robin_duguay's reviews
293 reviews

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

I’m always wary of a second book after a standout first novel, and I audibly groaned when I learned this was prequel. I expected it to be plagued with clunky foreshadowing and shoehorned in references to Legends & Lattes. 

Instead, this is probably one of the best handled prequels I’ve read. It stands entirely on its own, but still a wonderful complement to Legends & Lattes and development of those characters. 

Warm and cozy goodness with a dash of magical peril and a mustache twirling villain (as the saying goes. The villain does not have a mustache) If I have a mild complaint, it’s only that the stakes were good and could have been more present. 

I’ll happily return to this world and I’m excited to see what Travis Baldree bakes up next. 

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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

4.5

The Woods by Harlan Coben

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

A fast, fun read. An average Joe inherits his late uncle’s supervillain business operations, and finds himself embroiled in a plot involving an international league of villains (like SPECTRE, but with more bureaucracy and venture capital) his uncle has been feuding with for decades. Charlie’s just a regular guy, but he has to figure out how to be a bad guy, and fast. 

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I was a huge fan of Kim’s Miracle Creek so I was excited to pick this one up. A father goes missing in the park, the only witness his son Eugene, who is autistic with a rare genetic condition called Angelman syndrome and unable to speak. The story is a recounting of events by older sister Mia, of an investigation that calls into question everything the Parkson family thinks they know about their father and what Eugene is really capable of doing. 

Unfortunately, Mia is an exhausting and overbearing narrator, and the books final twists and revelations come too late to provide anything more than relief.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? Yes

4.5

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I can see why this is currently a hot read.  Reads like a good YA, hits all your favorite tropes, but is rated R for violence and smut. 

The world building is frustratingly light if that’s important to you, and while you have your mandatory stream of names and places created by the random fantasy name generator, I sometimes struggled to stay connected to a real sense of place when we weren’t actively involved with dragons. Also, everyone talks like an American teenager. 

The plot is decent, and even though the twists and turns are clearly foreshadowed if you’re paying attention, they are well done. There’s a solid story in here. 

I did get really tired of all the repetitive  “he’s so hot” and “tingling” every time the love interests were in the same room, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’m rarely here for the romance angle.  

Could I be a book snob and rate it lower for its flaws? Definitely. But the pages turned and I burned (hah hah, dragons) through this a lot quicker than I have “better” books. It was a fun read.  

The dragons are great. More dragons being snarky, please.