My Best Reads of 2022

I read a lot of books this year, but these were the ones that I loved the most. As usual, I'm separating them into genres. This year it's fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery, thriller, romance, sci-fi/space opera, and I'm also adding a classic and a horror this year. Yes, there is a horror one on here, a genre I rarely read. This list doesn't include any of the rereads I did this year, because if I did that, I would be repeating some winners from previous years.

 

First up, Fantasy:  

I couldn't choose between The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson and Dragonfall by David Estes. I enjoyed them equally, so they are both going on the list. And although I wouldn't say these are the best books in either of those series, they were still really good reads and better than anything else I read this year in the fantasy genre.

I thought The Lost Metal was slower paced than the other second era books in the Mistborn series, and although I enjoyed it, it didn't compel me to pick it up the way the others did. I also think I would have enjoyed it more if there hadn't been such a long wait between books. Still, this is one of my favorite fantasy series and I'm looking forward to reading the third era. I think what really made me enjoy this one the most was the way it ended. It was somewhat bittersweet in a way, but very appropriate. I'm sad that the second era is over, but also looking forward to reading the third era books.

I unexpectedly ended up loving the first book in the Kingfall Histories series. I had no expectations when I started reading it, but after a beginning that seemed a tad bit too dark for me, I was pleasantly surprised. Needless to say I was looking forward to continuing on with the series. Dragonfall didn't disappoint, and although everything didn't go the way I was hoping, it didn't matter, because the book was so good. I especially loved Peony's story line. See my review here.

 

Urban Fantasy: 

 

Soul Taken was a little slow to get going for me, and it didn't really advance the overall plot of the series, but there were still plenty of good things about it. Plus most of the time I'm going to enjoy reading a Patricia Briggs book more than anything else. Her writing always ends up grabbing me, and after a slow start I ended up not being able to put this book down. See my review here.

 

 

Mystery: 

 

I read a lot of mysteries this year, particularly a lot of Hercule Poirot mysteries, and it was a little hard to narrow it down to just one, but I think my very favorite mystery I read this year was The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It was masterfully done! See my review here.

Thriller:

 

I loved this little unexpected, self published gem, The Fortuna Coin by Karen Ann Hopkins. It made a big impact on me, and after I finished it I thought about it for a long time. See my review here.

 

Sci-fi / Space Opera:

 

The Domino Pattern by Timothy Zahn. I read quite of few books in this genre that I thought were really good, but this series was the one that I loved the most, and although the whole series was good, I immediately knew that this book was the one I had to put as my favorite. See my review here.

  

Romance:

I've been loving The Birch Creek Ranch series by B. E. Baker. She released the first book in the series last year, and it made my best book list last year. This year she ended up releasing three more books in the series, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading each of them. I really can't pick just one of them to feature here, so I'm going to just add all three of them, The Vow, The Ranch, and The Retreat. They go together as one continuous story, so why not?  

See my review for The Vow here.  

See my review for The Ranch here.

See my review for The Retreat here. 

 

 

 

Classic:

 

I read several classics this year, and out of all of them, I loved the completion of Sanditon by Another Lady (AKA Anne Telscombe) the most. While it wasn't perfect, I thought it gave good closure to the story. See my review here.

 

Horror:

Ok I'm shocked that I enjoyed this book so much. It isn't something I would have picked up for myself, but it was one of our book club reads this year, and I was so surprised at how much I liked this book. I was so glued to it! It's a blend of horror and post apocalyptic fiction, two genres that I don't typically care for all that much. If I'm doing creepy, then I like creepy ghost stories the best, but this was creepy in a different, but good way. See my review here.

That's it! I hope you all had a good reading year, and I look forward to 2023 and all the great books I'll get to read.

 

Book Mail!

I read Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson a few years ago and loved it. I have an ebook copy of it, but I've wanted a hardcover copy for a long time. I recently found out that I could buy a copy on Brandon Sanderson's website and couldn't resist ordering one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cool thing about this hardcover copy, is that when you flip it over you get the cover for another short story by Sanderson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it's like the book has two front covers.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't read Dreamer yet, but I'm looking forward to it!

 

 

 

 

A Bramble House Christmas by C.J. Carmichael

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance
Content: Off page lovemaking

 

Finn Knightly a.k.a. Finn Conrad wants to know why his recently deceased father left his nurse fifty thousand dollars after knowing her a mere six weeks. So he travels to Bramble House B&B in Marietta, Montana to find answers.

But Willa Fairchild is not the conniving woman he expects to find. Before he knows it, Willa-and her six-year-old son Scout-are stealing his heart. And that’s before he finds out Scout’s secret and the real reason this Christmas is so important. 

 

After seeing the Hallmark movie version of this book and loving it, I decided I wanted to read the book that inspired it. To me this is one of the best Hallmark movies I've ever seen. It wasn't cringe worthy or cheesy like a lot of them are. It had more substance. The story tackles some heavy subjects, like cancer and losing a parent, but in the end it left me with such a heartwarming feeling. It's one of the only ones that I've watched more than once, and it had me tearing up a bit each time. 

I ended up enjoying this book almost as much as the movie. I have to admit that the actors brought the characters to life and added just the right amount of emotion to their roles. I felt a little more connected to the characters on the screen than I did while reading the book, but the book is still very good. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the movie stayed pretty true to the book. There were a few things left out, or changed of course, but most of the book, and the same lovely message, was there. 

This is actually part of a companion series, but works fine as a standalone. It did get me mildly interested in reading about some of the other couples in the book though. If you're looking for a holiday romance that isn't as cheesy as a lot of them can be, then give this one a try. I recommend the movie and the book.

 

 

 

 

 

November 2022 Reading Challenge

 

This is the George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University. I think it's so beautiful and it's been the background on my desktop for years.

That brings me to the reading challenge for November. It was all about library books and was titled- 

Library Archives- Challenge: clean up your library wish list. 

After some discussion we decided that we could also include books on other borrow lists, like Hoopla, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible Plus.

Sadly, I didn't do so well on this challenge. The book club read, Devolution was a library book, but it wasn't really sitting on my list until last month, so I probably shouldn't include that one. But, a couple of the books I had planned to read were from my KU list, and a couple of them were from my Hoopla list so I'm including those. I just don't feel very accomplished because I was planning on reading them anyway.

These are the ones I knocked off my lists:

A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni

A Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni

A Wick Conceit by Anna Lee Huber

Colonyside by Michael Mammay

 

December 2022 Reading List

Here are the books I have planned to read in December:

 

A few of us on Goodreads are doing a pick it for me challenge where we put up a list of books we want to read, and we let a friend pick the one we will read each month. This is the one that got picked for me for December.

 

The last of the published Lady Darby books. There will be more, but it worked out that we got to this one at the end of the year so we can start on something new in January for our Mystery Book Club.

 

I'm super excited to read this latest Innkeeper book! I plan on starting it the day it's released.

 

I've been waiting for a third book in this series for ages. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy from NetGalley. 

 

Our Fantasy Book Club book for December. I actually started this one a couple of days early. I wanted to get an early start on it because it's really long.

 

The last two published Tracy Crosswhite books. There's another one coming soon, but just like with the Lady Darby series, we are trying to get this one up to date by the end of the year so we can start a couple of new series in the Mystery Book Club.

 

 

That's it. I think that's a lot for December with the holidays and all. Hopefully I will have time to spontaneously read some other holiday themed books as well.

November 2022 Wrap-Up

I had nine books planned for November and I ended up reading all by one of them. I didn't get to Son of Shadows by Juliet Marillier. That one is a buddy read I'm doing with a couple of other ladies on Goodreads, and it got pushed back until January. It's a long and emotional type read, and I think we all realized we didn't have the time to dedicate to it right now.

Here are the books I did get to and my ratings and brief comments for them. I'll post reviews for some of them later, if I haven't already:

 

 

A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language 

A good entry in the series. I liked the relationship stuff in the story with Tracy and Dan and there are a couple of new characters introduced that seem to be staying.

 

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy

Content: Strong language, Gory deaths

See my review here.

 

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Clean

See my review here.

 

 

Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans

This was one from October that I needed to finish up in November. It ended up being a DNF.

See my review here.

 

Spaceside by Michael Mammay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera, Sci-fi
Content: Strong Language

This was a good sequel to Planetside. The end had me wanting to start the third book right away!

 

A Wicked Conceit by Anna Lee Huber

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language

For me, this was the weakest book in the series so far. It was slow to get going and I got bored at some parts. It finally picked up after the murder finally happened, well into the book. Also, Kiera's sister annoyed me so much. Thankfully that's finally resolved.

 

 

 Mistborn Secret History by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

See my review here.

 

 

A Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

As with all the books in this series, I found this book to be a very engrossing read. I liked that Dan's case plays a big part in this one. The story illustrated how torn Tracy was to go back to work now that she's a mother. There was some needless relationship drama that could have been resolved much sooner if they had just talked. I especially liked the author's note at the end of this one. It tells about the person this book is dedicated to.

 

 

Death at the Falls by Rosemary Simpson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language

See my review here. 

 

The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson 

I'm still reading the Lost Metal. I'm reading the hardcover and it takes me a lot longer to get through those because I don't have as much time to just sit and read. I am enjoying this one very much though, and I'm ok with taking my time with it.

I also squeezed in a few other reads this month. I love these spontaneous ones! 

 

 

Colonyside by Michael Mammay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera, Sci-fi
Content: Strong Language

I had to read this one after the way Spaceside ended! I've enjoyed all three of these books. I think the author has plans to write more in this series, and when he does, I'll definitely read them.

 

 A Bramble House Christmas by C. J. Carmichael

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Romance
Content: Off page lovemaking

After so much mystery and fantasy, I needed a romance. This one was perfect for the holidays. Plus I had seen the Hallmark movie version of this and wanted to read the book that inspired it. To me this is one of the best Hallmark movies I've ever seen. It wasn't cringe worthy or cheesy like a lot of them are. It had more substance.

 

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Content: Memories of abuse and rape are discussed by one of the characters

I started a reread of this series a couple of months ago. This time reading all the Mercy-verse books in chronological order with the hubby. This novella is the second story in the timeline.

Death at the Falls (Gilded Age Mystery #7) by Rosemary Simpson

  

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong Language

 

Set amidst the opulent mansions and cobblestone streets of 1800’s New York, this atmospheric new historical mystery brings the Gilded Age to life in a tantalizing tale of old money, new love, and grave suspicion, as newly-minted lawyer Prudence MacKenzie and ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter travel to Niagara Falls for a dangerous assignment…

October 1890: As Prudence and Geoffrey settle into the most elegant hotel in Canadian Niagara, they observe a popular tourist area torn between natural beauty and industrial power. Also attracting their attentions are the antics of daredevil Crazy Louie Whiting, determined to be the first person to navigate the falls without drowning. Shortly after their arrival, Crazy Louie sends a specially designed test barrel containing a sheep over the falls. But when the barrel is retrieved and opened, the battered body of a local Tuscarora Indian spills out.

When Geoffrey and Prudence learn of the dead man’s suspicions about rampant bribery among greedy land developers and local officials, they wonder if there’s a connection to their client, Rowan Adderly. A young woman whose father disappeared while she was a child, the land she is due to inherit could be worth millions—and inevitably the sharks have come feeding.

In a move to block Rowan’s inheritance, her greedy grandmother has declared Rowan to be the illegitimate offspring of an illicit affair between her son and a seductive Irish songstress. As Prudence and Geoffrey dig deeper into the region’s undercurrent of opportunistic greed, their investigation is impeded at every turn by murder and attempted murder. They will have to work quickly to solve a convoluted case before a determined killer sends one of them on a fatal plunge . . .

 

This is the seventh book in the Gilded Age Mystery Series and I've enjoyed some of the books while others have been lackluster for me. This one ended up being a lackluster read. I definitely haven't liked the books where the author changes the setting. In this one Prudence and Geoffrey travel to Niagra Falls for a case. I had a hard time getting into this book. The overall plot just didn't interest me. I started to get interested more when Josiah and Amos came on the scene to help with the investigation. Their characters were more interesting to me this time than Prudence and Geoffrey. 

There were some twists and reveals in the book that were pretty easy to figure out. This was one of those books where the reader is privy to more information than the characters doing the investigation, and I really don't like those kinds of mysteries. After I got into the book about halfway, I realized that Prudence and Geoffrey basically did nothing but talk to some people in this book. They didn't uncover anything related to the investigation themselves. It was all other people, at least for most of the book. Then of course Prudence goes and gets herself into trouble yet again. At least this time she got herself out of it.

In the beginning I thought there would be relationship progress between Prudence and Geoffrey, but nothing ends up happening besides a small teaser at the end, which felt like it came out of nowhere. I didn't feel any chemistry between them in this book. I know this is mainly about the mystery, but the background romance was something I was hoping would progress and develop by now. At this point, I think it may be time for me to part ways with this series. It's been too up and down for me and I'm just not liking it enough to keep going.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie

   

 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Clean

 

From seat No. 9, Hercule Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers on the short flight from Paris to London. Over to his right sat a pretty young woman, clearly infatuated with the man opposite; ahead, in seat No. 13, sat a countess with a poorly concealed cocaine habit; across the gangway in seat No. 8, a writer of detective fiction was being troubled by an aggressive wasp.

Yes, Poirot is almost ideally placed to take it all in, except what he did not yet realize was that behind him, in seat No. 2, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman. Murdered, and likely by someone in Poirot’s immediate proximity.  

 

An enjoyable mystery, although not one of my favorites. I did figure out who the murderer was pretty early on, although I did second guess myself a few times. There are a ton of red herrings in this book, so that made it hard to know for sure if I was right. I was also sure I knew how the murder was done the whole time, only to find out I was wrong about that part. I didn't find any of the passengers on the plane to be likable as they all had some serious flaws, even the one person I'm pretty sure I was supposed to like. I think that made me not like the book quite as much as I could have. Mostly, I found this to be interesting, but with some dull spots that caused me to get bored with the story. Still, it was a solid mystery.

The TV episode of Poirot was pretty good, and stayed pretty faithful to the book, but there were some changes. A few of the characters were cut out. Inspector Japp is given a larger role than in the book. Jane Grey is an air stewardess on the plane. And the whole bit about Jean Dupont falling in love with Jane is left out.

 

 

 

“Close your eyes, my friend instead of opening them wide. Use the eyes of the brain, not of the body. Let the little grey cells of the mind function … Let it be their task to show you what actually happened.

 

 

 

 

November 2022 Book Club: Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy

Content: Strong language, Gory deaths

 

The #1 bestselling author of World War Z takes on the Bigfoot legend with a tale that blurs the lines between human and beast—and asks what we are capable of in the face of the unimaginable.
 
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten.
 
In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.
 
Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.
 
Yet it is also far more than that.
 
Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.
 
Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before. 

 

Horror isn't my usual genre, but this one was a bit different. In the beginning I wasn't sure I was going to like this, and not because of the horror aspect of it. It was because of the clueless, unlikable characters. But as I read, I realized that these clueless characters were going to get the surprise of their lives, and I was in! This starts out with Kate and her husband arriving at a planned green community out in the middle of a forest. Everything is supposed to be echo friendly and sustainable. But they find out how very unprepared they are when disaster strikes. 

 

“They all want to live “in harmony with nature” before some of them realize, too late, that nature is anything but harmonious.” 

 

If you've read books about preppers, then I would say this one is kind of the opposite of that. These people think they are prepared to live their lives out there in the wilderness, but they have no idea what they are doing. I think the best thing about the book is how some very naive, inept people learned and grew into tough individuals because they had to. And they are so very lucky to have a lady who lived through some very tough things, help them along. There are also others who completely break down mentally. 

 

 “This is when, as the saying goes, adversity introduces us to ourselves.”

 

Another thing I liked about this book was the bigfoot aspect of it. It reminded me a little of an episode of The Lost Tapes, a found footage mockumentary series that aired on Animal Planet at one time. The bigfoot episode was pretty creepy, and this book had the same feeling. Funnily enough, the book even mentions films like this at one point.

 

  

 

This story was written through Kate's journal entries, that to me didn't completely come off as journal entries. There was too much detail added. I was a little disappointed that it didn't read as much like real journal entries as I had wanted. It was the whole reason I decided to read the book instead of listen to it, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story. The story was a slow burn that took its time to get to what happened to everyone. I liked that about it. The fact that I was anticipating when things would start happening helped to build the tension and suspense. In the end, this book left me with a lot of thoughts, one being who the title of the book referred to. Was it the humans or the Sasquatches? Or perhaps it was both.

“It’s great to live free of the other sheep until you hear the wolves howl.”

 

 

 

 

The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb

       

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

 

Category: Adult

Genre: Supernatural, Paranormal, Romance

Content: Strong language

 

After a devastating loss, Brynn Wilder escapes to Wharton, a tourist town on Lake Superior, to reset. Checking into a quaint boardinghouse for the summer, she hopes to put her life into perspective. In her fellow lodgers, she finds a friendly company of strangers: the frail Alice, cared for by a married couple with a heartbreaking story of their own; LuAnn, the eccentric and lovable owner of the inn; and Dominic, an unsettlingly handsome man inked from head to toe in mesmerizing tattoos.

But in this inviting refuge, where a century of souls has passed, a mystery begins to swirl. Alice knows things about Brynn, about all of them, that she shouldn’t. Bad dreams and night whispers lure Brynn to a shuttered room at the end of the hall, a room still heavy with a recent death. And now she’s become irresistibly drawn to Dominic—even in the shadow of rumors that wherever he goes, suspicious death follows.

In this chilling season of love, transformation, and fear, something is calling for Brynn. To settle her past, she may have no choice but to answer.

 

“A century of souls inhabiting a place will leave an imprint that lingers long after they’re gone, and it lingered here. Not in a bad way. It felt well lived in.”   

 

I was wanting to read a creepy ghost story for Halloween, and this one sounded like it would be creepy, and from the cover, it looked like it would be creepy. However, this was not that kind of ghost story. Normally that would be disappointing. I didn't get what I was wanting, but in this case I ended up being ok with it. I wasn't expecting the many different emotions this book had me feeling. It was a bittersweet read that included a lot of tragedy. I don't always like those kind of books, but this one left me with a lot of feelings to think about. I figured out what was going on somewhere in the middle of reading the book, but that was ok. I very much enjoyed this romantic, bittersweet ghost story. 

I do think that the title and cover misrepresent the type of book this is. Or, maybe it's the two combined that do that. I think if the cover was changed to something more fitting the kind of book it is, then the title would work ok. I actually like the title because it doesn't exactly mean what you think it means. That's all I'm going to say about that though.

I'm interested in reading more books by this author. She seems to write nothing but books set on Lake Superior that have ghosts in them. Apparently one of them—Daughter's of the Lake— is loosely related to this one, as in they share one character in common. 

“Everyone is haunted by something. A road not taken. A hurt, carried deep inside. Harsh words that echo long after the sting of them is carried away on the wind.”

Secret History (Mistborn, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson

  

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn’t the place to start your journey into Mistborn. (Though if you have read the trilogy—but it has been a while—you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books.) Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story’s existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There’s always another secret.  

 

I've had Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection sitting on my shelf for a while now. I've slowly been reading the stories in it that relate to the books I've read. I finally got around to reading this one because I wanted to read it before I read The Lost Metal. I tend to enjoy Sanderson's shorter works the most. The Emperor's Soul and Snapshot are two favorites, with The Emperor's Soul being my all time favorite thing Sanderson has ever written. This one, however, was an exception. There are some interesting revelations, but at the same time this story went on for too long. That sounds weird when I'm talking about a novella, but there were parts that rambled on too much and dragged. Those parts could have been shortened and the story would have been fine. This is the same thing I thought about the original Mistborn trilogy, which I still very much enjoyed. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the pulling of certain strings by the character in this book. It almost feels like it took something away from the original story, instead of adding to it, because none of them were able to do these things themselves. Having said all this, I still love Sanderson's books. I've enjoyed reading all of them, and I'm looking forward to reading more about the Cosmere. 

 

 

 

 

Empire of Exiles (Books of the Usurper, #1) by Erin M. Evans

 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Content: Implied child abuse

 

Twenty-seven years ago, a Duke with a grudge led a ruthless coup against the empire of Semilla, killing thousands. He failed. The Duke was executed, a terrifyingly powerful sorcerer was imprisoned, and an unwilling princess disappeared.

The empire moved on.

Now, when Quill, an apprentice scribe, arrives in the capital city, he believes he’s on a simple errand for another pompous noble: fetch ancient artifacts from the magical Imperial Archives. He’s always found his apprenticeship to be dull work. But these aren’t just any artifacts — these are the instruments of revolution, the banners under which the Duke lead his coup.

Just as the artifacts are unearthed, the city is shaken by a brutal murder that seems to have been caused by a weapon not seen since the days of rebellion.

Since Quill is the only reliable witness to the murder, and no one in power believes his story, he must join with a young mage, a seasoned archivist, and a disillusioned detective to find the truth of the attack. And what they uncover will be the key to saving the empire – or destroying it for good.

 

I've tried and tried to get into this book, but I just can't. That's a shame too, because this is a mashup of two genres that I love, fantasy and mystery. Right off the bat, I didn't care for the writing style. This is an incredibly slow book, and I found it dull and boring. I kind of liked the main character, Quill, but didn't care enough about the characters to keep trudging through the slow and sometimes confusing story. I don't think the setup for the story was very good. There's a lot of info dumping while not enough explanation about the magic system and other political things that are going on. At least for a large part of the book. I'm giving up on this one, at least for now. 

 

 

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

 

 

 

The Sword of Kaigen Special Edition!

I was so excited when I found out about this Kickstarter! I counted down the days until this Kickstarter began and I backed it on the first day. If you love The Sword of Kaigen, you should check it out. There are 17 days left to back it, and get this special hardcover edition. The book is going to be beautiful!

 

November 2022 Reading List

Here are my planned reads for November. I'll be reading two books from the Tracy Crosswhite series this month and also two in December so that I can be caught up on the series up by the end of the year. The mystery book club I'm participating in on Goodreads is planning on moving onto two new series in January, so I'll be all caught with both the Tracy Series and the Lady Darby series by then. Lady Darby worked out just right for that at one a month so I don't have to double up on that one.

The book I'm most excited to read is The Lost Metal. It's been such a long wait for this book and it's almost here! I can't wait for it to get here.

Fantasy/Sci-Fi-

The Lost Metal (The Mistborn Saga #7) by Brandon Sanderson

 

Spaceside (Planetside #2) by Michael Mammay

 

 

Son of Shadows (Sevenwaters #2) by Juliet Marillier

 

 

Mystery/Suspense-

Death at the Falls (Gilded Age Mystery #7) by Rosemary Simpson

 

 

Death in the Clouds (Hercule Poirot #11) by Agatha Christie

 

A Steep Price (Tracy Crosswhite #6) by Robert Dugoni

 

 

A Cold Trail (Tracy Crosswhite #7) by Robert Dugoni

 

A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby #9) by Anna Lee Huber

 

Book Club Pick-

Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks