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booksandbarbara's reviews
41 reviews
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book has all the comforting vibes!
The ease and simplicity of the storytelling and writing style make gliding through the pages feel like a warm hug.
I just love the way Baldree creates these worlds and friendships with the most adorable settings and characters. Fern the potty mouthed sassy rattkin, with her half dog half eagle companion called f*cking POTROAST! LOVE! All of the characters just have this special something about them. Obviously, I love revisiting Val, too, and seeing a younger version of her was really interesting.
Baldree needs to quit with his delicious descriptions of food, too! It's just mouthwatering and.....SIR! I am trying to be on a diet here!
I also love how, although this book feels as though it should be for younger audiences, it has such an adult aspect. It gently brushes against adult topics, with some foul language, sexual innuendos, and some real adult realities. It gives this fresh, gentle take on it all, and that's why I love this book. It's like a cosy talk with your grandparents while eating fresh cinnamon buns with coffee.
The ease and simplicity of the storytelling and writing style make gliding through the pages feel like a warm hug.
I just love the way Baldree creates these worlds and friendships with the most adorable settings and characters. Fern the potty mouthed sassy rattkin, with her half dog half eagle companion called f*cking POTROAST! LOVE! All of the characters just have this special something about them. Obviously, I love revisiting Val, too, and seeing a younger version of her was really interesting.
Baldree needs to quit with his delicious descriptions of food, too! It's just mouthwatering and.....SIR! I am trying to be on a diet here!
I also love how, although this book feels as though it should be for younger audiences, it has such an adult aspect. It gently brushes against adult topics, with some foul language, sexual innuendos, and some real adult realities. It gives this fresh, gentle take on it all, and that's why I love this book. It's like a cosy talk with your grandparents while eating fresh cinnamon buns with coffee.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
What an adventure!
From the first page, you're thrown right back into the action, and throughout, it just got more intense, with higher stakes after every chapter. I loved it.
This time around, it is definitely more focused on secrecy, friendship, and trust. It was all very cleverly written, and as always, all the characters were great, I loved the new editions and a deeper dive into our current ones. Let's not forget Andarna, either, absolute queen!
But, as much as I loved this book, there are some points that irritated me.
There are so many in-depth super spicy scenes that last page after page, yet some scenes that felt should have taken up more importance felt short and rushed. Given the ending, I would have expected it to be more thorough.
The MC's relationship and spicy scenes themselves for that matter became quite repetitive and in my opinion, should have been fleshed out and worked upon more cause I got bored of them and wanted to just skip past it all. The book is chunky enough.
Overall, I am still obsessed with this series, and that ending has me dying to find out where this is all going to go!
From the first page, you're thrown right back into the action, and throughout, it just got more intense, with higher stakes after every chapter. I loved it.
This time around, it is definitely more focused on secrecy, friendship, and trust. It was all very cleverly written, and as always, all the characters were great, I loved the new editions and a deeper dive into our current ones. Let's not forget Andarna, either, absolute queen!
But, as much as I loved this book, there are some points that irritated me.
There are so many in-depth super spicy scenes that last page after page, yet some scenes that felt should have taken up more importance felt short and rushed. Given the ending, I would have expected it to be more thorough.
The MC's relationship and spicy scenes themselves for that matter became quite repetitive and in my opinion, should have been fleshed out and worked upon more cause I got bored of them and wanted to just skip past it all. The book is chunky enough.
Overall, I am still obsessed with this series, and that ending has me dying to find out where this is all going to go!
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
*4.75 Stars.
Sometimes, you find one of those hidden gems, and this is definitely one of them!
From the very first sentence, my attention was snatched, and throughout the story, my attention stayed.
The flow and bounce between the characters with each turn if the page made each chapter a dream to glide through, and the real world blending in with the magical elements made this story so easily immersable.
The whole premise of the story itself is different from what I've read before. In a really good way. It's like a deep, dark, sort of realistic fairytale that I know for a fact we all wish we could live within. (I mean, magical books? Hello!)
A story about family, loyalty, and power, filled with so much drama, lies, deceit, and secrets all stacked up ontop of each other and crafted with expertise I'm honestly super impressed by the fact that this is the authors debut. Bravo, honestly.
The only reason I'm not rating this book a whole five stars is purely out of selfishness. I just think this book would have made a brilliant series, where we could get a bit more depth and history, but honestly, the ending made me very happy and giddy all the same.
Sometimes, you find one of those hidden gems, and this is definitely one of them!
From the very first sentence, my attention was snatched, and throughout the story, my attention stayed.
The flow and bounce between the characters with each turn if the page made each chapter a dream to glide through, and the real world blending in with the magical elements made this story so easily immersable.
The whole premise of the story itself is different from what I've read before. In a really good way. It's like a deep, dark, sort of realistic fairytale that I know for a fact we all wish we could live within. (I mean, magical books? Hello!)
A story about family, loyalty, and power, filled with so much drama, lies, deceit, and secrets all stacked up ontop of each other and crafted with expertise I'm honestly super impressed by the fact that this is the authors debut. Bravo, honestly.
The only reason I'm not rating this book a whole five stars is purely out of selfishness. I just think this book would have made a brilliant series, where we could get a bit more depth and history, but honestly, the ending made me very happy and giddy all the same.
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A unique plotline and an interesting story...with monsters!!
The characters had a great flow with their interactions, and the world building was described beautifully so that envisioning the surrounding areas and the situations they found themselves in were easy to slip into.
The monsters and the lore behind this story are definitely what drives it for me, though. I was enamoured by them, and I found each mentioning of them peaked my interest best.
But.
I feel like the story itself could have been worked upon and fleshed out a bit more. There seemed to be a little bit of a disconnect for me. There's one part in particular that kept nagging at me, and it was the mentioning of Winnies teeth clicking frequently, I just didn't get it, and I know it's stupid, but it was those moments that took me out of it. I feel like I left this book with more questions than I usually do, too, like I don't feel as if anything was really resolved, except for the parts that are relatively easy to figure out.
Besides all this though, I did enjoy reading it, and I do own the sequel because I need more of these monsters, and I'm hoping the answers we get will make it all make sense and have me upping the rating of this one.
The characters had a great flow with their interactions, and the world building was described beautifully so that envisioning the surrounding areas and the situations they found themselves in were easy to slip into.
The monsters and the lore behind this story are definitely what drives it for me, though. I was enamoured by them, and I found each mentioning of them peaked my interest best.
But.
I feel like the story itself could have been worked upon and fleshed out a bit more. There seemed to be a little bit of a disconnect for me. There's one part in particular that kept nagging at me, and it was the mentioning of Winnies teeth clicking frequently, I just didn't get it, and I know it's stupid, but it was those moments that took me out of it. I feel like I left this book with more questions than I usually do, too, like I don't feel as if anything was really resolved, except for the parts that are relatively easy to figure out.
Besides all this though, I did enjoy reading it, and I do own the sequel because I need more of these monsters, and I'm hoping the answers we get will make it all make sense and have me upping the rating of this one.
Autopilot: The Art & Science of Doing Nothing by Andrew Smart
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
As somebody who is always feeling like they need to do something and hate being idle, this captured my curiosity and made for a really intriguing read.
I love the depths of the studies surrounding the cultural, scientific, psychological and historical arguements regarding how societies and corporations around the world throughout past and present has us believing that being idle is not a good thing at all, and why it is actually a good thing. When you think about it, we really are brainwashed with that point of view, aren't we.
There are many remarkable key points made that I'll definately be taking away with me, especially the ones in relation to background noise, how this helps not only with relaxation, but also with boosting your mood and creativity.
It's rare I take anything away from books like these, but this one really did make me think, reflect, and want to act. So, let's see if I'm able to alternate my mindset, take a breath, relax, and be 'lazy'.
I love the depths of the studies surrounding the cultural, scientific, psychological and historical arguements regarding how societies and corporations around the world throughout past and present has us believing that being idle is not a good thing at all, and why it is actually a good thing. When you think about it, we really are brainwashed with that point of view, aren't we.
There are many remarkable key points made that I'll definately be taking away with me, especially the ones in relation to background noise, how this helps not only with relaxation, but also with boosting your mood and creativity.
It's rare I take anything away from books like these, but this one really did make me think, reflect, and want to act. So, let's see if I'm able to alternate my mindset, take a breath, relax, and be 'lazy'.
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love horror, and upon seeing that this is a book that has inspired the works of such like Bram Stokers Dracula, and that it's only a short I thought, why not, let's do this! And I'm quite glad I did.
The story is a recalling of the past, some 18 years ago, by (whats her name?), of how she came to meet this Carmilla, and the events that unfold. All of the mysteries and strange happenings have this older type of suspense and horror elements to them that make the story even more invigorating.
It did start off a little confusing with that unfamiliar ye olde writing style I struggle with, so I naturally began dreading the pages ahead, but I was quickly deterred from that train of thought as it progressed, and it rapidly grow on me.
I was captivated with its incredibly gothic, dark, and somewhat sensual storytelling and world building. I'm honestly obsessed with it all, and you can't deny a book that contains hauntingly beautiful dark settings within ruins and castles with gothic architecture.
I now understand why it became such a staple, a stepping stone, and inspiration to other authors.
I thoroughly recommend you read this.
The story is a recalling of the past, some 18 years ago, by (whats her name?), of how she came to meet this Carmilla, and the events that unfold. All of the mysteries and strange happenings have this older type of suspense and horror elements to them that make the story even more invigorating.
It did start off a little confusing with that unfamiliar ye olde writing style I struggle with, so I naturally began dreading the pages ahead, but I was quickly deterred from that train of thought as it progressed, and it rapidly grow on me.
I was captivated with its incredibly gothic, dark, and somewhat sensual storytelling and world building. I'm honestly obsessed with it all, and you can't deny a book that contains hauntingly beautiful dark settings within ruins and castles with gothic architecture.
I now understand why it became such a staple, a stepping stone, and inspiration to other authors.
I thoroughly recommend you read this.
Grove Hollow Metamorphosis: A 1980s Gothic Paranormal Romance Novel by Shelby Nicole McFadden
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
YOU GUYS!
This book is the first in a series that I know for a fact will become a major part of my personality now.
Set in the 80s, this gothic paranormal romance with a coming of age story has all the tropes you'll need for a spooky season read.
Teenage angst, love triangles, mysteries & murder, deep family secrets, gilded mansions, a cursed locket, and ancient Egyptian magic, all with a side serving of complex characters you can easily fall in love with. I mean, all of the cast are incredible, but I really badly want to be a part of The Misfits!! They're really cool and amazing friends!
The 80s vibes really are everything! Shelby's beautifully rich and descriptive world building is so easily immersable, and has you living through the teenage turmoil days alongside the MC, invested in everything going on. Don't get me started on that ending, too. I may have cried, and I'm definitely invested. I can't wait to see where this series is going to go.
So don't mind me as I go about decrepit old mansions in search of a gentleman boyfriend for myself.
This book is the first in a series that I know for a fact will become a major part of my personality now.
Set in the 80s, this gothic paranormal romance with a coming of age story has all the tropes you'll need for a spooky season read.
Teenage angst, love triangles, mysteries & murder, deep family secrets, gilded mansions, a cursed locket, and ancient Egyptian magic, all with a side serving of complex characters you can easily fall in love with. I mean, all of the cast are incredible, but I really badly want to be a part of The Misfits!! They're really cool and amazing friends!
The 80s vibes really are everything! Shelby's beautifully rich and descriptive world building is so easily immersable, and has you living through the teenage turmoil days alongside the MC, invested in everything going on. Don't get me started on that ending, too. I may have cried, and I'm definitely invested. I can't wait to see where this series is going to go.
So don't mind me as I go about decrepit old mansions in search of a gentleman boyfriend for myself.
Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World by Michael Pollan
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
This was supposed to just be a quick listen for while I did the housework, but it rather quickly snatched my attention.
It's a really well researched peice, one I'm glad I've come across, and the fact Michael decided to self experiment so he could relay the information from his own experience was something to admire, because I myself are in a caffein chokehold and could never.
I absolutely loved hearing about everything to do with tea and coffee, both the good and the bad, the history, the culture, the science, and the traditions from around the world.
I highly recommend people give this a try and then follow it up with Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, another book I've listened to that's actually incredible and related to this work.
Although I will say, as much as the first half gripped my attention, that wasn't much the case by the second half, mainly because there was talk of said other book, and it's one I've already read so I zoned out a little.
It's still an incredible listen, though.
It's a really well researched peice, one I'm glad I've come across, and the fact Michael decided to self experiment so he could relay the information from his own experience was something to admire, because I myself are in a caffein chokehold and could never.
I absolutely loved hearing about everything to do with tea and coffee, both the good and the bad, the history, the culture, the science, and the traditions from around the world.
I highly recommend people give this a try and then follow it up with Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, another book I've listened to that's actually incredible and related to this work.
Although I will say, as much as the first half gripped my attention, that wasn't much the case by the second half, mainly because there was talk of said other book, and it's one I've already read so I zoned out a little.
It's still an incredible listen, though.
The Ghost Cat: 12 Decades, 9 Lives, 1 Cat by Alex Howard
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What an utterly adorable read.
We follow Grimalkin, the cat, as his ghostly self traverses through decade after decade in accordance to the old English proverb; for three, he stays, for three he strays, and for three he plays. So for three, he haunts, for three he roams, and for three, he can interact as a poltergeist (oOOooOoOoOHhh)
Throughout these decades, he watches as the world around him changes with its fashion, style, technology, speech, and architecture, and you get the gist. All of it was really fun to read through, and Grimalkins' views, opinions, and growth were a joy to experience.
Some scenes actually brought a tear to my eye, and some made me ponder upon how things really have changed and what it would be like in the future.
All of the characters are so diverse and are perfectly crafted in retrospect to their decade, which brought about this extra umph to them. Alex did an amazing job of creating such characters, and the complexities of it all show and pay off.
I love the world, how everything changes, and the descriptive style of writing used to embody it all, making it quite easy to envision.
The whole story as a whole is just cute and cosy, and in my opinion, a perfect read to kick-start the autumnal season with. Cat lovers, go on, you know you want to.
We follow Grimalkin, the cat, as his ghostly self traverses through decade after decade in accordance to the old English proverb; for three, he stays, for three he strays, and for three he plays. So for three, he haunts, for three he roams, and for three, he can interact as a poltergeist (oOOooOoOoOHhh)
Throughout these decades, he watches as the world around him changes with its fashion, style, technology, speech, and architecture, and you get the gist. All of it was really fun to read through, and Grimalkins' views, opinions, and growth were a joy to experience.
Some scenes actually brought a tear to my eye, and some made me ponder upon how things really have changed and what it would be like in the future.
All of the characters are so diverse and are perfectly crafted in retrospect to their decade, which brought about this extra umph to them. Alex did an amazing job of creating such characters, and the complexities of it all show and pay off.
I love the world, how everything changes, and the descriptive style of writing used to embody it all, making it quite easy to envision.
The whole story as a whole is just cute and cosy, and in my opinion, a perfect read to kick-start the autumnal season with. Cat lovers, go on, you know you want to.
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A whimsically dark poetic short that packs a punch.
I honestly quite liked this book, I just wish it wasn't as confusing as it was, but maybe that was just me, and I need to read it again.
A brilliant and intriguing cast of characters, a captivating plotline, and an inviting world full of mystery and magic.
I'd definitely recommend giving this short a go if you're a fan of Schwab and Kingfisher. You can read it within a day easily so there's not much time to lose if you don't vibe with it.
Now don't mind me as I splurge money I don't have on her other works.
I honestly quite liked this book, I just wish it wasn't as confusing as it was, but maybe that was just me, and I need to read it again.
A brilliant and intriguing cast of characters, a captivating plotline, and an inviting world full of mystery and magic.
I'd definitely recommend giving this short a go if you're a fan of Schwab and Kingfisher. You can read it within a day easily so there's not much time to lose if you don't vibe with it.
Now don't mind me as I splurge money I don't have on her other works.