Another book roundup post
Nov. 20th, 2022 08:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiriel123Time for another post about my recent book reads:
Only a Monster by Vanessa Len 7/10
Joan is spending summer with her relatives in London, living life as a normal person, with a crush on her coworker at the museum where she works, when everything comes crashing down. She discovers she's not as human as she thought, with a power to steal time from ordinary people and that her crush is a monster slayer of legend. After witnessing the massacre of her family, she becomes determined to change the present by teaming up with some newly made frenemies and using her newfound abilities to go back to the past. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! I liked the monster lore and the way time looped in on itself in different ways at the end. Definitely will give the sequel a read when it comes out
Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews 9/10
The last Catalina book in the Hidden Legacy series!! Plot-wise - Catalina unexpectedly needs to assume the role of Acting Warden of Texas when her boss and mentor is attacked and in a coma. As the conclusion to Catalina's trilogy it wrapped everything up so well, and I loved the revelations about her grandparents and Alessandro's family. Ilona Andrews does such a good job of writing strong familial relationships even though the series is focused on romance, and of course Catalina gets her well deserved happily ever after. When the main character switched from Nevada to Catalina after the first trilogy I was a bit worried I would lose interest but I love Catalina so much. After I finished Ruby Fever I re-read all 7 books starting with Burn for Me, and enjoyed seeing all the little easter eggs dropped in the first books come to fruition in this finale. I really hope they end up doing a third trilogy in this world centered around Arabella because I'm not ready to let it go!
Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue by Kersten Gier 6/10
Another YA time travel series, lol I am predictable. Gwyneth inherits her family's time travel gene and all the responsibility that comes along with it. Conscripted into a mission with the handsome but snooty Gideon to collect blood from all the previous time travelers, Gwyneth has to make decisions about who to trust. I was intrigued enough by book 1 to read book 2 but let's just say that Emerald Green came in on reserve at my library and I let the hold lapse. I continually had to remind myself that Gwyneth is 16 in the books and therefore makes emotional impulse driven decisions, but I got tired of reading about it.
The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley 7/10
Valery Kolkhanov is transferred from a Siberian prison to a secret nuclear facility known only as City 40 due to his nuclear specialist knowledge. Taking place in Russia in the 1960s and based on real events Valery has to contend with what to do when the radiation he's studying has very real effects on the people all around him. I very much enjoyed reading this, and I could tell the author did a lot of research around what might have actually happened during this timeframe. It definitely made me want to check out her other works
Jade City by Fonda Lee 7/10
Set in a fantastical world where Jade can heighten your senses and abilities, two families wrestle for control of their city and its Jade production. The focus is on the No-Peak clan, specifically the siblings Lan, Shae, and Hilo and their family. I liked it a lot and intend to continue, although I'll need to carve out time because the next two books in the trilogy are 600-700 pages each. I miss the days when I could devote myself to reading long complicated epic sagas, but sadly work saps so much energy that I can't always concentrate properly
The Last Sun/The Hanged Man/The Hourglass Throne by KD Edwards 7/10
This series has been on my list to read for soooo long I literally bought The Last Sun like two years ago and it didn't disappoint! In The Last Sun, Rune Saint John, the last scion of the fallen Sun Court, spends his days taking on odd jobs with his Companion, Brand. But when they get called on a case to find Lady Judgement's missing son, Addam, they get pulled into a mystery they never expected. I really enjoyed the unique world building here as well, though it threw me off a bit at first. The different courts are all based on Tarot (or, Tarot is based on the Courts) and after I understood the basis it was easier to follow. Also in The Hourglass Throne I was surprised when covid was included, as this is the first book I've read that actually inserted the pandemic into the narrative. Rune and Addam's relationship felt very quick to me in book 1, but I did like how it developed with Brand as well by the end of book 3. I think 9 books are planned for this series, although I'm not sure if the POV character will be switched in the future from Rune to someone else.
Ok, that's it for now!
Only a Monster by Vanessa Len 7/10
Joan is spending summer with her relatives in London, living life as a normal person, with a crush on her coworker at the museum where she works, when everything comes crashing down. She discovers she's not as human as she thought, with a power to steal time from ordinary people and that her crush is a monster slayer of legend. After witnessing the massacre of her family, she becomes determined to change the present by teaming up with some newly made frenemies and using her newfound abilities to go back to the past. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this! I liked the monster lore and the way time looped in on itself in different ways at the end. Definitely will give the sequel a read when it comes out
Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews 9/10
The last Catalina book in the Hidden Legacy series!! Plot-wise - Catalina unexpectedly needs to assume the role of Acting Warden of Texas when her boss and mentor is attacked and in a coma. As the conclusion to Catalina's trilogy it wrapped everything up so well, and I loved the revelations about her grandparents and Alessandro's family. Ilona Andrews does such a good job of writing strong familial relationships even though the series is focused on romance, and of course Catalina gets her well deserved happily ever after. When the main character switched from Nevada to Catalina after the first trilogy I was a bit worried I would lose interest but I love Catalina so much. After I finished Ruby Fever I re-read all 7 books starting with Burn for Me, and enjoyed seeing all the little easter eggs dropped in the first books come to fruition in this finale. I really hope they end up doing a third trilogy in this world centered around Arabella because I'm not ready to let it go!
Ruby Red and Sapphire Blue by Kersten Gier 6/10
Another YA time travel series, lol I am predictable. Gwyneth inherits her family's time travel gene and all the responsibility that comes along with it. Conscripted into a mission with the handsome but snooty Gideon to collect blood from all the previous time travelers, Gwyneth has to make decisions about who to trust. I was intrigued enough by book 1 to read book 2 but let's just say that Emerald Green came in on reserve at my library and I let the hold lapse. I continually had to remind myself that Gwyneth is 16 in the books and therefore makes emotional impulse driven decisions, but I got tired of reading about it.
The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley 7/10
Valery Kolkhanov is transferred from a Siberian prison to a secret nuclear facility known only as City 40 due to his nuclear specialist knowledge. Taking place in Russia in the 1960s and based on real events Valery has to contend with what to do when the radiation he's studying has very real effects on the people all around him. I very much enjoyed reading this, and I could tell the author did a lot of research around what might have actually happened during this timeframe. It definitely made me want to check out her other works
Jade City by Fonda Lee 7/10
Set in a fantastical world where Jade can heighten your senses and abilities, two families wrestle for control of their city and its Jade production. The focus is on the No-Peak clan, specifically the siblings Lan, Shae, and Hilo and their family. I liked it a lot and intend to continue, although I'll need to carve out time because the next two books in the trilogy are 600-700 pages each. I miss the days when I could devote myself to reading long complicated epic sagas, but sadly work saps so much energy that I can't always concentrate properly
The Last Sun/The Hanged Man/The Hourglass Throne by KD Edwards 7/10
This series has been on my list to read for soooo long I literally bought The Last Sun like two years ago and it didn't disappoint! In The Last Sun, Rune Saint John, the last scion of the fallen Sun Court, spends his days taking on odd jobs with his Companion, Brand. But when they get called on a case to find Lady Judgement's missing son, Addam, they get pulled into a mystery they never expected. I really enjoyed the unique world building here as well, though it threw me off a bit at first. The different courts are all based on Tarot (or, Tarot is based on the Courts) and after I understood the basis it was easier to follow. Also in The Hourglass Throne I was surprised when covid was included, as this is the first book I've read that actually inserted the pandemic into the narrative. Rune and Addam's relationship felt very quick to me in book 1, but I did like how it developed with Brand as well by the end of book 3. I think 9 books are planned for this series, although I'm not sure if the POV character will be switched in the future from Rune to someone else.
Ok, that's it for now!
