Review: Island Witch

Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of this novel. Below you'll find my honest review.

I really liked the story in this one. It was an interesting setting, an interesting cast, and a really cool way to learn about another culture through a tale involving their beliefs, mythologies, and religious practices.

But it did have some downfalls. Namely, all of the twists are predictable. I knew every reveal before it happened, and it was obvious leading up to it. In addition, the use of words specific to their language is really neat, but the constant "here's a word, here's the definition" got a little distracting. And the main character's non-stop "my dad is treating me differently, what happened to make this change, etc" got very repetitive when it was in almost every chapter for over half of the book.

It did have a strong protagonist, which I liked, and while the definitions did become tedious, I did like that the author put in actual words and historical references that were really part of history. I also loved that the story was about a part of the world and a history that we don't have a lot of published novels about. I'm really happy to see more diverse stories being published to share those things with the world of readers.

All in all, I really enjoyed it, but felt like it needed some tweaking.

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Review: The Atlas Maneuver

The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for the pre-release copy. Below is my honest review.

I have a few things to praise about this one: I learned a lot about bitcoin and blockchain from this one, which was kinda cool as it's not something I knew much about. We also got more Cassiopeia Vitt, along with the return of Koger and TOO from recent previous stories. More Vitt = happy me. We also got a bit of backstory about Cotton's not-so-good history, meeting an old flame from the past, which was interesting.

I do have a few complaints as well. First, there wasn't enough Stephanie Nelle. I miss her! Second, Vitt and Cotton were separated the whole book, which sucked. Third, there were SO MANY SENTENCE FRAGMENTS, and so many of them starting with "which." Seriously, I don't recall Berry's work being this poor level of grammar before. Maybe there were lots of sentence fragments in previous books and my mind blocked them out, but this time there were so many that it took me out of the story over and over, making it hard to binge.

3.5 stars rounded up. Definitely still recommend for fans of the series.

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Review: The Boy Who Cried Bear

The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me an early copy of this novel. Below you'll find my honest review.

Haven's Rock is a fledgling little town, Eric and Casey's attempt to rebuild a better, stronger Rockton. This one really raises the stakes as we learn that the "neighbors" hinted at in the first book have built themselves up and are now a full-fledged mining camp, very close to Haven's Rock and threatening the safety of Haven's Rock's residents.

In addition, Haven's Rock has made some drastic changes from Rockton, including the acceptance of families with kids into the fold.

When one of those kids goes missing, Casey and Eric and the rest of the town go into full search and rescue mode, and are reminded yet again that nothing is ever as it seems in the wilderness of the north.

I absolutely loved this one. No complaints whatsoever.

Highly recommend, but please please please read the rest of the series (both Rockton and Haven's Rock).

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Review: The Book of Doors

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the early copy of this novel. Below is my honest review.

As I started this one, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. There were a few repetitive phrases going on and an entire paragraph was in there twice, written two different ways. There was also some head-hopping within the same scene that was a bit distracting.

But after the first few chapters, the writing improved and the story really gripped me. The concept of the books with powers was super cool, and was really intriguing. Then you throw in the very twisty plot that could have been confusing but was well-plotted and clear.

I'm hoping we get a sequel. This one was fun.

Definitely recommended - pick it up if you like superpowers/magical artifacts and twisty plots. nd twisty plotting!

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Review: The Warm Hands of Ghosts

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Del Rey for the advanced copy of this one. Below is my honest review.

Katherine Arden was an instant request when I saw her newest book on Netgalley. Her series about Russian magic, starting with the Bear and the Nightingale, is absolutely divine, so I was pumped for this one.

Alas, it didn't quite live up to my expectations - which might be unfair of me to go in with them, considering this is a new book in a new world from Arden, but I couldn't help it. Really cool concept, really cool villain, a little repetitive and dragged for a large portion of the book. But it's still good - it's Katherine Arden after all! And of course, I'll still pick up her next novel.

3.5 stars rounded up.

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Review: Our Satyr Prince

Our Satyr Prince by Dylan Drakes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: 10 Hours to Go

10 Hours to Go by Keely Parrack
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for gifting me an advanced copy. Below is my honest review.

This YA suspense is an intense look into the flames of friendships and the sparks of old grudges. As these three girls start their ten hour journey home, old issues between them come cropping back up, but what starts as a potential prank is quickly swapped for a situation much more dangerous when local wildfires threaten not only their path home, but their very ability to make to through the night.

While I enjoyed the writing and think the author did a great job pushing the girls through the dangers of the night, I didn't love this one. It felt like there was a lot of hemming and hawing about past grudges, but then when it came down to it, the reveal was just meh. And while the fires definitely added a lot of tension and some great situational drama, but there was some wasted potential with the dropping of the "other people are dangerous" storyline. We got this whole situation with the scary guy and the disappearing people, but then it just got dropped completely.

All in all, if you enjoy some good character tension and environmental suspense with a YA spin, then you'll really enjoy this one. I think the author is great and will definitely try their next novel to see their growth.

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Review: The Tainted Cup

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and RHPG Ballantine Del Rey for gifting me an advanced copy. Below is my honest review.

Robert Jackson Bennett is an expert at creating interesting new worlds, and The Tainted Cup is no exception. I loved that Bennett stepped into a new genre - murder mystery - with his own unique spin on it.

I was going through a bit of a reading slump when I started this one, so it took me a bit to get into it, but as my reading mojo slowly returned, it got harder and harder to put this one down, and I tore through the pages like dappleglass bursting out of the victim's torsos in this one!

Definitely will be picking up book two when it releases. This one really left me wanting a sequel and to see more of Din and Ana.

Did I mention the alphabet representation? Yep. I loved it!

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Review: Your Shadow Half Remains

Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for gifting me an early copy. Below is my honest review.

This short novel is quite powerful. What happens to us when we can't look others in the face? When we lose all true connection and contact with people? How do we define ourselves when we can't even figure out if we're sane anymore? What happens when complete isolation is the new normal? Or, even more importantly, when someone decides to break that isolation without giving you a choice?

If you're a fan of Malerman's Bird Box or Saramago's Blindness (or their visual adaptations), this book will hit you hard. Just be prepared that you might not like what you see when you have to look at yourself as deeply as Riley does.

Definitely recommended for fans of psychological thrillers/suspense/almost horror.

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Review: Infinity Alchemist

Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Teen for the pre-release copy of this novel. Below you'll find my honest review.

This novel had a bunch of good things:

It knocks representation out of the park - trans, non-binary, polyamory, etc are all well represented in this novel in a respectful, teen-friendly way.

It has an interesting magic system and House hierarchy.

It also had some serious downsides:

The non-binary representation gets a little confusing as the pronouns change randomly from chapter to chapter. It pulled me out of the story a bit as I would have to figure out which "he" was being referenced at the time. So it's less a problem with the non-binary and more a problem with clarity from the author.

The whole point of the novel was to chase the Book, but then the Book wasn't even a real important thing at the end, and the story's conclusion was a bit of a mess. And honestly, the magic system didn't have rules or structure enough to really understand how it all actually worked.

Overall, lots of potential, but lacking in some of the execution.

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Review: The House of Last Resort

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me an early copy of The House of Last Resort. Below you'll find my honest review.

I'm actually really disappointed at this one. The first 90% of the book was amazing: slow burn, perfect pace of reveals, lingering questions, horror elements building up over the course of the book. The last 10% though? I just wasn't satisfied. I can't really say much because I want to avoid spoilers, but the ending fell flat for me. All that build-up, all that emotional carnage, and the payoff just wasn't there for me.

Like I said, I did love most of the book, so I'll only take away a star for not nailing the ending (in my opinion - others might really like it). And I'm definitely interested in reading more of Christopher Golden's works.

Four stars, recommended for fans of horror.

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