This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Publisher: Saga Press, Scribd e-book, 209 pages

“All good stories travel from the outside in.”

Red and Blue are agents on opposing sides of a war that crosses time and space. Both are fighting to ensure victory for their side, that there is a best future for themselves and their people. Yet, just one message left for the other on the battlefield is enough to change the course of past, present, and future.

This is How You Lose the Time War is one hell of a book. It is beautiful and confusing and addictive and there is so much whatthefuckery, but you can’t put it down because you are hooked. I have never read a book like this before, and I’m not certain I’ll read another book like it again. There is just something about it that is so compelling even though I spent most of the book wondering what was going on. In fact, the first note I made when I started this book, that sums up my reading experience perfectly: “This book is strange, but good strange. I think. So far.”

It’s not just the story of these two agents, but how they communicate to each other. The messaging was so inventive and the language was beautiful. I may not have known what was happening, but I knew how they felt and what their concerns were. I knew I was looking forward to the next message because I was curious what shape it would take. Sometimes feathers, others lava, but it’s never the same way twice. The relationship they developed and the form it took, it didn’t make sense and yet, it made every sense. There was just something about this one and it’s hard to discuss without giving anything away.

I’ll admit, I spent a good portion of this book wondering if it was too smart for me. That said, I’m glad I stuck it out because it ended up being very worth the ride. Definitely recommended, particularly for those who enjoy unique takes on sci-fi stories. 4/5 stars.

The Taker by Alma Katsu

The Taker by Alma Katsu
Series: The Taker Trilogy #1
Publisher: Saga Press, Paperback, 436 pages

Dr. Luke Findlay is back home in Maine, where nothing ever really happens. Certainly not strange things in the middle of the night. However, when the police bring Lanore McIlvrae into the emergency room in the dead of night, Luke is going to find out just how strange the world he lives in can be.

The Taker was an interesting reading experience for a couple of reasons. First, while it is catalogued as horror this is not a traditional jump scare horror story. Instead, it’s all in the atmosphere and vibes. It gets almost unsettling at times, but it made for a very immersive reading and listening experience.

Second, I didn’t actually like any of the characters. Luke grew on me a little bit eventually, but I spent the majority of this book actively disliking the characters. My dislike though did not translate to disinterest – instead it was the opposite. I was invested in their lives, their histories, and I was compelled to keep reading. I find that this is due to the fact that I really enjoyed Lanore’s voice as a narrator, even if I didn’t like her, but also how it was written. The way that Katsu wrote this book and the language used grabbed my attention in a way I wasn’t expecting.

As a whole, I think this book really came together in some unique ways. I, as someone who generally needs to be connected to a character to keep reading a book, ate this up even though I did not like the characters. The book follows a couple of different timelines, but it did it in a very meandering way. The book took its time and it almost made it about the individual stories themselves as opposed to the collective whole. I haven’t read anything quite like it before. I also need to shout out the audiobook. I jumped back and forth between reading this book physically and listening to the audiobook and I found the audiobook to be very well done. It definitely suited the story.

All in all, I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book. There were definitely some uncomfortable moments throughout, but I thought a lot of it was handled well. I found it to be unique and while I’m not sure how two more books will play out, I do know that I will read on. 4/5 stars.

The Taker Trilogy:
1. The Taker
2. The Reckoning
3. The Descent

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
Series: Maple Hills #1
Publisher: Atria Books, Nook Edition, 435 pages

Anastasia Allen has spent her entire life working towards one goal, making the US Olympic Figure Skating team. When the reality of that goal suffers a terrible blow, Nathan Hawkins captain of the university hockey team swoops in to save the day. Little does he know he’s going to be pushed to his limits, in more ways than one.

Icebreakers was a fun read and it was the perfect palate cleanser I was looking for when I picked it up. While this fulfilled a lot of the things I wanted to get from it, I have one big gripe. Without getting too spoilery, most of the characters are athletes. I have such a hard time believing that an athlete that is SO in control of everything all the time is going to be so unaware of how their eating is impacting their life and body. While I understand the points that were made to address how this happened throughout the book, I simply could not shut off the part of my brain that was in doubt. I feel like basically any other conflict or struggle would have fit in better here.

I liked the characters in Icebreakers, aside from the one obvious exception. That said, Stassie got more time than Nathan did which I was kind of bummed about, and I think that may have done this book a bit of a disservice. However, I am looking forward to seeing more of the characters in Icebreaker in future books.

Overall I did enjoy Icebreaker. I went into this book wanting a fun, low stakes read. For the most part that is exactly what I got from it. While there were a couple of things that bothered me while reading this book, I will still read on in the series. 4/5 stars.

Maple Hills Series:
1. Icebreaker
2. Wildfire
3. Daydream – Expected publication June 4, 2024

Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell

Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
Series: Lychford #1
Publisher: Tor, Paperback, 144 Pages

Judith Mawson has been around a while, and she knows the truth about Lychford. It’s simply not just a quiet and picturesque English village, no matter the vibes it gives off. When greed threatens the boundaries of two worlds, Judith will do anything to prevent it. After all, she’s the one who understands what the others are capable of.

Witches of Lychford ticked a lot of boxes for me. It was super atmospheric while also being not quite right which I appreciated. I really liked our three leading ladies, Judith especially, because she gives zero shits and she’s going to say what’s on her mind. I loved the dynamics between Judith, Autumn, and Lizzie. Yes they’re an unlikely team, but they complement each other so well and it was a lot of fun to see some of them become awakened to the world around them.

My biggest gripe reading this was that it didn’t feel finished. I wanted more, in fact half of the notes I wrote about this book were that it wasn’t enough for me. For such a short story it inspired a lot of questions about what was happening on a grander scale. There were certain things being alluded to, but I knew there was no way we would have enough time to get to them all. I was happy to find out once I finished this book that it’s actually a series, so perhaps I’ll get some of those questions answered after all.

All in all, I found this novella to be quite enjoyable and it certainly sparked an interest in what comes next. Definitely recommended for a quick fantasy read. 4/5 stars.

Lychford Series:
1. Witches of Lychford
2. The Lost Child of Lychford
3. A Long Day in Lychford
4. The Lights Go Out in Lychford
5. Last Stand in Lychford

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Series: The Empyrean #1
Publisher: Red Tower Books, Hardcover, 528 pages

Violet Sorrengail has trained her whole life to be a scribe, so when her mother forces her to join the cadets training and fighting to become elite dragon riders she’s less than ready for the challenges sure to come. Yet, despite the horrible odds against her she is going to prove that she can survive, will survive. And when she finds out how far leadership is willing to go to hide the truth, she realizes just how strong she is.

In honor of tomorrow’s release of Iron Flame… well it’s time. Oh yes, we’re going to talk about the book that divided, perhaps even temporarily broke the internet earlier this year. A book that I wasn’t sure I was even going to post a review of, but what the hell. Fourth Wing is the Romantasy that everyone has wanted and been (im)patiently waiting for. Except here’s the thing… This book is not everything it could have been and while I did enjoy this overall, I do have a big ol’ bone to pick with it.

From the get go, we as readers know that Violet isn’t physically as strong as the people around her. This is fine. My problem is the toxic bullshit – for lack of a better term – inserted into this part of the story line to add drama. Why the hell can’t we just see Violet begin to get stronger and support her in that journey? Why the hell do we have to watch her ‘best friend’, who happens to be a man, tell her that she should give up over and over and over again in the name of caring about her? Are we not past this? There is enough else going on that the story did not need this. Quite frankly, I as a reader don’t WANT this. These cadets are fighting for their lives as it is… from their fellow cadets, from the dragons around them, and from the tasks they are put through as part of their training. That this extra layer of drama needed to be added to separate the ‘hero’ from the ‘not as a good a friend as you thought you had’… I could have done without it. In fact, without this, I likely would have given the book five stars irregardless of the fact that it’s not a perfect book. Moving on…

I love dragons, and this book is no exception to that rule. The way that the dragons connect with their riders and the bonds that they share were great fun. I also really appreciated how the magic worked, that it reflected not just the dragon, but the rider themselves was new and different. There is some political/war intrigue at play here and I am keen to see how it unravels in the next book. It’s obvious during reading that this is a fantasy debut, but those aspects with room for improvement didn’t hinder my ability to have some fun reading this book.

All in all, this was a solid read with some stuff that I simply could have done without. However, I got a lot of entertainment and enjoyment out of the story, certainly enough that offsets the parts that I didn’t like. It could have easily been a 5 though. Either way, I’ll be reading on come tomorrow. 4/5 stars.

The Empyrean Series:
1. Fourth Wing
2. Iron Flame

Junior by Macaulay Culkin

Junior by Macaulay Culkin
Publisher: Miramax, Paperback, 224 pages

Junior is spending some time reflecting on his life by writing a book. There’s a chance he is not going to get what he’s looking for out it, assuming he can figure out what he is looking for.

Junior is a semi-autobiographical story by and about one Macaulay Culkin which is obvious based on the stories and thoughts that are included. I picked this up on a whim YEARS ago, but had never read it and I finally decided to pick it up this year when I had an unexpected few free hours. Admittedly, I’m somewhat ambivalent about Junior. It’s a weird ass book.

I don’t think we can truly call this a novel. Sometimes it’s just words, sometimes it’s stream of consciousness, sometimes poems or pictures or a combination of these things that don’t always make a complete story. It’s a bit satirical. I usually avoid reviews before reading a book, but my eye caught part of one before reading this and called the book pretentious, but honestly it doesn’t take itself seriously enough to be pretentious. I don’t think we as readers can take this book seriously either.

I’m not sure if there was a point to this book. In fact, the last note I wrote when I finished reading this still holds true… “Honestly, I don’t even know if I truly liked this. It was just plain weird. But I can appreciate it for what it is.” It can’t hurt to read it if you’re into strange hodgepodge’s of ideas, but you definitely need to suspend expectation and take it as it is. 3/5 ambivalent stars.

The Bat by Jo Nesbø

The Bat by Jo Nesbø
Series: Harry Hole #1
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, Trade Paperback, 369 Pages
Translator: Don Bartlett

Harry Hole is not in Sydney, Australia on holiday. He’s there on a rather gruesome business, to follow the murder case of a Norwegian woman. Throughout the case, he finds himself embroiled in more than just a standard murder, and it seems that his status will do little to protect him, even from himself.

I held off on starting this series for some time as I always get nervous with crime/procedural books. Usually when they’re done well they’re great, but when they’re not it’s to the extreme and I was nervous this series in particular wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I’m quite happy to report that I really enjoyed reading The Bat. I enjoyed the characters, most of the plot, the ups and downs of it all.

Let’s talk about Harry Hole for a minute because I loved his character and he was just so endearing. He had this seriousness to him, to be expected given his profession, but then, randomly he would drop the driest humor and it was hilarious to get that next to his inner dialogue. Also, let’s talk about it, Harry Holy, I mean, I just want to call the series the Harry Holy books. And he went right along with it, it was good fun. The other character that we really got to know was Andrew. And he too was just downright hilarious. I loved reading his character, even if I was a bit surprised at how his story line played out in both a heartbroken and stereotypical sort of way.

The plot itself was interesting enough if a bit expected at times given the genre. There was a bit of side story throughout, for lack of a better term, but I liked that everything was brought together to come full circle instead of just random side plots that had nothing to do with anything else. There’s one event in particular that occurs while everything is essentially going to shit, and our main character, staid cop that he is becomes this almost unreliable narrator. While I wasn’t expecting it, I really enjoyed how it was done. Tying this into the writing, I feel like so often with crime and thrillers it’s always about how often you can make the reader jump or how long you can keep them on the edge of their seat. Reading The Bat, I didn’t feel like I was meant to have this big bomb dropped every four pages, and it was a very nice change. I enjoyed the pacing, taking the time at the start to get the lay of the land with Harry and then proceeding from there.

All in all, I definitely enjoyed reading this book even if it wasn’t perfect. There were times where I was laughing, times where a character – usually Andrew – would say something that would make me rethink everything I think I know about the world, and times where I felt my stomach drop. At the end of it all I really enjoyed how this story played out. 4/5 stars.

The Harry Hole Series:
1. The Bat
2. Cockroaches
3. The Redbreast
4. Nemesis
5. The Devil’s Star
6. The Redeemer
7. The Snowman
8. The Leopard
9. Phantom
10. Police
11. The Thirst
12. The Knife
13. Killing Moon

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, Hardcover, 456 pages

Elisabeth was raised on two things. The belief that all sorcerers are evil and that the Great Libraries must be protected. Yet, when there is an attack in her library, she is implicated and everything she knows will be turned on its head.

Sorcery of Thorns was such an enjoyable book. Elisabeth was a wonderful main character. As an orphan raised in a Great Library she was so connected to what was happening in them and to the books in particular. However, she was also so sure in her sense of self, she is strong and she is not taking anyone’s crap. No matter what she is going to stand up for what she believes in. Nathaniel was interesting in his own way, but what intrigued me most about his character was his relationship with Silas and his house. Silas however, I loved the hell out of Silas and I am prepared to die on the side of the hill that’s backing him.

Rogerson does something in this book that I love to see and that is giving personality to things that are often just in the background. Thorn manor for instance and the ways in which the house comes alive. More than that is the books, the grimoires in the Great Libraries. They become a character of their own and you almost feel bad when you think about them being trapped in the libraries, but really that is the safest place for them. We as a reader though get this appreciation for the grimoires as entities that are breathing and speaking through the lens of Elisabeth and I loved every second of it. There is one point in the book where Elisabeth recalls the first time she came across an ‘ordinary’ book outside of the library and how she thought it was dead. If I hadn’t been already, that line would have hooked me.

I found the pacing of the story to be perfect, it never felt like there was too much or too little happening. There was this almost perfect build up to the ending and it kept me interested the whole time. Basically, everything about this book was good.

All in all, definitely recommended. I had a great time reading this and cannot wait to read the follow up novella! 5/5 stars.

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Series: Mistborn Trilogy #1
Publisher: Tor Fantasy, Mass Market Paperback, 643 pages

Vin is just your normal street urchin trying to survive another day, but when she catches the eye of someone who would destroy her and someone who is determined to save her, her life will be changed. After all, Vin is joining up with a crew taking on an impossible mission, they’re going to help upend the world.

I’m not sure what there is to say as a synopsis for this book at this point, everything has probably been well covered and with good reason. This book is amazing. I was so engaged, mentally and emotionally the whole time. The last 100 pages or so though took it to another level. The treatment of the Skaa is horrifying, yet there is something so uplifting about the story and the work that the main characters are doing to ultimately empower and eventually improve the lives of the Skaa. It lends a sense of reality to what is otherwise a fantasy story.

I really enjoyed the characters. As much as Kelsier’s behavior could really cause me anxiety at times, his endgame took me by surprise. The rest of the crew, Sazed, Dockson, Breeze, Ham, Marsh, even Spook all have these strong but unique personalities that made them more than just a crew that we’re reading about. And of course, we can’t forget about Vin. I mean… who doesn’t want to see a woman overcome their crappy past to jump into something new and just downright kick ass and take names from day one? Yet, Vin also has this naïvete that I think is quite critical to brining her character to life. I was constantly cheering on these characters.

The other thing I really have to give Brandon Sanderson credit for here is that I don’t think he took the obvious or easy road in all of this. Some of the plot points were just NOT what I was expecting at all. While I know now why things unfolded as they did, the process of getting from A to B definitely kept me on my toes and it was a great time. I also really enjoy the magic system here. First, there is a symmetry to it that is very pleasing to me, but it can also become so complex that it’s beautiful. It’s not like anything I’ve read before and I really did appreciate how he brought the magic to life. That said, there is also this unknown element to the magic that we start discovering along with Vin which I find to be very exciting.

All in all, Mistborn was an amazing book and the only thing I regret is waiting so damn long to read it. 5/5 stars.

The Mistborn Trilogy:
1. Mistborn
2. The Well of Ascension
3. The Hero of Ages
Era Two: 100 Years Later
4. The Alloy of Law
5. Shadows of Self
6. The Bands of Mourning
7. The Lost Metal

Deathcaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Deathcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
Series: Shattered Realms #4
Publisher: HarperTeen, Paperback, 656 pages

Alyssa ana’Raisa is struggling to find her way back home without letting the empress that has taken her know just what she is up to. Her home is at risk, her people need her, and she is determined not to let them down. Meanwhile, political intrigue abounds, both in the northern and the southern kingdoms. The question isn’t if the Gray Wolf line will succeed, but how.

Deathcaster is one hell of a conclusion to this series. There is a lot that happens throughout this book, but overall I think the execution was really well done. In a lot of ways, this series really built up a lot of political intrigue, both within the kingdoms themselves, but also between them. This book brings all of those points together as the details are uncovered in full. There was a lot that needed to happen in Deathcaster, after all there were characters all over the place and we knew they had to find their way back to each other some how. That said, I was impressed at how well the book was paced. I was just a little weary at first, but overall it did not feel rushed and I didn’t feel like there were gaping holes left.

I have to say that I feel like Lyss gets more of the time when it comes to character development than others in this series. And that’s probably fair seeing as in some ways she has the most to overcome of any of the characters in this series. Additionally, I think that in this particular book that extra time is important. She is essentially being made to make a decision that either destroys her freedom, or has the potential to destroy her home if she’s not successful in her planning. We get a lot of the struggle that her character is facing and it just feels so real. However, there are other characters that I would have enjoyed seeing more of as well.

Okay… Dragons. Let’s talk about them because I didn’t actually know when I picked up this series that there would be dragons. The way that the dragons communicate was intriguing in itself, but the way that their personalities were developed was THE BEST. It was so much fun. From watching Cas’s development, because he does develop as his own character from book one, all the way to the babies in book four… You cannot possibly not love them. I am obsessed with those dragons. I would die for those dragons. Is it a little much? Yes. Is it true? Also yes.

Does the ending of the book, or at least the overarching plot, feel a little convenient? Yes, maybe a little, but I enjoyed reading this series so much that honestly I am willing to overlook that. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Shattered Realms books and I am absolutely interested in reading Chima’s other works as well. 5/5 Stars.

Shattered Realms Series:
1. Flamecaster
2. Shadowcaster
3. Stormcaster
4. Deathcaster