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danadoesbooks's Reviews (954)
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Thank you Book Influencers and the author for a gifted copy of An Incarnation of Shadow and Light! All opinions in this review are my own.
I devoured this book in three days. I was instantly pulled into this struggle for power from the opening chapters so that the more I learned about the characters, the more I had to find out who would win. I love how expertly the first two characters were introduced so by the time you had met all of the main characters, you had no idea who you should root for and who to believe.
Typically, fantasy books take me longer to read, especially if they are introducing a completely new world, but I'm surprised how quickly I was able to read Incarnation. I attribute that to how evenly the world building takes place. There is no major info dump in the beginning of the book making it difficult to get into in the beginning. I liked learning more about the magic system with the more I read instead of having to constantly flip back to the beginning where the explanation typically is.
While An Incarnation of Shadow and Light finishes with a satisfying ending, there is definitely room for more stories in this world. I can't wait to read them!
I devoured this book in three days. I was instantly pulled into this struggle for power from the opening chapters so that the more I learned about the characters, the more I had to find out who would win. I love how expertly the first two characters were introduced so by the time you had met all of the main characters, you had no idea who you should root for and who to believe.
Typically, fantasy books take me longer to read, especially if they are introducing a completely new world, but I'm surprised how quickly I was able to read Incarnation. I attribute that to how evenly the world building takes place. There is no major info dump in the beginning of the book making it difficult to get into in the beginning. I liked learning more about the magic system with the more I read instead of having to constantly flip back to the beginning where the explanation typically is.
While An Incarnation of Shadow and Light finishes with a satisfying ending, there is definitely room for more stories in this world. I can't wait to read them!
adventurous
fast-paced
Thank you to Libro FM for the gifted audiobook of Monsters Born and Made through their educator ALC program! All opinions in this review are my own.
My two favorite things about Monsters Born and Made are the plot structure and the world. I always love books that are framed in a trial system or there are tasks that the main character needs to complete so this aspect really appealed to me. The world is also incredibly engrossing and I love the strong ties to the ocean. I can't wait to read more books by Tanvi Berwah!
My two favorite things about Monsters Born and Made are the plot structure and the world. I always love books that are framed in a trial system or there are tasks that the main character needs to complete so this aspect really appealed to me. The world is also incredibly engrossing and I love the strong ties to the ocean. I can't wait to read more books by Tanvi Berwah!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook of The Labyrinth of Doom through their educator ALC program! All opinions in this review are my own.
The Labyrinth of Doom is the second book in the Once Upon a Tim series. I have not read the first book but after listening to the second one, I definitely want to go back to it!
While the audiobook of The Labyrinth of Doom is missing the fun illustrations of the print version, I have to recommend this full cast version that also includes sound effects! I love when audiobooks have multiple narrators and use sounds or music to more fully immerse the reader in the story and The Labyrinth of Doom does not disappoint! I listened to it in just one sitting because the sense of adventure and danger coupled with humourous moments made this audiobook really fun to listen to!
The Labyrinth of Doom is the second book in the Once Upon a Tim series. I have not read the first book but after listening to the second one, I definitely want to go back to it!
While the audiobook of The Labyrinth of Doom is missing the fun illustrations of the print version, I have to recommend this full cast version that also includes sound effects! I love when audiobooks have multiple narrators and use sounds or music to more fully immerse the reader in the story and The Labyrinth of Doom does not disappoint! I listened to it in just one sitting because the sense of adventure and danger coupled with humourous moments made this audiobook really fun to listen to!
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of Gone For Gouda! All opinions in this review are my own.
I have been on such a cozy mystery kick lately and I'm happy I found the Cheese Shop Mystery series! While I typically gravitate towards cozy mysteries set in bookshops or libraries, I loved the setting of the small town cheese shop for this one! There are many recipes described (and included in the back) that sound so good! The mystery kept me guessing until the end and I can't wait to read more books in this series!
I have been on such a cozy mystery kick lately and I'm happy I found the Cheese Shop Mystery series! While I typically gravitate towards cozy mysteries set in bookshops or libraries, I loved the setting of the small town cheese shop for this one! There are many recipes described (and included in the back) that sound so good! The mystery kept me guessing until the end and I can't wait to read more books in this series!
Thank you to Libro FM for the gifted audiobook of If You Change Your Mind through their educator ALC program! All opinions in this review are my own.
There is so much going on in If You Change Your Mind! Harry has to think about college, he is trying to get over his ex while also possibly finding someone new, and now he also knows a secret about his best friend!
I loved the characters in If You Change Your Mind. Harry isn't perfect and he makes, sometimes frequent, mistakes, but at the end of the day, his experience of the last summer before his senior year in high school is incredibly relatable. He has so much going on while also trying to figure out who he is and what he wants. This was such a great end of summer read!
There is so much going on in If You Change Your Mind! Harry has to think about college, he is trying to get over his ex while also possibly finding someone new, and now he also knows a secret about his best friend!
I loved the characters in If You Change Your Mind. Harry isn't perfect and he makes, sometimes frequent, mistakes, but at the end of the day, his experience of the last summer before his senior year in high school is incredibly relatable. He has so much going on while also trying to figure out who he is and what he wants. This was such a great end of summer read!
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Forever for the gifted copy of The Perks of Loving a Wallflower! All opinions in this review are my own.
Despite it being the second book in the series, The Perks of Loving a Wallflower was the first book I read in The Wild Wynchesters series and I loved it! I can't wait to read the other two books in the series!
Miss Philippa York is an easy character to relate to. She spends all of her money on books and hosts a reading circle for her friends. Despite her parents' wishes, Philippa would much rather curl up with a good book that attend balls looking for a suitor.
Enter Tommy Wynchester. Tommy can play almost any character she needs to in order to successfully complete a mission. Although she has loved Philippa from afar for a year, Tommy finally works up the courage to talk to her...in a costume.
I loved this mix of fake dating romance with adventure as Tommy and Philippa help their friend get credit for an idea while discovering important historical information! There is so much happening in this story and the love between Tommy and Philippa is so sweet! I cannot recommend The Perks of Loving a Wallflower enough!
Despite it being the second book in the series, The Perks of Loving a Wallflower was the first book I read in The Wild Wynchesters series and I loved it! I can't wait to read the other two books in the series!
Miss Philippa York is an easy character to relate to. She spends all of her money on books and hosts a reading circle for her friends. Despite her parents' wishes, Philippa would much rather curl up with a good book that attend balls looking for a suitor.
Enter Tommy Wynchester. Tommy can play almost any character she needs to in order to successfully complete a mission. Although she has loved Philippa from afar for a year, Tommy finally works up the courage to talk to her...in a costume.
I loved this mix of fake dating romance with adventure as Tommy and Philippa help their friend get credit for an idea while discovering important historical information! There is so much happening in this story and the love between Tommy and Philippa is so sweet! I cannot recommend The Perks of Loving a Wallflower enough!
Thank you to BiblioLifestyle, Harper Voyager, William Morrow, and the author for the gifted copy of THE RIVER OF SILVER! All opinions in this review are my own.
If you loved The Daevabad Trilogy (City of Brass, Kingdom of Copper, and Empire of Gold), you need to read the newest book in the series!
In The River of Silver, S. A. Chakraborty revisits the world explored in the original trilogy through short stories. As explained in the author's note prefacing this collection, some of these stories were cut from the original novels and others were tales Chakraborty wanted to explore more.
I love that each story starts with a few sentences explaining the context for the upcoming story and whether or not there are spoilers for the other books. While I definitely recommend reading The River of Silver after reading the original trilogy, it is possible to read these stories alongside the other books with these notes.
I loved returning this world and now I think it calls for a reread of the trilogy!
If you loved The Daevabad Trilogy (City of Brass, Kingdom of Copper, and Empire of Gold), you need to read the newest book in the series!
In The River of Silver, S. A. Chakraborty revisits the world explored in the original trilogy through short stories. As explained in the author's note prefacing this collection, some of these stories were cut from the original novels and others were tales Chakraborty wanted to explore more.
I love that each story starts with a few sentences explaining the context for the upcoming story and whether or not there are spoilers for the other books. While I definitely recommend reading The River of Silver after reading the original trilogy, it is possible to read these stories alongside the other books with these notes.
I loved returning this world and now I think it calls for a reread of the trilogy!
informative
Thank you to Hachette for the gifted copy of The New Royals! All opinions in this review are my own.
The New Royals is a great summary for someone who is looking for an introduction to the modern events of the royal family. While the book does start further back at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, it is mainly focused on her children and grandchildren.
Originally, this book was slated to come out in November but was released in September, no doubt due to the death of the queen. Reading this book after her death does not change it's reading as it's very speculative towards the end about Charles's rule. As of right now, there are still many unanswered questions about what kind of king he will be, but this will age the book once he has been king for a few years.
My one complaint was that I was not a huge fan of how the author would insert herself in the narrative at times. Nicholl would often include a sentence stating how she had attended certain events or had covered them. Her few personal sentences didn't add any details to the event being described and it made the book seem biased by doing so.
Read this book if you want an overview of current royal family over the past 30 years or so.
The New Royals is a great summary for someone who is looking for an introduction to the modern events of the royal family. While the book does start further back at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, it is mainly focused on her children and grandchildren.
Originally, this book was slated to come out in November but was released in September, no doubt due to the death of the queen. Reading this book after her death does not change it's reading as it's very speculative towards the end about Charles's rule. As of right now, there are still many unanswered questions about what kind of king he will be, but this will age the book once he has been king for a few years.
My one complaint was that I was not a huge fan of how the author would insert herself in the narrative at times. Nicholl would often include a sentence stating how she had attended certain events or had covered them. Her few personal sentences didn't add any details to the event being described and it made the book seem biased by doing so.
Read this book if you want an overview of current royal family over the past 30 years or so.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted ebook of Your Table Is Ready! All opinions in this review are my own.
I DNFed Your Table is Ready at 14%. Honestly, I realized this book is just not for me. While I thought I would be interested in the fast-paced restaurant world, I found that these tales were just not keeping my attention.
I DNFed Your Table is Ready at 14%. Honestly, I realized this book is just not for me. While I thought I would be interested in the fast-paced restaurant world, I found that these tales were just not keeping my attention.