Tag: Book Reviews

Dec 10 – 16, 2023 | Little Sparks #32

TemidayoLeave a comment

Hi there!

How are you feeling with only a few more weeks to the end of the year? I’m actually quite excited. While the year has passed by like a flash, I have had a great 2023 overall.

Here’s my reading highlight:

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
5 stars

I’ve read a number of WW1 & WW2 historical fiction, and women’s contributions to the war are often forgotten or discussed on the sidelines.

This book did an amazing job detailing the pain and resilience of French women’s resistance during WW2. I did cry a number of times while listening to the book. It was a tale full of heartbreak, yet the ending was so beautiful.

TW: murder, rape, sexual assault, genocide

Dec 3 – 9, 2023 | Little Sparks #31

TemidayoLeave a comment

Hello!

This week has been quite a drag. I hope mine and your upcoming week are much better!

Here’s my reading highlight:

A Shadow in the Ember (Flesh and Fire #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5 stars

Oops! I started a new fantasy series, hahaha.

Dare I say this book was perfect? That it was made for me? It had everything I like – my favourite tropes, just the right amount of suspense, BABY DRAGONS (or I should say drakens)!!!, tension, romance and found family. It is by far the best Hades and Persephone retelling I’ve read.

I’m very excited to continue the series, and hopefully, I won’t fall out of love with the series as I did with Blood and Ash. (The Blood and Ash series took a while to get into, and though intriguing with various plot twists, I stopped reading after the fourth book before it ruined the whole series so much that I felt it could have ended at book 3. Apparently, it’s still unfinished – books 6 and 7 are not out yet.)

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TemidayoLeave a comment

Hi there!

How was your week? Mine was very busy with holiday festivities at work.

I can’t believe there are just four more weeks to the end of the year!

Here’s my reading highlight:

Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros
4 stars

I was very happy when the audiobook became available, to say the least! Thank goodness, I wasn’t disappointed.

While I didn’t think this book was as ‘addictive’ as the first one, it was still engaging. However, there were several moments when I felt that the book was too similar to the ACTOR series (Xaden as a weak replica of Rhysand) and even the Throne of Glass series (regarding the focus on wyverns) by Sarah J. Maas.

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TemidayoLeave a comment

Hello!

This week has been pretty great in all aspects – food, exercise and reading.

P.S. Iron Flame’s hold on me and the desire to finally be able to read it is ridiculously strong. I’m patiently waiting for the audiobook version from my library and fingers crossed I won’t be disappointed.

Here’s my reading highlight for the week:

And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1) by Kiersten White
4 stars

I wonder why this book is categorised as fantasy alongside historical fiction. The book is focused on the Ottoman Empire and the Emperor’s pursuit to conquer Rome. I haven’t seen any ‘magic’ elements, so I’m unsure of this category.

While it was very engrossing, I waited so long for Lada ‘to come to her senses’ and for us to see her secure the Wallachian throne. It felt like Lada’s relationship with Mehmed and that romance distracted her from achieving her goals after she and her brother were abandoned in the Ottoman Empire by their father for power. I’m unsure if it was the author’s deliberate intention to present this or my reading of Lada’s struggle as a woman in a patriarchal world.

Furthermore, I don’t trust Mehmed at all. So, I’m excited about how Lada’s path goes in the next book of the series!

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TemidayoLeave a comment

Greetings!

Here’s my reading highlight for the week:

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini
4 stars

I picked the book because I wanted to read more fantasy with dragons. It did feel a bit more childlike and cliche in terms of the long quest (haha, not a surprise since it was written in 2003, but hopefully, it will get better as the series continues and Eragon grows older).

I did like Seraphina and the found family created in the series. The banter between characters, especially between Seraphina and Eragon, was fun. A sassy dragon is always a blast.

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin
4 stars

Winter is coming, but I’m a little bit late to the game (hahaha).

There are so many characters in this book. It took me a while to figure them out and not get confused while listening to the audiobook. I enjoyed Daenery’s, Arya’s and Jon’s parts in the book. I’m not sure yet if I’ll be continuing with the series. The books are pretty thick, for one, and I’m not sure if I’m interested in the plot or the fate of those individual characters.

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TemidayoLeave a comment

Hello friends!

I was looking forward to reading Iron Flame this week after its release. However, the audiobook version still isn’t available in my library 😦

Here’s my reading highlight:

No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer
4 stars

I enjoyed reading this book – I feel like I would thrive working at Netflix.

My workplace currently has certain similar characteristics. However, I am unsure if it’s by design or a fluke. When I first joined, I was hoping for a process of how I was to do things because I didn’t want to have made a decision only to have been told that wasn’t what I should have done. Nevertheless, the differences between the work cultures are apparent, and it’s evident that there’s much to be learned from Netflix in creating a culture of reinvention.

In the meantime, I have learned significant ways to challenge myself:

Keeper Test
Candor & A Circle of Feedback
Lead with Context, Not Control

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2023 | Little Sparks #26

TemidayoLeave a comment

Hi there!

Happy November. Yet another month has passed. I can’t believe how close we are to the end of the year.

October wasn’t a great reading month. I read a lot of 3-star books and had only one 5-star read (A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas, which was a re-read, so it doesn’t really count). Here’s to a much better November!

My reading highlight:

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
3 stars

It took me a long time to get through this book. I would have appreciated the story a lot more if I had a deeper understanding of the Columbia War.

Nevertheless, it was fascinating (yet heartbreaking) to learn more about the war from the perspective of two young girls. A lot of themes were explored without the book having an expansive plot – sexism, classism, mental health and sexual violence.

Oct 22 – 28, 2023 | Little Sparks #25

TemidayoLeave a comment

Hello friends!

This week flew by. I wish weekends were much longer.

Here’s my reading highlight:

More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez
3 stars

As a mystery and thriller book, it was disappointing. As a reader, it was clear from the beginning that the case wasn’t as it was portrayed, but that kept being emphasised without little suspense. Hence, once we learnt the truth, it felt very anti-climactic. I also had many questions about the feasibility of Lore’s double life. I don’t think she could have lived like that for so long without people around her getting suspicious.

However, the book had great commentary on the notions of truth, desire, and love.

Billy Summers by Stephen King
4 stars

My first Stephen King’s book. It was engaging. I found the plot format also interesting. It felt much more like a diary/a narrative with multiple storylines rather than a typical story with a beginning, a climax and an ending.

While I did think the book was unnecessarily long and had seemingly irrelevant incidents occur, I couldn’t help but think about the ending of the book a lot.

Glass Sword (Red Queen, #2) by Victoria Aveyard
3 stars

I’m not sure if it’s the narrator, but I didn’t like the self-righteousness from Mare. I’m not sure if this character trait was on purpose, but it was quite annoying. Let’s see how the rest of the series goes.

Oct 15 – 21, 2023 | Little Sparks #24

TemidayoLeave a comment

Greetings!

This week at work passed by quickly. I’m really pleased that my weekend felt full.

Here’s my reading highlight:

Red Queen (Red Queen, #1) by Victoria Aveyard
4 stars

The premise felt a little like Red Rising – those in power are called silvers and have silver blood, while those oppressed are called reds and have red blood. The silvers have magic power, and while I did enjoy the magic element, I’m not thrilled about the magical system. There doesn’t seem to be much logic. However, I’ll be reading the rest of the series. I’m keen on discovering what happens, and this series (already completed) seems more optimistic/hopeful than Red Rising.

One Day in December by Josie Silver
3 stars

The author seems to strongly believe people have more than one soulmate.

I liked how I never knew where the plot would turn, but I was irritated by the lack of courage from the two main characters. It felt like they took many turns to get where they were always heading.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Oct 8 – 14, 2023 | Little Sparks #23

TemidayoLeave a comment

Hello friends!

How are you? My week wasn’t too great in terms of readings. I’m a quarter into many books, but they don’t seem to be grasping my attention (though they aren’t boring or bad to the extent that I would not finish them).

Maybe it’s because it’s now fall. I’m feeling nostalgic about certain worlds I have read, so I may re-read some of those books instead.

Here’s my reading highlight:

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver
3 stars

I felt like the author tried too hard to make the book a feminist tale. The lead character, Cleo, made several comments about the women on the island being independent and bold in awe/surprise rather than just being possible characteristics of certain women. Unfortunately, the plot was too cliché. A lady searching for love goes on a ‘deserted’ island and ends up loving herself.