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REVIEW: LOST SOULS (INFINITE EXISTENCE #1)

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An empire set in the stars... I often complain how I never ever win any sort of raffle or giveaway, but I finally was selected as a winner for a Discord giveaway and wanted to read my prize right away.  HOW I RATED IT  4/5  Some rough edges and a somewhat abrupt end sequence held things back for me somewhat, but I ultimately found myself quite impressed with this book which serves as a strong debut for this new indie author as well as a promising start to this dark scifi series. NOTE:  I want to mention that I won a paperback copy of this book as part of a giveaway. I was not specifically asked to write a review (though that's always nice thing to do, especially when you like the book) and my opinion of this book is not influenced by receiving a free copy as part of this giveaway from the author. CHARACTERS Although there is definitely a clear plotline driving things forward, I would actually say that the characters are the main focus of this narrative. The story is told across mul

FEBRUARY READS

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February was a small, but mighty month with some great reads that moved my reading goals for this year along nicely.   1. Arcanum Unbounded (The Rosharan System and my  Overall Thoughts) This ended up being a super interesting  4/5  experience for me The only section/novella that I had left coming in to February was the one that is set on Roshar (the world of  The Stormlight Archive ), titled Edgedancer . While this got off to a slower start and Lift is still not my favorite character from the series, I ended up really enjoying her development, the key story moments which had a surprising amount of impact on the overall world, and the setting in which the narrative plays out which is one that the mainline series hasn't explore much at all.  Overall, I think this was a super fun collection that could be enjoyed in different ways. It's just important for readers to understand that a number of the stories within are directly tied to Sanderson's flagship novels and contain some

REVIEW: ARCANUM UNBOUNDED (THE COSMERE COLLECTION)

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Tales from across The Cosmere... Years after purchasing this during a Barnes and Noble sale, I have finally made my way through this collection.   HOW I RATED IT  4/5  This collection of stories set in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere pairs punchy standalone novellas with essential stories that build upon his lineup of mainline series like MISTBORN and THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE .  THE COLLECTION As far as compilations go, this is an interesting one. I had initially bought it early on in my Cosmere journey, not realizing that so many stories in this collection contained major spoilers for Sanderson's flagship novels and series. Given how interwound this collection is with his other works, I think there are a couple of different ways that it can be enjoyed. For me, I waited until I'd caught up on ELANTRIS , THE BANDS OF MOURNING ( MISTBORN #6), and WORDS OF RADIANCE ( THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE #2) among some others that were not required reading to fully read this collection. I rea

REVIEW: DEFIANT (SONGS OF CHAOS #3)

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Sons of the night... In the spirit of continuing to catch up on series I've started, I decided to read the third available book in the Songs of Chaos series, mistakenly thinking it was the last.  HOW I RATED IT  4/5  In spite of my incorrect belief that this was the last book in a trilogy, I had a great deal of fun with the third entry into the SONGS OF CHAOS series.  NOTE:  While this review does not contain major spoilers for  DEFIANT , it does mention specific things about  ASCENDANT  and UNBOUND that could be considered as such.   CHARACTERS As with the previous book, this adventure is told across multiple points of view. Holt, Talia, and Osric all return as key persons of interest and are now joined by others like the half-dragon Rake as well as Paragon Adaskar at different points. Even though each had their own mission, I felt like their stories were much more connected this time around. This might be because they were each trying to combat the Scourge in their own way. We

JANUARY READS

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As the new year kicked off, I was honestly not sure how much I would be able to reasonably get to, but I managed to enjoy several great reads as well as finish up something that wasn't working well for me.  1. Holy Moments This was a  5/5  source of modest spiritual reflection  I've enjoyed a couple of Kelly's books the past couple of years and found this one to be another simple, yet profound delight. The message it bears isn't earth-shattering, but it is powerful in it's own way and I think it can be a good resource for reflection for anyone regardless of how strong their faith already is or how holy their lives might be.    Full review here 2. A Shade of Madness This   4/5  read was much stronger than the first book in the series.  Taking a complete 180 from my top book of the month, Thiago Abdalla's nihilistic, dark fantasy sequel was a big step up for me from the first book. There are no touches of light to be found here as madness casts its shadow over the

REVIEW: A SHADE OF MADNESS (ASHES OF AVARIN #2)

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Madness and magic... After enjoying A TOUCH OF LIGHT for what it was, I've been curious to continue into the second book in the series, especially since the first book ended so abruptly.  HOW I RATED IT  4/5   Although I enjoyed this a lot more than the first book in the series and found myself getting invested much more quickly, there are still a couple of key elements that hold this back from being a perfect fit for me.  NOTE:  While this review does not contain spoilers for  A SHADE OF MADNESS , it does mention specific things about  A TOUCH OF LIGHT  that could be considered as such.   CHARACTERS Adrian, Nasha, and Lynn all return as main characters and their stories continue pretty much right from the moments that we last left them in A TOUCH OF LIGHT . A fourth POV character is added to the roster this time in the form of Kadmus. Initially, I was a bit thrown off by his sudden inclusion in the chapter rotation and I wasn't quite sure what to make of him given his rather c

REVIEW: HOLY MOMENTS

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The Power of a Moment I' believe I received this book as a gift from church. I've read other books by Matthew Kelly before which have referenced this one, so I was excited to finally dive in.  HOW I RATED IT  5/5  I expect that not everyone will be wildly impressed by this, but for me, I found it to be a meaningful and impactful source of daily reflection and prayer.  CONTENT The premise of this book is quite simple: it suggests that a single moment has the capacity to be either holy or unholy (or perhaps nothing at all) and the choice is up to us. How we respond to situations, whether or not we choose to help someone in a small way, or even the way we greet someone could all lend themselves to such a moment. One would be forgiven for wondering why a whole book, however short, needed to be written about such a basic concept. "Isn't this just common sense?" you might ask. Perhaps it is, but I all too often find that common sense isn't that common and I have to