jamestomasino's reviews
1811 reviews

The Lost Metal: A Mistborn Novel by Brandon Sanderson

4.0

An effective ending to era 2 that leaves us feeling both completion and a sense of unease for what's coming next. I liked the Wayne story best.

Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson

3.0

Nice way to fill in the missing bits of Kelsier and shed light on a couple mysteries. I'm not sure it needed to be a book though. This could have been interludes in era 2 or something else.

Beware of Chicken 4 by Casualfarmer

4.0

Back to the cozy farm with out lovable cast of characters. I really enjoy spending time with them even when not much is happening. That's the point, though, isn't it? It's extra fun when there's big events swirling in the background that you know won't actually be a big problem when they come for our heroes. Cozy to the max.

The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Each story is a juicy but of fruit popping and filling your mouth with a familiar tartness of a branch in the woods, hinting at sweetness but complex and raw. She's so good at this.

Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism by Mircea Eliade

4.0

This is a fantastic little book outlining universal (I know, I know!) symbols. There's summer fantastic arguments for how we can think about these archetypes to better understand ourselves beyond plain old historicity.

The Night Watch by Patrick Modiano

4.0

I liked this more than I expected to. The writing really does give the sense of the occupation as something of a fever dream. I'm reminded of early cartoons where the figures are distorted and grossly proportioned, and never cease their movement. The Gestapo parties felt like that and it gave the casual cruelty an unnatural sense of reality. The characterization is likewise a strange success. A character we clearly shouldn't sympathize with grows with the struggle to find an identity. Traitor or more?  This feels very personal on some levels and the feeling it captures of this time and life is also so unique for works about the time period. Worth a read, even if I had difficulty following references and language changes 

Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber

4.0

There's some real charm in this small town, and a whole lot of family pain to work through. Thankfully a good piece of pie can work magic.

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

1.0

This is where the series really seems to lose its way. More hodgepodge of action that makes less sense the more you think about it. I think it's a shame since there's some interesting world building, it's just not well plotted.

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford

5.0

Beautiful, personal. This is an absolute delight.

Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer

1.0

I should have stopped it after the fourth time the main characters celadon eyes were mentioned. This book was terrible. Trope filled, predictable, with obnoxious petulant characters. The main characters have no chemistry and feel like young teens yet are in their twenties and thirties. The romance angle doesn't work and the special girl who craves becoming a legend works even less.