Book Review – Voyager

22 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

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

I’m still making progress reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. This review is for Voyager, book #3 (paid links), and you can find my reviews of the earlier books in the series here:

I listened to the audiobook edition.

Here is the blurb:

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her… and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her…the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland… and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite or forever doom her timeless love.

This series has certainly not followed my expectations in terms of the timeline and structure of the storytelling. This book starts off following Claire after she has returned to her present timeline and lived there for 20 years, raising her daughter. With Jamie left behind in the 1700s, the book details their separate lives. But with several more books ahead in this story, of course they must somehow reunite.

This book also brings the story to the New World, as the characters seek to rescue young Ian, Jamie’s nephew. The identity of who has kidnapped him and which other characters they meet makes this book resonate with the earlier volumes.

One part that dragged for me was the trans-Atlantic journey. While the author takes steps to fill this time with events, there is only so much to do on board a sailing ship. Overall, I enjoyed this installment a lot and I’m curious to see where the series goes next.

Have you read any of the Outlander books? How far along should I be before I start to watch the television series? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

June & July 2024 Reading Wrap Up

20 Aug 2024 1 Comment

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

For some reason, my blog always suffers a slump in the middle of the year. I think that I become overly distracted by the variety of summer activities. My reading also suffers, with my Goodreads reading challenge showing that I’m 37 books behind schedule (not that I ever set a realistic goal, but that’s a separate issue).

For June and July, I continued to read some long books, finishing these below:

The House in the Cerulean Sea was the shortest of the group at 394 pages. The others came in at 1011 pages for Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time #6), 640 pages for Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2), and 43 hours and 46 minutes for the audiobook edition of Voyager (Outlander #3) (paid links). I should be putting reviews up soon.

I’ve also been working on some writing projects over the summer. I’ll have a flash fiction story appearing in a holiday issue of Abyss & Apex in December. I have a couple of short stories that I need to revise and submit to magazines. The larger project is that I’ve been outlining a 5-book epic fantasy series that’s been in my head for a long time. I have a rough outline of the first book for some of the characters, but I can’t start writing until I have done more of the planning. I’m also toying with writing a proposal for a non-fiction academic book (in case I don’t have enough to keep me busy).

Going forward with my reading plans, I just finished reading The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. I’m currently reading Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander book #4) as an audiobook and Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton on my Kindle (paid links).

After that, these are some of the books that I might read next:

How have your reading plans been going for the summer? Do you have any must-read books that you would suggest? Let me know in the comments (above).

May 2024 Reading Wrap Up

05 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

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

May was not a great reading month for me. I had a lot of other things going on, as well as some travel. You’d think that I’d have more time to read while traveling, but it doesn’t always work out that way. I lose focus while reading on a plane and then at my destination, I’m often too tired to stay up reading. And while I bring my headphones, I find that I never put on my audiobook in these situations.

The month of May didn’t quite go according to plan. I only finished one book, The Fires of Heaven (Book 5 in The Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan. I’ll have a review of this one up soon (paid links).

I read two short stories for one of my book clubs. We have pivoted to a short story format for a few months to see if we can get more people attending the discussions. These are the two stories that we recently read, and you can find them for free at these links:

I’m still listening to the audiobook of Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gabaldon, and I should finish this in the next two weeks (14 hours to go). I also started to read Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, the second book in the Empyrean series. You can find my review of the first book, Fourth Wing, here. Since I was traveling and had my Kindle with me, I started on the 6th Wheel of Time book immediately after finishing the 5th with Lord of Chaos (paid links).

For June, here are some of the books that I’m planning to read after I finish the ones above.

Let’s see how much I can read as the summer starts!

What are you planning to read next? Let me know in the comments (above).

Book Review – On Fragile Waves

10 May 2024 1 Comment

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

I’ve been reading some long books lately. That means that I haven’t finished anything new to review this week, so I’m going to my dwindling backlog for this post.

I read On Fragile Waves by E. Lily Yu last year for one of my book clubs (paid link). It was described as magical realism, which is a sub-genre that I’m not terribly familiar with. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Jeed Saddy.

I listened to the audiobook edition.

Here is the blurb:

Firuzeh and her brother Nour are children of fire, born in an Afghanistan fractured by war. When their parents, their Atay and Abay, decide to leave, they spin fairy tales of their destination, the mythical land and opportunities of Australia.

As the family journeys from Pakistan to Indonesia to Nauru, heading toward a hope of home, they must rely on fragile and temporary shelters, strangers both mercenary and kind, and friends who vanish as quickly as they’re found.

When they arrive in Australia, what seemed like a stable shore gives way to treacherous currents. Neighbors, classmates, and the government seek their own ends, indifferent to the family’s fate. For Firuzeh, her fantasy worlds provide some relief, but as her family and home splinter, she must surface from these imaginings and find a new way.

The concept of this book sounded interesting enough, and I’m always open to reading diverse perspectives. However, the story told in this book never truly captured my interest and contained very little in the way of fantastical elements. The magical realism aspect comes in when Firuzeh’s friend dies on the journey, but continues to visit Firuzeh and speak to her. I was disappointed overall, and while I finished the book, I don’t even remember how it ended now.

The writing in the book was good and I’d consider reading a different book by the same author. The narrator was easy to listen to and I think that I might not have been able to finish a print or e-book version of this novel. Sometimes I do better finishing an audiobook when I’m struggling to stay engaged with the story.

Have you read any books with a similar setting or theme? Which ones would you recommend? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – Dragonfly in Amber

15 Apr 2024 2 Comments

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

I did manage to finish the second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon last week, Dragonfly in Amber. Hopefully this means that I’m on the way out of my March reading slump (paid links). This was also the audiobook version, narrated by Davina Porter.

You can find my review of book 1, Outlander, at this link.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this.

Here is the blurb:

From the author of Outlander… a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland…

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones …about a love that transcends the boundaries of time …and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ….

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart …in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising …and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves….

The beginning of this book was not what I expected and introduced more time travel complications to the overarching storyline. It also framed the theme of this book – can the past be changed if one has foreknowledge of their outcome? Or is one helpless, pinned in place like the titular dragonfly? I won’t answer that question because you’ll have to read the book to find out.

This volume takes Claire and Jaime to France for most of the book. There, they use family connections and a little spycraft to try to stop the eventual uprising of the Scots against England that Claire knows is doomed to failure.

Claire and Jaime’s relationship evolves as they are faced with new challenges. I have to wonder how many different ways the author can pull them apart, have them question their love, and then have them reunite and reconcile. So far I don’t think she’s had a similar situation between them come up twice, but there are a lot of books to go.

The same narrator gave voice to this book, and I really like her portrayal of the characters. I wish that the books included a glossary or dramatis personae because sometimes I get the more minor Scots confused.

I don’t want to give any specific spoilers here, but I think that the ending of this volume was stronger than book 1. It provides enough resolution, but also sets up more mystery and tension about what happens next. I have already started the next book, Voyagers, which is almost 44 hours long, so look for my review of that one in about 6 weeks (paid link).

Have you read any of the Outlander books? How do the first two books compare to you? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my book reviews here.

March 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

02 Apr 2024 1 Comment

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

Help, help! I’m in a reading slump!

March wasn’t a very good month for me in terms of reading. I was distracted by other things in my life and I didn’t have as much time to devote to books, unfortunately. What did I actually finish reading in March? Just these two books:

I did review The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin here. And I should have a review of The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten up soon (paid links).

I am still in the process of reading a few others which you can see here:

I didn’t make any further progress on The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, but I still plan to get back to this one. My audiobook listening habit also struggled, so I haven’t finished the second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. As of the time I’m writing this, I have a little under seven hours left to go. I started reading the Utopia Science Fiction anthology last week, but I was not in the right mood to read short stories and ended up finally starting The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett, which is book 4 in The Demon Cycle (paid links).

What’s ahead for April? And how do I break out of my reading slump?

I rearranged what I originally had on my April list, since I didn’t get to most of what I had planned to read for March. Here are the books that I now have on for this month:

I put them roughly in the order I think I might read them. The Core is the fifth and final book in The Demon Cycle, so I expect I’ll want to finish that series once I get through book 4. I think I’ll probably get back to The Sandman series of graphic novels for a quick read and then move on to book 5 of The Wheel of Time – The Fires of Heaven. I expect Iron Flame to be a quick read, and after that I don’t know if I’ll actually get to the other books during April. I should be able to at least start Voyager, the 3rd book in the Outlander series, but since each one is longer than the last, I don’t know if I’ll finish it this month (paid links).

On top of those goals, I have been debating whether I should read some of the fiction nominated for the Nebula Awards. That will be the topic of a post later this week, so I’ll leave my thoughts on that until then.

As far as getting over my reading slump, that’s hard because I do have some travel plans this month. One trip involves a long flight, so that usually gives me some free time to read, but otherwise the logistics of packing and planning always takes time.

What are you reading in April? How are your reading goals for the year going so far? Let me know in the comments (above).

Book Review – The Road to Roswell

11 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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

I picked up The Road to Roswell after having an opportunity to listen to Connie Willis talk to my local science fiction club about her writing (paid links). This is her most recent novel and is a humorous stand-alone story. I listened to the audiobook edition, narrated by Jesse Vilinsky.

Connie Willis isn’t a new author to me. I have read several books in her Oxford Time Travel series, starting with The Doomsday Book (paid links). I’m sure I’ve read some of her short stories in magazines, but I tend to lose track of which shorter works I have read.

Here are my reviews of some of her other books:

I listened to this as an audiobook.

Here is the blurb:

When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate’s UFO-themed wedding—complete with a true-believer bridegroom—she can’t help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don’t exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one.

Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien’s abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet.

But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he’s not an invader. That he’s in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn’t know how—or even what the trouble is.

Part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy, The Road to Roswell is packed full of Men in Black, Elvis impersonators, tourist traps, rattlesnakes, chemtrails, and Close Encounters of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth kind. Can Francie, stuck in a neon green bridesmaid’s dress, save the world—and still make it back for the wedding?

This book was a lot of fun to read and played on UFO and alien-abduction tropes, both to move the story along, and to provide some great laughs. Francie is the perfect protagonist for this, starting out as a skeptic, but being unable to disbelieve what happens to her. The group that is swept along in the adventure is a wonderful assortment of characters and they all add their own unique personalities to the story.

The plot didn’t go where I expected it to, but that’s okay in the end. The story also features a touch of rom-com. The audiobook was easy to listen to and I was swept into the story immediately. This was a fun read and is definitely a stand-alone novel, so it won’t add to my massive list of series that I need to finish.

Have you read anything by Connie Willis? What is your favorite story? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – Spear

08 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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

I read Spear by Nicola Griffith recently (end of 2023) and had no idea what to expect from it going in (paid links). Like a couple of my other recent reads, this was technically a novella, essentially a short novel. This was the first book by this author that I had read. I listened to the audiobook edition, which was narrated by the author.

I listened to the audiobook of this.

Here is the blurb:

The girl knows she has a destiny before she even knows her name. She grows up in the wild, in a cave with her mother, but visions of a faraway lake come to her on the spring breeze, and when she hears a traveler speak of Artos, king of Caer Leon, she knows that her future lies at his court.

And so, brimming with magic and eager to test her strength, she breaks her covenant with her mother and, with a broken hunting spear and mended armour, rides on a bony gelding to Caer Leon. On her adventures she will meet great knights and steal the hearts of beautiful women. She will fight warriors and sorcerers. And she will find her love, and the lake, and her fate.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It featured a girl without a name who finds her place in the world when she dares to leave the familiarity of home for adventure in the world. She comes upon the body of a slain knight and takes up his spear, gaining inspiration from the weapon to give herself a name.

Once she comes upon the slain knight’s companions, it was clear that this book was a retelling of Arthurian legend. While I’m far from an expert, I have read a fair number of these types of stories and am always interested to read a new take on classic tales. Even knowing those legends, this book was able to tell a compelling story that still surprised me.

It is clear from the early part of this book that the protagonist is a lesbian. While there is a love story within the novella, it isn’t the main focus of the plot. Other themes include the meaning of family and becoming accepted by others.

Have you read any books by Nicola Griffith? Which ones would you recommend? Let me know in the comments (above)

Find more of my reviews here.

Book Review – Hell Bent

02 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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

I finished reading Hell Bent, the second book in the Alex Stern series by Leigh Bardugo, last year, as part of my read-through of all of the author’s current work (paid links). Like I did with most of her other books, I listened to this in audiobook format, narrated by Lauren Fortgang and Michael David Axtell.

You can find my review of her other books here:

I listened to this as an audiobook.

Here is the blurb:

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy “Alex” Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory―even if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can’t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies’ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren’t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she’ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university’s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo’s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.

I jumped right into this book after finishing Ninth House, so the conclusion of that first volume was fresh in my mind. This sequel is structured differently since Darlington is still missing. The secondary characters play a bigger role as Alex tries to find her missing mentor. Dawes would rather continue her quiet research and work on her thesis, but her dedication to Lethe House makes it impossible for her to stay away. Detective Turner also cannot escape his role in helping Lethe House, and his past plays an important role in this book.

One part of the plot was somewhat repetitive, but it all kept me engaged and invested in the characters. Alex manages to ignore the rules of the societies as she tries to recover Darlington and investigate who is responsible. We continue to learn more of the truth of her past as well.

I loved how Alex has learned to trust her roommate and has gathered a larger circle of friend to help her in this second book.

I still don’t know how this series will end for all involved, but I’m excited for the third book. So far there is no title or release date for it.

Have you read Ninth House and Hell Bent? Where do you think the story is going? Let me know in the comments (above).

Find more of my reviews here.

February 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

28 Feb 2024 Leave a comment

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

I love doing these end of the month/year types of posts and it’s time for another one – yay! However, February didn’t go as well for me in terms of reading. At the time that I’m writing this, I’ve only finished the first three books pictured below (Fourth Wing, God Emperor of Dune, Starling House). I still expect to get through Every Heart a Doorway and Color and Light by the end of the month (paid links).

Books that I read in February 2024

You can find my reviews for the ones that I’ve finished here:

I have been reading two other books that I don’t expect to finish by the end of the month. Those are The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, which is essentially a class on creating a blueprint of the plot and characters for your screenplay or novel. It is dense and I’m working through it slowly. The other book I’m partway through is the second in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (paid links). I’m listening to the audiobook and I still have over 18 hours to go.

Books I have started, but haven’t finished yet.

Looking back at my January 2024 Reading Wrap-Up post here, I had also planned to read these books pictured below. I didn’t start either The Foxglove King (481 pages) or The Combat Codes (484 pages) because they were longer works and I had other novels that I needed to finish within a time frame for book club discussions (paid links). I also would like to read the Utopia Science Fiction Magazine anthology where my story (Selection Error) appears, so all three of these books will be pushed to the top of my reading list for March.

Books I had planned to read in February, but didn’t start yet.

If I look at my original reading list for March 2024, it contains the following 8 books:

Books I’m planning to read in March 2024

These are all parts of series! Additionally, I don’t think any of them are ones I’m reading for book clubs. I have put them in order of priority, with the series that I’ve already started listed higher. The last three on here, Scorpica by G. R. Macallister, Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, and The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu are all by new authors to me, and are each the first books of a series (paid links).

I know that I won’t realistically get through all of these, but that never stops me from looking at more books and coveting them. I’ll continue to post reviews as I go, interspersed with reviews of books that I read last year.

How do you choose what to read next? Let me know in the comments (above).

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