I'm not going to lie: This month has been really busy and kind of rough. I'm satisfied with my progress on some things, and not as happy with others. Unfortunately, June is looking like more of the same. May Wrap-Up: The Steel Magic cover reveal happened, to great success! A great group of people came … Continue reading May Wrap-Up & June Goals
Review: LIVE BY THE CODE (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #4) by Christopher L. Bennett
DISCLAIMER: I received this book as a freebie from the publisher at Cleveland ConCoction 2016, where Bennett was the author guest of honor. Though book titles should always have something to do with the contents of the book, I will always appreciate a book title that is also a good pun. Live by the Code can … Continue reading Review: LIVE BY THE CODE (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #4) by Christopher L. Bennett
Review: Uncertain Logic (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #3) by Christopher L. Bennett
DISCLAIMER: I received this book as a freebie from the publisher at Cleveland ConCoction 2016, where Bennett was the author guest of honor. My favorite aspect of this novel was the fact that Bennett allows a Starfleet ship to make a major mistake. This series might be about the ascension of the Federation to a … Continue reading Review: Uncertain Logic (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #3) by Christopher L. Bennett
Review: TOWER OF BABEL (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #2) by Christopher L. Bennett
DISCLAIMER: I received this book as a freebie from the publisher at Cleveland ConCoction 2016, where Bennett was the author guest of honor. My only major complaint about this series is also, oddly, one of the things that I like most about it. On the one hand, I feel like a lot of the issues that … Continue reading Review: TOWER OF BABEL (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #2) by Christopher L. Bennett
Review: A CHOICE OF FUTURES (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #1) by Christopher L. Bennett
Though Star Trek Enterprise is not my favorite of the television series, I found myself easily sucked into these tales that follow the on-screen adventures. The first four books made for great vacation reading, and I anxiously waited for my turn to read them since my husband had laid dibs first. (Star Trek Enterprise is … Continue reading Review: A CHOICE OF FUTURES (Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation #1) by Christopher L. Bennett
Review: BREAK THROUGH THE ICE by Rachell Nichole
Disclaimer: The author is a friend of mine. However, I purchased this ebook for full price. This was a well-written novella that I found particularly humorous to read as an urban fantasy author myself. There is a certain amount of wish-fulfillment that I couldn't help but enjoy, considering the author main character is getting pretty … Continue reading Review: BREAK THROUGH THE ICE by Rachell Nichole
Review: THE CURIOSITY KILLERS by K.W. Taylor
Today I'm celebrating the launch of K.W. Taylor's first science-fiction novel, The Curiosity Killers! This book is close to my heart because I have been friends with the author since she was still writing it, cheered her on as it passed as her thesis for Seton Hill University's Writing Popular Fiction graduate program, and then threw … Continue reading Review: THE CURIOSITY KILLERS by K.W. Taylor
Review: NOTES OF TEMPTATION by Rebecca Halsey
Disclaimer: I am friends with the author. However, I purchased my copy of the book for full price. Notes of Temptation is a mixed book: part romance, part historical drama, part urban fantasy, and all fun. Easily the best part of this novel is the level of environmental detail in which Halsey immerses the reader without … Continue reading Review: NOTES OF TEMPTATION by Rebecca Halsey
Review: THE MAGICIAN’S LAND (The Magicians #3) by Lev Grossman
Some trilogies work well when the author tries to have every book tell a story in a very different way. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of them. I adore heist stories, but this one jumped us right into the middle of the heist story line without really explaining how Quentin got to that position. Instead, we … Continue reading Review: THE MAGICIAN’S LAND (The Magicians #3) by Lev Grossman
Review: THE MAGICIAN KING by Lev Grossman (Magicians #2)
This novel was easily my favorite in the trilogy, for a few different reasons. Perhaps it was because of the distance of writing in third person, or because Grossman can not as easily identify with Julia as he can with Quentin, but I absolutely thought that Julia's "coming of age" narrative in this novel was … Continue reading Review: THE MAGICIAN KING by Lev Grossman (Magicians #2)
Review: THE MAGICIANS by Lev Grossman
First of all, let's get a few things straight. (1) This is a literary fantasy novel. (2) This novel was much more influenced by The Chronicles of Narnia than by Harry Potter. (3) I read this trilogy because I adore the television show currently airing, so my review is going to be linked to that bias … Continue reading Review: THE MAGICIANS by Lev Grossman
Review: BLOOD RED by Mercedes Lackey
It's always fun to return to one of my favorite series, and it's even better when that series manages to consistently surprise you. Though there have been some departures, Lackey's formula for her Elemental Masters series has been "Traditional fairy tale retold in historical (mostly British) urban fantasy setting and concludes with female elemental master … Continue reading Review: BLOOD RED by Mercedes Lackey
Review: MAGIC SHIFTS by Ilona Andrews
Part of me keeps waiting for anything about this series to get stale or boring or overdone, because it can't possibly keep being this damn good. Sure, not every novel in the series is the best thing I've ever read, but one thing I appreciate about Ilona Andrews (referred to as "they," since it is … Continue reading Review: MAGIC SHIFTS by Ilona Andrews
Review: CRUCIBLE edited by Mercedes Lackey
Favorite story: "The Note" by Phaedra Weldon. While many of the stories in this anthology rated between 3 and 4 stars for me and were cute and enjoyable but not amazing, this penultimate tale punched me right in the feels. There are so many things about the life of a Herald that are explored in this tale, … Continue reading Review: CRUCIBLE edited by Mercedes Lackey
Review: THIRD PATH (Stargate Atlantis) by Melissa Scott and Jo Graham
And thus, we finally come to the conclusion of the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series, which continues the story past season 5 of the television series. Overall, this novel was both a bittersweet and very satisfying ending to a much larger and more complicated story line. One of the benefits of media tie-in novels is that … Continue reading Review: THIRD PATH (Stargate Atlantis) by Melissa Scott and Jo Graham
Review: STEAMPUNK WORLD edited by Sarah Hans
DISCLAIMER: I share a publisher with one of the authors discussed below. However, I purchased my copy of the book at full price from the anthology's editor, not the author, and I do not consider our relationship to have bearing on my review choices. I was not a contributor to the Kickstarter campaign that initially … Continue reading Review: STEAMPUNK WORLD edited by Sarah Hans
Book Review Policy
As I slowly get caught up on the never-ending list of finished books that need to be reviewed, I figured I should put together an official review policy (even though I definitely don't consider myself an official book reviewer). Go here or click the "Review Policy" tab at the top of the page for information … Continue reading Book Review Policy
Review: CLOSER TO HOME by Mercedes Lackey
I think my biggest complaint about this book is probably the fact that the back cover text has very, very little to do with the actual plot of the novel. And if that's my biggest complaint, I will definitely call this book a win. I've read every Valdemar book by Mercedes Lackey, many of the … Continue reading Review: CLOSER TO HOME by Mercedes Lackey
Review: MAGIC BREAKS by Ilona Andrews
Not only is this one of my favorite books series, it is also one of the major inspirations for my own writing. So it's no surprise that I absolutely loved and devoured this set of the series. I was so, so glad that the authors included a note at the beginning warning that this was … Continue reading Review: MAGIC BREAKS by Ilona Andrews
Review: ARMADA by Ernest Cline
Because I loved Ready Player One so much, I didn't argue very much when my husband insisted on pre-ordering the hardcover of Ernest Cline's second novel, Armada. My husband read it first, and I have to admit that my stomach sank a little bit when he described it to me. My takeaway was that it … Continue reading Review: ARMADA by Ernest Cline