stephloves's reviews
1474 reviews

The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 4 by Nagabe

4.0

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

3.5

This was good, I had a fun, silly, goofy time with it. Didn't do anything special, but was still fun. 

The Three-Body Problem, Vol. 1 by Cixin Liu

1.0

 I have absolutely no idea what's going on. I thought this might be a good intro into Cixin Liu and would give me an indication as to whether or not I should pick up the novel, but alas, I'm none the wiser. 

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

3.75

 I think I left it too long between the 3rd one and this one. I'd kind of forgotten what happened in book 3. A reread may be needed at some point. Was fun to be back with Murderbot though. 

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Abby does it again.

I think this is my favourite from her by far. Every single thing about this book was incredible. The parallels of literally everything in this story, and the fact I'm even saying that and it's brought up time and time again about Xavier and Samantha wanting to live parallel lives.

I am obsessed with both Samantha and Xavier. The way their personalities just compliment each other so well and I immediately felt the chemistry between the both of them. This impossible situation they're stuck in, I just had no clue how they were going to get out of it. All of the side characters were incredible and I'm hoping Abby's next trilogy (not a trilogy) will potentially follow either Xavier's friends or Samantha's siblings. There are so many routes that could be taken here.

Also, I sobbed with the whole Hank thing, my heart literally couldn't take it. The sweetest man on the entire planet and must be protected at all costs.

I flew through this book in the space of 2 days, but probably about 5 hours in total. I just couldn't put it down, and now I'm going to have to wait another year for another Abby book *sob*

My all time favourite authors, she never ever lets me down. God tier books, God tier author. This is her 8th Five Star from me! Keep em coming Abby!!! 

Chris Mould's War of the Worlds: A Graphic Novel by Chris Mould, H.G. Wells

4.5

Fun fact, I've been a huge fan of Jeff Wayne's musical version War of the Worlds for the longest time. If my dad and I are on a road trip, that's what we're listening to. I have read HG Wells War of the Worlds and enjoyed it and then I came across this graphic novel edition in an indie bookstore in Halifax before Christmas. As kismet would have it, Chris happened to be there signing books. So I got mine personalised and got a photo with him (thanks again Chris). 

This was fantastic. Such a wonderful graphic novel inspired by the original story. The illustrations were stunning and the story itself was so well told. I really enjoyed this, and the nostalgia with my dad as well as the fun story of getting my copy and meeting Chris just adds to my love for this book. 

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

4.0

This follows straight on from Lost in the Moment and Found which was my favourite in the series so far. It's been a while since I read that one (I probably should have reread it really, with this following on immediately after) and therefore has been even longer since I was last at the school and with the other kids, so it took me a little while to get back into the characters and what not. But this was good. Not one of my favourites, but a good time nonetheless. 

Savage by Cala Riley
Did not finish book. Stopped at 74%.

Unfortunately I've had to DNF this one due to stalking being a trigger for me. I kept pushing because I wanted to know who the stalker was, and why, but inevitably, it became too much and was effecting my mental wellbeing. But I've previously loved Gunner's Mercy by these author's and will definitely pick up more from them. 

Shadow & Storms by Helen Scheuerer

5.0

A new favourite, 5 star series. I absolutely loved this series. The characters, the world-building, the magic system. I can't wait to get into Ashes of Thezmarr. 

Couple of recommendations from me, if you happen to be here reading this before you've read the series (some how):
-Read Slaying the Shadow Prince between Vows and Ruins (book 2) and Fate and Furies (book 3), it'll help with the characters that come in in book 3 but also for emotional impact. 
-Read this series before Ashes of Thezmarr (Iron and Embers) because the characters you're following in Iron and Embers, you see HEAVILY in this series (especially the last 2 books) so their interaction starts in this series. 

The Deep by Rivers Solomon

slow-paced

2.0

This has been on my shelves for longer than I'd like to admit, but I'm so glad I've finally got to it. I was intimidated by this from the beginning, I can't explain why, but it's the reason I put it off for so long. The premise of this is really interesting, but unfortunately, for me, the execution just didn't hit. Despite its 155 pages and the audiobook only being 4 hours long, this took me 2 days to get through. It was such a slow story and it felt like it went on forever. The writing style also wasn't something I enjoyed either. I do wonder if this would have worked better as a full length novel, get to  know the characters a little deeper and the world and the plot a little better. 

Alas, this one just didn't work for me, but I'm so glad to see that it did for so many others.