kitvaria_sarene's reviews
2336 reviews

Read for SPFBO, this is only my personal opinion, group verdict might differ widely!

I really liked the start of The Tenacious Tale of Tanna the Tendersword by Dewey Conway and Bill Adams, but sadly lost interest the farther I got.

For a kids book it was a bit too hard at times, with complicated words and sentences. For an adult book it definitely lacked a lot of depth, especially compared to our other finalists.

I really adored the illustrations and liked that a girl is the "mighty warrior" for once, but overall the tone and story just didn't draw me in enough.

I liked the start of The Never HEro by Ellery Hodges way more than the second half to be honest.

The premise was good, but the main character got more unlikely along the way. At first he felt like the very normal person who is suddenly confronted with a new fate he can't escape. But over time he just got to be too perfect at everything, while feeling more arrogant to me.

And who knew all you need to get past trauma is a pretty woman telling you to "nut up". Life will be so much easier now!

There's also this one scene with "annoying girls" at the gym, who just want attention. But then they aren't so good loooking they deserve it. So how funny is it to watch the super big dude bro trainer go up and make them feel so uncomfortable they leave. Haha. 
Yeah, no thank you.

Not a horrible read, but also not one a series I'll continue.

What a lovely surprise when I found out about Drowned Country by Emely Tesh!

I have read Silverin the Woods quite a while ago, and enjoyed it, but thought the end was a bit too open ended. Now I am fully satisfied, and must say I thought this was even an improvement over book one!

The characters gained a bit more depth, and I especially enjoed seeing more than one capable woman going her way.

And I am very happy to see where the relationship from book one ended up.

A nice, and very much unexpected, end rounded this off, and made it a great read that felt much more than just a novella!

Stormsong by C.L. Polk is another fantastic book, and has now officially put the author on my favourites shelf.

A historical setting, a murtder mystery, political scheming, trying to do the best for the country and it's people, but still not being a perfect hero, strong female characters, LGBTQIA inclucive cast - this book has it all.

I was immediately drawn in by the prose and after ashort bit to settle back into this world (it has been a while since I read the first book) I was flying through the pages, ans very sad when I reached the end.

I adored the capable women as well as the way the author handled the need for a wheelchair for ine of the characters. It felt realistic and not just like something added to tick a box, as it sadly sometimes does.

Just a well rounded read all around, with just a tiny dose of romance, which was well enogh done, even I who usually detests romance enjoyed it. 

 How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason is a very fun SciFi story with a bit of fairytale magic mashed in.

I was quickly hooked by the tone and voice of both the book and the main character, and was very well entertained by the humour and banter all the way through.

If you're looking for something light and fun, that doesn't take itself too seriously, this is a great choice! 

Der Spurenfinder ist definitiv etwas für Marc-Uwe Kling Fans, und nicht unbedingt für Fantasy Fans.

Ich mochte Qualityland sehr gerne, und habe auch einige der Kinderbücher gerne gelesen, aber als schwerpunktmäßiger Fantasy Leser hat mich der Spurenfinder leider nicht vom Hocker gehauen.

Der Humor war zwar unterhaltsam und nett, aber die Figuren haben sich für die Länge und Art des Buches, und meinen Geschmack diesbezüglich, einfach zu flach angefühlt. Irgendwie mehr wir ein Kinderbuch das auch Erwachsene lesen können, als ein Fantasy Roman der nicht extra blutig ist und daher auch für Kinder geeignet. Nachdem das Buch aber eben nicht als Kinderbuch geschlüsselt ist, bin ich vermutlich auch einfach mit falschen Erwartungen daran gegangen.

Eine nette, flotte und unterhaltsame Geschichte ja, aber leider nichts was bei mir bleibendem Eindruck hinterlassen wird.

Network Effect by Martha Wells is the first full novel length entry into the murderbot series.
It's just as fun, entertaining and full of action as the novellas, so it still felt like it was over way too soon! I'm giving this 4 stars instead of five, simply because the plot felt a bit jumpy at times especially in the first half. On its own I'd probably still have given full stars, but compared to how smooth the previous books felt, this was just a bit rougher around the edges.
This time it's a bit of a mystery along all the action, and the second half was so addictive I finished it in one go.

Gotta love murderbot and both the human "non friends" as well as his favourite annoyance ART.

I just finished it, and I already want to read more!

The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis is a promising epic fantasy debut!

If you like the classic style fantasy, with a big cast, scope and world, this is definitely worth a look!

While I was well entertained, I also had some gripes with the book, especially the sort of type you often find in debuts.
The chosen one trope is strong with this book, and while I can enjoy a book featuring that, it was just a tad over the top for me. He's young, bust the best fighter ever (even after having an expectational training, it just felt too much), and if that's not enough, everyone trusts him instantly and he gets super important quests.

There are also quite a lot of explaining, especially at the end of the book. I wouldn't have needed all that info dumped into the dialogue, most if it was obvious throughout the story, if you just paid attention.

There's also the obligatory bathing scene, with breasts being caressed by the water, however, later on in the book we get a similar scene with a male character, so it's less a "male gaze" thing, but more of a more sensory writing style it seems.

The last of my problems was the villain, who was just the worst baddy there ever was, for no real obvious reason, other than him being a very horrible person, and very overpowered as well.

I did however really love the big world to explore, the politics and scheming and interweaving plot strands. It's a good foundation for a series that could grow into something like A Song of Ice and Fire!

There's different mythologies and cultures involved as well, which made the world feel fresher and more nuanced.

The action scenes were well written and gripping, even if I would have liked our hero knocked down notch or 10. Fight scenes are often hit or miss for me, so I really enjoyed that part!

So all in all this wasn't a perfect book, but definitely a very promising start!

The Storm Beneath the World by Michael T. Fletcher is something I come across rarely - it's utterly unique!

I never thought I could care about "bugs" , but Fletcher managed to write this world and its characters so utterly captivating, I was hooked within moments.

The world building is freaking fabulous, with whole societies of insect like people living on giant floating islands, and two of them getting closer to each other promising a war to come.
It is woven throughout all layers, from actual biology, to language, behaviours, setting, daily life and everything like transportation or such.

The whole social structure, as well as the biology behind it all, was just so well written, and managed to both feel familiar enough to easily get I to teh story, but alien enough to be a very much needed breath of fresh air! I so love non human main characters, who are actually different, and not just feel like humans, but with antennas or such.

This book might not have any humans, but the people are just as flawed, corrupt, naive or brave, and I was immediately invested in their fates and choices.

The way "insect society" works, this book has a natural matriarchy. So compared to our culture, all the sexist problems are turned on their head. This makes it a smooth and logical part of the book, which doesn't feel like a moral pointer finger, but still makes you take notice and rethink some things.

While this might be Fletcher's least dark book, it's still not a cosy read, and there is at least one pretty gory scene.

The end is quite a cliffhanger, and worked very well for me. I already can't wait for the sequel!

Witch of Wealth and Ruin is the second book in this series by Levi Jacobs.

I found it to be both better and worse than the first.

So the characters definitely are more fleshed out and the gained depth helped to make them feel a lot more realistic.
We also get to see a new part of the world, and yet another kind of magic, which I really enjoyed!
However this felt a lot like a side quest, and while we gain new allies (and new foes) who will be important later in, it feels like the main plot has basically stalled for most of the book.

There's plenty of action and fast paced fight scenes, as well as some deeper insights into being forced to fight in an arena, which made for quick reading!

So despite being a bit disappointed by the lack of overall progression, I was well entertained all the way through, and finished this in just a couple of sittings.

If you like a good coming of age fantasy, with a female main character who's flawed and yet willing to fight, no matter what? This is a great choice.