Book Review – Drums of Autumn

30 Oct 2024 2 Comments

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I have finished another book in the Outlander series, by Diana Gabaldon. Drums of Autumn is the fourth book in the series (paid links), and you can find my reviews of the earlier books in the series below:

I listened to the audiobook edition.

Here is the blurb:

What if you knew someone you loved was going to die? What if you thought you could save them? How much would you risk to try?

Claire Randall has gone to find Jamie Fraser, the man she loved more than life, and has left half her heart behind with their daughter, Brianna. Claire gave up Jamie to save Brianna, and now Bree has sent her mother back to the Scottish warrior who was willing to give his life to save them both. But a chilling discovery in the pages of history suggests that Jamie and Claire’s story doesn’t have a happy ending.

Brianna dares a terrifying leap into the unknown in search of her mother and the father she has never met, risking her own future to try to change history . . . and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past . . . or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong.

I thought that this installment of the series took longer to get started, but ultimately brought the characters together in new and more complicated ways. This book also added more time spend in different viewpoints, with Brianna and Roger becoming more involved in the central plot. Thankfully, the trans-Atlantic journeys in this volume went by in fewer pages than that in the previous book.

Many of the problems that the characters encounter could have been easily solved if they had been more open about talking to each other. Unfortunately, certain assumptions are made that nearly lead to catastrophe. But without circumstances like that, we wouldn’t find conflict and tension in stories, which would make them a lot less interesting to read.

In the third book, Voyager, and again in this one, the characters speculate on the nature of their time travel. This aspect of the series starts out as a completely mysterious occurrence, but as they try to figure out how to intentionally travel through time, I have to wonder how this will play out in future books.

I just started the next book, The Fiery Cross, so I’ll be back with a review on that one in 6 to 8 weeks (paid link)!

Have you read any of the Outlander books? Have you watched the show? I just saw the first episode of the first season last week (for the second time). Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – The Familiar

28 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo is a new stand-alone novel set in late 16th century Spain that incorporates significant fantasy elements. I have enjoyed several of Bardugo’s other books, so read on below to see what I thought of this one (paid links).

You can find my review of her other books here:

I read this in hardcover.

Here is the blurb:

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

This book opened more slowly than some of the author’s other stories, but Luzia’s life was richly depicted and it was easy to get drawn in to the sense of place that was established in the opening. As she gets drawn into the schemes of those better off, she tries to grasp some small piece of agency for herself, making her choices more understandable as she knowingly puts herself at risk.

Like much of Leigh Bardugo’s other novels, there was an element of romance within this story. This threw me at first, because I had not read the description of one character accurately and had made some incorrect assumptions. However, I was able to reorient myself and this ultimately didn’t take anything away from the story for me.

I felt like I didn’t understand the magical aspects of this world quite as well as I would have liked. Perhaps that was because this was a stand-alone novel and I simply had fewer pages to become comfortable with the backstory and myths that were revealed as the plot unfolded.

Despite these nitpicks, I did enjoy this novel. I found it to be a refreshingly different type of story from the author, and while I would love to discover another novel that was as good as Six of Crows, it is also great to know that she can vary her work to keep it fresh.

Which of Leigh Bardugo’s books have you read? Which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments (above)!

Find more of my reviews here.

September 2024 Reading Wrap Up

02 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Is everyone awake now? September has ended and that means that we’re entering the final quarter of 2024 and it’s time to look back at my reading for the past month!

I had another slow month, but I had to travel for work. So while that helps me read (while on a plane), it takes up time with the event and the packing and preparations. In September I finished reading Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Moon Landings by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton (review here) and The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (paid links). I should have a review of The Familiar up later this week.

I had taken the graphic novel The Boys Vol. 1 with me on my trip, but then misplaced it when I unpacked, so I didn’t make much progress on it. It has since been found, so I should finish that soon. I’m also almost done with Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune (the sequel to the amazing The House in the Cerulean Sea) and The Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon (paid links).

I recently signed up for one of those monthly subscription boxes (Fairy Loot), with the theme of this one being fantasy novels. My first delivery arrived last week and it’s a pretty hardcover of The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart.

Jewels and snakes on the edges of the pages.

I haven’t read anything by this author, but her earlier series (The Drowning Empire: #1 = The Bone Shard Daughter, #2 = The Bone Shard Emperor, #3 = The Bone Shard War) has been on my radar as a series of interest. The Gods Below looks like the first book in a new series (paid links).

I’ve included some pretty pictures of the features of this special hardcover edition.

Pretty artwork on the inside covers.

What’s up next for my reading? I’ll be traveling again, but for a vacation. While I’m sure I’ll have plenty of activities to keep me busy, I also plan to do some poolside and beachside reading.

I plan to start reading The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente this week for a book club discussion next week. I should be able to start the fifth Outlander book – The Fiery Cross soon. Then as far as other picks, I don’t know how many of these I’ll get to, but some of the possibilities include The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence, and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (paid links).

Have you read any of these books? How do you decide what to read next? Let me know in the comments.

Book Review: Moon Shot – The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon

16 Sep 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve read a handful of books that detail the history of the U.S. space program, and this was one that I picked up on sale some time ago. Moon Shot by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton (with Jay Barbree) follows the story of these two astronauts through the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, and a little beyond (paid link). Read on below to see what I thought.

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, and the space race was born. Desperate to beat the Russians into space, NASA put together a crew of the nation’s most daring test pilots: the seven men who were to lead America to the moon. The first into space was Alan Shepard; the last was Deke Slayton, whose irregular heartbeat kept him grounded until 1975. They spent the 1960s at the forefront of NASA’s effort to conquer space, and Moon Shot is their inside account of what many call the twentieth century’s greatest feat—landing humans on another world. Collaborating with NBC’s veteran space reporter Jay Barbree, Shepard and Slayton narrate in gripping detail the story of America’s space exploration from the time of Shepard’s first flight until he and eleven others had walked on the moon.

The focus of this book was more narrow than some other ones that I’ve read on the history and experiences of the early U.S. space program. While it does outline the larger political environment and events of the 1950s and 1960s that were instrumental in the creation of NASA and the public support of the space race to some extent, someone who isn’t already familiar with the history might not get the full picture from this book. The story follows the two astronaut authors and details their personal challenges as they trained to fly their missions. Other important events are included, but without as many details as might be found elsewhere.

Overall I enjoyed this book because it provided a more personal perspective on that time and even extended into the Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz projects. The only part that I didn’t like was how the ending cut suddenly to a political rant about the NASA budget and goals from near the time this book was published. The tone of this section was different, and as it turns out, SpaceX and other private companies have made many of these complaints irrelevant now.

If you search for this book, you may find a similarly titled one by astronaut Mike Massimo that is more about what he learned about himself and how to live based on his experiences in space.

Have you read any other books about the history of the space program that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – A Court of Thorns and Roses

13 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I read a banned book a few weeks ago. The first book in the popular fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses (as well as several of her other titles), has been in the news in recent years for supposedly being too explicit to be in school libraries (paid links). On a whim, I picked this novel up and you can find my thoughts on it below.

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

This book struck me more as a romance in a fantasy setting than a fantasy novel with romance. For the first half of the book, the story was about the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin, more than anything else. Yes, the story isn’t set in our world and there is plenty of magic, monsters, and history here, but as a lowly human, Feyre doesn’t know very much to start with. The initial events reminded me of classic fairy tales, particularly Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast.

About halfway through the book, this changes. Feyre becomes more invested in the faerie world as a result of taking control of her situation and learning the truth of what is going on. I liked the book much better from this point, and the introduction of more characters and higher stakes helped to make this a richer story. I enjoyed the rest of the novel and will likely pick up the second book soon.

The idea that this book is too sexually explicit for teenagers is laughable. I read those scenes and was underwhelmed. You know what’s more explicit than the writing in this book — teenagers’ imaginations. I’ve read other books that are marketed to adults that are more graphic, but Sarah J. Maas’ books are categorized as YA or young adult. Young adult books are not for all ages of children, but are intended to be read by teenagers and typically feature characters who are a couple of years older than their audience. Here is an article by a librarian who can explain why teenagers need to be able to read books like this better than I can.

Have you read any books by Sarah J. Maas? Which did you like the best? Which would you skip?

Find more of my book reviews here.

Book Review – The Echo Wife

03 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I have previously read Magic For Liars by Sarah Gailey and really enjoyed it (but I didn’t post a review here). I had been meaning to get to another of her novels and finally found time to read The Echo Wife for a recent book club discussion (paid links).

I read the e-book edition.

Here is the blurb:

I’m embarrassed, still, by how long it took me to notice. Everything was right there in the open, right there in front of me, but it still took me so long to see the person I had married.

It took me so long to hate him.

Martine is a genetically cloned replica made from Evelyn Caldwell’s award-winning research. She’s patient and gentle and obedient. She’s everything Evelyn swore she’d never be.

And she’s having an affair with Evelyn’s husband.

Now, the cheating bastard is dead, and both Caldwell wives have a mess to clean up.

Good thing Evelyn Caldwell is used to getting her hands dirty.

I think that this book held a lot of promise with the subject matter, but in some ways, it failed to deliver on all of the ideas that it initiated. The blurb doesn’t explain the premise in this book well, but at its heart, it’s about the science of cloning and the ethics behind the use of those clones. If you create a human clone in a lab and use it for research, is it murder when you need to end your experiment and practically dispose of the materials? What if that clone has a personality and a life of its own? Is that situation any different?

In this book, the researcher’s husband creates a clone of her, but with modifications that fit his idea of a perfect spouse. Of course, the experiment goes horribly wrong, and that is the focus of this story. Oddly, it occurs in a vacuum, with little concern for the rest of the world that might notice something wrong in the cloning laboratory. This story could have easily turned into an action-packed thriller with police investigations and car chases, but that isn’t the focus here.

I don’t think I agreed with the characters’ decisions in the end, but I also don’t have a clone of myself hanging around, so it’s truly hard to know if I’d make a different decision or not. I enjoyed the book, even if I felt rather underwhelmed by the treatment of the topic.

Have you read any books by Sarah Gailey? Do you have any books on the ethics of cloning that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

August 2024 Reading Wrap Up

31 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

It feels like I just did one of these posts with my belated June and July 2024 Reading Wrap Up. But it’s already the end of August, so I’m going to look back on how my reading went for this month.

My reading plans often stray…

In August, I finished reading The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey and then randomly picked up and quickly finished the frequently banned book, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (reviews coming next week). I am still working on Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton and Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (in audiobook format). Since I’ve been catching up on the most recent two seasons of The Boys (on Amazon Prime), I also started to read the first omnibus collection of this comic (paid links).

What else am I looking forward to in September other than less humidity, sweatshirts, and fall colors? Here are some books I might pick up next month:

Of course, that’s 9 books, which I should know by now is not realistic for me. We’ll see where the month leads!

How has your reading been going for the year? What have your favorite books been so far? Are there any books that have autumn themes that you would recommend?

Book Review – The House in the Cerulean Sea

29 Aug 2024 5 Comments

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , ,

I had heard of this book, but it hadn’t been on my to-be-read list until it was chosen by one of my book clubs. The House in the Cerulean Sea is the first book by T.J. Klune that I’ve read. Find out what I thought below (paid links).

I read the ebook edition.

Here is the blurb:

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

This was one of the best books that I’ve read so far this year. Linus is a wonderful character who has no real superpowers or strengths that would typically be found in a “hero” in any other story. He follows the rules and naively trusts that those rules help guide others to do what is right. When he is tasked with a secret assignment to investigate the orphanage on a distant island, he must challenge those beliefs.

The themes in this book were timely, with emphasis on family, discrimination, and being oneself. The book also contains a touch of romance, but this is not the main focus of the story. The setting was, I think, intentionally vague in terms of the level of technology and the exact location, but for the purposes of the story that it needed to tell, that was fine.

The children and their caretaker, Arthur, were all superbly drawn individuals, with their own quirks and secrets. While the plot features quiet interactions more than flashy action and conflict, I found that there were no dull parts in the story. By the time I reached the ending, I had no idea how Linus could salvage anything from his situation. Yet the conclusion was supremely satisfying and wrapped everything up neatly, while allowing for other stories from these characters in the future.

It looks like a second book in this series – Somewhere Beyond the Sea – is going to be released in a couple of weeks (September 10, 2024) (paid link).

Have you read any books by T.J. Klune? Which was your favorite? Which one should I read next? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – Iron Flame

27 Aug 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I picked up the second book in The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros after I finished book #1 (Fourth Wing). The sequel – Iron Flame – picks up immediately after the events at the end of the first book. Read on below to see what I thought (paid links).

Here is my review of Fourth Wing (Empyrean Book #1).

I read the hardcover edition of this book.

Here is the blurb:

Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.

Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.

Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.

But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.

Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

While the first book in this series ended with an exciting action sequence, the aftermath of the battle also led to the revelation of some long-held secrets that threw Violet’s world into chaos. As this book opens, she struggles to reconcile this new information, while wondering whether her relationship with Xaden can survive any more secrets.

If you liked the first book, you’ll probably like this second installment. If you weren’t a fan of the first book, then you probably won’t like this one either, since it features the same characters and style of story-telling.

The book takes us back to Basgiath, where Violet reunites with her friends and the dangers inherent to their education. However, the plot finds new twists that kept me engaged with the larger story. Like in the first book, not everyone survives. And also like the first book, the ending leaves the world and the characters changed, adding to my anticipation for the third and final book, Onyx Storm, due out in January 2025 (paid link).

Have you read any books in this series? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – Lord of Chaos

24 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.

The opening of each book in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is a variation on these same lines, followed by a description of wind passing across the land before settling into a more focused scene. Despite the length of each book, I found myself pulled into book 6, Lord of Chaos, immediately after finishing book 5 (paid links). Read on below to see what I thought.

Reviews of other books in the series:

I read the e-book edition of this.

Here is the blurb:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world …

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne — and where an unexpected visitor may change the world …

In Emond’s Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta’veren to ta’veren and prepares to march …

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally …

And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway …

This book was a long one, with less action on the pages, or at least more spaced out action amongst those pages. Rand has established himself as the Dragon Reborn and, with the rediscovery of the ability to travel, he bounces between Cairhien and Caemlyn. He talks to people in each place but doesn’t do much himself.

Nynaeve and Elayne sit in Salidar, reduced back to students and no longer given the freedom they once had. The intriguing events of the previous book had given Nynaeve a captive member of the Forsaken and Elayne an unusual Warder, but this book saw little progress in any resolution of these situations.

This is the point in the series where I feel that the author could have told and not shown every detail of every single thing that happens. When the events finally culminate in one exciting scene at the end of the book, the pace is much better.

I’m going to take a break from these books for a few months before I start the next one, A Crown of Swords.

Have you read The Wheel of Time series? How far have you read? Which books do you think were best?

Find more of my reviews here.

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