Mini-Reviews

I am so far behind all of my reviews, just haven’t been feeling it lately. To make up for it I will be doing a bunch of mini-reviews. Here are three exceptionally well done books that I highly recommend.

Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell

Publication date: May 2017

“First thing you learn wandering the long roads, kid. Everyone thinks they’re the hero of their own story.”

This book has been on my TBR for awhile now, I just knew it was something I was going to like. I was not prepared for how much I loved it. I loved the characters, the story and the magical system was very interesting. Kellen is a smart young man, who thinks he has no magic, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to become a mage. His life seems doomed until he meets Ferius Parfax, a wanderer, who saves his life in more ways than one. I loved that Ferius, an older woman, becomes his mentor. Usually mentors are older men, which is fine, but I really liked Ferius. I also loved Reichis, a squirrel cat, basically a large flying squirrel that kind of looks like a cat. Between Ferius and Reichis, Kellen is in for a hell of a ride. The writing and plot of the story makes these very hard to put down. I finished this one in basically a day. This is a really fun, fantastical story that just seems to be getting better! I’m half way through the second book and looking forward to the next one.

Supernova by Marissa Meyer

Publication Date: November 2019

“Some people were always meant to be heroes.
Just like some people were always meant to be villains.”

I really enjoyed this conclusion to Nova and Adrian’s story. I was hoping for something of a darker ending for the two of them, but I was still okay with how it all worked out. The story went pretty much in the direction that I expected it would, although there were a few surprises along the way. I especially enjoyed the interesting twist to Phobia’s story. Overall though this was an excellent series about what it means to be a hero or a villain. Almost all of the characters at some point in the story could be seen as either. It was interesting to watch Nova struggle with her identity as a villain, but at times identify with the Renegades, the supposed heroes of the story. Adrian, also struggled with this and his alter ego the Sentinel, who often broke the Renegade code, but he still saw himself as doing good. The ending was a bit happier and cliches abounded, but the epilogue was quite the eye opener and contained one final twist that totally caught me off guard. I highly recommend reading all three books together if you can.

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Publication Date: May 5, 2020

“These friends, who’re risking their lives for me. Our little light, shining in all this darkness. I’ve never really believed in destiny. But out in all this nothing, I’ve never been so certain of who I am and where I’m supposed to be.”

Makers Breath! This book was awesome and such a joy to read! I almost think I enjoyed this one more than the first book! This one is just full of action and excitement and some pretty big surprises. Our intrepid group is going from one crises to the next, with out much down time in between. I was almost as exhausted as they were just reading about it. There are more secrets revealed about our heroes and we continue to learn more about them. I really liked that we heard a lot more from Zila, and learned more of her heartbreaking backstory. Kal also has a pretty big secret, which when revealed was a bit of a shocker. My only criticism of the book was the other characters reaction to Kal’s secret. It was a bit harsh and over the top I thought. But other than that the story is stellar and this is probably one of the best books I’ve read this year. I will mention that there is a very abrupt ending, which will frustrate most readers, I see lots of groaning and cries of why in readers futures. But if you have read the story carefully, you will see that things are not as bad as you think. It will be a long wait for the next book, but one I am very much looking forward to. On a side note, I listened to Aurora Rising on audio, and thought it was one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to.