Review: The Last

The Last by Hanna Jameson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This review is hard to write. I mean, the end of the world happens, and the following days are slow, haunted, and devoid of much action... and yet, I had a driving interest that made this hard to put down. I just knew the story was building to something bigger. Hints of supernatural, a murder to solve, danger in the woods, a huge hotel where unknown others could be hiding, tension between characters... there were so many threads woven into this story and unfortunately, many of them were either left dangling or given an unsatisfactory ending.

For most of this, I enjoyed it. It was atmospheric, and it felt reminiscent of a King novel. And just like most of the King novels I've read (aside from a handful of his masterpieces), there was great character development and excellent setting and fantastic concept... and a disappointing ending. But King still normally pulls things off better than this one, which was abrupt and weird and not at all satisfying.

Overall, since I enjoyed probably 90% of the book, I'm going to go with 3 stars. I liked it enough, but didn't love it.

View all my reviews

Review: Holy Sister

Holy Sister by Mark Lawrence
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sincerest of thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Mark Lawrence, you've done it. You've created a high-ish, dark-ish trilogy that not only was executed perfectly, but also helped restore my faith in the fantasy genre. I don't read a lot of fantasy, mostly because it's long-winded, overly descriptive, and just plain boring (at least in the past I've felt it so, mostly because my mood for fantasy had long-since died). But, over the past few years, the fantasy genre has started to rejoin my reading repertoire, mostly because of two big reason: Brandon Sanderson and Mark Lawrence. Sanderson's first Mistborn trilogy and the Stormlight Archives went a long way towards rekindling my love for the genre, but one author can't single-handedly carry the burden of the genre alone. So when Grey Sister (the second of the trilogy by Mark Lawrence) showed up in my Berkley newsletter, I took a look at Red Sister to see if it would be of interest. It had rave reviews among friends, so I accepted the Grey Sister ARC and got my copy of Red Sister so I could read it first. And boy, was I not disappointed!

This trilogy is a roller coaster ride! We meet Nona when she's but a wee pup, and we watch her grow throughout the trilogy into a strong, confident, amazing woman, capable of changing the world. I don't want to say too much, because of spoilers, but the growth in this character alone is enough to impress, but the cast of secondary characters is fantastic as well.

I HIGHLY recommend this trilogy. Can't wait to give Lawrence's other trilogies a try soon, but I'm sad to be finished with Nona and her friends. They were a pleasure to discover.

View all my reviews

Review: PERfunctory AfFECTION

PERfunctory AfFECTION by Kim Harrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Kim Harrison. I tore through her Hollows series and fell in love with that world all over again with her prequel. I read both of the Drafter novels that were published, and would reread them and buy the third if it ever gets published. I'm sad that it hasn't. I'm super pumped that she's got more Hollows in the works.

Unfortuntely, it seems that the Hollows is where she shines, and, at least thus far, her more science fiction leaning books aren't as good as her urban fantasy. The Drafter was good, but nowhere near as good as her Hollows, and this standalone was an entertaining read, but it also didn't live up to her Hollows standards.

In this one, I really liked her concept and her execution. The ending, though, didn't feel like much of a payoff after reading so much to build to that point. I feel like it was a little cliched with the potential of a nice twist that instead was left hanging.

I enjoyed the book though, just by the end wasn't super excited about it when I know she's capable of much more as an author. I hope she finds her mojo again! 3 stars, recommended for those who like thriller-type stories where you're never sure if the protagonist is cray-cray or not.

---
I loved Kim Harrison's the Hollows, but I think she's lost her confidence with her Peri Reed series not doing very well. I hope she finds it again.

Review to come upon release, but I was disappointed that she had the opportunities to break some cliches in this book and turn them on their heads, and she just went straight with the cliches. :(

View all my reviews