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 – The Interstellar Slayer

The Interstellar Slayer is a fun science fantasy adventure that takes us into a thoroughly interesting and detailed universe. In a way it reminded me a lot of The Mandalorian in the way that the story follows this rather taciturn assassin as he navigates through this rich new universe on a mission from his guild. There’s plenty of action to show off his interesting, magic-like abilities that make him so effectively deadly, and we also got a glimpse of some colorful side characters and lore which I’m sure get more facetime in future books.

Honestly, the only criticism I have this book is that it packs of lot of info into such a short book, and we didn’t get to know the characters as much as I would’ve liked. But with lots of sequels to follow, there’s still so much to explore and see through Hozark’s adventures. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a fun new space-fantasy world to explore with a fresh new magic system and lots of action. Thanks so much to Booksirens for the free ARC!

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½   

Cheers to a fun sci-fi! Alas, if only I had a cute mug to toast with!

Thanks for reading!