Review: A Soldier's Revenge by Matthew Dunn

 

Continuing this series that I started mainly because I owned book 4. This is book 6 and the second to last book in the series and sadly this one was just not what I wanted. The end of book 5 had the best ending with Will Cochrans team being brutally murdered in their own homes, so I was expecting him to be getting his revenge for their deaths in this. Sadly that was not the case as this installment starts off with Will waking up in a hotel room bloody with a dead woman in the bath tub. His DN is everywhere and he goes on the run. 

We get POV's from detectives on the case, the guy who is behind the whole thing to get revenge on Cochran and we also get POVs from CIA who call Cochran a dog because he is no longer useful and that the government is his master who kicked him out into the cold. These chapters just rubbed me the wrong way because it is the perfect summarization of governments not giving a damn about the people who fight to protect us and when it comes time to protect them, they just get told no, you are not worth it.

I was also very pissed at Cochran because even after he knows that the murder has become public and that he is wanted, he is still showing his face in public and running. He just digs himself a bigger hole which just boggles my mind that he was this bad ass assassin and soldier that he would be making these dumbass decisions like taking hostages.

Also the whole New York scene at the end showing up in a chinese restaurant just to jump off a bridge to fake your own death was just dumb. I am hoping that book 7 is better and that this series will end off on a good note. I was going to read the two books that come before book three and book four, but this installment has made me lose interest and I am only interested in finishing this series. 

Summer Vacation// Sunday Post #67

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Long time, no talk. I haven't done a Sunday Post in two months. There has been a lot going on but not a lot going on. Work, school work, paying bills, gardening, summer school, and swimming. Since our school year ended on May 6th, I have had anxiety about how the summer would be. There is so much I have wanted to get done and to do, that I am having trouble focusing on one thing and then I stress out about doing something and not doing other stuff that needs to be done. 

The past two summers I babysat and since I am no longer doing that because I do not need that stress and drama back in my life. I feel that I have too much time and to little time. We are a month into summer vacation and August 5th will be here before I know it and we will be starting another school year. 

All that to say is that I am enjoying my time and relaxing and trying to catch up on sleep, but my brain just wont shut up and I want to get stuff done. I am a walking contradiction.

Started reading Gone With The Wind on Wednesday and I am a little over 100 pages in and enjoying it so far or just the courting and frolicking between the families. I am so into Bridgerton at the moment and it is giving me Bridgerton vibes. 

Review: Daughter by Kate McLaughlin

 

I am so behind on my Netgalley reads. My approval rating is so atrocious and I got this copy from the read shelf in 2021. I need to buckle down on all of the books on my to read shelf. I gave this a three star rating. At first, I was really enjoying this because thrillers go by really fast for me because I can't put the damn thing down. That was the case for me, but we follow a high school student who is so into boys and partying and smoking pot. She is annoyed with her mom because her mom is paranoid and won't let her do anything or go anywhere.

One day, Scarlet is on her way home from school with a friend and they chill at the house while smoking more pot and then an FBI agent knocks on the door and asks to speak with her. He tells her that she is the daughter of a man kown as the Gentleman killer. Her whole past comes out and her mom reveals everything. 

Scarlet's dad is requesting to see her on his death bed because he is dying of pancreatic cancer and he will only reveal the names of the rest of his victims to her. This book is one massive party, serial killer meeting with dear old dad and hanging with friends while trying to stay away from paparazzi and crazed fans and angry and grievinf family/friends.

There was a point where I actually thought that the dad had been framed and that the FBI agent was the true killer, but the dad was just gross. He would play with Scarlet and her mind with every meeting. He would see himself in her with every snappy comeback or string of cusswords she threw at him. He was a really sick individual because he was into necrophilia and that was mentioned constantly. He named his daughter after his first victim which is more disturbing.

The ending was beyond fucked up and it still left me with questions. And it also lost another star because the ending just was not satisfying. 

Review: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved A Human by Kimberly Lemming

 

I am doing grea with reading series this year. I am caught up with the Mead Mishaps series and I hope that a 4th will come out this year because I can't get enough. This one follows Dante the storm dragon and CHERRY!!!!! Yes, she is still alive. Cherry is Cinnamon's sister who has been "dead" for 5 years because she was pulled into a swamp by a swampy demon. 

Turns out she was locked away in a tower that was guarded by a dragon named Gideon. This sea foam green dragon never spoke to her and let her have free rein of the island but if she was gone too long, then she would be tossed back into the tower. One day Dante is off to check up on Gideon and he has finally left Boohail. He wants to find his own mate and his own territory. 

Dante and Cherry cross paths and Dante is immediatly smitten with her. He offers to help her escape the tower and the island and after he gives the offer, he drinks a tea that Cherry has drugged.... to get him to take her home. He takes her home alright, back to his castle in Volsog. With Cherry being stuck on the island for five years, she has no idea that the goddess Myva was a fraud and that the demons are free to roam the Earth. Dante tells her this and she is worried about Boohail and her family. She refuses to tell Dante where she is from because she doesn't want her family to be eaten.

Cherry is very materialistic and kind of a gold digger because she is so focused on Dante being rich and his horde of gold and she is very I want, I want, I want. This book has also toned down the sex scenes, but it did rub me the wrong way because Dante marked Cherry as his mate without consent. There was also a bath tub scene where she is getting herself off and he just comes and starts giving her oral and she tells him to stop and he doesn't. 

They eventually go on an adventure to go see unicorns and they have to stop because Danta is sharing his magic with Cherry and it is draining him. Cherry goes off into the woods while he is resting and she comes across the talking sword Alexis. She comes across harpies and Dante has to rescue her and they go to a near by town named Kirkwall where the big conflict of the story takes place. After all this time, Cherry still has not told Dante that she is from Boohail. She eventually slips up and Danta isoverjoyed because he and Fallon can now team up and join territory and go on a quest that was mentioned earlier in the book.

I ended up giving this book a 4 out of 5 because of the feelings I had when Dante didn't get consent and there was only two major sex scenes. I also didn't laugh as much as I did with the first two books. The end with the book of beasts and the sick measuring was the best laugh. 

Review: Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar

 

I have had an arc of this book since 2017 and it has been on my shelf collecting dust until recently when I saw the trailer for the new Adam Sandler Netflix movie called Spaceman. I didn't put two and two together until the title of the book was mentioned and I was like, I have that. I have been wanting to read it for the past two months and since then I have been hyping myself up and also hoping that it wouldn't be too similar to Project Hail Mary. Project Hail Mary came out years after this book and I was constantly saying that I hope it wasn't a rip off of Spaceman. The reason for these thoughts is because there is a space creature that is a SPIDER!!!! My favorite character from Project Hail Mary is Rocky who is described as a spider like creature.

Anyways, this is about a guy named Jakub who lives in Czechoslavakia. He is the first Czech astronaut and will be the first human to go to the dust cloud that has formed between Earth and Venus. This dust cloud is known as the Chopra cloud and at night it gives the Earth sky a purple color. The first quarter of the book is Jakub in space by himself and he is dreading the interviews from the public. He is slacking on his exercise and the only thing he looks forward to is his phone calls with his wife Lenka.

One day, Jakub hears tapping and slowly his equipment starts going out. His handlers at central don't know what is going on but they keep the show going. Jakub then sees a hairy creature that is interested in him and can read his mind. Jakub being all alone in space for months forms an attachment to this creature that he names Hanus. Hanus is on the run from these little parasites known as Gromopeds that want to cause an extinction. Hanus is also wanting to go to the Chopra cloud because it is the beginning, kind of like the big bang. 

They get to the cloud and the cloud absolutely annihilates Jakubs shuttle and basically kills all systems. He gets into his suit and he has three hours of oxygen. He has one last conversation with the Prime Minister who spear headed the program and the prime minister tells him that he will be remembered and have statues dedicated to him.

Jakub also reminiscies about his father alot because while the Czech were under Russian rule, his dad was an informant. When Czechoslavakia became independent, his father became public enemy number 1 in the eyes of the public and was wanted for crimes against the people. Jakubs parents went on a ski holiday before everything started and his parents tragically died in a ski lift accident. Jakub then goes to live with his grandparents and then a former prisoner who was tortured by his father comes back to take what is his.

This book was just not what I was expecting. Jakub being in space was the first quarter of the book and then he was rescued and out of space. The rest was his childhood with his grandparents and then whining about how his wife left him and wanting to know why he was constantly putting himself first before her. 

I just did not gel because it was all philosophy talk and politics and I just hope that the movie is better. I gave this a 2 star. 

Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Authors I Want More From

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl.

This weeks topic is one that I have given much thought and think about often. It's authors I would want a new book from. I am all the time checking twitter pages and goodreads pages with author websites. Here is my list.

1. Corey Leonardo

2. Vicky Alvear Shecter

3. Tara Clancy

4. Lori M Lee

5. Khaled Hosseini

6. Edwin Fontanez

7. London Shah

8. Nadine Brandes

9. Helene wecker

10. Xiran Jay Zhao (she is writing but her publisher is being a major asshat)

Review: That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming

 

Still in my reading series era. The second book in the Mead Mishap series. The book with the funniest but longest ass title in existence. This installment follows Cinnamon's best friend Brie who is a cheesemaker. We start with Cinnamon and Brie in the local tavern  with the locals and the newly free demons. Brie is basically being harrassed by a guy named Jack who just won't leave her the hell alone. We find out why he wants her so badly. He owns the land next to hers and he is also a get rich quick scheme kind of dude who is a con man. 

He basically gets her a drink and right from the very beginning, red flags are being flown. You never take a drink from a dude. She is sick and tired of his shit and she yeets the drink at him. He moves out of the way very quickly and the drink lands on our other main character who is also Cinnamon's best demon friend Felix. Thats where the title comes in. But it is a lot more complicated than that because Felix is a werewolf and immediately upon seeing Brie, he imprints on her making her his fated mate.

The whole story is basically Brie denying the imprinting and trying to reverse the love potion that was meant for her and the disgusting Jack. We have another main plot line where girls are being taken and the locals are blaming the demons. The demons help search for the women and we get a group that is basically straight out of The Handmaid's Tale.

There were funny times in this but the main plot was serious and there were more steamy scenes, but they didn't seem as realistic as the ones in the first book. I still give the a 5 out of 5 stars but I am wondering if my rating will drop in the future because as I was starting to write this review, I had to go back to the beginning of the book and remember how it started.