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Review: The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids (Amra Thetys #1) by Michael McClung

August 21, 2019August 21, 2019David S 8 Comments

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Review: A Pilgrimage of Swords by Anthony Ryan

August 14, 2019August 15, 2019David S Leave a comment

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Review: Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown

August 10, 2019August 12, 2019David S 7 Comments

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Review: The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

August 6, 2019August 6, 2019David S 2 Comments

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David W’s Current Reads

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📚📬📚BOOKMAIL📚📬📚 Some of my most most recent bookish delights. Thanks to @eccobooks, @orbitbooks_us, @harpervoyagerus, @torbooks, @acerocbooks, and @jdbarker_author for these lovelies! 📬 Currently loving Abercrombie’s First Law series so I’ll be getting to A Little Hatred in the next few weeks. Just finished The Andromeda Strain for the first time (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5) so the continuation into Evolution will be coming up soon. I haven’t read any Scott Lynch (takes thrown tomatoes with gusto) so the Gentleman Bastard will be started once I’m done with Abercrombie. As far as the others, these are titles with great expectations, especially The Bone Ships By @rj.barker (which I haven’t started yet 😭). Look at those covers!!!!

@orbitbooks_us bookmail! Look how ABSOLUTELY DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS THIS BOOK IS!!!! @von_brooklyn friggin KILLED it. So stoked to open these🚪and start a new adventure. Thanks to the pub and @alix.e.harrow for a finished copy!

I’ve seen this one pop up on IG from time to time and thought I’d give it a go. Not sure when as August and September are pretty stacked, but it’s a pretty short novel so I can probs squeeze it in. 💀 Touring their prospective suburban home, Julie and James are stopped by a noise. Deep and vibrating, like throat singing. Ancient, husky, and rasping, but underwater. “That’s just the house settling,” the real estate agent assures them with a smile. He is wrong. The move―prompted by James’s penchant for gambling and his general inability to keep his impulses in check―is quick and seamless; both Julie and James are happy to start afresh. But this house, which sits between a lake and a forest, has its own plans for the unsuspecting couple. As Julie and James try to establish a sense of normalcy, the home and its surrounding terrain become the locus of increasingly strange happenings. The framework― claustrophobic, riddled with hidden rooms within rooms―becomes unrecognizable, decaying before their eyes. Stains are animated on the wall―contracting, expanding―and map themselves onto Julie’s body in the form of painful, grisly bruises. Like the house that torments the troubled married couple living within its walls, The Grip of It oozes with palpable terror and skin-prickling dread. Its architect, Jac Jemc, meticulously traces Julie and James’s unsettling journey through the depths of their new home as they fight to free themselves from its crushing grip.

🖤⚔️📚BOOK REVIEW📚⚔️🖤 . So, I am on the caboose when it comes to the hype train that his @misterkristoff’s The Nevernight Chronicle. I received a Darkdawn eARC from @stmartinspress / @macmillanusa a little while back and decided it was about time to go all in on the hype. 🗡 Needless to say, it was worth the wait. Here’s a mini-review leading into Godsgrave. 🗡 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🗡 Holy Forking Shirtballs, this book. It's like Harry Potter meets Deadly Class in a grimdark AF one-night stand. There is an overabundance of brutal violence, harsh language, hot and heavy sex (ALL THE SEX), and vats on vats of blood (oh so much blood). This one is not for the kiddos or the faint of heart, but Kristoff has created something absolutely stunning. The world-building is crisp, the characters full of meat and bone, and the prose is liquid gold. I am excited to be on this journey alongside Mia and Mr Kindly, and cannot wait to see what awaits me in Godsgrave.

I was tagged by @bookish_mili a few days back to take part in the #oneauthorbookstack (I guess challenge?) 🗡 My wife would say I have an unhealthy obsession with one the dubbed Sir @mark___lawrence as I have multiple copies of his books, but how else do you show appreciation for one’s work that you have come to love so very much? 🗡 Prince of Thorns remains one of my favorite books of all time, but I honestly love every single book Lawrence has released. His characters are fantastic, his world-building over the top, but his prose is what keeps me clamoring for more. It is probably the most elegant I’ve come across, and only @annasmithspark and @ed_mcdonald_blackwing_overlord have come close to matching its beauty. 🗡 If you enjoy fantasy, Lawrence needs to be high on your list if he isn’t already.

📚📚📚BOOK REVIEW📚📚📚 . (Note: this is only a partial review as IG has a word limit. If you want to finish reading my review, you can find it, in full, on my blog. Link in bio 🙌🏻.) 🔪 Thanks to @flatiron_books and @sscav for an advance reading copy of Thirteen (Eddie Flynn #4) in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel. 🔪 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 🔪 With a hook like “THE SERIAL KILLER ISN’T ON TRIAL. HE’S ON THE JURY.”, how could you NOT be at least somewhat intrigued? This may, in fact, be one of the best hooks I have ever come across for a novel. It is an automatic double-take type of hook when skimming the shelves at a bookstore or your online retailer of choice. I mean, it had me auto-requesting an ARC and I had never even heard of Steve Cavanagh (even though he had already written three (3) other Eddie Flynn novels prior to Thirteen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ), so I can only imagine what it would do to a reader in their local B&N. The good news for those of you who have had their curiosity piqued: Cavanagh does way more than reel you in with a hook; Thirteen is a highly entertaining thrill-ride inside and outside of the courtroom. Mystery, murder, and a court case for the century all come to play in one of the most highly original thrillers I have ever come across. It is like a Law & Order episode of crack. With two (2) POVs, that of Eddie Flynn and that of Joshua Kane, the author never lets off the gas. In fact, he injects some N2O in places that’ll have you gripping the book harder and harder as you hold on for dear life. .

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I was tagged by @nils.reviewsit for #oneauthorbookstack Here's my all time favourite Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series which is being adapted into a TV series by Amazon! This is such an awesome series with a massive world building and well developed magic systems and characterization! Some may feel that Jordan's writing is super descriptive (as he tends to describe what clothes you wear for maybe 2 or 3 pages) and there are some books in this series which are super draggy (which I also agree). But still, it is so epic that I could not give up reading it! I've tagged a few bookstagrammers to join in if you wish to! #wheeloftimeseries #amazonprime #robertjordan #fantasy #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookshelf #booksofinstagram #bookgeek #igread #wheeloftime #orbitbooks

Book 4 of the Witcher series: The Time of Contempt. I have to say, the author managed to once again elevate the characterizations of the main characters in this book. Yennefer continues to be my favourite and I think her personality shines in this book. In essence, the major event in this book that awed me is the coup amongst the sorcerors and enchantresses during the meeting of the Council and Chapter of Mages. My rating would gone up higher if the author described more on the battle between the Mages during the coup! While I also appreciate the attack of the Nilfgaardian empire launched against the Northern counties and the politics amongst the Kings of the Northern countries, to be honest, I am at one point of time rather confused as the book does not provide us with a map outlining these countries! I tend to make references to maps of fantasy series especially when it involves battles and wars between countries as I wanted to have a feel of the battle strategies that the author highlighted in the book. This is just a slight problem for me. Other than that, it is a decent continuation of the series and I'll give it a solid 4/5 star rating. #witcher #timeofcontempt #orbitbooks #fantasy #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #igread #bookgeek #thewitcher #netflix

Happy birthday Harry Potter and JK Rowling! Just finished Jim Kay's illustrative edition of The Philosopher's Stone. It is still as magical as usual! Jim Kay's illustrations were so beautiful! Brings back so many childhood memories! Thank you JK Rowling for creating the wizarding world of Harry Potter with lots of amazing and unforgettable characters! #harrypotter #theboywholived #ronweasley #hermionegranger #dobby #severussnape #siriusblack #jkrowling #philosophersstone #jimkay #illustration #bloomsbury #wizardingworldofharrypotter #magical #fantasy #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #funkopop #childhoodmemories

Thanks to @hachettebooks and @librofm for the audiobook listening copy. We follow the story of Omat (who was raised to be a shaman) and her Inuit tribe. I am not a huge fan of this story but its not that bad as well. This is a rather unique fantasy story without some of the classic fantasy tropes. It is full of mythologies: Inuit Mythology, Norse Mythology, Arctic Mythology. Although there are some books in the market which incorporated mythology elements (especially the Norse Mythology), I personally think that the author manage to weave the three main mythologies and folklore creatively by introducing the clash of cultures between different entities. There is also ample discussions on the difference between religion and believes. The theme of feminism, gender identity were also highlighted throughout the story. I definitely love the part of the story where the author introduced the relationship of Omat and her animals (wolf dogs) as I am a dog person. However, due to my personal taste, this is not a book for me. It was okay as i appreciate the creativity of the author as mentioned above. And no doubt, I can see the author has spent a lot of time researching on the 3 main mythologies as well as the setting of the story which took place in 1000 AD (the world building is great by the way). However, i prefer a more fast paced and action packed story with complicated characterization and plots. I am not saying that this is a bad book as there are so many good reviews on this book out there. But its just not for me. Hence, I'll just give it a 3.5/5 star rating.I have to emphasize, this review is purely based on my personal taste. This book is still worth a try if you are a big fan of mythology. #bookreview #orbitbooks #hachettebooks #librofm #igread #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookshelf #fantasy #thewolfinthewhale #jordannamaxbrodsky #mythology #norse #inuit #arctic #bookstagram #audiobooks #bookstagrammer #goodreads

"Malaya, with its mix of Malays, Chinese, and Indians, is full of spirits: a looking-glass world governed by unsettling rules" You can see how @yangszechoo writes beautifully from the above quote! Definitely a 5/5 star read from me! As a fellow Malaysian, I totally can relate to the setting of the story, specific terms used and some of the Chinese superstitious believe. To the world out there, we Malaysians do have talented writers like @yangszechoo! This story was told in a few POV. All the strange events started from the search of a missing finger. I wouldn't reveal much here as Im afraid I will spoil the story and all I can say is, this is really a page turner! At the second half of the book, I literally can't put the book down as I'm so eager to know who is the murderer! Yang Sze Choo managed to combine folklore and the element of mystery so well and this is what makes the story stood out! The social status of a women during the 1930s and the abusive nature of men amongst the Chinese society were also impliedly highlighted in the story. Definitely can appreciate this! Also, the plot twists in this story just made it so enthralling! This book definitely deserves more hype! PS: thanks to @yeemun_ for recommending this book to me #yangszechoo #flatironbooks #thenighttiger #literaryfiction #literature #bookstagrammer #igread #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookreview #bookstagram #bookshelf #goodreads #reesewitherspoonbookclub #hellosunshinebookclub

This sequel definitely did not dissapoint me! And the plot twists just blew my mind away! We continue to follow the adventures of Royce and Hadrian who were now assisting Alric (King of Melangar) to combat the uprising forces of the New Empire. The New Empire was, on the face of it, led by Empress Modina who was apparently a puppet empress appointed by the Imperialists. As we all now know the identity of Hadrian (the descendant of an ancient bodyguard who was supposed to protect the Heir of Novron), the task of finding the true Heir of Novron is important in overthrowing the New Empire. While there is one particular character whom everyone thought is the true Heir, there are of course hints and twists which show that the true Heir is in fact someone else. I can't wait to get into the third book to find out more about this! This series in my view is quite plot driven. But there are of course certain characters which stood out to me. The dynamics between Royce and Hadrian is definitely fun to read. The character arc of Arista, who was previously an arrogant demanding princess who now administers a small district and has growing magical powers within her, is definitely one of my favourites as well. Other than that, I think there is no real depth in all other characters. This is a rather personal taste as I am a reader who appreciates character driven series more than plot driven series. But this doesn't mean that this is not a good series. I tink this book deserves a solid 4/5 star rating. I hope that Michael J Sullivan managed to tie up all the loose ends in the conclusion of this series as there are so many unresolved plot twists thrown right in front of our face in this book! #riyria #riyriarevelations #bookstagram #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #igread #fantasy #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #orbitbooks #michaeljsullivan #bookreview #bookstagrammer

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