K.N. Salustro's Blog, page 9

Review – Trail of Lightning

[image error]This was a really cool read with a solid cast of characters all the way through. Set in an apocalyptic future, the story follows descendants of the Navajo people and how they survive in a harsh, monster-plagued landscape.

Main character Maggie is a fantastic protagonist, possessing the ruthlessness needed to get through her life as a monsterslayer, but also showing moments of deep vulnerability and uncertainty about herself. Like so many antiheroes, Maggie believes that the best way to keep t...

Review – Swordheart

[image error]Returning to the world of the Clockwork Boys was a lot of fun, if only because it gave T. Kingfisher the opportunity to introduce several new fantastic characters to the universe.

This isn’t an action-packed book, and mostly takes place as the characters trudge back and forth between three towns, but damn is it a fun book. Halla and Sarkis are such a fun duo, counterbalancing each other nicely even as Halla drives Sarkis up the wall with her endless curiosity. Then there’s Zale and Brindle, a...

Review – Searching for Dragons

[image error]This was another reread for me, and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed it much more as an adult than I did as a child. Part of that likely stems from the fact that there was more complex language in this one, particularly from a character who loves spouting magical physics jargon, to the point where the King of Dragons had to imply that she would eat him if he didn’t use layman’s terms.

So, it’s a pretty fun book.

The plot did feel a little slow toward the middle, with not a lot happening outsid...

Review – Wild Seed

[image error]It’s been five or six years since I’ve read an Octavia Butler book, and this served as a strong reminder why she was and still is regarded to be one of the most powerful voices in the genre. With powerhouse characters facing off against each other and a narrative that never shies away from the issues of race and sexuality, this is a hell of a book.

I wouldn’t describe it as a slow burner, since all of the tension is rooted in the clashing views two seemingly immortal humans have, and they com...

Review – Sunshine

[image error]I want to start this one off by saying that The Hero and the Crown is one of my favorite books. So I was excited to read another book from the same author, but this one ended up falling flat for me in a few too many places for me to really enjoy it.

The beginning is extremely slow, throwing a lot of info and details at the reader to set up this almost picturesque life in a city that happens to have survived the magical apocalyptic wars that ravaged the world years before. There’s no indicatio...

Review – Discount Armageddon

[image error]4 stars on goodreads, 3.5 in my mind

I love the Toby Daye series, so I was excited to dive into Seanan McGuire’s second urban fantasy series. I’m not sure that InCryptid will measure up in my heart, but this first one was an extremely fun book.

This is an very different book from the Toby Daye ones, bringing in more overt jokes and about 200% more sex. Mixed together with Verity Price’s dark sense of humor, this first book of the series is a lot of fun to read.

My problems with it, though, we...

Review – Now I Rise

[image error]Well. Just when I thought things couldn’t get more brutal, I turned another page in this book.

Now I Rise is the sequel to And I Darken, picking back up with siblings Lada and Radu as they each go down the paths they’ve chosen, moving farther apart from each other and growing into the people they’ve chosen to be.

For fearsome Lada, that is a new ruler who needs to learn how she can and should shape her country. She does not take advice well and takes betrayal… less well. Lada is not one to sh...

Review – Ashes of Honor

[image error]Me, after finishing One Salt Sea: *mildly sad, totally in love with these characters, ready to rip into the next book*

Me, after finishing Ashes of Honor: *crying on the couch while the cat judges me from my sewing chair, trying not to wake my sick boyfriend up with these ugly happy tears*

I’m totally enamored with the Toby Daye series, and I think this one was the best book yet. It sticks strongly to the central themes of family and staying true to your own moral code, even in the face of mo...

Review – One Salt Sea

[image error]I think this is my favorite Toby Daye book yet. Packed with threads from the previous books coming to a head and a few unexpected twists, this one packs a punch. It also reminds you why you don’t mess with a mother who will do anything for her child(ren), and Toby is the prime example of that.

The book maintains the standard October Daye flare, with Toby called to solve a mystery before time runs out. This time, though, the stakes are much higher, and they keep escalating. The pacing in the b...

Project Update!

[image error]Obligatory aesthetic photo that I did not take. Source.

Been a while since I’ve done a straight blog post, so I figure it’s time for one of those.

I also failed to schedule a book review post for last week, figuring I’d replace it with this one, so that’s my bad. And preeeetty much par for the course these days. Everything is tired and I want to curl up in a ball with my cat on the couch, eat pizza, and play video games for the next six months.

Sadly, I cannot do that because it will likely d...