April Wrap-Up

Hello Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

My April went well with unconventional reading - audio and beta reading. Overall, the month was ho-hum. Not outstanding, but not awful .... until the last book. YES!

In total I finished 5 books - a total of 2,062 pages.

The Smoke Thief ~ Shana Abe
Dark Whispers ~ Bruce Coville (audio book)

Both of these I gave mini reviews for here.


Beta Reading
By Canadian Writer

As stated here,  I read through a fellow writer's work. This was tough. Reading critically is different than reading for pleasure. I thoroughly enjoyed the process. It has taught me how to edit my own work and perhaps guide my own beta readers once I brush up that draft...

I'm counting this as a read book. But not rating... but I will say I'm definitely going to read the other books in the series.


The Last Hunt
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)

Considering the first book in this series is 159 pages, this 605 page brick of a book was complex and a complete departure from what I thought this series would be. And, I loved it! Much more than what I expected, I was happily surprised with how everything came together and made sense with a very satisfying ending.

Closing out the series that introduced me to mythical creatures and fantasy, the series I have finished.

4 STARS




Get ready. I finally discovered it. The dragon book I've been searching for.

Did you notice a pattern with this month's books? Dragons. Yup. Finding that elusive beast.

I wanted to find one that blended a unique and fresh mythos. Where the dragons weren't just in a pet-like role. They are characters. Not just secondary characters. Forefront, with point of views, and they are heroes. I give you:



Song in the Silence
By Elizabeth Kerner

Whoa. Yes. Yes. YES. This is it. It's a fun book to read, fast plot, delightful characters, and most of all DRAGONS! And done in a way that made me rethink how I felt about them.

Not only that, this book may have helped me figure out what's been wrong with my own novel. Thank you, Kerner.

The main character is the person we all want to be. We probably all are. Like a Disney princess, she wants something more. Dragons. Having grown up on a small farm, Lanen finally decides to leave after the death of her father and start anew. She hears of a ship leaving for the Dragon Ilse and promptly pulls strings to get herself on board that ship.

When we finally meet the dragons, it's everything a dragon fan could want and more. It can't be that simple? No, of course not. There's an evil sorcerer to screw up this lovely moment. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll stop here. Truly, if you're interested in dragons, read this one. Finally, a book series I can get on board with and treats them as if they are the heroes, too.

Duh. 5 STARS.