morganthebee's Reviews (489)

Sapling's Rising is the conclusion of the Biokin Chronicles, and for the most part it wraps things up in a really interesting conclusion. There was one thing that wasn't resolved that should have been very early in the book (like, in the first chapter early), but I can't say more without spoiling something.

In this novella our intrepid duo make their way to an EVO space station, where they'll make friends and enemies as they continue to help each other on their quests. There is a really interesting twist in Sapling's Rising that I did not see coming but made sense within the story, which is always a treat. The writing has continued to improve as the story progressed and this installment is no different, with smoother dialogue and more emotional growth and development for Addison and Mila, which leads to a really great conclusion of our heroines' adventure. 

I received a free ARC from the author, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

Another installment, another planet in Sapling's Depths, this time with mysterious deaths and intrigue! We also get new side characters here, what with being on a new world, including someone from Mila's past. This gives more insight into her character than we've had before and helps to round her out, which is great. Addison also gets some growth here, becoming a bit more worldly, and both young women start to realize the depth of their feelings for each other as well.

Sapling's Depths does end on more of a cliffhanger than the first two, which I thought was a bit unnecessary, and I don't think I enjoyed this part of the story quite as much as the other two, although I'd put it ahead of both in the quality of the writing itself. Still a great YA sci-fi, and worth the read if you've already read the first two (if you haven't go read them first, then come back to this).

I received a free ARC from the author, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

Sapling's Aurora picks up where the previous book left off, with our heroines Addison and Mila crash landing on a planet on the further reaches of the story's universe. Here they'll grow closer, make some friends/allies, solve a bit of a mystery, and figure out how to get their ship, Scout, back up and running to get off planet and get on with their adventure.

Spencer Rose's writing has definitely improved and gotten a bit cleaner, and the dialogue is better in the second novella in the Biokin Chronicles tetralogy. It's still a quick read, but it's basically it's own stand alone story, and I really enjoyed that we were progressing through the story without being left on a big cliffhanger, although the adventure is far from over. I've already finished the series (I read it all in two days), but when I got to the end of Sapling's Aurora I was definitely looking forward to more.

I received a free ARC from the author, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

Sapling's Orbit is the first novella in the Biokin Chronicles tetralogy, and it's a fun, quick read with an interesting premise. It kicks us off on a nice YA sci-fi adventure, introducing the main characters in the series, Addison and Mila, and establishing the universe they'll be traversing over the next three installments. 

I really enjoyed the concept and characters: Addison is a naive biokin, or person who has an affinity for and ability to connect with plants, and Mila is a somewhat jaded pilot who grew up too quickly, and reluctantly agrees to take Addison into space on the first leg of her pilgrimage, which all biokin embark on when reaching the age of 16. I did find the dialogue to be a bit stilted at times and felt like there was a bit of inconsistency in the writing, but for a debut book it was fairly well thought out and it was imaginative. Overall a solid story.

I received a free ARC from the author, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

I’ll be honest: if I was basing my review of You’re the Problem, It’s You on just the first third of the book this would have been a 3 star read for me, and maybe even lower. I found James to be frustrating and unlikable in the earlier part of the story, and I didn’t find myself sympathetic to him in the least. Fortunately the story picked up in enjoyment for me after that and I quite liked the second half of the book, enough to bring it up to a 4 star read overall.

I loved reading about Bobby again, and the return of Gwen and Beth, along with Lord and Lady Havenfort, Albie and Meredith, among others. As insufferable as I found James in the early part of the book, once he finally starts to open up the story vastly improved, and I found myself cheering James and Bobby on. I did feel like the resolution was a bit abrupt, but it wasn’t too out of place or off the wall, and the story flowed well. Overall this was a nice follow up to Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend, and a worthwhile read once I got further into it.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

Queens of Geek was a super cute (and super awkward), extremely diverse, girls-supporting-girls story with wonderful characters. I liked the mix of relationships, and the whole story takes place over the weekend at a comic convention, which my geek heart loved. 

I think Jen Wilde was trying to do a lot in a very short period of time, but it worked. There are really two stories intertwined here, as it's told from the perspective of Charlie, a YouTuber and indie film actress who has a massive crush on Alyssa, another YouTuber; and Taylor, one of her best friends, who is in love with Jamie, their third best friend and one of the other main characters in the story. I really enjoyed both stories and how they wove together, with Charlie flitting in and out of Taylor's side, and Taylor and Jamie popping into Charlie's, but leaving each their own distinct tale.

I do think the conversations felt a bit stilted and didn't flow naturally at times, but the way the author handled anxiety and a lot of other issues was really well done. The plot was fun, and I really cared about Charlie, Taylor, and all the other characters that made appearances (well, except for Reese. I didn't really care about him, but that's because he was generally a jerk).

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it, kudos to Cat Gould and Sarah Mollo-Christensen. I especially loved Cat's portrayal of Taylor. Overall this is a great YA novel filled with cultural references and just a ton of fun.

I quite enjoyed The Name-Bearer. The cover is gorgeous, and I thought the story was interesting. I liked the mix of realism and fantasy and the weight that Natalia Hernandez gives names, not just with the name-bearer and the sovereign but throughout the story. I loved all the characters and the diversity, and the exploration of the Name-Bearer and her discovery of who she is as a person, although I would have liked more insight into some of the more primary side characters. 

I think there was a lot of telling instead of showing, I wanted things to be a bit more, and I think it made the book come across as younger than Hernandez may have intended. I also found it a little jumbled sometimes. Most of the story is told from the perspective of the Name-Bearer, but when it switches to someone else it was confusing. One last thing about the story itself: it is part of a trilogy so it is a cliffhanger, but even then it ended extremely abruptly, and I found myself surprised by it when it got to that point. I mean it just...stopped. 

I listened to the audiobook and there were some pronunciations that were way off that I found a bit jarring, but even still I loved Ana Osorio's voice and I'll continue with the audio. Overall I thought The Name-Bearer was a fairly strong showing for a debut novel, and I do intend to continue the series.

I enjoyed Mountain Witch, although I was a little surprised that it didn't pick up where book 1 of the Knight Protector series left off. I liked the premise of this one and the story flowed well, unfolding at a nice pace, albeit a slower one than the first. I also enjoyed the characters, although I wanted to see more interaction between Brynja and the elven witch.

Lynne Ennis again did a great job with the voices, and she's quite lovely to listen to, but I do have the same hesitation I did in the first book where I felt like some of the characters sounded older than they should have. Still a nice performance, though, just like in Squire Derel.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from the author, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.