tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25211031698399350272024-03-13T00:58:28.036+01:00Pearls Cast Before a McPigSullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.comBlogger3481125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-7345740400733837162024-03-07T13:00:00.002+01:002024-03-07T13:00:00.240+01:00Fugitive Telemetry - Book Review (repost/reread)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #669922;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYW2lTJbXWQ/YJfK17fwmwI/AAAAAAAAllI/VrgwvkYZeY04_dzX9hOzIgkWDdK-kp2LwCLcBGAsYHQ/s397/fugitivetelemetry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: transparent; color: #669922; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYW2lTJbXWQ/YJfK17fwmwI/AAAAAAAAllI/VrgwvkYZeY04_dzX9hOzIgkWDdK-kp2LwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fugitivetelemetry.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a></b></span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries #6)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>by Martha Wells </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Although this is book 6 in the series it is set before the events in book 5 as far as I can tell. Also: it is sort of a standalone in so far that it's not connected to events in the other books.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And with that we have the only 'flaw' in this novella. I missed the connection to the overall story arc of this series.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Other than that this novella is just as awesome as the other books. Murderbot is cynical and sarcastic as ever, and tries hard to keep the humans from doing stupid things. I was hooked from the start and read the book in one sitting, it was that engaging.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There were appearances of some of my favorite characters, as well as new characters who seemed intriguing. The story is a whodunnit in space and it was set up really well in my opinion. All in all well worth the wait.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Because Murderbot is awesome!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-48857054556207561192024-03-06T13:00:00.001+01:002024-03-06T13:00:00.151+01:00Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory - Quick Book Review (reread/repost)<p> </p><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pCLJ3hWwhd8/Xx2U1JeEUTI/AAAAAAAAi_E/sdPlw5_6KNob0vXYaJQjT3tff-RJ_vb4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/homemurderbot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #88bb22; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="391" height="279" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pCLJ3hWwhd8/Xx2U1JeEUTI/AAAAAAAAi_E/sdPlw5_6KNob0vXYaJQjT3tff-RJ_vb4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/homemurderbot.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory (The Murderbot Diaries #4.5)<br />by Martha Wells</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">What is it about:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">A short story set in the Murderbot Diaries series from the viewpoint of Dr. Mensah.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">What did I think of it:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">This is a great short story. It is from the viewpoint of Dr. Mensah and I loved seeing Murderbot through her eyes for once. As with all good short stories though, it was much too short in my opinion.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">I greatly recommend fans of the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Murderbot Diaries</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> to read this story. It's now available to read <a href="https://www.tor.com/2021/04/19/home-habitat-range-niche-territory-martha-wells/" style="background: transparent; color: #669922; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">here</a></span>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-84561715592044134822024-03-05T13:00:00.002+01:002024-03-05T13:00:00.146+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - Redshirts <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUrhk6yMSVmALM-XS8TgvwGfK9t719dHX3xmaZRNvCom-ih12VkjAYg0c5vaeCtQLD4hy1Uz1CVHLDtxZTXYQxFAO5ahqIMZVt9lPuT-rX2w28NCpPjK-UewfOLifpSiSyh2ABIGWCmGL4bjW6F9vTwZwVPNNzELrqmCScM-py8a83N2SX0YB-yoJm6qt/s391/redshirts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="391" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUrhk6yMSVmALM-XS8TgvwGfK9t719dHX3xmaZRNvCom-ih12VkjAYg0c5vaeCtQLD4hy1Uz1CVHLDtxZTXYQxFAO5ahqIMZVt9lPuT-rX2w28NCpPjK-UewfOLifpSiSyh2ABIGWCmGL4bjW6F9vTwZwVPNNzELrqmCScM-py8a83N2SX0YB-yoJm6qt/s320/redshirts.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"That this whole place is one big fucking code violation?"</div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"The killer machines kind of gave that part away," Dahl said.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(15% into kindle version, Redshirts John Scalzi)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-77709070839850842542024-02-29T13:00:00.005+01:002024-02-29T13:00:00.145+01:00Disappearing Nightly - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2k18n-C3NoHbQnW1uMfz_pHnDz2KNH_EIGtzCMku-uBrkQBBmGbc_ucJtJiPdsAO1BaXfUaTr0qrGPn_lKLSka_WG3yGKy0VMxjzAeh4ukAfseuZmL2R9xtb8cykqp-JrjY11wCwJFsJvvdcklT7jlyugqdw0Z621U8CdGupJF4QLOgaphiH_FS3o_dR/s397/disappearing%20nightly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="397" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2k18n-C3NoHbQnW1uMfz_pHnDz2KNH_EIGtzCMku-uBrkQBBmGbc_ucJtJiPdsAO1BaXfUaTr0qrGPn_lKLSka_WG3yGKy0VMxjzAeh4ukAfseuZmL2R9xtb8cykqp-JrjY11wCwJFsJvvdcklT7jlyugqdw0Z621U8CdGupJF4QLOgaphiH_FS3o_dR/s320/disappearing%20nightly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Disappearing Nightly (Esther Diamond #1)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>by Laura Resnick</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>“I’m not a heroine; I just play heroines. Also psychotics, orphans, vamps, hookers, and housewives.”</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>When bizarre magical disappearances disrupt performances in the Big Apple, struggling actress Esther Diamond receives a cryptic warning not to appear in an Off-Broadway musical because “there is Evil among us.”</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Since the show much go on, Esther teams up with a conjuring cowboy, a banker with stage aspirations, and a group of drag queens. They’re led in their efforts by Esther’s new BFF, Dr. Maximillian Zadok, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York from Evil. Also on the case is Detective Connor Lopez, a sexy cop who fears that Max and Esther may be a bigger problem than the vanishing performers.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Boldly facing down an enraged producer, a hungry tiger, and other deadly obstacles, Esther, Max, and their friends pursue Evil to its lair in their fearless determination to find the missing performers and restore harmony to their city.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a really enjoyable read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I liked Esther and several of the characters she encounters along the way. The writing is pleasant and I was curious to see what exactly was going on. I didn't much care for the love interest, but what else is new? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Resnick is generous with clues, and at one point it's clear who the bad guy was. From there on out it felt like the story dragged a bit in it resolve, but that might have been my mood. Still the story was fun enough to keep me entertained. I got hold of the next three books and will pick up book 2 soon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a fun and enjoyable UF read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-70472873763496426282024-02-28T13:00:00.003+01:002024-02-28T13:00:00.146+01:00The Stars That We Steal From the Night Sky - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHUhULhN5hd9ZB6MWaTfek5rvzU2afOq5T3Z3pEHY-knXL-AkV-NnOyr6ewYKuBJjQMe9cuAB-E3V2_XbfVdI6tEWaJUNr9ZSSxr2lrPlr_5RucqtSaIrZQ-V95xTmq1ECTP0yMX-agx9VuOeclrJ8dQljyxSH0XzeyxIRDKbGrG6FTN8hyphenhyphenUSXGHARf8R/s397/thestarswestel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="397" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmHUhULhN5hd9ZB6MWaTfek5rvzU2afOq5T3Z3pEHY-knXL-AkV-NnOyr6ewYKuBJjQMe9cuAB-E3V2_XbfVdI6tEWaJUNr9ZSSxr2lrPlr_5RucqtSaIrZQ-V95xTmq1ECTP0yMX-agx9VuOeclrJ8dQljyxSH0XzeyxIRDKbGrG6FTN8hyphenhyphenUSXGHARf8R/s320/thestarswestel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Stars That We Steal From the Night Sky (Karma Marx #2)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>by Katie MacAlister</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are other worlds with mysteries to solve.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Worlds where not all of the suspects are technically alive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That’s when Karma kicks in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stripped of her position, facing an unsure relationship with potential boyfriend Adam, and still foster mom to an emo sixteen year old poltergeist named Pixie, ghost transporter Karma Marx thought she’d seen it all…and then she is sent on a train ride across Europe to save a woman from her abusive spouse.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The situation, people, and even residents of the train aren’t what they appear to be, and while Karma is trying to find the target of her trip, she struggles to separate deception from truth. When she comes to close to figuring it all out, everything dear to her is put at risk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Charged with murder, and with the entire Akashic League against her, Karma is desperate to do three things: clear her name, punish the guilty, and finally get Adam into bed. She just has to survive the first two in order to tackle the third…</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">I enjoyed the first book even if it did have some flaws, so put this book on my wish list. I got it as a present from Melliane.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It turned out to be a nice enough read. I liked the setting and some of the characters were interesting. Pixie was more annoying than in the first book, but it could be I just reached my limits on how much Pixie antics I could take.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The story was a bit predictable, but that might be because it felt like MacAlister is using the same story telling tricks she used in book one.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Overall an enjoyable, but forgettable read.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a nice UF read</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-52018984095688371882024-02-27T13:00:00.002+01:002024-02-27T13:00:00.239+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MrDZZFgCuwHPkllZNBMobKgEZIioQ-Dz1SQyxXIMlxbyejwRwrPYmxvBED8HwifpVjiBdn7WubyO27L_F8SLfN7_B8oo0VoUzL5Nmz5uESFrOCGikDu7lxuY4fJggKeo5V6SI9d8x5NUJ1URlgD4bbsbwZgWVjybgEz_zUBeIuW9gvdjfL5EJqaOu0_g/s397/thattimeigotdrunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="397" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MrDZZFgCuwHPkllZNBMobKgEZIioQ-Dz1SQyxXIMlxbyejwRwrPYmxvBED8HwifpVjiBdn7WubyO27L_F8SLfN7_B8oo0VoUzL5Nmz5uESFrOCGikDu7lxuY4fJggKeo5V6SI9d8x5NUJ1URlgD4bbsbwZgWVjybgEz_zUBeIuW9gvdjfL5EJqaOu0_g/s320/thattimeigotdrunk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If we really used to live alongside demons, then Myra couldn't be a goddess. She'd be a monster.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(page 36, That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-17101518629325534782024-02-23T13:00:00.002+01:002024-02-23T13:00:00.173+01:00Exit Strategy - Book Review (Reread/Repost)<p> </p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X7FPoOFi0m4/Xx2R2fr1e-I/AAAAAAAAi-8/vWO2_hkwiIMdJMKYGvNcciXcxLJUBIFtwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/exitstrategy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #88bb22; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="391" height="279" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X7FPoOFi0m4/Xx2R2fr1e-I/AAAAAAAAi-8/vWO2_hkwiIMdJMKYGvNcciXcxLJUBIFtwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/exitstrategy.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #4)<br />by Martha Wells</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">What is it about:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?<br /><br />Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.<br /><br />But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?<br /><br />And what will become of it when it’s caught?</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">What did I think of it:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Until I read this novella </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Artificial Condition</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> was my favorite of these novellas (ART!), but now it will have to share first place with </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Exit Strategy</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Murderbot has answers to several of its questions and is on its way to Dr. Mensah, who bought Murderbot from its corporation and thereby giving Murderbot its freedom. But things have happened while Murderbot was gone, and soon it is in the middle of dangerous politics and games.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Once again there is lots of action while Murderbot tries to save the day. There are returning characters as well, and I loved catching up with them. I read this novella in one sitting, because it was just too suspenseful to put down. I needed to know if all my favorite characters would survive.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">All in all another awesome read. I'm hooked on this series!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Why should you read it:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">It's a really cool SF novella</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">buy from </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Exit-Strategy-Murderbot-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B078X1N8VF" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #669922; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">amazon</a>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-77203471197805927312024-02-22T13:00:00.004+01:002024-02-22T13:00:00.151+01:00Iron Crowned - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QxQ4Yi1mlLp73MsxE80cLU-xucdMPJr0S7OrCSkOsCzc4yJqB8M4igzhWIvLIxzMfZ2dFHPBW30DlgFyzcEGr1oiz87F7ODu-qbWung53LU4l26aImyYpgeiWdOivpFXd3OFNWyMg7FtbTfD0PWBk3d2Xhy64y0Ix7XCTkl81P9c1B0fH71mHL8NtLto/s397/ironcrowned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: transparent; color: #88bb22; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QxQ4Yi1mlLp73MsxE80cLU-xucdMPJr0S7OrCSkOsCzc4yJqB8M4igzhWIvLIxzMfZ2dFHPBW30DlgFyzcEGr1oiz87F7ODu-qbWung53LU4l26aImyYpgeiWdOivpFXd3OFNWyMg7FtbTfD0PWBk3d2Xhy64y0Ix7XCTkl81P9c1B0fH71mHL8NtLto/s320/ironcrowned.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 5px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><b>Iron Crowned (Dark Swan #3)</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><b>by Richelle Mead)</b></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>An embattled mystically entwined with our own,</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>the Otherworld is at the mercy of one woman...</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land’s queen, she’s fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear…</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown’s ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril…</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Warning: spoilers about the romance coming up!</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">I'm really enjoying this series, but I will confess I had hoped we were done with that stupid Kiyo after what happened in the previous book. But there he was again annoying the hell out of me. So I decided to look for spoilers to see if it was worth it to continue reading or if I should abandon this series. After finding my answer I decided to read on.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">This was (apart from Kiyo) mostly a really cool read. There was the bit where Eugenie gets prescribed antibiotics, and of course this leads to Baby Daddy Drama <strike>(Did not see that coming! *eye roll*)</strike> , but the rest of the story was cool enough to overlook that particular bit of the book. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">I'll be picking up the last book in this series soon, as I'm curious about the outcome. <strike>(minus the romance, because that I already know)</strike> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">It's a cool UF Read</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-39021008065737537632024-02-21T13:00:00.001+01:002024-02-21T13:00:00.134+01:00Dungeons and Drama - Book Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrZ-T-NFzy-vjwdP1ECyYCag4afd9a5t54-ysl0q6EeywCUhZtK0HUEyO8WDQw2ifiD-U-vqGehYsIArAU-NXaAOntnMkW9KIDoxYUJq1_zQi9J5GOSR6LZ6Ze858tNZW_0eovPpZiBW_KRmyz5whJ9v9dI9mOTxH5ZTUol2W59_QVxrjhKZl7dvRiXoN/s397/dragonsanddrama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrZ-T-NFzy-vjwdP1ECyYCag4afd9a5t54-ysl0q6EeywCUhZtK0HUEyO8WDQw2ifiD-U-vqGehYsIArAU-NXaAOntnMkW9KIDoxYUJq1_zQi9J5GOSR6LZ6Ze858tNZW_0eovPpZiBW_KRmyz5whJ9v9dI9mOTxH5ZTUol2W59_QVxrjhKZl7dvRiXoN/s320/dragonsanddrama.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Dungeons and Drama</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>by Kristy Boyce</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>When it comes to romance, sometimes it doesn't hurt to play games. A fun YA romcom full of fake dating hijinks!</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Musical lover Riley has big aspirations to become a director on Broadway. Crucial to this plan is to bring back her high school’s spring musical, but when Riley takes her mom’s car without permission, she's grounded and stuck with the worst punishment: spending her after-school hours working at her dad’s game shop.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Riley can't waste her time working when she has a musical to save, so she convinces Nathan—a nerdy teen employee—to cover her shifts and, in exchange, she’ll flirt with him to make his gamer-girl crush jealous.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>But Riley didn’t realize that meant joining Nathan's Dungeons & Dragons game…or that role playing would be so fun. Soon, Riley starts to think that flirting with Nathan doesn't require as much acting as she would've thought...</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So I couldn't resist picking up a book that's set at a game shop!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is a fun read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Are some of the characters stereotypes: yes! Is Riley a bit of a sparkly special unicorn: Yes! But as Boyce did seem to know her games, and the story is fun and entertaining I won't hold it against her.<strike> (I do feel I probably shouldn't read her book <i>Hot Dutch Daydream</i>)</strike></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><strike><br /></strike></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Bonus point to the person who made the cover: I had fun recognizing the games they used.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All in all a very enjoyable read. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a fun and entertaining read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><p></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-75578057510592706432024-02-20T13:00:00.001+01:002024-02-20T13:00:00.132+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - Dark Descendant<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sYLO0sBSmc_FK7QduqlYq0pfmOpk_DJL3sdhR-aWzjd-haWLIGktDVsEfVfQVba9QpKc00ZDjogroQwsDHrXljovSjxdd8bjMEsUYNHK5D-fbkqqxZVIDU0g2KvjsfRtLW0wHKqqgEGeqd_DXsinCR4T9NMjHYsZ5lQDX8sUKGR2taCfdv2gU3E8Qed2/s397/darkdescendant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="397" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sYLO0sBSmc_FK7QduqlYq0pfmOpk_DJL3sdhR-aWzjd-haWLIGktDVsEfVfQVba9QpKc00ZDjogroQwsDHrXljovSjxdd8bjMEsUYNHK5D-fbkqqxZVIDU0g2KvjsfRtLW0wHKqqgEGeqd_DXsinCR4T9NMjHYsZ5lQDX8sUKGR2taCfdv2gU3E8Qed2/s320/darkdescendant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"What the fuck is that?" I whispered.</div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"It's a glyph," Maggie explained, holding out her hand so I could see the mark on the back of it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(page 39, Dark Descendant by Jenna Black)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /> </p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-3921143213528619202024-02-19T13:00:00.002+01:002024-02-19T13:00:00.134+01:00An Update on my challenges<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKV8rd3mXxsHxs6E3fhEuT08Bh_Yt-uPpbDPqXws84W-c96H6VBuptfIYoHq1yJHiXAw6paVNlkZ2_5Ed9PNPZ00MIkN0zEFCYNXwzTA7NObuGPb8b5I4rdN-XqqpQmm4z8VOFmADKzR_NB6aeRDPhGx1ybLtuxthX42BT0Ew7LSLUsmsC7CKqR6lEQ1U9/s397/disappearing%20nightly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="397" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKV8rd3mXxsHxs6E3fhEuT08Bh_Yt-uPpbDPqXws84W-c96H6VBuptfIYoHq1yJHiXAw6paVNlkZ2_5Ed9PNPZ00MIkN0zEFCYNXwzTA7NObuGPb8b5I4rdN-XqqpQmm4z8VOFmADKzR_NB6aeRDPhGx1ybLtuxthX42BT0Ew7LSLUsmsC7CKqR6lEQ1U9/s320/disappearing%20nightly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So I know we're not even 2 months into the year, but I wanted to give an update on my challenges anyway.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So far I read 3 TBR Orphans, oldest so far was on my shelves since April 2021.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Series:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Karma Marx duology: Done!</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>House Immortal trilogy: Done!</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Dark Swan series: 3 read, 1 to go</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Jessie Shimmer trilogy: 1 read, 2 to go</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Souls of Fire series: 2 read, 2 to go</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But.... I managed to add another series to my list...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Esther Diamond series.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I found the first 4 books on sale, so it only seemed fair to add them to my list of series I want to finish in 2024.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So far: 1 read 1, 3 are in my TBR, 3 books to track down. (there is mention of an book #8, but that was never released it seems, so I'm keeping this series at 7 total.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How's your reading going?</div><p></p><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-82821694060040202042024-02-15T13:00:00.001+01:002024-02-15T13:00:00.143+01:00Lying in the Deep - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFM5D66DePnxssSPVQNg-y7bWxR7qkw-XGvy7cRFUFQ9NcPHU0LwROwZfiZ3a7znTS6EfkvcrlrVqL3LkIoGkRcgw9EZP9hNNur3I-b6qMFgPRkSTRA8Z-05t1sOqfzoT7Cj02lVto0NZTmiTmfyetxgDlRf8fdttGDDc7FnGxmclXIIwrrvtaRVpCk6l/s397/lyinginthedeep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFM5D66DePnxssSPVQNg-y7bWxR7qkw-XGvy7cRFUFQ9NcPHU0LwROwZfiZ3a7znTS6EfkvcrlrVqL3LkIoGkRcgw9EZP9hNNur3I-b6qMFgPRkSTRA8Z-05t1sOqfzoT7Cj02lVto0NZTmiTmfyetxgDlRf8fdttGDDc7FnGxmclXIIwrrvtaRVpCk6l/s320/lyinginthedeep.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Lying in the Deep</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>by Diana Urban</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>A juicy mystery of jealousy, love, and betrayal set on a Semester at Sea-inspired cruise ship, with a diverse cast of delightfully suspicious characters who’ll leave you guessing with every jaw-dropping twist.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>After being jilted by her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Jade couldn't be more ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—11 countries in 4 months, all from the luxurious Campus on Board ship—and to wedge an entire globe between her and the people who broke her heart.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>But when Jade discovers the backstabbing couple are also setting sail, her obsession with them grows and festers, leading to a shocking murder. And as their friends begin to drop like flies, Jade and her new crush must race to clear her name and find the killer they’re trapped at sea with….before anyone else winds up in body bags.</i></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a nice enough read, with some things that bugged me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Minor: The use of the word <i>stew</i> for steward...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Is this really a thing? Why would you use stew? They're stewards, not some hearty meal!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The big thing that bugged me: How the people in charge acted. There's been a death and they want to keep it quiet at first. So what do they do: they just let the two students who know about it wander the ship instead of keeping them separate from the other students...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There were more things that didn't make sense or bugged me, but not enough to stop reading, In the end this was an entertaining, but forgettable read. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's an entertaining YA read</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-85645200949167317982024-02-14T13:00:00.002+01:002024-02-14T13:00:00.139+01:00Navigating the Stars - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEBAn5DguIJK0v1ZN-mlPgfbcAxAOJ2b5ez2IlP8-gQhJyyajOQwbZQ2bgtKh64e_a-zDZLe_4ygMpdhTph21Uf6MCKCrRarUt_eTq3QQD_BjYavuaqxaa3j3nsLLZIoJmQPe8FtxZHBZk5s8pyATxdLDf2SkypWSaNcppLQXBkYEGNBkMt5hlBHR00Jd/s397/navigatingthestars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="397" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEBAn5DguIJK0v1ZN-mlPgfbcAxAOJ2b5ez2IlP8-gQhJyyajOQwbZQ2bgtKh64e_a-zDZLe_4ygMpdhTph21Uf6MCKCrRarUt_eTq3QQD_BjYavuaqxaa3j3nsLLZIoJmQPe8FtxZHBZk5s8pyATxdLDf2SkypWSaNcppLQXBkYEGNBkMt5hlBHR00Jd/s320/navigatingthestars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy #1)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>by Maria V. Snyder</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>“The answer is no, Lyra,” my mother utters her favorite—I swear—phrase.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>No means I have to travel with them to another planet—again.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>No means leaving all my friends fifty years in the past. Thanks, Einstein.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Seventeen-year-old Lyra Daniels can’t truly blame Einstein or her parents for their impending move across the Milky Way Galaxy. It’s all due to the invention of the Q-net, which made traveling the vast distances in space possible—with one big caveat: the time dilation. But that never stopped Lyra's ancestors from exploring the Milky Way, searching for resources and exoplanets to colonize. What they didn’t expect to find is life-sized terracotta Warriors buried on twenty-one different exoplanets.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>... Make that twenty-two.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>As the Galaxy’s leading experts on the Warriors, Lyra's parents are thrilled by the new discovery, sending them—and her—fifty years into the future. Her social life in ruins, she fills her lonely days by illegally worming into the Q-net. The only person close to her age is the annoyingly irresistible security officer who threatens to throw her into the brig.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>After the planet they just left goes silent—meaning no communications from them at all—security has bigger problems to deal with than Lyra, especially when vital data files go missing. But that's just the beginning, because they’re not as alone as they thought on their new planet... and suddenly time isn't the only thing working against them.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is a really cool read!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lyra can be reckless at times, but I liked her from the start. Not so much her love interest, but what else is new?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The science behind the space travel was intriguing and I loved seeing how Snyder used it. The strange warriors and what going on with them had me invested in the story as well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some things I could see coming from miles away, but not in an annoying way. Other things left me guessing, and I am eager to get my trotters on the next book to see where this series is going.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Highly advised to anyone who loves a well thought out SF story.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a really cool YA SF read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-24292548709464887612024-02-13T13:00:00.001+01:002024-02-13T13:00:00.130+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - Bride<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHQAL_E0iPWmMpO_4nY_3CZw3erXyOPN75dxL5Yelv_e11hz-0oXiQ5YedKUHQ2Qfn3gkUmSLrKKO071eF0w7Sg5ICUryldZDD5ikHgb9TL5UPn1wXa9-9D16qMVeFAJMjgs9Wn1CaBEaRShmnXmEQTdyc9zLAYVevhMmgiwIaMBncA9s7WaKwkoKhugu/s397/bride.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHQAL_E0iPWmMpO_4nY_3CZw3erXyOPN75dxL5Yelv_e11hz-0oXiQ5YedKUHQ2Qfn3gkUmSLrKKO071eF0w7Sg5ICUryldZDD5ikHgb9TL5UPn1wXa9-9D16qMVeFAJMjgs9Wn1CaBEaRShmnXmEQTdyc9zLAYVevhMmgiwIaMBncA9s7WaKwkoKhugu/s320/bride.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">He nods. "And how is your little friend? Once again safe and sound, I trust."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(page 21, Bride y Ali Hazelwood)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-27407862961294988042024-02-12T13:00:00.001+01:002024-02-12T13:00:00.135+01:00Lost in Time - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdLO2vnrP-QZsIvLaKuCGPWIlzAJ7qwI5Z3MPzfuj8tGtQ9JoSPxdZrQ5uWNCs8UFUChkL1t2I0Gq_-3MtVX5NxMftodoANpq40JmASmXLcrOdZYaK0QoD-aAo3oMzQm1Wi2JHXpFg-Hdz4E3Z5tktaFo5aojJ2Lt0mSnNYTUfE1dpfsYAgZwLTHyhBa2/s397/lostintime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: transparent; color: #88bb22; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdLO2vnrP-QZsIvLaKuCGPWIlzAJ7qwI5Z3MPzfuj8tGtQ9JoSPxdZrQ5uWNCs8UFUChkL1t2I0Gq_-3MtVX5NxMftodoANpq40JmASmXLcrOdZYaK0QoD-aAo3oMzQm1Wi2JHXpFg-Hdz4E3Z5tktaFo5aojJ2Lt0mSnNYTUfE1dpfsYAgZwLTHyhBa2/s320/lostintime.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 5px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Lost in Time</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>by A.G. Riddle</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Control the past.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Save the future.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>One morning, Dr. Sam Anderson wakes up to find that the woman he loves has been murdered.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>For Sam, the horror is only beginning. He and his daughter are accused of the crime. The evidence is ironclad. They will be convicted. And so, to ensure his daughter goes free, Sam does what he must: he confesses. But in the future, murderers aren't sent to prison. Thanks to a machine Sam helped invent, the world's worst criminals are now sent to the past – approximately 200 million years into the past, to the dawn of the time of the dinosaurs – where they must live out their lives alone, in exile from the human race. Sam accepts his fate. But his daughter doesn't. Adeline Anderson has already lost her mother to a deadly, unfair disease. She can't bear to lose her father as well. So she sets out on a quest to prove him innocent. And to get him back. People around her insist that both are impossible tasks. But Adeline doesn't give up. She only works harder. She soon learns that impossible tasks are her specialty. And that she is made of tougher stuff than she ever imagined. As she peels back the layers of the mystery that tore her father from this world, Adeline finds more questions than answers. Everyone around her is hiding a secret. But which ones are connected to the murder that exiled her father?</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Time travel and dinosaurs? That immediately grabbed my attention.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Too bad it turned out to be a dud for me.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">At first I was enjoying the story. Riddle seemed to have chosen for dimensional time travel, so no worries about mistakes in the timelines. There could have been more dinosaurs though. I also would have liked a bit more emotion to the story.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Then later on in the story there was time travel within the current timeline and things went off the rails for me. I can see what Riddle was trying to do, but it didn't work for me at all. What probably was meant as clever annoyed me and I was left disappointed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Maybe you like "clever" time travel stories. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-34246724422298880582024-02-08T13:00:00.003+01:002024-02-08T13:00:00.132+01:00The Grace Year - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHy-RuBRyv2uT4a9Liuebv8snkI-dF_7Za8My_OQhQ5SPuNCi0xjNEu7Mx1hMiC-dPpRej93qB6PuNWoE0VULJJkDIspqtTTcCgIWCD-LAsZp5YjSpGRv7dSwxPrgCxNwC0njLSx7e5lopo2Y1E0laIdEafko9dweQd_ezRIhFPhdf2ZdS7xr126ezv3hS/s397/graceyear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHy-RuBRyv2uT4a9Liuebv8snkI-dF_7Za8My_OQhQ5SPuNCi0xjNEu7Mx1hMiC-dPpRej93qB6PuNWoE0VULJJkDIspqtTTcCgIWCD-LAsZp5YjSpGRv7dSwxPrgCxNwC0njLSx7e5lopo2Y1E0laIdEafko9dweQd_ezRIhFPhdf2ZdS7xr126ezv3hS/s320/graceyear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>The Grace Year</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>by Kim Liggett</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I had a good time with this book, but I really had to suspend disbelief to do so.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Tierney is the super special - <i>not like other girls</i> - heroine in this "Lord of the Flies-esque" tale.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And where I thought that Alderman didn't really think the behavior of teenage girls through in her book <i>The Power</i>, Liggett doesn't either, but in the other direction.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So soon after starting this book I decided to turn off my critical brain and let myself be entertained and to just go with the story even when it was clear as day what was causing the girls' behavior. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All in all an entertaining, but easily forgettable read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a nice enough read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-19444215810757019162024-02-07T13:00:00.004+01:002024-02-07T13:00:00.148+01:00Nettle and Bone - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5o8OmSQraTSGWIo2UjIb-dDOhPvNCNNC90WvesYogWsXMzQrCqBjO9ABBWxFq8MFhZI3cGQzHSSWoS2v2jnvFzo6zVlOJ0MldOPPMhZRMC7ZttkHdsFL8MkiuLJ3nS9NUpfoafS7JUcLtuw4MVrCHN3WkVuDmFfA8UrmzhWWZ-fHgi9T4eOiG4iU9-XF/s397/nettleandbone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: transparent; color: #88bb22; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="397" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5o8OmSQraTSGWIo2UjIb-dDOhPvNCNNC90WvesYogWsXMzQrCqBjO9ABBWxFq8MFhZI3cGQzHSSWoS2v2jnvFzo6zVlOJ0MldOPPMhZRMC7ZttkHdsFL8MkiuLJ3nS9NUpfoafS7JUcLtuw4MVrCHN3WkVuDmFfA8UrmzhWWZ-fHgi9T4eOiG4iU9-XF/s320/nettleandbone.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a></div><p style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 5px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Nettle and Bone</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>by T. Kingfisher</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">This is a fun and cozy read.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">And yes: I do know it's classified as horror by some, but I can't say I agree.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">As grave as the reasons that set Marra on her path may be, I just really enjoyed this story. it felt lighthearted and it's humorous. I love the interaction between Marra and her companions, and I was rooting for them from the start.</span></span></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's closer to <i>A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking</i> than to Kingfisher's horror books like <i>The Hollow Places. </i>I will confess I was hesitant to pick up Kingfisher's romances, but after reading this I might take the plunge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All in all this is a great read, and I'll definitely will reread it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a wonderful Fantasy read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, Trebuchet MS, lucida, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-42935539979810563182024-02-06T13:00:00.002+01:002024-02-06T13:00:00.236+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - Every Other Day<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnwqJ7GmM-K1TDEKMjUfQpeyFAA-kUgpsbEWoYiRS2z7Iw0gtPEXdPTIuA9YEQFd262D61CF9j9TEqbXLN14iSFvaCvX04vibcONJxtbeRhymjvz3EX9d-yKuLFOPZl-ULxq8dSLXfAdKZWnCYgRHafw8JAEHcFUUCVZQlCIaVl1Ka2K1_44VU9A_HJ3f/s397/everyotherday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="397" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnwqJ7GmM-K1TDEKMjUfQpeyFAA-kUgpsbEWoYiRS2z7Iw0gtPEXdPTIuA9YEQFd262D61CF9j9TEqbXLN14iSFvaCvX04vibcONJxtbeRhymjvz3EX9d-yKuLFOPZl-ULxq8dSLXfAdKZWnCYgRHafw8JAEHcFUUCVZQlCIaVl1Ka2K1_44VU9A_HJ3f/s320/everyotherday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Given that the best defense was a good offense, I figured that I could at least be an unknown entity with good hair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(page 22, Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-28483542898671994202024-02-01T13:00:00.001+01:002024-02-01T13:00:00.134+01:00Crucible Zero - Book Review<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_GHdQ1Q0PBZ5cVFOr1LkJcAWSjvBEh_KKWTO7g60-Quo0CrTjTN3x0IZE7Hsv4GW3OMQQtsLAD2Q5TNnq7J57rPkUpJ0obXqWGpHb3QySVrppCoSNTKlV8L6juc7_-rFGJRPinncooIBlSZXDRw4I-ZWQei5fp2e5L-hQ38GwHEZUxWxVBMFROlJk7ys/s397/cruciblezero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="397" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_GHdQ1Q0PBZ5cVFOr1LkJcAWSjvBEh_KKWTO7g60-Quo0CrTjTN3x0IZE7Hsv4GW3OMQQtsLAD2Q5TNnq7J57rPkUpJ0obXqWGpHb3QySVrppCoSNTKlV8L6juc7_-rFGJRPinncooIBlSZXDRw4I-ZWQei5fp2e5L-hQ38GwHEZUxWxVBMFROlJk7ys/s320/cruciblezero.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Crucible Zero (House Immortal #3)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>by Devon Monk</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Matilda Case never thought of herself as a hero. But because she is galvanized—and nearly immortal in her stitched, endlessly healing body—she doesn’t have much of a choice. Even if she doesn’t want to save the world, she’s the only one capable of traveling in time to do so.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>But her rescue attempt hasn’t gone as planned. She’s stuck in an alternate universe, and her world is in danger of disappearing. Worst of all, an unfathomably powerful man who can also travel through history doesn’t want her to put things to rights. He’s willing to wage bloody war to stop Matilda, unless she surrenders control of time to him.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Now, with the minutes ticking, Matilda must make impossible decisions, knowing that one wrong choice will destroy her—and any chance of saving everything she loves...</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I will confess I was a bit worried about this last book, as Matilda end up in an alternate universe/timeline at the end of book 2. I love time travel, but often stupid mistakes are made.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Luckily Monk does it mostly right. I could believe in events as they unfolded.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I did think Matilda was a bit quick in giving up her own universe/timeline, but Monk soon had me rooting for everyone in the new universe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">All in all this is a cool ending to this trilogy and it will end up on my keeper shelves.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a really cool Urban Fantasy Read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><p></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-20808931347739945352024-02-01T08:00:00.001+01:002024-02-01T08:00:00.125+01:00Alert: 200+ Fantasy Romance books on sale!<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6Z26nPb6U7azI_CoqVtULX5lfcKpznjZGHPkhayHRw8OlGxuitRxSg04bSJuyAuZPuFWNoO6K6Tj0olCF6NMar26BjZKG962e9fZ7IPbJnxNMw3xp8_3Fceza7n1YoiYgOYYUXwnzMGPkavCSO6gQZgmJ9Xmx3306R9BlWH8aZM0SjhGwOWBCXNQWY_0/s360/farobub_smaller.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6Z26nPb6U7azI_CoqVtULX5lfcKpznjZGHPkhayHRw8OlGxuitRxSg04bSJuyAuZPuFWNoO6K6Tj0olCF6NMar26BjZKG962e9fZ7IPbJnxNMw3xp8_3Fceza7n1YoiYgOYYUXwnzMGPkavCSO6gQZgmJ9Xmx3306R9BlWH8aZM0SjhGwOWBCXNQWY_0/s320/farobub_smaller.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">Feb 1st. One day only.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">200+ Fantasy Romance books, each only 99c!</p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">Browse at <a href="http://www.FaRoFeb.com">www.FaRoFeb.com</a> on Feb 1st.</p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #303030; font-family: "PT Sans", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 32px 0px 0px; max-width: unset; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-36503596685313376062024-01-31T13:00:00.008+01:002024-01-31T13:00:00.346+01:00The Siren's Song - Book Review by Voodoo Bride<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQ_U4axnKzVGzWApjHgosCkZUTPWTf1aSgr6JFZYJpN1J-qc_9zTV59jtPFFoW0y9feErVF9wqmiO9dAvDcKD9A5FW8UOWeswoneqTatfoTbm_TcQoS-JaVBLCKex-MlVajsPk4wWdWBJnsxIsCP26FXU1N_qLD22KnyFkjc4u5CcjbBRjBgp9dthhEPr/s375/sirensong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="369" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQ_U4axnKzVGzWApjHgosCkZUTPWTf1aSgr6JFZYJpN1J-qc_9zTV59jtPFFoW0y9feErVF9wqmiO9dAvDcKD9A5FW8UOWeswoneqTatfoTbm_TcQoS-JaVBLCKex-MlVajsPk4wWdWBJnsxIsCP26FXU1N_qLD22KnyFkjc4u5CcjbBRjBgp9dthhEPr/s320/sirensong.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Siren's Song</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>by Katelyn Brehm</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What is it about:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>A woman who’s lost everything. A demon without a care. And a chance encounter that sparks an unwanted passion.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Lena Sommer can’t win. Her marriage is a failure. The yoga studio she founded no longer needs her. And she just lost her grandma, the only family she’s ever known. Alone, grieving, and determined not to repeat the mistakes of her past, she tries to ignore the advances of a rakish singer she meets on the beach. But his carefree nature is infectious, and his mesmerizing voice proves too seductive to resist.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Elias Georgiou has it all—a loving family, the endless ocean, and, most importantly, his independence. Constrained by nothing but the pursuit of pleasure, the last thing he’s interested in is a relationship with any of the countless admirers he charms with his song. Until he meets Lena, and a future with the resilient and courageous woman becomes more tempting than freedom.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Can Lena learn to trust herself and Elias in the face of past betrayal? Or will the enchanted song of a consummate bachelor ruin all hope for a future filled with love?</i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>What did Voodoo Bride think of it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I loved <i>The Art Collector</i> by Brehm, so I decided to pick up her next novella.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Although these novellas are part of a series, both can be read as stand-alones without any problem.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And The Siren's Song is yet another great read!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I cared for Lena from the start and with her past I could understand why she was wary of Elias. I was invested in seeing her heal and be happy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Elias was a yummy hero, but it was clear he had some growing up to do. Luckily he soon seemed up to the task to show Lena he's the right guy for her, although there are of course some stumble blocks on the way.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All in all this is a delightful novella that I finished in record time to get to the sweet and satisfying HEA. I sure will be keeping my eyes out for more by Brehm.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a sweet and delicious Paranormal Romance.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-65617535766128397572024-01-30T13:00:00.002+01:002024-01-30T13:00:00.143+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - Iron Crowned<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QxQ4Yi1mlLp73MsxE80cLU-xucdMPJr0S7OrCSkOsCzc4yJqB8M4igzhWIvLIxzMfZ2dFHPBW30DlgFyzcEGr1oiz87F7ODu-qbWung53LU4l26aImyYpgeiWdOivpFXd3OFNWyMg7FtbTfD0PWBk3d2Xhy64y0Ix7XCTkl81P9c1B0fH71mHL8NtLto/s397/ironcrowned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QxQ4Yi1mlLp73MsxE80cLU-xucdMPJr0S7OrCSkOsCzc4yJqB8M4igzhWIvLIxzMfZ2dFHPBW30DlgFyzcEGr1oiz87F7ODu-qbWung53LU4l26aImyYpgeiWdOivpFXd3OFNWyMg7FtbTfD0PWBk3d2Xhy64y0Ix7XCTkl81P9c1B0fH71mHL8NtLto/s320/ironcrowned.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Masthera frowned. 'Dragons haven't lived in the Otherworld in centuries.'</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(page 81, Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-32244676845124867892024-01-25T13:00:00.001+01:002024-01-25T13:00:00.131+01:00Rogue Protocol - Book Review (repost/reread)<p> </p><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VvidrIK43MM/Xw8DbwqodDI/AAAAAAAAizM/2Liczm0eqlcSSc3eVlGiBrhyy9kKDpM3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/rogueprotocol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #669922; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="391" height="279" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VvidrIK43MM/Xw8DbwqodDI/AAAAAAAAizM/2Liczm0eqlcSSc3eVlGiBrhyy9kKDpM3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/rogueprotocol.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3)<br />by Martha Wells</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">What is it about:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.<br /><br />And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">What did I think of it:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">I'm loving Murderbot more and more with each book. It is such a cool character.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">As much as Murderbot would like to be left alone to watch its shows, there's always something intruding. Certainly it can't be that it is starting to care about people, can it? To help Dr. Mensah with the case against GrayCris Murderbot is on the hunt for information. It once again ends up with people who are in way over their heads and need a SecUnit to stay alive.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">I love how Murderbot thinks about itself and humans. Its internal monologues are dry and at times sarcastic. I have never related with a construct more! If not for the fact Murderbot wants to be left alone, we'd be fast friends if we ever met for sure.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">The story is once again suspenseful and full of action. I cheered Murderbot on and was on the edge of my seat to see if Murderbot would save the day and all involved.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">All in all this is yet another great read, and I ordered </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Network Effect</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> (book 5) even before starting on </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Exit Strategy</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;"> (book 4).</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Why should you read it:</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-center;">Murderbot is totally awesome!</span>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-62419709620835159902024-01-24T13:00:00.001+01:002024-01-24T13:00:00.135+01:00Artificial Condition - Book Review (repost/reread)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RD0aTZ7DWso/YIvhHsi4CUI/AAAAAAAAlbg/v-vC8LvY9WUGMBzSjAjaALvK7MlKh2NqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s397/artificialcondition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background: transparent; color: #88bb22; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RD0aTZ7DWso/YIvhHsi4CUI/AAAAAAAAlbg/v-vC8LvY9WUGMBzSjAjaALvK7MlKh2NqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/artificialcondition.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block;" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2)</b></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>by Martha Wells</b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>What is it about:</b></div></b><i><div style="text-align: left;"><i>It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…</i></div></i><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>What did I think of it:</b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;">This is another Hugo read. I wasn't sure if I should read it as it's book 2 in a series, but then Jeffe told me she started it and didn't feel lost even though she hadn't read book 1, so I decided to give it a try as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And this is a really fun read. I especially loved ART and the interaction between ART and Murderbot. The two of them really have a unique and cool way of looking at things. I thought Wells did a great job at making them sound and act other than human.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The story itself delves into the past of Murderbot and also is about Murderbot trying to find out where it/they belong and how they want to be.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">All in all a very cool novella. I think I'll go back and read the first one as well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Why should you read it:</b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;">It's a very cool SF novella.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Notes on rereading:</b></div></b><div style="text-align: left;">Although this book is also perfectly readable on its own, I must say it's a more solid read if you also know what happened in the first book. I got a better grip on what's going on in Murderbot's head and was more invested. I still totally love ART!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-center;">Buy from </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Condition-Murderbot-Martha-Wells-ebook/dp/B075DGHHQL" style="background: transparent; color: #669922; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-center; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div></div>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2521103169839935027.post-59672956260785930222024-01-23T13:00:00.001+01:002024-01-23T13:00:00.237+01:00Teaser Tuesdays - Lost in Time<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdLO2vnrP-QZsIvLaKuCGPWIlzAJ7qwI5Z3MPzfuj8tGtQ9JoSPxdZrQ5uWNCs8UFUChkL1t2I0Gq_-3MtVX5NxMftodoANpq40JmASmXLcrOdZYaK0QoD-aAo3oMzQm1Wi2JHXpFg-Hdz4E3Z5tktaFo5aojJ2Lt0mSnNYTUfE1dpfsYAgZwLTHyhBa2/s397/lostintime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="397" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdLO2vnrP-QZsIvLaKuCGPWIlzAJ7qwI5Z3MPzfuj8tGtQ9JoSPxdZrQ5uWNCs8UFUChkL1t2I0Gq_-3MtVX5NxMftodoANpq40JmASmXLcrOdZYaK0QoD-aAo3oMzQm1Wi2JHXpFg-Hdz4E3Z5tktaFo5aojJ2Lt0mSnNYTUfE1dpfsYAgZwLTHyhBa2/s320/lostintime.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Nora was dead.</div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">That was Sam's first thought.</div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>How?</i> Was his second thought</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #555544; font-family: tahoma, "Trebuchet MS", lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>(page 8, Lost in Time by A.G. Riddle)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">---------</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><br /></p>Sullivan McPighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15133432350331782496noreply@blogger.com0