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stephbeaudoin20's reviews
905 reviews
Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
Storm of Locusts is the second book in The Sixth Earth Series. You can read it as a standalone, but it will make more sense if you read Trail of Lightening first
I'm honestly not sure that I can write a better review for the second book as I wrote for the first. So here is the same review, EXACTLY as true as the first book.
This book is EXCELLENT! It is unlike other urban fantasy novels that I have read, it is firmly in Diné legend, lore, and fantasy. It dazzles. And it has suspense, twists, turns, truths, lies. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and Rebecca Roanhorse’s entire catalog.
Adding to The Diverse Baseline Challenge October prompt of a book of your choice by a BIPOC author.
Storm of Locusts is the second book in The Sixth Earth Series. You can read it as a standalone, but it will make more sense if you read Trail of Lightening first
I'm honestly not sure that I can write a better review for the second book as I wrote for the first. So here is the same review, EXACTLY as true as the first book.
This book is EXCELLENT! It is unlike other urban fantasy novels that I have read, it is firmly in Diné legend, lore, and fantasy. It dazzles. And it has suspense, twists, turns, truths, lies. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and Rebecca Roanhorse’s entire catalog.
Adding to The Diverse Baseline Challenge October prompt of a book of your choice by a BIPOC author.
Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her: On Race, Community, and Black Women in Hockey by R. Renee Hess
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
5.0
Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her: On Race, Community, and Black Women in Hockey by R. Renee Hess
I loved this book! It was a great insight into Black Girl Hockey Club. I loved the interviews. I loved the research. I loved the plain language. Absolutely spectacular.
Two of my favorite highlights are below:
“You see, I may not be a hockey mom, but I’ll claim the role of hockey auntie any day.”
“Gender, sexuality, race— these are social constructs created to divide us and build false walls around us, so that we don’t feel empathy for our fellow human beings.”
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I loved this book! It was a great insight into Black Girl Hockey Club. I loved the interviews. I loved the research. I loved the plain language. Absolutely spectacular.
Two of my favorite highlights are below:
“You see, I may not be a hockey mom, but I’ll claim the role of hockey auntie any day.”
“Gender, sexuality, race— these are social constructs created to divide us and build false walls around us, so that we don’t feel empathy for our fellow human beings.”
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
This book is EXCELLENT! It is unlike other urban fantasy novels that I have read, it is firmly in Diné legend, lore, and fantasy. It dazzles. And it has suspense, twists, turns, truths, lies. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and Rebecca Roanhorse’s entire catalog.
This is my 36th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and I'm using it for the October prompt of Horror, Thriller, or Mystery because there were definitely times when I was totally freaked out.
This book is EXCELLENT! It is unlike other urban fantasy novels that I have read, it is firmly in Diné legend, lore, and fantasy. It dazzles. And it has suspense, twists, turns, truths, lies. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and Rebecca Roanhorse’s entire catalog.
This is my 36th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and I'm using it for the October prompt of Horror, Thriller, or Mystery because there were definitely times when I was totally freaked out.
Christmas off Script by Evie Alexander, Evie Alexander
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
Christmas Off Script by Evie Alexander
This is the 5th book in the Foxbrooke Series. It can be read as a standalone, but you will miss all of the shenanigans.
In Christmas Off Script we get
Cinderella
Best Friends to Lovers
Christmas
Leo is the Perfect Cinnamon Roll/Golden Retriever hero. He is so wonderful! Kind, thoughtful, empathetic. He is so swoony!
I'm going to be honest, Ella starts out as a total doormat. And I've written so many times about how I just can't abide women characters that are doormats. I had a hard time with this story simply because of Ella's core character. However, the character of Cinderella is a total doormat and needs to find her spine. Ella's backstory provides absolute truth as to why she is a doormat. I don't know many characters who have gone through what she has gone through and not escaped the doormat portion of the trope. She eventually finds her spine and gets her happily ever after!
I adored the Christmas Miracle! It was such a surprise and an absolute treat!
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is the 5th book in the Foxbrooke Series. It can be read as a standalone, but you will miss all of the shenanigans.
In Christmas Off Script we get
Cinderella
Best Friends to Lovers
Christmas
Leo is the Perfect Cinnamon Roll/Golden Retriever hero. He is so wonderful! Kind, thoughtful, empathetic. He is so swoony!
I'm going to be honest, Ella starts out as a total doormat. And I've written so many times about how I just can't abide women characters that are doormats. I had a hard time with this story simply because of Ella's core character. However, the character of Cinderella is a total doormat and needs to find her spine. Ella's backstory provides absolute truth as to why she is a doormat. I don't know many characters who have gone through what she has gone through and not escaped the doormat portion of the trope. She eventually finds her spine and gets her happily ever after!
I adored the Christmas Miracle! It was such a surprise and an absolute treat!
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Dena Takruri, Ahed Tamimi
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri
The more I unlearn my western upbringing, the more my eyes are opened to the horrors of this world. This story is about Ahed Tamimi’s life growing up in Palestine on her ancestral homeland under military occupation. She was sentenced to prison as a minor. She endured horrific and illegal conditions for 8 months. She became a high school graduate in prison. In prison she took a class on international law and international humanitarian law and made parallels between the Geneva Conventions and all of the illegal crimes that isreal commits.
From The River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free. Within Our Lifetime Liberation Is Coming.
This book was so well written. I keep thinking it was easy to read. Not in the sense of the context, but in how it was written and the language that was used. Clear and intelligent.
This is my 35th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and the first for the September prompt of Memoir.
The more I unlearn my western upbringing, the more my eyes are opened to the horrors of this world. This story is about Ahed Tamimi’s life growing up in Palestine on her ancestral homeland under military occupation. She was sentenced to prison as a minor. She endured horrific and illegal conditions for 8 months. She became a high school graduate in prison. In prison she took a class on international law and international humanitarian law and made parallels between the Geneva Conventions and all of the illegal crimes that isreal commits.
From The River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free. Within Our Lifetime Liberation Is Coming.
This book was so well written. I keep thinking it was easy to read. Not in the sense of the context, but in how it was written and the language that was used. Clear and intelligent.
This is my 35th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and the first for the September prompt of Memoir.
Lazzar: The Kur'ik Minor Incident by Serena Simpson
4.0
Lazzar: The Kur'ik Minor Incident (The Wolves Den, #0) by Serena Simpson
I was looking for a fantasy or science fiction book by a BIPOC author for The Diverse Baseline Challenge. Let me tell you, with all of the advances in SEO, AI, word prediction, I still can't filter my Kindle Library but genre, forget sub-sub-genre. I can't search my own ebooks by author type - find me a non-white Author! Or a disabled or Chronically Fabulous Author! Where is the search capability in the Kindle App, in Libby, Hoopla, heck, even the Internet!!!
Anyway, this was a super interesting start to a series. There are “Created” beings that are built and programmed to be dispensable in war. They can't couple up, have kids, they are built to die. What happens when two of them fall in love? Is it faulty programming? Evolution? Magic? Super interesting read.
This is my 34th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and the first for the September prompt of Fantasy or Science Fiction.
I was looking for a fantasy or science fiction book by a BIPOC author for The Diverse Baseline Challenge. Let me tell you, with all of the advances in SEO, AI, word prediction, I still can't filter my Kindle Library but genre, forget sub-sub-genre. I can't search my own ebooks by author type - find me a non-white Author! Or a disabled or Chronically Fabulous Author! Where is the search capability in the Kindle App, in Libby, Hoopla, heck, even the Internet!!!
Anyway, this was a super interesting start to a series. There are “Created” beings that are built and programmed to be dispensable in war. They can't couple up, have kids, they are built to die. What happens when two of them fall in love? Is it faulty programming? Evolution? Magic? Super interesting read.
This is my 34th book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and the first for the September prompt of Fantasy or Science Fiction.
I Am Not a Number/ Gaawin Gindaawsin Ndaawsii by Jenny Kay Dupuis, Gillian Newland, Muriel Sawyer, Kathy Kacer, Geraldine McLeod
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Gaawin Gindaaswin Ndaawsii / I Am Not a Number
by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer, Illustrated by Gillian Newland
Content warning: this is a true story of one child's experience in the residential sch**ls that operated across Turtle Island for over a century.
I was very lucky that my library had the ebook of the dual language edition, in Nishnaabemwin (Ojibwe) Nbisiing dialect and English, of I Am Not a Number. Especially for a story about residential sch**ls where they stripped language from children, having the Nishnaabemwin on the page is vital.
These stories are slowly being told to the general public, and we are learning what our Indigenous Relatives have known about for centuries. It it important to bear witness, to honor this horrific part of our history, and to make true amends.
This is my 33rd book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and the first for the September prompt of Picture or Children's Book. I chose it for September specifically for Orange Shirt Day this month.
by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer, Illustrated by Gillian Newland
Content warning: this is a true story of one child's experience in the residential sch**ls that operated across Turtle Island for over a century.
I was very lucky that my library had the ebook of the dual language edition, in Nishnaabemwin (Ojibwe) Nbisiing dialect and English, of I Am Not a Number. Especially for a story about residential sch**ls where they stripped language from children, having the Nishnaabemwin on the page is vital.
These stories are slowly being told to the general public, and we are learning what our Indigenous Relatives have known about for centuries. It it important to bear witness, to honor this horrific part of our history, and to make true amends.
This is my 33rd book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge and the first for the September prompt of Picture or Children's Book. I chose it for September specifically for Orange Shirt Day this month.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Hating a Witch by Brigid Hunt
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Hating A Witch by Brigid Hunt
This is the second book in the Bewitching Billionaires series. I love that the Billionaires are young women! You can read it as a standalone, but if you read book 1, Fake Dating A Witch, you will be in a better place to understand the story. I would call this series reality adjacent. It's set during the present, and magic and witches are part of the everyday.
Enemies to Lovers is a tough trope to get right. Are they really enemies? Or do they just mildly dislike each other? Why do they dislike each other? How can they overcome that? How do they forgive? Brigid Hunt does something super interesting with Hating A Witch. Morgan and Zach have really intense physical chemistry from the beginning and they are both fighting it. As the characters grow and change throughout the story they inevitably hurt each other. They try to get past the enemy part and they stumble. This feels more realistic than some other stories. I really enjoyed how it plays out.
Morgan is bisexual and Zach is pansexual and I ADORE that representation. Their chemistry is so hot and the steam is so good!
I loved the witchiness of the whole story and I can't wait to continue reading this series.
Warning ⚠️ This book ends on a Cliffhanger! Which can be fun sometimes. I didn't hate it.
I received an advance review copy for free from the author, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is the second book in the Bewitching Billionaires series. I love that the Billionaires are young women! You can read it as a standalone, but if you read book 1, Fake Dating A Witch, you will be in a better place to understand the story. I would call this series reality adjacent. It's set during the present, and magic and witches are part of the everyday.
Enemies to Lovers is a tough trope to get right. Are they really enemies? Or do they just mildly dislike each other? Why do they dislike each other? How can they overcome that? How do they forgive? Brigid Hunt does something super interesting with Hating A Witch. Morgan and Zach have really intense physical chemistry from the beginning and they are both fighting it. As the characters grow and change throughout the story they inevitably hurt each other. They try to get past the enemy part and they stumble. This feels more realistic than some other stories. I really enjoyed how it plays out.
Morgan is bisexual and Zach is pansexual and I ADORE that representation. Their chemistry is so hot and the steam is so good!
I loved the witchiness of the whole story and I can't wait to continue reading this series.
Warning ⚠️ This book ends on a Cliffhanger! Which can be fun sometimes. I didn't hate it.
I received an advance review copy for free from the author, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews
5.0
Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews
Roman’s book! Hooray! Don't let the BDH lead you astray, you can read Sanctuary as a standalone.
Sanctuary takes place during the winter holidays. We get a fantastical overview of Slavic Gods and Traditions. Remember, this is a fantasy book. The authors get to be creative. And I love that!
I adore the nechist. The menagerie that Roman takes care of says so much about his character.
This story has it all! Fantasy, action, magic, dreams, visions, creatures. House Andrews gives us amazing stories that the BDH inhales, and immediately wants more. I would love another Roman story, and I will wait patiently for it.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Roman’s book! Hooray! Don't let the BDH lead you astray, you can read Sanctuary as a standalone.
Sanctuary takes place during the winter holidays. We get a fantastical overview of Slavic Gods and Traditions. Remember, this is a fantasy book. The authors get to be creative. And I love that!
I adore the nechist. The menagerie that Roman takes care of says so much about his character.
This story has it all! Fantasy, action, magic, dreams, visions, creatures. House Andrews gives us amazing stories that the BDH inhales, and immediately wants more. I would love another Roman story, and I will wait patiently for it.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Faking It For Summer by Skye Winter
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This is the perfect introduction to a series. A great short story that has background, present, love, lust, and future. Excellent read!