Adult Reads & Audiobooks

Hello all! An update is in order, certainly. Both my jobs have collided providing me with next to no or distracted reading time. March was a slow reading month and I fear April will keep on doing so.

In February, I read four books.

Fool Moon: The Dresden Files
By Jim Butcher

Paranormal wizard detective. Sold. Probably my first werewolf book that didn't make me want to throw up due to cheesy execution. These are not nice werewolves.
4 STARS



Foundation  
By Isaac Asimov

Read this for bookclub. I thoroughly enjoyed it, my reading partner did not. Recommended for a the classic sci-fi reader. Hard to believe it was published in 1950.
4 STARS



Entwined
By Heather Dixon

Listened to on audiobook. My new job has a longer commute, so I find myself consuming audiobooks at an alarming rate. Mandy Williams (the narrator) had this soft British (?) way of speaking that brought alive this fairy tale. Told with delightful and picturesque descriptions, I liked this book a whole lot more because of Williams. It was like being read to by a warm and loving nanny before bedtime.
The story on the otherhand was nothing special. It is a retelling of one of my favourites, The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
Perhaps I'll write a better review on a later date.
3 STARS



The Path of Anger:
The Book and The Sword: 1
By Antoine Rouaud

By far the best book that I read in March. Also, the best book I've seen with flashbacks. I liked one of the reviews "a slow backstory burn". That's exactly what this book was. All backstory, interwoven with returns to the present.
Good characters, great world, so much mystery. You think you have the full story and then, surprise!, another point of view. Loved that about this.



4.5 STARS

And, as of today, I finished two more.

The Smoke Thief
By Shana Abe

In searching for a good dragon book, this one popped up on several lists. The reviews were excellent. I gave it a shot.
Sadly, still haven't found the dragon book I've been looking for.
What I did get was a really fascinating romance story, set in the 1750s England, revolving around people that transform into dragons - or dragons that transform into humans.
Exceptional approach to dragons, but I was not into the romance side of it one bit. Therefore, it only gets 3.5 STARS



Dark Whispers
The Unicorn Chronicles: 3
By Bruce Coville

Listened to this one on audio as well. Bruce Coville narrates it himself, with voice actors on each character. A return to my favourite Unicorn world, catching up on the story that stayed in purgatory for nearly a decade. Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine how complex and ominous this series would get. Loving it. Seriously. Loving it. 

With the battle of unicorns vs Beloved/Hunters looming on the horizon, Coville writes and explores much less innocent worlds. More magic, more characters, more stakes, more creepy Beloved.


The expansion of the POV characters add the chunk to this novel, however, it is necessary. We see through the eyes of Ian Hunter (Cara's father) and his companions - the best new addition being Rajiv. Their journey is as engrossing as Cara's, embarking on different but ultimately similar quests.

Coville had this incredible ability to make distinct characters. This one is chock full of new and revisits some of the old.

As a huge fan and avid reader of fantasy, this is fast re-becoming my favourite series.
4 STARS


Coming up....

A reread: Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
A bookclub: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Another dragon?!: Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner