Tag: Rating: 4 stars

Review: The Kingdom of Gods

Posted 10 July, 2020 by Lianne in Books / 0 Comments

The Kingdom of Gods (Inheritance Trilogy #3)
By: N.K. Jemisin
Format/Source: Trade paperback; was a Christmas gift

For two thousand years the Arameri family has ruled the world by enslaving the very gods that created mortalkind. Now the gods are free, and the Arameris’ ruthless grip is slipping. Yet they are all that stands between peace and world-spanning, unending war.

Here we are, final volume in the Inheritance trilogy. Pretty much been reading this trilogy the entire month of June so it’s a nice way to wrap up the month, finishing up a trilogy too. Suffice to say, I’m happy to finally be reading this trilogy, if there was any major achievement for this year reading-wise, it’s this 🙂

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Review: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Posted 26 June, 2020 by Lianne in Books / 0 Comments

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
By: John Carreyrou
Format/Source: eBook; my purchase

In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the female Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with a machine that would make blood testing significantly faster and easier. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.7 billion. There was just one problem: The technology didn’t work.

A riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, a tale of ambition and hubris set amid the bold promises of Silicon Valley.

I was curious to check out this book after I had seen the trailer of The Inventor. I had heard of the Elizabeth Holmes story in passing but nothing in great detail so when this book came up during a sale on Kobo I figured it was a good time to check it out.

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Review: Down Among the Sticks and Bones

Posted 22 June, 2020 by Lianne in Books / 2 Comments

Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2)
By: Seanan McGuire
Format/Source: eBook; courtesy of Tor.com reading club

Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

This is the story of what happened first…

Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.

Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.

They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.

They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.

I read the first book, Every Heart a Doorway (review) a few years ago, and made a note to check out the rest of the series when I get a chance. So naturally I downloaded this book when it was featured in the Tor.com Book Club a few months ago.

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Review: Embers

Posted 11 June, 2020 by Lianne in Books / 1 Comment

Embers
By: Sándor Márai
Format/Source: Paperback; my purchase

A castle at the foot of the Carpathian mountains in the 1930s. Two men, inseparable in their youth, meet for the first time in forty-one years. They have spent their lives waiting for this moment.

Four decades earlier a murky, traumatic event – something to do with a betrayal, and a woman – led to their sudden separation. Now, as their lives draw to a close, the devastating truth about that moment will be revealed.

Embers is a masterpiece – an unforgettable story of passion, fidelity, truth and deception.

I’ve mentioned this in the past but I tend to buy books while I’m on holiday, local/national authors from the country I’m visiting. I picked up this book whilst in Budapest; it has long been on my wish-to-read radar anyway, but it was perfect picking this book up in Hungary 🙂 If I remember correctly I started reading this book on the travel back home, lol.

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Review: Truthwitch

Posted 5 June, 2020 by Lianne in Books / 0 Comments

Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1)
By: Susan Dennard
Format/Source: eBook; courtesy of Tor.com reading club

In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she’s a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden – lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult’s true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls’ heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

I downloaded this book as part of Tor.com’s First Reads Book Club a few months ago. I had seen this book in passing in the past but reading the premise of the book this time around I was curious and decided to check it out.

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