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Review: A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen

January 14, 2020travelingcloak Leave a comment

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Authors on a Podcast Talking Books

Ep. 10 - Josiah Bancroft
Ep. 9 - CJ Tudor
Ep. 8 - Evan Winter
Ep. 7 - Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
Ep. 6 - Josh Malerman

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This beauty from @harpervoyagerus hit my doorstep this afternoon. Stories about dragons from the likes of Daniel Abraham, Ken Liu, K.J. Parker, R.F. Kuang, Garth Nix, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, JY Yang, Ann Leckie, Scott Lynch and MANY more. What’s not to love????

Thanks to @justin_t_call and @gollancz, I have the opportunity to host an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY with two (2) copies of his debut novel, Master of Sorrows (The Silent Gods #1), up for grabs! On top of that, the winners will receive a special goodie from the author himself, which from what I’ve heard is a pretty sweet get! 🎉 How to enter: • ⭐️ Must be following me, @justin_t_call, and @gollancz (no un-following as I’ll be checking 🧐) ⭐️Like this post and tag 3 book lovers, along with the answer to this question: “I am the master of ______ because ______.” ⭐️Share this post in your story for 24 hours and TAG ME!!!! 🎉 For extra entries: • ⭐️Follow me, Justin Call, and Gollancz on the Twitters. ⭐️Give my blog a follow (link in bio) ⭐️Give my podcast a follow (link in bio). I have a chat coming up with Justin on 02/11. 🎉 Giveaway ends next Tuesday, January 21st. Winners must be willing to let me pass on address info to the publisher. Also of note: There are several bloggers running this same giveaway. You can only win ONCE. Duplicate winners will be withdrawn and replaced. 🎉 BEST OF LUCK!!!!

And the winner is.... . . . Emma Kate Walters coming June 2020 #happy30thtome

Still my favorite part of my bookshelves, especially with my new ARC of The Shadow Saint and updated collection of DBZ Funkos showing out. Zamasu had to take backseat, though. Bless his heart.

You’re probably thinking to yourself: “David, why are you posting yet another pic of @evanmwinter’s The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) from @orbitbooks_us. We already know it’s one of the best fantasy titles published in 2019 and made your blog’s Top Reads list. We also know it has a simply stunning cover. What gives?” . Well, people I mostly made up. You probably don’t know this: 1. The Rage of Dragons just won a Stabby Award for Best Debut Novel of 2019 from @reddit’s r/Fantasy. 2. Evan is going to be a guest on my podcast this evening with guest-host @book.meanderings.

To say I went on a bit of a K.J. Parker binge today at @2ndandcharles is a little understated. But hey, I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things about Parker’s novels and when I can get them on the cheap, bring it on. Also found a gently used copy of one of @misterkristoff’s finest and the sequel to John Fultz’s Seven Princes (which is on the TBR this year). @orbitbooks_us

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I loved Scythe and adored Thunderhead. But The Toll is just okay for me. Its not too bad but not great. Its only a 4.5/5 star rating for me. In this book, we follow the aftermath of the sinking of Endura (the home to the World Scythe Council of Grandslayers and the Supreme Blade) which causes the silence of Thunderhead. Essentially, Thunderhead marks everyone as "unsavory" (people who have broken the law) and refuses to communicate with everyone in the world except for Greyson Tolliver. Everyone is so lost without Thunderhead as they over-relied on this super AI previously. Things get chaotic when Goddard took control of the scythedom and started imposing his own rules of gleaning (or killing) people by breaking the 10 Commandments of Scythes. This causes an uproar among the honorable Scythes from other jurisdictions as well as the Tonists (a cult who believes in a particular religion), who inherently hated Scythes. The Toll focuses a lot on non Scythe characters, especially Greyson Tolliver who is elevated to the god-like status of The Toll by the Tonists. A lot of side characters were introduced in this book which I think may be the cause of losing focus on the dynamics and interaction between the main characters (especially Rowan and Citra). There's also a lack of emotional connection between the characters in this book. Its more plot driven as compared to the other 2 books. The pros in this book is that Neal Shusterman is able to link all separate events together and ultimately lead them to the final ending of this story. All in all, Neal Shusterman explored so many values and issues in this series: humanity, the value of death and life, power, compassion, conscience, religion, and artificial intelligence. This series deserves an adaptation. With a great cast, I think has the potential to be better than the adaptation of The Hunger Games! #bookstagram #bookreview #sunrise #nealshusterman #scythe #thetoll #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #igread #bookworm #bookish #reading #bookrecommendations #dystopian #postapocalyptic #simonandshuster

I generally dislike the second books in those popular YA series (i.e. Insurgent, The Scorch Trials and etc.). They do not live up the hype that was created by the first book. Thunderhead however is an exception. And I would say that it may be better than the first installment (Scythe)! The lives and social structure of a Scythe is the main focus of the first book. In this book, the concept of separation between Thunderhead and the Scythedom is highlighted. Essentially, Thunderhead is a super advanced AI (as it has emotions and a conscience) which controls everything in the world, except death. Death falls under the purview of the Scythedom. There is a clear separation between the state and scythes whereby it will be a violation if Thunderhead interferes with matters which fall within the jurisdiction of scythes. In other words, while Thunderhead is super powerful and is aware of the evil acts of the new order of Scythes (who enjoy killing without conscience and act beyond their 10 commandments), it cant do anything to stop them as it is a violation of the law. We follow a lot of Thunderhead's POV in this book. It is interesting as it is not a typical story of AI suddenly turn evil and humans are trying to stop it. In fact its the other way round. We see how humans can be super reliant on technology, not only in the petty matters in their daily life but to the extent of authorizing Thunderhead to take care of their own child. It is clear from this book that sometimes, human nature can be scarier than AI. We also follow the journey of our 2 main characters, Citra (who became a Scythe) and Rowan (who went rogue and became a vigilante who kills corrupt Scythes). Some new social classes were also introduced/explained further in this book: the Unsavories (people who have broken the law) as well as the Tonists (a cult who believes in a particular religion). Again there are so many plot twists and the huge cliffhanger at the end of this book just breaks my heart. All I can say is: @nealshusterman , you have changed my perspective towards YA series! A clear 5/5 star read for Thunderhead! #bookstagram #bookreview #sunset #thunderhead #nealshusterman #scythe

"My greatest wish for humanity is not for peace or comfort or joy. It is that we all still die a little inside every time we witness the death of another. For only the pain of empathy will keep us human. There's no version of God that can help us if we ever lose that. They say Scythe is "a true successor to The Hunger Games". To me, Scythe outshines The Hunger Games. Another 5/5 star read before 2019 ends! Like Hunger Games, Scythe is considered as a dystopian YA novel. In this world, technology is so advance whereby death is no longer possible. Anyone can be revived at a revival center or "turn a corner" (which means to be younger). However, this causes the world to be overpopulated and a social class called Scythe was created to solve this problem. Scythes' duty is to "glean" (or kill) people and they are bound by the 10 Commandments. In other words, you can't die of illness or accidents in this world. You can only die if you are "gleaned" by a Scythe. With such a social setting, we follow 2 young main characters, Citra and Rowan, in their journey of becoming a Scythe as they were both chosen to be apprentices to a Scythe. Throughout this journey, we see the flaws in Scythes i.e. while Scythes must glean with compassion, conscience and without bias, there is a group of Scythes which enjoy the urge of killing and they are considered as sadists. With this main plot line, Neal Shusterman explored the meaning of death, life and conscience. While we may live in a utopia where the word "death" is considered as archaic, life may become stagnant and eventually we require "death" to move on. This story also explored how we should handle death and the manner of taking one's life if we are given the power to do so. Not only that the world building of this story is strong, the pacing of this story is also great. There are so many plot twists and revelations. The dynamics and relationship between Citra and Rowan, between these young characters and their respective mentors i.e. Scythe Farraday, Scythe Curie and Scythe Goddard, are engaging and easy to follow. In a nutshell, to all the fans of Hunger Games out there, you will find more satisfaction in Scythe!

My first Blake Crouch read and my second sci-fi read. To be honest, this is probably the worst book cover that I encountered. But this sci-fi thriller just proves that we should not judge a book by its cover. After being kidnapped, Jason Dessen discovered that his life was switched with another Jason from a parallel universe. We then followed Jason's journey in getting back his life. Although this book involves some sci-fi elements, to me the main theme is about the choices that we faced in life or rather, the path not taken in life. Flowing through this theme, Jason's characterization shines throughout the book. His conflicted mentality regarding his path not taken in life, his love towards his family...they were all well executed and properly fleshed out in this book. Such character work by Blake Crouch amazes me as I did not expect it to be so detailed in a sci-fi read. As this is only my second sci-fi read, I can only compare this with The Three Body Problem. Dark Matter is definitely more engaging, fast paced and action packed. The sci-fi elements are also easily understood and not as complicated as some theories in The Three Body Problem. There are only 2 problems. Firstly, Amanda's (a side character in this book) characterization fall flat to me. I just cant get the dynamics between her relationship with Jason. Secondly, the ending of this book is not satisfying. While I have no issues with open ended endings, this book ended quite abruptly to me and I felt that certain plot lines were not clarified properly. All in all, this is a 4.3/5 star read to me. If you are looking for an easy and engaging sci-fi read, Dark Matter is the one for you! #bookstagram #bookreview #blakecrouch #darkmatter #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #igread #bookshelf #bookworm #bookish #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #scifi

Baptism of Fire to me is the best installment in the Witcher series. This book focuses mainly on the aftermath of the Thanedd Coup (an attack between the sorcerers and sorceresses) which lead to war as well as the distrust in mages. We also followed Geralt's journey in searching for Ciri. In his journey we were introduced to some new side characters (including a high level vampire!) with interesting backgrounds which I enjoyed reading their interactions a lot. Andrzej Sapkowski brilliantly explored the effects and ramifications of war in this installment. People are suffering and there are a lot of bloody scenes described in this book. The major theme of "human is worst than monsters" is portrayed throughout the book. We further followed a lot of politicking, spying, backstabbing between different parties with their own interests. The only problem to me is that there are too many characters in this series which sometimes I can't remember them. Perhaps a list of characters can be provided so that I can recap them easily. Other than that, I personally enjoyed this installment more than the previous books. Hence, a 4.5/5 star rating from me. P/S: can't wait for the TV series to be out in Netflix on 20/12/2019! #bookstagram #bookreview #witcher #baptismoffire #orbitbooks #fantasy #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookstagrammer #booksofinstagram #igread #bookshelf #bookworm #bookish #reading #bookreviews #netflix #netflixseries #andrzejsapkowski

“Books are Doors and I wanted out.” There's too much hype surrounding this book and I just had to pick this up right away so that I don't feel left out. And I think this book deserves the hype! I think this has been said a lot of times by other book reviewers out there: Alix E. Harrow's writing is so so beautiful! Its so lyrical to an extent that I thought I am reading some literary fiction rather than a fantasy story. We follow the story of January Scaller where her adventure starts when she finds a book titled The Ten Thousand Doors which introduces her to passages and portals (or called as "Doors") between worlds. With the book, January finds out the secret of her family as well as the powers that she possessed. I love the concept of "a story within a story" as embarked by Harrow in this book. It was done in perfection and all the character arcs of the characters were perfectly woven together. With such creativity, I think this may be the best debut novel that I have read in 2019. The only problem to me is that the pacing of the story (in particular the first 100 ++ pages of this book) is very slow and to an extent I am not sure where is this story going. But I'm glad that I did not give up on this book as there are so many surprising elements and revelations at the second half of the story. “Books can smell of cheap thrills or painstaking scholarship, of literary weight or unsolved mysteries. This one smelled unlike any book I’d ever held… It smelled like adventure itself had been harvested in the wild, distilled to a fine wine, and splashed across each page.” As a reader, I definitely agree that every book is an adventure on its own. This book introduced me to a very unique adventure and I enjoyed the journey. A strong 4.5/5 star read for me! #bookstagram #bookreview #alixeharrow #orbitbooks #fantasy #kjreadsfantasy #goodread #bookcollector #booknerd #booklover #bookaddict #bookoholic #beautifulbooks #bookstagrammer #igread #bookgeek #booksofinstagram #bookshelf #bookworm #bookish #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations

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*****BOOK REVIEW***** Title: A Queen in Hiding Series: Nine Realms Author: Sarah Kozloff @sarah.kozloff Publisher: Tor @torbooks Publication Date: January 21, 2020 Rating: 10/10 Synopsis: When Queen Cressa of Weirandale comes under attack and narrowly escapes assassination, she decides to put her daughter, Princess Cerulia, in the care of a civilian family to keep her safe until she defeat can defeat the invaders for good. As the Queen battles her enemies, a Regent governs in her absence, but he has his own agenda: find the young Princess and install her in the throne so he can stay in power.  While the Regents minions search for Princess Cerulia war is also brewing with the surrounding Kingdoms. Everyone is in on the power grab. Princess Cerulia must find a way to survive and stop the invasion while there is still a Kingdom to rule. Review: This book is phenomenal. Kozloff’s writing was so immersive that I felt like I was part of the story. The descriptions, characters, world building, and multiple POVs each with their own story but coming together at times reminded me of A Sing of Ice and Fire. The seeds of an epic journey are already planted for the next three books . Highly recommended. #AQueenInHiding #SarahKozloff #NineRealms #Book #BookReview #BookReviewer #BookReviewersOfInstagram #BookReviewersOfInsta #BookBlogger #BookBloggers #AmReading #AmReadingFantasy #HighFantasy #IWouldRatherBeReading #Bookstagram

Book friends - Do you plan out what you are going to read or just go with your gut? I can be a meticulous planner at times. It is the only way I can keep my reviews in line and on time. While I am finishing up A Queen in Hiding (review to come!), I thought I would post my next five. Here they are: *Here and Now and Then, by Mike Chen *We Are Monsters, by Brian Kirk *The Queen’s Assassin, by Melissa De La Cruz *The Wife and the Widow, by Christian White The Bard’s Blade, by Brian D. Anderson I am really excited about these books and grateful that I get to review them. Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts? #Books #BooksBooksBooks #BookReviews #BookReviewer #BookReviewers #BookReviewersOfInstgram #BookReviewersOfInsta #BookBlogger #BookBloggers #AmReading #Bookstagram #IWouldRatherBeReading

*****Book Review***** Title: The Tenant Author: Katrine Engberg @katrineengberg Publisher: Scout/Gallery Books @gallerybooks Publication Date: January 14, 2020 Rating: 8/10 Synopsis: Detective Jepsen “Jeppe” Koerner is a veteran of the Copenhagen Police Force. He thought he had seen just about everything, until he caught the case of Julie Stender’s murder. The young woman was found dead in her first-floor apartment, blood spatter everywhere, with a pattern carved into her forehead and an unconscious old man next to her. Jeppe and his team are tasked with finding the killer, but that is becoming harder by the day. Everyone is a suspect, and bodies are piling up. The Copenhagen Police Force is going to have to dig hard to solve this one, but one thing soon becomes clear: the more they dig, the more secrets they unearth. Jeppe et al must unravel the puzzle and hope to discover the murderer at the center of it all. Review: The Tenant is a really good book if you are into murder mysteries and police procedurals. There were many suspects in this case, every one of them with secrets to be revealed, and that kept me guessing most of the way through the story. It was a great cast of characters, too, starting with Detective Koerner, who is kind of a trope-y jaded veteran going through a divorce, as well, so he has a lot of personal shit to sort out while working the case, as well. I recommend this book for fans of the crime genre. #TheTenant #BookReview #BookReviewer #BookReviewers #BookReviewersOfInstagram #BookReviewersOfInsta #BookBlogger #BookBloggers #Bookstagram #IWouldRatherBeReading #AmReading #AmReadingMystery #AnReadingMysteries

*****Book Review***** Title: Long Bright River Author: Liz Moore @lizmoorebooks Publisher: Riverhead Books @riverheadbooks Publication Date: January 7, 2020 Rating: 9/10 Synopsis: Long Bright River is a mystery/thriller with a lot of family drama thrown in. The dark and twisty story is told in such a way as to invoke a lot of emotion from the reader. This book grabs the reader from the opening scene and does not let go until the end. Review: Long Bright River is a thriller/mystery that lives up to the name. It is a dark, twisted tale of two sisters who grew up close, but have grown apart and now live completely different lives. Kacey lives on the street, doing drugs and making a living as a prostitute; while Mickey is a beat cop. Even though they no longer speak, Mickey uses her role in the police force to keep tabs on her sister. But one day her sister disappears, and young women are coming up dead. Mickey is determined to find her sister while solving the murders and hopes that Kacey is not one of the victims. This is a story full of surprises that grabbed me from the beginning and do not let go until the last page. I highly recommend it for fans of the genre. #LongBrightRiver #BookReview #BookReviewer #BookReviewers #BookReviewersOfInstagram #BookReviewersOfInsta #BookBlogger #BookBloggers #AmReading #Mystery #Thriller #Bookstagram #IWouldRatherBeReading

Happy New Year, Book Friends. It has been a really special year for me as I started reviewing books this year. Thank you to all of the bookstagrammers, bloggers, reviewers, readers, publicists, and authors out there. Your hard work has been an inspiration for me, and I appreciate all the support! I promise to work just as hard myself to make 2020 another good one. I have already gotten a head start by posting about 5 books I am looking forward to in 2020. They are listed below, but you should go to FanFiAddict.com to read more about them. What is on your 2020 TBR? *The Memory of Souls by @jennlyonsandtigers *Velocity Weapon by @themeganfolio *Servant of the Crown by Duncan M. Hamilton *The Fires of Vengeance by @evanmwinter *Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir @torbooks @orbitbooks_us #BookReviewer #BookReviewers #BookReviewersofInstagram #BookReviewersOfInsta #BookBloggers #BooksOf2020 #Bookstagram #AmReading #AmReadingFantasy #IWouldRatherBeReading

*****Book Review***** Title: Queen of the Conquered Author: Kacen Callender @kacen.callender Series: Islands of Blood and Storm #1 Publisher: Orbit @orbitbooks_us Publication Date: November 12, 2019 Rating 4.5/5 Synopsis: Sigourney Lund is out for vengeance. After surviving her family’s massacre at the hands of the noble families that rule the islands they inhabit, Sigourney was raised in secret by a sympathetic uncle. Now the head of the family and ruler of her own island, Sigourney is invited to attend the King along with the other island rulers as he announces his successor. She is ambitious: not only does she want to be Queen, but she aims to destroy the remaining rulers and the class system in the process. As Sigourney attempts to navigate the politics on the Island, things begin to unravel. People are getting murdered, and Sigourney is getting blamed. She does not think she is guilty, but despite using her “kraft” (magic that allows her read minds, control memories, and in some cases direct the actions others) to determine who the killer is, Sigourney is not so sure of anything, anymore. As the Island hierarchy begins to topple, Sigourney sees her own world falling to pieces, as well. The last one standing may well rule the Kingdom… if there is a Kingdom left to rule. Review: The main theme of this book is power, and the way it plays out with a backdrop of colonization and slavery really head it right in the head, for me. Sigourney’s journey is so interesting, and her quest to accumulate power and use it to destroy the class system in the Kingdom is what really drives this book for me. Plus there is magic, and murder, and all kinds of mayhem. Queen of the Conquered is a really good book, and I highly recommend it. As always, my full review is available in FanFiAddict.com. #QueenOfTheConquered #Book #BookReview #BookReviewer #BookReviewersOfInstagram #BookReviewersOfInsta #BookBlogger #AmReading #AmReadingFantasy #Bookstagram #IWouldRatherBeReading

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