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apumaru's reviews
1810 reviews
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
4.0
Nice Dragons Finish Last follows Julius Heartstriker, one of the youngest and the runt of the Heartstriker family, a family that is filled with ruthless, conniving, and plotting dragons. Julius is tested by his mother to start acting more like a dragon, in that he should stop being so nice. He along with Marcy, a human mage, work together towards this endeavor.
Overall, I enjoyed the read. It was a fun and quick read despite the length. One thing that I liked the most was that through all the overlapping planning of all these dragons, nothing was illogical or just there for the sake of plot. There were literally times where I thought to myself, "Well, if he's planning this why didn't he do it this way? That would make way more sense." And a sentence later my question would be answered. I also liked that the characters surprised me a little, and no one was put in a box. For example, one of Julius' brother, Justin, was introduced as this macho, tough, brawling dragon who always wins on his brute force and brawn, but there were several occasions where he surprised us (and Julius) with his tact.
Four out of five stars! I definitely recommend this book and plan on continuing on the series!
Overall, I enjoyed the read. It was a fun and quick read despite the length. One thing that I liked the most was that through all the overlapping planning of all these dragons, nothing was illogical or just there for the sake of plot. There were literally times where I thought to myself, "Well, if he's planning this why didn't he do it this way? That would make way more sense." And a sentence later my question would be answered. I also liked that the characters surprised me a little, and no one was put in a box. For example, one of Julius' brother, Justin, was introduced as this macho, tough, brawling dragon who always wins on his brute force and brawn, but there were several occasions where he surprised us (and Julius) with his tact.
Four out of five stars! I definitely recommend this book and plan on continuing on the series!
One Good Dragon Deserves Another by Rachel Aaron
5.0
Short synopsis: seers are fucking cray y'all. Slightly longer synopsis: Despite escaping death at the hands of his mother, Julius is still a pawn in her plans against the Three Sisters. But, as Julius proved before, he is no normal dragon and he refuses to play by their rule. Julius and his mage Marci along with more family members than we've seen before, try to survive the Northern Star's machinations.
One of the main reasons I loved this book is because so many things I was curious about in book one are explained and are also very relevant in book two. To name a few: ghost cat, seers (all three), other plains, and more. Another reason why I like this book is that even though it leaves me wanting more and makes me want to continue with the series, majority of the strings in regards to this plot are tied up well. It doesn't leave on huge cliff hangers, which many authors do with books in the middle of series.
Overall, five out of five stars and plan on continuing with the series!
One of the main reasons I loved this book is because so many things I was curious about in book one are explained and are also very relevant in book two. To name a few: ghost cat, seers (all three), other plains, and more. Another reason why I like this book is that even though it leaves me wanting more and makes me want to continue with the series, majority of the strings in regards to this plot are tied up well. It doesn't leave on huge cliff hangers, which many authors do with books in the middle of series.
Overall, five out of five stars and plan on continuing with the series!
Midnight Strikes by Tom Reynolds
2.0
Disclaimer: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Also, I have not read any other book in this series.
Synopsis: The story takes place in a world where humans came in possession of metabands that gave them superpowers. However, one year ago the metabands spontaneously stopped working altogether and superpowers were gone. We follow our protagonist Batman - no wait, Midnight, one year later. Midnight, a once masked vigilante, has hung up his cowl and now searches for clues for the reason why the metabands no longer work. He and Amanda, a previous metahuman, cross paths and work together to find her missing friend who has been captured by a cult leader claiming to know the return of the powers brought by the metabands.
Pros: It was a light, quick, and at times fun read. There were certain action sequences that I enjoyed and had me excited.
Cons: Characters all seem very flat and predictable. Dialogue between characters was kind of awkward. Specific scenes in the books made it seem that the author did not do his research at all and didn't know what he was talking about. Majority of that were during action/fighting scenes. I won't go over everything but one clear example: One character who was a previous vigilante was in a fight against our protagonist when the pulled a gun and fired. The gun didn't fire and the character didn't understand why until the protagonist showed that he had removed the clip. This isn't remotely realistic, and this is coming from someone who isn't even a gun nut, because a gun without a clip not only has visible differences but you should immediately be able to tell the differences with the weight as well.
Overall: I wasn't able to get into the characters and there were too many scenes that didn't fit right for me to enjoy. Two out of five stars, will not continue with the series.
Synopsis: The story takes place in a world where humans came in possession of metabands that gave them superpowers. However, one year ago the metabands spontaneously stopped working altogether and superpowers were gone. We follow our protagonist Batman - no wait, Midnight, one year later. Midnight, a once masked vigilante, has hung up his cowl and now searches for clues for the reason why the metabands no longer work. He and Amanda, a previous metahuman, cross paths and work together to find her missing friend who has been captured by a cult leader claiming to know the return of the powers brought by the metabands.
Pros: It was a light, quick, and at times fun read. There were certain action sequences that I enjoyed and had me excited.
Cons: Characters all seem very flat and predictable. Dialogue between characters was kind of awkward. Specific scenes in the books made it seem that the author did not do his research at all and didn't know what he was talking about. Majority of that were during action/fighting scenes. I won't go over everything but one clear example: One character who was a previous vigilante was in a fight against our protagonist when the pulled a gun and fired. The gun didn't fire and the character didn't understand why until the protagonist showed that he had removed the clip. This isn't remotely realistic, and this is coming from someone who isn't even a gun nut, because a gun without a clip not only has visible differences but you should immediately be able to tell the differences with the weight as well.
Overall: I wasn't able to get into the characters and there were too many scenes that didn't fit right for me to enjoy. Two out of five stars, will not continue with the series.
No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished by Rachel Aaron
5.0
Synopsis: Julius works hard to keep the the Heartstrikers from killing each other and him while completing the council. Marci deals with her own set of issues with ghost, Amelia, and more. All this while Algonquin's war continues.
The good: The third installation in the Heartstriker series is a virtually nonstop action ride. I love that elements I was curious about such as magic and different elements and such are being explored more. I loved that Julius and Marci show growth while at the same time sticking to their morals.
The bad: Only one gripe really: the relationship between Julius and Marci is really annoying. Like they kissed already, they obviously have feelings for each other, why is it so hard for them to say something about it. There was a part where both of them were like, "Ooooh I like him/her but I don't know if he/she really likes me, blah blah blah." That annoyed the hell out of me.
Overall: Five out of five stars, another fantastic installation, definitely plan on continuing with the series.
The good: The third installation in the Heartstriker series is a virtually nonstop action ride. I love that elements I was curious about such as magic and different elements and such are being explored more. I loved that Julius and Marci show growth while at the same time sticking to their morals.
The bad: Only one gripe really: the relationship between Julius and Marci is really annoying. Like they kissed already, they obviously have feelings for each other, why is it so hard for them to say something about it. There was a part where both of them were like, "Ooooh I like him/her but I don't know if he/she really likes me, blah blah blah." That annoyed the hell out of me.
Overall: Five out of five stars, another fantastic installation, definitely plan on continuing with the series.
kiseiju-l'ospite indesiderato 3 by Hitoshi Iwaaki
3.0
I didn't like this as much as the first two. Shin and his parasyte now deal with a new parasite who is a student claiming to be nonviolent and only wanting to learn about Shin's relationship with his parasite. The violence was fun as usual, but there was a lot of filler and it was very predictable.
Overall: Three out of five stars, did not enjoy as much as previous installments, will not continue with the series.
Overall: Three out of five stars, did not enjoy as much as previous installments, will not continue with the series.
A Dragon of a Different Color by Rachel Aaron
4.0
While Julius deals with problems in the living world such as the invasion of the Chinese dragons, Algonquin's rage, and the repercussions of Chelsea's and F-clutch's freedom, Marci is in the world below trying to become the first merlin. Again this is an action-packed, thrill ride, from start to end. There are many moments of exposition and explanation of the magic system, but overall it's a roller coaster ride!
Last Dragon Standing by Rachel Aaron
5.0
It's over! What a ride it has been. :) Last Dragon Standing was a very satisfying conclusion to the Heartstrikers series that tied up all the strings. Julius, Marci, and basically all the dragons in the world (plus others) come together to try and stop the Nameless End to snuff out earth.
Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler
4.0
Bloodchild and Other Stories include seven short stories and two essays. The essays are Octavia Butler's autobiography of when she was a child and her advice and encouragement to writers. The short stories are mainly science fiction although there are a couple that are much closer to things that could happen here and now. Overall, I enjoyed the stories a lot. My favorite was The Book of Martha because it was a interesting and unique take on utopian stories.
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
2.0
I mainly read sci-fi, fantasy, and horror so I've been trying to expand my reading list and read some mystery. This was probably one of the highest rated mystery for me to read but unfortunately I was underwhelmed. The ending was very anticlimactic, I didn't like the protagonist, and the structure was very predictable.
Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
3.0
In Clean Sweep we follow Dina who runs a a magical inn meant to be a neutral ground for the otherworldly visitors. She is doing her thang when she starts noticing attacks and feels worried for the unaware neighbors. She teams up with a werewolf and a vampire to deal with the issue.
It's a really cute story that was light, fun, and had a lot of really sweet moments. However, there were a lot of tropes that I didn't like such as every male being super hot and wanting to get with Dina or rescue her. Also, there is a big mystery that seems to be overarching the entire series (think how Monk needed to find his wife's killer throughout the entire series but each episode is him solving a crime), but I didn't like that there was basically no movement on that front.
Overall, I liked it but I don't think enough to continue with the series.
It's a really cute story that was light, fun, and had a lot of really sweet moments. However, there were a lot of tropes that I didn't like such as every male being super hot and wanting to get with Dina or rescue her. Also, there is a big mystery that seems to be overarching the entire series (think how Monk needed to find his wife's killer throughout the entire series but each episode is him solving a crime), but I didn't like that there was basically no movement on that front.
Overall, I liked it but I don't think enough to continue with the series.