Happy Halloween/Samhain week, friends!
I was going to tell you that I haven’t finished a single book since my last mini reviews, but I can see now that that’s not true (although, I’ve only actually finished 2 of the 4, but the other 2 I’ll finish today, so that’s good enough, isn’t it?)
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THE CROWNS OF CROSWALD by D.E. Night
Review: This little book was my first Netgalley book and I wanted to do right by it, but it fell short for me. It had lots of potential, but it tried too hard to be Harry Potter without the likeable main character. It could be a great first read for a young audience as an introduction to epic fantasy, but I’m afraid I was much too picky for it.
Favourite Quote:
That evening Ivy was, as usual, lost in her sketching.
I was struggling to find a line I really liked, so I give you the opening line.
Rating:
MYTHOS by Stephen Fry
Review: I’ve always felt drawn to Greek mythology, so I was excited to listen to the audiobook narrated by Stephen Fry himself. He was the perfect choice for this–his humour made listening to this a great experience, and it made me smile several times on my walk to work. It’s a fantastic introduction to Greek mythology, and you might also like the general history chapter on all things myths.
Favourite Quote:
“Gaia visited her daughter Mnemosyne, who was busy being unpronounceable.”
(there were so many good moments, but I keep coming back to this one)
Rating:
YES PLEASE by Amy Poehler
Review: This is the book my soul needed <3 I listened to the audiobook narrated by Amy Poehler as well as several guests, and it was the best companion on my walks to and from work I could have asked for. I will come back to this book when I’m sad. I laughed so much. Thank you, Amy.
Favourite Quote: Everything she said, but I had to choose something–which was really hard because I honestly loved everything because she’s my spirit animal–so:
“It’s very hard to have ideas. It’s very hard to put yourself out there, it’s very hard to be vulnerable, but those people who do that are the dreamers, the thinkers and the creators. They are the magic people of the world.”
Rating:
Also, I loved every moment of this book. I hope you got that.
QUANTUM MESSENGER by Caitlin Lynagh
Review: What’s this? Another NetGalley book! :O I feel so accomplished 😀
While Quantum Messenger was a bit slow at times–especially in the beginning, when Apollo, a robot, describes the world in detail (as in, how many steps it took to cross how many metres)–I loved the premise and that it tackled so many questions I’ve asked myself many times. It deals with questions like ‘when is an AI no longer a program but a person?’ and ‘what is the soul?’, and I really enjoyed seeing the world through Apollo’s eyes.
Favourite Quote:
I passed a large building and stopped when I noticed a couple of the strange orbs drifting upwards into the sky. Wait, what? Where are they going? An ambulance turned on its sirens and screeched away from the building and I finally noticed the sign above the door. It was a hospital. I turned on the spot, scanning the sky, and I saw another orb a little further away, and then another, all drifting up like miniature hot air balloons. Were they all coming from hospitals? According to my maps they couldn’t be. Why are they leaving their humans? Will they come back? I gazed up and wondered if perhaps these orbs were venturing out to the stars in search of a new body to inhabit.
(imagine the bits in bold are regular italics – it didn’t show properly because of the quote! Also, it’s the last line that stood out to me here, but without the rest, I feel it wouldn’t have made much sense.)
Rating:
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