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342 reviews
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: The Untold Story of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte
4.5
This book does everything it says on the tin!
The author sets out to give us an overview of millions of years of life, death, and extinction and managed to capture my attention throughout. I loved the authors choice to focus in on specific dinosaurs or facts surrounding dinosaurs. This gave him time to not only explain his conclusion but also the ways in which his peers managed to find this tid bit or information and the thought/studying processes that go into confirming these conclusions.
The only reason this isn't 5 stars is I felt there was a massive section at about 60% of the way through which focuses on just the T-rex. Don't get me wrong, a lot of what was explained was fascinating and tucked into my ''cool dinosaur facts'' part of my brain. I only wish this section was slightly shorter (It takes up a good chunk of the book) as it does give us less time overall to look at other dinosaurs in such detail.
Other than that, I'd highly recommend this book to someone even mildly interested in dinosaurs. It's well written and the science parts are dumbed down enough for even me to understand.
The author sets out to give us an overview of millions of years of life, death, and extinction and managed to capture my attention throughout. I loved the authors choice to focus in on specific dinosaurs or facts surrounding dinosaurs. This gave him time to not only explain his conclusion but also the ways in which his peers managed to find this tid bit or information and the thought/studying processes that go into confirming these conclusions.
The only reason this isn't 5 stars is I felt there was a massive section at about 60% of the way through which focuses on just the T-rex. Don't get me wrong, a lot of what was explained was fascinating and tucked into my ''cool dinosaur facts'' part of my brain. I only wish this section was slightly shorter (It takes up a good chunk of the book) as it does give us less time overall to look at other dinosaurs in such detail.
Other than that, I'd highly recommend this book to someone even mildly interested in dinosaurs. It's well written and the science parts are dumbed down enough for even me to understand.
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
emotional
hopeful
4.0
So... I thought this was a fantastic follow up to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird but after reading up to find like-minded individuals, apparently this was terribly received by many.
While I understand this book was originally written but not published before To Kill a Mockingbird, which to some makes this less of a sequel than a draft for one, I found it took the original concept and managed to develop it even further. This may be because I read the original book in adulthood, and so don't have a big emotional attachment to the original cast.
I really loved the character of Scout in this. Going from a naïve young girl to a competent, forward-thinking woman. Having her return to her home town of Maycomb with the reader was a fantastic set up. The life she's become used to in the city, both societally and politically, is immediately challenged upon her return. We get a deeper look at Maycomb and it's inhabitants, such as how we one day are able to see our parents without rose-tinted glasses, and are able to now recognise the nuances we may have missed as children. I really loved the topic of fallibility in those you look up to, especially as it seems to relevant to todays political climate. Realising those you love and have always loved, may not be the people you thought them to be is a powerful topic.
I think this was a great sequel, though didn't hit as hard as the first due to pacing and other minor grievances.
While I understand this book was originally written but not published before To Kill a Mockingbird, which to some makes this less of a sequel than a draft for one, I found it took the original concept and managed to develop it even further. This may be because I read the original book in adulthood, and so don't have a big emotional attachment to the original cast.
I really loved the character of Scout in this. Going from a naïve young girl to a competent, forward-thinking woman. Having her return to her home town of Maycomb with the reader was a fantastic set up. The life she's become used to in the city, both societally and politically, is immediately challenged upon her return. We get a deeper look at Maycomb and it's inhabitants, such as how we one day are able to see our parents without rose-tinted glasses, and are able to now recognise the nuances we may have missed as children. I really loved the topic of fallibility in those you look up to, especially as it seems to relevant to todays political climate. Realising those you love and have always loved, may not be the people you thought them to be is a powerful topic.
I think this was a great sequel, though didn't hit as hard as the first due to pacing and other minor grievances.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
Minor: Slavery
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
hopeful
3.5
A surprisingly thoughtful and interesting development to a seemingly cliché fae series.
After being surprised by book one with the difference in how I found it vs how the book is talked about on social media, my friend very kindly (and excitedly) lent me the second book in the series as she's obsessed. The second book continues to find me pleasantly surprised by the topics and themes the author decides to lean into as the series goes on. The characters in this are both intriguing and joy to be around, while certain world elements expand our knowledge of the realm shown so far finally revealing the overarching plot to the series.
While the world building itself isn't anything special, Maas' real strength is in her character work and interpersonal relationships. The choice to have our main character of Feyre continue to be the focus while also have the events of the last book to have lasting impact on this character was well done and went in an direction I really enjoyed. I found the book both easy to read & hard to put down at certain points that my friend had to suffer the consequences of lending me a book: many full caps messages containing my thoughts of certain characters... !!!!
Overall, while I didn't overly love certain conclusions to storylines as they felt less well considered, I did really enjoy the story of Feyre and friends. I have already had the rest of the series thrown onto my shelf (by said friend) so I will be continuing with the series!
After being surprised by book one with the difference in how I found it vs how the book is talked about on social media, my friend very kindly (and excitedly) lent me the second book in the series as she's obsessed. The second book continues to find me pleasantly surprised by the topics and themes the author decides to lean into as the series goes on. The characters in this are both intriguing and joy to be around, while certain world elements expand our knowledge of the realm shown so far finally revealing the overarching plot to the series.
While the world building itself isn't anything special, Maas' real strength is in her character work and interpersonal relationships. The choice to have our main character of Feyre continue to be the focus while also have the events of the last book to have lasting impact on this character was well done and went in an direction I really enjoyed. I found the book both easy to read & hard to put down at certain points that my friend had to suffer the consequences of lending me a book: many full caps messages containing my thoughts of certain characters... !!!!
Overall, while I didn't overly love certain conclusions to storylines as they felt less well considered, I did really enjoy the story of Feyre and friends. I have already had the rest of the series thrown onto my shelf (by said friend) so I will be continuing with the series!
Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
Another great entry to the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams.
While this book does suffer from the "middle book" syndrome, it still manages to be a masterwork in high fantasy and the interwoven stories speckled throughout William's world.
Stone of Farewell starts immediately where book 1 finished. Giving us the immediate continuation of characters stories who we've come to know and love. Every character decision, whether big of small, feels like it has lasting impact. This gives us such a rich yet indecisiverable journey to these characters tales. We watch characters we've followed from book 1 split off into their own adventures, while also interweaving new PoVs to give the world even further depth. The decision to add certain character PoVs was a fantastic one! Especially as I always love seeing PoVs from morally dubious characters.
The story itself, as I said previously, does suffer a bit from middle book-fatigue. The world William's has created needs so much fleshing out with minor and seemingly inconsequential details. By the end of book 2, we don't feel as though the narrative has advanced as much as I would have liked. But I'm almost certain that this is a choice William's made to tell the story we will get to see culminate in book 3.
Until then, I shall still say I enjoyed this book a lot, regardless!
While this book does suffer from the "middle book" syndrome, it still manages to be a masterwork in high fantasy and the interwoven stories speckled throughout William's world.
Stone of Farewell starts immediately where book 1 finished. Giving us the immediate continuation of characters stories who we've come to know and love. Every character decision, whether big of small, feels like it has lasting impact. This gives us such a rich yet indecisiverable journey to these characters tales. We watch characters we've followed from book 1 split off into their own adventures, while also interweaving new PoVs to give the world even further depth. The decision to add certain character PoVs was a fantastic one! Especially as I always love seeing PoVs from morally dubious characters.
The story itself, as I said previously, does suffer a bit from middle book-fatigue. The world William's has created needs so much fleshing out with minor and seemingly inconsequential details. By the end of book 2, we don't feel as though the narrative has advanced as much as I would have liked. But I'm almost certain that this is a choice William's made to tell the story we will get to see culminate in book 3.
Until then, I shall still say I enjoyed this book a lot, regardless!
Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
adventurous
dark
hopeful
4.5
This is such a fantastic book 2 to an already great series.
I get this dark and edge Lord universe isn't for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoy it.
This book is the 2nd in the Empire of the Vampire series written by Jay Kristoff. This book takes place immediately after the first and continues to interweave the story our main character Gabe is telling (how the world came to his current point) and his current day captivity in the hands of said Vampires. This book continues to push our narrative forward, showing us some old friends, many new ones, and now societies briefly mentioned in book 1.
While the relationships written in this aren't the most eloquent in fantasy history, they still manage to capture and make me root for them. I love the casual way Kristoff is able to match characters together, either platonically or romantically, and not have it feel out of place. The story itself is so dark, hopeless, and hard on the heart that the glimpses of love and trust are that much more precious.
I'm now only upset that I'll have to wait, god knows how long, for book 3. 😭
I get this dark and edge Lord universe isn't for everyone, but I thoroughly enjoy it.
This book is the 2nd in the Empire of the Vampire series written by Jay Kristoff. This book takes place immediately after the first and continues to interweave the story our main character Gabe is telling (how the world came to his current point) and his current day captivity in the hands of said Vampires. This book continues to push our narrative forward, showing us some old friends, many new ones, and now societies briefly mentioned in book 1.
While the relationships written in this aren't the most eloquent in fantasy history, they still manage to capture and make me root for them. I love the casual way Kristoff is able to match characters together, either platonically or romantically, and not have it feel out of place. The story itself is so dark, hopeless, and hard on the heart that the glimpses of love and trust are that much more precious.
I'm now only upset that I'll have to wait, god knows how long, for book 3. 😭
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was both a fantastic and thoughtful coming of age story but with dragons.
This book focuses on our main character of Anequs, an young indigenous woman who, after bonding with a hatchling dragon, finds herself forced to enroll in a coloniser-run school for dragon riders. While the world itself is written similar to our own world set 17th century, it's also unfamiliar enough that we are easily able to feel the confusion and 'otherness' of our situation alongside Anequs.
Anequs was such a breath of fresh air as a main character. This book focuses VERY strongly on racism, both institutional & interpersonal, sexism, ablelism, and more. Yet our main character is able to both reflect modern and cultural ideals while being a genuinely enjoyable person to follow. Anequs is smart, capable, but also eloquent enough to understand the wrongs around her and put into words what we feel as a reader. Watching her find and navigate Anglish society, while also finding some like-minded friends, was the highlight of the book.
Not only that, but I really loved the detail the author puts into dragons, their different breeds, and classification system. We don't get to see much of it but there's a clear passion to detail that, as a dragon lover myself, I thrive on!
In this book, the dragons feel less of their own characters than an extension of their 'riders' but I have a feeling this may be something the author plans to touch on in her later works. Of which I am VERY much looking forward to.
This book focuses on our main character of Anequs, an young indigenous woman who, after bonding with a hatchling dragon, finds herself forced to enroll in a coloniser-run school for dragon riders. While the world itself is written similar to our own world set 17th century, it's also unfamiliar enough that we are easily able to feel the confusion and 'otherness' of our situation alongside Anequs.
Anequs was such a breath of fresh air as a main character. This book focuses VERY strongly on racism, both institutional & interpersonal, sexism, ablelism, and more. Yet our main character is able to both reflect modern and cultural ideals while being a genuinely enjoyable person to follow. Anequs is smart, capable, but also eloquent enough to understand the wrongs around her and put into words what we feel as a reader. Watching her find and navigate Anglish society, while also finding some like-minded friends, was the highlight of the book.
Not only that, but I really loved the detail the author puts into dragons, their different breeds, and classification system. We don't get to see much of it but there's a clear passion to detail that, as a dragon lover myself, I thrive on!
In this book, the dragons feel less of their own characters than an extension of their 'riders' but I have a feeling this may be something the author plans to touch on in her later works. Of which I am VERY much looking forward to.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.0
A solid start to a series that kept me entertained throughout.
Red Rising is a series I've only heard good things about and when I saw it on Vinted for a steal, I had to get it. I'm glad I did!
This book follows our main character of Darrow on a path of loss, rage, and revenge. The comparisons to The Hunger Games in terms of tone and mood are pretty apt but that is where the comparisons end. Red Rising takes place in a unique sci-fi setting on the planet of Mars with heavy The world itself has a strict class system, and while we only see a glimpse of the greater universe it still feels bursting with details behind the scenes.
The narrative is an easy one to follow and instantly has us invested I'm Darrows plight. The Greek gods inspired teams and technology was a fun and unique take on futuristic tech.
While I really enjoyed the book, it does touch on a lot of heavy themes such as slavery, rape, catabolism, and hints to many more. Just be warned as this series does read as YA, but often toes that very fine line into a more adult classification.
Red Rising is a series I've only heard good things about and when I saw it on Vinted for a steal, I had to get it. I'm glad I did!
This book follows our main character of Darrow on a path of loss, rage, and revenge. The comparisons to The Hunger Games in terms of tone and mood are pretty apt but that is where the comparisons end. Red Rising takes place in a unique sci-fi setting on the planet of Mars with heavy The world itself has a strict class system, and while we only see a glimpse of the greater universe it still feels bursting with details behind the scenes.
The narrative is an easy one to follow and instantly has us invested I'm Darrows plight. The Greek gods inspired teams and technology was a fun and unique take on futuristic tech.
While I really enjoyed the book, it does touch on a lot of heavy themes such as slavery, rape, catabolism, and hints to many more. Just be warned as this series does read as YA, but often toes that very fine line into a more adult classification.
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
5.0
I am beyond, not only relieved, but excited that I loved this book so much.
I have heard, seen, and been told such fantastic things about this book (and series) but had reservations towards it after hearing how complex and overwhelming some readers found it. Don't get me wrong, this book does an outstanding job of creating such a rich world with cultures you feel on the verge of understanding but not being quite there. This book is heavy on it's sci-fi political drama but it also extends into the realm of space opera so where some elements are purposefully confusing, others are so easy to empathise with at a human level that I never found myself lost. Among all of this you're able to relate even more strongly to our protagonist of Mahit who, while more well studied than us, is also being thrown head-first into a culture she was not bought up within.
Our story follows our Mahit is sent to the capital of a massive multi-system empire, called the Teixcalaanli, as she is chosen to be the new ambassador for her small mining station after her predecessor has died. Now, in a new city, culture, and among strangers she must advocate not only for her small home-town, but also discover the mystery behind the previous ambassadors death.
Martine's ability to weave such complex sets of emotions and alliances between our main-stay characters is done to marvellous effect. Our main character of Mahit is constantly having to navigate a nexus of political intrigue, while having to determine who she can truly trust after the death of her predecessor (this detail is in the blurb). I came to love how Martine writes such nuanced relationships between a wide variety of characters. This helps to reinforce just how lived-in this setting feels.
I have heard, seen, and been told such fantastic things about this book (and series) but had reservations towards it after hearing how complex and overwhelming some readers found it. Don't get me wrong, this book does an outstanding job of creating such a rich world with cultures you feel on the verge of understanding but not being quite there. This book is heavy on it's sci-fi political drama but it also extends into the realm of space opera so where some elements are purposefully confusing, others are so easy to empathise with at a human level that I never found myself lost. Among all of this you're able to relate even more strongly to our protagonist of Mahit who, while more well studied than us, is also being thrown head-first into a culture she was not bought up within.
Our story follows our Mahit is sent to the capital of a massive multi-system empire, called the Teixcalaanli, as she is chosen to be the new ambassador for her small mining station after her predecessor has died. Now, in a new city, culture, and among strangers she must advocate not only for her small home-town, but also discover the mystery behind the previous ambassadors death.
Martine's ability to weave such complex sets of emotions and alliances between our main-stay characters is done to marvellous effect. Our main character of Mahit is constantly having to navigate a nexus of political intrigue, while having to determine who she can truly trust after the death of her predecessor (this detail is in the blurb). I came to love how Martine writes such nuanced relationships between a wide variety of characters. This helps to reinforce just how lived-in this setting feels.
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
2.5
A nice start to a series, though nothing that has me overly excited for the next instalments.
This book felt like a very classic fantasy opening. We have our world, our mundane main character, and a backdrop of epic world & lore hidden just behind the curtains. We spend the majority of this book in different settings referencing the outside world, though not much of it is shown. The book does almost too good of a job setting up the continuing books in the series. It reads as one big prologue, instead of it's own narrative of beginning, middle, and end.
All in all, it's pretty harmless and I'll be continuing with the series as I do own the rest of the books. Hopefully, the world fills out more in the subsequent books.
This book felt like a very classic fantasy opening. We have our world, our mundane main character, and a backdrop of epic world & lore hidden just behind the curtains. We spend the majority of this book in different settings referencing the outside world, though not much of it is shown. The book does almost too good of a job setting up the continuing books in the series. It reads as one big prologue, instead of it's own narrative of beginning, middle, and end.
All in all, it's pretty harmless and I'll be continuing with the series as I do own the rest of the books. Hopefully, the world fills out more in the subsequent books.
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
dark
emotional
4.5
I hate it. I love it.
I initially struggled with this book. It felt as though the pages dragged by but not for the reason you're probably thinking. It was because I found myself TOO emotionally connected certain characters or events in this that it hurt me to read. By the time I got into the story (around the 40-50% mark) the rest of the book flew by.
To say I "enjoy"d this book doesn't feel like quite the right word to describe how I feel about my reading experience. This book is sold as a feminist sci-fi novel set in a future distopian society where women are reduced to having rights less than children. We follow the story of a set of women linguists bred to become perfect interstellar translators. To say this was a frustrating read would be an understatement. The author does such a fantastic job of linking the obserdity of this setting to real-world misogynist rhetoric. This did the fantastic (and horrible) job of making these otherwise over the top examples FEEL feasible in the universe we are presented with. We watch these women, who we see are as human as we see ourselfs, be repeatedly treated as anything but. So, yes. I felt VERY strongly throughout this novel and probably wouldn't ever read it or anything like it again. In the nicest way!
I loved the characters of Michaela and Nazareth. They both worked perfectly in showing us very different ways in which women navigate this sci-fi landscape, and yet are both still exploited by men.
Overall, I can see exactly why this is a classic and well worth your time. For the short page count, this book goes into a surprising amount of well thoughtout detail and consequences to these details.
I initially struggled with this book. It felt as though the pages dragged by but not for the reason you're probably thinking. It was because I found myself TOO emotionally connected certain characters or events in this that it hurt me to read. By the time I got into the story (around the 40-50% mark) the rest of the book flew by.
To say I "enjoy"d this book doesn't feel like quite the right word to describe how I feel about my reading experience. This book is sold as a feminist sci-fi novel set in a future distopian society where women are reduced to having rights less than children. We follow the story of a set of women linguists bred to become perfect interstellar translators. To say this was a frustrating read would be an understatement. The author does such a fantastic job of linking the obserdity of this setting to real-world misogynist rhetoric. This did the fantastic (and horrible) job of making these otherwise over the top examples FEEL feasible in the universe we are presented with. We watch these women, who we see are as human as we see ourselfs, be repeatedly treated as anything but. So, yes. I felt VERY strongly throughout this novel and probably wouldn't ever read it or anything like it again. In the nicest way!
I loved the characters of Michaela and Nazareth. They both worked perfectly in showing us very different ways in which women navigate this sci-fi landscape, and yet are both still exploited by men.
Overall, I can see exactly why this is a classic and well worth your time. For the short page count, this book goes into a surprising amount of well thoughtout detail and consequences to these details.