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cozyesther's reviews
68 reviews
Nine Lives by Tom Barber
5.0
Fast paced, multiple POVs but not confusing in the slightest. Its almost like the movies where it pans over to different characters in different scenes, smoothly. Plot twists like a whiplash! Awesome, cant wait to get started on the next book!
Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
5.0
The ending had me at the edge of my seat! This book sure flew by...
Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child
5.0
Never disappoints. Ending made me damn depressed. I held onto hope ya know.
Always hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
Always hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
5.0
It’s been a long long time since I last devoured a book the way I did. I took my kindle with me to work and read during breaks, I read at home, read in the car. If I didn’t have my kindle on hand, I would be reading it on my computer or my phone. Every second I had to spare went into this book, because it was simply that good. Taking a good break from the modern day PI/mystery thrillers, I bring myself back into the “past” or rather, the fantasy genre. Occasionally, I still dwell on “WHY DON’T YOU JUST CALL?!?” But then I forget where I am. There’s no calling here, hell no electricity either. BUT, there are so many charms in place in this world that I’m surprised. I loved the use of charms here. There were fire stones to start fires. There were these call stones to send messages (albeit very limited of course.) I have to say, the worldbuilding is pretty good here with indepth explainations of story, setting, the cultures differences of Kost and Ninavel, and down to the different types of mages!
The author has a love for rock climbing and I love seeing authors put little pieces of themselves into the worlds and characters they build. The descriptions of the mountains, the climbing and setting is so detailed, you can tell the passion is there. “Glorious” as Dev puts it, even when he very much was seconds from death. If there’s a word to put the reasons behind the madness of what daredevils do, it’s that word, “Glorious.”
This book starts off with a description and POV of Dev who is a smuggler by trade and uses his outrider (a climber who uses his/her skills to help caravans scout ahead of the trail to see if caution is due) trade as a cover up. After giving his word and promise to an old friend, who has passed, he finds himself broker than broke after a betrayal from his previous partner…smack dab and right when he needs that money the most. Desperate for money to keep that promise, he is willing to take a job that may very well cost him his life. He even questions if this whole job or promise is worth it because “What fucking good was money to a dead man?” He goes from smuggling simple charms through the border to now smuggling a whole person, Kiran. He has never done this before and the risk is high. But to keep his promise and to save a child, what choice does he have?
Kiran is an apprentice with just as much desperation. Unable to use magic even to fend for himself in the most dire times, he resorts to having run away and put his whole trust into this Dev guy. Both hide secrets from each other. Both manage to keep those secrets up until something horrible happens and their whole plan goes to shit. They will have to continue the rest of the journey and whether or not they like it, they will have to learn to trust each other.
This book gives me whiplash. It goes from desperate times and secrets to trust to betrayal and then back again to trust. The bittersweet cliffhanger ending isn’t helping me sit still at the moment. I can’t stop talking about this book and can’t recommend it enough. I’ve never finished any series I started, even ones that I truly love, but this one, I can see myself finishing. Even my favorite books hardly end on cliff hangers, much like how Harry Potter (at least the beginning because, again, I never finish series) are cliffhangers too…but at least the books end by being home at the end of the school year again.
The book switches back and forth between the perspective of Dev (1st person) and Kiran (3rd person) and that’s a first for me. I prefer third persons, but lately have gotten into this 1st person feeling. To have a combination of the two is so delightfully surprising. Dev being first person puts him in a way that the reader looks to be reading from his eyes. We can tell his thoughts and see further into his history. Keeping it 1st then 3rd and back shows that both parties have serious history and secrets to hide and it makes it so that Kiran’s secrets stay hidden, not just from Dev but from the readers as well.
Courtney is a great writer and while there are still some things I’m confused about via the magic systems here, like how complex the magic seals are, I still love the way the two cities and character building are written. Coming from frustration of how poorly women characters are written in my past books, it’s such a relief to see Cara as a much better built character. Even those that are marked for death and are a temporary stay have great personalities. Heck, I shed a tear for those mere moment characters here. And man. She does NOT shy from torturing her characters. There are times I had to leave to take a breather because “OUCH!” Glad I’m not the one in their shoes right now.
I loved this book so much and would cry to the world to have it read. And with the reviews saying that the following and remaining two books are even better, I cannot wait to pick them up. I need a rest (because my poor soul), but this series looks promising in many many ways. Great job on the debut book. I’ll be back for more Courtney Schafer!!
The author has a love for rock climbing and I love seeing authors put little pieces of themselves into the worlds and characters they build. The descriptions of the mountains, the climbing and setting is so detailed, you can tell the passion is there. “Glorious” as Dev puts it, even when he very much was seconds from death. If there’s a word to put the reasons behind the madness of what daredevils do, it’s that word, “Glorious.”
This book starts off with a description and POV of Dev who is a smuggler by trade and uses his outrider (a climber who uses his/her skills to help caravans scout ahead of the trail to see if caution is due) trade as a cover up. After giving his word and promise to an old friend, who has passed, he finds himself broker than broke after a betrayal from his previous partner…smack dab and right when he needs that money the most. Desperate for money to keep that promise, he is willing to take a job that may very well cost him his life. He even questions if this whole job or promise is worth it because “What fucking good was money to a dead man?” He goes from smuggling simple charms through the border to now smuggling a whole person, Kiran. He has never done this before and the risk is high. But to keep his promise and to save a child, what choice does he have?
Kiran is an apprentice with just as much desperation. Unable to use magic even to fend for himself in the most dire times, he resorts to having run away and put his whole trust into this Dev guy. Both hide secrets from each other. Both manage to keep those secrets up until something horrible happens and their whole plan goes to shit. They will have to continue the rest of the journey and whether or not they like it, they will have to learn to trust each other.
This book gives me whiplash. It goes from desperate times and secrets to trust to betrayal and then back again to trust. The bittersweet cliffhanger ending isn’t helping me sit still at the moment. I can’t stop talking about this book and can’t recommend it enough. I’ve never finished any series I started, even ones that I truly love, but this one, I can see myself finishing. Even my favorite books hardly end on cliff hangers, much like how Harry Potter (at least the beginning because, again, I never finish series) are cliffhangers too…but at least the books end by being home at the end of the school year again.
The book switches back and forth between the perspective of Dev (1st person) and Kiran (3rd person) and that’s a first for me. I prefer third persons, but lately have gotten into this 1st person feeling. To have a combination of the two is so delightfully surprising. Dev being first person puts him in a way that the reader looks to be reading from his eyes. We can tell his thoughts and see further into his history. Keeping it 1st then 3rd and back shows that both parties have serious history and secrets to hide and it makes it so that Kiran’s secrets stay hidden, not just from Dev but from the readers as well.
Courtney is a great writer and while there are still some things I’m confused about via the magic systems here, like how complex the magic seals are, I still love the way the two cities and character building are written. Coming from frustration of how poorly women characters are written in my past books, it’s such a relief to see Cara as a much better built character. Even those that are marked for death and are a temporary stay have great personalities. Heck, I shed a tear for those mere moment characters here. And man. She does NOT shy from torturing her characters. There are times I had to leave to take a breather because “OUCH!” Glad I’m not the one in their shoes right now.
I loved this book so much and would cry to the world to have it read. And with the reviews saying that the following and remaining two books are even better, I cannot wait to pick them up. I need a rest (because my poor soul), but this series looks promising in many many ways. Great job on the debut book. I’ll be back for more Courtney Schafer!!
It's on the Meter: Traveling the World by London Taxi by Paul Archer, Johno Ellison
5.0
I got this book from Goodread’s first-read giveaway. Thank you for the amazing read. I am one to buy a million books from BN and they just sit on the bookshelf as soon as I get home. Not that I hate the book, just a case of “Grass is greener on the other side” ordeal. I feel like I owe this book a review though, for more than one reason. I got this book in exchange for a good and honest review and honestly, it was so good that I couldn’t NOT give it a review. Maybe it’s because my bookcase has been almost mostly all fiction (mysteries and fantasy too) and this was my first non-fiction in a LONG while. Maybe that contributed to why I gobbled it down.
Three college kids ready to graduate college crowd around a drunk idea. Most drunk ideas are lost in the drain the next day. We all know that, but not this one. World-breaking sounds fancy the night before and it isn’t until a good few months afterwards that they finalize the idea and hit the road. Those months were firstly filled with getting their hand on a twenty year old black cab, dearly named Hannah who sticks true to her name-sake, repairs, and landing the actual money to make the journey come true.
I loved the book and it’s one of the few books that gets me excited now. Like the blank faced “LoL” everyone does, it’s rare that I actually bust out a laugh from a book like I did as a kid. Three boys on the road involves so much adventure and laughs. Every country they hit brings them more adventure and adventure to the readers as well. There’s trouble along the way, there’s a LOT of alcohol on the way, there’s even the threats of deportation and arrests! Every few chapters comes a new country and it’s almost like you’re there with them. Without giving too much of it away with spoilers I will quote a few favorites:
There were plenty of Laughs
“From what I could tell, the troublemaker party guest had suddenly ripped off his shirt and pulled down his trousers before grabbing the quintessential Dutch flower, a tulip, from a vase on the glass coffee table. He then proceeded to shove the tulip where no tulip should go and dance around, completely naked, trying to whack other quests in the face with the pretty end.” (Amsterdam)
That was just the beginning of it all, one of their first stops and first countries on their journey.
Miracles after miracles of the goodness of stranger passerbyers
"Miraculously, the first guy I came across recognized the broken parts immediately and had just written down the address of a place that would be able to help us, when the fuming guards caught up with me."
"Our savior appeared in the form of an excitable young man who promised that he knew of the home of a local Englishman who would be sure to accommodate us."
By the time I finished the book, there was an overwhelming sense of pride and happiness. I had so much fun with the book and the adventures, reading about all the difference culture, how Paul, Johno, and Leigh met so many different and very colorful new friends, new languages, coming across miracles, so so many repairs and hassles from Hannah and borders, illnesses along the trip, hilarious moments...I cheered when they broke the record they set out for (I won't tell the country for spoilers), and then their final leg of the journey headed back home. Through the book I learned about so much, "saw" so much, and "met" with what I could describe as "people of kindness I long thought had died out."It was a fantastic book and I'm more than somewhat sad that it's finished, gobbled through. The writing was smooth and the storytelling was pristine and amazing. If I were more bold, I would run down the street about how amazing this book was and how everyone should read it. For that, sadly, I am not bold and therefore this review will have to suffice.
"It was a road trip with three best friends, parties, mistakes, mischief, breakdowns, jokes and everything you would expect from three 20-something males on the road. Except ours went on for almost a year and a half, and involved a cast of hundreds of some of the most amazing, kind and unique people I will ever have the pleasure of meeting." -Paul
Three college kids ready to graduate college crowd around a drunk idea. Most drunk ideas are lost in the drain the next day. We all know that, but not this one. World-breaking sounds fancy the night before and it isn’t until a good few months afterwards that they finalize the idea and hit the road. Those months were firstly filled with getting their hand on a twenty year old black cab, dearly named Hannah who sticks true to her name-sake, repairs, and landing the actual money to make the journey come true.
I loved the book and it’s one of the few books that gets me excited now. Like the blank faced “LoL” everyone does, it’s rare that I actually bust out a laugh from a book like I did as a kid. Three boys on the road involves so much adventure and laughs. Every country they hit brings them more adventure and adventure to the readers as well. There’s trouble along the way, there’s a LOT of alcohol on the way, there’s even the threats of deportation and arrests! Every few chapters comes a new country and it’s almost like you’re there with them. Without giving too much of it away with spoilers I will quote a few favorites:
There were plenty of Laughs
“From what I could tell, the troublemaker party guest had suddenly ripped off his shirt and pulled down his trousers before grabbing the quintessential Dutch flower, a tulip, from a vase on the glass coffee table. He then proceeded to shove the tulip where no tulip should go and dance around, completely naked, trying to whack other quests in the face with the pretty end.” (Amsterdam)
That was just the beginning of it all, one of their first stops and first countries on their journey.
Miracles after miracles of the goodness of stranger passerbyers
"Miraculously, the first guy I came across recognized the broken parts immediately and had just written down the address of a place that would be able to help us, when the fuming guards caught up with me."
"Our savior appeared in the form of an excitable young man who promised that he knew of the home of a local Englishman who would be sure to accommodate us."
By the time I finished the book, there was an overwhelming sense of pride and happiness. I had so much fun with the book and the adventures, reading about all the difference culture, how Paul, Johno, and Leigh met so many different and very colorful new friends, new languages, coming across miracles, so so many repairs and hassles from Hannah and borders, illnesses along the trip, hilarious moments...I cheered when they broke the record they set out for (I won't tell the country for spoilers), and then their final leg of the journey headed back home. Through the book I learned about so much, "saw" so much, and "met" with what I could describe as "people of kindness I long thought had died out."It was a fantastic book and I'm more than somewhat sad that it's finished, gobbled through. The writing was smooth and the storytelling was pristine and amazing. If I were more bold, I would run down the street about how amazing this book was and how everyone should read it. For that, sadly, I am not bold and therefore this review will have to suffice.
"It was a road trip with three best friends, parties, mistakes, mischief, breakdowns, jokes and everything you would expect from three 20-something males on the road. Except ours went on for almost a year and a half, and involved a cast of hundreds of some of the most amazing, kind and unique people I will ever have the pleasure of meeting." -Paul
The Tainted City by Courtney Schafer
5.0
(Inhale, Exhale)
I'm finally finished. With how slow it was in the beginning (I am very spoiled from plots that quickly jump out), I almost turned this into a DNF. However, I'm on a "once started, must finish" challenge this year. I also owed it to the first book. I've never finished a book so fast as the first. I had to push to finish this and oh do I not regret it.
The book was written just as well, if not better, than the first book. Though that one was more wild and less urban, this one was treated more so like my oh favorite genre, the murder mystery. When I had thought to abandon this book, I had yet to see the bodies start dropping. It was mostly just "too much talking." And then the action came. The rush of the characters as they desperately tried to solve the problem while figuring out if there is a traitor.
The people I so much wanted dead from the first book grew on me. The amount of times I choked back a sob because I wasn't expecting so and so to die. This book just takes a sledge hammer and beats you with it.
I wasn't going to continue...the next book looks awfully big. But that cliff hanger. If it wasn't enticing enough the first time around, it sure is now. I need to know more about Kiran and his past.
I'm finally finished. With how slow it was in the beginning (I am very spoiled from plots that quickly jump out), I almost turned this into a DNF. However, I'm on a "once started, must finish" challenge this year. I also owed it to the first book. I've never finished a book so fast as the first. I had to push to finish this and oh do I not regret it.
The book was written just as well, if not better, than the first book. Though that one was more wild and less urban, this one was treated more so like my oh favorite genre, the murder mystery. When I had thought to abandon this book, I had yet to see the bodies start dropping. It was mostly just "too much talking." And then the action came. The rush of the characters as they desperately tried to solve the problem while figuring out if there is a traitor.
The people I so much wanted dead from the first book grew on me. The amount of times I choked back a sob because I wasn't expecting so and so to die. This book just takes a sledge hammer and beats you with it.
I wasn't going to continue...the next book looks awfully big. But that cliff hanger. If it wasn't enticing enough the first time around, it sure is now. I need to know more about Kiran and his past.
Holy Ghost by John Sandford
5.0
Another absolutely amazing one from Sandford. All the turns and shocks, all the surprises and plot twists and who it actually ended up to be! I couldn't put this book down. Easily one of my favorite books this year.
5/5 *****
5/5 *****
Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence
5.0
2019 is a year full of starting off books hating them and being super surprised in the end for me.
Jal is the most cowardly coward I've yet seen in a "hero" of a story and yet he sticks it through (mostly out if a lack of choice but he's there for his friend too!). I love the hilarious dynamic between Jalan and Snorri, the bits of banter and the slightly mad way of thinking Snorri has.
Jal is the most cowardly coward I've yet seen in a "hero" of a story and yet he sticks it through (mostly out if a lack of choice but he's there for his friend too!). I love the hilarious dynamic between Jalan and Snorri, the bits of banter and the slightly mad way of thinking Snorri has.