Tag: audiobook

Book Review: The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time #8) by Robert Jordan

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy
Length: 685 pages
Author: Robert Jordan
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: October 20th, 1998
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Seanchan invasion force is in possession of Ebou Dar. Nynaeve, Elayne, and Aviendha head for Caemlyn and Elayne’s rightful throne, but on the way they discover an enemy much worse than the Seanchan.

In Illian, Rand vows to throw the Seanchan back as he did once before. But signs of madness are appearing among the Asha’man.

In Ghealdan, Perrin faces the intrigues of Whitecloaks, Seanchan invaders, the scattered Shaido Aiel, and the Prophet himself. Perrin’s beloved wife, Faile, may pay with her life, and Perrin himself may have to destroy his soul to save her.

Meanwhile the rebel Aes Sedai under their young Amyrlin, Egwene al’Vere, face an army that intends to keep them away from the White Tower. But Egwene is determined to unseat the usurper Elaida and reunite the Aes Sedai. She does not yet understand the price that others—and she herself—will pay.

BARELY SURVIVED.

I don’t really have a lot to say for this one, so it’ll be short and not that sweet.

I’ve heard that these middle books are a slog and that’s how I feel each time. How many more do I have to go?! This felt really rambling and not all that memorable. I spent a lot of time wondering where Rand was and what he was up too. I wish there was a better balance of character points of view. The random ones + the regular main characters + everything else just gets overly complicated FAST.

Character development was low, not much happened and I am ready to move on to the next book. Thank goodness for audiobooks I can speed up.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: Closed door
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: Before the Fortress Falls by A.L. Sowards

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction + Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: A.L. Sowards
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Release Date: April 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Their fight for survival would change the course of history.

When rumors reach Vienna that an attack by the Ottoman army is imminent, Wilhelm von Schor, one of the emperor’s courtiers, prepares to evacuate his family—including his sister, Katja. But Katja’s reluctance to leave the city and the people she loves so well grows the farther the family carriage gets from her childhood home. When she learns that another brother, Xavier, is returning to Vienna with his musketeers, she decides to remain behind and face the shadow of war.

Katja soon reunites with Xavier and also with Toby, a dear friend from childhood. As Katja and Toby renew their friendship, an element of attraction builds on the comradery of their youth, and they quickly realize they have found something worth fighting for: love. But all too soon, the Ottomans encircle the city, blanketing its inhabitants in fear. Katja, Toby, and Xavier must each fulfill their new roles if they are to survive. In the overcrowded hospitals, below ground in the countermines, and on the ramparts defending the city walls, the three must fight for love, family, faith, and the survival of their city and everyone inside.

WOW.

This was so good!! I picked this up in a backlist reading moment and I was enraptured by this story. This is my second book by Sowards and I am becoming very committed to everything she writes. I love her multiple POV style and how you get a bit of every angle of the unique historical settings her stories are about.

I loved the complexity of emotions and decisions. I felt like the whole cast was trying their best in an impossible situation. The ups and downs all felt true to the nature of the time and setting. It’s intense and hard and brought out a lot of emotions. I did not want to stop listening because I needed to know where things were going.

The bravery and resilience of everyone who defended their land was soul inspiring. As thousands of enemy soldiers drew closer the group inside found ways to work together and save what they could. It showcased heroes on every level and that even if you’re only stitching sand bags together, IT MATTERS. This was clearly intricately researched and I appreciated the effort and love that went into crafting this story.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Fiction + Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, loss of life, near death experiences, blood/gore depiction, murder

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Book Review: Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Catherine Bakewell
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: March 14th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce, this standalone YA debut is a stunning cottagecore fantasy romance about a girl with powerful and violent magic, which she must learn to control—or lose everything she loves.

Clara’s magic has always been wild. But it’s never been dangerous. Then a simple touch causes poisonous flowers to bloom in her father’s chest.

The only way to heal him is to cast an extremely difficult spell that requires perfect control. And the only person willing to help is her former best friend, Xavier, who’s grown from a sweet, shy child into a mysterious and distant young man.

Xavier names a terrible price in return, knowing Clara will give anything to save her father. As she struggles to reconcile the new Xavier with the boy she once loved, she discovers their bargain is only one of the heavy secrets he’s hiding. And as she hunts for the truth, she instead finds the root of a terrible darkness that’s taken hold in the queendom—a darkness only Clara’s magic is powerful enough to stop.

MEH.

I admit the beautiful cover sucked me in, even though I had friends give this book the same rating I just did. I was still hopeful. OH WELL.

The general idea of this book was fine. And the characters were also that, just fine. Setting, magic, world building. FINE (see where I’m going with this?). The entire book needed much more expansion of all the ideas. Too many things felt small or rushed for the sake of completing the story in one book and I don’t think the overall plot was strong enough to carry it through.

I liked the romance. It was a kind of cute second chance trope that caught my attention. Things moved super fast (my usual issue in standalone fantasies), besides that though, I did like how things wrapped up. It was a good ending and I was happy to see some necessary things resolved.

Darn you gorgeous cover artists.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: depression, a sick parent, light wound depiction

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Book Review: The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 312 pages
Author: Marjan Kamali
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: June 18th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A poignant, heartfelt new novel by the award-nominated author of Together Tea—extolled by the Wall Street Journal as a “moving tale of lost love” and by Shelf Awareness as “a powerful, heartbreaking story”—explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.

Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink.

Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on—to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England—until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?

HURT ME.

This book hurt me deeply y’all. DEEPLY. Honestly the ending wasn’t everything *I* was needing and left me a bit bereft and filled with all the feelings.

BUT, this was still an amazingly good read. I was attached to the audiobook because I had to keep seeing how this story unfolded. I loved the historical fiction aspects and reading about a part of history I don’t know a lot about. I love learning through books and this brought an intense amount of insight to the pain of the time period.

And I do love a book that makes me feel every emotion. I was on that journey with Roya and was pulled every which way with her. There’s many many things to unpack in this story and the complications that life ultimately brings.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fiction
  • Language: none-low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: suicide attempt, abortion, war, violence, child loss

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