andat's Reviews (467)

Thank you to Doubleday Books | Doubleday for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Ok first of all I was super excited to get approved for this ARC because Stacey and I live in the same state and I did vote for her to be our governor. So I might be a little biased because I do think she’s awesome. Especially with her guest star role in Star Trek Discovery. But I digress. I will be a fair reviewer of her third Avery Keene novel (and my first).

As a tech nerd, I absolutely loved the premise of the book. Find out if the AI neural network, that could eradicate bias in medical care and keep people healthy no matter where they are, is a potential killer. Sign me up. I have long been a proponent of AI as a tool (run by humans, mind you), so this felt like a natural fit for me to stretch my brain against that value. The set-up, the functionality and the tech driving it felt very natural and plausible. Absolutely nothing jumped out as too far into the future, which I loved. 

This is my first Avery Keene novel. Though there are a few mentions of the previous cases, it hasn’t been a barrier to enjoying the book. I’m impressed at the level of detail Abrams is managing to cover without it feeling like I’m being lectured or data-crammed in order to move the plot. Given the topic, that is no easy feat here. It’s grappling with what are very real issues to machine learning, and AI in a medical setting, particularly those in our vulnerable veterans community. I won’t spoil the plot or give away the ending. I will say all my techy colleagues are getting a copy of this book! Well worth the read and purchase! 

(And maybe I should plan to use those chat AI apps a smidge less. *shudder*)

I have no words. Read this. Just.. read it. 

…wow. 

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

This books starts out creepy, witchy and downright spooky and I love it! Look, this is firmly in the YA category. (Not the borderline adult-level explicit fantasy/romance that sometimes hides in YA either. I would feel 100% comfortable if my 13 year old kiddo wanted to read this.) The two main characters are 17-year old girls and they act like it. They take risks, dabble in things with not enough knowledge of the consequences, and think moving away from each other is the worst thing ever. It’s authentic behavior for that age group. This was a refreshing escapist read. I loved the mystery, the use of the witchcraft and occult elements, and the overall friendship between Mazzy and Nora.  Even the romance with Elliot was very PG adorable and sweet. 

I really loved this! Is it outlandish? Absolutely. But I don’t think anyone is going to confuse reality here when there’s people using spells to light candles and paralyze enemies. That’s why it’s fantasy. I will definitely be buying a copy of this book! I highly recommend picking this up when it comes out at the end of August 2025. It would make the perfect start to spooky season!

Thank you to John Murray Press | Chambers for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

You ever start to look up something and then that one thing leads to like 16 other links and the next thing you know it’s 24 hours later and you are so deep in a rabbit hole the web page you’re on looks like it was last updated in 1997? This book is that. But with words. And it’s marvelous. You will have all the ammo you need to start any and all conversations with “well, actually” and it will be glorious. What you think you know will be challenged (synergy is an old word!) and words you think are old are in fact, less than 100 years old. The book is formatted incredibly well, and can be consumed in small doses or a sit-down read through. 

This is one that I can easily say before I’m even 10% into this book that I will be purchasing a hardbound copy.  (Narrator She did in fact pre-order a copy.) This is the absolute perfect book to gift to any word nerd or professional communicator in your life. 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

I am a fan of Nate’s style of comedy, mixing humble stories of his life with silly situations, and some xennial flair. I was really curious to read what he’d consider worthy to be in a book. And make no mistake, this is 100% written in his voice. You can hear the cadence and style with every word. I was a little reluctant to start reading this one. Not that I don’t like him, but it’s hard to be funny for a couple hundred pages no matter who you are. And I’m sorry to say I was right to be apprehensive. As much as I enjoy his stand up routines, there were a few themes that popped up that made me uncomfortable. One is religion. I get it, the south is steeped in it. But that doesn’t mean I want to read about it in a book from a comedian. Another is about his grandmother, which he admits is an abusive alcoholic who abused his dad. It’s not the description that’s the issue, it’s the story of his dad visiting on her deathbed asking for forgiveness for “not being a better son”. Coming from my own abusive past, this jangled a lot of nerves. Everyone deals with their issues differently but this feels like a dangerous vignette to appear so casually. This is all in the first 10% of the book, too. 

Overall, it’s ok. Nothing that really blows the doors off. And truly, I don’t think it was meant to. It’s a collection of stories. Some are funny and heartwarming, like the Men in Black story with his little sister. Some are a product of their time where you truly had to be there or like alive during that era (church basketball, old blue, McDonald’s menu change). Others are sad like the cliff story, his dad’s childhood and poor Cosmo the cat. And the whole Vanderbilt sports story. (Yay sports ball?)

If anything by the end of the book, it’s much easier to understand how Nate ended up in stand up. With family like his, it truly was the only possible outcome. 

I am apprehensive on starting this! Morning Star was so good, can he really keep going and top it? My heart rate still hasn’t come down from the last book!

Wow, Darrow really stepped in it this time. Pissed off Dancer, Sefi, and his wife in one afternoon. He really is spectacularly good at doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. In this one we get multiple narrators- Lysander, Lyria, Darrow, and Ephraim bringing us along their journeys. I’ll admit, I wasn’t enthused on this feature when I first started to read the book. Damned if Pierce Brown pulled it off. The audacity of this man to be this good, I tell you, it should be illegal. But I digress. With the multiple POVs we get our first glimpse into the reality of what Reaper really brought for the society. It’s not the rosy, equal future it was supposed to be. And there’s another threat on the horizon other than the Ash Lord, the Red Hands. We get an idea of the sweeping arc Brown has planned for this next trilogy. The real question is, will Darrow ever not step in crap on his way to glory?

This one hit hard. Not just the parallels to reality, but seeing the erosion of man and myth. All of the choices begin to add up and the final bill is steep. Not as much high energy action (which after Morning Star is a good thing), but you start to see the long threads being pulled together slowly across the multiple narrators. There is a great sadness between the lines. All they’ve lost and the cost of what they’ve won. Despite being fiction, it sits heavy on my heart. Don’t get me wrong, the series is still outstanding. But I might take a breather before reading the next one. 

Well of course I had to keep going with this series. So I don’t spoil any plot points for those of you still reading or planning to read…

Ooooh, Oraya is still big mad. 

Never thought I’d be sick of “there she is” but there I am. 

My favorite character is back! Yay!

Getting Interview with a Vampire vibes with the hall of children. Ew. 

“Remember when you pushed me out of a window?” Hehehehehe. 

Awwww, no fair. I want to fly too! 

Owowowow! Nope, I do not want wings!

Of course the answer is a huge party!

Oh. Yeah. Saw that coming. 

Piss river. Hehehehehe. Also. Ew. 

Ohhhh. Mische. Get ‘im girl. He had it coming. 

I don’t know what I thought god teeth were but that was not it. 

Fucking Septimus. 

Look at that emotional manipulation beyond the grave. Ofc. 

Well that changes things. 

Oh! The vows! My heart…

Piss beer. Can’t live with it. Can’t live without it. 

So glad this isn’t written with purple prose, it would have been insufferable. 

I’m not crying, you’re crying. 

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Alma Katsu wastes no time launching you into the story. From a brief glimpse of childhood to the second in line of a powerful company, the way the rich and powerful move is just different. 

And I’ll be honest. Not a single one of the characters is redeemable. They are awful. They are reprehensible. And I think that’s the point. It’s written very well. You genuinely hate the family from page 1. I was mostly rooting for the protector in this novel. And well, I won’t spoil the ending for you. 

If I could give this a thousand stars, I would. I am shook. 

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved Don’t Let the Forest In. I was thrilled to be selected for an eARC for Hazelthorn! I love the spooky and creepy vibes from CG Drews. And Hazelthorn 100% delivers in those categories. I kept forgetting this was modern day, which lent even more of that off-kilter feeling. Like a space trapped in time, which is very much what the Hazelthorn estate seems to be. It’s a murder mystery plus malevolent secret garden plus…I don’t even know. I LOVE IT!!! I blew through this book in half a day. Nothing got done, chores, and meals completely forgotten. All I wanted to do was keep reading. The garden and its secrets, the family and their greed, the confusion around Evander and Laurence- what they are and what they aren’t. Every single page brings more questions. I devoured it all and I want more. 

(I can’t believe this is YA, I am going to sleep with my lights on for a while.)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

Sarah Pekkanen is damn good at her job. As I sit here right now, safe and sound in my house, the back of my neck is pricked and shivers run down my spine. I am creeped the hell out. 

This one…this one will get to you. It’s real, it’s insidious, it’s under your skin before you know what’s happening. I am… at a loss for words. There’s nothing I can reveal that won’t be a potential spoiler. Just…trust me. It’s good. It’s better than good. Psychological thriller seems like an understatement. Perpetual creeping dread is closer to the reality. Damn. Do yourself a favor and read this one when it comes out this August. Just make sure no one’s behind you when you do.