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Why yes, I have been busy with work and haven't had a lot of time to read.

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When the urge to go to the book store hits, but you're on a budget. Go to the library!

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He wanted to join in on the reading

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Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, the third installment in the Empyrean Series was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a fight against the Navarren government to resolve the problem that occurred at the end of the second book, but what I got was characters stalling for time, a dragon version of a beach episode, and an epic final battle. By the way there will be spoilers in this review, but I will give a warning beforehand. 

I honestly read this book partially due to interest in how the story was going to go, but mostly because I wanted to see what all the hype was about. While I enjoyed Fourth Wing, my enthusiasm for the series died a bit with Iron Flame. By the time Onyx Storm came out I honestly felt very little interest in reading it, but everybody was talking about it so I figured I would give it a shot. Without going into spoilers: I was disappointed with the beginning of the book given how the second book ended; I was not expecting business as usual, but that's how it went, business as usual and all characters just puttering around trying to act normal and ignoring all important events. And when they finally do get around to trying to solve some of their issues it feels more like a beach episode than moving the plot forward in a meaningful way. I will say that the final battle and the final moments of the book were enough to redeem it from its awkward middle. The one other redeeming quality was the pure comedy gold that Ridoc provided throughout the book. Overall I would give Onyx Storm a 3/5.

Spoiler Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

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Even though I did enjoy this book the whole first half of this book I was wondering what the hell was going on. The last book ended with a full blown rebellion and Xaden turning venin, so the last thing I was expecting is for Violet to continue to go to classes like normal, but there it was. Each action both Violet and Xaden took in an attempt to cure Xaden just seemed more odd than the last, that in addition to the whole side quest to the isles felt like Rebbeca was just throwing darts at an idea board and just going with whatever she hit with no regards to how cohesive it felt. 

The big reveal that Violet’s father gave her to Dunne without her mothers blessing was no surprise; I figured that out when Violet was wondering when her father had time to visit the isles. All of the foreshadowing in this book was anything but subtle, the only real surprises in this book was who ended up dying and how good Mira’s plot armor was. Also for me it felt like for most of this book Violet and Xaden were just complaining about their circumstance and problems while just going to classes and doing very little to actually solve or improve anything. 

It felt like most of this book was just a drag and I was mainly reading it not out of genuine interest in how it all was unfolding, but what was going to be the big battle and cliff hanger at the end of the book (like the last two) that would pique my interest just enough, along with all the hype on social media that would get me to read the next one. Overall my impression of this book was: “Meh this is okay if not a little odd, but the ending is action packed and intriguing enough that, with the help of peer pressure, I will slightly begrudgingly read the next book.

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Current reads going into August

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A God In The Shed by J-F Dubeau. It’s a thriller that asks the question; what would happen if a teenager kept a God locked up in her backyard shed in the same small town where there is an active serial killer? One might not think that a question like that could be an accurate summary of this book, yet it is.

I am a fan of horror movies and creepy story times narrated on Youtube and the like; so it sounded like this book would be up my alley. A lot of other reviews claimed that it was an engaging thriller, but that is something that I struggled with. While the prologue did a good job of pulling me in and setting up a creepy atmosphere, for me that quickly fell off once we got into the main chapters. I felt like there were too many character’s point of views that we as the audience were following and that was doing a lot to undercut and tension the author was trying to build. I kept thinking that this story would be better as a movie or if it was written from a singular semi-omniscience perspective. 

The  first part of this book was a bit of a struggle for me to get through, but events about halfway through the book changed the pace and made it easier to finish the book. For all of the build up around the God and what it was capable of, I found the end of this book to be a little anti-climatic. When I sat down to write this review I found out that this book does have a sequel, (Song of the Sandman), which did take a little of the disappointment around the ending out as it was setting itself up for a sequel.

Overall I found this book to be completely average: 2.5 out of 5 or 5 out of 10. Now that is not saying that the book was poorly written or anything, it had its highlights, I just feel like it never fully delivered on the creepy atmosphere, and the dark and ancient God that was promised. But I think that is more of a me problem than any shortcoming of the author. I have read a few horror/thriller books and with all of them my reaction has been: “Meh that was okay, but I never got the full creeps”. Perhaps my love or horror is just fated to stay within the confines of a screen. All of that being said, if you like horror books or are wanting to dip your toes into the genre, I would recommend that you give this book a try.

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She thinks if she's just all cute and fluffy, that I will forgive her for trying to chew my book while I'm reading.

She's right 😆

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What to do when you're sick and bored and can't focus on any of the books you're reading?

Start a new horror book, of course!

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I have decided to start a book club around my journey of going through my TBR. Feel free to join.

https://bookclubs.com/clubs/6098719/join/36762595/

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The Middle Kingdoms: A New History of Central Europe by Martyn Rady. This book is exactly as it says on the cover; a history told in an educational and engaging way. I read both a physical copy and an audiobook version and I found the audiobook more engaging and allowed me to listen to it for longer periods of time than reading the physical copy. I would recommend this book for anyone with an interest in history.

This book covers the history of the area that we commonly refer to as central and or eastern europe starting from the time of the Romans to modernity. It is very easy for history books to fall into a dry telling of names and dates that is more likely to make the readers fall asleep rather than an eagerness to learn and see how the story will unfold; but I am happy to report that this book does not do that. The author did have me laughing at many points, but a highlight for me was his excellent use of the word defenestrate. (That word always makes me smile as it is one of my dad’s favorite words).  Another thing that this book does well is not show bias towards any time period or event than any others. The author does not shy away from the ugly moments in history. It was hard for me to listen to the chapter about World War II, but I don’t think we should shy away from shameful moments in history. If we do not talk about the ugly and uncomfortable then we are more likely to forget about it and as history often does, repeat itself. 

Overall this book was fun and informative and I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who has an interest in history. I would also recommend the audiobook over the physical copy, but read it in whatever way floats your boat.

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Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson, a fun Cosmere novel about finding your place in the world. For me I read both the hardback and the kindle version. The biggest difference between these two versions is the fact that there is more accompanying artwork in the kindle version. For those who are Cosmere fans, have you ever wanted more Hoid? Well then this is the book for you, as he is the narrator. For those unfamiliar with the Cosmere I think this is a great entry point to the Cosmere without having to commit to a series.

 Overall this story is narrated by Hoid, but tells the story of Yumi and Painter. Both Yumi and Painter are starting to struggle with the routine and monotony of their jobs on planets that are opposites of each other. When they suddenly find themselves bound together and facing the reality that they might be the only ones capable of saving their worlds.

With Hoid as the narrator this book fits into the other books in the Cosmere. While this book is set in the Cosmere, it is advertised that one not need be familiar with the Cosmere to enjoy it. Now while that maybe true I found it much more enjoyable to have the experience of “I understand that reference!”, rather than “I don’t get that” and having to add more books to your TBR or impulsive heading to Google and potentially running afoul of spoilers. Typically the plot,(two people from opposite worlds forced together to solve their problems), and the main characters, (Yumi: a plucky, naive, sheltered young woman. Painter: a depressed,regretful, and unconfident young man) would be the draw and highlight of the book. For me there was nothing wrong with the plot and the main characters, as they were entertaining and engaging. What I enjoyed most about the book was the sense of humor displayed by the characters and the narrator, along with all the references Hoid as the narrator drops. This book is a cute story and can be enjoyed independently, however my enjoyment came out of it as world and lore building for the bigger setting of the Cosmere. 

The one issue I had with this book is the romance. In my opinion the budding romance is always in the background and does not make its way to the forefront until the very end. I would have no problem with this except for the fact that in this postscript Sanderson said that he followed the advice of his wife to put more romance in his books. I don’t feel like this book meets my criteria for having more romance compared to Sanderson’s other works. But I might be a bit biased as one of my favorite genres is Romatasy. 

Overall I found this book engaging and entertaining and I would definitely recommend it to others. When possible I would recommend people try to get the versions of the book that include all the additional artwork. Personally I would give it 4/5 stars.

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5 posts!

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Going into July...

Read one book at a time?

We don't know her.

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I don't know why he's annoyed, I'm the one trying to read

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What do you do when you're on a book buying ban and trying to work your way through your TBR, but really want to buy new books?

You go to the library and get copies of books you already own!

Let the pressure of a due date get you to finally read them. You get to feel like you got new books and support your local library

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Madam I am trying to read

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Current reads heading into June