Girish Kumar
Oh this was such an excellent book. After a long time have I read such a fresh new fantasy novel. The world is so different than what I'm used to with the usual epic fantasy novels I read.
I absolutely loved this. It started off a bit slow, but once the action kicks in, it's relentless. The last few chapters are absolutely intense.
For some reason I had deluded myself into thinking this book might be good. Given the track record of the crescent city novels, I should've known that I would be disappointed.
Anyway. Here we are. Another exceedingly disappointing addition to the series. Made even more disappointing burner fav that she squandered what cousins been an amazing crossover opportunity.
On top of that, SJM rehashes her old classic tropes (you'll know when you read the book). It's as if she's not learned anything new in the last few years and hasn't found anything new to write about.
I liked the first 20-25% only because we got to see some of my favourite characters from the ACOTAR novels. But that is all that this book has going for it. Maybe one more thing but that's a spoiler.
Disappointing.
Mick Herron is three for three in his Slough House series.
Real Tigers starts off with a seemingly random prologue, which only makes sense more than half way through the novel. What Herron does best is set the scene and the world the novel inhabits.
We then watch one of Slough House's own get kidnapped and is then used as a pawn for a much larger game.
This book has such a different vibe than the previous. Since we know these characters know, we watch them deal with their own shit. Especially the after effects of Min's death in the previous book. We learn a bit more about these characters.
In this book, Lamb and River take a backseat to the events, but it doesn't affect the reading of the novel at all. It's just as thrilling and exciting as the others.
I really enjoy Herron's writing style. I will admit the first book is a bit hard to get into, but once you're used to his iconic style you're in for a treat. Herron imbues his novels with such insight and dry humour - some just so smart and well placed that it flies you, and you realise it a second later.
It's an absolute joy to read one of his novels. I loved it.
The Only One Left is the first book by Riley Sager that I am reading, after hearing so much about his books. I was intrigued because of its gothic, Rebecca like mystery narrative.
There was a lot about it I enjoyed. The prose it self was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the way he not only brings out the emotion of scene but also somehow makes it part of the scenery.
The book starts off quite slow, and typical for a modern thriller - a woman with a “past” is thrown into a new job which she is clearly uncomfortable with but has no option but to abide by it. Few days after starting her new job, she uncovers a mystery regarding the one she is caring for.
There definitely are some twisty plot twists in the novel. If you've read enough, you can see some of them coming. But some of the plot twists tend to stretch what is believable, and that didn't really help in the enjoyment of the book.
It's definitely an intriguing book, its gothic setting and prose are definite plus points, but it's the second half and the reveals related to the mystery at heart that disappointed me.
** SPOILER**
I'm not a fan of books where the protagonist has a coincidental connection to the mystery at heart. But it wasn't just that, even the previous Caregiver had a connection to the mystery and the woman (women?) at the heart of it.
All of these connections seemed a few too many to be plausible.
Which led to my diminished enjoyment of the book.
** SPOILER**
I thoroughly enjoyed book 2. More so because I re read the first book just days before it, so the story was fresh in my mind.
I think interfered this book over the first. I loved the plotting and the pacing, I enjoyed the new characters and cameos by some old faces. This book was so delightfully cozy.
I can't say I didn't like this book at all. I enjoyed some elements of it.
I had a lot of issues with the pacing, the randomly interspersed non-main character POVs (if they had been better places they would've been much more impactful).
The mystery relating to the main character seemed a bit too weak to be dragged on through Till the end of the book. If that was the main point of the narrative I'm not sure what the whole point was to begin with.
I know this is just the first book, but even first books offer some sort of closure to some threads from the opening. This book delivers on very few of those promises if any at all.
I feel like this book does have a lot going for it, but something somewhere was missing to make the magic work.
At the end of the book, I'm still soo confused about the world building. In my eyes it feels a bit half assed. Sure we are given a massive glossary at the beginning of the novel, but it's hard switching between the book and the glossary to understand what the words mean. There were several instances where the world building could've been integrated into the narrative itself, but it didn't happen.
I'm still so genuinely confused about the magic system, and the point of the dragons and a lot of things about the world. A lot of it feels very haphazard.
I'm not sure if I'll read book 2 whenever it comes out.
Genuinely, what's not to love?
Re reading these books after such a long time and I'm rediscovering my love for Eve. She's such an amazing character to follow.
In this book we get a bit more of her backstory, we see her getting ready for the big wedding and we get a case that's a bit too close to home.
It was fun from beginning to end.
This is more of a 2.5 star book for me, really.
I had really high expectations of this books because in some ways it was a second chance romance by way of coming of age. I loved a lot of aspects of this book, but it took some time for things to happen and I wanted to fast forward some of the sections in between.
I think this is a really really decently book, but I found the pacing a bit lacking. I felt like more could've happened in the course of the book.
It was an okay read though. It was a fine queer coming of age novel. I loved that it brings up some of the messier aspects of coming out at a later age, discovering your sexuality and coming to terms with it.
If the first one was good, this was absolutely excellent. From the opening page till the final, the book holds your attention with its suspense and mystery and spy craft. The second instalment in the Slough Horses series was so much better than the first.
I'm writing this as I've just finished reading the book, and I find my self still so moved by the final chapter of the book. Sure, the action and everything got over some time back, but the book doesn't forget to give you some emotional moments as well.
I loved this.
I thought the concept of the book was really interesting, but a few things took me out of it. The overabundance of email correspondences seemed a bit too out of place for a novel in 2018. Maybe I am misunderstanding things, I don't know.
While the book cover invites you to try and solve the case, crucial information comes in the form of someone outside the events, who wasn't actively part of the investigation. While we are invited to solve it, we are not given enough information about the actual “evidence” and correspondences of the various characters involved in the mystery.
Additionally, we are not given ample opportunity to solve the case, because no real pause happens between the information being given to us and the trainees trying to solve the case - so who is really solving the case? I find the beauty of Christie and some of the Japanese mystery novels is that we - the reader - are given an opportunity to solve the case with all the evidence provided to us, which is always ample. But here, we are merely observers watching Femi and Charlotte solve the case.
The majority of the book is in the form of email correspondences, which does take me out of the reading of the novel, the discussion between the trainees happens in the form of text messages. It seems a bit of a large leap to see that a big lawyer and almost everyone in that tiny township are unable to use messaging apps, and instead rely on emails to communicate with each other, and often times very important information.
I also found the deliberate lack of correspondence from two people who are crucial to the plot are wholly omitted, very annoying. We only see their characterisation through the eyes/words of others. And, again, it didn't help me feel anything for the character and want to solve the mystery.
I also felt like the murder comes in too late into the novel, because we already know it is going to happen, so you keep waiting for it happen and it takes way too long for it to appear and then the ending is often rushed. Maybe that format is more appropriate for this kind of storytelling. It just wasn't my thing.
This is more of a 2.5 book for me. It was a bit too over hyped. I was quite disappointed at the end of this.
Book 1 of 2024 is complete!
Though I've rated it 4 stars, I was so close to DNFing it in the middle. I had actually started this book in December, stopped it bec I wanted to wrap up a different series. And I restarted the book yesterday.
The point where I had stopped was where I was about to DNF it, 5-6 chapters in. But I kept at it, and it turned into this absolutely stunning and gripping thriller. This book is definitely a slow burn. It takes time to understand the characters, and by the end of it you still aren't sure you know them fully, but what you do learn makes them so interesting.
But if i do have to make some sort of criticism, it would be with the narrator and, perhaps, the editing of the ebook version I read - because sometimes it wasn't clear when the scene had changed and when the narrator was describing something else and not a continuation of the previous scene. That was about the only thing that threw me off and kept taking me out of the narrative, and maybe that is why i was on the verge of DNFing it.
There were so many threads at work here, crossings, double and then triple crossings and herrings of all colours - it really was a but hard to get through without taking a breather every few chapters - this isn't an easily bingeable book. Once you've got the flow, then it is well worth the mildly confusing narrative.
(Side note: For someone who thought the main character was Jackson Lamb, I was shocked to find him more of a background character in the first 9-10 chapters before I understood what is going on. The sequels are all also billed under Jackson Lamb thrillers, so I was confused at the start.)
I liked the fact that Hassan, the kid that was kidnapped, wasn't just some name or just some generic face - he had his own personality and was a fully realised character.
I started this series because the tv show seemed good, so I wanted to read some of the books before I started the show. Given how much I loved this, I think I'll love the show even more.
The way Herron write takes some getting used to, but once you've learned his tricks and his language, then a whole new world of thrillers has opened itself up.
After the last few being a bit disappointing, I didn't really have too many expectations for this one, but I was happy to be proved wrong - Relentless was really really good. I did dock one star down because the plot line of Desjani and Rione's “feud” keeps bring brought up and it seems more petty than anything else. The number of times they bring up the possibility of a relationship between Desjani and Geary is really getting out of hand.
Besides that, it was really good. I am genuinely looking forward to the conclusion of this series.
It's really getting very repetitive now.
The last two books have had the same exact plot and a lot of the same conversations. It's tedious now. But I shall power through till I reach the end, because I am still invested in the journey and some of the characters.
On to the next book, I guess. I just hope it's not the same formula.
More of 3.5 stars book, in my opinion.
I felt that this book could've done more to move the plot along. A large chunk of this book rehashed the same arguments from the previous. The same arguments from different people. The very same internal conflicts.
The last two chapters were the best part of this book, doing something for the future novels.
Book 3 and I feel the novels are getting very formulaic and it's not a very good sign.
I've found that when I absolutely love the first book, the second book doesn't always live up to the expectations set by the first.
Thankfully that wasn't the case with this book. The second, though different in theme and scope, was just as engaging and exciting as the first. It was a bit slower than the first, less action compared to the first, and it takes longer to get to the heart of the story.
But, besides that, it was a lovely second novel in the series.
I find my self enjoying the episodic nature of The Lost Fleet's journey back into Alliance fleet.
Jack Geary continues to show us why he's the man for the job. But I found the romance between him and Rione a bit forced and out of nowhere. It also doesn't seem very believable because those two almost always end up discussion the difference between Jack Geary the man and Black Jack the myth and the legend. Somehow all their discussions end up at that topic. It's frustrating.
The space battles and the realistic way it is portrayed is very engaging, and it is my favourite element of these books.
The more books I read in this series, the more it reminds me of a space based D&D campaign.
Ohhh what a book this was.
It's hard to believe that it is the author's debut novel!
The book starts off a bit slow, and takes some time to set the scene and the events leading up to the heart of the story and gives us a long list of characters and a LOT of acronyms (sometimes these were hard to keep track of, so a glossary of acronyms would've honestly helped a lot).
The first half of the book is definitely exciting, and rich in the world building, but it is slow. And I think that works in favour of the book, because the second half ends up being quite thrilling - very edge of your seat I need to finish this book TONIGHT type.
After about the 50% mark I really couldn't stop reading it. I needed the next chapter and the next. I just wanted to know what happens. I found myself anxious and scared and worried for these characters, and I didn't expect to feel so strongly at all.
Being ex-CIA, the author does bring in a certain realness to the plot, but breaks some rules to make it exciting. And I think he balances the real and the fictional elements of spy craft of it all really well. Things don't feel too absurd to too out of place. Just the right amount of action and drama to maintain the pace of the story, to keep you going.
Genuinely such an excellent book. I am so ready to pick up the next one.
Firstly I want to thank netgalley and the author for an eARC of this book.
In the last year I have read whatever of June Hur I could get my hands on, and up until this one, The Red Palace was my favourite. I fear there's a new first place contender.
I loved this historical mystery romance. From the opening it reminded me of some of the saeguks I had recently watched. This gave me the vibe of a more elevated Joseon drama - rich young characters, seeped in true historical events with an engaging mystery and a sweet romance.
I thought the book was really well written, and a good mystery at its core. The reveal of the killer was definitely surprising. I liked that they didn't show some of the characters to be perfectly good and above reproach, instead showing them as grey characters with personal motivations for doing the things they want to do.
Up until 90% of the book, it was really really good. It was only the last 10% where I think it got tooo much like a drama. The last 4-5 chapters went past in such a flash, I wished we close sat with the events for a bit, see people's reaction to it before getting to the end. But everything happened so so fast, it was a bit too fast. It felt like a rushed ending.
Apart from the ending, I thought the book was really really good.
I'm genuinely conflicted about this book - on one hand, I think it's a very interesting read, and the other I think it doesn't always work.
It is very interesting in the sense that it is written by a married couple, and the plot is about the dissolution of a partnership, and them coming back together only to realise they were in love with each other. Given that we are reading a romance novel, it doesn't really come as a surprise. But I feel like the authors wanted us to see it as such, which is the “doesn't' always work” part.
I think life imitating art is a fun concept to play around with, and this book does good job of that. But what it doesn't do a good job of is convincing me these two should really be together. Just because the two of you work well together, doesn't mean the two of you should be together. We don't really see them interacting much with each other outside the confines of their writing partnership, and if more of such scenes were included I feel like this book would've had a stronger impact.
So I'm not sure if I should rate this as a 2.5 or a 3 star book, because at the end of the day I did enjoy this book at some level.
I think this book also felt a bit like a fan fiction of the authors' lives and romance. Which is something that put me off it.
This year has been very very lucky in terms of reading. I've come across some really amazing books, a lot of them between 4 and 5 stars.
I've read a few Tess Gerritsen books, several years back, mostly because I loved the Rizzoli & Isles TV show. When I read those books, I didn't enjoy it as much because it wasn't like the show at all, and that was my mistake.
The Spy Coast is the first non-Rizzoli and Isles I've read of hers, and I absolutely loved it. The book features a group of ex-CIA operatives living a retired and quaint life in Purity, Maine, when the past comes back to haunt one of them.
I think this book builds the suspense and the thrill of the mystery so well. The characters all feel so lived in, and are just amazing. I love the fact that we are focussing on older spies, giving me a John Le Carre vibe.
This looks like the start of what is to be an amazing series.
It's been a good long while since I've read a sci-fi novel, and longer yet since I've read a GOOD sci-fi novel.
This one is really amazing. It's just the right blend of science and military sci-fi- the fleet formation and description of the battle were vivid and amazing. I am not always a fan of military sci-fi, but this reminded me of some of my favourite elements of The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey.
I'm glad this book doesn't go into unnecessary meandering. The story is simple, save the fleet from the enemies along with the macguffin - in this case a Key. It doesn't take long for the action to kick in and the journey to begin.
And what a journey this is going to be.
Given that I read the first book just days ago, and it's so fresh in my mind, i found my self comparing the sequel to the first.
While I found a lot of improvements from the first to the second, I also found things I didn't like as much. Anything I say will be a spoiler, so I'd rather not.
I really enjoyed this book, though. It's not devoid of issues, but it's fun.
(This is more of a 3.5 star book for me, than a 4.00. But dragons gets extra points)
If it weren't for my friends I wouldn't pick this book up.
And, even if I had, i maybe would've given up in the first 150-200 pages. The story, for me, only starts picking up around page 200.
I really did end up really enjoying this book. Of course, if you have read enough of these, you can predict a few things that'll happen. The book also has a lot of similarities with Eragon and Dragonriders of Pern as well. At least, in my case, it works in favour of the book.
I really liked the world that the author had built. But I wish she had included a lot more descriptions of the dragons, the gryphons and others. I want to know more about what the world looks like, what the war college looks like. I find my self struggling to fill in those gaps.
I also wish there was more lore-building. I feel like it was cery evident what'll happen at the end of the novel with the venin and wyvern only because that's the only bit of lore/folktale that had been introduced.
Apart from those few things, I think this book is really good. I'm genuinely excited for the sequel coming out this Tuesday.