The House of One Thousand Eyes
8.0
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Who can Lena trust to help her find out the truth? Life in East Germany in the early 1980s is not...
Young Adult
A Conspiracy of Kings (The Queen's Thief #4)
8.0
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Sophos, under the guidance of yet another tutor, practices his swordplay and strategizes escape...
The Intuitionist
4.0
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Verticality, architectural and social, is the lofty idea at the heart of Colson Whitehead's first...
Dead House
8.7
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This best-selling debut by an award-winning writer is both an eerie contemporary ghost story and a...
Merissa (12051 KP) created a post
Nov 5, 2021
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Untainted ( The crystal Island book 1) in Books
Oct 4, 2022
Kindle
Untainted ( The Crystal Island book 1)
By Lilian T. James
⭐️⭐️⭐️
There were several things Vera was quite skilled at. Wielding a blade and pretending to be human were two of them. Following the rules and controlling her anger, were not.
Raised in the heart of the Matherin Empire, Vera spent most of her life forced to hide what she was and what she could do. Until one day, she foolishly confronts a strange male she spies tailing the Crown Prince.
Not only does the altercation not go as planned, but the male claims she possesses a power his people vitally need. He’s desperate to return home and refuses to leave without her.
Staying would give her a life she never thought she’d have but leaving could provide her with the only chance to learn more about her past.
The more answers she uncovers about herself, the more questions arise, and nothing is adding up. Vera must decide what to do, not only with her life, but with the ancient power inside her.
It was good but definitely middle of the road and similar to a few books I’ve read. It was an easy read it just lacked a little spark.
Resolute (The Lost Fleet Outlands #2)
6.0
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Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary must battle dangers both within and without the Alliance, in this...
Ross (3284 KP) rated Doors: Colony in Books
Mar 26, 2021
The group find themselves slimmed down very quickly as members of the group drop like flies. Soon a small number of them find themselves in the company of some Russian spies, looking to stop the Americans' attempts to take power. For some reason, phony clairvoyant Coco Fendi now has actual powers and is capable of mind-reading, earning the respect and assistance of these spies.
There then follows a fairly enjoyable attempt to catch up with a train and board it to stop a nuclear war from breaking out.
The translation again is quite poor here, as some phrases do not make sense and make the reader work to understand what is meant. I am giving Heitz the benefit of the doubt and laying blame at the door of the translator here (though looking at some of the reviews on goodreads in German I'm not sure this is fair). However, there are some very odd passages that take the reader right out of the book, for example 'the time had come to test the 4x4's four-litre twin turbo engine promising 650 horsepower and a top speed of 190 miles an hour'. I mean, what the hell? Has Clarkson been asked to translate this book? It was completely irrelevant and odd.
In the 'Twilight' book of the series, there were some hints at other users of the doors and their purpose and provenance. This book builds on that to an extent, which is a clever idea from Heitz - in order to answer the questions, I think you need to read all three books. However, as a book in its own right, there are simply too many unanswered questions left (though slightly fewer than in 'Twilight').
An improvement, with a more coherent story once through the door in question, but still not a great read. As the first c25% is duplicated between books, I merrily skipped through this section looking for the distinct part starting off.
I received a free advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Merissa (12051 KP) rated Cosmic Cabaret in Books
Dec 12, 2017
This is an AMAZING anthology. You could even say it was out of this world! (Sorry, it had to be done!) Some of the stories involve insta-love, some of them have loved from afar for years. Some are people on the run, some are princes and princesses, some are both prince/princess AND on the run. What I'm trying to say is that there is something here for everyone.
Each story is very well written, with characters and situations that are completely relate-able, so long as you keep the sci-fi theme fresh in your mind. From doctors to spies to male dancers to Burlesque dancers, this anthology has it all. I didn't feel like a single story let it down, although I do obviously have my favourites. I have found some new (to me) authors that I will be reading more of, which is always a good thing. Absolutely recommended by me, and I'm hoping for more to come!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
