narfna – Page 46 – Cannonball Read 17

“Difference, children, is not monstrous. It is nature at work.”

Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy, #1) by J.M. Miro

December 31, 2022 by narfna 2 Comments

I put off writing this review because I’m still not sure whether I want to round up to four stars or down to three, because this is the quintessential three and a half star book. Like many people have been, I was a little disappointed with this book. I had a good enough time with it, and I will continue the series (via the library this time), but there was something about the writing that never really hooked my emotions or interest, despite it being […]

This ending made me love the series more.

The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance, #3) by Naomi Novik

December 30, 2022 by narfna 5 Comments

This was such a great series, and this book a great ending to it. I feel like I was waiting for sure to say that until I finished this book, and now I can say with certainty that The Scholomance is worth reading. It all just comes together SO WELL. I was happy with the story on the surface, I was happy with the characters and their arcs, and I was happy with what is going on underneath. This one picks up exactly where we […]

“Imagine if all men took women seriously.”

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

December 30, 2022 by narfna 2 Comments

Enjoyed every bit of this. I’m at that time of year when I’m SO many reviews behind, and I’m reading a lot of good books that I just don’t feel like articulating about (I’m about to Review Amnesty a crap ton of books), but this book was such a good read for me, I do want to say a little something about it. No idea what that something is about to be; stream of consciousness is always a surprising and fun way to write reviews. […]

“Be warned, then: the collected volumes of this series will contain frozen mountains, foetid swamps, hostile foreigners, hostile fellow countrymen, the occasional hostile family member, bad decisions, misadventures in orienteering, diseases of an unromantic sort, and a plenitude of mud.”

A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #1) by Marie Brennan

December 30, 2022 by narfna 13 Comments

I finally started this series! I put book one on my TBR back when it was first published and then never got around to it, not even after I met the author at a book festival and got a signed copy of book three (I did not yet own books one or two, but it was the only one available for signing). Maybe I would have gotten to it sooner if I would have realized one of my favorite audiobook narrators, Kate Reading, does the […]

Attention, Murderbot stans: I have a short story for you.

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 132 by ed. Neil Clarke

December 30, 2022 by narfna 8 Comments

I downloaded this in 2021 for the Read Harder Challenge but never read it, and no longer remember the challenge I downloaded it for, but I managed to make it fit perfectly into this year’s Read Harder. Efficiency! The issue itself after all of that was a bit of disappointment. I’m noting here at the top that the five-star rating is solely for “The Secret Life of Bots” by Suzanne Palmer, a 8,000~ word novelette that won the Hugo in 2018, a win that is […]

I would read ten more of these.

The Grief of Stones (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2) by Katherine Addison

December 30, 2022 by narfna 2 Comments

These books are sad, contemplative, and lovely. I had a bit of a hard time getting in to the first one because the tone and pacing are pretty unique, but once I sank into it I really enjoyed myself. Right away with The Grief of Stones I was able to get back into the right mindset and I enjoyed it even more. I know there will be at least one more book following Celahar, but I find myself hoping there will be more than that. We need, […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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