Andria Potter's Blog, page 26
September 25, 2019
{Late} Monthly Wrap Up: August 2019
Another month gone, and it’s my birthday as I’m posting this, and I turn 30. Here are the books that I’ve read for the month of August. August seems like my worst month of reading yet, even compared with February, though I did beat my record of DNF’ing books in a month, unfortunately. This was one of the crappiest months in regards to reading, with very few 5 star books that I found.
1.Dragonfly by Leila Meacham 3/5 stars
2.For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund 3/5 stars
3.Today We Go Home by Kelli Estes 5/5 stars*
4.Daggerspell by Katherine Kurr 4/5 stars
5.Chambers of Culdi by Katherine Kurtz 2/5 stars
6.Kidnapped by the Cowboy by Pam Crooks 3/5 stars
7.As You Desire by Connie Brockway 3/5 stars
8.House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig 3/5 stars
9.Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine 2/5 stars
10.Out of the Storm by Jody Hedlund 3/5 stars
11.And Then They Were Doomed by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli 2/5 stars
12.Ruby’s Spoon by Anna Lawrence Pietroni 3/5 stars
13.Noelle at Sea by Nikki Shannon 4/5 stars
14.Plaid to the Bone by Mira Marlowe 3/5 stars
15.The Magicians by Lev Grossman 5/5 stars Re-Read/LGBT Pick
Wow, only a single LGBT pick for the month of August, along with one re-read. 15 books is one of my lowest read months, but I plan on changing that for my birthday month, September. September 1 is my birthday, and I turn 30, y’all. I’ve gotten nearly $100 in birthday money, which is way more than what I normally get, and a ton of ebooks and one physical book that a family member bought as I’m collecting the series slowly and B&N actually had book three in stock for a change. (Throne of Glass: Book Three if you’re wondering.) Well, that’s another wrap-up. Let’s up September beats August way out of the water in terms of how much I read.
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
August 30, 2019
Arc Review: Today We Go Home
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Title: Today We Go Home
Author: Kelly Estes
Series: Standalone
Genre: Adult Fiction
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Type of Book: Arc, Kindle Ebook
Received: Netgalley, Publisher
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 5/5 stars
Notes: Beautifully written and captivating!
This tells the story of Emily turned Jesse Wilson, a young woman donning man’s clothing and joining her brother in the war to save her family after her Pa and oldest brother are killed by senech rebels. A girl disguising herself as a man is one of my favorites tropes in fiction, and so I jumped at the chance to read this book. It’s a wonderful story; it alternates between her story and another woman’s tale during the present day, a woman named Linda who lost her sister Sarah to a war as well. Linda finds the diary that inspired Sarah into becoming a soldier, and dives into Emily/Jesse’s tale, and soon is captivated over her story. She reads the story to get over the loss of her sister, she reads the story to see what happened with Emily, and she reads the story because she has rarely heard of a woman becoming a man to join a war back in the civil war era.
This was a beautiful, yet long tale-it took me four days to read through, and admittedly I liked Emily/Jesse’s chapters better as they were far more interesting to me, but overall there were quite a few things I liked about both women characters. I should note warnings for PTSD, typhoid/detailed sick scenes in hospitals, civil war battle scenes, attempted suicide, and sexist assholes scattered throughout the story. There’s a mindfield of triggers scattered throughout for anyone whose ever been involved in war, or has a sibling/relative that was in the war, so take caution in reading this book, please.
But it is an important book, as the story shows that women aren’t just willing to be shoved aside, and treated as simple creatures. They’re willing to stand up for what they believe in is right, and won’t take no for an answer. They can fight with guns, crawl through mud just as well as a man can, and I admire these women in this book, because they are badasses.
My one complaint is the dual character pov, alternating between past and present. But the author handled that so well, that it’s a minor complaint, so. I’m giving this book a 4.5/5 stars, and rounding it up to a solid 5 because it’s well deserving of it. I plan on buying a copy to add a physical copy to my shelves here at home, it’s that lovely of a story. There are several sad scenes scattered throughout, so be prepared for a box of tissues when reading this book. Trust me, you’ll need them if your heart isn’t made of stone.
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
August 13, 2019
Book Review: Daggerspell
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Title: Daggerspell
Author: Katherine Kurr
Series: Book 1
Genre: Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Spectra
Page Count: 600
Type of Book: Paperback
Who Recommended it: My mother
Received: bought secondhand
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 4/5 stars
Notes: It didn’t end on a cliffhanger!
Daggerspell was an interesting fantasy novel. I loved the start of it; Jill’s character seemed to really develop as she lost her mother, and then met her silver dagger father who is labeled one of the most dangerous men in the country. Jill leaves her little village with her father after her mother dies, and winds up traveling across country, helping his father stopping family fueds, finding coin, and so forth. Jill has her own secrets too though, much as her father doesn’t like it-she can see and speak to the Wildfolk, Fae creatures. He forbids her from attempting to do so again, even as he explains that were people to see her doing such strange actions, they would consider her a witch.
This was a fun fantasy, and I wish I’d read it when I was years younger, back in my teens would have been preferable, because it definitely felt a bit dated at times. There’s some neat battle scenes, some love interest, a prophecy of sorts revolving around Jill, and lots of history and magic explained throughout the book but not wordy and never in the boring fantasy way that some books seem to have.
For those who were wondering if this book was worth it? I feel as though it is. It’s entertaining, though not wholly gripping it’s definitely got potential as a series, and though I’ve heard it from many people that book two is easily the worst in the series? I’m still willing to press on and see where the story goes.
4/5 stars for a unique and fun read, though not quite as powerfully fantastical as some other classic fantasy I could name, still definitely worth giving it a try.
Until next time,
Pass Me That Book
August 8, 2019
TBR Thursday: 6 Books I aim to Read and FINALLY get them off my waiting list!
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This month is not just Arcs that I need to prioritize. I should be posting reviews, but I’m doing this instead. These are six books that I’ve had sitting on my shelves for over 2 years. So they need to be read, or go away!
1) The Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan I’ve heard such mixed reviews on this book. You either love it or hate it. I’m hoping that I’ll love it. I only have book one so if I do love it, the series may have to wait.
2) The Covenant Rising by Stan Nichols This seems to have mostly negative reviews on Goodreads but I won’t judge until I’ve read it myself. That cover is also quite lovely don’t you think?
3) The Chamber of Culdi by Katherine Kurtz My mother swears by this series. I’m really nervous to read this.
4) The Shadow of a Dark Queen by Raymond E. Feist Everyone raves about this author. I have never read their books but am finally plucking the courage to do so.
5) Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr I also have been told by my mother that this series is excellent, except for book two. So again-nervous!
And finally…
6) Royal Exile By Fiona McIntosh Almost all negative reviews on Goodreads. I hope that won’t be me as well!
And those are the six books that aren’t arcs I hope to read this month. Have y’all read any of these? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Pass Me That Book.
August 1, 2019
Monthly TBR: Books I Hope to Read in August
Hello all, and welcome to another tentative TBR for the month of August. These are all likely to be repeats and some new ones thrown in for good measure, as there’s several that I’ve STILL not gotten around to reading, despite my eagerness for them. Let’s see what’s up for the month of August shall we?
Now a lot of these are arcs, so I’ll be concentrating on those most of all, as I’ve been trying to narrow the amount of arcs in my Netgalley profile. I’ve got an alarming number growing, and today didn’t help because I went and requested a good fifty+ more, mainly because I was bored and feeling ambitious for the month of August. I’m hoping to get through all of these, but we’ll see how that actually turns out, shall we?
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
Monthly Wrap Up: July 2019
Welcome to my usual monthly wrap up! After this month, it’s a single month away from my birthday! So for August I’m going to try to read as many books that have been on my radar as possible. It’ll be the month of the most popular books only! Let’s see how many I can power through, shall we? Anyways, here are the books that I’ve read for July:
1.Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs 5/5 stars
2.Eye Spy by Mercedes Lackey 4/5 stars LGBT Pick
3.Wolf Mountain by Isabella Hunt 4/5 stars
4.Persephone by Seanan McGuire 5/5 stars
5.Worth Her Weight in Gold by Sarah Gailey 5/5 stars
6.A Burden Shared by Jo Walton 4/5 stars
7.Into Bones like Oil by Kaaren Warren 2/5 stars
8.Salvation Day by Kali Wallace 5/5 stars
9.Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley 4/5 stars
10.The Bride Test by Helen Hoang 3/5 stars
11.Second You Sin by Scott Sherman 4/5 stars LGBT Pick
12.Restoree by Anne McCaffrey 3/5 stars Re-read
13.Larceny and Old Lace by Tamar Myers 2/5 stars
14.Bound to Two Bears by Kelex 4/5 stars LGBT Pick
15.Torn Part 1 by Amy Silva 2/5 stars
16.His Sub by Ellis O’Day 4/5 stars
17.Pretend for Him by Jack Wolfe 4/5 stars
18.The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier 3/5 stars
19.Brief Cases by Jim Butcher 5/5 stars
20.The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham 5/5 stars
21.The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winters 5/5 stars
22.The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso 5/5 stars
23.Third Girl by Agatha Christie 3/5 stars
24.Tracking Game by Margaret Mizuschima 4/5 stars
25.Bond by Tasha Black 3/5 stars
26.The Girl in Red by Christina Henry 4/5 stars
27.Irresistible by Susan Mallery 4/5 stars
28.Priest of Lies by Peter McLean 5/5 stars
29.Dragonsblood by Todd McCaffrey, 4/5 stars
30.Grave Expectations by Heather Redmond 4/5 stars
31.The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland 4/5 stars
32.The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden 3/5 stars
33.Hitting Black Ice by Heloise West 4/5 stars LGBT pick
34.Spellslinger by Sebastian de Castel 5/5 stars
Almost 35 books, better than almost all my other months so far this year. A lot of these I thoroughly enjoyed, and the month ended on a high note with a new favorite series! I’m determined to read double next month, as per usual, and am hoping to read a book a day-provided life doesn’t get in the way, as August is typically a ridiculously busy month. What all did y’all read for July? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Pass Me That Book
July 30, 2019
Book Review: Grave Expectations
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Title: Grave Expectations
Author: Heather Redmond
Series: Book 2
Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 400
Type of Book: Arc, Kindle Ebook
Received: Publisher, Netgalley
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 5/5 stars
Notes: I haven’t read book one, but it seems you don’t need to in order to read book two, thankfully.
This was a fun read, and worthy of Dickens. I really think he would enjoy this series, as it’s entertaining, well written, and with such strong characters. With plenty of excitement to go around from women falling out of windows by accident to discovering corpses, this mystery will definitely delight readers fond of historical fiction and who-dun-it’s.
I’m determined to get book one so that I can fill in some of the gaps. I feel it would at least help me figure out how Kate and Charles met, and why they’re so enamored with each other-he seems to treat her nicely enough, but also whenever she wants to go do something dangerous he’s all “now, now, let’s not be hasty, you’re a woman you must stay behind where it’s safe” which seems a bit sexist, though that was how it was during those times, I can’t fault him too much for that. It comes off more romantic as well, instead of sexist, because while he’s very telling in what she does, he’s not an asshole about it.
Charles is an overall good guy, he helps others that needs it, goes to those who are in danger and try to rescue them, and is generally the hero of the story. Kate is a kind girl who tries to help as much as she possibly can. There’s plenty for writers to like about this too, with passages of Charles struggling to come up with rhymes or lines for songs or sketches. And there’s one nod that I rather enjoyed about a guy suggesting Charles write books and Charles vehemently in denial about anyone buying anything he writes. Hehe. If only you knew Charles.
The mystery itself wasn’t hard to solve, though it was entertaining. All the clues were there, and with plenty of suspects you have chances in guessing wrong. There’s thieves, a murdered woman, and a dreadful tenant within these pages that all wind up getting their mysteries solved in the end, with a couple of harrowing moments for Mr. Dickens.
The book does leave it rather open for a sequel to follow through, so I’m sure when it comes out I’ll request it having thoroughly enjoyed this one. Overall, I’m giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounding it up to 5/5 stars. I really like this author’s writing style, and I’m irate that I left it sitting in my kindle so long.
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
Book Review: The Woman in the Veil
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Title: The Woman in the Veil
Author: Laura Joh Rowland
Series: Book 4
Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery, Historical
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Page Count: 400
Type of Book: Arc, Kindle Ebook
Received: Publisher, Netgalley
Review Word Count:
Rated: 4/5 stars
Notes:
I haven’t read any of the first three books, but will likely rectify that when I can because I very much enjoyed book four. While the mystery of Sleeping Beauty, as she’s called by the papers in this book, was interesting, I wasn’t fully invested in this book. I feel as though I missed out a lot on the characters, and their stories from previous novels. While the author does a great job of letting you know what’s happened, I feel it’s best to read this series in order.
There was a surprising gay couple in the book of which I very much enjoyed seeing, especially with one of the characters being a former priest. That was very surprising and nice to see in historical fiction for a change. I liked the main character, and I liked the mystery overall. But as I said, I think I’ll read the other three books and then re-read this one to see how I feel about it.
Overall I liked it, but I think I’ll enjoy it more when I read the rest of the series. 4/5 stars.
Until next time,
Pass Me That Book
Book Review: Hitting Black Ice
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Title: Hitting Black Ice
Author: Heloise West
Series: Book 1
Genre: Adult Fiction, Romance, LGBT
Page Count: 200
Publisher: NineStar Press
Type of Book: Arc, Kindle Ebook
Received: Netgalley, Publisher
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 4/5 stars
Notes: High action, lots of romance, and plenty of thrills.
This is one of those rare Netgalley arcs that I requested because it sounded like exactly what I wanted to read, got it within two hours, and then finished it three hours later. It left the book hanging wide open for a sequel, but I fell hard for Shawn and Hunter. Both young men were involved in a high stakes hostage situation, an mysterious FBI guy chasing after Shawn, guns, shootings, and more dangerous scenarios taking place in the snowy mountains during blizzard like conditions. Exactly what I wanted to read.
The only reason it’s four stars was because it left it hanging on a cliffhanger. Sigh. I very much need book two, and I am now invested in this series. The author immediately soared to my top ten favorite LGBT authors.
This made me think very strongly of the survival stories of Stargate Atlantis fanfiction that I used to read in a way, with lots of plot, romance, and characters. I very much enjoyed this and eagerly look forward to book two. Overall, I’m giving this 4/5 stars, and I’m hopeful book two will be out as quickly as possible. I especially liked the dogs that were thrown into the plot for good measure and the heroic rescue at the end. Highly recommended for those who enjoy fast paced action with lots of twists and turns!
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
July 26, 2019
Book Review: Tracking Game
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Title: Tracking Game
Author: Margaret Mizushima
Series: Book 5
Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Page Count: ?
Type of Book: Kindle Ebook, Arc
Received: Publisher, Netgalley
Review Word Count: 500
Rated: 4/5 stars
Notes: I haven’t ready any of the rest of the series, nor have I read anything else from this author.
~*~
This was an interesting read. A standalone mystery, you really don’t have to read the rest of the series to get the gist, and it doesn’t give spoilers for the last few books in the series either, or at least not that I noticed. I liked it, overall, especially the dog.
It starts off with a literal bang-romance in the air, when a date is abruptly canceled when an explosion rocks nearby, killing one person…but it wasn’t due to the van exploding, it was two bullets to the chest. CPR definitely wasn’t going to revive that poor fella.
It goes on from there, tracking down who killed them, and there’s lots of hiking, mystery, twists and turns and overall plenty of goodness to be had within these pages. I’m terribly at writing reviews for mystery novels, can you tell? My problem is that I really don’t want to give away all the details, because I like going into mysteries blind with only a few things to guide me into if I want to read this or not. Or I pick the book because of the cover without realizing it’s part of a series. Lol, whoops.
Regardless, I highly recommend this one. It’s good, it’s not too long, and it’s not overly descriptive on either. There’s plenty of action to be had, and the characters are good enough that it almost seems like you’re standing there with them as they’re running for their lives.
4/5 stars.
Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book
