DB Books and Reviews

Obey your betters... THE LEGEND OF BLACK JACK was a book I had a ton of fun with even if it wasn't the perfect 5-star read for me that it was for so many. When the author announced this trilogy that follows up on the original standalone, I was quite excited to see what would happen next in the magical land of Keymark. HOW I RATED IT  4/5  Although THE CRIMES OF ROOKER FLYNN proved to be quite different from Witham's standalone debut, THE LEGEND OF BLACK JACK , in some key ways, but I ultimately found myself having just a good a time with it as I did the original story. This adventure set in Keymark is well worth going on for both returning fans of the author and newcomers alike.  CHARACTERS  The story starts off by quickly reintroducing its two main characters: the notorious pirate, Rooker Flynn, and the young Jack Swift who has returned home to Chicago after his stint in the magical land of Keymark. Aside from brief mentions, these are really the only two characters making a

A 33-day spiritual pilgrimage...  My parents lent me their copy of this book after they'd gone through it themselves. I wasn't reading any other spiritual literature at the time, so I decided to begin this 33-day journey right away.  HOW I RATED IT  4/5  Although I kind of wish this went a little deeper in terms of the daily readings/reflections, I think this book is essential for any Catholic.    CONTENT As the book calls out, there are no shortage of books on the market that offer guided consecrations to various Saints, but none (or at least not many) that center around the focal point of the entire Catholic religion: The Eucharist. This aspect of the Faith is a layered and somewhat complicated one, but this book breaks things down in a remarkably simple way. It is self-described as a "spiritual pilgrimage" which is certainly something that many more people are going to be able to afford over a pilgrimage that involved airfare and travel. It is also a journey that t

Long live the emperor... THE SWORD OF KAIGEN is widely lauded as some of the best that Indie Fantasy has to offer. I'd heard so many wonderful things about it, that I stupidly splurged for the gorgeous Wraithmarked Kickstarter edition even though I'd never read this before. Thankfully that purchase paid off in the end.  HOW I RATED IT  5/5  M.L. Wang's acclaimed novel is one of the few instances where I personally felt that a hugely popular book actually lived up to all it's hype. Intricate world design, devastatingly beautiful character arcs, and some explosive action sequences kept me hanging on Wang's every word. CHARACTERS While this story balances characters and plot wonderfully, I think it is worth noting that every single character in this book felt so vividly real to me and I was fully invested in everything that happened to them. This novel isn't really an ensemble situation. The perspective does shift between Misaki and her son, Mamoru within many of t

June was a pretty light month when it came to stuff I actually finished, but I made a lot of progress toward several awesome reads that will all be wrapping up in early July.  Book of the Month: Quaint Creatures  A delightful and charming  5/5  ! The masterful Andrew D. Meredith strikes gold again, this time in the cozy fantasy subgenre. Charming characters, a creatively constructed world, and a lovely balance between slice of life moments and a larger, overarching plot all made for a deeply enjoyable experience. It has all the wholesome hallmarks of the subgenre as well as the signature storytelling flare that I have come to appreciate in Meredith's writing.    Full review here BONUS: The Lord of the Rings Appendices and Final Review A perfect  5/5  rereading experience I'm fairly certain that I had completely ignored the Appendices included at the end of Return of the King my first time around. This time, however, I decided to give them a chance and even though some parts we

A cozy creature feature... Andrew D. Meredith is an author whose work I've come to enjoy a great deal. I've made my way through pretty much his entire back catalog at this point and was ready to immediately scoop up his first foray into the cozy subgenre. HOW I RATED IT  5/5  As someone who hasn't really read any cozy fantasy before, I didn't fully know what to expect with QUAINT CREATURES, but I had a wonderful time with this episodic, slice of life fantasy. The charming characters, the quaint little creatures, and all the hijinks that the gang gets up to made for a deeply memorable low-ish stakes adventure.  CHARACTERS Our tale is told by Norrik Softstep who is a retired dungeon inspector that now owns a magical pet store and veterinary clinic for creatures of all shapes and sizes. He and his wife run their business outside of their home which happens to be a rather enchanted entity in it's own right given that it's hallways are seemingly endless in a way that

One does not simply reread The Lord of the Rings...  I'd treated myself to this box set quite some time ago, but after far too long a delay, I finally decided to start rereading this wonderful series at the start of the new year and have been making my way through it month by month.   HOW I RATED IT  5/5  These incredible stories were well worth the purchase on their own, but this beautiful box set with intricate illustrations by the talented Alan Lee is one bookish purchase I have absolutely no regrets about splurging on.    CONTENT There's probably not all that much that hasn't already been said about these books. I guess I will just state that these stories are very special to me and it's taken me far too long to reread them. When I first read these back in High School, I fell in love instantly with The Hobbit and really enjoyed The Lord of The Rings , but I had to get used to how different it was from the Peter Jackson films and I was not prepared for the infamous T