Ricky Pine's Blog, page 12

Review: The Verifiers

The Verifiers by Jane Pek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

They whom I replaced at my current job recommended me this book when they gave a brief visit and explained that they were going to be training as a paramedic. They had this book in hand and sayd they were reading it for a book club. Having read it, I have to say their book club has great taste. It’s an unconventional murder mystery where protagonist Claudia Lin is a sort of PI at a firm that specializes in solving myster...

Review: 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers

888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers by Abraham Chang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Okay I’ll be honest, that triple dose of Don Henley needle drops on the first official page set my expectations a little too high, but that’s even after seeing the low GR rating tempering them. I do love the film nerd and music nerd of it all, don’t get me wrong. Hell, the amusing dreams of conversations with big name directors from America and China alike, these scenes alone would be gr...

Review: Wrath of the Triple Goddess

Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Happy Halloween, or: It’s the Great Polecat, Percy Jackson! The new trilogy continues with Percy seeking his second godly letter of recommendation for New Rome University, with his latest task being to house sit for Hecate and her pets while she’s away. Easier said than done when there’s always the temptation to touch something you shouldn’t, and when it’s Grover who does just that, cue another madcap a...

Review: Dragonsteel Prime

Dragonsteel Prime by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The origin of Sanderson’s brand, this book was a surprise to me, being featured with his Words of Radiance leatherbound Kickstarter - I was only expecting Secret Project #5! But here we get one of Brando Sando’s very first manuscripts, the one he wrote in college at BYU, fresh from the vault as a special treat. Looking at this book, it’s easy to see how it’s written by a much younger hand - especially with t...

Review: Castle of the Cursed

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m amazed this book doesn’t have a higher rating here on GR, because I have to say, it’s some of Romona Garber’s best work. Hella Spanish and hella Gothic, it’s the closest thing I’ve seen yet to a YA version of Crimson Peak, enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if Guillermo del Toro were to snap up the film rights and at least exec produce, if not direct, an adaptation. In which case it would also take some ...

Review: The Pomegranate Gate

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I saw this one on the shelf at Powell’s and ordered it right away at the library, not realizing it was about a year old and the sequel was just about to drop too. None of the libraries here have the sequel yet, though I’ve at least gotten in line for the ebook at Multnomah County Library when it’s available. I’m glad it won’t be too long a wait, because at least I’ll be able to jump into the next book relative...

Review: Celestial Monsters

Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It took Aiden Thomas a couple of years to follow up on The Sunbearer Trials and its shockingly dark ending, but now here they come with the duology's conclusion and...unfortunately it left me feeling whelmed at best. Though the first book was a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 because of the ending, this one is for me more of a 2.5 rounded down to a 2 because of its lackluster nature. Thomas had been very open about taking...

Review: We Solve Murders

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While Osman takes a hiatus from his signature Thursday Murder Club mystery series, he starts a new one with a slightly more international cast, if not a more likable one. In fact, most of the characters - except old Steve, who really ought to cross over with the Thursday Murder Club sometime, if not for the fact that he lives miles away from their community - just aren’t likable at all. Though that leads to some ...

Review: Heir

Heir by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For a while this book was only known as “Sabaa’s Bane,” and now, having finally read it, I can see why. Returning to her star-making saga of An Ember in the Ashes with a hard hitting next generation story - and a vastly expanded world map to show how much development Tahir put into this fictional world - it’s also a complex high fantasy, YA in marketing only, with three primary POV’s that show just how brutal the next war is g...

Review: Exposure

Exposure by Ramona Emerson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not surprised that Ramona Emerson wasn’t going to stop at just Shudder, because there was clearly room for much more story to tell with Rita Todacheene. And so it goes with another paranormal murder mystery in New Mexico - this time set in a bone chilling Gallup winter, with a killer targeting indigent Native people under the direction of a vengeful God, or so the delusion would have it. Seriously, though, this part...