allbookedupblogstuff

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Milena and Margarete by Gwen Strauss

TL;DR: This is rough to read, but well worth the time. Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!! Readability: A bit dense, it reads slowly and it’s heartbreaking at times. Scope: While showing us the relationship between Grete and Milena we also have a lot of background and political information along with the heart breaking facts about the camp. Sources: A little over 10% of this…

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The Midnight Pack by Jasmine Kuliasha

TL;DR: Not a winner for me, this was very flat. Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Jericho goes walking to find a rabid animal and surprise, surprise is chased down by Not-A-Werewolf-Wink-Wink Benjamin. Characters: The screen I read this on had more interesting qualities than these characters. Setting: This is set in the woods, with an over the top house. It was… there.…

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Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher

TL;DR: A slower starting Kingfisher with fun mirror elements. Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Anya is obsessed with poisons and antidotes and gets asked to help the king’s daughter – creepy mirrors appear! Characters: Kingfisher has a type of character she writes well and this is that character, smart and quirky. Setting: I actually loved the desert setting here! It…

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Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones

TL;DR: Surprisingly complicated with some more thrilling elements than scary ones. Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: A double feature, this has a young girl hitchhiking and running into the wrong man and then a babysitter fighting a house for her freedom. Characters: These two girls felt very similar, I’m not going to lie. The rest of the cast wasn’t very deep and I do wish…

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Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

TL;DR: Chuck Tingle gets better and better every time. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: How it made sense was so clever, and just weird enough to make sense. Well done Mr. Tingle. Characters: Unlikable but also so lovable. I was cheering for these folks the whole way through. Setting: We roam a bit but I loved the desert setting in the later half, it added a lot I…

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Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

TL;DR: Cozy and bright, I really enjoyed this one. Source: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher! Plot: A crew of AI bots create and run their own noodle shop in a post-war California. Characters: Unique and fascinating take on what AI could be like one day. Setting: San Francisco but make it post-war with America. Science Fiction: It’s light on the details besides the AI existing. Thoughts: I…

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Learn My Lesson by Katee Robert

TL;DR: Probably one of the best books I’ve read by this author. Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Hercules gets roped into a deal with Meg and Hades Characters: I really enjoyed these three. They had sharp edges but fit well together. Setting: Definitely not the focus but it had some good shape around the characters. Fantasy/Romance: The fantasy in this was very thin on the…

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Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon

TL;DR: This one didn’t quite land for me, but there were some great ideas here. Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: A scavenger finds a mask that will change her life, but it’s messy in so many ways. Characters: We get a pretty one sided view of characters, and the fawning that our PoV makes over characters does it make it hard to get much as far as an accurate read.…

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A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan

TL;DR: I absolutely ate this up and loved it. Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Two young kids start a revolution and as adults have to pay the price. Characters: I really liked these two, they weren’t wildly unique in romantasy but I still liked them. Setting: Peaky Blinders style steampunk fantasy! Yes yes yes. Fantasy: This was super strong and well built. Summary: Nina…

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Rose in Chains by Julie Soto

TL;DR: This should have stayed fanfiction. Source: NetGalley – many thank so the publisher! Plot: Our main character is capture after a failed rebellion and sold to a school enemy. Characters: They were very clearly Harry Potter characters with changed names sadly. So I can’t say much to this. Setting: This had promise! But it couldn’t care the rest of the story. Fantasy/Romance: Just me but I’m…

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Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

TL;DR: A very cute sapphic romance with alternate universes. Source: NetGalley – Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Two girl discover portals between their worlds and have to work to stop disaster but also fall in love. Characters: They were very cute and by the end I loved the girls, but we might have also spent too much time with them. Setting: For such a big part of the story this was pretty…

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The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older

TL;DR: Maybe the strongest in this series so far! Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Pleiti heads out on job on her own, and we see a fantastic challenge to an old Sherlockian trope. Characters: I loved the cast on this one, there was a great cast here and we see a lot of development with our primary characters Setting: As always I love this Jupiter settlement the…

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The Foreign Exchange by Veronica G. Henry

TL;DR: An intriguing second in a unique series. Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Mambo Reina is attempting to solve a client’s mystery and gets caught up in so much more. Characters: I liked the variety of the cast here and really was cheering for a lot of them. Not the copy boyfriend though, I am dying to see what happens there. Setting: While the people of New…

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The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide

TL;DR: A fantastic start with drag of a middle and end. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Two families are locked in with a murderer on the loose – it’s less tense than you’d think. Characters: I liked most the characters here. They were quite well done! Setting: The crumbled estate had a great feel to it. Rebecca Ide did a fantastic job with the setting.…

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Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian

TL;DR: I wish I hadn’t waited so long on this one. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: The sisters continue to fight both against their mothers and for the kingdoms. Characters: I mean. I liked them in the first book but there was a bit too much dragging out of inner thoughts in this one. Setting: Not the focus but a good enough setting to make it work. Fantasy: I did…

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Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan

TL;DR: Quick and creepy! Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Ricardo discovers his grandmother’s life and discovers something terrifying. Characters: No one here was a nice person. Setting: We were confined to a manor and a memoir that kept us in Italy. It wasn’t great but also not the point of the novel. Horror: This was a tense horror novel with a slow build. If that…

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A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

TL;DR: I am very disappointed, wow. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: We finally see E. and Henerey and where they’ve ended up and then how their family reaches them. Characters: The characters I loved in book one were dialed up to 11 and were so much worse. Setting: This was intriguing but sadly we spent much more time on needless handholding to learn anything.…