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rjsetserauthor's reviews
863 reviews
Baker Street Four by Penny Chrimes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
It's about the time of year where I start looking for Sherlock Holmes retellings, so when Baker Street Four popped up on my "recommended for you" page on Audible, I was thrilled to start it.
In true Sherlock fashion, The Baker Street Four is a collection of 3 short cases that model after the classic stories and give welcome nods to the originals. The audio production reminded me of the radio theater I used to get up early on Saturday mornings for, so that was a nostalgic experience. It was very fun to have some new characters alongside the beloved old ones, plus having the story narrated by Watson the cat was a delight (I have a dog named Watson haha)!
The target audience is for middle graders, so analyzing this story for kids does make me slightly more critical of the content, which is why I'm rating 4 stars instead of 5. There are heavy themes of fear and some action that might be intense for younger readers, though I found the action topics to be mostly age-appropriate. I do have a few red flags that aren't necessarily "don't read because of this", but parents/guardians/teachers might want to be prepared to generate some conversations to discuss these topics (I'll wrap them in spoiler tags below).
Overall, I think The Baker Street Four is a well-produced audiobook and would make for an interesting episodic car-ride companion with your middle graders!
In true Sherlock fashion, The Baker Street Four is a collection of 3 short cases that model after the classic stories and give welcome nods to the originals. The audio production reminded me of the radio theater I used to get up early on Saturday mornings for, so that was a nostalgic experience. It was very fun to have some new characters alongside the beloved old ones, plus having the story narrated by Watson the cat was a delight (I have a dog named Watson haha)!
The target audience is for middle graders, so analyzing this story for kids does make me slightly more critical of the content, which is why I'm rating 4 stars instead of 5. There are heavy themes of fear and some action that might be intense for younger readers, though I found the action topics to be mostly age-appropriate. I do have a few red flags that aren't necessarily "don't read because of this", but parents/guardians/teachers might want to be prepared to generate some conversations to discuss these topics (I'll wrap them in spoiler tags below).
Overall, I think The Baker Street Four is a well-produced audiobook and would make for an interesting episodic car-ride companion with your middle graders!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent
Content Warnings: There was one use of the word "h*ll". Romantic themes, but nothing on page. No gore, but a few scenes involving kidnapping, forced child labor, forced institutionalization, child loss, parent loss, and mental illness.
Clara Bow: The Tragic Life of the "It" Girl: With Illustrations by P. McCarty
informative
sad
fast-paced
2.0
If you don't know anything about Clara Bow (*ahem* like me) this is a decent overview of her life. It's basically just a summary of many of her popular movies without a lot of details, plus a recounting of the drama that followed her throughout her life. It's only 60 pages long (with many photos), so you can imagine that it's brief.
I did appreciate the photos included, that made the experience more lifelike. I had just hoped for more information.
Also, while the author seemed to sympathize with Clara's plight of being publically labeled as "Hollywood's It Girl", some of the terminology used to describe "her many lovers" or "the next one" just struck me as playing into the same public scrutiny that drove her out of Hollywood. I would've preferred a more objective approach to her history and a focus on her accomplishments rather than an overview of her love life. And considering how publicity like this is what drove her to leave her successful career, I can't say that I see her being proud of this exact overview of her life.
I will say, this publication got me started on my research, but I'll be looking for a more detailed and objective biography of Clara Bow in the future.
I did appreciate the photos included, that made the experience more lifelike. I had just hoped for more information.
Also, while the author seemed to sympathize with Clara's plight of being publically labeled as "Hollywood's It Girl", some of the terminology used to describe "her many lovers" or "the next one" just struck me as playing into the same public scrutiny that drove her out of Hollywood. I would've preferred a more objective approach to her history and a focus on her accomplishments rather than an overview of her love life. And considering how publicity like this is what drove her to leave her successful career, I can't say that I see her being proud of this exact overview of her life.
I will say, this publication got me started on my research, but I'll be looking for a more detailed and objective biography of Clara Bow in the future.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
I DNF'd around 100 pages, but then I skimmed the rest of it to confirm my theories, and yea, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. The story was just not captivating and there were several things that made me feel icky.
Spoilers beyond this point!
Lucy's immaturity in trying to adopt one of her orphaned students was frustrating to read, and I thought the relationship she had with Christopher reflected that immaturity. She gave him a lot of false hope and promises that she knew she couldn't keep, and I just cringed every time she spoke to him. She was very possessive of him, too, without having a valid right to be.
Old man Jack Masterson struck me as really strange. Like, I know this is supposed to be similar to Willie Wonka, but Wonka was strange in a charming way (at least in the movies, I haven't read the book). Masterson was almost creepy old man vibes in writing back to all these kids who ran away from their homes to his HOUSE and telling them that he would love to be their dad... And then the game was only for those same kids who successfully made it to his house once... I don't know. It was just crossing the "creep" line for me.
But the DNF factor was when Hugo (the love interest) knew Lucy as a 6-year-old child... age-gap romances are fine with me, but not when the man was twenty-something and MET and KNEW the young girl at SIX. No, thank you. That's not cool. Especially since Lucy's previously abusive relationship was also a large age-gap romance from when she was a teen. And I think that because of these icky age-gap romance vibes, it added to the inappropriate factors of her relationship with Christopher. There were just a LOT of child-grooming vibes even though nothing actually happened of that nature. It was just... off.
I don't know. This book seemed so charming, but the further I read, the more I got the icky shivers.
Spoilers beyond this point!
Lucy's immaturity in trying to adopt one of her orphaned students was frustrating to read, and I thought the relationship she had with Christopher reflected that immaturity. She gave him a lot of false hope and promises that she knew she couldn't keep, and I just cringed every time she spoke to him. She was very possessive of him, too, without having a valid right to be.
Old man Jack Masterson struck me as really strange. Like, I know this is supposed to be similar to Willie Wonka, but Wonka was strange in a charming way (at least in the movies, I haven't read the book). Masterson was almost creepy old man vibes in writing back to all these kids who ran away from their homes to his HOUSE and telling them that he would love to be their dad... And then the game was only for those same kids who successfully made it to his house once... I don't know. It was just crossing the "creep" line for me.
But the DNF factor was when Hugo (the love interest) knew Lucy as a 6-year-old child... age-gap romances are fine with me, but not when the man was twenty-something and MET and KNEW the young girl at SIX. No, thank you. That's not cool. Especially since Lucy's previously abusive relationship was also a large age-gap romance from when she was a teen. And I think that because of these icky age-gap romance vibes, it added to the inappropriate factors of her relationship with Christopher. There were just a LOT of child-grooming vibes even though nothing actually happened of that nature. It was just... off.
I don't know. This book seemed so charming, but the further I read, the more I got the icky shivers.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book destroyed my emotions and then repaired them as easy as one opens a door.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a deeply emotional coming-of-age novel with a splash of fantasy. While I can't say that it's an "enjoyable" read, it is definitely one that can play your emotions effortlessly and I have no choice by to give it five stars. The writing style is absolutely breathtaking, January is a unique and lovable main character who will always have you rooting for her, and the double time-line makes the plot very engaging.
I never grew tired of the story or lost interest, but there were a few scenes where I had to step away and take a breath just because of the emotional intensity. This book got the closest to making me cry as any book has in a very long time. I will recommend it to anyone looking for a low fantasy, historical novel with a healthy dose of heartbreak and healing.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a deeply emotional coming-of-age novel with a splash of fantasy. While I can't say that it's an "enjoyable" read, it is definitely one that can play your emotions effortlessly and I have no choice by to give it five stars. The writing style is absolutely breathtaking, January is a unique and lovable main character who will always have you rooting for her, and the double time-line makes the plot very engaging.
I never grew tired of the story or lost interest, but there were a few scenes where I had to step away and take a breath just because of the emotional intensity. This book got the closest to making me cry as any book has in a very long time. I will recommend it to anyone looking for a low fantasy, historical novel with a healthy dose of heartbreak and healing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Classism
Minor: Cursing
Content warnings: Mild cursing. No on-page spice (only a couple of kisses). There are heavy themes of racism and classism (true to historical records) and some mildly detailed self-harm scenes. The forced institutionalization scenes span through a couple chapters and can be difficult to read at times.
The Spring Catastrophe by Vit Vanicek
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Divine Tyranny: The Spring Catastrophe reads like a classic fantasy novel. It's straight-forward in its plot building, the scenes are action-packed and conversational, and the world is described enough to set the scenes, but also left open enough to allow our imaginations to fill in the blanks.
I hope the author takes it as a compliment and not an insult, but it reminded me a lot of The Witcher (books), both in the style of writing and the feel of the story, but without such an emphasis on the overly descriptive relationships in The Witcher. I love (love, love) a good tension arc between a hardened warrior and philosophical, playful bard (seriously, it's one of my favorite fantasy tropes) and I thought Lord Versos and Sinestros had a great duo-dynamic (the banter in this book is TOP-TIER). All of the characters were well-written and the story kept me interested throughout the entire book.
My impulse is to call it "epic fantasy" because it hits all of the beats: traveling across the fantasy realm, many characters, intricate peace/war themes in the plot, etc. But a lot of readers associate "epic fantasy" with long books and highly detailed writing, and this book is less than 300 pages with a fair amount of descriptions, but I wouldn't call it an "overly descriptive" style. I hesitate to label it as an "epic fantasy", lest that turn any casual fantasy readers away, but I would absolutely consider it a brilliant example of the genre, just on a shorter scale.
Overall, The Spring Catastrophe is perfect for readers who enjoy plot-focused fantasy and characters on epic journeys to face catastrophes where you don't know which characters will make it to the next book. I'm highly invested in the Divine Tyranny series and recommend it to my fellow high fantasy lovers!
I received this book from the author. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.
I hope the author takes it as a compliment and not an insult, but it reminded me a lot of The Witcher (books), both in the style of writing and the feel of the story, but without such an emphasis on the overly descriptive relationships in The Witcher. I love (love, love) a good tension arc between a hardened warrior and philosophical, playful bard (seriously, it's one of my favorite fantasy tropes) and I thought Lord Versos and Sinestros had a great duo-dynamic (the banter in this book is TOP-TIER). All of the characters were well-written and the story kept me interested throughout the entire book.
My impulse is to call it "epic fantasy" because it hits all of the beats: traveling across the fantasy realm, many characters, intricate peace/war themes in the plot, etc. But a lot of readers associate "epic fantasy" with long books and highly detailed writing, and this book is less than 300 pages with a fair amount of descriptions, but I wouldn't call it an "overly descriptive" style. I hesitate to label it as an "epic fantasy", lest that turn any casual fantasy readers away, but I would absolutely consider it a brilliant example of the genre, just on a shorter scale.
Overall, The Spring Catastrophe is perfect for readers who enjoy plot-focused fantasy and characters on epic journeys to face catastrophes where you don't know which characters will make it to the next book. I'm highly invested in the Divine Tyranny series and recommend it to my fellow high fantasy lovers!
I received this book from the author. All comments and opinions are entirely my own and this review is voluntary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War
Content: No on page romance/spice. Action/gore is fairly present: both character & animal deaths are somewhat graphic. Devastation and suffering after war. Cursing would be rated PG-13. Mild mistreatment of characters based on origin/race.
The Blizzard's Secrets by DJanée
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This short story fits into the "winter fantasy" category very well! The setting is frigid and full of secrets and I think it lives up to its title well.
My reasons for giving it 3.5 stars out of 5 is because I was pulled into the story and left wanting. A lot of readers are calling it a "cliff hanger", but this story was just left unfinished. I love a good cliff-hanger and I read a LOT of them, but this was an incomplete story with no plot resolution. It ended in the middle of scene with no actual ending. With it being a short story (89 pages), there really needed to be some kind of resolution to give the reader a sense of accomplishment... if this is meant to be a standalone short story. If it's a prequel to a novel that's already out (where the plot is resolved in the main book), I would be more accepting of this kind of freeze-ending (see what I did there?). But from my quick investigation, I can't seem to find a companion novel so there's no way to even continue the story at this time of this review, nor could I find any mention of a series coming in the future.
That being said, if the story would've lasted another couple of pages (honestly, just long enough to hear the main character's speech) and had a satisfying ending, I would've given this 5 stars. For only 89 pages, so much happened and it was paced out well. I loved the setting and suspense pulling me on. Daia is a very spunky, naïve, and brash character that makes her loveable in a unique way.
Overall, I'm going to live with the wonder of what Daia said in her speech for possibly the rest of my life.
My reasons for giving it 3.5 stars out of 5 is because I was pulled into the story and left wanting. A lot of readers are calling it a "cliff hanger", but this story was just left unfinished. I love a good cliff-hanger and I read a LOT of them, but this was an incomplete story with no plot resolution. It ended in the middle of scene with no actual ending. With it being a short story (89 pages), there really needed to be some kind of resolution to give the reader a sense of accomplishment... if this is meant to be a standalone short story. If it's a prequel to a novel that's already out (where the plot is resolved in the main book), I would be more accepting of this kind of freeze-ending (see what I did there?). But from my quick investigation, I can't seem to find a companion novel so there's no way to even continue the story at this time of this review, nor could I find any mention of a series coming in the future.
That being said, if the story would've lasted another couple of pages (honestly, just long enough to hear the main character's speech) and had a satisfying ending, I would've given this 5 stars. For only 89 pages, so much happened and it was paced out well. I loved the setting and suspense pulling me on. Daia is a very spunky, naïve, and brash character that makes her loveable in a unique way.
Overall, I'm going to live with the wonder of what Daia said in her speech for possibly the rest of my life.
Not Mushroom For Death by Helen Golden
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Really slow and just didn’t care about the characters.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was holding at 3 stars until the last 20%, where it fought determinedly to get that 4th star.
This one induced SO MANY feelings; the biggest one being "frustration". Harry's adolescent attitude drove me up the wall, especially since there was little pushing the story forward besides Umbridge (UGH). And why did it need to be 800+ pages *sobs*?
Overall, I recognize the valuable lore that no doubt sets up the rest of the series, and a lot of my questions about the world were answered in this book. Plus, there were some pleasant scenes that I really enjoyed. Would I read this one again? Probably not. I don't think my blood pressure could handle it. Chamber of Secrets is still my favorite in the series so far, but I am drawn to finish the last two books, so I'll go ahead and give this one 4 stars.
This one induced SO MANY feelings; the biggest one being "frustration". Harry's adolescent attitude drove me up the wall, especially since there was little pushing the story forward besides Umbridge (UGH). And why did it need to be 800+ pages *sobs*?
Overall, I recognize the valuable lore that no doubt sets up the rest of the series, and a lot of my questions about the world were answered in this book. Plus, there were some pleasant scenes that I really enjoyed. Would I read this one again? Probably not. I don't think my blood pressure could handle it. Chamber of Secrets is still my favorite in the series so far, but I am drawn to finish the last two books, so I'll go ahead and give this one 4 stars.
The City Below the Cloud by T.S. Galindo
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"[E]very dystopia is someone's utopia."
I devoured this novella in one sitting and if the second book was out, I'd have devoured that one too.
The writing and point of view is very introspective, which I think adds to the dreary and lonely feeling of the world. The city is described to be dark and gray but you can feel the lack of color in how the characters interact with each other and how they internalize their thoughts rather than speaking to each other. The writing style works so well for this story and setting.
The mysterious aspects of the story are unique and mind boggling at times, but I really liked way the suspense was handled. There's some mild "body horror" scenes that might keep some readers from enjoying this, but overall, if you like dark sci-fi and dystopian themes (and mushrooms), you need to read this.
Content disclaimers: Very mild and infrequent cursing. No sexual content (or romance). Strong themes of death and semi-detailed descriptions of body horror (no gore).
I devoured this novella in one sitting and if the second book was out, I'd have devoured that one too.
The writing and point of view is very introspective, which I think adds to the dreary and lonely feeling of the world. The city is described to be dark and gray but you can feel the lack of color in how the characters interact with each other and how they internalize their thoughts rather than speaking to each other. The writing style works so well for this story and setting.
The mysterious aspects of the story are unique and mind boggling at times, but I really liked way the suspense was handled. There's some mild "body horror" scenes that might keep some readers from enjoying this, but overall, if you like dark sci-fi and dystopian themes (and mushrooms), you need to read this.
Content disclaimers: Very mild and infrequent cursing. No sexual content (or romance). Strong themes of death and semi-detailed descriptions of body horror (no gore).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Vomit
Never Lore: Journey to Mt. Smolder by Nathan Okerlund, Taya Okerlund
adventurous
lighthearted
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? No
3.75
Never Lore: Journey to Mt. Smolder is a middle grade reimagining of Peter Pan. You'll encounter many familiar characters and themes, but there are new twists and new characters that make the story so different that you just thought you knew Peter Pan!
I'm rating it 3.75 stars out of 5 because while I loved Annabelle during her spunky adventure, the story just moved so fast that I continually had to stop and re-read pages because we'd jump to totally new scenes or major plot points would be solved in only a few words. If the story would've slowed down, allowed the reader to process what was happening, I think I would've enjoyed it much more.
There are strong themes of honesty and doing one's best to do the right thing. Also strong friendships and a good display of communication between friends when a disagreement arises.
I'm rating it 3.75 stars out of 5 because while I loved Annabelle during her spunky adventure, the story just moved so fast that I continually had to stop and re-read pages because we'd jump to totally new scenes or major plot points would be solved in only a few words. If the story would've slowed down, allowed the reader to process what was happening, I think I would've enjoyed it much more.
There are strong themes of honesty and doing one's best to do the right thing. Also strong friendships and a good display of communication between friends when a disagreement arises.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse