Tag: 5 star

Review: Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan

I’ve never been one to write a review where I talk about the entire contents of a book because I really don’t want to spoil it for people. I know plenty of people who write those types of reviews, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them, but it’s just not my jam. I just wanted to put that out there.

When a book enters my TBR pile it usually happens one of three ways. One, a friend recommended it. Two, I read about it some place online. Three, I happened to be browsing ‘what should I read next’ lists or recommendations off of sites like StoryGraph or even here on GoodReads. ‘Age of Myth’ entered my pile from all three of these methods. I was searching for an epic fantasy book to read because I hadn’t read one for some time, and this one popped up on my feed. After I purchased the book I noticed that the back cover has a brief review from Mogsy over at the BiblioSanctum, who I adore and have been friends with for a number of years. We don’t always like the same books, but when she gives a 4.5/5 star review, I know it’s going to be a good read.

I was not disappointed at all with Age of Myth. It was everything I wanted – but not perfect. It was a book I found hard to put down, beautifully written (the world building is absolutely top notch) with a fascinating story. There are multiple story lines going at once, so if that’s something that doesn’t interest you, you might want to take a pass – on that same note, the stories do converge fairly early on, making it much easier to keep track of everyone.

Female protagonists, epic deities, a ‘big bad’ – and let me say that’s one thing that I actually think the book did not need. Further on you meet ‘a big bad’ on top of a few other ‘bads’ wandering around. You’ll know who I’m talking about when you meet him, and it is a very stereotypical ‘big bad’ and one that I think the book absolutely did not need. It felt a bit like HBO trying to force blood/gore/elicit emotion that I was already feeling before the ‘big bad’ even showed up. I’m not even sure their role was needed at all. I might be alone in that feeling, but it seemed unnecessary.

I finished this book within a week, it was that good. It was a great epic fantasy read, and exactly what I was hoping for. Thankfully the second book is already out, and I’m thinking of picking it up as an audio book because Tim Gerard does the reading and apparently it’s quite amazing.

5/5 stars

Advertisement

Graphic Novel Review: Sunstone, Vol.1

I’m not really a huge fan of graphic novels, to be honest, but every once in a while I attempt to give them another go and see if they’ll stick. This one was recommended to me by a friend, and then I noticed that a bunch of other friends on GoodReads had also read it. It happened that the author was releasing the series for free since it started out as a web comic and that’s how I found myself picking up the first seven volumes. Purchasing the physical copies came next, because the artwork and the story is just that great.

The author is Stjepan Šejić, who is known for all sorts of things that I had never heard of (thank you GoodReads author blip). The novel is about Lisa and Ally, and their less-than-vanilla relationship. If you’ve ever read 50 shades of Grey and thought that was what actual BDSM was about, I implore you to give this novel a read instead. It’s about how their relationship developed, what insecurities they each had, and how they ultimately were able to be themselves very naturally thanks to open communication. That, folks, is the key to a good relationship, whether it is vanilla or otherwise.

The book is steamy, let’s not try to cover that up – but it presents the reader with a realistic view into a BDSM relationship and I absolutely love that. If you’re uncomfortable with nudity, or BDSM just isn’t your thing (it’s not for everyone, no shame in that) you may want to give it a pass. However, if you’re hoping to read about two people who might potentially be falling in love with each other, because of the intense and often times overwhelming sensations that are experienced while exploring BDSM – then give it a read. I was pleasantly surprised.

5/5 Stars