April Wrap Up

Another month has passed us by and, for the most part, April has been a rather average reading month.  It wasn’t a bad month by any means, I didn’t read any absolutely awful books, but I was just not wowed by several of the books I read.

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A-Z Library Challenge Update

Since it’s the end of April, and a quarter of the way through the year, I thought I would post an update on one of the other challenges that I am doing this year, the A-Z library challenge where I read 26 books that have to be borrowed from the library.  So far I have completed 9 letters.

Review: Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes

Seven Blades in Black

Sam Sykes

The Grave of Empires #1

Orion

661 pages

3/5

I am going to admit, I’m not really a fan of the cover.  I don’t mind the black, white and red colouring but the face is really jarring.  I don’t like that.

Review: The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

The Obelisk Gate

N.K. Jemisin

The Broken Earth #2

Orbit

391 pages (minus extras)

3.5/5

Ah, middle book syndrome.  It happens to the best of series.  The first book is a whirlwind of character exploration, world building and plot setting and the third book is an explosive race to the finish (not that I’ve read the third book of this trilogy yet, but that’s usually how it goes) where everything culminates and ends in a satisfying (or not) way.  And then you have book two…

Review: The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter by Michael J. Sullivan

The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter

Michael J. Sullivan

The Riyria Chronicles #4

Riyria Enterprises

395 pages

5/5

Hadrian called Royce “little unicorn”.  He actually called him “little unicorn”.

I just about died laughing.

Seriously, it’s one of the most amusing things I have ever read.

Review: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Warbreaker

Brandon Sanderson

Gollancz

652 pages

4/5

I’ve never actually reviewed one of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere novels on here.  I read most of them before I ever started this blog and although I’ve mentioned them, I’ve never reviewed them.

Also, on a very shallow note, how pretty is that cover?  I adore the UK editions of Sanderson’s novels so much.

Review: The Poison Song by Jen Williams

The Poison Song

Jen Williams

The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #3

Headline

566 pages

Release Date: 16th May 2019

4.5/5

Does anyone else put off finishing the final book in a series because they don’t want it to end?  You’ve gone on this amazing adventure with awesome characters and you’re just not ready to say goodbye so you deliberately slow down your reading in a futile attempt to not have to finish it but at the same time you’re desperate to know what’s going to happen.

I totally did this for The Poison Song.

Review: The Deathless by Peter Newman

The Deathless

Peter Newman

Deathless #1

Harper Voyager

Paperback release 2/5/19

448 pages

4/5

Copy received from Netgalley.  All opinions are my own.

The Vagrant by Peter Newman was an interesting story.  Written in the present tense with a main character who never spoke was an intriguing and unique way to tell a story.  The Deathless is told more traditionally in third person with multiple POVs but it is just as interesting a story.

History Books I Love #4: The Dreyfus Affair by Piers Paul Read

Last Year I reviewed a book called An Officer and A Spy by Robert Harris which is a fictional retelling of The Dreyfus Affair.  I read this book because this event in French history fascinates me a lot and The Dreyfus Affair by Piers Paul Read is an excellent place to start when reading up on the topic.

Review: The Red Knight by Miles Cameron

The Red Knight

Miles Cameron

The Traitor Son Cycle #1

Gollancz

766 pages

4/5

They say never judge a book by its cover but sometimes the cover is so pretty that you just can’t help yourself.  I mean, look at how awesome the design for the cover of The Red Knight is and the rest of the series looks just as cool.  Once you’ve been seduced by the cover and drawn into reading it, is the book just as good as the front?

Yes.  Yes it is.