Fantasy
A girl called Corpse by Reece Carter
This is actually a juvenile fantasy but I’m drawn by the blurb. And I quite enjoyed the story. If you like heartwarming stories I think this will be exactly your cup of tea.
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
This Thai fantasy is quite interesting. I didn’t even realise it’s a middle grade story and at first I was thinking this might be the start of a trilogy when there were about 6 chapters to go. As it turned out, this is just a standalone and it makes sense given the target audience. I like it okay overall as light reading. It started out like a rags-to-riches story but that’s not quite how it turned out.
Ruby by Francesca Lia Block and Carmen Staton
This is really a paranormal romance (PNR) and I didn’t realise it until quite late. It’s okay, not really my cup of tea. I don’t hate it though, just not really drawn overall.
Mystery
Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl by Fiona Britton
It’s an okay book except that it’s too much of a cozy mystery at the end and I was expecting a twist at the end that takes the stakes way beyond. But that never materialised. Ah well.
The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarity
I was attracted by the blurb but as a Sherlock Holmes fan I was also struck by the author name which I’m not sure whether is a pen name or not (okay I snooped and apparently it isn’t, just coincidence).
Anyway, I quite enjoyed this book about four long time high school friends, secrets and a fifth letter. And while I am so done with girl groups (I was in a high school all girls group because I went to an all girls’ high school) this book does entice me to keep on reading like a good thriller would do. I guessed one of the plot twists but then I guessed wrong on the final twist. All in all, an enjoyable read.
Sacrifice by Andrew Vachss
I didn’t start with book 1 and there was quite a bit of piecing together about who the protagonist is in terms of his backstory. Also, the plot also wasn’t all there at first but it all came together at the end. The book title was also interesting in that at first I thought it alluded to a certain part of the story but at the end apparently it had a deeper meaning to do with the protagonist’s personal history. Overall, I like this story and I’m a little tempted to go back and read the early books on this protagonist.
Flood by Andrew Vachss
I followed my whim and chased up book 1 of the Burke series. I feel like the reading experience is much smoother for me because this is book 1. Overall, the story is okay but average.
The Blood Road by Stuart MacBride
This is a random find but then I realised I had read this series before. After I finished this book, I realised it was actually the book immediately preceding the one I had read before. And it’s much more exciting due to the content. It’s okay but that’s about it.
Science Fiction
Leviathan wakes by James S. A. Corey (audiobook)
I listened to this concurrently with Years of Rice and Salt and I prefer this because the plot is more engaging and has a faster pace. On the other hand, I’ve always been lukewarm towards the sci-fi genre.
Overall, I find the story okay but I’m not too keen to continue with the series.
Historical Fiction
Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (audiobook)
I did finish this book but I’m not too engaged with it. It feels more like a thought experiment than a novel. I mean, it is technically a novel made up of ten loosely related ‘books’ but I’m not finding much resonance between individual stories told in each of the books other than the theoretical linkage in the concept for this novel as a whole. Then again, I’m probably the wrong audience for this, it’s probably more geared towards fans of alternative history. Personally, I’m more of a fan of fantasy with occasional foray into historical fiction but I’m still leaning more towards the fantasy side.
Moonlake's Fiction Space 