Sarah

Rounded up from 3.5.

In case you're worried, you don't have to re-read (or read) the Glass Hotel before reading this book. It does add something to the experience, though, being able to better notice the echoes of the Glass Hotel in this one.

Very readable, even during an ongoing pandemic. Recommended.

Definitely enjoyed this book - recommended. I look forward to seeing what the author will write for her next book!
Copy was provided by NetGalley; review not dependent on that.

I'm rounding this up from 4.5.

This is a sequel to Paladin's Grace, although I'm sure you could enjoy this without having read Paladin's Grace (but go read that anyways).

As the afterword to Paladin's Grace said: “I had it in my mind that I was going to write a fluffy romance. I am a great fan of fluffy romance. I am told that there are generally fewer severed heads and rotting corpse golems in fluffy romance, so possibly this book didn't quite get there, but I'm certain I can write something fluffy eventually. Probably.”

So there's another lovely fluffy romance in this book, plus more severed heads and rotting corpses, plus nuns with a secret. Plus some newts. And mules. And bears. And, of course, delight.

A quote: ““So their leader looks pretty dead,” said Istvhan, who was at the point where a corpse was a welcome break in the tension. “

If a corpse is not occasionally a break in the tension of a fluffy romance, you may not enjoy this book. If, however, you're willing for the occasional severed head coming up, in between the romantic tension, you will be delighted.

ARC received due to NetGalley.

I liked the book, although it definitely needs a sequel!

An unexpected take on time travel, wars, and other time travelers. Plus dinosaurs, of course.

I received an ARC of Questland by Carrie Vaughn through #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I kept on expecting real magic to show up - I don't think it's a spoiler to say that it doesn't.

Some fun geeky nostalgia, and I'd enjoy spending more time with these characters.

Loved this book, it was exactly what I needed to read.

Kept highlighting bits!

I've rounded down for the review, but tempted to raise rating to a 4. Definitely would recommend.

Review of copy received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book, and I did like the main character Gilda. I hadn't thought that the book would be quite so much of a downer - perhaps calling it a hilarious book is a bit misleading. There's certainly amusing parts, but reading it when you're feeling down isn't perhaps the best idea.

Still glad I read it!

Rounding up, but did enjoy!

Quote marks were invented for a reason.

Murderbot and ART!! And emotions!

Rating of 4.5; highly recommended.

3.5 stars

I wish it was possible to give half points - rating it 3.5 stars - important story, not entirely sure about how it's told

Terrific book, will be finding very useful.

Rating of 3.5.

I kept thinking that the author wasn't going to go for the obvious answer; surely he was more clever than that? But no, it was that obvious.

Curious to know if the use of the words such as queer or gay (plus a few others) were intended to be foreshadowing, of a sort. There's even a reference to Oscar Wilde. I do have some qualms, if they were intended, as pedophilia and homosexuality are not at all the same thing.

I'm rounding up my rating to 4. I like a lot about the book, but found I didn't connect to it as much as I thought I should have. I wonder if having only a single viewpoint, that of Dieu Lan, would have worked better for me than splitting between Dieu Lan and Huong?
Still, very glad I read it.

Sometimes, you just need a classic book by Diana Wynne Jones.

Excellent book, provides some much needed context.

This book wrapped up so many loose ends from a Handsmaid's Tale that it felt like fan-fic.

I loved this book. You might not like this book if you don't love to read. Fortunately, the target market for this book are readers, which is convenient, because if the target market was non-readers there might be a problem.

Does anyone else have fond memories of Sinbad & Me, or the Mystery of the Witch Who Wouldn't? I remember reading these in my school library, and enjoying the adventure.

Imagine when my surprise when I found out that those are books #2 and #3! This book is #4.

I was also surprised when I found out it wasn't in print any more, and that the cheapest used copy I found was about $100.

However, Open Library comes through - found a copy and have been able to download it for a short period.

I'm giving it 4 stars mainly for the fun of it, and the pleasure in seeing these characters from childhood again.

Debating over the rating - I may be rating it too low because I wanted more, but on the other hand I'm delighted to have this story!

I loved this book!

Detective Inspector Sara Nayar is a Hindu goddess, originally brought to England during Queen Victoria's reign. She's now working as a goddess of order, as a police detective in Yorkshire.

And then there's other gods from various pantheons, which were great fun (the Hollywood gods especially), and the recent gain in power Loki has experienced.

If you like the Rivers of London novels, then there's some similarities (British detectives, a form of magic, occasional issues with people expecting detectives to be white, etc).

Looking forward to the next book in the series!

PS: nearly forgot - copy received in NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.