Just finished the series, book 5, to me is be far the best. However it does left a lot of things unanswered so 4.5/5
Rate the Last Book You Read #4
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NotASlayer
𝕮𝖍𝖔𝖈𝖔𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖊 𝕻𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘𝖘 🍫 👸🏻
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner. 5/5
Now, romances are really not my normal reading material (ignore the bodice rippers; a friend gave me a box of books and I find it hard to part with even books I will never read) let alone spicy ones. But I saw a review of this on YouTube and thought I might be able to find Cassie, one of the two main characters, at least somewhat relatable, and Erin, the other, attractive. And I did. So, this was quite a hot and bothered read.
Now, romances are really not my normal reading material (ignore the bodice rippers; a friend gave me a box of books and I find it hard to part with even books I will never read) let alone spicy ones. But I saw a review of this on YouTube and thought I might be able to find Cassie, one of the two main characters, at least somewhat relatable, and Erin, the other, attractive. And I did. So, this was quite a hot and bothered read.
Things we never got over - Lucy Score 0/5
I hope Ms. Score will have to pay for her crimes against literature one day.
I can handle cheesy, but bad writing, no! Shamefully bad. Makes no sense bad.
I hope Ms. Score will have to pay for her crimes against literature one day.
I can handle cheesy, but bad writing, no! Shamefully bad. Makes no sense bad.
This is What passes for romance now ”you’re not my type, but my penis doesn’t care. It is standing and wants your attention.”Can’t believe I found this in the YA section
thetopher
hahaa, shocking pick-up line! That's like...Anya-speak, without satire or irony.
A court of frost and starlight 1/5
That was shit. Did I read the right book or did I read fanfic? 28 chapters? It was a nothing story, more like a one shot twific.
Skip this.
I want to rate the first book higher having this to compare it to.
That was shit. Did I read the right book or did I read fanfic? 28 chapters? It was a nothing story, more like a one shot twific.
Skip this.
I want to rate the first book higher having this to compare it to.
It's an interlude book, before the action in book 5
November
Like the short second life of bree tanner
famicommander
Scooby
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Dune: House Atreides
4/10
As I've mentioned, the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books are considerably worse across the board than the Frank Herbert books and this one was by far the worst one of the 15 Dune novels I've read thus far. You can very much tell that this was the first one Brian and Kevin wrote, and contrasting it with their more recent work like Sisterhood of Dune there is a huge gap in maturity and consistency. In particular when writing anything remotely to do with sex they come off like 13 year old boys in House Atreides.
4/10
As I've mentioned, the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books are considerably worse across the board than the Frank Herbert books and this one was by far the worst one of the 15 Dune novels I've read thus far. You can very much tell that this was the first one Brian and Kevin wrote, and contrasting it with their more recent work like Sisterhood of Dune there is a huge gap in maturity and consistency. In particular when writing anything remotely to do with sex they come off like 13 year old boys in House Atreides.
Almost forgot the book I actually finished last year!
Life and Otter Miracles by Hazel Prior - 2.5/5
Found it at the library and misread the title, so I went into it not realizing how much it would be about otters; clearly the author loves them and also did her research. It's not a bad book and I actually loved how it was written, but it went a little heavy on the love for otters, hence the halfway to 5 point. Wouldn't read it again but would definitely tell others to give it a shot if the summary intrigued them.
One big note, though; Prior writes really realistic characters that interact with one another in a way that just feels sooo genuine.
Life and Otter Miracles by Hazel Prior - 2.5/5
Found it at the library and misread the title, so I went into it not realizing how much it would be about otters; clearly the author loves them and also did her research. It's not a bad book and I actually loved how it was written, but it went a little heavy on the love for otters, hence the halfway to 5 point. Wouldn't read it again but would definitely tell others to give it a shot if the summary intrigued them.
One big note, though; Prior writes really realistic characters that interact with one another in a way that just feels sooo genuine.
Just finished book 5 - A Court of Silver Flames. I liked the action, I liked the end. I hated Nestas inner journey. It was a hard slog, took me nearly 20 hours to read in two weeks, so perhaps the pressure to finish it before the loan was up made it more tedious to me.
It was better than the last one in that there was actually some action and it wasnt all about christmas. So I'll go a 2/5.
I love the fairy world. I will read the characters until the series finishes, even though its predictable. I'm enjoying the chosen family fantasy and happy endings.
I do like Nesta. I just hated the journey through trauma to victory, it was so problematic.
This book could have been half the length had Cassian just spanked Nesta and made her call him Daddy.
The first half of it read like coach/student sexual fantasy with bouts of hospital grade meditation lessons. The whole thing was Nestas trauma is a burden to others and she is a bad, bad girl who deserves to be forced into punishment before being awarded any freedom to find the true support that lead to self improvement. The hike was what any teen challenge/rehab program, wished it could be.
The promise between the three girls was so like being locked up in a psych ward "this isnt the real world, we cant cope in the real world" and then slayer training fixes the lot. Hated it. The pushing on, force, pushing through all made her strong and *fixed* her, awarding forgiveness, making her deserving of it. She wasnt the "good girl" crazy like Elain endlessly weeping, she was the BAD crazy who was wrong for using sex and booze to cope.
I cannot stand that message.
The first half of it read like coach/student sexual fantasy with bouts of hospital grade meditation lessons. The whole thing was Nestas trauma is a burden to others and she is a bad, bad girl who deserves to be forced into punishment before being awarded any freedom to find the true support that lead to self improvement. The hike was what any teen challenge/rehab program, wished it could be.
The promise between the three girls was so like being locked up in a psych ward "this isnt the real world, we cant cope in the real world" and then slayer training fixes the lot. Hated it. The pushing on, force, pushing through all made her strong and *fixed* her, awarding forgiveness, making her deserving of it. She wasnt the "good girl" crazy like Elain endlessly weeping, she was the BAD crazy who was wrong for using sex and booze to cope.
I cannot stand that message.
It was better than the last one in that there was actually some action and it wasnt all about christmas. So I'll go a 2/5.
I love the fairy world. I will read the characters until the series finishes, even though its predictable. I'm enjoying the chosen family fantasy and happy endings.
I do like Nesta. I just hated the journey through trauma to victory, it was so problematic.
The smut wasn't that full on, I'm disappointed it didn't end with Nesta being spit roasted between Cass and Az.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
I enjoyed it, there were times when I wished it had stayed with that person rather than switching. It also felt like the father was a bit of a 2D caricature at times.
4.5/5 but not sure if it's one I would read again.
I enjoyed it, there were times when I wished it had stayed with that person rather than switching. It also felt like the father was a bit of a 2D caricature at times.
4.5/5 but not sure if it's one I would read again.
Mr Trick
Scooby
Izumi Suzuki - Set My Heart on Fire (2023) 7/10
One of the two books I picked up in the book shop in the Mall in Melbourne. Its the author's first published in English. A very solid read. I like the music reference, and how it provokes the mood of the era. The character writng is solid. I can't go higher because I struggled to get too attached to the lead character. Because of the tragic fate of the author it might explain the pessimistic world view. Worth a read anyway.
One of the two books I picked up in the book shop in the Mall in Melbourne. Its the author's first published in English. A very solid read. I like the music reference, and how it provokes the mood of the era. The character writng is solid. I can't go higher because I struggled to get too attached to the lead character. Because of the tragic fate of the author it might explain the pessimistic world view. Worth a read anyway.
I can’t believe I’m saying this but, The Tommyknockers
3/5
It honestly wasn’t terrible? Drags on a little long and gets kinda crazy and stupid around the end, but I didn’t absolutely hate this book like I expected. Maybe it’s my exposure to his new books like that god awful Never Flinch, but this genuinely was not as terrible as everyone said. Actually kind of emotional in parts too.
Dark Half is next, which I’ve read before. Remember thinking it was totally fine, but looking to be wowed this time.
3/5
It honestly wasn’t terrible? Drags on a little long and gets kinda crazy and stupid around the end, but I didn’t absolutely hate this book like I expected. Maybe it’s my exposure to his new books like that god awful Never Flinch, but this genuinely was not as terrible as everyone said. Actually kind of emotional in parts too.
Dark Half is next, which I’ve read before. Remember thinking it was totally fine, but looking to be wowed this time.
The Impossible Fortune - Richard Osman
Took me a little longer to get into than previous books, but still a cosy crime read.
4/5
Took me a little longer to get into than previous books, but still a cosy crime read.
4/5
Murder before evensong
A death in the parish
Murder at the monastery
All by Richard Coles
I kept seeing ads for the new tv series but wanted to read the book first. I have enjoyed the series so far, the second currently my favourite. I've got the last 2 books on order at the library but as they are quite new I've got a wait.
A death in the parish
Murder at the monastery
All by Richard Coles
I kept seeing ads for the new tv series but wanted to read the book first. I have enjoyed the series so far, the second currently my favourite. I've got the last 2 books on order at the library but as they are quite new I've got a wait.
Anxious People
This is the second Fredrik Backman book I've read, and so far I think they're easy comfort type of reads. Although I think this one would be quite hard to follow of on audiobook format, as there's a lot of different characters to follow.
3.75/5
This is the second Fredrik Backman book I've read, and so far I think they're easy comfort type of reads. Although I think this one would be quite hard to follow of on audiobook format, as there's a lot of different characters to follow.
3.75/5
Just finished the Fourth Wing series.
They're easy reading books, but definitely could have been shorter. Not a fan of these fantasy books that all need to be 500+ pages long.
Quite similar to the ACOTAR ones, but with dragons too.
Overall 4/5
They're easy reading books, but definitely could have been shorter. Not a fan of these fantasy books that all need to be 500+ pages long.
Quite similar to the ACOTAR ones, but with dragons too.
Overall 4/5
Love and Freindship by Jane Austen - 4/5
There is so much satire in these teenage writings by her - hilarious!
🙂
There is so much satire in these teenage writings by her - hilarious!
🙂
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I wanted to love it, but it took too long to get going, and then was really good until the last paragraph.
4/5
I wanted to love it, but it took too long to get going, and then was really good until the last paragraph.
4/5
thrasherpix
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ST:NG The Buried Age by Christopher Bennett
This is the story of Picard from the end of his command of Stargazer to taking command of the Enterprise.
This ties in to many episodes and characters, even some obscure ones, expanding on the canon without violating it. As a bonus the author uses a lot of real science (the Acknowledgements at the end explains some sources).
While I'm at it, Picard awakens an ancient species from hundreds of millions of years ago, though far more ancient and advanced than the Federation. Still, the Old Ones don't instantly speak English (an improvement of how ST normally does it), though the language barrier is more of a speed bump than a hindrance.
Overall, it actually feels closer to genuine science fiction (even including energy beings) to me rather than science fantasy as I normally see ST.
To sum up, Guinan knows that her life depends on Picard taking Enterprise (so Picard and crew can go back in time to save her as happened in Time's Arrow), which Picard is reluctant to do after the disaster of Stargazer. Her prodding sets up a chain of events that looks to undo any chance of Picard ever taking Enterprise, and creating an existential crisis that threatens the entire Federation and also threatens an intergalactic war. I couldn't see how the situation would resolve, but it did so well and in a quintessential Star Trek way.
I'm going to rate it 9.5 out of 10.
I'll add that it features many of the characters from the series (Janeway also makes an appearance) which helps explain how and why Picard picked his crew (even explains his fish as a stress reliever that Troi suggested), though Janeway was unavailable to him. It also explains why Data doesn't start to learn to act more human until after getting on Enterprise (actually starting in the book but under Picard). I'd say that it's part of the paradox featuring Guinan as it would seem unlikely he'd choose the same crew without the events in this book (which come from Guinan trying to tweak the timeline and it blowing up in her face).
(Riker doesn't even get a cameo, but it explains why Picard chooses the one who argued his captain, risking a court martial, as Picard gets too obsessed and vengeful, making poor choices that endanger the Federation itself, and shades of how Picard would become toward the Borg years later.)
(Q gets a brief moment--unknown to Picard--and this is when Q takes an interest in Picard and decides to "test" him, thus setting up the first canon episode.)
Guinan has an especially important part to play, particularly near the end as she's trying to solve what seems an impossible problem while there's still time to save herself and the Federation.
That said, it takes about 100 pages for the actual story to begin. I found it bearable and worth it, but I can see how it would annoy others.
But I think anyone who loves Star Trek would enjoy this one.
This is the story of Picard from the end of his command of Stargazer to taking command of the Enterprise.
This ties in to many episodes and characters, even some obscure ones, expanding on the canon without violating it. As a bonus the author uses a lot of real science (the Acknowledgements at the end explains some sources).
While I'm at it, Picard awakens an ancient species from hundreds of millions of years ago, though far more ancient and advanced than the Federation. Still, the Old Ones don't instantly speak English (an improvement of how ST normally does it), though the language barrier is more of a speed bump than a hindrance.
Overall, it actually feels closer to genuine science fiction (even including energy beings) to me rather than science fantasy as I normally see ST.
To sum up, Guinan knows that her life depends on Picard taking Enterprise (so Picard and crew can go back in time to save her as happened in Time's Arrow), which Picard is reluctant to do after the disaster of Stargazer. Her prodding sets up a chain of events that looks to undo any chance of Picard ever taking Enterprise, and creating an existential crisis that threatens the entire Federation and also threatens an intergalactic war. I couldn't see how the situation would resolve, but it did so well and in a quintessential Star Trek way.
I'm going to rate it 9.5 out of 10.
I'll add that it features many of the characters from the series (Janeway also makes an appearance) which helps explain how and why Picard picked his crew (even explains his fish as a stress reliever that Troi suggested), though Janeway was unavailable to him. It also explains why Data doesn't start to learn to act more human until after getting on Enterprise (actually starting in the book but under Picard). I'd say that it's part of the paradox featuring Guinan as it would seem unlikely he'd choose the same crew without the events in this book (which come from Guinan trying to tweak the timeline and it blowing up in her face).
(Riker doesn't even get a cameo, but it explains why Picard chooses the one who argued his captain, risking a court martial, as Picard gets too obsessed and vengeful, making poor choices that endanger the Federation itself, and shades of how Picard would become toward the Borg years later.)
(Q gets a brief moment--unknown to Picard--and this is when Q takes an interest in Picard and decides to "test" him, thus setting up the first canon episode.)
Guinan has an especially important part to play, particularly near the end as she's trying to solve what seems an impossible problem while there's still time to save herself and the Federation.
That said, it takes about 100 pages for the actual story to begin. I found it bearable and worth it, but I can see how it would annoy others.
But I think anyone who loves Star Trek would enjoy this one.