Tag: Reading

ARC Review – The Broken Heart of Arelium

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Plot Summary

Reed starts out guarding the wall of the Pit on what seems to be a quiet night like all the other boring nights that came before. All of a sudden, the warning beacons are lit, and Reed’s life changes in an instant. Swarms of greylings and other vicious monsters from the Pit spew forth in numbers not seen for hundreds of years, which threatens to plunge the lands into ruin. He and a mysterious Knight of the Twelve must rush to warn the city of Arelium about the oncoming hordes before it is too late. Reed, the Knight, and the city’s leaders then fight to keep everything around them safe, but they face unknown obstacles rooted in secrets from the past.

What I Liked

All of the typical fantasy elements were here, and I enjoyed each of them, for the most part. The story had an interesting premise, and I loved learning about the world in which the characters lived. There was a deep sense of mystery surrounding the lore of this world, which was one of the first things that made me want to read more. The author created a history and culture that I continue to want to learn more about.

The character I enjoyed the most was Reed. His story was engaging, and he had the best characterization in the book. I liked seeing him go from being a bored guardian on the wall of the Pit to being a real leader and hero. The exploration of his motives and background was well-done. His last scene of the book was one of the most emotionally charged because of the build-up his character received throughout the story.

The description of the battle scenes was epic. The author did a phenomenal job of making me feel like I was watching the fighting take place. I loved the detail in the descriptions of the greylings and the carnage they wrought. I actually cringed a few times because some of the portrayals of maiming were that vivid. The descriptions of damage to character’s eyes really got to me because I have a weird fear about my own eyes being damaged.

Finally, the ending was intense. I’m still not sure if it was a good or bad intense, overall, but there were things I liked about it. I love a good curve ball, and this one packed some super curvy ones (more on this in a bit). I was shocked at some of the revelations, and they added a great deal of interesting history to this world that I assume will be explored in other books.

What I Didn’t Like

Even though I liked some of the revelations at the end of the book, many of them seemed to come out of nowhere. As I said above, I like curve balls in stories, but I prefer for there to be an aha moment where the clues from earlier in the book come together to show me what I missed. I didn’t get that from this book. The revelations at the end felt tacked on rather than the outcome of earlier story or character development, which is not as satisfying.

Also, the book really could have used at least another round of edits. There were several mistakes, including misnaming characters. The dialogue felt very unnatural, especially in the first half of the book. The way certain things were said just felt off and took me out of the story on several occasions.

The execution of the plot and the pacing of the story were a bit rough. Character monologues with giant info dumps were rampant throughout the text, and it bogged down the story quite a bit. One of the monologues even made no logical sense. A severely wounded character, who was coughing up blood, relayed the entire events of a battle before passing out. No character with wounds like that would make it through a monologue that is a chapter long, especially when a few lines would have been all that was necessary to relay the needed information. The plot seemed to jump from info dump to battle scene and back again without many scenes for good character development. This is probably why I only came away caring about Reed. The rest of the characters fell flat and just seemed like props to dump information or move the plot along.

Final Thoughts

The Broken Heart of Arelium delivered an interesting fantasy tale with fascinating lore, excellent battle depictions, and a wild ride of an ending. The execution of the story was a bit wobbly with stiff dialogue, numerous info dumps, and uneven character development. However, there was enough interesting details and gory battle scenes here to keep me intrigued despite the flaws. Therefore, I rate the book 3 out of 5 stars.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

Stacking the Shelves #1

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Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! The meme is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality.

Weekly Wrap-Up

This week started a bit rough because Monday was my grandmother’s 99th birthday, and I was missing her a lot. Even 11.5 years after her death, it still gets to me. I felt very sad while writing my Why I Read post, but seeing so many people read and like the post made me feel like her legacy is living on. So, thank you all so much. The week got much better as it went on. I’ve read a couple books and got a lot of book mail, which you’ll see a little further down the post. I also participated in my first blog tour, which was exciting and so much fun. I enjoyed seeing everyone else’s reviews and getting to interact with new people! I’m excited to see what this next week brings and am looking forward to the books I have slated to read.

Book Mail

I snapped a photo of the last of the book mail for this week with its packaging. I picked up all of the Heartstopper books that are currently out from Amazon. I checked Volumes 1 & 2 out from the library and loved them so much I wanted to own a copy for myself. Also, the library didn’t have Volume 3 yet…and I didn’t want to wait.

I also received all 20 books of the Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice series in the mail during the past week. Hunting them all down was an expensive endeavor since they are all out of print, but I am excited to re-read them. I loved the series as a kid, and my copies of the books were destroyed in a hurricane. I can’t wait to go on adventures with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon again…even if they aren’t canon anymore.

Barnes & Noble Purchases

I picked up two books from Barnes & Noble this week. I’m so excited about Star Wars: Doctor Aphra. I loved the comic, and the book is supposedly an expanded version of that story from Doctor Aphra’s perspective. So, I can’t wait to read it again. I also bumped into The Children of D’Hara by Terry Goodkind. I’ve been a fan of the Sword of Truth series for a while even though I haven’t finished it yet. I was happy to run into this collection of previously published stories, and I look forward to getting to them when I finally finish the series.

ARC eBooks

I got a few new ARC eBooks from NetGalley and BookSirens. I got Dark Farm by Dean Raven and The Other Side of Magic by Ester Manzini from NetGalley. I also received the audiobook of Not My Ruckus from NetGalley. I’m looking forward to reading each of them. I got my newest book from BookSirens, as well: The Relic Spell by Jimena Novaro.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m satisfied with what I’ve added to my shelves this week, and I’m looking forward to reading it all. Have you read any of the books I picked up? If so, what did you think? Are any of these on your TBR? Let me know in the comments below!

First Lines Fridays #1

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First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

Today’s First Lines:

“The tallest tower of Tharsis City extended beyond the outer dome like a gleaming monument. Zara Ortega looked out over the city, recalling the first time she had seen Mars, about thirty years ago. She had been just a child, accompanying her father on a business trip.”

Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!

Title: The Year Before the End

Author: Vidar Hokstad

Publication Date: November 23, 2020

Book Website: https://galaxybound.com/b01

Goodreads Synopsis

Forty years ago humanity found out we were not alone. The Centauri offered us the galaxy. With one year to go before the gate is ready, Captain Zara Ortega learns of a conspiracy between Mars separatists and the Centauri to split the solar system between them. The crew of the ship Black Rain goes on a daring raid from one of the most well-guarded stations in the system to uncover the truth, but an attack on their ship raises more questions. A meeting with their contact near Mars goes badly wrong and leads them into a chase through the asteroid belt in a desperate bid for survival. Deceit and betrayal have put not just their lives on the line, but the future of humanity.

Thoughts & Comments

This is my current read, and, so far, it is pretty good. I haven’t gotten very far yet, but the story setup has been interesting. I will say that these first lines did make me interested in the book. I immediately wanted to know more about Mars and why this person is arriving there again. Does this book sound like something you would like? Why or why not?

Why I Read: Part 2

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The second thing that comes to mind when I reflect on my motivations and reasons for reading is my family. Both of my parents highlighted the importance of an education and being literate from a very young age. They constantly encouraged my love for books and helped me maintain access to new things to read. My mother often read to me as a child and frequently read for pleasure herself. So, she provided some modeling for this behavior ever since I was very young (My dad read too but only when he was on the toilet. lol).

In addition to my parents modeling reading behavior, I also had another very special person in my life who loved to read: my grandmother. She always had a book going and spent a great deal of time reading when I was younger. We obviously did not read the same things (I think she primarily read romance novels), but I enjoyed just spending time and reading with her. She read so much that her house was one of the bookmobile stops. I loved visiting on bookmobile day every couple weeks and getting to check out some new books from the library. It is safe to say that it is primarily because of her, and these bookmobile visits, that I built a routine schedule of reading into my life.

Without her love for reading, I probably would not be such an avid reader today. I continue to read because it is one of the things that reminds me of her and keeps her presence alive in my life. She would have been 99 years old today, and I am so grateful that the world was graced with her presence. I could not have asked for a more loving and kind person as my grandparent, and I attempt to emulate her love for life, family, and reading in my own life everyday. I miss her more than words could ever express, especially today, but knowing that I carry on her love for books and the written word helps me feel close to her.

My Maw Maw, Adele C. Ogea (April 12, 1922 – September 12, 2009)

Why I Read: Part 1

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Now that I’ve been at this for a month, I’ve decided to take some time to reflect. In my last post, I briefly discussed my motivation for starting and continuing the blog. However, I now want to broaden my perspective and reflect on why, in general, I love to read. Many reasons come to mind, but I have narrowed them down to four. I’ll tackle the first today, and then I plan to write about each of the remaining three motivations weekly until the end of April.

Why do I read? When I asked myself this question, the first answer that came to mind was the simplest and, probably, most boring. I read to learn. I’ve been in school for most of my life. (In case you’re interested, I have earned two bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees, and I attempted two doctorate degrees). So, reading has been an essential skill that I’ve honed over the years. It has allowed me to gain a great deal of knowledge about many different subjects (a small fraction of which has actually been retained in long-term memory 😉). I read to gain knowledge to use in my career as a therapist, as well, which allows me to learn things that are useful to pass on to my clients. In addition to what is needed for school or work, I read a variety of nonfiction books just for the joy of gaining information. I particularly enjoy reading about Greek, Roman, and European history. Overall, I just take pleasure in the act of gaining information because I think it enriches my mind and makes me a better, well-rounded individual.

How does this relate to my love for science fiction, fantasy, and the other fiction genres I often review? At first glance, it may seem like it doesn’t. However, I think reading fiction of any sort helps me learn about people. The characters in fictional works often reflect aspects of the author’s personality or the characteristics of people they know. Reading different characters from diverse authors has helped me improve my perspective-taking abilities and build deeper empathy. Additionally, there is a reason that tropes are tropes. They re-occur often in literature because many people experience similar situations in their lives and can relate to them. So, reading about them from different viewpoints helps me to better understand how people may deal with certain situations or themes in their own lives.

Overall, I just enjoy learning new information. Reading has been an excellent avenue for gobbling up as much information as possible and learning more about human nature. Do you read to learn new things? What motivates you to read? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

TBR: April 2021 Reading List

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After the success of last month, I’ve decided to set another lofty goal for April. I’ll also be participating in a month-long professional conference. So, hopefully I’ll still be able to keep up with all my reading. I plan to read 12 books this month. As part of that, I hope to finish the rest of the released Time Lord Victorious media. The rest of my list is a mixture of fantasy, science fiction, YA, and speculative fiction. I also plan to finish the one book I didn’t get to finish from last month, Star Wars: Victory’s Price.

My list for this month includes the following books:

  • Foretold by Violet Lumani (ARC e-book)
  • A Song of Steel by J.C. Duncan (ARC e-book)
  • The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins (ARC e-book)
  • The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King (ARC e-book)
  • The Year Before the End by Vidar Hokstad (ARC e-book)
  • The Immortal King by Jason Malone (e-book)
  • Genetics of the Daleks by Jonathan Morris (audiobook)
  • Mutually Assured Destruction by Lizzie Hopley (audiobook)
  • Into the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas (hardcover)
  • Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed (hardcover)
  • 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman & James G. Stavridis (hardcover)
  • The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune (hardcover)

March 2021 Reading List

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Now that March is halfway finished, I’ve decided to set some reading goals for the second half of the month. I’m trying to read more, and I’ve found setting concrete goals helps me consistently increase or maintain the amount of reading I do. So, here goes… By March 31, I plan to read the following titles:

  • Genex of Halcyon by Joshua Stelling (ebook)
  • Thurmond’s Saga by Robert John Mackenzie (ebook)
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (physical copy)
  • Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious: All Flesh is Grass by Una McCormack (physical copy)
  • Star Wars: Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed (physical copy)
  • Star Wars: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed (physical copy)
  • Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious: The Minds of Magnox by Darren Jones (audiobook)

In case you haven’t noticed, I love Doctor Who and Star Wars. 🙂 Needless to say, I have a pretty busy couple of weeks ahead of me, but I am looking forward to all of these books. Now I just need to make it happen!

How do you make sure you meet your reading goals? I’d love to hear some suggestions!