Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – People of the Sun

People of the Sun follows cautious John and adventurous Sarah on their third adventure through time. With their first journey to ancient Egypt, and their second to ancient Rome, I was curious to see the young siblings dive into the the Aztec civilization.

While the first two were definitely stand-alone adventures along the lines of magic treehouse, I felt like this story tried to weave together an overarching plot through their adventures. Instead of getting thrown back in time, and fighting to get home, John and Sarah had a new, grander purpose in this book.

While I really liked the concept that there’s now a bigger reason behind their travels through time, I felt like in the first half of the book we got bogged down with the details of time travel, with rules that were both specific and yet also leaned heavily on the “advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” philosophy, which made it feel inconsistent.

As always, I really enjoyed the effortless style of writing as well as the historical detail of the Aztecs, although I wish they had been able to spend more of their time there and get to connect the Aztec characters a little more. I thought John and Sarah’s moral dilemmas that come along with time meddling were an interesting touch as well, but with the sticky time traveling logic they were following, I don’t think it quite resonated as well I would have liked.

Overall, I think fans of the first two books will really enjoy the third installment of the Eye of Ra series as it continues John and Sarah’s high-stakes historical exploration, and I’m curious to see where they go next! People of the Sun launches 1 Feb 2022, and is available for preorder here.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Perhaps not quite as frightening as the Eye of Sauron, but the Eye of Ra still gives off a pretty intense vibe.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Magazine Issue Review – Snake Eyes (Planet Scumm #11)

So this was a fun surprise! Planet Scumm is a sci-fi lit mag, and this issue featured eight short stories by femme, trans, or nonbinary authors. I don’t read a whole lot of short stories, but this was a well-written collection that trended towards darker stories with heavier themes, and always kept me guessing what would come next. I loved the artwork that went along with each tale and although a couple of the stories veered into the bizarre, I came away feeling super satisfied with the read.

My favorites were A Defiance of Violins by Ana Garden, Real Sugar is Hard to Find by Sim Kern, and An Eventual Feast by Lindsay King-Miller.

In A Defiance of Violins, I loved the subtle romance in the bleak world, where hope manages to wiggle its way through despite the odds. In Real Sugar is Hard to Find, the mother-son relationship that develops throughout their little adventure in their divided world really resonated with me, and left me with a smile. And the building tension and fascinating premise of An Eventual Feast were expertly executed, with the perfect ending to the bring the story and the collection to a close.

I definitely recommend this issue to anyone interested in darker, beautifully written science fiction that takes us off the beaten path into new worlds disturbingly familiar to our own. And I’m definitely curious to see what the next issue brings. Thanks so much to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Word to the wise, watch out for snake eyes.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3)

Okay, so to review.
Book 1: I thought the first half was boring, and the second sucked me in. 4.5 stars
Book 2: Totally got me with the side characters, the enemies-to-lovers romance, and the plot. 5 stars
And now here we are at book 3.

So… I jumped right into this book from Book 2, excited and ready, and for about the first 30% I was riveted… and then we ran into some problems. First, the romance seemed to overwhelm the plot, which isn’t super problematic, but the MCs were square in the honeymoon phase for pretty much the whole book. Their relationship didn’t seem to grow, and the smut was honestly kind of repetitive. The inside jokes that were cute in book 1 and book 2 (Miss Willa’s diary and Poppy’s neverending questions) felt stale here, and the plot as a whole just seemed to stall with lots of talking and not much doing. There were also a few plot points (won’t give away without spoilers) that also didn’t really work for me.

I actually hesitated reading this book with #4 not out yet since I thought I would be dying to get my hands on it. As it is, I think I’ll read it once it comes to the library, but I’m really hoping it has more to it then this one.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

There’s always hope for the next one!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Okay, so I had mixed thoughts on the first book (specifically I thought the first half was boring, and the second half was awesome), but it left off on a bit of cliff-hanger so I decided to give book two a try, and I was NOT disappointed.

I INHALED this book. Book two successfully intensified everything I enjoyed from book one. Although once again, I did think the start was a touch slow, I wasn’t bothered too much because I was already so invested in the characters. And the side characters really showed up here too in the best way. I absolutely loved Kieran. And this time, I loved learning about the world. The world-building definitely fleshed out and deepened here, but it was more seamlessly woven into book two.

It’s darker, it’s steamier (kind of veering into the weird, but this is a world of essentially vampires and werewolves so… you know), and in general, it’s just more awesome. Cas and Poppy are borderline dysfunctional and absolutely violent, but they seem so suited to each other, and their dynamic just totally works. If you’re unfazed by sex, violence, and language, and you enjoyed the second half of book one, then I wholeheartedly recommend. On to Book 3!

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Modern day Wolven reporting for duty here.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Split Therapy

So I started reading Split Therapy by EP Stavs after my last two book had endings that kind of left me unsatisfied, and I was a little worried about an impending reading slump. But this book was such a breath of fresh air!

I really enjoyed EP Stavs’ Shendri Series, so when I saw the chance to get an ARC of her thriller novella, I just couldn’t help myself! Split Therapy follows sweet college student Jane as she tries to carry on with life after a traumatic incident. Meanwhile, her vigilante alter ego, Jae, roams the night finding a different way to come to terms with the incident.

First of all, I just love EP Stavs’ writing style. It is sharp and snappy but still paints the clearest picture of the action. Her banter is always on point, and she always manages to paint the most loveable characters that are so easy to connect with. I read this book in one enjoyable evening, totally drinking in the building tension and the sweet love interest, and I put it down feeling ready for another!

I totally recommend to anyone looking for a fun thriller to get lost in (that doesn’t mind adult themes and language) and can’t wait to see what Stavs writes next! Thanks so much to EP Stavs for the ARC; Split Therapy comes out on 4 Nov!

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Working on my mysterious alter ego over here. Got the mug shot ready to go. (Yep… I went there.)

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – LIFEL1K3

I put this book on my Amazon list after I loved Illuminae and Geminae. I wasn’t crazy about Obsidio, and then Aurora Rising wasn’t really for me, so I guess this was like a tie-breaker for me on Jay Kristoff. And I can say, this was probably my least favorite so far.

Lifelike takes place in a tech-filled dystopia full of androids, logikas, etc. It follows scrappy Eve after she finds a lifelike (basically a high-tech android) and starts getting chased by all kinds of bad. The world was cool, and while I usually like sci-fi slang, it felt a bit too cutesy/light for the bleak setting. Although I loved the action and the world-building, I had trouble connecting with the characters, and I found their quirky catchphrases (“don’t call me little” etc) to be a bit irritating. Even so, I would’ve given it four stars if it weren’t for the ending.

I felt like Eve did a complete 180 in the last 3% that didn’t seem to jive with anything I knew of her character. If you’re a Jay Kristoff fan and looking for a quirky YA sci-fi, I think you’ll probably enjoy this book, but it left me feeling dissatisfied and a bit annoyed, so I don’t think it was quite for me.

 ⭐⭐⭐

Meh.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Hail Mary

My husband (a *huge* sci-fi fan) absolutely loved this book, and basically shoved it to the top of my TBR so that we could talk about it. I loved The Martian, so I was definitely interested in giving this a go. One thing I noticed from the beginning is that Ryland Grace and Mark Watney have a LOT in common. They’re both highly intelligent, independent, passionate scientists, Grace just has a cleaner mouth.

This book follows Grace as he wakes up in a strange room without memories and basically tries to remember who he is and what he’s supposed to be doing. The story goes back and forth between him in “the room” and remembering his past. So… in the beginning, we spend a lot of time with Grace by himself, and there are a LOT of scientific explanations.

While I totally enjoy the way Weir manages to explain complex science in a way that I can understand, I felt like the balance was a little off in Hail Mary, and it seemed to slow down the pace quite a bit. Also, Weir introduces a few very powerful sci-fi elements, that had me asking my husband questions about potential plot holes. (To which he said: don’t think about it too much. XD) However, I absolutely loved the secondary character that comes in about midway. Overall, I thought the premise was super interesting, and on the whole, it was definitely an enjoyable read.

I will say, I thought the ending felt a little incomplete. I can’t say too much more with giving anything away. Still, I totally recommend this for any fans of sci-fi. My husband gave it a glowing a five star review, but while I thought it was a solid sci-fi I didn’t quite love it as much as The Martian.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

Just a little fan-doodle. *jazz hands*

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Angus: The Little White Fluffy Cloud Who Fell In Love With The Sun

This is a cute little picture book about a cloud that falls in love with the sun, and does his best to get close to her and give her gifts. The illustrations are vibrant and fun and the personalities of the four winds were a lovely touch. I love how it seamlessly weaves in the water cycle into this sweet little story. I read it to my 5yo and my 3yo, and they both said they liked it a whole lot. Super eager to share this in our little free library, and definitely recommend for the 3-7 age group!

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And…. it’s already gone. They go so fast!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Neha’s Mother

This was definitely an unexpected read! Neha’s Mother follows a single father as horrific, paranormal things start to occur in and around his young daughter. This book does NOT hesitate to jump right into the demonic, creepy possessed child thing right from the start. And from there, the demonic possessions continue at a pretty intense rate. This book definitely nailed the tension and gore-filled terror of the demonic onslaught, and I loved that it didn’t pull punches in intensity or pace.

While the writing flowed really smoothly, I did have a hard time connecting with the characters. The story fluidly jumps from one to the other, including some lengthy flashbacks, but I didn’t feel like any of them, particularly the MC, were really likeable, and the MC’s complex relationship with Lakshmy was a little tough for me to follow.

This books is definitely rated R for violence/murder, gore, sex, and extensive profanity, and I’d also throw in a trigger warning for references to kidnapping, prostitution, and pedophilia. I’m not sure this book was really for me, but if you’re interested in dark, gory horror that leans heavily on the demonic and spiritual, then you might want to give it a look!

Thanks so much to Hellbound Books for the free ARC!

 ⭐⭐⭐ 

And… if my toddler scuttles onto the top of fridge in the middle of the night, chanting and head tilting at unnatural angles, you can bet I’d be googling E.X.O.R.C.I.S.T

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – As Good as Dead (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, #3)

Well… that did not go as expected. 😂 Which… in itself is always kind of cool, right? It’s fun to go into unexpected territory… but I don’t feel like As Good As Dead quite pulled it off.

I will do my very best not to give away any spoilers… however it may come off like Joey Tribbiani talking in “code” about The Shining. You have been warned.

So at the start of Book 3, Pip is reeling from the events of Book 2 and is NOT in a good place. She falls into another investigation, intricately connected with the last two… and you will probably be able to guess the murderer almost immediately. She and Ravi are still going strong, but… their relationship still feels lukewarm/platonic to me (which is consistent from book 1 & 2), but I felt like it affected this book more.

Up until the 50% mark, this book is a perfect continuation of book 2, and I absolutely devoured it, sitting on my couch just reading the day away. And then… we hit 50%, and we pretty much went off the rails into the deep end. I probably would’ve been okay with the events, if I didn’t feel like they were just two extreme to be plausible for the two MCs. I understand that this had been heavily foreshadowed for Pip, so I’ll give her a maybe, but Ravi?! No. Way. Not buying it. And I honestly can’t believe Pip called him in the first place.

And all I can say is that if Pip was messed up after the events of Book 2, she will be ROYALLY messed up after Book 3 (as will Ravi, thanks for that, Pip), and I felt like the conclusion tried to gloss over that. Like everything has been righted in the world… and it just felt rather weird and off to me. Even the day after, I’m still wondering: Um… what exactly is the morale of this story again? 😂

So… while an interesting and unexpected conclusion to the awesomeness of Books 1 and 2, based on the darkness level, I’m not sure I would recommend this to younger YA readers. Honestly, it’s definitely worth reading just to discuss, but your satisfaction will 100% depend on if you buy that mid-book plot twist. Still, Holly Jackson’s ability to weave an engrossing story is undeniable, and I’ll definitely still read more from her in the future.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC! As Good as Dead launches on 28 Sep!

 ⭐⭐⭐1⁄2 

Creepy quote and drawing from Holly Jackson’s As Good as Dead.

Thanks for reading!