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Michelle's Reading Adventures 2017


Michelle

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  • 1 month later...

I'm getting behind already... I've listened to Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diaries by Carrie Fisher. She narrates themselves, so it was sad listening to someone no longer with us. Her sense of humour shines through, and her snippets of writing she shares from her younger years certainly show a good writer. 

 

I've also discovered a great new series, The Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan. They are set in an alternative Victorian-type world where dragons exist.. and the covers are just gorgeous! I've read 2 so far, and will certainly be working my way through the series. 

 

Who Let the Gods Out will be reviewed soon, and last night I whizzed through The New Hunger by Isaac Marion, the prequel to Warm Bodies. I was disappointed on how short it is, with 176 pages and quite large print. It was an enjoyable read though, and I'm now moving on to The Burning World, which is the sequel.

 

And yep, a couple of these I've bought.. but that was with the amazon gift card from my girls for my birthday. :)

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I've got the Marie Brennan books on my wishlist.  I remember Steve recommending them a while back and others talked about them as well, so I'm sure I'll get them at some point.  My TBR has been growing rather too much lately (mostly from impulse purchases :roll:), so I'm trying to get that down a bit before I start picking off the wishlist.  Good to know you've enjoyed them so much though, it'll certainly bump them up the list! :D
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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm at 10 books (and one graphic novel) now, so averaging a book a week, which is fine. Most recent was A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab, which was an excellent finish to her Darker Shades series. I took a break half way through the second book, but it's second half was actually really good.. and this final book was excellent. The series is definitely up there in my favourites!

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I've also discovered a great new series, The Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan. They are set in an alternative Victorian-type world where dragons exist.. and the covers are just gorgeous! I've read 2 so far, and will certainly be working my way through the series. 

 

 

I've got the Marie Brennan books on my wishlist.  I remember Steve recommending them a while back and others talked about them as well, so I'm sure I'll get them at some point.  

 

I read the first book last year and enjoyed it for the most part, but I will probably only read further if they pop up as Kindle Deals of the Day. 

 

They reminded me a bit of Dinotopia.

 

And, yes, the covers are excellent!

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I bought This Savage Song by V. E. Schwab when it was on the Kindle Daily Deal a few weeks back, because I remembered you'd recommended her books, so good to know her other books are still going down well with you! :D

Unfortunately I didn't get on very well with This Savage Song, despite loving everything else I've read of hers! I think it had more of a YA feel to it. I would say that the Darker Shades series has a slight YA feel to it, if you compare it to some other fantasy titles, but for me that works perfectly. Vicious is a much darker book.. and I'm happy that she's writing a sequel for that one. 

 

 

 

They reminded me a bit of Dinotopia.

 

Looks like something else I need to go look up.....!

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I downloaded a few Big Finish DW and Torchwood audios recently, thanks to a Humble Bundle deal.. but I was surprised at how short they were. I'd love to get into more of the Big Finish audios in general, but they are so expensive! Anyway, I'm working my way through those.. when I remember to download a new one onto my iPod!

 

Book-wise... I'd read A New Hunger, which is a short prequel to Warm Bodies, and quite enjoyed it, so I picked up The Burning World, which is the sequel. Although I persevered, and read it, it was a bit of a disappointment. It didn't have the same warmth(!) and humour as the first book, and was a little strange in places. An ok read, but I hoped for more.. and I don't think I'll move on to the third book.

 

The Nightwalker, as recommended by Pontalba, was typical of the author.. confusing at times, but impossible to put down. I originally felt somewhat cheated by the ending at first, but after thinking about it, I'm not sure what other explanation there could have been, and it was an ending I hadn't predicted, which is always good. I'm still undecided over it, to be honest, but it was a good, intriguing read!

 

Ink and Annihilation both started well, then almost lost me. In both cases I carried on reading, because I needed to know how they finished, but they weren't amazing. Ink had a great premise, but was rather predictable. The characters needed a little more depth I feel, and it felt jumpy in parts. It has a lot of good reviews, and I am wondering if I've simply read too many YA books. It just needed a little more for me.

 

Annihilation had shouted at me every time I'd seen in Waterstones, so I finally picked it up. Reviews are very mixed, and I can see why.. for me it started off very gripping, but it just kinda lost it's way. Again.. a great idea, but too much time is spent on the main characters past, and her thoughts, and it rambles a bit. This is a fairly short book, and there are two more in the series.. I can't help but wonder if the story could have been condensed into just one book, with some bits simply cut. I honestly can't decide whether to continue or not. If anyone here has experienced the series, I'd love to know your thoughts.. reviews are very mixed!

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3 hours ago, Michelle said:

Book-wise... I'd read A New Hunger, which is a short prequel to Warm Bodies, and quite enjoyed it, so I picked up The Burning World, which is the sequel. Although I persevered, and read it, it was a bit of a disappointment.

 

The Nightwalker, I'm still undecided over it, to be honest, but it was a good, intriguing read!

 

Ink and Annihilation both started well, then almost lost me. In both cases I carried on reading, because I needed to know how they finished, but they weren't amazing.  It has a lot of good reviews, and I am wondering if I've simply read too many YA books. It just needed a little more for me.

 

Annihilation -  This is a fairly short book, and there are two more in the series.. I can't help but wonder if the story could have been condensed into just one book, with some bits simply cut. I honestly can't decide whether to continue or not. If anyone here has experienced the series, I'd love to know your thoughts.. reviews are very mixed!

 

Shame you didn't think too much of The Burning World. I'd need to go back and read Warm Bodies again at this stage, but I know I adored that book, so I might give it a go eventually.

 

The Nightwalker sounds really good - I know the author's name, but haven't read anything by him. Put it on my list.

 

Shame about Ink and Annihilation. I read the synopses for both, and they do both sound great, but if you were underwhelmed by them, I'm afraid my rather more harsh inner critic mightn't be impressed. Annihilation in particular sounds great, so I think I'll give it a go and hope for the best! I'm sure I've heard Vandermeer's name elsewhere before...

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@Nollaig A few of us on here read Therapy by Sebastian Fitzek a few years ago.. that's my favourite of his. 

 

From the reviews I skimmed of Annihilation, the author is known for 'weird', and I think he has quite a few books. As I said, I started off quite well with it, but then ended up skimming quite quickly to get through it.

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On 3/17/2017 at 11:59 AM, Michelle said:

Unfortunately I didn't get on very well with This Savage Song, despite loving everything else I've read of hers! I think it had more of a YA feel to it. I would say that the Darker Shades series has a slight YA feel to it, if you compare it to some other fantasy titles, but for me that works perfectly. Vicious is a much darker book.. and I'm happy that she's writing a sequel for that one. 

 

 

Looks like something else I need to go look up.....!

 

Aw,  l loved This Savage Song (but as you know, I'm a big mg/ya fan so...) 

 

Did you already go to Laini Taylor's signing? 

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My actual book reading has dropped off a bit - I've started a rather intensive mentorship course, so I've reading texts books and studying! I have just finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.. I really enjoy it, but it wasn't as good as Strange the Dreamer, which I adored! I will be moving on to book two fairly soon.

 

I have been listening to some audiobooks, including some of the Alien series.. this includes an audible dramatisation, plus novelisation of a couple of the books. 

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I still have Book 3 of the trilogy which started with daughter of smoke and bone. I loved the first two, so I'm really glad that her latest book sounds even better. :)

 

Good luck with the worshipping.:) I meant mentorshipping, curse you, autocorrect !

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