Reading Log as of February 28th

 

What a week! Found out I have an inflamed gall bladder which doesn't have to come out right now, but later.  Seems the weird little twinges and pain I've felt over the past couple years have been biliary colic. I have gall stones.  I have a surgery consultation coming up next Wednesday.  At this point, I think I'm about at 85  percent health wise.  No pain, no tightness, and the fatigue is slowly getting better.  

I closed out the month of February with The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore. 

First Lines:  "The day I met Arthur McLachlan was perfectly ordinary.  I woke up at my usual hour, I ate my usual bowl of oatmeal, while hunched over the last few pages of my library copy of Parable of the Sower. I can't remember what I wore, but I'm pretty sure it was both machine washable and designed for comfort."

Sloane, Maisey, Mateo, Greg, and Arthur. What do all these people have in common.  They've all experienced grief, or trauma in their earlier lives that have caused them to hide their true selves, burying themselves in other peoples lives, their children, their work, their books until one day Sloan decides to become involved in an angry old man's life.  From there, it snowballs, in a good way, until each one together, give each other the strength, the power to make the changes necessary to accept their pasts, and move on into the future. 

I loved the idea of highlighting pages in the books, conversations and quotes which spoke to the people the reader loved but couldn't express.  

The Lonely Hearts Book Club was a beautiful story about standing up for yourself, finding yourself, helping others, and sharing your life.  

Source Books 2023

Books about Books 

Contemporary Fiction

356 Pages, ****

Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah

 

“You can run away from your life and your past, but there's no way to distance yourself from your own heart.”

First Lines:  "Christmas parties are the star on the top of my 'don't list this year. Other things to avoid this season: Ornaments. Trees. Mistletoe.(definitely) Holiday movies about families. And memories." 

Joy walks out of her own life, onto an airplane, crashes, walks away from the wreck, and has a bonding experience with a man and his child living deep in the woods. Yet, something is strange about the whole thing. Is is all real or in her imagination?  Like the movie Sixth Sense, once I finished the story, I want to read it all over again.  At the beginning it didn't seem like it, but Comfort and Joy is a charming Christmas story about hope and finding happiness.    

Ballantine Books, 2005

Contemporary Christmas Romance

272 E book 

****

You are Here by David Nichols

 

“You know that thing when you're watching a film that you're not really enjoying and the other person doesn't like it either, but you've paid for the rental, you're halfway through, you sort of want to know what happens and, besides, there's nothing else on. But really you're just waiting for someone to say, "Can we stop this? I hate it." And neither of us did. Some people sit like that for their whole lives together. Waiting for it to pick up, waiting for a good bit. We were lucky in that respect. It could have gone on longer.”

First Line: "In all her youthful visions of the future, of the job she might have, the city and home she might live in, the friends and family around her, Marnie had never thought that she'd be lonely."

Some strangers, some friends begin a coast to coast walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea of England and work through life issues in the process.  The story represented two very flawed, hurt, people not trying to get over bad relationships, until they were put together on this walk.  Was there too much angst, bitterness?  Not exactly. There was a just a right amount of humor to balance the story along with the revelations.  I liked that it didn't end with a happily ever after with all sins forgiven, but a 'let's try' together vibe. 

Harper, May 2024

355 Pages

Contemporary

14th book - ****

James' Reviews -Fantastic Four (1994 series)

 

Hello, true believers. The Crazy Video Game Wizard is back, with a review of another Marvel show from decades past. It started well after my dad and I finished watching SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, and we watched the first episode of FANTASTIC FOUR (1994) together. My dad didn't enjoy it, and wouldn't watch the rest, so I watched the rest of the show without him.

This show follows Dr. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny, and Ben in their superhero adventures as the Fantastic Four, as they battle against dangerous foes as a family no matter the odds. For its time, the show has aged pretty well, and the gang is well depicted, faithful to their comic counterparts, and the action is engaging with many epic intro sequences for the first half of season one and the second half of season one. Despite the quality, Fantastic Four only lasted one season and was cancelled, due to low views.

Let us not forget, the voice acting is pretty good. Ben aka The Thing has a good voice, provided by Chuck McGann. Villains like Doctor Doom make an appearance, voiced by Simon Templeman, and he is pretty intimidating. Alongside the other antagonists the Four face in the series, the world-devouring Galactus crops up in a couple episodes, voiced by the deceased Tony Jay. Galactus' appearance reflects his comic book design, and his voice is heavily intimidating to the core.

Alongside SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, and the 2005 Fantastic Four movie, the 90s show is an engaging, colorful product of its time, and deserves the attention in this day and age. I would highly recommend you see it if you have the chance. In fact, its on Disney Plus, so watch it there, if you have Disney Plus. The overall rating for this is a 9.9, especially since it was engaging to the end.

-James M

James Review -Deadpool (2016) w. Deadpool

 

Oh, hello there. So, you may be wondering who the fella in red and black is, and why he's cussing and killing bad guys with blood going everywhere. The name's Deadpool, real name Wade Wilson. Most people call me "The Merc With A Mouth", and I'm a big deal. 

You know Marvel Comics, right? Let me give you the f***ing beats, buster! I was created in the 90s with my big damn debut comin' in 1991, even though it took a while for me to develop my fourth wall-breaking $#!@, and it took longer for me to get into the movies. 2009 may have been my lucky day, BUT THEY SEWED MY DAMN MOUTH SHUT!!!

However, 2016 was the game changer, when they knocked it outta the park with my movie. And get this, that Ryan Reynolds guy who played the other me, HE PLAYED THE REAL ME! That's right, baby! My actor is THE Ryan Reynolds, and you know him from $#!* like the GREEN LANTERN movie and a bunch of others. Sooooooo, what's the story of my movie, baby?

Well, it starts with me riding with Dolpinder, high-fiving him, goin' after that bastard Francis and killin' his goons. However, the story really starts a few years prior, before my face gets real messed up, when I bust a pizza-delivering stalker. Man, the look on the other guy's face when I threatened him with a gun, and the stalker knows that if he went near his ex-girlfriend again, he will know I got some hard spots. Ok, that came out wrong.

So, after that, I hit a bar and, there, I meet the babe of my dreams. Her name's Vanessa, and she's a real hooker. So, after I pay her, off we go to put some balls in the hole. Big twist: I took her to the arcade for some fun. After that, we had a hell of a lot more fun on every holiday imaginable all the way to Christmas, where I pop the big question... before cancer pops up. $#*^! Looks like that love montage is over, and crap is getting real.

News flash. Not only do I have cancer, but it's gonna kill me. So, what to do, what to do. Luckily, this guy in a suit offers a solution, and, eventually, I take it. In fact, it seems they're gonna make me a superhero. Lets hope my superhero costume isn't green and animated like Green Lantern's outfit, and that's when we meet Ajax. Oops, that's not his real name, its friggin' Francis Freeman. And it turns out, The Workshop is real %$#@ed up and makes "super slaves", and they torture me in an effort to wake up my mutant genes.

A while passes and, BOOM, they wake up, and my face gets real messed up in the process. Francis is so toast, even though I lose to him after trying to fight him naked. Don't worry, I lived to tell the tale to my buddy Weasel. One look at my face, and he compares it to an avocado who had a hate fling with an older and more disgusting avocado, then as we discuss plans on what to do with my situation, I decide to get a mask and we agree on my new name: Deadpool, Captain Deadpool

*record scratch* No, just Deadpool. Sounds like a franchise, amirite?

Makin' my costume takes some trial and error, and the suit being red came from the fact the white suit I wore got stained with my own blood at one point. Okay, so, back to the start of the film. After I kill his goons, I find Francis, and reveal my face to him. However, the studio sends two X-Men to get me, Colossus and, uh, Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead? Weird name, anyway. They try to take me to the X-Mansion, but I slice off my arm and escape, with my severed hand givin' Colossus the finger. Oh, and Francis got away. GOD FRIGGIN' DANG IT!!!

I retreat to my friend Blind Al's place so I can heal, and once my hand grows back, Weasel and I go to a, er, pole-dancer club to find Vanessa, who gets nabbed by Francis and his goons. Looks like its rescue time, but I need help, and I get it from Colossus and the Nega Sonic Warhead girl. And where is Francis holed up, the ruins of a battleship which looks like a broken down SHIELD ship for some reason. Cue his goon Angel Dust doing a superhero landing and battling it out with Colossus.

Now, we've reached the final battle with Francis, and we try to kill each other with Vanessa on the line. I am so determined to get my face fixed at this point, and here's a catch, Francis doesn't feel pain. Heck, he can't feel anything. So, I kick his ass, and Vanessa is saved. Now to get my face fixed, but this is where we run into a problem, there is no cure. Okay, looks like its time to kill Francis, but cue Colossus comin' in with some speech about being a hero and sparing your enemies.

Well, I got one thing to say with my gun.

BLAM!

Just like that, I got Francis, even though my face may never be cured. At least Vanessa is safe, and she doesn't mind how my face looks. We part ways with Colossus and Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead, and our story concludes for a time with me and Vanessa kissing like we miss each other. Good film, yeah?

Oh, trust me. DEADPOOL (2016) is fantastic, in so many imaginable ways, and it isn't every day when the world sees an R-rated "superhero" film, even though I am no superhero by a long shot. Solid 10/10, and you gotta admit there are so many funny moments throughout just as there is so much good action scenes with solid special effects, and I got a sequel a few years later... even though it took longer for my third movie to get off the ground. Ryan Reynolds was born for the role of me, amirite, folks? Oh, and Cable shows up in Deadpool 2, and we got Josh Brolin as him, but that is a story for another day. 

Catch you suckers next time!

Reading Log as of February 22nd

 

Have been feeling horrible for most of the week. Combination of the new blood pressure medication and supposedly gall bladder issues. Had a chat with my doctor who said to stop taking the new med and suspects that since all pain is localized in my right side beneath my ribs. He's ordered an ultrasound for Monday. 

Can't concentrate on anything heavy so started Kristin Hannah's ebook Comfort and Joy which was sad and depressing so fit my mood. 

"Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind--to just walk away--and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined.

In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again.

But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy’s world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love--and a family--that can’t possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants . . . and the new life only she can find."

Started reading David Nichols You are Here at bedtime which also fit my mood about sad and depressed characters finding their way:

"Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way . . .

Michael is coming undone. Adrift after his wife's departure, he has begun taking himself on long, solitary walks across the English countryside. Becoming ever more reclusive, he’ll do anything to avoid his empty house.

Marnie, on the other hand, is stuck. Hiding alone in her London flat, she avoids old friends and any reminders of her rotten, selfish ex-husband. Curled up with a good book, she’s battling the long afternoons of a life that feels like it’s passing her by.

When a persistent mutual friend and some very unpredictable weather conspire to toss Michael and Marnie together on the most epic of ten-day hikes, neither of them can think of anything worse. Until, of course, they discover exactly what they’ve been looking for.

Michael and Marnie are on the precipice of a bright future . . . if they can survive the journey."

James Reviews -Knuckles (2024)

 

In 2020, after years of development hell, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie finally released, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and was a massive hit. With the success of the film, the Sonic franchise was rejuvenated, and the way was paved for the Sonic Cinematic Universe with 2022 seeing the release of Sonic 2. Nearly two years later, as we prepared for Sonic 3, the world saw Idris Elba's Knuckles get his own show, which guest starred Adam Pally as Green Hills policeman Wade Whipple (who is also the main star of this darn show).

So, I watched this whole series, and saw some videos about it on YouTube, what are my thoughts on this?

Honestly, KNUCKLES is fine. Its nothing too special or groundbreaking, its all about our favorite red echidna and Wade Whipple on a pretty wacky adventure. As someone who grew up watching wacky, childish stuff along with some pretty dark stuff, I like my cartoony over-the-top nonsense. KNUCKLES is a comedy through and through, and Adam Pally hits the comedic beats well, while throwing in plenty of seriousness when needed.

The show is six episodes long, with Ben Schwartz's Sonic appearing for a time in the first episode, even though he has a couple of lines with Tika Sumpter's Maddie having a mostly minor role. One of the top highlights in this series is Back To The Future's Christopher Lloyd, who voices the deceased Echidna warlord Pachacamac. Remember him from Sonic Adventure? Then, we get to the show's villains gallery.

First, we have The Buyer, played by Scottish actor Rory McCann, a former ally of Doctor Robotnik and the show's main antagonist, who hires G.U.N. Agents Mason and Willoughby to get that red echidna. We also have bounty hunter Jack Sinclar, who is an old friend of Wade from a bowling team, and finally Pistol Pete Whipple, Wade's father and a bowling legend. English actor and The Princess Bride legend Carey Elwes takes up the role and the character is lovable and scummy at the same time.

Now, I won't spoil the whole story, but the writing is interesting at best, and KNUCKLES offers a pretty alright soundtrack. If you like Sonic, go ahead and watch it. My overall ranking for this is 6 out of 7 Chaos Emeralds. It isn't perfect, but the show has some fun to it, even though it was kinda poorly received by most fans. Catch you next time, ya'll.

-James M

James Reviews -Batman: Resurrection (2024)

 

For nearly a century, DC's Batman has inspired, and mesmerized the world with his battles and stories in many forms from comics to TV to games. The movies have been no exception, with many directors and actors offering the greatest of takes on the Caped Crusader. In 1989, following the goofiness of '66, Warner Bros delivered one of Batman's most important outings ever. Batman (1989), directed by Tim Burton, saw Batman (played by Michael Keaton) battle the demented Joker (Jack Nicholson). The film was well-received, and Keaton reprised the role a few years later in the sequel, Batman Returns (1992).

Now, we get to today's topic. In 2024, Penguin Random House released BATMAN: RESSURECTION, a novel written by John Jackson Miller. 

Set in the Burtonverse after the conclusion of Batman 1989, the story addresses the aftermath of The Joker's defeat and follows Batman's desperate resolve to protect Gotham City as a new threat arises. The book captures the feel and aesthetic of Burton's movie(s), offering a deep story, and looks at Batman's state of mind after his final battle with The Joker, with appearances from Batman Returns' characters Max Schreck and Selena "Catwoman" Kyle, the latter of whom has yet to become Catwoman.

The villain for this novel is Clayface, who impersonates The Joker for a time, along with Doctor Hugo Strange, and the condition the former is dealing with is heavily tied to The Joker's actions in the first movie. When it comes to the characters, you can clearly picture Michael Keaton as Batman with the late Michael Gough as Alfred. As for Clayface, given that he is a shapeshifter, you can imagine various actors playing him with Jack Nicholson playing his fake Joker disguise.

Batman Resurrection, the first in a series of Batman 89 novels, fits the world established by Burton in the first movie, and captures the dark tone that Batman stories are known for without going too far. I would highly recommend this for anyone who is looking to get into the Dark Knight's adventures, and if you are a fan of the 1989 movie. 10/10, I would happily reread this, especially as I finished reading it ages ago.

Take care out there, folks.

-James M

Reading Log as of February 15th

 

J.D. Robb's 60th In Death - Bonded in Death - arrived so I dove in and she hit it out of the park with this one. I really enjoyed the heck out of this episode of Eve and Roark, and learned some new things about Summerset, and those who were involved in the Urban Wars. Fascinating and definitely a five star read. 

Another five star read was The Last Love Note by Emma Grey which was equally good. A story about grief, love, loss. A story about powering through, resilience, humor, honesty, and family.  Never letting go, but moving forward, finding your way without the love of your life, and somehow falling in love again with the one was right in front of you all along.   I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. One of those stories I'll have to get in paperback to read again. 

Finished John Scalzi's Starter Villain which was silly and ridiculous and entertaining with intelligent typing cats, foul mouthed sentient dolphins, and a bunch of villains who threaten and cajole their way and try to steal a fortune after they've mismanaged and overspent themselves into a hole.  

I'm currently reading Naomi Novik's Black Powder War, #3 in the Temeraire series.  Was going to dive into a Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon but think will stow it on the back burner while I read Alan Moore's The Great When which James surprised me with on Valentine's Day.  

"If this London is what they call the Smoke, then that place is the Fire...

The year is 1949, the city London. Amidst the smog of the capital stumbles Dennis Knuckleyard, a hapless eighteen year-old employed by a second-hand bookshop. One day, on an errand to acquire books for sale, Dennis discovers a novel that simply does not exist. It is a fictitious book, a figment from another novel. Yet it is physically there in his hands. How?

Dennis has stumbled on a book from the Great When, a magical version of London beyond time and space, where reality blurs with fiction and concepts such as Crime and Poetry are incarnated as wondrous, terrible beings. But this other, magical London must remain a secret: if Dennis cannot find a way to return this book to where it belongs, he risks repercussions, such as his body being turned inside out (or worse).

So begins a journey delving deep into the city's occult underbelly and tarrying with an eccentric cast of sorcerers, gangsters, and murderers – some from legend, some all too real, and all with plans of their own. Soon Dennis finds himself at the centre of an explosive series of events that may alter and endanger both Londons forever..."

Les Miserables has taken a back seat to other books this week so need to let it let it ride in the front passenger seat. It's been yelling dibs for a few days. LOL! 

Reading Plans for February

 

Woot! Woot! J.D. Robb's 60th book in the In Death series - Bonded in Death - has arrived and I am fully immersed in the story, wondering how she is going to pick apart the clues and find the murderer. So good....

"His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…"

My bedtime read is John Scalzi's Starter Villain: 

"Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat."

I need to finish Naomi Novik's Black Powder War, #3 in the Temeraire series as well as the rest of All Star Superman because James wants me too. 

James Rollins newest release and #3 in his Moonfall series - Dragons of Blackglass arrives on February 18th so I'm looking forward to starting that one almost immediately.

I really want to dive into A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon which is a chunky one, so will how that goes. 

Les Misérables year long sip read  - I aim to read 5 pages a day which is a total of 95 pages for the month, plus complete journal notes. 

For Super Bowl Sunday, James and I are heading out for our traditionally mother-son shopping trip to Barnes and Noble as well as Game Stop and what ever else store we decide to wander in to.  Breaking my book buying ban for the day, then I promise I will go right back to being good. :)

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

 

“The glow in The Perch dimmed, her corner untouched by the blast of light and heat from the hearth across the room, so she asked for a lantern to read by. The kid obliged, and despite the uncomfortable chair and the ache in her leg and the backwater in which she’d been abandoned, she was absorbed. She was transported. She was elsewhere.”

First Line:  "Eighteen! bellowed Viv bringing her saber around in a flat curve that battered the wight's skull off its spine. 

In Bookshops and Bonedust, the main characters are anthromorphic animals or not human.  Viv is an orc, a female fighter, wounded while searching for a necromancer.  She's left in a back water town, called Murk, to recuperate.  While there, she gets involved with Fern, a rattkin, who is a walking, talking, foul mouthed rat with a pet dog who is a cross between a dog and a bird. Fenn owns a bookshop in a sad state of disrepair.  Viv befriends and helps Fern, all the while falling in deep like with another dwarf, plus establishing friendships with a few other odd characters.  

Meanwhile, another bad guy coincidently hides the spell book in Fern's bookstore,  from the necromancer, whom Viv and her crew had been searching for, and ends up dead. Viv and friends find the book, and then his duffel which contains an animated skeleton, which means the necromancer will eventually be showing up on their doorstep. 

Although she became a beloved part of the town, it didn't stop her from leaving in the end.  After all, it was a temporary spot. However, she left the place better when she left. Charming and entertaining, Bookshops and Bonedust is the prequel to Legends and Lattes which I haven't read yet.

336 Pages

Tor Publishing, 

Fantasy, prequel 

What You Are Looking For in in the Library - Michiko Aoyama

 

“Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening. Ultimately it’s all for the best that many things don’t turn out the way we hoped.”

First Lines:  When Saya sends a test to tell me she has a new boyfriend, I instantly write back: What's he like.  But all she replies is: He's a doctor.    

What do Tomika, Ryo, Matsumi, Hiroya, and Matao all have in common?  Each are at a stage in their lives where something needs to change in order for them to grow, be happy, find fulfillment.  And that is where Sayuri Komachi comes in.  She is a large, enigmatic woman hidden in the back of the community library at the reference desk, who likes Honeydome Cookies, and felts old little things.  She doles out advice, personalized book lists, and a bonus felt piece that somehow, mysteriously represents something to each person. 

Through reading the books from Sayuri's list, and applying what they learn, they find what they need to turn their lives around. 

What I liked: 

How each vignette connected not only through the Librarian, but to the whole community of the characters.  

I liked that the story was also about books and the books are listed in the back if you want to read them. 

How the story was charming, but also reflected real life problems. A young girl on her own, learning how to cook and care about herself and take joy in life.  A working mother who faces all kinds of trouble after her baby is born. An accountant learning you can make a new start. An unemployed 30 year old man finally discovering what he was good at. And a retiree figuring out what he liked and enjoyed. 

Nothing was handed to them on a silver platter. They had to work, change, work some more, discover what they were good at or find a way around road blocks.  Ordinarily I don't like books that reflect real life, but I guess since it was a story reflecting Japanese culture and society, it made it more interesting. 

300 Pages

Hanover Square Press, 2023

Japanese Literary Fiction, Translated by Alison Watts

January Reading Wrap Up

 

Woohoo! January was a great reading month and I stuck to reading only physical books from my shelves. I read 8 books for a total of 3450 pages not including my in progress sip read. 

1. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome: #1 of the 12 book series. The story brought back memories of my three older sisters and I putting on plays in our carport when we were about the same age as the Walker kids, for our parents and neighbors.  And days spent playing and romping through the neighborhood with all the kids on our block, until dusk and dinner. ****

2. The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin:  I'm not particularly fond of Le Guin's writing, and I don't know what it is about it but it always turns me off.  However, reading one chapter at a time before bed, helped me get through it. All I can say about it is that a perfect society is hard to find. No matter how hard one tries, not everyone will agree.  ***

3.  The Emperor's Tomb by Steve Berry: #8 in the Cotton Malone series.   Little did I know when started reading the story that we would get a history lesson on the birth of China, what happened to Mao's body, whether oil was biotic or abiotic, and more. It was fascinating, although there were a lot deaths.  ****

4.   The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty:  #2 in the Daevabad trilogy. Politics, racism, oppression, infighting, back stabbing, assassination attempts, and magical entities all make for an riveting and thought provoking tale.  By the end of this book I wasn't too terribly fond of Dara. I wonder if he'll redeem himself in the 3rd and final book. Good riddance to Ghassan. My gosh, he was horrible. ****

5. At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber.  While Driftwood is a charming, magical, little town, set by the ocean, and the place is full of love, and helps draw Ava out of her comfort zone, all the characters go through the wringer, ironing out their issues and relationship, until they find their happily ever after.   ****

6.  Icerigger by Alan Dean Foster: #1 in the Icerigger series. Aliens, ice beasts, pirates, nutty monks. Lots and lots of ice. Always cold. Battles, beasts, crazy sail boats, even a volcano. Our characters are tested against the elements as well as against the pirates, and ice beasts. Fast, fun, furious, ferocious, crazy story.  ****

7:  The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami: My disappointment knows no bounds. Thankfully I can go back and read his other stories which I enjoyed more.  **

8. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros:  #3 in the Empyrean series. Long story short, without giving away any spoilers, the tale is full of battles. The dark wielders Venin, politically, with authority, in attempts to win over other islands leaders to fight with Navarre, as well as her battle to keep hidden Xaden's infection by the venin.   In the process of trying to find Andarna's kin, we learn more about Violet's history with her dad. Plus throw in the life of a cadet as she trains and bonds more with Tairn and Andarna, and her fellow classmates, and it makes for one hell of a story.  *****

My rating system is a mishmash of Goodreads and others.  

5 star - The writing was compelling, the world building was outstanding and the story flowed. Couldn't put it down. Evoked an emotional response and made me feel my feelings. Unique.   As a series opener, would make me want to read the whole series.  As a new to me author, would make me want to read more of their stories. Would reread again in the future. 

4 star - The writing, world building, and characters were excellent. Enjoyed the story. Would read this series or author again. Willing to give it a second read.

3 star - It was good, but...

2 star - I read the whole thing or may have skipped to the end to see what happened. May have had morally grey characters without any redeeming qualities, or something about the story turned me off, or it failed to live up to my expectations.   

1 star - Did not get page 50 or 100 depending on length of the book as it wasn't my cup of tea.