It‘s the year of Brandon Sanderson for me😅 this is technically a reread but loved the writing and storyline. David enlists The Reckoners to help him dispatch Steelheart, the Epic who took over Chicago and remade it with night and steel.

Time is of the essence to collect all of the Providence Cards to heal Blunder of the mist and infection. But Elspeth, the Nightmare, and her companions face obstacles at every turn. Such a good duology! Was so happy I picked these up. For anyone who likes a fantasy novel with a different take on magic and a short series!

Such a cool take on a fantasy novel and magic! Was so pleased with this one! The land is plagued with a cursed mist and a magic infection in the city of Blunder. The only acceptable magic is the use of the Providence Cards which can give the user dexterity to mind reading to time travel. The city can be freed from plague and mist if all the cards are united but this hasn‘t happened in over four hundred years…

Sylina is charged by her order to become the seer for the vampire conquering their lands in order to dispatch him. After uncovering truths of both her organization and Atrius, the vampire, she is torn between following her goddess or the man she‘s come to know as more than a cold blooded conqueror. Loved this novella! Really liking this author and her characters!

The COOLEST of concepts. The execution made me want to cry I was so frustrated with the lack of sense this book had. A book within a book including notes and inserts to help along the mystery of the author of the fake book Ship of Theseus

Oraya and Raihn become bonded in surprising circumstances that has Oraya questioning all of her decisions during the Kejari trials from the first book. Raihn who is now King of the Nightborn vampires struggles to hold his position with even his allies questioning his ability to lead. Will Oraya and Raihn find the common ground they held during the trials to achieve the kingdom they so desperately desire🤷🏻‍♀️

Author Erica Buist unexpectedly loses her father in law which prompts an in depth research project into the worlds death festivals. From Mexico to Japan, she visits seven different festivals in hopes of coming to terms with her loved one‘s passing and the realization we‘re all gonna end up there ourselves. Loved reading about the different cultures celebrations🖤

Based on the true story of Polish born Auschwitz survivors Lale and Gita. Starting from when Lale first arrived to the camp and became the Tätowierer or tattooist of all the prisoners that entered the camp. This is where he met Gita a young woman whom he vows to marry and have a life with once they leave the camp. Filled with harrowing encounters along with the small joys the prisoners experience it‘s certainly a tough read.

Oraya was taken in as an adopted daughter by the Nightborn Vampire King. A once in every one hundred year trial gives her the opportunity to step into power without being changed into a vampire. She has to survive four months in the Moon Palace with all other contestants out for her blood, literally. This was a pleasant surprise and I really liked the story. Closest thing I‘ve found to ACOTAR vibes!

Lady Franklin enlists Western guide Virginia Reeves to take an expedition of women to find her husband‘s ships lost in the Arctic. Little does Virginia know after she returns she‘ll be put on trial for murder. This was a great read that bounced between the expedition and the present day courthouse proceedings which made for a cool perspective. It was missing a little something to push it into the 5⭐️ read but would definitely recommend!

Nia is whisked away from her French vacation to join the spy academy for Demi-fae at Avalon Tower. She finds she has a rare gift among the Demi-fae which allows them to pass into the Vale to spy on the Fae who hold the world in their grasp. I can see where this book could get good… however I can‘t get past the mediocre writing and every other paragraph including “chiseled abs” and “luscious lips” 🙄

Sebastian is a journalist who is no stranger to danger. He‘s taken enemy fire in Afghanistan and had a near drowning while surfing. But only after a burst pancreatic aneurysm resulting in emergency surgery does he begin to really wonder what happens to us after we die. He takes a deep dive into what it means to be alive from a physics standpoint but also finding across religions and cultures people experience similar things while dying.

Klara, an artificial friend, is chosen by the young girl Josie to be her companion. Klara soon learns the ins and outs of Josie's life especially since she is often ill. Being solar powered herself Klara enlists the sun's help to heal Josie. A tricky read as this is set in the perspective of the AF so you are learning what things are and her interpretation of events instead of them being literally drawn out for you which I liked.

Told from the perspective of three women: Cassandra, Princess of Troy, Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and Elektra daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. Starting from the genesis of the Trojan War, the ten years during and several years after it ends it's a story of grief and redemption. As this was set from the womens' perspective it was a newer outlook on some classic stories.

I seriously have no idea why this book is so popular. If you‘re looking for a watered down version of Hunger Games with little plot past a love triangle, look no further… Paedyn is pulled fron the slums to fight in the Trials amongst Elites. Little do they know she is Ordinary, possessing no magic or power which is sentenced by death. The book picked up towards the end but the 90% slog to get there is not worth it.

The book follows three students who have found themselves at McMasters Conservatory for the Applies Arts which is a university to teach people how to effectively “delete” people then closes out with each students “thesis project” which is how well they murdered their target. This was a well thought out original idea for a novel and it is humorous as well to lighten up the mood of planning someone‘s ultimate demise. Highly recommend!

A story of the UK figuring out how to time travel, they decide to bring to modern times people from different centuries and have them assimilate to our culture. I liked the idea of this story and even liked a lot of the time traveler‘s characters, except the main character who‘s POV we are in for most of the book…The audiobook narration was a bit disjointed sometimes at the beginning but was well rounded by the end.

I liked this read and if people have been eyeing it I would certainly give it a read! However I felt a lack of depth in both characters and storyline. There‘s a lot of hints to a broader backstory to a lot of the characters that I felt maybe wasn‘t fully explored that left me a bit wanting.

Author Mary Roach does a deep dive into the “careers” of human and animal cadavers. Ranging from the obvious medical anatomy cadavers for education to crash testing cars and planes for safety to organ and tissue donation, Roach really went out of her way to find both modern and medieval knowledge on how societies have used the bodies of the dead to help the living. Roach writes with an edge of humor to soften the blow of a couple of topics here.

This was an absolute delight of a read! I would even go as far as to say it was right silly at times😆 Tress sets out on a dangerous voyage on the spore seas to find her love, Charlie. From pirate ships, to dangerous water activated spores to a wish granting dragon the book is not short on adventure!

Jude along with her sisters are taken from the mortal world and raised in Faerie, exposed to magic and mystical creatures. After a coronation gone wrong Jude is forced to work with her arch nemesis Cardan to save the world she‘s grown to love. Not a spectacular read. Didn‘t knock the socks off but kept my attention. Not sure I‘ll continue with the series but might get a wild hair for it.

A read dedicated to telling the story of the often forgotten female nurses that served in Vietnam. 21 year old Frankie is determined to serve the US as a nurse during the Vietnam War. What follows is a decade of growth, loss, grief, and crawling back from falling to rock bottom. The storyline had me smiling and cheering to raging and overwhelmed especially reading about the treatment of Vietnam veterans both men and women when they returned home.

Ok things are happening that I would like to be happening at the end of the book… WHY IS THERE SO MUCH BOOK LEFT😱😭

The Fox family and Huxley Gallagher find themselves on a whirlwind adventure tracking down the infamous ring of Vlad the Impaler. This book was not a good read. The plot points were weak and the relationship the author was trying to portray was awkward and cringey. With that being said I was curious how it ended and wasn‘t all that surprised when the ending also wasn‘t that great.

Probably an unpopular opinion but I wasn‘t super jazzed about this read. I really liked Lift for the one chapter in Words of Radiance and it‘s not to say I don‘t like the character now but I it didn‘t enjoy a whole book where I felt the character did only a minor bit of development and the rest was just kinda fluff. I‘m sure I‘ll feel differently when I read the next book as many say this is an important read for the rest of the series

A continuation of the Stormlight Archives following four to five main characters with occasional short entries of other character spread out in the book. There‘s so much going on in these books that it‘s hard to summarize… yet at the same time it feels like not much has happened either??🙈 I am enjoying reading these but the books are a huge commitment both time and memory wise. Magic, sword fighting, and adventure!

Life is completely normal for the world until a day when all adults receive a box. In the box is a string, all are different lengths for each person depending on how long you‘re going to live. The book goes through a handful of different characters stories whether they have a long string or a short string or even some that don‘t open the box at all. Was a great read but still left me pondering some at the end!

A most excellent read based on the true story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, famed WWII Russian sniper with over 300 confirmed kills. Mila‘s life goes from quiet scholar, to the front lines of Odessa, all the way to a press tour in America to bolster US and Soviet relations during the war. Very much enjoyed this read from both a historical aspect and the liberties the author took fictionally.

A dual view story one being from a fox shapeshifter and the other a detective, their lives become intertwined as vengeance and duty bring their stories to the same point. I really wanted to like this book. The writing is absolutely wonderful and at times I really didn‘t mind how slow moving the book seemed to feel. The story was well thought out and everything in the end got resolved but I just wasn‘t super jazzed about it!

A collection of the authors personal patients‘ stories for both their lives and deaths. The author is a hospice nurse who shares a special bond with her patients as she helps ease their pain as they near the end of their life. So many passages in this book had me on the verge of tears AND calling my mom to bawl my eyes out to her after reading about a mother and daughter interaction😭 tough read but shows how important hospice is for patients!

Jinx is personally reassuring me that there‘s better books to read if I‘m unhappy with the one I‘m currently reading😅 a book of short stories, the writing is lovely but I just wasn‘t interested in the stories, other than the first one, that were happening and ultimately didn‘t want to continue the read

Have you ever read a book that drove you to utter rage… the want to throw the book across the room at the injustice against the characters? I am awestruck by this book, it pulled on all my emotions like I was a character right alongside Elizabeth. If you‘ve had this one on the back burner or a TBR do yourself a favor and just pick it up!

Couldn‘t move forward with this one… the stalkerish, murder vibe is not my jam and ultimately felt uncomfortable reading this😅 if you like that kind of genre certainly give it a try!

Goodness I‘m not even 20 pages into this book and I am up in arms for Elizabeth!! Seriously the women before us had such an uphill climb trying to have a career without being belittled by men😠😤

This book had massive potential, the classic orphan recruited to work in the CIA to take on a world power with treasure hunting involved. I will say I was invested in the story but the writing was a bit clunky and I think with a bit of refinement from the author their books will become better! Argylle is pulled from the jungles of Thailand and recruited to work in a top secret team trying to find the famed Russian Amber Room before the Russians do

Gonna probably get a bit of flak for this one…😅 This was my most highly anticipated book this year and I think I was expecting too much from this read. Did it have twists and turns? Yes. Did it stir up emotions and have me on the edge of my seat? Yes. Was it about as predictable as a book could be in the end? Also yes. Unfortunately finishing it felt more like a relief than a triumph. Still would read the series but just fell flat at the end.

I was really excited for this one… gave it seventy pages then threw in the towel. Wasn‘t intrigued by any of the characters or any events that were happening.

Such a fun one! Read very much like a one on one conversation with blunt statements and zero BS. After finding success in bodybuilding, acting, and politics, Schwarzenegger has entered his fourth "act" in life. Using tools and lessons learned over a lifetime of career highs and lows, Arnold is now focusing on bringing forth positivity to social media, continuing environmental initiatives, and motivating others to reach their full potential.

Emily has spent most of her life reading stories of the small Folk and studying them in the wild corners of the world. She finds herself in Ljosland, a far north village to study the elusive Hidden Ones.
Known for her even keeled academic nature, her research is being threatened by her new found fondness for the town, its people, and the faeries that live there. Really liked the beginning of this one but the end left something to be desired

Is there anything better than a cozy chair, a purring cat, and a good book???🥰🥰

Sequel to The Lost World. Journalist Edward Malone is requested to attend the South America expedition anniversary by Professor Challenger. However scientists have discovered Earth is going to intercept a poisonous belt of ether in space! Will the expedition team and the world be able to survive the poison or is it doomsday?!

This was my third try reading this book however that‘s not an indication that this book is hard to read. This book is a huge commitment seeing that the books within the series are of similar if not longer in length. With that being said if you are a fantasy reader you should not sleep on this one. Written from myriad of perspectives from scholar to slave to high prince, the world they live in is on its way to great changes.

Letter format from young journalist, Edward Malone as he takes part in a whirlwind adventure to S America with the esteemed Professor Challenger. Challenger believes to have seen prehistoric beasts previously and is sent with a team to prove his outlandish claims. They find a volcanic plateau in the middle of the Amazon that houses more than just the proclaimed Stegasaurus and Pterodactyl… Will they survive to show truth to the original claims?

A love letter from the author to Føroyar and its' people after spending a year away from his London home to experience life and death on the islands.
Mentioning much about everyday Faroese life which includes shepherding, ornithology of the MANY bird species that nest there, and yes hunting whales, hares, and birds. All makes up the beautiful and centuries old culture that makes the Faroe Islands seem like a place from the past.

Jason, a physics professor finds himself in one moment making his family dinner to being abducted and shoved into a parallel world that is not his own. He finds out that a version of himself has created a way to access the multiverse where he both exists and doesn‘t in trillions of different parallel worlds. This book was brilliant and the butterfly effect/Schrödinger‘s cat vibes made for an epic read!

An interview from a journalist with renowned Robopsychologist Susan Calvin who worked for U.S. Robots. Stories are individually told from the beginning of the use of robots as Nannies to the powerhouse Machines that run the world, Dr Calvin has been there every step of the way. An interesting take on societies‘ reliance and yet aversion to robots. Are robots built to protect humans from themselves? Who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

My January pick held out to be the top dog of 2023! I constantly think back on that book and will be reading it again in the near future. What was everyone else‘s favorite from last year?🙂

A quick read including the household pets Harold the dog, Chester the cat, and the new addition Bunnicula the bunny. However this is no ordinary bunny and Chester is hellbent on finding out once and for all why this bunny is so strange! Cheeky and spooky!

I really liked the world in this book but the story felt lacking somehow. The characters were involved in another series by the same author and even though this is the start of a trilogy, I think I would have appreciated the read a little more if I had read the other series first. There are four London‘s: Red, White, Grey, and Black each varying in amount of magic present within its‘ people and land however the magic seems to be wavering…

The true story of Stéphane Breitweiser, an art thief who stole over three hundred paintings, statues, and ceramics from museums beginning in the 90's. He stole not for the resale value of the pieces but instead made his own gallery in his attic room free of security and the ability to intimately study and interact with the pieces. The book very much reads like a fictitious story which made it very easy to follow and was absolutely fascinating