Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this young adult fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

I have always had a soft spot for fairy tale retellings and this showcases one of me favourites - the twelve dancing princesses.  But it is darker than the more recent retellings of this story that I am used to.  I very much enjoyed the introduction to the novel which starts at a funeral for one of the sisters.  The world-building that revolves around the sea and island life made me very happy indeed.

I did mostly enjoy the two sisters Annaleigh and Verity but would have liked the rest of them to be fleshed out more.  I thought that the majority of the older sisters were kinda selfish and frustrating.  Not that they aren't selfish in the oldest versions of the fairytale but they seemed more like caricatures in this version.

The first half of the book was delightful but I didn't really love the turns the plot took later in the novel.  It was hard to understand what was real and what wasn't at the very end.  It was a bit too convoluted for me taste.  I would have preferred less of Annaleigh dithering and to have seen more about island life.  The romance didn't really work for me either.  I will say that I did love where the sisters ended up dancing every night.  I have no regrets about reading this atmospheric retelling for the new take on the beloved tale.

So lastly . . .
Thank you Random House Children's / Delacorte Press!

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Ahoy there me mateys! So this book be an alternative history set in the Reconstruction era with young black adult zombie killers. Cool, right? And a lot of it takes place in Baltimore which be a port I called home once upon a time. So I just had to read this one. And I can say that it is certainly a very fun story.

I genuinely loved the main character, Jane McKeene. She be me kinda gal. She is intelligent, gusty, smart-mouthed, a fierce fighter, and just plain fun. I would totally want her as part of me crew. Actually I rather liked all the characters in this book and even loved to dislike the bad guys and gals as well.

I am in the minority though when it comes to the plot. I absolutely adored the set-up of the novel, the introduction of the major characters, the reimaging of the civil war's ending due to zombie apocalypse, the combat schools, the politics, and the world-building in general.

However, the author chose to make a rather abrupt decision half-way through the book and changed locations. The focus and pacing shifted. The action decreased. I didn't really care for the new direction the author took it. But I adored the characters and did need to know how the book ended. Which also wasn't to me taste. The ending was very, very convenient.

That being said because I love the world and the characters that overall I very much enjoyed meself. I will likely read more of the further adventures of Jane McKeene. Me quibbles were small and the crew heartily seems to be giving this one 5 stars all around. So check it out. Ye might be one of them. Arrr!

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Ahoy there mateys! I tried to read this book and got about half-way through. I liked some of the world-building and the dog. Todd annoyed the hell out of me. I stopped reading and meant to pick it back up again. But at this point I really don't want to. So I am abandoning this book and the series as a whole. Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! This is me third book by the author and will not be me last. This book was a fun sci-fi thriller that deals with the ideas of memory. What happens if a person suddenly, out of the blue, has memories of a past life that they never lived? What could go wrong?

Well in this book a cop named Barry Sutton finds out when he goes to help a potential suicide jumper. The woman has “False Memory Syndrome” and is grieving the child she never had. Barry’s interactions lead to lots of questions. A mystery is born and it’s one that only increases in scale when Barry himself develops the syndrome. At the heart of the issue is a scientist Helena. Barry and Helena get caught up in the FMS and what it means for the future of the world.

I really, really enjoyed this novel. It deals with time travel, consequences of actions, the roads previously not taken, a bit of romance, and of course saving the world. I absolutely loved following the course of the changing time frames through the two characters’ lives. The only negative things were some dragging moments and some (to me) major plot holes especially towards the end. But the ride was quick, thrilling, and fun. And the actual last chapter. Perfect. Arrrr!

Check out this quote from Matey Nilufer @ Goodreads:

"So this book is amazing combination of time traveling, alternated lifetimes, Minority Reports meet Groundhog Day versus Black Mirror and Back to the Future kinda fascinating science fiction crashes into thriller and romance starting with . . . jaw dropping scene and you’re hooked!"

And this one from Mogsy @ the bibliosanctum:

"If the best thrillers make you feel breathless, then Recursion by Blake Crouch is definitely one you don’t want to miss! I also laughed, fretted, and raged a little. Heck, I’m not ashamed to admit I even cried some. I swear, if all books were this exciting and addictive, there’d be no such thing as reading slumps. But then I guess we’d also be in a lot of trouble, because nothing would ever get done and no one would ever leave their house again."

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Ahoy there mateys! I have no idea where or how I first encountered this book but I knew I wanted to read it. The problem was finding a copy as Amazon lists it as a “rare book.” I had never read the author’s works before but then there was an eArc of walking to aldebaran on NetGalley and I was luckily approved. I loved it and I was thus determined to find dogs of war. I wanted a copy for me kindle but couldn’t get one so I finally broke down and bought a beautiful paperback version.

So what was it about this book got me attention back in day? Well this novel is about a pack of bioform war dogs and the story is told from the perspective of the pack leader, Rex. Now mind ye, Rex is a seven foot tall dog-beast with a scary voice and is bristling with weapons. The rest of his pack is even weirder. They are designed to always obey their Master. But Rex is smart and something isn’t adding up. Should Rex continue to follow his programming and be a “Good Dog ” or should he try and figure out the problem?

Now it be true that the beginning of this book is more of a military war story but that doesn’t last. And that’s a good thing. Partway through, the tone of the book shifts and the book delves into the legal and ethical ramifications of the bioforms and their programming with lots of social commentary. Along the way ye follow Rex and how both he and society are changing.

It was weird and wonderful. I absolutely loved Rex and the other members of the pack. Not only was the book thought-provoking but I very much enjoyed the implications of the technology and the ending. It was worth every bit of trouble to track down a copy of this book. I will be reading more of the author’s works. Arrrr!

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Ahoy there mateys! Unpopular opinion time!! Okay so I didn’t love this book. Hear me out. I picked up this book a couple of times, started to read it, and then wasn’t feeling it. So I kept returning it to the library and going back on the never-ending hold list. I felt bad about this because I adored the author’s book the seven husbands of evelyn hugo.

I was going to give up on it but didn’t only because I kept reading all of these reviews about how good the book was. Finally I read a crew member’s review (don’t remember who) who said the audiobook was the way to go. So I decided to see if that improved the experience any.

And aye, the audiobook production is absolutely stellar. I thought the voice acting was awesome and enjoyed the interviews being played out in that format. It helped me get through the book. And aye, the writing was also excellent. So what was the problem?

The darn characters. In the author’s other book, I didn’t always love Evelyn Hugo but I did find her story to be fascinating and compelling. She was a complicated woman with flaws. However, in this book I kinda despised them all. Daisy Jones was a selfish, whiny twit. Billy was a different kinda selfish. I did appreciate his struggle to be sober. I did not appreciate his ego and ridiculous behavior when it came to Daisy (and frankly everyone else). So I didn’t really like the two main protagonists in the story.

As for the rest of the band, the other male members were basically interchangeable and boring. The grumbly one, the brother, and I (seriously) can’t really describe the other two. The drummer maybe? The only band member I loved was Karen Karen and ye certainly didn’t get enough page time with her. I mean seriously why couldn’t she have been the main character? Though I also did enjoy Billy’s wife, Camila, and really thought she could have done much better. Her presence in the novel was the shining thread that held the book together. But in general, all the characters (besides Camila) felt kinda flat.

I also didn’t like the interviewer plot twist. I didn’t like the interviewer plot twist in evelyn hugo either. Lame. That said, I did like the ending of the book in terms of where the band members ended up. That was the best part of the book for me.

The writing style did make it seem like a “real” portrayal of a band from the era but I am the WORST person to judge that. While I like music, I don’t like listening to live bands and I don’t care at all about the artists themselves other than being glad they gave me good songs. Much like with authors and actors, I prefer not to really know about the real people. And from what I have seen of musicians from that era, they all seem like rich, selfish, stupid, whiny, egotistical people. And I really don’t like drug addicts. Too many in me family.

Aye, I know some wonderful people that happen to be actors and I hear about nice, kind authors from the crew fairly often. So there must be lovely musicians out there too. But for me Daisy Jones and the Six was basically a band full of what I consider the worst sort of behavior and ethics. Rape, destroying property, drug use, etc. should not be glamorized in me world. Fame and money do not justify bad behavior. In fact, I usually think fame is stupid. Though I would enjoy being rich.

So while I am glad I finished this book, I can’t say that I actually liked it. I could appreciate the writing and the audiobook production values but was glad when it was over. I still think the author is talented and will be reading more of her work. Arrr!

Side note: Immediately after finishing the audiobook, I found Matey KayCKay’s lovely review in me inbox which actually sums up the problems of the book very nicely. A quote is referenced below but ye really should read the whole thing. It even has a Pros and Cons list!

She said "I’m a bit disappointed in this book, to be honest. I love the author’s other books and I will continue to read her future work, but I was expecting something way more exciting and fun here! Nothing really happens in the book – Daisy joined The Six, they wrote songs, they performed together, they fought, the played mind games, they acted immaturely, they cheated, they lied, they did drugs, they broke up, the end. The story felt directionless and I just can’t get past the self-destructive behavior, the superficial emotional nonsense, and the general flatness of this story. It wasn’t enjoyable."

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