Best Books of 2018

Happy New Year friends and fellow book fiends! Each year I usually end up with a list of top reads only about 5 books long, 2018 brought a year of at least 10 to make the top so let’s get to it shall we?!

These are in no particular order because this girl can’t see fit to place any one of these above another:

If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a dozen times that Ilona Andrews is the way to go for Urban Fantasy. I was SO excited when I found out that this series would be longer than originally expected.

A sub-genre of fantasy called flintlock fantasy, which I find that I like very much. Interesting world building and compelling characters.

My favorite debut author of 2018. This was a side of fantasy you don’t see too often and the plot was riveting. How many times when the characters are stuck in one location do you start to become bored? Not here. It adds to the layer of desperation the characters are feeling and the political intrigue will make you forget that they never leave the city.

My other favorite debut author of the year. I can’t push this book enough. Imagine cowboys but they ride hippos. Also, imagine an all inclusive cast of people you don’t see a lot of in any genre.

This wins the award for DARKEST read of the year. If you’ve been hanging around this blog for awhile, you’ll know that I love dark. Not only is it darkest read of the year, it may just be darkest read YET.

Historical fiction + pirates + kick ass heroine + paranormal = damn good time.

My Kick Ass Sci-Fi Heroine of the Year award goes to Hail Bristol. Femme fatale queen of interplanetary war.

My surprise favorite of the year. I expected to like it but not as much as I did. If lady scientist fighting against sexism while studying dragons doesn’t interest you than stay the fuck away from this book.

Once a fan of the Red Rising universe, always a fan.

Did you read any of the books on this list? If so, what did you think? What books made your top list of the year?

 

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Saga, Vol. 5 – Comic Review

Published Date: September 9, 2018

Publishing Co.: Image Comics

Pages: 152

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Is there ever going to be a volume of Saga that I don’t love? At this point, I’m not sure that they could do any wrong.

In this edition, the Brand, that girl and that ex-girlfriend (because apparently I suck at names) are on a quest for dragon semen in order to save the Will. Let’s just say that leads to quite the centerfold.

Dengo has kidnapped Alana, Hazel and Marko’s mom and he’s made a deal with the Last Revolution. A rebel group bent on destroying both sides of the war. Of course, the group just wants to use Hazel as leverage to get things they think will help in their war on the war.

Meanwhile, Marko has partnered with Prince Robot IV to find their missing children. It doesn’t mean they have to get along, but for a short period their mission is the same.

Once again, I was angered that I did not have the next volume at the ready. Soon my precious, sooooon.

That mother fucking artwork man!

Iron Gold – Book Review

Published Date: January 16, 2018

Publishing Co.: Del Rey

Pages: 601

Goodreads synopsis.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Goblins and Reapers and I don’t know where the fuck to begin.

The first trilogy was about the breaking of an unkind empire. This picks up ten years after the revolution with the struggle of building and holding onto a budding new republic. Resplendent in it’s demokracy but fighting to gain a balance and keep the peace.

Darrow, Sevro and the remaining Howlers along with the new Republic army have fought to gain control of and free strongholds of the old empire. Mustang reigns as Sovereign now but has given much of her control away to the council. The war has never really ended and along with political struggles, they’ve also all been raising families of their own.

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The Ash Lord remains along the Rim but still causes trouble as often as possible. They suspect attacks from the Moon Lords. An anti-Rising gang kills innocent people on Mars. Death begets death begets death. If we all hoped for a happy ending, well our beloved characters sure didn’t get it.

It’s interesting how the father roles play out with Darrow versus Sevro. Who would have thought the little goblin would be better at it. (The kids are quite the interesting characters themselves.)

One of the things that I love is that while I’m focused on a character and what they’re going through, I don’t see the twist sneaking up to bite me on the ass. My ass got munched hard, several times. It seems to be the author’s specialty. Ass munchin’. But you know, in the good way.

Bookstagram – Week 15

I’ve been slacking on updating this one. But then again, I’ve been reading slower as well. My bookstagram is not one with flowery photos of books. While those are fun and pretty to look at, I know as a reader that while I’m reading flowers are not spread next to the book with the perfect cup of tea and a pretty back drop. Not knocking the people who take the time to set that up though, I enjoy those photos as well. Just don’t expect that kind of effort from me. I’m lazy folks.

“March is Women’s History month. I’m reading only female authors in celebration.”

“Not sure it’s a ‘fair fight’ trying to continue this book..”

“An author I can always turn to to distract me from life when it kicks me in the vagina.”

“To get better; one part lots of sleep + 2 parts start new book.”

“Dinner in the crockpot, book in the lap. “

“This book is kind of just annoying me. There better be a damn good twist.”

Favorite Female Authors – Part 2

Women’s History Month is quickly coming to a close and I’m trying to squeeze in one more book by a female author. I decided that I needed another edition of Favorite Female Authors. It’s only 5 more because I keep flying by the seat of my pants on these lists.

After my last list of female authors, I added quite a few female authors I hadn’t heard of yet thanks to you guys. I can’t ever run out of things to read (though I think that’s impossible) so keep those suggestions coming!

1. Laini Taylor – I felt as though I really ripped her off not putting her on the first list BUT I did not enjoy the conclusion to The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. It was a big let down after eagerly devouring the first two books. However, that will never take away from Taylor’s talent and prose.
2. Diana Gabaldon – I’m only a couple of books into the Outlander series but Gabaldon has clear talent. I love historical fiction and Jamie Fraser is the world’s best written man. So much so, it’s pretty clear he’s written by a woman. 😛
3. Gail Carriger – Steampunk extraordinaire. I’ve only read one of her series so far but they are fun and full of sass. Strong female characters abound.
4. Delilah S. Dawson – She writes great paranormal romance, but she also writes under another pen name. Lila Bowen, who I am currently reading the second book in her The Shadow series. The worlds she creates are so unique.
5. Becky Chambers – Character driven space operas are her thing and she knows what she’s doing. I’m eagerly awaiting the third edition in her Wayfarers series.

 

 

The Prey of Gods – Book Review

Published Date: June 13, 2017

Publishing Co.: Harper Voyager

Pages: 400

Synopsis link to Goodreads.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Wooo boy, that was a trip.

Humans are the descendants of gods, making each human a demigod/goddess. However they’ve spent eternity ignorant of this small fact. It takes a new illegal drug on the market to begin waking people’s powers.

Muzi is a gay teen struggling with his identity. His grandfather is pushing him to the old ways of their African tribe while living in a world where everyone has their own personal assistant robot to help them through life. Drugs are a release from his daily worries but this new drug, the name of which is fucking alluding me right now, unleashes his ability to control people, bending them to his will.

Riya is a pop star. Selfish, uncaring of the people around her. She hides an illness that causes her great pain. She reveals in drugs and comes across this new substance, she gains power off her pain, off the pain of others, but she can use this power to heal.

Wallace Stoker is a politician. A politician who actually has interest in bettering his country, in improving people’s lives. His mother is pushing for him to become the premier of the country, but he’s not sure he’s ready for that. He’s leading a secret double life and he’s not sure which life is the one he wants.

Sydney is a centuries old demigoddess trying to reclaim her powers. She feeds off of fear. She’s planning mass destruction to help her kill off her newest competition, a tiny girl named Nomvula.

Clever 4-1 is a robot. A robot struggling with the first case of sentience. He finds a way to spread that sentience to other bots.

Nomvula is a small girl in the slums of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Her mother claims a man in the village raped her in her dreams and lives in a perpetual state of crying in bed. This same man teaches Nomvula that she in fact, is a demigoddess, a strong one. Nomvula’s life has been one of hunger pains and saddness, but this new sense of self comes with a high price.

Here we have a magnificent blend of humans awakening their god powers and a budding AI sentience that could turn the world on it’s head. This story was fast paced and fun, each character relatable. The entire read was intoxicating, unfortunately the ending falls a little flat. I think I came to expect much more from the climax.

Either way, I look forward to reading more by Nicky Drayden.

Saga, Volume 4 – Comic Review

Author: Brian K. Vaughn (writer) & Fiona Staples (artist)

Published Date: December 17, 2014

Publishing Co.: Image Comics

Pages: 152

Synopsis link to Goodreads.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Spoiler Alert. Stop here if you haven’t read this far in the series.

The Power – Book Review

Published Date: October 27, 2017

Publishing Co.: Viking

Pages: 341

Synopsis link to Goodreads.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

If you want to follow the short road from liberated to disgusted, then this is your book. I don’t mean disgusted in the book, but where people take their power in the end.

The effects of war continue generations later in new, unimaginable ways. Thanks to chemical agents in the world wars that caused a genetic mutation, women have gained the ability to produce electricity from their fingertips. The balance of power shifts from women to men all over the world. Men were not ready for this possibility.

The liberating part; women escaping their oppressors. Women chained in basements in sex trafficking countries, killing and escaping their captors. Women turning the tables across the globe. A revolution among womankind.

The disgusting/disturbing part; how quickly women become the oppressors. I would really like to think that if women ran the world, it would be different, more compassionate. That’s what I would like to think but very well may not be the reality. In this book, that’s definitely not the case. Men become the controlled ones, needing a woman’s permission to do anything. Slaughtered and raped simply because they are men and no longer have the power.

This is definitely a powerful book, all puns intended. The women that we follow through this revolution all come from different backgrounds, all have different parts to play in the making of a new world. The one male prospective that we follow allows us to see the fear of a new world order, the losing of one’s rights.

While this is a fairly serious novel, there are plenty of parts with cheeky humor. The author pulls no punches when it comes to describing just how unbalanced the world is for women and displays beautifully I think, how quickly men fall a part and resort to violence when their power is threatened. People could definitely benefit from reading this book.

Saga, Vol. 3 – Comic Review

I’m including this in my personal challenge of reading women authors because the artist is female and amazing.

Author: Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples (artist)

Published Date: March 25, 2014

Publishing Co.: Image

Pages: 144

Synopsis link to Goodreads.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Still on the run, Marko and Alana are searching for the author that influenced their love. Maybe he can tell them what to do next about their predicament.

This edition has more family bonding but still enough action to keep it from lagging. I enjoy Alana’s bad ass mother abilities to fight while holding and protecting her child. The group dynamics are sassy as per usual and enemies are still hot on their trail. We’re introduced to a couple of new characters who, I feel, add an addition depth to the effects of war.

The robot prince is ever disturbing and my favorite chapter cover was definitely the romance-esque novel cover of Marko and Alana. Like, I might put a poster of that on my wall because I love it so much.

Old Man’s War – Book Review

3.5 out of 5 stars

“How do you like your peace now, mother fucker?” she cried as Bender’s liquified organs stained the lower half of her legs.

War is hell. Now imagine shipping off to war at the age of seventy five. That’s what our elderly main character, John Perry, does when he hits that ripe old age. Launched into space, never to return to Earth, to become a soldier in the war against aliens.

Humans are desperately trying to colonize other planets, but then again, so are other sentient races. Habitable planets are rare and the fight to claim them is an interstellar war. To prolong the human race, drastic measures are needed.

Which, brings us back around to the state of affairs on Earth. At the age of sixty five, people can enlist into the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF), they give a sample of DNA, then wait to see if they make it to the age of seventy five. They have the option to back out if they so choose, should they decide to follow the plan, they are launched to a space station where they begin their training. Most people assume that the CDF must have the technology to make you young again. How could elderly soldiers possibly be useful?

They’re not physiologically, but mentally, they have seven and a half decades of experience to help them cope with radical changes. The simple solution is, to put them in new bodies. If they survive two years active duty, they have the option to re-enlist or retire to a new colony and live out the rest of their days. The trick is surviving two years of alien warfare.

This was a fun, action packed introduction to a series. There was minimal drama and the characters were not deeply fleshed out but they were still enjoyable. If you’re looking for fast action in space, this is a good place to start.