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Merissa (12894 KP) rated Hunted (Dragonlands #2) in Books

Apr 6, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)  
Hunted (Dragonlands #2)
Hunted (Dragonlands #2)
Megg Jensen | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
WOW! The first book in this series, Hidden, is really good but this book blows that one out of the water. It is an excellent follow up although I warn you that it has a killer cliffhanger ending.

This story does follow on from Hidden so I definitely recommend you read that first or you simply won't have a clue what is happening here. For those that have read it, I can say that the story continues to move forward in such a way that will amaze and astound. The characters are growing and changing whilst the plot thickens. I especially loved the character development of Tressa and Bastian. This felt completely natural considering that they are meeting new people for the first time in their lives.

So many twists and turns in this story and I won't even try to explain any of them. Suffice it to say that I now have lots of questions that were answered from book 1 but I now have more from book 2 that are still unanswered. I'm waiting for book 3 very impatiently!

Recommended for all Fantasy lovers out there.
 
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
 
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
September 3, 2016
  
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Kindle
Chasing the Cure ( Caitlin Chronicles book 5)
By Daniel Willcocks and Michael Anderle
⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Madness is coming, and this time it’s personal.

Fueled by the tiny scatterings of a puzzle left behind, Caitlin journeys into the wilds to seek the elusive Helena in order to find the cure for the Madness and stop its spread once and for all.

Which is made all the more important when those closest to her are facing their toughest battles yet.

With Jaxon, Kain, and Mary-Anne by her side, Caitlin must tread farther from home than she’s ever been, risking capture, torment, and the Mad, all in the name of finding the truth behind the Madness.

Time is ticking, and the Madness is closer now than it’s ever been.

Set within the wonder of the Kurtherian Gambit Universe, discover the chaos and insanity of the Age of Madness—a time when the world turned on its head, and nothing is as it appears…

I enjoyed this book more than the last! But I’m unsure of all the new developments it all seems a bit strange. The more I think about it the more it baffles me especially the fact that these people are now flying over to Europe to find a cure! Very strange
  
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Kindle
Dawning Ascent ( The Pearson Prophecy book 1)
By Jen L. Grey
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Power comes with a price.

Treated like an outcast in her own kingdom, Ariah learned to live in the shadows. But as she comes into her powers, she catches the eye of her life long crush and an unlikely ally. Trusting either of them could help her along a dangerous journey... or could bring her journey to a dangerous end.

When enemies come to light and distrust spreads, Ariah's safety is put in jeopardy. If she places her trust in the wrong people, her hidden powers will be unveiled to those who wish to use them against her.

To survive, Ariah must learn who has her best interests at heart. If she chooses wrong, it could mean not only her own death, but the crumbling of the entire country.


I did enjoy this book it had a good premise and the characters were easy to get along with. My one issue was this, the world building suggested it was very fairytale kingdom without modern technology etc which was great! But the author then throws in a coffee machine and a shower yet things like hospitals and modern equipment is not there. Just didn’t really make sense to me and took away from that fairytale feeling. It should be all or nothing I think.
  
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lovely lovely lovely! A fabulous book! And to think I passed this one by when it was on the Kindle Daily Deal because I thought a book about an octopus sounded ridiculous. Obviously, this was before I had read Laline Paull’s Pod. So I’m pleased that The Pigeonhole drew me in and I got the chance to read about the Giant Pacific Octopus and all-round genius, Marcellus.

Honestly, I lived for the chapters from Marcellus. Wise, intelligent and perceptive, he is instrumental in sorting two of the main characters - Tova and Cameron - out.

I mean, the humans in this novel are lovely too. Tova lives alone since her husband died and cleans at her local aquarium until she has an accident and hurts her ankle. Whilst she is recovering, Cameron takes over. He has arrived in town searching of the father he has never met. His mother abandoned him as a child, and his aunt has always cared for him. Cameron is a lost soul, and he has landed in just the right place. Sowell Bay is full of the kindest people and luckily, Cameron meets them all - including Marcellus.

This is a touching story, and ultimately one of those books that swallows you up in the warmest of hugs.

So do I recommend it? Err, see above! 👆🏼
  
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Merissa (12894 KP) rated The Last Families in Books

Dec 21, 2021 (Updated Jul 9, 2023)  
The Last Families
The Last Families
Carla Doria | 2021 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
THE LAST FAMILIES is a post-apocalyptic fantasy in which the earth has been destroyed and those surviving have left by boat to reach a safe place. Unknown to them, they go through a wormhole and end up on a different planet, one with unknown dangers to them.

This story is told from multiple perspectives, giving the reader a well-rounded view of what's happening. It moves at a fast pace so prepare yourself. I found I needed to concentrate on the story as otherwise, something would happen that I might miss which affected the whole timeline.

I'm not sure if this is the first book in a series as there seem to be questions left unanswered and open-ended storylines. However, saying that, this was a great read about their time in Gambir and the people who lived there.

There are some errors where the wrong word is used (but correctly spelt) but this didn't have too great an impact on my enjoyment.

Definitely recommended for all post-apocalyptic fantasy fans out there.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 21, 2021
  
The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill
The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill
C.S. Robertson | 2022 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Grace McGill is a professional death cleaner. She is the person that the authorities call to clean up after a dead body has been found. Usually a dead body that has lain there for months before being discovered. It’s a grim job, but Grace does it with respect and fastidiousness.

Grace is something of a loner. She only seems to have passing contact with those she works with, and her abusive father. In fact, she seems to build more of a relationship with the dead people she cleans up after. Which is how she notices that several of the bodies have something in common. A daisy is near the spot where each of the corpses was found.

One particular person, Thomas Agnew, really affects her. He has lain undiscovered for 5 months, seemingly missed by no one. She collects some photos from his room, hoping to give them to a family member at the funeral, and then notices the piles of newspapers. They are all dated the same day over a period of many years. Something happened on that day, and Grace wants to know what it is.

This book was so well written - unputdownable. It threw a huge curveball as well and the twist, when it came, was totally unexpected. It was macabre, quirky and so different from anything else I’ve read recently. It really is well worth a read!
  
The Northman (2022)
The Northman (2022)
2022 | History, Thriller
5
7.9 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
M'eh.
So, The Northman.

Been quite a bit of hype for it over here in Northern Ireland (perhaps because some of it was filmed here), which might explain why the showing I went to was absolutely jam packed - the most people I've seen in a screen since even before Covid times.

Unfortunately, and for me, the film also fell rather 'flat': I actually spent more time scanning the background to see if I could spot any familiar faces (and locations) than concentrating on the (slow, plodding) action unfolding in the foreground.

It's no secret that the plot owes much to the Icelandic sagas that inspired 'Hamlet' (or, in more modern terms, 'The Lion King'), with Alexander Skarsgard Viking protagonist on a mission of revenge against his uncle, who killed his father and stole his mother.

Perhaps that is why I (and most of those I saw this with) weren't all that impressed: basically, we've all seen it before! Well, that, and the fact the the finale felt like something out of 'Revenge of the Sith' ...

(We were also all in agreement that it would have been better if the more supernatural elements of the story had been toned down).

All this is not to say that it's a bad film, per se: just not at all what we were expecting or had been sold on by the trailers.
  
The Mars House
The Mars House
Natasha Pulley | 2024 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Can I just say that I loved a book and leave it at that? Because this is one of those books.
Ok, a short summary:
January Sterling is a climate refugee, escaping the floods and intense heat for the Mars colony of Tharsis. Life as an Earthstronger on Mars isn’t ideal. He and the other Earthstrongers are seen as a danger to the native Martians: they are much stronger because of the weaker gravity, even though they’re much smaller. January and his fellow Earthstrongers are discriminated against and given the worst manual labour jobs.

January meets a Martian politician who is staunchly anti-Earth stronger, an somehow ends up in a sham-marriage. Of course, it’s a slow-burn romance with lots of peril, lies and climate change politics.

My only complaint, is that in trying to make the characters asexual, they all read as being very male. Perhaps it was just the way I read it.

The Mars House has a lot to say about climate change and its refugees - and the predictable refugee-haters. Instead of boats, they arrive in space ships, and the inhabitants of Mars are as scared of, and enraged by, these people, as some elements in our own society today.

I really enjoyed this book, and I loved how different it was to Natasha Pulley’s previous books. Whatever will she write next? I’ll be waiting!