Author: J.L. Gribble
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Review: Strange Dogs (The Expanse #6.5) by James S.A. Corey
This novella is a beautiful vignette about early life on Laconia. It doesn’t answer many greater questions about the ecosystem of this world due to the limited point-of-view of the main character. But it answers quieter questions about how Duerte came to power and how he imposed his views on…
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Review: Wolfromance (Reluctant Necromancer #3) by Kaye Draper
I understand that authors are always warned not to “info-dump” to their readers, that they should include the information the reader needs to know naturally through the story. But there’s a downside to that, when so many things are going on that everyone EXCEPT the main character knows about. At…
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Review: Enlightened (Enlightenment #3) by Joanna Chambers
The finale to this trilogy does an excellent job of concluding plot threads from previous books on multiple levels. David and Murdo have grown as people and grown closer together, but some roadblocks (internal and external) still stand in the way of their happily every after. When both of them…
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Review: The Vital Abyss (The Expanse #5.5) by James S.A. Corey
This novella in the midst of the epic saga of The Expanse fills in some interesting blanks. It explains the missing years of a relevant character’s life and how he eventually ends up where Our Heroes encounter him again. It also shows the evolution of the character and his history…
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January Wrap-Up & February Goals
This year is off to an EXCELLENT start, if I do say so myself. I got lots of reading done. I got lots of editing done. I played a lot of video games. And I’m thrilled with my health progress. I know I said I wasn’t travelling anywhere, but I…
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Review: All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells
This novella has won ALL OF THE AWARDS, which makes it difficult to review. There’s not much I can add to the discourse about it that hasn’t already been said, and it doesn’t need the advertising help. But it was a wonderfully fun read, so if you’re one of the…
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Review: Gods of Risk (The Expanse #2.1) by James S.A. Corey
This novella brings us back to the series roots of interstellar events occurring as a backdrop to regular people’s normal lives. But this normal person is the gifted sixteen-year-old nephew of Bobbie Draper, so how normal is he? Certainly normal enough for some health doses of adolescent angst while he…
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Review: Deosil (Whyborne & Griffin #11) by Jordan L. Hawk
This series closes out in a maelstrom (pun intended) of heroism, madness, horror, love, triumph, and just a few tentacles. Everything comes full-circle (pun also intended) as Whyborne and Griffin join with new and old allies to defend their home of Widdershins from the extra-dimensional Masters who have returned to…
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Review: Vampromance (Reluctant Necromancer #2) by Kaye Draper
I don’t get to binge-read this series like I did Draper’s previous reverse harem epic, but I’m enjoying it all the same. Esper is an intriguing character, and I appreciate the set-up of her being lost from her family line as a way for the audience to learn about the…
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Review: Gilded Cage (Lilywhite Boys #2) by K.J. Charles
I re-read the first Lilywhite Boys book right before starting this one, because I could and because it’s that good. This book concludes the short series admirably, though I highly recommend also making sure to read “The Ratcatcher’s Daughter” to get a better feel for the overall conflict. The first…
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Review: Ghostromance (Reluctant Necromancer #1) by Kaye Draper
I probably shouldn’t have read this so close on the heels of Draper’s previous reverse harem series, Gesa’s Menagerie. I prefer Gesa as a character to Esper, but that doesn’t mean anything is necessarily wrong with Esper. I got a bit tired of her “Woe is me, I’m so ugly”…
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Review: The Expanse: Origins edited by James S.A. Corey
Favorite Story “Naomi Nagata” by Georgia Lee (illustrated by Huang Danlan): This isn’t Naomi’s “origin story,” which is covered very well in the books themselves. Instead, it shows us the first introduction between Naomi and Amos prior to the events of the books/television show. I loved the growth shown by…
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Review: Gesa’s Menagerie #2-#9 by Kaye Draper
Usually when I read series, I try to break them up with other books so that I don’t get burned out. But sometimes a series is less of a series and more of a really long epic book broken up into eight separate novellas. And sometimes I get sick and…
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Review: Gryphon’s Pride (Gesa’s Menagerie #1) by Kaye Draper
The author warns in the book description that this is “not your typical reverse harem.” I would also happily argue that this is not a typical romance or typical urban fantasy. With that combination, I was immediately sucked into the world-building, the plot, and the characters. Gesa is the “strong…
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Review: Homeworlds (SG-1/SGA Traveler’s Tales #3) edited by Sally Malcolm
Disclaimer: I am friends with the editor and multiple authors in this collection; I purchased a hardcopy of this book from one of the authors for full price. Favorite Story “The Mysteries of Emege” by Jo Graham: I could say that the ending of this story had enough emotional impact…
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Review: The Bartered Brides (Elemental Masters #13) by Mercedes Lackey
I’m not going to lie. I significantly prefer the fairy tale retellings in this fantasy series to the Sherlock Holmes pastiches featuring Nan and Sara. I didn’t dislike this book, but I found myself not as invested in the main characters as I could have been. Both women gain new…
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December Wrap-Up & January Goals
Another year, another decade. Welcome to the Roaring Twenties! I had an excellent holiday season, spending quality time with family and friends. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite as productive as I’d like to have been. A theme for 2019 was the seemingly never-ending battle with finding an anti-anxiety medication that works…
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2019: A Year in Reading
This year, I wrote one (1) novel, wrote one (1) short story, revised most of (like, 80%) of another novel, and according to Goodreads, read 147 books. This means I won my Goodreads Challenge goal of 50 books. Pretty cool, right? Except Goodreads is weird, so it’s not quite 147…
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2019 Resolution Project: Magic Triumphs (Kate Daniels #10) by Ilona Andrews
My 2019 Resolution Project over at my other blog, Speculative Chic, is to read the entire Kate Daniels urban fantasy series by Ilona Andrews, finishing up with a first read of the final book in the series. This is my first time reading this novel. You can read my full review here.…
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2019 Resolution Project: Iron and Magic (Iron Covenant #1) by Ilona Andrews
My 2019 Resolution Project over at my other blog, Speculative Chic, is to read the entire Kate Daniels urban fantasy series by Ilona Andrews, finishing up with a first read of the final book in the series. This is my first time reading this novel, which the authors have advised should be…