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7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
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Pendomus ( Pendomus chronicles book 1 )
By Carrissa Andrews
⭐️⭐️⭐️

A secret hidden in plain sight. A devastating attack. And a world hanging in the balance.

There are a lot of things I wish I'd known earlier - but three top my "wow, she was naive" list.

First, there are others on Pendomus. Second, a prophecy is in motion, and I hold the key to the survival of literally everything. Third, I'm being hunted by a madman who is desperately trying to wipe me from existence.

So yeah, no pressure.

I wasn’t sure for most of this book I feel like I missed a pre novella or something. It just plunges you in without any real idea of what’s happening. But as it goes on it’s worth sticking with the story has so much potential and is quite interesting especially towards the end. Worth sticking with I think.

Edit: there is a novella 0.5 called Tragectory
  
The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez
The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez
Philip Carlo | 2016 | Biography
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Listen. This book is all sorts of fricken wild. It is intense, grueling, disturbing, intriguing, page-turning, heart-wrenching, want to put down but can't, all of the things. For the longest time, I read the first 23 pages where 3 people were killed, and I didn't want to read it anymore. It was so in detail, it felt like I was watching it happen in my brain and it made me so uncomfortable. And I'm not a squeamish person. I stopped being scared of murder and rape and brutal crimes such as Richard Ramirez's so many years ago, and this book shook me like nothing else has. It was everything I said it was and more. Shocking. Inconceivable. Jaw-dropping.

There is so much to comprehend when reading this book and still you end up with so many questions. Unfortunately, the author, Philip Carlo, died in 2010 from ALS. While Richard Ramirez died in 2013 from lymphoma. I wish Carlo was still alive so answer questions, I wish he would've been alive to see Richard to the end of his days. I wonder what the 20th-anniversary edition would've looked like. I am definitely going to pick up some of his other works, but I definitely need a good fiction, rom-com, comedy, something else, to get my head out of Richard Ramirez and back to the world of not so terrifying.

I would recommend this book if you think you can stomach it. It is not for the weak-hearted, that's for sure.
  
Compelling and heart wrenching, Tricia Goyer tells the story of the orchestra of Mauthausen. This orchestra, composed of famous Jewish musicians, was forced to play for their lives in the concentration camp.

We see the war through many different views in Night Song. Evie, a young Viennese woman who is involved with the resistance and witnesses the liberation of Mauthausen. Nick, an American medic who is in love with Evie and will travel to the ends of the earth to find her. Otto, an SS Soldier whose thirst for power and riches overwhelms him. Finally, Jakub, a young Jewish prisoner whose magnificent talent brings hope and joy to those he is around.

The story begins in December 1941, Evie and her family must return to Vienna due to the German occupation. The following 3 1/2 years are a combination of sorrow, pain and loss for all of our characters. But where Nick, Evie, and eventually Jakub, find their strength in the Lord, Otto finds his through the "Ancients", the mystical power supposedly behind Hitler's reign. Otto is never satisfied, he always wants more. Our other characters have to sacrifice so much, yet they know that the Lord is leading them and taking care of them. In the end we discover that the wealth and power of this world can not compare with a personal relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It took me a little longer to read this book, only because it was so emotional for me that I had to put it down and take a break. Tricia Goyer does a beautiful job of depicting the horrors and sorrows of the camps and all those who were affected by it, without being gory. It made my heart ache for those who lived and died in this hell. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys World War II fiction. You will not be disappointed!
  
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
Julie C. Dao | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a fantasy inspired by East-Asian culture and the Evil Queen's story. We are drawn into a complex world and watch the main character as she develops into someone who is willing to do anything to achieve her goals. Not for a man, but for the power she has been promised is rightfully hers for her entire life.

I don't normally enjoy books as much when they have an anti-hero that I don't like or connect with, but this book was so fantastic that it didn't bother me. Xifeng is complex and we watch her evolve over the course of the novel. I kept hoping that she would choose the right path, but couldn't help but watch in fascination as she dove further into the darkness. I loved getting to experience a villain's origin story and can't wait to see where the plot goes in future books.

The supporting characters were also well developed and some were characters that you could relate to (if that's something that you prefer in your books). You could see their hearts breaking as the anti-heroine's story played out.

The world was so beautifully developed and richly described. You could visualize each element and it was so lovely. I cannot wait to see more of this world. There were a few times when I felt that there was a jump in the plot that was not adequately explained, but overall the pacing was steady. It built slowly at the beginning and is definitely more of a character-driven story than one of fast-paced action. I kept being drawn back to the book as I wondered what would happen next. The end was a little more rushed to me, but you could see all of the threads being woven into the story to set up the next book.

I would definitely recommend this book and can't wait until the sequel is released!