Month in Review for July 2017

My Star Wars themed b-day cake, complete with purple lightsaber chopsticks

July was rather kind to me compared with the beginning of August- there is a wildfire four miles from my house that was burning absurdly fast for about a week, which left me trapped inside due to the smoke and downstairs due to the heat. Luckily, it is cooler now and I am able to get back upstairs and blog again- I have a nifty but bulky desktop that I write at for fear of my tablet's autocorrect.

Statistics:
 Total Posts: 5
  Total Critiques: 2
  Genres:
    Fantasy: 1
    Contemporary Fiction: 1
    Part of a Series: 1

Most Popular Posts of the Past Month:
Month in Review for June 2017
New Release Review: "Hello, Sunshine" by Laura Dave

Flashback Post (From a Previous Year):
"Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy #1)" by Ilona Andrews

Pageviews for the Month: 958
Comments: 13

Reading Challenges Updates:

The Sci-Fi Summer Reading Challenge Hosted by Rachelle @ Fortified by Books

My Goal: 6 Books
What I've Read So Far:
Firstborn & Defending Elysium by Brandon Sanderson (Sci-fi Short Stories, 160 pages [June])
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia E. Butler (Dystopian, 345 pages [July])
The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser (Time Travel, 303 pages [July])

Naked in Death (In Death #1) by J.D. Robb (Sci-fi Thriller/Romance [July])

Reading Stats:

Books read this Month: 7

Book Stats:
Has a Diverse Main Character: 1
Doesn't Have a Diverse MC: 6
Female Main Character: 5
Male Main Character: 0
Pair and/or Group of Female/Male Main Characters: 2
Genre:
 Sci-fi: 3
 Historical Romance: 2
 Fantasy: 1
 UF/Paranormal Romance: 1
Published in 2017: 3
Published in 2000-2016: 1
Published in 1990s: 2
Published in 1970s: 1
Self-Published, Small Press, or Other: 0
Traditionally Published: 7
Series Books: 6
Standalones: 1
Ebook Version: 6
Paper Version: 1
Favorite of the Month: Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews because they are my favorite authors who create my favorite characters (even a grizzly bear with the smarts of a human who is a pacifist). I liked it so much I'm rereading it right now.
Least Favorite of the Month: Rules for a Rogue (Romancing the Rules #1) by Christy Carlyle- with historical romance, I'm hard to please. I really liked the second book in this series (which I read first).
Most Interesting of the Month (or Book I Learned the Most From): Parable of the Sower (Earthseed #1) by Octavia E. Butler- it's the most interesting and frightening book I've probably read all year- not for the squeamish among us or those who avoid dark topics.
From the-pile: 0
From the-invisible-pile: 3
Recently acquired: 4
Added to the-invisible-pile: 10
Books bought: 1
Pages Read in 2017 Thus Far (according to Goodreads): 14,452 pages

Ratings:
5 Stars: 0
4-4.5 Stars: 3
3-3.5 Stars: 3
2-2.5 Stars: 1

Author Stats (1 = 1 book read by x author):
Male: 1
Female: 5
Male/Female Team: 1
Diverse: 1
Not-so-Diverse: 6 :(
Living: 6
Deceased: 1

Planning to Read This Month:

I am rereading Wildfire (because Ilona Andrews' books make me happy). I plan on sneaking in some sci-fi at some point, but other than that I don't have any plans.

Upcoming Posts:

Naked in Death (In Death #1) by J.D. Robb
For a while, my Blogger image archive wasn't working, so this review from July will appear in August. I really was pleasantly surprised by this one- and I didn't anticipate that.

I hope your August is amazing!

Fortnightly Update #38: On an Upswing

I've had a couple trips lately, but I have luckily had a lot of energy to manage that as compared with earlier this month. Although the hot temps aren't exactly ideal for me, the storm systems seem to be keeping away (storm systems make my pain and fatigue jump- I no longer really like rain). I'm excited about a few new books I've acquired and I feel like I'm on an upswing in terms of reading.

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:

You may recognize this book- these are the special 20th anniversary editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I kind of want to get all the House colors, but I decided to start with Gryffindor since it's my house. My copy of this book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) was originally my brother's, until he outgrew Harry Potter (I know, who could do that?) and let me have it. So this copy is my first new copy of it.

the-invisible-pile Additions:

Theft of Swords (The Riyria Revelations #1-2) by Michael J. Sullivan
I've only read Age of Myth and Age of Swords by this author, so I decided to branch out and buy this set for future reading.

Currently Reading:

Wildfire (Hidden Legacy #3) by Ilona Andrews

I actually have the paperback edition of this, but I'm a bit crunched for time so I won't take a photo (yet). This is the conclusion to the Hidden Legacy series, however the authors seem willing to do more books for it (which would make me a very happy reader).

Finished These Books:

Rules for a Rogue (Romancing the Rules #1) by Christy Carlyle

Rating: 2 Stars

I was disappointed with this one, as I had bought it because I liked the second in the series. I guess something about the heroine continuing to reject her old sweetheart who jilted her prior struck me as kind of sad instead of romantic.

Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2) by Michael J. Sullivan

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I had a lot of nitpicks with this one, but it still came out on the plus side, as you may have gathered from my review.

Naked in Death (In Death #1) by J.D. Robb

Rating: 4 Stars

I've linked to my review (which has been written) but I have to wait until my computer's feeling up to accessing some of my old rating images to publish it. Basically, you can't judge an author by their popularity- I assumed Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb wouldn't be for me because she is such a popular author and book/author popularity doesn't always ring true for me. However, this futuristic romance sci-fi was a winner for me- I rated it four stars in a month when every other rating seems to be three stars or less.

The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser

Rating: 3 Stars

I billed this as a "Freaky Friday" type tale, but with time travel, and in some ways I was very right about that. However, instead of a semi-light read it ended up being a very dark one- and I usually enjoy that. It was also very dated- and I am loath to label older novels with that description. But there's no hiding the fact that this would have been much more enjoyable had I believed in the concept that women in the '70s were totally liberated and radically blessed- even then there were things that weren't working for women. The parents of Shay in this novel make me want to scream. Anyway, I found the first half (which is set in the early 1900s) much more palatable than the last parts of it.

In My Life:

Torbor listening to the voice of the forest (AKA squirrels)

We went camping for a few days and luckily we got a nice spot. I reserved one online based on the campsite map- it was the most isolated, which is nice for us and others since our pups don't take kindly to strangers (Leia is a barkhound, and Torrie follows suit with a howl). It was also the only one with creek access and plus it was near the amenities. They had an "accessible" camping spot that was a bit of a joke- it had a steep slope to it, and no ramp to the parking space. As far as I could tell, you would've been better off where we were because there was a slight slope that went up to the parking space, and the area was mostly level. I learned that unless the ground is level, I have a hard time walking places as I couldn't get to the end of the campground (which wasn't that large to begin with), even with the dogs "supporting" me.

It was really nice to just sit around and listen to the creek, which was right next to the campsite. There were no animal sightings save for a red squirrel that was taunting Torrie, and the far off moos of a herd of free range cattle. Apparently there were a few that kept straying from the rest of the herd, which was why we heard a lot of mooing. Even though it wasn't quite the adventurous camping that I'm used to (AKA hiking more than a few campsites over), it was a pleasant trip.

Have you had any summer adventures?

New Release: "Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2)" by Michael J. Sullivan

Disclaimer: I was given a free advance ecopy of this book via NetGalley from the publisher, Random House/Ballantine Del Rey in exchange for an honest review. My opinion remains as forthright as ever.

A review of the first book in the series, Age of Myth is here.

Have you ever read a book and thought to yourself, "I like this, but things are happening too easily"? That was my thought halfway through Age of Swords, and it haunted me as I read the final pages. This book has great characters, adventure, action, and new locations, but it doesn't have enough friction in the politics or between the characters to make it feel like something that could happen feasibly, even in a fantasy world, unless humans are suddenly without fierce convictions, grudges, and all suddenly decide on being agreeable. Sure, there is conflict, but mostly between races: if you've read a comment section on the internet (that wasn't on this blog) in the last ten years, you'll know that people are attached to their opinion, even in the face of facts. The humans of Age of Swords get along in a way that makes the bulk of us look like contrarians.

As I mentioned, there are new locations in this book, but some of those locations were a tad stereotypical for my complete enjoyment. I found the Fhrey side of the story much more interesting, which I hadn't expected given my love of Suri, Persephone, and Roan. Even on the Fhrey side of things, I found a few inconsistencies/annoyances of mine- a leader of a group kept saying the same phrase every time he popped up. It would've been okay, but the phrase was, "Am I right?"

Am I right, people?

Am I right?

Am I right?

Aren't you annoyed yet? And thinking of old television shows in which that catchphrase may have been more suitable? Instead of imagining Orlando Bloom in his Legolas role, winking slightly as he says, "Am I right?"

The Plot (As Seen on Goodreads):
'Raithe, the God Killer, may have started the rebellion by killing a Fhrey, but long-standing enmities dividing the Rhune make it all but impossible to unite against a common foe. And even if the clans can join forces, how will they defeat an enemy whose magical prowess makes the Fhrey indistinguishable from gods?
'The answer lies across the sea in a faraway land populated by a reclusive and dour race who feels nothing but disdain for both Fhrey and mankind. With time running out, Persephone leads the gifted young seer Suri, the Fhrey sorceress Arion, and a small band of misfits in a desperate search for aid—a quest that will take them into the darkest depths of Elan. There, an ancient adversary waits—an enemy as surprising as it is deadly.'

One major negative for me was the focus on fleshing-out characters that had already had enough backstory attached to them. One character in particular is singled out for this, and I was reminded of the logic behind the song A Boy Named Sue. If you've heard the song, you'll know what I'm talking about- as a song, it's okay. But does that logic make much sense in real life, with real people?

I know I've done a thorough job listing the irritating qualities of this book, but I do believe this series is still well worth reading. The reason? Despite indulging in many tropes, there is a lot to enjoy here- a mystery surrounding some of the characters, characters that are enjoyable to read about (despite being too darn peaceable), and various political plots that move the book forward. However, if you're averse to traditional fantasy elements (elves and dwarves- need I say more?) you will want to find a different series.

Age of Swords isn't quite what I had hoped for- and it was on my list of most anticipated books for 2017. It still has the magic of the first book, but perhaps I've become a bit more immune to its charms after the extra pages in this one. Still, if you enjoy traditional fantasy with a wealth of female characters and without the traditional fantasy placement of said female characters, The Legends of the First Empire series may be for you.

Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars for a great sequel that doesn't quite match the first book's magic.

Age Advisory: Ages 18+ for violence (that includes brutality against vulnerable people), prejudice, and a surplus of annoying catchphrases.

Page Count: 512 pages