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This book was stunning. It‘s the first book that I‘ve had to make myself take breaks from because the story and characters, the brutality and reality were so pervasive that I could not stop thinking about it.
I listened to the audiobook & read hard copy and both were great reading experiences. There are *many* points of view but I felt he expertly navigated them and the way all the stories weaved together - what a masterpiece.
“She felt their eyes, all those executioners.”
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@ShyBookOwl
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This & the first book are my favorite in the series. I love seeing how the bonds between the six main characters grow stronger in this one, the religious & political issues heighten, and the world building significantly broadens.
Perfect installment in a favorite series.
“The woman lay facedown on the floor of the hut, her long brown hair spread in bloody tangles across the dirt.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Perhaps the early book most connected to the ones that come later in the series, it was fun to point out all the moments of “oh that will be important!” as we did the first half of our drive home from FL to IL.
It‘s been great to revisit so many loved characters & places.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This isn‘t my favorite in the series & I won‘t ever fully understand Kirra‘s motivations as main character, but I do love the character development that Shinn produces and how that continues with Kirra throughout the series.
A lot of the question marks from book 1 grow in this book, and though I‘ve read the series twice before, I‘m still looking forward to watching the characters learn the answers.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We listened to this one over two days as we drove from IL to FL, and it was so fun going back to the beginning of a story I know so well. Rowling really is a master at building characters, and Jim Dale is a fantastic narrator!
bailedDNF
Really disappointed to not be finishing this book but its epic scope & length is just not something my brain is taking in right now.
I can tell it‘s very well researched & written, and Robin Miles is an excellent narrator, so it‘s not the book, it‘s me.
“The night clouds were closing in on the salt licks east of the oxbow lakes along the folds in the earth beyond the Yalobusha River.”
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@ShyBookOwl
“The three men sat in the mansion‘s elegantly appointed study and discussed their options.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pan⭐️⭐️
I didn‘t like a second of it, but I had to finish it 😂 So it gets the 2 stars since it must have been doing something right to compel me to keep reading.
But if this hadn‘t been a book club read, I wouldn‘t have gone past the first chapter.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My third time reading one of my absolute favorite adult fantasy series, this is such a wonderful story to settle back into. I meant to read it slowly, on the side of other things, but it quickly became what I was most interested in.
I love Shinn's work so much, and wish it got more of the credit it's due.
If you like fantasy, I highly recommend.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well if I didn‘t know how to talk about book 1, I certainly don‘t know how to talk about this one.
It is truly shocking that this & the Shadow and Bone books were written by the same person. The range!
Absolutely excellent - completely unique - a bit slower moving than book 1, but I was absorbed the whole time.
It is very dark, but I cannot recommend it highly enough.
“Kardon stood at the back of the tavern, surveying the night‘s clientele, and smiled with a brutal satisfaction.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
“Alex approached Black Elm as if she were sidling up to a wild animal, cautious in her walk up the long, curving driveway, careful not to show her fear.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don‘t even know where to begin to review this book. It was dark - at times, very - and gritty, nothing like Bardugo‘s other work I‘ve read, and I loved it.
The audiobook narrators were very good, and I am so interested to see where this story goes next.
“By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it.”
Such a good first line!
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was, I think, the best yet in this series. And as at least two others in the series have been Top 6 books of the year for me, that is saying something.
945 pages, 34-hour audiobook, and I just wanted more.
The audio narrator, Robert Glenister, is so good, and obviously the writing, character development, and story telling are superb.
I wouldn‘t be surprised if this ends up being my best book of 2024. Cannot wait for the next!
“Will, we were appalled to learn from your personal tutor yesterday that you‘ve dropped out of university and joined some kind of religious movement.”
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
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I think this might be the best of the three from this Levenseller series. I‘m glad I reread the first two before reading this one - it stands alone as it‘s own story, but since it focuses on one of the side characters from the original duology, it helped to have that knowledge of her & some of the other characters going in.
I‘ll read everything Levenseller writes. It‘s just always a fun adventure!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Stronger than the first book in the series, this is basically nonstop action. It‘s a fun, quick read, and if you like teen adventure stories, this is definitely one to check out!
“The sound of my knife slitting across a throat feels much too loud in the darkness.”
This makes the books seem much darker than it is 😅
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️
I first read this book 5 years ago and agree with the 3-star rating I gave it then. This was Levenseller‘s first work, and that‘s how it reads - like she‘s finding her footing. That being said, she‘s one of my favorite teen authors because her characters & worlds are always adventurous and fun. It was good to be back with Alosa & Riden, & even though this isn‘t a favorite book, it was a fun reread.
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️This book was interesting because while there were aspects I loved-hello, e-mail romance, happy to see you again!-there were also things that I didn‘t love or were distracting from the main story. Sittenfeld had a lot of political comments to make, and they felt so heavy handed that it took me out of the story.But I did love the male main character, the side characters, and the real, if sometimes cringey, look at relationship anxiety, etc.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫It‘s hard to fully process an 835 page book anyway, but when it is *so full* of lore, connections, & information - it‘s impossible on the first read through.
I really enjoyed the story, and Maas‘ “side” characters continued to shine brightest for me in this series.
I‘m interested to see how it continues since there are certainly unknowns at the end, but it wraps up with more finality than I was expecting.
Forever a SJM super-fan 💫
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This isn‘t an easy book to read.It is classic C.S. Lewis nonfiction: a strong mix of philosophy, science, dry humor, and faith.I'm glad I read this with a group because if I had been reading it on my own, I would not have continued to fight my way through to understanding. That being said, I love the way Lewis constructs an argument. He will win me over with his logical reasoning every time.You'll have to work for it, but I recommend it.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Give me a romance that begins over email and I am 100% in. This was a perfect short story - the characters felt developed, the relationship made sense, and it‘s a quick read.
I didn‘t listen to the audiobook for this one because the first half is all emails & I don‘t like hear all the sending detail info.
These stories are all free - audiobook & ebook - for Amazon Prime members, and this one, at least, I highly recommend!
so-so*This isn‘t in the Litsy database yet
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫This was a cute short story - the audiobook is only an hour long. Guillory is one of my favorite romance writers, but, as I think will be as issue with all the stories in this collection, I just wanted more.
That said, she did develop characters & create a fun earthquake meet-cute. And, of course, there were plenty of snacks 🧁🥐🍰
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Another incredible read that I wouldn‘t have picked up if not for @sharonsaysso‘s book club. The true story of the KKK‘s Indiana stronghold in the 1920s and how it was finally brought down.
There is so much in here & what struck me the most was the wide reach of the Klan. The end reads like a courtroom drama, because it was. Be aware there is a *lot* of violence detailed in this one, but a well written, well researched, difficult read.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Once again the whole of this book is completely overshadowed by the ending. What a way to end a book!
I know I took in a lot more on the reread than I did the first time, but right now I could not tell you what it was 😅
Cannot wait for book 3!
Sofie had survived in the Kavalla death camp for two weeks.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
The most powerful man in Indiana stood next to the new governor at the Inaugural Ball, there to be thanked, applauded, and blessed for using the nation‘s oldest domestic terror group to gain control of a uniquely American state.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a reread before book three comes out in a few weeks, and I liked it even better this time around!
Elizabeth Evans is an amazing audiobook narrator, so I recommend listening if you can.
A lot more, obviously, stood out to me this time, and I took my time with it more than before, though those last 200 pages still go at a breakneck speed. I expect nothing less from SJM.
There was a wolf at the gallery door.
Let the reread begin!
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️For the last 6 years I‘ve read a presidential biography every January.The American Presidents series takes presidential biographies and pares them down for the non-historian reader, so this was significantly shorter & less primary document based than what I usually read, which has both pros & cons. That said, it was interesting to learn about this president that is known for being an amazing Statesman&Congressman but not a strong president.
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tennis is my favorite sport to watch, so I was excited to finally read about Carrie Soto‘s comeback to tennis in her late 30s.
I thought making Carrie a Hispanic character was a strange choice. If there wasn‘t Spanish used frequently throughout the book, her race could have been interchangeable with any other & racism in the sport was never addressed.
That said, I thought it was a great look at a wonderful, hyper-competitive sport.
My Top 6 books of 2023! My main genres were fantasy & romance, and of course, romantasy easily tied those two together in a sweet spot for me.
So, these top 6 are a bit of a surprise as I‘m usually not a big fan of memoir & tend to choose fantasy over sci-fi, but here we have two memoirs (one a graphic novel), two sci-fi stories, a fantasy adventure, & a mystery.
Let me know some of your best books of 2023 so I can add them to my list!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I read an Agatha Christie novel every December, & it‘s something I always look forward to. This was my first Miss Marple mystery, and it did not disappoint! It definitely made me want to read more from her series - I feel like I know Poirot so well & would like to know Miss Marple the same. What feels like a straightforward whodunit is, of course, not that at all. I always like being taken on the ride Christie brings me on.Til next year!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this book! Somehow very appropriate to read at Christmastime, this was a cozy story of found family, learning to trust yourself & others, and a great witchy magic system.
Samara MacLaren is a wonderful audio narrator, so I would recommend listening to it.
I‘d definitely read more from Mandanna in the future. Highly recommend!
The Very Secret Society of Witches met on the third Thursday of every third month, but that was just about the only thing that never changed.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️It was fun to be back with Viv as a young fighter, 20 years before the Legends and Lattes story.This one didn‘t hit the cozy mark that the first book did-there was a consistent unease through the whole thing.This did have fun new characters, & Baldree is a good reader for the audiobook, though I think I would have enjoyed reading it more than solely listening.Overall, good not great, but could be setting us in for a really fun follow-up.
“Eighteen!” bellowed Viv, bringing her saber around in a flat curve that battered the wight‘s skull off its spine.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️💫This book is so tricky to review. I had a great time reading it, and I did really like the story. Was it well written?Not really. Especially at the beginning I almost quit multiple times.But I do think her writing got better as it went on, and by the end I was hooked. So 3.5 stars seems a good middle ground. And I‘ll be honest-the romance is cute, the side characters are fun, the magic is interesting,but I stayed for the frog in the crown.
so-so⭐️⭐️⭐️💫There was a lot Dunmore was trying to accomplish in this book, & I think that got in the way of her usual easy storytelling. There were many flashbacks for both characters & so much historical information that the main story was sometimes hard to find. I enjoyed all I learned about East/West relations in the late 1800s, unfortunately it just felt a bit heavy handed. I loved books 1 & 3 in this series, tho, and will always recommend those.
