Review: Memories of Tomorrow

Memories of Tomorrow by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Clairvoyant mystery solved! After a couple of mediocre stories, the series ends with a bang. It's very Blindspot-esque.

Amazon Originals - Nameless Collection Book 6

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Review: The Mercy of Snakes

The Mercy of Snakes by Dean Koontz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Amazon Originals - Nameless Collection Book 5

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Review: Red Rain

Red Rain by Dean Koontz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The stories are starting to get a little repetitive. I practically skimmed this one just to get through to the end of the series.

Amazon Originals - Nameless Collection Book 4

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Review: The Praying Mantis Bride

The Praying Mantis Bride by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the arcs in the previous story begins crossing into this book. So far the series has been hard to put down.

Amazon Originals - Nameless Collection Book 3

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Review: Photographing the Dead

Photographing the Dead by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one is not as thrilling as the first, but still a good story.

Amazon Originals - Nameless Collection Book 2

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Review: In the Heart of the Fire

In the Heart of the Fire by Dean Koontz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Trigger Warnings: implied pedophilia, implied rape, murder

This is my first book by this author. I was hooked immediately.

Amazon Originals - Nameless Collection Book 1

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Review: Big Shot

Big Shot by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first half of this essay is full of mystery. Seriously, who is Max Davis?

The second half was a look into her day. I always wondered what a producer's job actually entailed. Now I know!

Amazon Originals - Nothing Like I Imagined Collection Book 6

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Review: Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake

Once Upon a Time in Silver Lake by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is my least favorite story. This was more of an anecdote.

Amazon Originals - Nothing Like I Imagined Collection Book 5

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Review: Searching for Coach Taylor

Searching for Coach Taylor by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The pros and cons of being husband-less.

Amazon Originals - Nothing Like I Imagined Collection Book 4

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Review: Help Is On the Way

Help Is On the Way by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one really had me laughing.

Amazon Originals - Nothing Like I Imagined Collection Book 3

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Review: Please Like Me [But Keep Away]

Please Like Me [But Keep Away] by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#IntrovertsUnite

There is nothing more reassuring than learning you are not alone in feeling the need for solitude and being a total homebody. It's also really annoying to have an extrovert tell you that you need to get out (or talk) more. I know of the struggles with social anxiety and the need for solitude as a nobody. I cannot even imagine what it is like for a celebrity like Mindy Kaling to have to deal with that as well. Especially being in a public profession.

You're not alone, Mindy!

Amazon Originals - Nothing Like I Imagined Collection Book 2

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Review: Kind of Hindu

Kind of Hindu by Mindy Kaling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I cannot relate to being a mother, I did enjoy this story of Mindy Kaling's journey into motherhood. This was about how she wants to raise her daughter with regards to culture and religion/faith.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Amazon Originals - Nothing Like I Imagined Collection Book 1

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Review: That's My Church: The Seven Churches of Revelation

That's My Church: The Seven Churches of Revelation by J.M. Hope
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I have always had an interest in theology. I was born and raised in one particular faith, but I do not practice or subscribe to any particular faith/religion at his time. I find it important to know and understand other people's interpretation of biblical and other ancient texts.

Unfortunately, this book was like reading seven homilies. There is a scripture passage, "a little known fact," a sort of interpretation with no explanation on how the connections or presumptions were made, and then the preachy section. Rinse and repeat for all seven churches.

There was no real analysis of the interpretations, which was disappointing.

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Review: A Christmas Secret

A Christmas Secret by Candace Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

This was a cute children's story. Loved the illustrations as well.

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Review: The Wickeds

The Wickeds by Gayle Forman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting take on the villains of three fairy tales. This story reminds me about how it's said that children will experience what their parents did when they have kids. It was the first thing the ending made me think of.

Amazon Originals - Faraway Collection Book 5

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Review: The Cleaners

The Cleaners by Ken Liu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This story was not the most engaging, but it was food for thought. At first, I was thinking about the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. As the story went on, it made me think about the things we touch and hold every day and what memories of family heirlooms would hold.

Amazon Originals - Faraway Collection Book 4


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Review: The Princess Game

The Princess Game by Soman Chainani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third book of the collection that I read and by far my favorite. This one kept me hooked from the start. I am adding this author to my list of authors to read.

Amazon Originals - Faraway Collection Book 3


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Review: Hazel and Gray

Hazel and Gray by Nic Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WOW! Things got real dark in this collection of stories. It was a great twist on the Hansel and Gretel story, though. This was a good page turner.

Trigger warnings: Sex (underage, trafficking, implied pedophilia, prostitution), Drugs (forced and consented).

This book is not for young readers.

Amazon Originals - Faraway Collection Book 2


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Review: The Prince and the Troll

The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I am honestly not sure what to take away from this story. Starbucks, a man named Adam, Starbucks, a female bridge troll, and Starbucks. A bridge, Starbucks, a road, Starbucks, it doesn’t rain, and Starbucks.

I’m sure this was some allegorical work, but it went over my head. Starbucks. I turned to other reviewers and their reviews to see how they interpreted this story. Starbucks. Was I supposed to read a climate change story? Starbucks. Was this supposed to be a biblical allegory? Starbucks.

I do not go to Starbucks, so I do not really get the obsession.

Oh, and did I mention Starbucks?

Amazon Originals - Faraway Collection Book 1


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Review: Land of Big Numbers

Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC digital edition of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a collection of short stories featuring Chinese culture. The stories end abruptly with no closure. One of the stories (the last one) was about being stranded at a train station. I understand the moral of the story, but I would have loved to know what happened to the characters or had this particular story as a novella or full length novel.

The first and last stories were my favorite, but the middle stories were paced slowly. I kept putting the book down during these stories.

I did enjoy the writing style and would have given this 5-stars if the middle stories were more of a page turner like the last story.

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Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten #blogtour

 

This is my first time participating in a Blog Tour, and I am excited to feature Tsarina! While you are here, please take a moment to dive into an excerpt of the book provided by the publisher. You will get hooked. Promise! You can find my original review here.

From the Jacket:

"Makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme." —Daisy Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of The Fortune Hunter

“[Alpsten] recounts this remarkable woman’s colourful life and times." —Count Nikolai Tolstoy, historian and author 

Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine Alexeyevna: the first woman to rule Russia in her own right. Ellen Alpsten's rich, sweeping debut novel is the story of her rise to power.

St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself.

Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself?

From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire.

Excerpt:

 Prologue

In the Winter Palace, 1725

He is dead. My beloved husband, the mighty tsar of all the Russias, has died—and just in time.

Moments before death came for him, Peter called for a quill and paper to be brought to him in his bedchamber in the Winter Palace. My heart almost stalled. He had not forgotten, but was going to drag me down with him. When he lost consciousness for the last time and the darkness drew him closer to its heart, the quill slipped from his fingers. Black ink spattered the soiled sheets; time held its breath. What had the tsar wanted to settle with that last effort of his tremendous spirit?

I knew the answer.

The candles in the tall candelabra filled the room with a heavy scent and an unsteady light; their glow made shadows reel in corners and brought the woven figurines on the Flemish tapestries to life, their coarse faces showing pain and disbelief. Outside the door, the voices of the people who’d stood there all night were drowned out by the February wind rattling furiously at the shutters. Time spread slowly, like oil on water.  Peter had pressed himself into our souls like his signet ring  in hot wax. It seemed impossible that the world hadn’t careened to a halt at his passing. My husband, the greatest will ever to impose itself on Russia, had been more than our ruler. He had been our fate. He was still mine.

The doctors—Blumentrost, Paulsen, and Horn—stood silently around Peter’s bed, staring at him, browbeaten. Five kopecks’ worth of medicine, given early enough, could have saved him. Thank God for the quacks’ lack of good sense.

Without looking, I could feel Feofan Prokopovich, the archbishop of Novgorod, watching me, along with Alexander Menshikov. Prokopovich had made the tsar’s will eternal and Peter had much to thank him for. Menshikov, on the other hand, owed his fortune and influence to Peter. What was it Peter had said when someone tried to blacken Alexander Danilovich’s name to him by referring to his murky business dealings? “Menshikov is always Menshikov, in all that he does!” That had put an end to that.

Dr. Paulsen had closed the tsar’s eyes and crossed his hands on his breast, but he hadn’t removed the scroll, Peter’s last will and testament, from his grasp. Those hands, which were always too dainty for the tall, powerful body, had grown still, helpless. Just two weeks earlier he had plunged those very hands into my hair, winding it round his fingers, inhaling the scent of rosewater and sandalwood.

“My Catherine,” he’d said, calling me by the name he himself had given me, and he’d smiled at me. “You’re still a beauty. But what will you look like in a convent, shorn, and bald? The cold there will break you, your spirit, even though you’re strong as a horse. Do you know that Evdokia still writes to me begging for a second fur, poor thing! What a good job you can’t write!” he’d said, laughing.

It had been thirty years since Evdokia had been banished to the convent. I’d met her once. Her eyes shone with madness, her shaven head was covered in boils and scabs from the cold and the filth, and  her only company was a hunchbacked dwarf to serve her in her cell. Peter had ordered the poor creature have her tongue cut out, so in response to Evdokia’s moaning and laments, all she was able to do was burble. He’d been right to believe that seeing Evdokia would fill me  with lifelong dread.

I knelt at Peter’s bedside and the three doctors retreated to the twilight at the edge of the room, like crows driven from a field: the birds Peter had been so terrified of in the last years of his life. The tsar had called open season on the hapless birds all over his empire. Farmers caught, killed, plucked, and roasted them for reward. None of this helped Peter: silently, at night, the bird would slip through the padded walls and locked doors of his bedchamber. Its ebony wings blotted the light and in their cool shadow, the blood on the tsar’s hands never dried. His fingers were not yet those of a corpse, but soft, and still warm. For a moment, the fear and anger of these past few months slipped from my heart like  a thief in the night. I kissed his hands and breathed in his familiar scent of tobacco, ink, leather, and the perfume tincture that was blended for his sole use in Grasse.

I took the scroll from his hand—it was easy enough to slide it out, although my blood thickened with fear and my veins were coated with frost and rime like branches in our Baltic winter. It was important to show everyone that I alone was entitled to do this—I, his wife, and the mother of his children. Twelve times I had given birth.

The paper rustled as I unrolled it. Not for the first time, I was ashamed of my inability to read, and I handed his last will to Feofan Prokopovich. At least Menshikov was as ignorant as I. Ever since the days when Peter first drew us into his orbit and cast his spell upon us, we had been like two children squabbling over their father’s love and attention. Batjushka tsar, his people called him. Our little father tsar.

Prokopovich must have known what Peter had in mind for me. He was an old fox with a sharp wit, as comfortable in heavenly and earthly realms. Daria had once sworn that he had three thousand books in     his library. What, if you please, can one man do with three thousand books? The scroll sat lightly in his liver-spotted hands now. After all, he himself had helped Peter draft the decree that shocked us all. The tsar had set aside every custom, every law: he wanted to appoint his own successor and would rather leave his empire to a worthy stranger than his own, unworthy child.

How timid Alexey had been when we first met, the spitting image of his mother, Evdokia, with his veiled gaze and high, domed forehead. He couldn’t sit up straight, because Menshikov had thrashed his back and buttocks bloody and sore. Only when it was too late did Alexey grasp his fate: in his quest for a new Russia, the tsar would spare no one, neither himself, nor his only son. You were no blood of my blood, Alexey, no flesh of my flesh, and so I was able to sleep soundly. Peter, though, had been haunted by nightmares from that day on.

My heart pounded against my lightly laced bodice—I was surprised it didn’t echo from the walls—but I met Prokopovich’s gaze as calmly as I could. I wriggled my toes in my slippers, as I could not afford to faint.

 

Prokopovich’s smile was as thin as one of the wafers he would offer in church. He knew the secrets of the human heart; especially mine.

“Read, Feofan,” I said quietly.

“Give everything to . . .” He paused, looked up, and repeated: “To . . .” Menshikov’s temper flared; he reared as if someone had struck him with a whip, like in the good old days. “To whom?” he snarled at Prokopovich. “Pray tell, Feofan, to whom?”

I could hardly breathe. The fur was suddenly much too hot against my skin

From Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten. Copyright © 2020 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

About the Author:

ELLEN ALPSTEN was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands. Upon graduating from L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, she worked as a news anchor for Bloomberg TV London. Whilst working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons and a moody fox red Labrador. Tsarina is her debut novel.

Review: Theodore The Neighbour's Cat: The Novel

Theodore The Neighbour's Cat: The Novel by J.S. Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book through BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an interesting premise. I was rather nervous when I saw a disclaimer at the beginning of the book, but I am happy to report that there was nothing overly cringe worthy. I would have labeled this a DNF if there was graphic animal violence (as I look to my cat to make sure she's still there and comfy).

There are cute little cat facts after each chapter. One of the things I liked about this book was that as I was reading it kept prompting me to ask what my cat actually thinks about me. This is quick read as well. It's good for a fast suspense novel.

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Review: The Haunting of Beatrix Greene: Vol. 1

The Haunting of Beatrix Greene: Vol. 1 by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quick read. It is a good ghost/old haunted mansion story. While reading this book, I was getting images of the movie The Haunting, which is based on Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. While the story itself keeps you reading, things just... happen. For example the romance element. There is no development of the romance. The best analogy I can think of is the over dramatized parody shows where two characters scream at each other and then in a split second are "kissy faced" and all over each other.  

Now that I have finished this book, I find I need to go look for more ghost stories and creepy movies to watch. It really does put you into that kind of mood.

The book I read consists if nine "episodes," but it is labeled as Vol 1 on Goodreads and appears to be part of a series on Amazon's site (ASIN : B08FJJ9252). If this is going to be a series, I really look forward to where this character's story will take us.

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Review: The Hollow Places

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If it is possible for a book to be creepy, dark, weird, and funny all at the same time, then this is the book. This book started with a bang, but after a while it did start to drag on. During the first half of the book I would have said, "Loved. It." By the end, the feeling was more like "It was ok."

Unfortunately, the book was a little predictable. What kept me going was to see how everything connected. Even though this was my first book by the author, I would definitely try another.

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Review: Christmas Ever After

Christmas Ever After by Karen Schaler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. The expected publication date for this is September 29, 2020.

Normally, ARCs are uncorrected copies so there are mistakes a-plenty, but this was an ARC through Goodreads and by extension through Amazon (it shows up as an Amazon order) for the Kindle. There were no updates available for this book through the Manage Content menu, so I really hope that this goes through another round of editing before publication. Because it was supposed to be an ARC, I disregarded the errors when considering the rating.

This book is cute. There are two recipes in the back. I would have loved the mulled wine and hot chocolate recipes, though. They sounded so good and relaxing. This book is supposed to be a romance, but I didn't really feel the connection. <spoiler>This book focused so much on Riley and her ex-boyfriends, it did not really leave room for Riley and Luke's relationship to develop. It just happens.</spoiler> This is a cozy and fast read, though.

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Review: The Cookbook Club: A Novel of Food and Friendship

The Cookbook Club: A Novel of Food and Friendship by Beth Harbison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I really loved the book. The last few books I have read required me to pay close attention to every detail. It was really nice to read a fun, quick read that did not require too much thought.

I do wish the women had more interactions with each other, though. The book is broken down by month and at the end of the month there are notes from Trista about recipes and observations about the other two even when there was nothing about that month's meeting written. The majority of the book focuses on their stories individually rather than as a group/book club. On occasion their stories intertwine, but not nearly as much as I was expecting.

I still really enjoyed the book, though. This is a good kick-it-back, rainy weather read.

There are a couple recipes in the back that I am looking forward to trying. The chicken pot pie fritters sound great now that fall is finally here.

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Review: Black Sun

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book from NetGalley.

If you are not familiar with neopronouns (gender neutral pronouns), this book uses them constantly. Specifically xe and xir. This is the first book I have ever read that uses them, so I found it confusing at first. Once I got beyond that, the book was actually very good.

The book is told through multiple points of view and is a fast read. The acknowledgments have a list of books that inspired the author for this. I am definitely going to check them out to see what she pulled from each culture as this book was based on pre-Columbian cultures.

I cannot wait for the next book.

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Review: Stormrage

Stormrage by Richard A. Knaak
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I play World of Warcraft and with Shadowlands coming out soon, I am working on reading more of the lore of the Warcraft Universe. I did a chunk before Legion, but I am still behind (clearly). Yes, I am one of the nerdy people with a chronological check list. I am focusing more on the novels than the comics, manga, and short stories at the moment. It's somewhat difficult to read them on a Kindle Paperwhite.

I had a hard time getting through this one. It felt like it would never end. I have read other Knaak books and enjoyed them immensely (Zayl and Humbart, anyone?), but this was not his best. By the end of the book I was starting to cringe with the overuse of 3 words: knew, understood, and aware.
Every other paragraph had some of variation of "character immediately understood" or "character knew the source."

I am not a writer nor an expert in grammar, so most of the time I am not even aware of sentence structure or bad writing. All I ask for is a fun story that can take me out of reality for a while. Unfortunately, those sentence variations were so over used that I felt as though the same sentence (or its variation) was copy and pasted every few sentences. By the end of the book I was almost skimming paragraphs just to end the repetition.

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Review: 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen, with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars, and More

100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen, with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars, and More by Sarah Kieffer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a Kindle edition of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

I read through this book using the Kindle for PC app. Some of the pictures came over too small to see, but reading the recipes themselves was easy to follow. I also looked through the book using the Kindle app on my Fire and it does look much better than the PC app.

The recipes looked amazing and I am looking forward to trying the Cinnamon Roll Blondie Bars this fall/winter. I think I will end up getting a paper copy of the book as it will be easier to read and use over the Kindle version.

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Review: Let's Bake!: A Pusheen Cookbook

Let's Bake!: A Pusheen Cookbook by Susanne Ng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a hardcover copy through a Goodreads Giveaway.

There are a lot of difficult level recipes in this book. These are probably going to take a lot of practice as I do not bake too often. I am really looking forward to trying the mint ice cream recipe, though! Difficulty ranges from easy - difficult and just about everything in between.

There are guiding pictures for most steps of each recipe. I have never heard of some of the ingredients until today, so it will definitely be an interesting journey with this book.

The finished products are extremely detailed oriented, but they look really cute.

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Review: The Deep

The Deep by Alma Katsu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. The edition was a paperback ARC, but I also purchased the Kindle edition as the edition received came months after the book came out.

I am not really sure where to begin with this one. The premise seemed promising, but the execution was a little bit of a let down. At the same time the story was still intriguing that I kept turning the pages.

I found the weaving of the characters (both real and fictional) great. I loved imagining some of these event actually taking place on the Titanic (or whether they actually did or not). Unfortunately, some of the real characters' lives were re-imagined and I felt disconnected from what we know is true. It was hard to suspend disbelief at times.

The book is broken up between 1912 (Titanic) and 1916 (Britannic) in alternating parts. At the beginning of each part you feel the suspense to keep turning pages, but by the end of each part it feels like the plot just stalls. It makes the pace of the book unbalanced. One minute it is a page turner and the next you are wondering when the next part will begin.

This was my first book by the author, so I am going to give another try.

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Review: How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My friends and I have a running joke about our cats plotting to kill us. I mentioned this book in passing and decided it was finally time to read it. Some of the comics were funny, but others not so much.

There were two comics that I really did not care much for: The Bobs and The Raging Homosexual. I just didn't find them all that funny.

This book did, however, make the case for having cats and not kids. This will be my go to for that!

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Review: Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And things start to make sense now! This book is really a history/timeline of what makes Donald Trump tick. With most such stories it begins during childhood and how he was raised.

I wish the author had used more of her psychology knowledge to explain some of the workings in the family dynamic, but in all fairness she does acknowledge in the Prologue that to really assess Donald's (and by extension the family) state of mind he would have to undergo a battery of testing.

Overall I did enjoy the book and it was a fast read.

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Review: Tidelands

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. The book I received through the giveaway was a hardcover review copy, but I purchased a Kindle version of this book for reasons I will explain in a moment.

This is the first time I am reading a book by this author. I have seen some movies and TV shows based on her books, but have not yet read them. I feel so far behind in that series that when I saw the opportunity to start a new series with this author from the beginning I was really excited.

The Kindle story: When I bought my first Kindle in 2009, I quickly learned that I was reading books much faster and retaining more information using the Kindle. As the years passed, I have also found that keeping my Kindle with me is a great way to pass time during lunch breaks at work and for unexpected long waits (doctor's office, waiting for a plane/train, etc).

When I won this book, it was around the time COVID-19 started to take hold. During quarantine I started reading far less than I have in previous years as I hadn't been taking lunch breaks so I could take advantage of not having people coming into the office. I was able to get a lot caught up. My reading progress is already slower than usual because of this.

I ended up buying a the Kindle version of this book for two reasons. First, I don't like to bring paper copies of books with me to work (or anywhere really). Now that I am taking breaks again, I wanted to get back into reading during my down time at work, so now my book is mobile and less bulky. I am not obsessing over whether I am about to ruin it (I'm pretty sure it had to do with my CDO tendencies; only CDO people will understand this.). Second, this book was an insanely slow read. With my book progress already slow, reading the paper copy is worse. I felt I needed the Kindle version to help me pick up the pace, but also give me more freedom with where I could read it (not just on my Kindle while at work, but on my desktop at home while I am working on other things).

Reading on the Kindle did improve the pace of the book, but only slightly. I was somewhat motivated to get through this book sooner rather than later after reading the synopsis of the second book of the series. It sounds like it will be better than the first.

Overall the story itself was okay, but not a page turner. It picked up in the last few pages, which does make me want to pick up the next book. I liked Alys at first, but by the end of the book I was loathing her.

Note to readers: on page 289 there is, I believe, an error. "' Whose baby?' Alinor turned and looked up at her mother." I am pretty sure this should be Alys speaking. I thought maybe it was just the Kindle version of the book, so I checked the review copy. The same error is in both places. Not sure if anyone else has picked up on this, but I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I was following.

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