Iridescent Reads for Aotearoa Bookwyrms

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed Kushiel's Mercy (Imriel's Trilogy, #3) by Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Mercy (Imriel's Trilogy, #3) (2008)

Kushiel's Mercy is a fantasy novel by American writer Jacqueline Carey, the final book in …

Review of "Kushiel's Mercy (Imriel's Trilogy, #3)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book confirmed my suspicions that arose during book two... that doesn't mean my suspicions are correct, but they were certainly further cemented...

This series felt like it was originally a duology with the second book slipped in there to hit the trilogy mark. I could very well be wrong. But, to me, the first and third books gel, while the second book just sits in the way. Not that it was bad, but the first and third are better and stick closer to the main story.

I'm not going to do a big in-depth review because I haven't the time or energy right now, but I enjoyed it and I plan to buy this series in physical format down the track... I'd like my kids to read it.

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey

No cover — Kushiel's Justice (2007, Grand Central Publishing)

Review of "Kushiel's Justice" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I enjoyed this one as I was still interested in Imriel's journey overall, however there wasn't a whole lot of tension. Potential problems seemed to resolves themselves pretty well, often without much in the way of Imriel's input. I suppose this was OK, since he still learnt a lot on the way.
Still, I'm curious enough to find out how things progress after this one.

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Review of 'The Good Girl' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I liked it.
It made me cry (even though I knew what was going to happen...
Such an emotional response should be an easy 5-star, but...
The writing...
...was passable.
Several 1st person POV's, fine. But, I got really sick of the POV person telling me what another character was thinking or feeling. I'm much more of a fan of being shown the other character's body language and being left to figure it out for myself.
I wondered all the way through why we were never in Mia/Chloe's head... found out why in the Epilogue, which I found a bit of a let down--up to the Epilogue it was a (reasonably) happy ending... the Epilogue kind of ped me off (because it gave us insight into a character that spoiled the image I had of them up to that point). I don't know if that was the intention. A …

I liked it.
It made me cry (even though I knew what was going to happen...
Such an emotional response should be an easy 5-star, but...
The writing...
...was passable.
Several 1st person POV's, fine. But, I got really sick of the POV person telling me what another character was thinking or feeling. I'm much more of a fan of being shown the other character's body language and being left to figure it out for myself.
I wondered all the way through why we were never in Mia/Chloe's head... found out why in the Epilogue, which I found a bit of a let down--up to the Epilogue it was a (reasonably) happy ending... the Epilogue kind of ped me off (because it gave us insight into a character that spoiled the image I had of them up to that point). I don't know if that was the intention. A twist ending was the intention, clearly, but I'm not sure if it was worth it for how I went away feeling. Before then, I was reasonably happy with the end (despite my tears).
There was also a good few moments where a character was keeping things from the reader, obviously with the intention of confusing us for a bit and then going "Ha ha! THIS is what I was talking about the whole time"... Well, like many other readers, I don't like the POV character whose head I'm in deliberately keeping secrets. It's like they know I'm there...
Anyway, overall the premise is good. Overall the characters are fine. I guessed much of what would happen between them, and even knew there would be a demise of one... and still I wanted to read on for the journey. So, the plot and characters were fine. It was just the head-hopping and the Epilogue that ped me off enough to drop stars.

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed Vaginal Birth after Caesarean by Helen Churchill

Review of 'Vaginal Birth after Caesarean' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

It's hard to rate a book such as this.
It didn't have characters to be well developed, or a plot-line to consider...
Half of the book wasn't even written by the authors, since it contained personal testimonies from several women not attributed as authors.
Is the book helpful? Probably... I'll tell you after the event (if I remember).
It's written from a UK perspective, so there were a few details I had to gloss over. We in NZ can have Independent Midwifery care for free--something I'm am now more grateful for.
The book has given me a few things to think about and discuss with my own midwife. And it has given me a little more confidence that I can try a repeat of my original birth plan that I had for my first son (barring any decent reason not to given by my midwife or other professional).
So, overall, …

It's hard to rate a book such as this.
It didn't have characters to be well developed, or a plot-line to consider...
Half of the book wasn't even written by the authors, since it contained personal testimonies from several women not attributed as authors.
Is the book helpful? Probably... I'll tell you after the event (if I remember).
It's written from a UK perspective, so there were a few details I had to gloss over. We in NZ can have Independent Midwifery care for free--something I'm am now more grateful for.
The book has given me a few things to think about and discuss with my own midwife. And it has given me a little more confidence that I can try a repeat of my original birth plan that I had for my first son (barring any decent reason not to given by my midwife or other professional).
So, overall, it was a positive experience to read this book. I'm less nervous about what my body can handle (my first labour gave me plenty of reasons to be nervous this time).
So, I guess, onwards with a little more personal power.

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed Zhong sheng tu de zheng zhan by Jessie Penn-Lewis

Zhong sheng tu de zheng zhan (Chinese language, 1991, Meiguo huo quan chu ban she)

Review of 'Zhong sheng tu de zheng zhan' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

Not gelling with the voice at all.

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed Daylight War by Peter V. Brett

Review of 'Daylight War' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

First half was a bit of a drag, but the second half was pretty good. Still looking forward to finding out how things unfold.

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) rated Fiery Cross: 2 stars

Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) rated Half the world: 5 stars

Half the world by Joe Abercrombie

Soulhaven (Deb E Howell) reviewed The city stained red by Sam Sykes

"A long-exiled living god arises. A city begins to break apart at the seams. Lenk …

Review of 'The city stained red' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Brief clarification: I think the main reason I didn't LOVE this is more to do with where I am in my life right now (overly busy, often too tired to really enjoy my reading time, and just generally feeling a bit flat -- little time to breathe and recharge).

But a Goodreads rating is about me and how I felt reading the book, more than some objective assessment of the book (well ... art), so I've selected the "I liked it" option, because I did.

I loved the opening, mind you. Really good.

I felt a bit lost through the middle, losing track of exactly how high the stakes were at any time, but, as mentioned, I suspect that had a lot to do with my own headspace.