Tag Archives: 3 star

Audiobook review: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A solid 3 stars! This was a reread. I first read it back in 2003 and I was pleased the book stood up to me returning to it decades later. While it wasn’t as tense and on the edge of my seat as the first read—it was so vivid that I remembered many plot points—it was still enjoyable. I love the symbology, watching the clues come together, and the multiple meanings. I also enjoy the emphasis on goddess worship and returning dualism to Christianity. If you are not okay with that, I suggest skipping this book. I did get annoyed with Sophie being such an ingenue. To an extent she needs to because she is the proxy for the audience, but I think Dan Brown could’ve given his readers more credit and that a cryptanalyst agent would’ve made smarter moves. I still enjoyed it enough to give it a 3 star rating, however.

Audiobook Review: Cursed Cocktails

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you enjoyed Legends and Lattes but prefer a good cocktail to fancy coffee, Cursed Cocktails is for you! This cozy fantasy explores what happens when a blood mage retires to open a cocktail bar. It includes several delicious sounding drink recipes (and you can download a PDF that translates the magical ingredients to ones available in this realm) and slow burn, friends to lovers gay romance. Not exciting, but hey, that’s the point of the cozy genre. A solid three stars.

Audiobook review: The Faerie Games by Michelle Madow

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Faerie Games by Michelle Madow is a fun romantasy romp where romance takes a backseat to the main characters’ participation in the titular games. This is a good thing as, if you’re like me, you’ll roll your eyes every time the “I’m obviously destined to love you but I’m trying to hate you” trope comes up. It’s also a really fast read. I may continue the series because the games aspect is fun. But prospective readers should be aware it looks like the games will take up the entire series.

I read this for the Orilium Magical Readathon for the Art of Illusion prompt, which was a book with the word “play” or “game” in the title.

Audiobook review: Powerless by Lauren Roberts

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I picked up Powerless for a book club. It’s a YA romantasy that explores what would happen if it was illegal to not have superpowers; in other words, to be powerless. And what happens when you fall for one of the princes whose father has killed your father and made your existence illegal? Oh, and who you’re supposed to fight in a series of deadly trials? This was a little too YA and contrived for me, but I was rooting for the main romance, so I might continue the series anyway.

Audiobook review: The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith was a pick for my friend AdventuRyn‘s Botany Book Club. It’s about Elena, who is a vine witch—a witch that specializes in caring for vineyards and making remarkable wine. When we first met Elena she has been cursed to live in a bog as a toad. She manages to break the curse and return to her vineyard seeking revenge, only to find that it’s no longer hers and is under attack by dark magic. I only gave this book 3 stars because the plot was fairly predictable, the romance lacked chemistry, and I kept imagining much more interesting plot twists the author could have done. I enjoyed it enough despite that to finish it but will not be continuing with the series.

Manga review: The Girl From the Other Side

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl From the Other Side is a quiet, sad manga that’s ultimately about love in the face of loneliness and prejudice. In contrast to the story, the art style is warm and fuzzy, adding to the melancholy and dreamlike feel. This manga wasn’t for me, but I understand why it is so popular.

Audiobook review: Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This one is a bit of a throwback. While it’s a decent read and I’ll continue the series, I don’t think Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell aged well. The ending is rushed and focused on SQL knowledge. It feels like the MC’s niece’s computer skills were the star instead of the MC’s forensic investigative skills.

Audiobook Review: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros audiobook edition cover

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this sequel and plan to continue the series, but I gave it 3 stars for 3 reasons:

  1. The plot dragged in places
  2. The main relationship was less spicy
  3. I started wondering what the bad guys were doing for the 1,000 years they weren’t around and the more I thought about it the more cardboard the villains seemed.

I also read this book to fulfill the January prompt for the Magical Readathon: Orilium A Year in Aeldia Reading Challenge 2024. January presented two choices and my character, Vaughn, chose to rely on his wits to get out of a dungeon, which meant reading an audiobook. Who is Vaughn and why was he in a dungeon? Read on to find out!

Ken Hidaka, a character in the anime Weiß Kreuz

Vaughn is an electricity elemental known as a Lightning. Physically he is based on Ken Hidaka from the anime Weiß Kreuz. He uses a pair of goggles with magical liquid crystal display lenses and has a gauntlet that turns into any tool he needs and allows him to channel magic. An apprentice Craftsmage, his original goal in attending Orilium University was to make the first magical database, but his extracurricular experiences may be leading him down another path. Vaughn has already obtained keys to the secret alchemy lab and the secret library, and his new goal is to obtain all the keys to the entire university. He’s started carrying a set of magical lock picks at all times. So when his friend Tori wanted to do some urban spelunking to explore the university’s underground, he was all in! They were arrested for trespassing, but Vaughn wasn’t fazed. He just whipped the lock picks out of his shoe and went to work.

The adventure will continue next month!

Book Review: The Forest Grimm

The Forest Grimm by Kathryn Purdie audiobook edition cover

Source: library via Libby

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this YA fairytale, Clara must rescue her village from a curse by journeying into an enchanted and hostile forest.

I don’t have much to say about this one. The elements for a satisfying fairytale were all there, including retellings of Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Red Riding Hood. It just somehow didn’t add up to anything remarkable. It was enjoyable, but unless you’re as into fairytales as I am, you might want to give it a pass. I won’t be continuing the series.