Girish Kumar

More of 3.5 stars book, in my opinion.

I felt that this book could've done more to move the plot along. A large chunk of this book rehashed the same arguments from the previous. The same arguments from different people. The very same internal conflicts.

The last two chapters were the best part of this book, doing something for the future novels.

Book 3 and I feel the novels are getting very formulaic and it's not a very good sign.

It's really getting very repetitive now.

The last two books have had the same exact plot and a lot of the same conversations. It's tedious now. But I shall power through till I reach the end, because I am still invested in the journey and some of the characters.

On to the next book, I guess. I just hope it's not the same formula.

I find my self enjoying the episodic nature of The Lost Fleet's journey back into Alliance fleet.

Jack Geary continues to show us why he's the man for the job. But I found the romance between him and Rione a bit forced and out of nowhere. It also doesn't seem very believable because those two almost always end up discussion the difference between Jack Geary the man and Black Jack the myth and the legend. Somehow all their discussions end up at that topic. It's frustrating.

The space battles and the realistic way it is portrayed is very engaging, and it is my favourite element of these books.

The more books I read in this series, the more it reminds me of a space based D&D campaign.

Given that I read the first book just days ago, and it's so fresh in my mind, i found my self comparing the sequel to the first.

While I found a lot of improvements from the first to the second, I also found things I didn't like as much. Anything I say will be a spoiler, so I'd rather not.

I really enjoyed this book, though. It's not devoid of issues, but it's fun.

Absolutely breezed through this book. Steven Brust giving us hits back to back. This book introduces some new characters and a really interesting macguffin - The Silver Tiassa.

I actually enjoyed the fact that this book not only was spread across various times of Vlad's history, but also he's barely there. I was interesting to explore the world through the eyes of others, and see how they go about solving things. I particularly enjoyed the second and final sections.

i also love the fact that Brust has gicen each character in tbe second section their own unique voice, making it quite distinct from the other books. even the final section is written in a very unique style.

i really loved Tiassa!!

Let me be clear, the only reason I picked this book up is that the TV adaptation of this stars Alex Kingston, and I LOVE Alex Kingston.

Diana Bishop is a witch who has rejected her witchy powers after the death of her parents under mysterious circumstances. She is a scholar and a science historian - and let me tell you, I completely love that the lead is a science historian. She is working at the Bodleian Library when she comes across a mysterious manuscript from the Ashmole collection called Ashmole 782. This long-lost manuscript is somehow enchanted and, for the first time in several centuries it has resurfaced and that too, to an untrained witch who has given up on her powers.

Now, the Bodleian is teeming with other supernatural beings - Daemons and Vampires. One Vampire, in particular, Matthew Clairmont, seems to be stalking her and is obsessed with her. Matthew, as it turns out, is actually a geneticist who has been working on the history of these supernatural beings, and that is why he, too, is interested in the Ashmole 782 because it is supposed to hold the answers to their origins.

As is the tradition of other witch-vampire books, Diana takes an instant dislike to Matthew and his ways, but then she eventually falls in love with him and there begins the romance, which is pretty rushed, in my opinion. For one, I completely hate the way their relationship evolves and the way he patronises her, and how he commands her to do things, though she doesn't listen to him that frequently. It is always put down to the way vampires usually are; that they are incredibly protective of their women, or the people they love, but to the extent that they expect the women to be very submissive. You have no idea how much I was cringing during some of the scenes, especially SPOILER their wedding, where it happens without HER CONSENT! I get it, vampires are ancient beings, but going along with these old, outdated traditions seem really stupid. The characterisation of the vampires could've been so much better, but we can't have everything, now can we?

The universe that Harkness creates, otherwise, is really really good! I like that she weaves in actual alchemical texts and helps to ground the fantastical elements in reality. It's a really well thought out and immersive universe. Her prose is wonderful, though sometimes it did get a tad annoying and exhausting with certain descriptions and explanations. That being said, I do love the way she talks about history - romantic with a heavy helping of academic, and her love for her field, really does come through in her books.

I adore Diana as a lead character, as stubborn and annoying she can be, that somehow makes her more real and that's what endears me to her. Ysabeau, on the other hand, Matthew's mother was such an interesting and amazing character, and the way her relationship with Diana develops over the course of the novel is such a treat. Their interaction towards the end is beautiful and touching, and I need more of that in the future books. I really hope it is there in the next two books.

All that said, I really did like this book and I'm waiting to read the next book. I'm glad that the series is over so that I can just binge-read it without any waiting. Though I am waiting for a while till I get to the next one, and that sounds like it'll be fun, because SPOILER it's a time travel adventure, and I'm a sucker for time travel romps.

I've found that when I absolutely love the first book, the second book doesn't always live up to the expectations set by the first.

Thankfully that wasn't the case with this book. The second, though different in theme and scope, was just as engaging and exciting as the first. It was a bit slower than the first, less action compared to the first, and it takes longer to get to the heart of the story.

But, besides that, it was a lovely second novel in the series.

JUSTT in time for the end of the year! It's 11.48pm in Indian right now.

What a wonderful conclusion to this cycle of novels of this series. I throughly enjoyed the final act to the first saga in the Lost Fleet Series.

This was a delightful addition to the series!
Aliera has been arrested for sorcery, and no one knows why. There's a conspiracy at play, and, as usual, Vlad is the only one who can do anything about it.

This feels more like one of the classic Vlad adventures. I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this.

Genuinely, what's not to love?

Re reading these books after such a long time and I'm rediscovering my love for Eve. She's such an amazing character to follow.

In this book we get a bit more of her backstory, we see her getting ready for the big wedding and we get a case that's a bit too close to home.

It was fun from beginning to end.

Just few days ago I was telling a friend I had to rethink how I give out five stars for books I loved.

The moment I started this book, I was hit with a wave (pun intended?) of nostalgia. I remember being so entranced with the Percy Jackson books for so very long, and I was so sad when the sequel series came to an end.

It's lovely being back with the original trio off on an absurd quest for godly Letters of Recommendation to go to Rome University. Percabeth were, as usual, the cutest. I found my self genuinely laughing out loud at numerous points in the book. From the first page to the last, I had a huge smile on my face.

This is such a good book, and it's nice to see Rick Riordan hasn't lost his touch especially with Percy Jackson, Annabeth and Grover.

I didn't really enjoy her first book - The Dead Romantics, so I was very hesitant when I picked this book up. So, I was delightfully surprised when I found myself enjoying it so much that I finished it in a day.

The Seven Year Slip is a lovely timeslip romcom where a woman and a man find themselves entangled in a romance but they exist seven years apart.

It's a sweet book, simple uncomplicated story - I've been drawn to these kind of novels nowadays. The characters are loveable, its romance is really nice. Nothing steamy or smutty, but it was fun nonetheless.

The book also deals with grief and coming to terms with it, but doesn't linger on to too much to make a statement or a point. If I had to pick a failing, it would be that it brings up interesting ideas of self, and how time changes someone and, of course, grief, but it doesn't really stick to everything enough to make a convincing point or leave a message that sticks.

That being said, I really wasn't in the mood for something heavy, so I was happy with this book just the way it was. It was a really fun and light read.

The Only One Left is the first book by Riley Sager that I am reading, after hearing so much about his books. I was intrigued because of its gothic, Rebecca like mystery narrative.

There was a lot about it I enjoyed. The prose it self was absolutely gorgeous. I loved the way he not only brings out the emotion of scene but also somehow makes it part of the scenery.

The book starts off quite slow, and typical for a modern thriller - a woman with a “past” is thrown into a new job which she is clearly uncomfortable with but has no option but to abide by it. Few days after starting her new job, she uncovers a mystery regarding the one she is caring for.

There definitely are some twisty plot twists in the novel. If you've read enough, you can see some of them coming. But some of the plot twists tend to stretch what is believable, and that didn't really help in the enjoyment of the book.

It's definitely an intriguing book, its gothic setting and prose are definite plus points, but it's the second half and the reveals related to the mystery at heart that disappointed me.


** SPOILER**

I'm not a fan of books where the protagonist has a coincidental connection to the mystery at heart. But it wasn't just that, even the previous Caregiver had a connection to the mystery and the woman (women?) at the heart of it.

All of these connections seemed a few too many to be plausible.

Which led to my diminished enjoyment of the book.
** SPOILER**

I was a bit disappointed by this sequel. It made it seem like the Behavioural Science team is nothing more than a bunch of idiots.
The threat of a Huxton copycat didn't feel that real either, and their meeting at the club seemed to have too easily and too quickly. A lot of coincidental things happen at opportune moments.

The end was a bit too predictable for my taste. I was quite disappointed by this one.

We Could Be So Good, in Cat Sebastian tradition, is a historical queer novel - set in New York in the late 1950s.

I really liked this book, but not as much as the Kit Webb and Marian Hayes novels. I really can't put my finger on what it actually is, because as a story this one is far stronger, has more depth and the characters feel richer. But as something to be enjoyed, I much prefer the others. Perhaps the struggles of queer folk in the 50s in NY seem a bit too close in time and make it feel way more real.

Either way, I did really enjoy this book. The characters were really nice, especially Andy. I kept comparing this novel to His Girl Friday, and I keep seeing Andy as being played by Cary Grant. We Could Be So Good is really sweet novel.

I think it is generally hard to write a very good sequel. Especially for a book that is quite inventive, funny and a very good mystery all in one. So, I was wary of this sequel and I was more critical with this book while I read it.

Suffice to say, I absolutely loved this one.

Ernest Cunningham is back. He lays out the rules. He hands us all the clues. And is more than happy for us to solve it with him.

Ernest - I mean Benjamin Stevenson - has given us a lovely new narrative that builds on the previous story, with a fresh new mystery and new characters. He utilises the classic mystery tropes and, just as the previous one, puts his own twist on them. There are enough red herrings to go around, but one thing is for sure, Stevenson provides us with all the clues necessary to solve the case.

(Let me say, I did think I solved the case, but as he was doing the explaining, I realised I had gotten it all wrong and had called for the red herrings.)

I really did debate if this book warranted a 5 star rating. And I think it does. I am already going back on what I had previous said - that I would be stricter with my 5 star ratings. (If I really truly wanted to be strict, I would still give it a 4.5/5. But I had to add extra for the cats. Always for the cats.)

John Scalzi is one of the funniest and most innovative SF authors out there. Each one of his books is so unique. I have previously loved a lot of his works - Redshirts and the Old Man's War series especially.

This book, I think, maybe be right up there with Red shirts as one of the funniest he has written. Starter Villain is about Charlie, who, after the untimely passing of his uncle, unexpectedly inherits his supervillain business along with his not to secret volcano lair.

The book does not stop being funny, I caught my self laughing out loudly on several occasions. This book is a fast and easy read, with engaging characters and a really funny and quirky plot - as a lot of Scalzi novels are. I loved it.

But, it being light and easy does not stop it from making commentary about the corporate world.

I wish I could give this book six stars purely for the cats and the dolphins. They deserves their own stars.

(This is more of a 3.5 star book for me, than a 4.00. But dragons gets extra points)

If it weren't for my friends I wouldn't pick this book up.

And, even if I had, i maybe would've given up in the first 150-200 pages. The story, for me, only starts picking up around page 200.

I really did end up really enjoying this book. Of course, if you have read enough of these, you can predict a few things that'll happen. The book also has a lot of similarities with Eragon and Dragonriders of Pern as well. At least, in my case, it works in favour of the book.

I really liked the world that the author had built. But I wish she had included a lot more descriptions of the dragons, the gryphons and others. I want to know more about what the world looks like, what the war college looks like. I find my self struggling to fill in those gaps.

I also wish there was more lore-building. I feel like it was cery evident what'll happen at the end of the novel with the venin and wyvern only because that's the only bit of lore/folktale that had been introduced.

Apart from those few things, I think this book is really good. I'm genuinely excited for the sequel coming out this Tuesday.