My First Amazon First Read WOW-- So Good!

 

I usually forget to check out the free Amazon First Reads, but this month I remembered and I chose this book based on the cover. It looked interesting.  I read it in three sittings it was so good. This is the first book in what will hopefully be a nice series. As such it has several things going for it:

1. I was easily able to keep track of the characters.

2. A big bad problem was solved at the end of the book, so there's nice closure while plenty of other plates are in the air to make me want to read what happens next. 

3. Both POV characters are women. This seems like a rarity and I'd like to read more of it. 

The world-building is strong and the magic system is well thought out.  Some of what happens is really creepy and I would say this book has elements of Horror.  In total coincidence, part of the magic in this book involves people becoming stone statues, an element that is also in the KDrama Alchemy of Souls that I just finished watching.  

What do you think? Have you read anything else by Beth Cato or are you looking for a new fantasy book to read? 

5 Stars

Hammered By Kevin Herne Book #Readalong

 

I borrowed the ebook of Hammered  from my library, and I didn't finish the ebook. The book has quite a bit of Norse mythology and I was struggling with trying to pronounce those names in my head and keep everything straight. I switched to the audio version and it was easier for me to follow, I think this was mostly because I have watched all the Thor-related Marvel movies and was familiar with how various characters' names sound in contrast to knowing the spellings. 

This is the third book in the series and it looks like things will be changing from here, we will be moving away from Tempe, Arizona. This book takes place in Asgard for the most part, which was interesting. Lots of action and we don't really know if Atticus has really messed up by going after Thor, or if things will work out.  We do find out exactly what Jesus would do in Atticus's shoes, which is a fun scene in the book. 

The best part of this book for me is when Atticus is spending time camping out with his brothers-in-arms and we learn the back stories behind why this group of desperate supernatural beings want to kill Thor. 

This book is very male-centric and I would really like more Granuaile in these books, but I think maybe that isn't to be? 

I read this book for Anne's Read-Along you can check it out here and consider joining us! 

The Iron Druid Chronicles

3.5 stars

The Sunday Post - Good Reads and No More Boot

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

After a total of seven weeks, I was finally able to go for a little run yesterday. I am going to be careful moving forward and run for fewer days so that I don't wind up with a stress injury again. This week is Patrick's birthday, it is very hard to believe he is already 23. Seems like a few minutes ago he was ten. We are going to a Star Wars Trivia night on his birthday and then as a family once Anna is home next weekend we are going to one of those watch "a movie and eat dinner" places to see Guardians of the Galaxy Three.  So a fun week!  By Friday, we will only have 17 more days of school left. 

The school kids all have spring fever so they are pretty rambunctious during lunch, but that's understandable we are all excited to enjoy the lazy, hazy days of summer! 

How was your week?  Below are the books I'll be blogging about this week- 

Reading this for the Readalong

Got this as an Amazon First Read

This one was from Net Galley

Possibility of Life, Are We Alone Out Here Or?

If you read or watch and enjoy Sci-Fi in any form, I recommend reading or listening to this book. Jaime Green approaches the big questions of our existence and whether or not we are alone as a scientist who loves to read. The book is filled with what we know from science and how that informs our stories of the possibility of life. If you find non-fiction to be 'dry' give this book a try and I think you'll find it fascinating. I am giving it 5 stars because it will stick with me for quite some time and because she talks about some books that I will now seek out and read. 

Here is what it says on Goodreads about this book:

In The Possibility of Life, acclaimed science journalist Jaime Green traces the history of our understanding, from the days of Galileo and Copernicus up through to our contemporary quest for exoplanets in the "Goldilocks zone," where life akin to ours on Earth might exist. Along the way, she interweaves insights from a long-standing tradition of science fiction writers who use the power of imagination to extrapolate and construct worlds that in turn inspire scientists.

Weaving in expert interviews, cutting-edge astronomy research, philosophical inquiry, and pop culture touchstones ranging from A Wrinkle in Time to Star Trek to Avatar, The Possibility of Life explores our evolving conception of the cosmos to ask an even deeper question: What does it mean to be human?

 

I Need 8 Days in a Week to Read All These Books-

I don't have a review today because I spent most of my free time the past few days watching Alchemy of Souls on Netflix. It is a very good show- I recommend it if you like fantasy with romantic elements. I am almost done listening to: 

In The Possibility of Life,  Jaime Green ties in discussion of how the universe works through a lens of science fiction, so she talks about Star Trek,  as well as Darwin and books such as The Golden Compass.  I will talk about that more later. 

Additionally, I picked up Charlie Donlea's latest release which was  on hold at my library:

And then I have two romances on Net Galley:

And then a friend recommended Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score and that looks amazing so I had to download it to read.

I am very tempted to read more and sleep less. I love that my current 'problem' is so many good books I get to read! Living the dream!  I am also working on the prep work to do my own writing. I have been reading and doing the homework assignments in the book Romance the Brand by Zoe York. This book is a guidebook on how to create not just one romance book but build a series of books that people will want to read. That is what I love about romance books, most of the time if you like a book, you get to read more happily-ever-afters in the same universe, and all the side characters get their day in the sun. Currently, I'm making a map of my imaginary town.  It will have a train station because I love a town with a train station. But enough talking, I've go to get back to reading!

 

Another Fun Paranormal Romance from Audible Originals

 I downloaded this book to listen to last week because it was written by Molly Harper and narrated by Amanda Ronconi and Teddy Hamilton. 

I loved Molly Harper's Mystic Bayou Series, so I was confident in giving this a listen. This story is about a woman who has lost her mother and moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the behest of an aunt she has never met. Things happen and it turns out that Riley has some major family history. She can see the dead, she has always been able to see the dead but now she finally learns she has been seeing ghosts and why.  

Riley soon has a coven, a crush, and some major mysteries to solve.  The cast is likeable, the narration is great, the romance is just starting and I was delighted with how much was resolved at the end of the book and we have a nice juicy ongoing mystery to move into book two. 

If you like romance with a little magic, give this series a listen! 

4 stars

Wolfsong By T.J. Klune

 T. J. Klune's writing is spellbinding. I borrowed Wolfsong from the library because the book he has that just came out on 4/25 was not yet available for me to put on hold.  Not only re TJ Klune's books great reads, they have great covers. Look at this vibrant cover, I can't wait to read it! Oh, It looks like it could very well be a retelling of Pinnochio! 

Not only does T. J. Klune have the incredible ability to create universes filled with beautiful characters, and so many variations on love.  The world-building is just fantastic. I've read werewolf stories before, and this one is unique and stands apart.  I could post sentences from the book that struck me and we'd be here all day, so instead of that I highly suggest adding this book to your TBR if you enjoy fantasy books. 

Wolfsong is a long sweeping story about Ox, a human who grows up not fitting in, who has a crummy father and is scraping by as he goes through High School. And then the Bennetts move into the house down the road, then things change, and Ox changes. This is a story of growing up, finding your people and your place in the world, and what a person will do to keep the people they love together. It's told in first-person which I really enjoyed. 

This book has such a different cover than The Lives of Puppets.  So interesting. The basic black and white with the title in Orange (the color that the werewolves eyes change). 

Have you read any T.J. Klune? What did you think?

Moist, Actually A Short Sexy Comedy

This delightfully funny,  romantic novella started from a photo of Chris Pine that author Ash Dylan tweeted about.  Above is a snippet from the book. If you read romance, do yourself a favor and 1-click order this ebook, you'll laugh so hard and also appreciate how Ash Dylan also gives you all the feels over the course of a night with Elena and Rhys. 

The idea for this book all started on Twitter where author Ash Dylan commented on a photo of Chris Pine:

this looks like the cover for a romance about a literary fiction author who agrees to read his neighbor's novel, and he returns it with a note that says she uses the word moist too much and if she doesn't fix it he'll have to spank her, and her next edit has twice as many moists

You can click here to see the photo and the original tweet: Chris Pine Inspiration for Moist, Actually 

There are so many funny moments and swoony scenes, if you like romance and you could use a good chuckle or twelve, read this book! 

 

 

Cozy Mystery Book Club April Live Stream- Tomorrow at 7PM EST!

 

Join me in the comments tomorrow at 7PM EST with lots of other readers of Cozy Mysteries! 

This month's selection is A Brush With Murder by Bailee Abbott.  I had an ARC of this book from Net Galley back in 2021 and reviewed it here on my blog.  Here is a link to that review: 

A Brush With Murder

Each month people who comment in the live stream are entered to win books, so it's not only fun to comment, you can win a new book in the process!

Now on to a little food talk. I enjoy cooking, and a really enjoy eating good food, so about once a month I treat myself to a box from Blue Apron. This month one of the meals I picked was Oven-Baked Korean-Style Eggs & Rice. It was a meal that all you do is put together the ingredients and bake.  It was delicious and easy enough for me to make it myself in the future.  It's a good anytime of day meal. What do you think? Does it look good to you?

The Sunday Post Last Full Week of April is Upon Us!

 

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly, or for a monthly wrap-up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme 

HI! How are you?  I hope you had a nice week. I had an MRI of my foot which I hurt last month and found out that I need to wear a boot for another two weeks. The toe that has a stress fracture is not the toe the X-ray thought had a stress fracture. As you know I like to run, so being unable to run for over a month now, stinks!  I do tell myself, better to get this resolved so I can run again soon-ish than to wind up needing some kind of surgery. Sigh, still stinks though. 

The weather here this week is pretty blah, with highs in the 50s (10s in Celcius) and lows from 32 to about 38 (0 to 4 in Celcius) Below are books I'm working on for this week, and my poor foot.

I was thinking I'd have finished Wolfsong by now, but other stories got in the way, so I am working on finishing Wolfsong, which is very good, today. 

I have also downloaded the audio version of Flux by Jinwoo Chong, I am still determining where it will fall in my reading.  I attended a Zoom craft talk that Jinwoo Chong did and that was my inspiration to get Flux ASAP. 

Here is the back of the book blurb: 

A blazingly original and stylish debut novel about a young man whose reality unravels when he suspects his employers have inadvertently discovered time travel and are covering up a string of violent crimes.