Sotto Voce's Blog, page 8

Labyrinthia (Ann Birdgnaw)

This book feels much shorter than the previous ones in the series; this one feels like a repeat and rushed. I barely know much about the world or planet, and the ending leaves many questions because it is majorly destructive. At this point, I'd expect that readers must have read the previous books, so seeing more character developments and backgrounds in their real-world would be great, like the previous books, because they are almost non-existent here.

I also expected it to go in a different dir...

Crete. Wonders of a glorious land: A different Greece travel book

This is certainly a different travel book because it's not the kind of travel book that casual travelers would want to bring along for holidays or casual visits. However, if you are interested in the history of the place, this book is for you.

Sometimes I feel the book is all over the place and wish that it focuses on certain interests instead, it doesn't have to cover everything that ends up with an imbalance of details. Between the historical background of the culture, the architecture, snippet...

A Tale of One Weird Glove

I hardly advertise because I hate it but I know I have to do it sometimes.

So, I have a website and a newsletter! Do give me a visit or subscribe, but only if you want to! Thank you for the support.

A Tale of One Weird Glove

I want to keep my life in order and start clearing stuff I don't need around the house. My goal is to live with only the things that I need. Things that I have used for the last decade. But as usual, it's hard. Two of the hardest ones for me are books and things with memories, ...

Efficient and Divine: Honey Locust (Gene Kendall)

Honey Locust is a sequel to the tale of Mason MacKay. Having read the first book quite recently, the plot flows without any hiccup for me as most details are still fresh in my mind.

I like this book better than the first one, although I still feel indifferent to the main characters. Imho, all the side characters have better developments, while the main character remains almost the same throughout this book. However, all characters are more consistent and feel more personal, well rounded with clea...

The Vitruvian Mask (BJ Sikes)

 

I have mixed feelings about this book.

 

 Vitruvian Mask startsstrongly, readers are presented with an interesting world where the timeline isset in the past, yet we learn about modern technology exceeding current time.We follow the journey of a heavily pregnant scientist, Adelaide Coumain, in atrying time when science has been outlawed, and she has to endure theman-dominated world without certainty in the future for her and her baby.

 

 We learn about thefather of the baby, snippets ...

Efficient and Divine: Almost Heaven (Gene Kendall)

The idea of this book is intriguing. We are following the transformation of the character as his storyline unfolds layer by layer.

I like the fast pace, the willingness to create impacts, and the body counts along the way. The tightly woven of interlocking flows between scenes and characters are established firmly. There are enough revelations and mysteries; it was not a difficult read for me. The author manages to handle some sensitive topics delicately, and personally, I don't mind others that ...

Paranormal Noise (Marco Santucci)

 This book is a unique view into the world on the other side.

Not the kind of book I usually pick up; this is the first time, actually. Last and this year, I explored books in genres I would never read before and was pleasantly surprised by many.

I have lived long enough to learn that there are many things out there that we don't know, and open-mindedness is the wisest way to live. I stayed and explored strange places. People I trust, including my Dad, had experienced unexplainable stuff. I like h...

Watery Grave (Dave Saari)

 

Watery Grave is a book about a suspected murderinvestigation for a case that had been ruled out as an accident. A persistentfamily member of the deceased insists on finding out the truth when everyoneelse has given up.

This book has too many things besides the mystery itself. Iwish for more suspects, more motives, and more natural investigations of thecase. Still, instead, it focuses a lot on relationships and some unnecessaryscenes and interactions that are distracting and bring down th...

Four Puppet Kings and A Fool (Seth Hobbs)

 

To be honest, I am not really sure how to review this book,as this is part of a series. It is laying down the foundation for morestories to come, introducing a lot of characters,  promising conflicts, and interaction as theirpaths start to cross.

Although there are a plethora of characters, in thebeginning, the book spends more time on General Voxinus, an honorable veteranwarrior whose main goal is to serve the realm with tons of family devotion. Ithelps to set the base and gives readers...

Duplicity of Power (S. Lynn Helton)

 

Personally, there are two things that I am wary of in fantasy books: One, stories that are difficult to follow, and second, over-the-top language, especially early in the book when readers haven't had good impressions or attachments to the plot or characters.

That is why I like this book. The story follows a female protagonist who is thrown into a quest. The plot weaves easily when it introduces the characters. The world setting unveils layer by layer, and with everything new, explanations are ...