Well, it is about time for a proper dystopian story. The post-apocalyptic world and characters are all well-developed. Flawed and real. And Raw. I didn’t know there were choices, but if you don’t want a little sexuality thrown in, there is a Young Adult version. But if you don’t enjoy the small bits here and there, you can always fast forward. The story works with or without. Either way, get ready for the troubled teen, Bird.
Pirates? It’s hard to tell, sometimes, who the bad guys or good guys are. It seems realistically portrayed from a personal point of view.
Adventure, disaster, balanced with a moment or two for reflection. I love it when books work that way. If you get the chance, read the blurbs about the book. Or better yet, pick this up, and I think you may find yourself immersed in a great journey.
I couldn’t wait when this one ended, I jumped right into the sequel, Sand. What a fun series!
I found this at the bottom of my ‘currently reading’ list (there were 85 books!), so I finally downloaded it to my Fire.
Done.
Here is the Blurb from GoodReads:
When Lady Arabella Trunkettโs father, the High Lord Minister of Urbannia is kidnapped, all clues point to the mysterious country of Gandiss and the world is thrown into political upheaval.
Arabella is convinced the more sinister nation of Carabarras is to blame, urged on by a mad scientist seeking revenge. So, she sets out on a perilous airship journey across a variety of exotic locales to save him, and halt the potential world war.
But airship pirates, secret assassins and slave traders arenโt her only trials. The fickle hand of fate has made the captain of the only airship available for charter, the man that left her at the altar. For eight years she’s wished him dead. Now he’s her only hope.
~~~
If you like steampunk scenarios, this is for you. It was a fun read, but not my cup of tea. I didn’t hate it. And the story kept my attention until the end. There is a whole series. I didn’t feel the pull. I guess I thought differently in 2013 when I picked it up. Or maybe being snowed in gives my reading mood a sinker feeling. Whatever my experience is, do give it a chance. It is free with Kindle Unlimited.
This was a satisfying ending to a semi-completed boxed set. I found the whole story a bit confusing until I let go of my preconceived notions of what the afterlife should be and accepted this as the author’s young adult fantasy.
The whole story is fun and a little different. Give it a try if you need an escape from the confusion of the real world.
Per Linda: Hello! Iโm here with our twenty-eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2025. Today, our prompt is courtesy of our dearest Dan. Thank you, Dan! Please visitย Danโs blogย to read his posts and say hello. And follow him while youโre there if youโre not already. Your prompt for JusJoJan January 28th, 2025ย is โconfusion.โ Use it any way youโd like. Have fun!
When I tried to listen to the text-to-speech of the Kindle version the other day, it didn’t work. I decided to try again last night, and it worked out quite nicely.
I felt a little lost at first as the easter religions and the Dalai Lama are less known to me than the Judeo-Christian Western religions. However, author John Lundin quickly helped us see how familiar those seemingly foreign concepts are. I found myself quite interested.
This book will need multiple reads. This is the first one to get acquainted and see our common interests. But next, I want to go through and practice some of the meditation and kindnesses Mr. Lundin teaches us to use.
I highly recommend this book for seekers and for those who love comparative religions.
“Hi there! I’m back with our nineteenth prompt for Just Jot it January 2025. Today, our prompt comes to us from the wonderful Willow. Thank you, Willow! Please be sure to visitย Willow’s blogย to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Why do I write reviews? It started out in the same way as blogging. I needed a place to keep track. What have I read? Sure, I can go to GoodReads to see if I have read a book, but since I try to record bits of my life here, I can see how that book choice or emotions of the day reflect each other. What I read can affect my life. And my life can carry into my thoughts as I read.
Why did I read this particular book? The author gave me the book long ago when I lived in Reno. He live(d) in Lake Tahoe at the time. I promised a review, so I put it on my ‘Currently Reading’ shelf on GoodReads. That was to prompt me to read it soon.
That shelf has overgrown. When a library or Libby book comes up, it goes to the top of the list over those I own. Suddenly, I have 85 books I am supposedly currently reading. Ha! So my new plan is to pull from the bottom of the list (first books added) and then back to the top, the latest added. My plan is to eventually meet in the middle. Does anyone want to take bets on how long that’s going to take?
I was surprised at how much I appreciated this particular book. It seemed to start rather boring. But soon I found that there were answers here I’d been asking, even though I didn’t know I was asking those questions.
Why. The word my kids learned nearly as soon as they could talk. It is an amazing work that mostly keeps me wondering. How often did I hear my babies ask, “Why is the sky blue?” Or just “Why” to nearly anything. I feel we should stay in that frame of mind. Stay young and keep wondering, WHY?
Where did I hear about this book? I have no idea. But it was a welcome change. I only found the Kindle version at first. And reading this with Text-to-Speech on my older Fire worked out quite well until my Fire died. Then, I was in a tailspin to figure out how to read it. I learned that you can set up TTS on your cell phone. I set it up, but the British TTS’s voice on the phone was horrid. I didn’t know how close to the end, but I wanted to read this while I still remembered what happened. I picked up the Audible version. I did enjoy the voices of the main characters. But sadly, I finished the book within half an hour.
However I read it, I did love this story. It’s a little different than other space travel science fiction books. I don’t like a cliff-hanger. This wasn’t quite that. But I felt the book ended too early. Now, I have to wait for the second and third parts to be published. Maybe I’ll wait for the third one and reread them all.
Maybe, like me, you need the diversion. Try this sci-fi. You might like it, too.
This was brilliantly written. I loved the many tools that Emilia Hart used to tell this story. History, podcasts, journals, and dreams. My Kindle text-to-speech was perfect for this read.
This isn’t your average Young Adult fantasy mermaid story. This one has meat and history, and mysteries on different levels are presented throughout the book.
I was so grateful to get to read this through NetGalley. If you get the chance, it is well worth the time and money to buy and savor.
I don’t know if it was the way the text sounds in text-to-speech as opposed to having narration or if, after a go-getter of a book about the same, this one was dull. Or could it just be that I had overloaded on the subject matter? But I couldn’t get into this book, and much of the information was a repeat of what I’d heard before.
But to give it a good chance I will try to find it on Audible and see if I like it better. I feel that, being a bit of a musician who enjoys artwork, I need more specific information about distraction and hyperfocus within those realms.
Still, I don’t want to discourage others from reading this. It may be just what you need. Or what I may need at another time.
Okay, my wishes came true. I got to reread the first three books. This time, I just listened to my Audible version. As I said nearly a decade ago, Jennifer Ikeda’s voice kept the story alive. The thing I have to add is that I discovered this series has two more books than what I left in 2014. So, I have already started reading book four, Time’s Convert. So far, I’m not as happy with the narrator, but I’ll wait for my full review about her later. As my former review states, I think everyone should try it. I loved all three.
~~~~~~~~~~
This series was so much fun that I wish I could go back and read it again, right now! I miss the characters and the incredible voice of Jennifer Ikeda. This series is best read with the narration. The experience is over the top!
Anyone who knows me knows I am not into vampires. Okay, I watched Vampire Diary for a while, but it was because of the witch more than anything else. So, if this had not started with A Discovery of Witches and my cousin had not recommended it, I might not have gotten into this series. And the witches sure do kick b*** in this series, so I wasn’t disappointed.
Even writing this gives me a sense of remorse that it is over. Gosh, what a sentimental mush brain, huh? But how else can I tell you how good this series is?
I do have a complaint about the whispersync of this book. For some reason, it would skip over the bottom of each paragraph. But that didn’t stop me. I just signed onto my Audible, played the story from there, and read it on my tablet. Yeah, I had to turn pages, but I hardly noticed as the story moved me forward.
I noticed that there were the slightest threads left undone. Nothing drastic, but it had me hoping there would be more to this series. The last few chapters felt rather anticlimactic, but I wasn’t complaining. It just gave me more time with the family. This was the perfect read for the Halloween season, but it would hold its own over any other set of days, too.
Below is the review I made the first time I read this book. I find it says more than I was planning to say. My current review would have just said how much I loved this time-travel adventure between the witch and her vampire husband. Check out the old review for the rest.
*****
After a bit of research, I realized that I had read the first book, A Discovery of Witches, in 2011. That reading was a result of a recommendation by my cousin. I loved that book. Yet, I just took the quiz and found I only got 3 questions right out of 10. So maybe I should have read it again before reading this second book, Shadow of Night. I did feel lost at times, but the story kept me engaged, and I didn’t want to leave the past to review the first book. Also, in my research, I found that I didn’t have the Kindle version of the first book. I must have borrowed the hardback from the library. But I do have the Audible version of the book that I had listened to alongside the hardback.
With both books of the series, I was delighted by the narrator, Jennifer Ikeda. Her voice is exquisite. I love the way she can vary according to each character. I feel she could read the phonebook and make it exciting. But Deborah Harkness’s writing needs no help. Several times, I’d have a sleepless night and want to read. I hated donning my headset just for a few minutes of reading. Those few moments lasted for sometimes hours. So yes, I know how well the writing is. With the duo of writer and narrator, this story comes to life. And that is when Elizabeth I was queen.
I love time travel stories, but this was different in that it was due to witchcraft that made it happen. And that by a witch who doesn’t understand her craft. Okay, I won’t tell you any more about the story. Needless to say, it is worth the read. The characters alone can grab you. They are well-developed, as is the plot. So much so that I couldn’t wait to get the next book and get involved. I highly recommend this series.
Jennifer Ikeda narrated this book with so much variance in her voice, playing each character with enthusiasm and strength.
The story is as interesting this second time around. I am sucked right into the story as if it is the first time. I can remember certain plot points, but getting to those points is half the adventure.
After reading the Vampire Knitting Club and the Vampire Book Club series, I needed to have another lighter story. This one isn’t as much humor as it is a full immersion into Deborah Harkness’s world.
I have enjoyed this so much that I decided to get back into the whole series. I’ve already started reading book two.
Below is my first review of this book
******
This book was so much fun. Now, I have a new author, Deborah Harkness, and a new narrator, Jennifer Ikeda, on my favorites list. The only problem I had with the book was that feeling when the book ended and the next book wasn’t available yet! So, I spent my day in that withdrawal phase that happens when you have learned to love the characters and enjoy the plot.
What some reviewers were irritated with was the clothing issues. I found them to be signs of a modern professional woman who is trying to be ‘normal.’ I loved the range of senses Ms. Harkness called upon to present the world. Ms. Ikeda’s accents made the characters come alive.
I have to thank my cousin for suggesting this book. Only for her would I have read anything to do with vampires. I was led to believe, by the title, I suppose, that this would be about witches. ๐
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Hi! my name is Sebastian (You can call me Seb!) ...welcome to my Blog. I'm a photographer from Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoy my work.
Books, games, music, and life โ filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.
Salt by Liz Shipton
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