This is one of those beautiful books that absolutely destroys you, and then you immediately go recommend it to everyone you know. Told in an epistolary style (through letters), with pops of humor and amazing character development, the Correspondent is a gorgeous multitude that flutters like a butterfly and hits like a sledgehammer. Highly recommend the audiobook, which has a full cast. I was absolutely trying not to cry (SUPER rare for me) while I was mowing the lawn. Five glowing stars.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Just a self-portrait as I try not to cry while listening as I mow the lawn.
This was an engaging YA high fantasy that feels like Avatar: The Last Airbender meets Hunger Games in an interesting world with a likable MC and a fabulous audiobook narrator. I’ve been in a reading slump for SO long, but this one grabbed me right out of the gate and kept my attention throughout. Definitely recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What can I say? I’m a sucker for some good elemental magic.
(Full disclosure, I did try to read book 2 this summer, and while I enjoyed the multi-POV, the characters and plot progress didn’t grab me in quite the same way, and I didn’t finish.)
As a big Shiloh Briar fan, I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while and was super stoked when it made the transition from indie to Orbit! I got a book box from the author and then was even be able to convince our book club to make it the read of the month! Though I love the new cover, I do think it puts more emphasis on the romance than the indie versions (which honestly, we agreed as a book club, might match the story a little better.) Personally, I wouldn’t call this a “romantasy” and more of a quirky-dark fantasy with a strong side of slowburn, closed-door romance. The characters totally pop, and I highly recommend for the unique adventure with tons of banter and solid heart.
I can’t remember where I found this mystery, but I was looking for something to get me out of a book slump, and while the first half flowed pretty well, the twists in the second half really just didn’t land for me. So, not the book for me, but might be for you!
My husband lives with chronic, undiagnosed pain, so the premise of two people with chronic illness/pain was intriguing, and while I was super into the first half, the dynamics of the second half didn’t quite hit for me. So while this one was really for me, if you’re looking for a romance (+spice) with chronic pain rep, this might be for you!
Liked the premise and definitely hoping on seeing more chronic pain rep in the future!
So my sons and I got into the Warrior Cats books after a friend sent me a Hank Green video on the theology of Warrior Cats. Naturally we were intrigued, and we picked up this book first because we had no idea what we were doing. Luckily, even though this technically isn’t the first book, it does stand alone, and I have to say, even though I would more classify as dog people than cat people, we were all hooked. The world here is super well built, the characters are complex and interesting, the plot is fast-paced, and it’s well illustrated. My 9yo and 7yo ended up reading the whole series, so it’s definitely a 5 stars from all of us, highly recommend.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was such a great find! Warrior cats are a hit!
Oof. A coworker bought this for me with a high recommendation, so I finished it so we could discuss it. Since I loved The Correspondent earlier this year and I loved A Man called Ove, I had high hopes, but boy, this book was not for me. The plot follows a kind, older gentlemen who comes to the town of golden, falls in love with the portrait art in a coffee shop, and then proceeds to buy them all and gift them to their subjects. In the exchange, he learns and listens about their life and tribulations, while a small element of mystery hangs around his own past. I honestly didn’t realize this was Christian fiction when he gave it to me, but the undertones are pretty explicit, and overall, the story comes as very didactic.
If you’re looking for Christian fiction with pretty prose this might be for you, but unfortunately, it was definitely not for me.
I always appreciate a bookish gift, but I feel bad that this one wasn’t for me!
So I read the Odyssey (I can’t remember what translation) my freshman year of high school, but I remembered very little about it. Honestly, the version that sticks with me the most in The Wishbone adaption on PBS. But in the last year, I fell in love with EPIC the musical and with Christopher Nolan’s movie come out, I wanted to educate myself on the hubbub. (Especially with my coworkers spouting questionable ‘facts’ left and right. Did I read this book to win an argument? Well, maybe.)
Anyways, I appreciated the context & criticism Emily Wilson presents before the story. And I can appreciate the reasons behind the pithy word choice (so that it’s the same number of lines as the original poem), the meter (it’s iambic pentameter since that’s the best English rhythm that approximates the way this might have been orally told in ancient Greek), and the common language (because this originated as an oral tradition told by the common people who would’ve used common language.)
But dude, now here on the other side, I understand exactly why I don’t remember reading this in high school. The characters are, well, horrid, and the story is told in a circuitous, nonlinear fashion. The story starts with Penelope & Telemachus after they been waiting 20 years for Odysseus. And then when we eventually run into Odysseus, he’s already been on Calypso’s island for years. We basically get the rest of his story/adventure when he (a renowned liar, the story tells us) relates it to others.
While EPIC reimagines the Odyssey as a romance, dude, this is so far from a romance. This is a man that wants to go home because he wants to be the king again. And this book is less about his adventures and more about him coming home.
Maybe all of this is old news to you, but I remembered none of this (probably because I conflated it with the greatness that is the Wishbone retelling). It is interesting to see all the changes to the modern adaptation that have tried to make the story more palatable.
Which is all to say: Did I enjoy this? No. Was it educational? Yes. Did I win my argument? I won some. I lost some Was it worth it to be able to talk intelligently about it and have an informed opinion? Yes. Did I recommend it to my coworkers? Yes. Will I watch Christopher Nolan’s adaption? Maybe if it happens upon me. Will I care a single iota if Nolan’s adaptation isn’t true to the text? NO. Good lord, if it was, you wouldn’t catch me watching it. Is EPIC: The Musical still my favorite adaption? Absolutely.
Definitely worth the read to understand the conversation.
So I have found in the last few years that many, many of the popular books on social media are… not my type of story. Unfortunately, because I’m on social media a lot, I was leaning into Bookstagram recommendations to fill up my to-be-read list (TBR), and it wasn’t working out great. Even books with a high Goodreads rating or on Goodreads “must read” lists just weren’t hitting for me, and it was putting me in frequent reading slumps (feeling like you don’t want to read or have to force yourself to read).
In the depths of the reading slump, I would think the problem was me and force myself to keep reading a book to the end. But then, I would find a book that I would just get SUCKED INTO and felt like devouring—like I couldn’t put it down. And I realized, it’s not me or the book, but rather a book-reader mismatch. And often, the book I found engrossing and unputdownable, wasn’t my ‘typical’ kind of book.
So I started giving myself permission to DNF books any time after the 10% mark. Even if the books were “okay,” that’s not the sensation I was looking for. I want books that hooked me with their characters and voice and world. I wanted to find books that I LOVED—that I could scream about. If I didn’t feel like I *had* to keep reading, I would put it down.
Which means, naturally, I DNF a *lot* of books. For example, I’ve DNF’d ~30 books in the last ~45 days. In that same timeframe, though, I’ve finished 4 books, 3 of which were 5-star reads for me. I don’t really see a DNF as any kind of judgment on a book except “not the right read for me at this time”, and though I put them on my DNF Goodreads shelf, I don’t give them a rating or review.
I download a ton of books on the Libby app, listen to the first 10%, and then decide, essentially, which 1 or 2 I’d like to keep reading. I think of it as browsing in a bookstore and sitting down to read the first 1-2 chapters before deciding if I want to keep reading.
Now the next natural question is: well that’s a lot of books to buy not to actually finish any of them. How do you not go broke?! And the easy answer to that is, I use the library. Which is freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Specifically, because I am an audiobook listener, I use the Libby App with my library card number. Then I can download ~20ish books at a time and sample them pretty quickly to find the ones that are right for me.
Since sampling a book is very low risk when it comes to money or time, I feel free to step outside of my normal reading zone in terms of genre to try a broad variety of things of all kinds of popularities. When I’m out of reads, I simply sort “Audiobooks” by “Latest Added” with the filter of “Available now” and download the first 20 that aren’t sequels and I haven’t sampled before.
Because honestly, I don’t care what anyone else rated the book—I want to find the ones perfect for me. And, real talk, I am extremely picky. So before I go on a road trip, I make sure my library loans are maxed out! It also makes it fun to go into the book without any preconceived notions except the title and the cover—I’m so often genuinely surprised, and it’s a super fun feeling.
So yeah, if you came here for the two easy steps, here they are:
1. Use your library to check out as many books as you can at a time across a wide spectrum of genre and popularity and heck, even audience.
2. Read the first 10% to find the ones that demand that you keep reading, and DNF the rest.
I’m sure this process won’t work for everyone, but I’ve found that I read SO MUCH MORE this way. I finished more books than ever before last year, with more books that I truly loved than before. And I’m on track to beat that record this year. Not that speed matters, but what’s really important is that I’ve managed to avoid those reading slumps and find the right books for me at the right time. Highly recommend.
For background, The Innkeeper Chronicles is one of my favorite series of all time, but I didn’t get into the Kate Daniels series, so when I saw a new Ilona Andrews Graphic Audiobook pop up on Libby, I feel like I went in with an open mind.
And I’m so mad at myself that I didn’t find this series earlier.
I love it, your honor.
And if you like fun banter, a lovable FMC, great action, twisting plot, and some serious swooning chemistry, this is for you. It will definitely be on my favorite books of the year list, and although I have book 2 on hold, I know I’ll be throwing money at this so I can have it faster.
Also, this makes me want to go back and read the first Kate Daniels book again and also try out Ilona Andrews other series because I def need more of this in my life.
Also the Graphic Audio production is fantastic. I mowed the lawn, worked out, took the dog for a walk, and did laundry so I could keep listening.
Bring on Book Two. 5 stars.
White Hot (Book 2):
Inhaled it. Loved it. If you liked book 1, book 2 does not disappoint. Fantastic expansion of this world and development of the characters and romance. Fast-paced with excellent action and dramatic tension. Bantery with sassy main characters you can’t help but love, and side characters I want to know more about. Can’t wait to read 3 and highly recommend the graphic audio production! 5 stars.
Wildfire (Book 3):
I stayed up 2 hours after bedtime on a work night to finish this book, and I have no regrets. Totally addicting in the best way. I immediately downloaded the novella (3.5), and honestly hope this series goes on forever. Great characters, mystery, action, banter, romance, fun, humor… what more could you want? Also, I was a little nervous because for the first two, I listened to the graphic audio production, but I listened to the single narrator for this one.
Happy to say it didn’t take away my enjoyment at all. I still prefer the graphic audio, but the single narrator was wonderful too. 100% recommend. 5 stars.
Diamond Fire (Book 3.5):
A nice, fast-paced novella to give Rogan and Nevada some closure and introduce us to Catalina’s POV. Her powers are super interesting, and I’m totally ready to jump into the next one! 5 stars.
Sapphire Flames (Book 4):
I love this world sooooo much and book 4 was just as addictive as the first trilogy. While Catalina & Alessandro have great chemistry, I’m not obsessed with them quite as much as I was with Nevada/Rogan… but I’m totally hooked for the next book. 5 stars.
Emerald Blaze (Book 5):
I am legit obsessed with this series and I’m going to have such a bad book hangover when I’m done with these books! Action, romance, banter, humor, mystery, and a world you can fall into. Will definitely be recommending these to literally everyone. 5 stars.
Ruby Fever (Book 6):
A great end to Catalina’s trilogy (though I wish we’d seen more of Alessandro in the first half.) ALL fingers crossed for an Arabella trilogy though. Honestly, I think she may be my favorite of the 3 sisters and I love her POV! 5 stars.
Overall Series Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Yes, that was six stars. This series was a huge win for me and went in my “all-time favorites” list. Fingers crossed for the series to continue in the future!
