epsyphus's reviews
319 reviews

The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I didn’t realize until I started this book that with the exception of the Murderbot Diaries, the Red Rising Saga was the last sci-fi book I’ve read and that was last year. It took me a minute for my brain to remember that this book wasn’t taking place in that world. The idea of re-printing bodies and downloading neural maps was very interesting.

Getting to the point where we realize Naira wouldn’t remember Tarquin was devastating but honestly, it went betting than I thought, especially because I was sure the book would end before they were reunited.

I’m excited to see where the series goes. This is one of those books where I don’t feel confident on the rating so that may change, but I did like it. 

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

This was ridiculously fun. It’s in the same world as A Taste of Gold and Iron (and the Conspiracy of Truths series apparently although I haven’t read them) but it felt very different from that book. It took itself a lot less seriously, which was fine but unexpected. Still, I was genuinely laughing out loud and that was great.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

This was interesting; I found the relationships compelling and I’m fascinated with the idea of plague and the Black Death in particular. I read the book on a recommendation and it wasn’t until after I started it that I realized I had already read a book by Buehlman. I’m kind of glad about that because I don’t know if I would have picked up the book if I had realized before I started. When thinking about this book and his other book I read, The Lesser Dead, the first word that comes to mind to describe the books is vulgar. And I don’t necessarily mean that as a criticism because I think the vulgarity does serve the themes of the books pretty well, but I did feel kind of icky after finishing both books and I think it was a main contributor to my feeling like that. I think that Buehlman is a good writer, but I don't think his books are for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No

2.5

It wasn’t awful, but to be honest if I wasn’t listening to it on audiobook there’s a good chance I wouldn’t have finished it. It was interesting, especially when it became clear pretty quickly it had a twist I wasn’t expecting going into it, but I don’t know that I really liked it either. 

System Collapse by Martha Wells

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I’m still just having a fantastic time with these books. I love seeing ART’s and Murderbot’s humans interact. 

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

My mom recommended this one a while ago and it’s been sitting on my “books to try when I don’t know what I want to read” list ever since. Honestly, I loved it. I loved the perspective of making a documentary, it felt like I was watching a horror movie in a way I can’t really describe. Having so much of the story being told from that lens was just so interesting, especially with the added aspect of the narrator being an outsider to that group of people. Things like the main character referring to people with descriptive nicknames because they didn’t know their names made it feel more realistic and was one of a dozen little details that added to the atmosphere of disquiet. I’ll be rereading this one for sure.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

I’m finally rereading this series so I can read the newest Percy Jackson book. It’s not the best of the series, but I enjoy it. I still viscerally remember my frustration at having Rick Riordan announce more demigod books only for Percy not be in the first one. I can’t wait to reread the others.

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I know this doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but the book felt formulaic (not in a bad way) and yet I never seemed to be able to guess what would happen next.

I expected there to be a lot of tension and misunderstanding between the two main characters and there really just wasn’t.

It felt like a breath of fresh air, I loved it. I really liked the world the author brought to life. This is the 2nd book of hers I’ve read and I think I need to read all the rest.

Network Effect by Martha Wells

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

The return of ART!

Like all the other ones, this book made me laugh out loud and I have just loved seeing Murderbot’s character develop. 

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

I'll come back to this eventually, just wasn't feeling in the mood.