Author: Stargrace

Just another gamer with too much time on her hands.

5/5 Stars: Madly Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

I do know there’s some controversy over whether or not Rickman would have wanted his diaries published, but I found them delightful to read, and I enjoyed how blunt some of the entries were. This bluntness made it easier for me to recognize Rickman as a human being, and I was able to piece together world events and political views. I didn’t need to agree with him or see eye to eye, I was simply interested in how this fascinating man thought, and these diaries gave me good insight into that.

They’re probably not for everyone, the writing is often in short form, almost note-like, and it can make it difficult to read and understand. Putting that aside, I still found it fascinating, from an actor I had watched for many years but who of course I’d never actually met in any way shape or form.

5/5 stars

5/5 Stars: Cassiel’s Servant, by Jacqueline Carey

As soon as I found out Jacqueline Carey would be returning to the world of Terre d’Ange, and this time from the perspective of Joscelin – I knew I was going to buy the book, and I was pretty confident that it would be a 5 star rating from me.

Even though many (many) years have gone by since I read Kushiel’s Dart, I was instantly brought right back, and I loved every second. I felt the story worked as a stand alone for those who were maybe not familiar with the story, but since it had been so long since I read the books, it also worked fantastic for me. If you are a newcomer to the series, I do suggest you pick up Kushiel’s Dart (if you enjoyed Cassiel’s Servant) so you can get acquainted with Phedre, as my rose coloured glasses consider that single book her best work.

I (as always) read it too quickly, even though I tried to savor it. Jacqueline Carey is a talented author who can write in numerous genres, but the ones that involve the Kushiel universe are some of her best (in my opinion).

5/5

2/5 Star Review: Master Your Emotions, By Thibaut Meurisse

I listened to this as an audiobook on YouTube, I’m pretty sure it was read by AI, which was pretty horrible, but I was determined to make my way through it. I also picked up a free copy on Amazon during a sale.

The author spends most of his time quoting others, and even says if you want to learn more you should go YouTube it. While I don’t think it was intentional, the tone was almost condescending, and there were plenty of groan-worthy moments. The ideas presented were simplistic in nature, so if you’re looking for a quick read (or listen) with basic ideas that you’ve probably already attempted on some scale, then look no further.

It also felt like there was a lot of repetition and confusion within the book. The author says ‘problems don’t exist’ and then also says ‘everybody has problems’. He talks over and over about how emotions are formed, how to be aware, how to let go, and how to deal with negative emotions – and is a bit all over the place with his ‘how to deal’ with aspects.

That being said, the book does have fairly high ratings over on Goodreads, sitting right now at 4.15 with 14,430 ratings. I’m not personally sure what those people saw in the book, but it really wasn’t for me.

2/5 stars

2/5 Stars: Love, Furballs & Forever

Sure, it’s a book that should appeal to cat lovers everywhere, but this one just wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the interactions between Juliet and Carlisle, and the story simply didn’t hook me. I found Juliet difficult to connect with, and she was borderline annoying. The editing and writing worked well enough and that’s the entire reason that I finished it even though the story left me wanting something deeper.

I picked this up during a sale, and while it wasn’t a good fit for me, it seems to have a lot of positive reviews, so I’m sure people out there are enjoying it.

2/5 stars

2023 Reading Challenge – Completed!

Ah goodness, I’ve fallen behind with this site – but I did manage to complete my GoodReads reading challenge for 2023, and I’ve read 20+ books! Here’s the list, and in the future expect a lot more reviews.

  • 20. Bookshops & Bonedust – Travis Baldree (5/5)
  • 19. (DNF) The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic – Breanne Randall (1/5)
  • 18. Madly, Deeply the Diaries of Alan Rickman – Alan Rickman (5/5)
  • 17. Age of Assassins – RJ Barker (3/5)
  • 16. Cassiel’s Servant – Jacqueline Carey (5/5)
  • 15. Village Witch – Cassandra Latham-Jones (4/5)
  • 14. The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and Business – Charles Duhigg (2/5)
  • 13. Her Mistletoe Cowboy – Liz Isaacson (3/5)
  • 12. Carl’s Doomsday Scenario – Matt Dinniman (4/5)
  • 11. Have I told you This Already?: Stories I don’t want to Forget to Remember – Lauren Graham (5/5)
  • 10. The Complete Color Harmony, Pantone Edition – Leatrice Eiseman (5/5)
  • 9. Buddhism for Beginners – Richard Johnson (3/5)
  • 8. It Happened One Summer – Tessa Bailey (2/5)
  • 7. Antony & Cleopatra – Adrian Goldsworthy (5/5)
  • 6. Master Your Emotions – Thiabaut Meurisse (3/5)
  • 5. Ikigai – Hector Garcia Puigcerver (2/5)
  • 4. Homeland – R.A. Salvatore (5/5)
  • 3. Love, Furballs & Forever – Karen Drew (2/5)
  • 2. The Ivory Tomb – Melissa Caruso (5/5)
  • 1. Book Lovers – Emily Henry (3/5)

I imagine a few more books will make the list before the end of 2023, but I’ll write about those as a ‘year end’ type of post. Over all, it was a pretty good year as far as books go. Some big winners and some not-so-great books, too. I think next year I’m going to aim for a higher goal. Maybe 10 more, or so. I really didn’t dedicate much time to books this year, and I want to change that for 2024. I also plan on tossing in a lot more audiobooks while I do things like knitting.

I am also currently participating in two beta reads, and I can’t wait to talk about them in the future, so watch this space!

Happy reading!

5/5 Stars: The Ivory Tomb, by Melissa Caruso

Wow. What a fantastic end to this trilogy.

I was a huge fan of the first two books, and the third did not fail to disappoint. It’s an epic fantasy tale with lots of tropes, but I didn’t mind them in the least, the author used them well. We learn more about the Dark Days, and watch the development of the relationship between Ryx and Severin. There’s a lot of action, the book was over before I knew it.

Highly recommended, I enjoyed them so much that I’ll be looking into other books that Melissa has written, if they’re anything like these then they’re sure to be winners.

5/5 stars

3/5 Stars: Book Lovers, by Emily Henry

This was an easy, comfortable, read – and that was what I was looking for. I enjoyed the beginning of the story much more than the end, which felt pretty rushed. Nora is the main character – she comes off as a badass in charge of her own life, but as the story went on I really grew annoyed with how immature she was, and how she didn’t seem to have any ability to solve her own issues. She also created issues where there were none, and I got bored of her complaining. She does have a sister, Libby, and I fared no better with that character story-wise.

The main love interest is Charlie, who Nora knows through work. He has a sob story past, but he isn’t really interesting. I did love the little current-day quips and “that’s what I think too!” moments that were strewn throughout the book, but in the end it just wasn’t quite enough.

The one shining star I will give to this book is that the writing is superb even if I didn’t really enjoy the story. The prologue and the first few chapters were lovely, and the writing held up throughout. I know plenty of people out there absolutely enjoyed it and I can see why it’s popular, but the story just wasn’t enough to keep me entertained, personally.

3/5 stars

1/5 Stars: Meow, by Skye MacKinnon

If I could give this book a negative star review, I would.

It was horrible. I read 25% of it and gave up – and that’s saying something. I don’t give up on books very easily, and I am typically able to at least complete them before judging. This book is the exception. It’s poorly written, (very) poorly edited, makes no sense, and is just plain bad. I received the book free and even that didn’t convince me to make it through to the end. Do yourself a favour, read something worthy of your time. This isn’t it.

1/5 stars

5/5 Stars: The Quicksilver Court, by Melissa Caruso

This is the 2nd book in a trilogy that follows Ryxander and the Rookery through an incredible adventure. Demons are walking the world, and Ryx and the Rookery have to come up with a plan to get everything under control.

I don’t want to give heavy spoilers, but WOW I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!

This book was fantastic. I was so excited to read it, and I’m incredibly pleased that the 3rd one is already out and I’ve already started reading that one immediately after because I had to know. The reader learns a great deal about Ryx, there’s some fantastic character development, and I love Melissa’s take on demons.

Melissa is a wordsmith, and her books are easy to read, but her characters are complex and that’s probably one of the things I like most about them. Yes, there are tropes, but the writing is so well done that I had no issues with them. Well done, another fantastic epic fantasy read.

5/5 stars