in marriage. Then the archduke throws a wrench in the plans and asks for Amira’s hand in marriage instead. Her father agrees. On their way back to the Daindreth’s castle, Amira learns why she had to flea. Daindreth has a curse of his own. He has a demon attached to him, and is fighting to control him. For some reason, Amira makes the demon go quiet. Daindreth wants to know why. While they try to figure out why, his mother has other ideas. Can they figure out their curses, and how to break them? Or with Daindreth’s mother complete her plans first?

Book 2 – Daindreth and Amira have escaped his mother’s clutches with his cousin Thadred. The three of them decide to travel to the Istovari’s, Amira’s mother’s people, last holdout, in the Curse Wood. But getting there is almost impossible. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll be lost forever. Amira knows someone in her father’s kingdom who may know someone who can help. But getting there without getting caught by Daindreth’s mother’s forces will be a challenge. And if Amira’s contact might not be able, or willing, to help. But everything goes sideways when Thadred gets captured by an Istovari, and Daidreth’s mother’s forces find Amira and Daindreth. The safest thing to save everyone is to go into the Curse Wood. Will they able to find their way? Can everyone be united safely? Or will everyone be lost for good?

Rating: 4.0 – a great start to a high fantasy series

Opinion: This was a great start to a fantasy series. The magic in the system is really good. There are well established rules and limits to the magic. I liked that people have a natural ability to sense magic, and some people can sense it better than others. Those who have magic have the ability to learn how to control their magic, no matter how little magic they have. I like that the author found a use with those who had little magic ability, it’s not a great use, but it’s a use. Though it’s interesting that magic is generally frowned upon. The magic users were banished from the empire because they wouldn’t submit to the emperor. I wonder if they’ll be welcomed back into the kingdom by the end of the series. I also liked how the characters learn how to work together. Each character is well written with a distinct personality. They use their strengths to help in the other’s faults. The main couple are a great sunshine and grumpy couple. I liked that they find healthy ways to work together. They have a very healthy relationship and want to work through their problems. They listen to each other and okay if someone says no and help the other if they have a plan. The plot carries over nicely between books. There’s enough plot, descriptions, and actions to keep everything interesting. There are parts that are a little slow where some of the mellow drama and could’ve been cut out. But I just rolled my eyes at the drama and kept reading. Overall, I really liked the start of the series. I’ll probably finish the series when I read some of the other books on my shelves. I’d highly recommend this series for anyone who wants a well written magic fantasy series.

How to Stop Time – Matt Haig

Title: How to Stop Time

Author: Matt Haig

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Plot: Tom Hazard is an anomaly. He’s been alive for over four hundred years. Thanks to the Albatross Society and its leader Hiendrich, he’s had a comfortable life moving around every eight years. So long as Tom helps recruit new long lived people into the society. And the most important thing is to never fall in love. For most of his life, Tom follows the rules. Throughout the years, Heindrich promises to look for Tom’s daughter Marion, who’s long lived like them. Then things happen when he returns to London after a few lifetimes. He becomes a high school history teacher. He starts becoming more involved in his coworkers and students lives. Then he starts to develop feelings for a coworker. Tom begins to question all the rules he’s followed. Especially when he’s asked to find an old friend, Omai. Will Tom continue to follow the Albatross Society’s rules? Or will he finally be able to find a life of his own?

Rating: 4.0 – an interesting tale of how to live your own life

Opinion: This was an interesting book. The author did a great job with this version of longevity. I liked that idea that people like Tom still age, but at a much slower rate and that they’re not invincible. It made sense that the people throughout history would be weary of those who are different. It’s easy to fear them or want to study them like lab rats. The author did a good job what it was like for characters to be feared. I was curious to see the other side of the coin and have known more of the people went through if they were truly studied. I’m sure it would’ve been horrible and I was okay without this plot line. It would’ve distracted from the true storyline. I found the plot slow and steady, but not boring. The ending action picked up a lot, but didn’t feel rushed. On the historical side, I liked the fact that the author focused on the poorer people of history. It’s easy when writing historical fiction, to focus more on royalty and military people. It’s nice to read a book about the different classes. I also liked that the author touched on the themes of living in fear and finding what you want to do with your life. On a bonus note, I finally found a quote in a book that really stood out to me after so long. Overall, I really liked this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction.

Tea with Elephants – Robin Jones Gunn

Title: Tea with Elephants

Author: Robin Jones Gunn

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Christian Fiction

Plot: Lily and Fern have been friends since childhood. They’ve moved away and grown up but remained close. Both have started families and had to postpone their dreams of traveling the world. When Lily’s gifted a trip to Africa, she can’t pass up the opportunity to go with Fern. Fern is hesitant at first, but her husband persuades her. The two women are excited to meet up and have their first adventure together since childhood. As they travel, the women see wonderful things and meet wonderful people. But they also have their hurts they’re working through. The more they travel, the more they work through their issues. But will they be able to work through all their problems? And are they willing to hear the answers?

Rating: 4.0 – a great story of friendship

Opinion: This was a really cute story. This was a great story of friendship. It’s great to have good friends like this and that they can have deep and meaningful conversations. More people need these types of friendships. Even though it would focus on the adventures in Africa, I’m glad it was a story about friendship and family. I’m glad the story focused on deep, meaningful solutions to the women’s issues, instead of superficial ones. I’m also glad the author talked about faith and how faith can help give an extra support in times of hardship. I agree that it’s hard to imagine going through hard times without faith. What do they hold onto during those times? While I loved this story, I the whole trip went a little too easy. I thought there’d be a few more bumps in the road. But I understand that it could’ve distracted from the story and it could’ve forced them talk about other things instead of focusing on the bigger issues. And maybe I’m too used to things going wrong on traveling with friends stories. Overall, this was a really sweet story. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves deep and meaningful friendship stories.