Justine’s Comments (group member since Jan 27, 2015)

Justine’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

That's a nice way of putting things, Kathi:) There are quite a few books best enjoyed that way I think.

I've finished a few books in the last week or so.

The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman - this was pretty good; I would recommend it for middle grade but I think probably the same kinds of friends and family issues with a supernatural twist were done a bit better in Doll Bones by Holly Black.

Beyond the Red by Ava Jae - DO NOT RECOMMEND! This is a YA SF romance book, which I don't have a problem with, but what I do have a problem with is the fact that the author is actively marketing this book as a standalone novel when it is clearly not. I ranted quite a bit about this on my review, so I won't go on about it further here:)

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine - this one was really good! I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It is a series start but it gives enough closure at the end that you don't feel like you've been left hanging. I'll definitely continue with the next book.

The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth - a nice, atmospheric YA thriller that is a standalone novel. I liked this one quite a bit.

Today I'm going to start Half Lost by Sally Green, the last book in the Half Bad trilogy.

I just finished Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard and would completely recommend it; I absolutely loved it.

I'm now reading The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman which is very good so far.

I finished The Rest of Us Just Live Here and thought it was very good. I would definitely recommend it.

I'm now reading Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen.

I just finished reading Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire; my only complaint would be that it was over too soon! It would be great if McGuire chooses to revisit these characters again in the future.

I'm now reading The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness.

I really liked Midnight Tides; Trull Sengar was one my favourite characters in the whole series.

Oh Ken that is awful:) I hope whoever found your book at least enjoys it. Maybe it will find a way back to you somehow, you never know.

I just finished reading The Trials, the second book in The Red Trilogy by Linda Nagata. I'm now reading a YA series; The Farm Trilogy by Emily McKay.

I'm going to try to fit this in this month, but it won't be until closer to the end of April. It was Alexa's short and concise review that made me want to read it:)

I finished up Malice by John Gwynne, which I thought was good apart from a glaring lack of female characters.

I'm now continuing my read of The Expanse series with book 4, Cibola Burn.

I finished Dreamer's Pool and it was just as good as everyone else here has already said; I'm just adding myself to the chorus.

I'm now reading Malice by John Gwynne and will probably get that one finished before the end of the month. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Shel have you read the Alpha and Omega books? It's a good idea to read Fair Game before Frost Burned if you can as there are some really significant things that happen in that book that affect the whole Mercy Thompson universe.

Nice:) I loved all the different characters and I thought it was really exciting even though I don't usually read a lot of hard science fiction. I liked it much more than Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, which also came out last year.

That's a good book, Carolyn:) I really enjoyed reading it.

I just finished reading Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, and it was a completely amazing piece of magical realism. It's on the shortlist for the Andre Norton Award for 2015 and I'm trying to read the books on the list that I missed last year.

I'm now reading Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier (like a lot of other people).

Not that you need another hit to your pocketbook, but I just finished another new release, Borderline by Mishell Baker, and it was absolutely fabulous. Baker is definitely a talent to watch.

I'm now reading Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers.

Shel!!!! Get thee to a bookstore - or download onto your ereader - soonest:)

I finished Fire Touched and it was a five star read for me; but I'm really biased when it comes to Patricia Briggs.

I'm now almost halfway through Borderline by Mishell Baker, and wow, it is terrific.

I liked Midnight Tides a lot, but since it's a book that introduces all new characters it is a good place to take a break if you need one. I haven't read The Lies of Locke Lamora yet, although I hear it is very good, because I was waiting to see how long it would take for the series to be completed before I started it. I know Lynch struggles with depression and that makes writing difficult, so that isn't meant as a criticism, merely an observation since my tiny brain will forget all the details if I have to wait too long between books.

I haven't read the Steven Bein book, maybe someone else here has and could offer an opinion on that.

Also welcome to the group!

Ken, have you read Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky? It's his only SF book and it was very good.

Viv wrote: "I must admit, I was a bit disappointed by The House of Shattered Wings - for me, it held a lot of promise that it didn't quite live up to."

I thought it was ok...I was really happy that the story got completely tied up in one book even though the author is planning to write another in the same world. I'm not sure what else I would have wanted from it to make it better.

I'm now reading Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs, which is the newest book in the Mercy Thompson series. It's probably my favourite urban fantasy series.