Ricky Pine's Blog, page 25

Review: Holly

Holly by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

King said he was welcoming one star reviews from the many MAGA types he freely insulted through Holly’s perspective in this book, and while I do enjoy a few digs at Der Orangeführer and his many supporters in Holly’s unspecified red state home (okay, a lot of digs, but that’s nothing new from Stephen King anyway), it was really the constant Covid content that made me round my 3.5 down instead of up. I mean, it does make sens...

Review: Fourth Wing

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm being generous with the extra star for this one, and it's mostly because I can relate to Violet wanting to be a scribe, rather than a soldier. It's too bad she had to have a mother who comes off like a watered down version of the Commandant from An Ember in the Ashes who wouldn't allow her to pursue a path she really wanted at Basgiath War College.

I say "watered down" because unfortunately, for a book full of dra...

Review: The Fragile Threads of Power

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Six years and change since Schwab last wrote and published a full length novel in the world of the Shades of Magic, six years since I first bid that trilogy vas ir...anoshe, and now we're back with the long-awaited, long-hyped first book of the sequel trilogy. Just like the first book of the original trilogy, though, I do have to say that it doesn't quite live fully up to the hype for me. For this one, ...

Review: Of Thieves and Shadows

Of Thieves and Shadows by B.S.H. Garcia
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I found this one on the shelf at the library in Gresham. It sure looked interesting, and I was especially intrigued when I picked it up and saw that it was from an Oregon-based author. Self-published epic fantasy? Yes please. But while the book had some interesting ideas, especially from a world building standpoint - a movie adaptation of this one would be very eye-catching with its cast of human and variou...

Review: The Jasad Heir

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first of a promising new fantasy series in an Egyptian-inspired desert setting is a great showcase of debut author Sara Hashem's talents. Centering on the lost heiress to a kingdom thought destroyed and the terrible debt she finds herself in to a leader from the enemy nation that led the crusade to destroy hers, it's been billed as "enemies to lovers" but it most definitely isn't that simple. Normally, that tren...

Review: Soulbrand

Soulbrand by Andrew Rowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third book of Weapons and Wielders - and the last one to date - is where I'll have to stop my ongoing read-through of Andrew Rowe books for now, at least until one of my local libraries finally sees fit to acquire the fourth book of Arcane Ascension. But it's a good stopping point, I'd say. While it's far longer than either of its predecessors in this series, long enough to stand on par with the first two Arcane Ascen...

Review: The Mountain in the Sea

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book got a pretty nice push in marketing a few months back from Barnes & Noble, if I remember correctly, selecting it as a Book of the Month. So when I placed an order for it at the library, it was a very long waitlist, over two months...and let me tell you, I'm sorry to say that it was not worth the wait. The premise is intriguing enough, with its idea of octopi whose language is just waiting for humans...

Review: Tides of Fire

Tides of Fire by James Rollins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Seichan largely sat out the last Sigma Force adventure, but that was because Rollins had a lot more personal peril in mind for her in this latest installment. Following multiple lines of narratives throughout the South Seas and Southeast Asia not unlike previous adventure The Judas Strain, this time around, Sigma has to face a string of escalating geological cataclysms throughout the interconnected submarine trenche...

Review: Seven Mercies

Seven Mercies by L.R. Lam and Elizabeth May
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm very glad that I was able to read this fast-paced series conclusion so soon after finally getting around to its predecessor Seven Devils super late to the party. Normally, I'm not much for the duology trend - I've complained about it numerous times - but reading the two books in such quick succession is exactly what the doctor ordered. It may have technically taken me many days, but that's only bec...

Review: Forging Divinity

Forging Divinity by Andrew Rowe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

While waiting for the third book of Weapons & Wielders, I took a little side trip through Andrew Rowe's backlist to the first book of another series with a tangential connection at best to the other two series of his that I've been reading on my coworker Tory's rec. I think Tory might've read these books too, but it was Arcane Ascension that he liked the most, followed by Weapons & Wielders, and this series barely ...