Ashleigh aims for 61!

[patricia]

It is not the Civil War as that was in the 1860's. It was the American Revolution, the rebellion of the original 13 colonies against England. Pat M PS: My history teachers would roll in their graves if I didn't say this

[Ashleigh]

Oops thank you! I'm in Australia so know very little of American history!

[Ashleigh]

Review for The Ex Hex

3/5.

The Ex Hex introduces Vivi Jones and her cousin Gwyn as they get drunk and perform a 'curse' on Vivi's ex, Rhys Penhallow. Then, flashfoward nine yers later and Rhys has returned to strengthen the ley-lines at the magical school, Penhallow College.

I found this book to be like any other romance, with the addition of magic - which I enjoyed. Vivi and Rhys are modern day witches, living countries apart. Rhys is from an ancient family and Vivi is trying her best to fit into the 'real' world and separate her magic self from the rest of her.

When Rhys returns, Vivi quickly discovers that the drunken curse she put on him all those years ago is coming to pass and magic is going awry in the town. From talking cats to ghosts, strange things are happening and Rhys and Vivi must work together to solve it - all the while trying to figure out their feelings for one another.

I think I was after a little more from this book. While I don't go into romance for unique stories, the story for this book just wasn't fulfilling in the sense that the magic didn't make it different enough. I was hoping for more of a slow burn I think.

In saying that, I really liked both the main characters. I thought they were interesting and likeable characters on their own and together, they just fell back in too quickly for my liking.

For me, this book was middle ground. I definitely didn't dislike it, but nor did I love it.

[Ashleigh]

Review for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

4/5.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was one of the most wholesome books I've read this year. I absolutely adored the storytelling nature and the simple way the story was told. I know it was aimed at children when being written, but it's one of the timeless and ageless books that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

This is yet another classic that I had not yet read (though I've seen the most recent movie adaptation multiple times) and am now glad I read it. I am thankful for the book groups I am part of for giving me the opportunity to explore books I wouldn't be picking up.

This book began with the four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - exploring the house of a professor and discovering a wardrobe that leads them to a different world called Narnia. There, they befriend a fawn, a beaver family and a great lion called Aslan as they battle someone called the White Witch, who has turned Narnia into an endless winter.

With their friends, the siblings fight to fulfil a prophecy that four sons of Adam and daughters of Eve will sit upon the four thrones of Narnia.

My only criticism is the book was too short, but that is a personal preference and I understand this book was written for children.

As I have started with this book, I will be continuing the series under the Goodreads publication order rather than chronological. It may not be the recommended order, but it is the path I have chosen.

I loved this.

[Ashleigh]

Review for The Burning Land

3/5.

I'd like to start this review by saying I am grateful for having been given the opportunity to read this book and be introduced to a new author. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to have the chance to read.

This book begins with the Falcons, a pentacle of sworn knights, there to serve the empire under all circumstances. The knights possess a special Gift which allows them to draw upon power from a special crystal. But after certain events unfold, the knights become renegades on the run.

This was a great book to be introduced to a new fantasy world and to once again dive into adult fantasy. It's been a while since I have explored this genre, having been reading a lot of YA fantasy as of late.

I thought the world building was intriguing, and I saw a lot of links to our world and references to political situations that are relevant to us in present times. I found myself specifically reflecting on the Orders' annihilation of other races and then telling the population a different story as to how these races were wiped out. It was interesting to read.

I also take my hat off to David Hair for addressing issues around gender inequality. I personally believe he hit the nail on the head with how it is in present times. Women have the ability to lead, women are placed in leadership roles, but within those roles, there is still resistance and sexism present.

I found this to be relatable and relevant.

One of the most difficult aspects of this book to get into was the pacing. I found it to be rather slow-paced and took a long time to reach the point, which I think made it slightly less enjoyable for me. I also found it tricky to personally like some of the characters - in particular, Romara. I just didn't find her relatable or likeable a lot of the time.

In saying that, it was a book that grew on me the more I read. I admittedly was not invested at the beginning, but the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.

And the way this one ended - well, of course I have to read book two when it comes out. I can't finish on that clifhanger and not read on!

An enjoyable book and one worth reading.

[Ashleigh]

Review for The Last Thing He Told Me

4/5.

This book hooked me from the start. I still have the mindset that Thrillers aren't my genre, but I need to start thinking that they are. I've read so many now and enjoyed most of them that I am a fan of this genre.

Before I started this, so many people told me how they'd really enjoyed this book, so I went in expecting a lot from it, but not knowing exactly what I was expecting. I found the concept of this story hooking and I kept reading just to find out all of the answers.

From early on I had so many questions and theories. What happened to Hannah's husband, Owen? Why did he just up and leave his wife and daughter without any warning? Is he in trouble? Did he do something wrong? My mind was definitely flitting around and it's safe to say that I did not pick the 'truth' this time. I usually have a habit of figuring out the plot before it's revealed, but this one felt really complex that there is no way I would have gotten it.

I honestly thought the outcome of this story was possibly more realistic than other thrillers I've read. The reasoning for events happening was probably more probable - has probably happened to people before. And I liked that. It made the story more relatable.

And I must add that I found the ending to be heartwarming and bittersweet. I won't call it a happy ending, but it wasn't an unhappy ending either. It gave us hope, but didn't resolve the issue entirely, which I think is more realistic again.

As for the characters, I really liked them. Hannah and Bailey were likeable in their own way. I wouldn't say I really felt the intent of the story - to grow their bond - but I still liked the attempts.

My only criticism would be the writing style at times. It wasn't my favourite, but I found the story engaging enough in spite of it all.

Well worth a read!

[Ashleigh]

Review for Dracula

2.5/5.

One day, I'll pick up a classic and not be completely bored by it. Unfortunately, Dracula was not that book.

This book started with promise. We were introduced to Johnathan Harker, who was asked to go to Transylvania to count Dracula's house. He recorded in his diary all the strange and horrible things he saw and witnessed, beginning to fear for his life.

It began how I hoped it would - the story of the vampire, Dracula.

However, after Jonathan's diary entries stopped, we were introduced to an abundance of other characters and for the longest time I felt lost, trying to figrure out who everyone was. Yes, I eventually figured it out, but by this point my interest had wavered. We were into the lives of all these other characters, but there wasn't much other than talk about Dracula, which disappointed me.

Maybe I went in expecting too much, but Dracula is such a well-known fictional figure, that I suppose I just expected the book to be more about him rather than the other characters. I was left feeling a little underwhelmed and disappointed.

In saying that, one nice surprise for me was the character of Van Helsing. I, of course, am familiar with the name, but had no idea he originated from the Dracula story. He was probably my favourite character and I felt he explained things well enough to understand.

This was only a mediocre book for me, I'm sorry to say. Maybe the next classic I pick up will be the one!

[Ashleigh]

Review for Naked Empire

3.75/5.

Naked Empire picked up just after Pillars of Creation ended, with Richard and the gang somewhere new and other characters scattered across this vast world Goodkind has created.

I found this book interesting, but it didn't have the same impact as the previous book did for me. I was completely invested in the new characters, but this one I wasn't as invested. In fact, I found myself falling slightly off the Richard bandwagon after this book.

It's not that he did anything overly wrong, but he really portrayed a nature and belief that I do not agree with - and he felt rather hypocritical in this book. He went preaching to others how he believes people have a choice on how they live (which is fine), and tried to convince other cultures of his belief... with complete disregard to their own belief and nature.

His insistence that he is right, despite me personally agreeing with him, grated on my nerves this book. I don't know why more so than other books, because this mantra is not a new one, but I felt like my eyes opened a little bit at what he was doing - or not doing; showing respect to other cultures.

More on the positive side, I loved the world building and story itself. It was interesting and we were once again introduced to new characters and new worlds, and I enjoyed the connection to the previous book.

Richard just got to me this time round. But, it won't stop me from reading the next book or finishing the series. Over all, this is a fantastic series!

[Ashleigh]

Review for Cruel Beauty

3/5.

Cruel Beauty was my final book of 2023 from my 'randomly selected off my Goodreads TBR' challenge. Basically, in late 2022, I set my Goodreads 'want to read' shelf to random and selected the first 8 books to read throughout the year. And I finished it! Yay!

Retellings is a popular genre at the moment, and I will admit that I am personally a fan of them, too. I enjoy seeing takes on classics - not that I read that many. In saying that, Beauty and the Beast has always been a story that I have been iffy about. Even for my 4 year old daughter, who is in a Disney Princess phase, I err on the side of caution around this story - and that's saying something, because my parenting style is to not try and shield her from many things. I wasn't even a fan of the movie as a kid. So, to dive into a retelling... I was hesitant.

This book was a solid 3-stars for me without hesitation. I found the writing to be fairly sound, and the Greek-mythology addition was interesting to me. I've read a few Greek retellings and found them had to follow, but the explanations were easy here.

And, it definitely retold the story of Beauty and the Beast with alternate Greek mythology woven in, which I enjoyed.

My reasoning for this book not being rated higher, as the romance aspect came on too fast for me. There was quite a large time jump in the story, which meant we kind of missed the build-up. One minute, Nyx hated Ignifex, then the next, they were in love. It felt a little strange to me and a little underwhelming to have it handed to us without high stakes. I mean... Beauty and the Beast is kind of high-stakes.

I also found the characters slightly bland. I think Shade was my favourite character as he had the most pop to his character. The rest were rather dry.

An enjoyable story, but certainly not my favourite!

[Ashleigh]

Review for: In a Holidaze

3.75/5.

Like most other books I start reading, I went into this book blindly. I had no idea what this book was about other than it being a Christmas-themed book and that it was romance. There was one element that I didn't know was involved - Groundhog Day - but I enjoyed it.

I'll start with the things that I liked and the one part that I thoroughly enjoyed was the aforementioned Groundhog Day element. I started this book under the impression it was a regular romance, and so that took me by surprise. But in a good way. I really love stories with a time loop as it fascinates me.

Another aspect I liked was the actual romance. I appreciated the element of a subtle love triangle and all the way through there was an element of doubt about who she would end up with. It kept me interested and engaged in the story.

The ending was sweet, too. Predictable and very much similar to that of The Unhoneymooners but I liked it nonetheless.

As much as I loved the Groundhog Day element, I do wish it was more prominent. It started off strong with a few loops, but then fizzled out pretty quickly. It made me wonder what the point of it was when it stopped pretty early on. I definitely would have liked a few more loops than what we got to really sell that aspect of the plot.

This was a sweet story and well worth the read.

[Ashleigh]

Review for Noughts & Crosses

4/5.

Noughts & Crosses is a book set in an alternate world, in a society where Crosses (black people) are in power and the ruling race, and Noughts (white people) are an inferior race where all decisions are made for them by Crosses.

I found this book to be a really interesting story. The concept was incredible and I really enjoyed how Malorie Blackman was able to easily reverse this society and still link things that have happened and are still happening in our society, to black people and their communities.

One of the first aspects that was relatable was a school allowing Callum, the Nought protagonist, into a Cross school and many people were against the idea of integration. I have seen stories of moments like this happening in real life and it fit in seamlessly.

Other moments including Noughts being considered criminals just because of the colour of their skin, as well as being thought inferior in intelligence, are all social and racial issues people of colour still face in today's society.

Behind all these moments was a plot of Seffy and Callum (a Cross and a Nought) trying to navigate friendship and romance in a society that didn't want to see them together.

I really liked Seffy's unintentional ignorance and harm she caused to Callum in an attempt to help. I think, once again, that is how people of colour see white people's attempts at doing the right thing without having the understanding of what they are actually go through. At times, Seffy made things worse, not better.

And the fact that while Callum loved Seffy, he hated Crosses in general and didn't want anything to do with them. Seeing the conflict he went through - caring for her, but not others - was a very interesting component.

The ending of the book caught me completely off guard. I wasn't expecting the book to end as it did, on multiple fronts, but it makes me excited to see where book two will go.

The only criticism I have for the book is that for 80% of the book, the two protagonists were teenagers, with Callum being sixteen and Seffy fourteen. Until they reached adulthood, I found the developing romance between them a little unsettling and wasn't too fond of it.

Over all, though, this book intrigued me and I really enjoyed it.

[Ashleigh]

Review for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

4.5/5

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet was such a cozy book and I wasn't prepared for it. This is a book that had been recommended to me plenty of times in the past and I was so excited to finally read it as part of my 12 Books by 12 Friends challenge for 2023. What I wasn't expecting was how heartwarming this book was. I m used to my sci-fi being high stakes, battles and a lot of action, and I had absolutely no idea just how little of that was in this book.

Was that a bad thing? Absolutely not. I absolutely adored this book and every single character who was on the Wayfarer. They were each unique, with their own background, history and family customs.

There was so much I loved about this book, but I'll begin with Chamber's allusion to human society and how little it had changed in however many years in the future.

Humans in this book were not really any better off than we are now. We still desired the same comforts, had the same attitudes and in comparison were a weak species to others that were part of the galaxy. We lacked the ability to express emotion like others could and had a strong sense of modesty. Our knowledge of tech hadn't really increased either and we relied heavily on other species to guide us through the universe.

I also very much appreciated the general acceptence of species, customs and their way of life in this book. There was a strong message, I sensed, toward human nature and acceptance of those who are different. When people accept others for who they are, everyone gets along.

The coziness of the book didn't mean we were deprived of some stakes. The crew of the Wayfarer were on a mission to a violent planet, to a species who were known to attack each other for holding slightly different beliefs. It was a dangerous journey, but on the way, we got to see the relationships of all the characters develop and grow and were introduced to a world (a galaxy) that was filled with so much.

This was the absolute sweetest book and I am so glad I finally had the chance to read it. I also cannot wait to read book two.

[Ashleigh]

Review for Glitterland

3.5/5.

I found this was the type of book that grew on me as I progressed. At first, I wasn't sure on the characters, but by the end, I was rooting for them - especially Darian. I admit that I found Ash a bit too much for me at times, which made it challenging to like him, even though that was the point. I do like how he never really changed, but also did change. I think that was important for his character development.

As for the narration, I really liked the narrator and his ability to use different voices and accents. I really love audiobooks where the narrator can do that. It really brings the character to life.

All in all, I'm giving this book a 3.5/5.

Thank you to the publisher and author for allowing me to read this ARC!

[Ashleigh]

Review for The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

4/5.

The One Hundred Year Old Man was such a fun read and a delight to read it as my final book of 2023. I've had this book on my shelf for a few years, and when someone suggested it late 2022 for my 12 Books Recommended by 12 Friends, I jumped on the chance.

The book begins with Allan, a man who's just turned 100, climbing out of the window of his nursing home to avoid the celebrations for his birthday and travelling in a random direction with no insight on where he is going. There, he meets a bunch of people in his travels, encounters some deaths and is involved in a murder mystery.

In between, we are introduced to a younger Allan, exploring his life from boyhood all the way up to the day he decided to jump out of the window and leave.

My absolute favourite parts of this book was the morbid humour and Allan's blase approach to everything from nuclear weapons to meeting the Supreme Leader of North Korea. He just couldn't have cared less, and I loved that!

Another moment I loved was his influence in major historical events across the globe, such as the creation of the nuclear bomb, and the unfolding of wars throughout history. The way the book was written, it was a lone Swedish man who was the reason all of these things existed, who always melted into the background, gone, but not always forgotten.

I found it to be so clever and enjoyable to read and it made me laugh a lot. He also played a part in Indonesian and French politics, as well as in Iran and other places. And then at 100 years old, he influenced Sweden.

Jonas Jonasson has a great, witty, morbid sense of humour which greatly appealed to me. What a great book!

[Ashleigh]

Made 61/61! Finished my last book on December 31, so cut it fine this year haha!

[Blagica , Challenges]

Congrats