karireads's reviews
1370 reviews

The Last Blade Priest by W P Wiles

adventurous tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer
Did not finish book.

Much too twee for my tastes.

Blur by Kristen Middleton

2.0

Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
Did not finish book.

Not for me. Nothing wrong with the book, I just didn’t enjoy the way it was written.

Frameshift by Robert J. Sawyer

emotional mysterious medium-paced

3.5

Travel and Discovery in the Renaissance, 1420-1620 by Boies Penrose

informative slow-paced

1.5

Written in 1952, this book includes blatantly racist statements like, including multiple references to “barbarian” cultures and the claim that a contributing cause of the decline of Portugal’s empire in Asia was (not really a spoiler, just offensive)

“racial degeneration” (“there was no strong colour prejudice among the white men (meaning they were willing to have relationships with Asian women) … resulting in the creation of a half-caste population with the weaknesses of both races and few of their better qualities”).

Also, colonialism is generally treated positively and even the most directly genocidal behavior of Europeans is only passingly condemned.

If you can overlook that (and it’s not easy to) the book is fairly readable until the last few chapters which devolve into little more than a brief description of maps and literature that resulted from the explorers discoveries.

Really cannot recommend this because of the extremely outdated racial attitudes and language.

The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Murder in the Dark by Simon R. Green

4.0

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

reflective medium-paced

5.0

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

3.0