Here are mini reviews for some of the books I read from April to June 2022. Give them a shot if they sound interesting.

The links lead to the book page on goodreads, from where I've also copied a portion of the blurbs for this post.

The Revived by A.M. Sohma

Blurb

After leading a group out of the full submersion video game, Chronicles of Retha, Kit knew she couldn’t leave the remaining players to suffer their fate alone. So she returned to the game with the goal to get everyone out.

Review

Based on release date, before starting this series, I thought this was a completed trilogy. I'd have perhaps stopped after book-2 and waited for the remaining books before starting book-3. Anyway, this was similar to the first two books — fast paced, easy to read and some nice action. I liked the introduction of new characters, especially the adorable/annoying NPC ones.

Threadbare by Andrew Seiple

Blurb

Meet Threadbare. He is twelve inches tall, full of fluff, and really, really bad at being a hero. Magically animated and discarded by his maker as a failed experiment, he is saved by a little girl. But she's got problems of her own, and he might not be able to help her. Fortunately for the little golem, he's quick to find allies, learn skills, gain levels, and survive horrible predicaments. Which is good, because his creator has a whole lot of enemies...

Review

I binge read the first three books in 3 days. Seemed like a good fit to be packaged as a trilogy.

It was a kinda weird mix of slice-of-life, humor, puns, cool power-ups, profanity, sudden escalation of violence and death, etc. Overall, the plot and characters kept me engaged. I found the stat steets overwhelming, so I skipped them all. And some chapters were world building info dumps that I found difficult to read/comprehend, so I skimmed/skipped them too.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Blurb

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Review

Overall, I enjoyed this book written from the perspective of a scholar overcoming odds to learn more about dragons. The pacing was steady, helped by suspense and some sort of action happening every few chapters. The illustrations were great. Writing was easy to follow, except for the hard to recall names. The stakes were relatively low and personal compared to epic fantasy, but I wouldn't call this book a cozy fantasy (as I was led to believe in a discussion thread). I was also expecting some sort of magical dragons, but what's revealed in this book didn't seem to incline that way.

What Went Wrong With Mrs Milliard's Mech? by I.H. Laking

Blurb

Mrs Milliard is on the verge of financial ruin. With a business deal about to expire unless her mechanical baker remembers his secret recipe, Mrs Milliard turns to Inspector Ambrose for help. But as Ambrose soon discovers, no one in Mrs Milliard's neighbourhood is ready to talk.

Review

A short and nice cozy mystery story. I liked the character of Ambrose and his side-kick Percy. The writing was easy to follow and the pacing was steady, helped by the suspense. The fantasy setting didn't really seem like a good place to live though.

Houndstooth by Travis M. Riddle

Blurb

After a year of avoiding capture and struggling to scrape by working odd jobs for a local crime lord, Coal is growing desperate. He learns of someone in the city's underbelly who can erase his record, but her services don't come cheap. Seeing no other option, he enters a spiderback race with a grand prize valuable enough to pay for his fresh start. But he's not the only one after the prize, and Coal is about to find out exactly how far he's willing to go to win.

Review

The first book begins with the main character participating in a small scale heist, short on cash and on the run from authorities. Plenty of dirty talk and humor. Along with the action, worldbuilding and other details are revealed as needed. One thing leads to another and then the plot moves to the main event - spider racing. I liked this part of the novel the best. A good mix of action and sweet romance. And the author threw in some twists for good measure.

I didn't enjoy the second book as much as the first one. It was lot more darker and many chapters felt weird and meandering. I prefer slice-of-life books these days, but that didn't work here because of the sudden violence and things I didn't understand or care about. The ending was interesting (which was again pretty dark though). I think I might read the conclusion sometime later.

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

Blurb

Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

Review

I'd have probably DNF if I hadn't been a fan of the author's other books. Mainly because of Gwendolen's shenanigans that kept getting worse. And the true extent of the malice only gets revealed at the end.

I enjoyed the second half better, especially as the whimsical setting grew on me. And it was fun to spot all the stuff that became memorable in the Harry Potter series. I'm torn between wanting to re-read the book to fully appreciate all the foreshadowing and not wanting to read Gwendolen's shenanigans again. I'm definitely looking forward to read the rest of the books in the series.

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

Blurb

Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal? Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.

Review

I loved the beginning with all the suspense and desire to be a part of supernatural world. And then there was a deluge of names, worldbuilding stuff, the attacks and so on that it was difficult to keep up. It didn't help that we got introduced to a great side-character only to be ahem sidelined in favor of other characters. I'd have enjoyed more if the training portions had been given more chapters.

If I had to pick a favorite fantastic thing in this book, my choice would be the elevators ;)

Given that there were too many types of magical abilities and all the sci-fi stuff, I was wary about the motivation of a certain character around the half-way mark. However, with events seemingly turning out for the better and one particular scene favoring that character, I didn't expect the twist when it came! The climax was good and a bit underwhelming at the same time.