Two Chapters Ahead

📗 cameron is currently reading blood over bright haven by m.l. wang 📙 anne is currently reading the bane witch by ava morgyn

[twochaptersahead]

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Disclaimer: I DNFed (did not finish) Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan at 36%, but I want to talk about it!

Altered Carbon is a cyberpunk novel set in a universe where humans have colonized huge swatches of it. This universe is so far in the future from our own that the Mars colony is considered ancient. Human consciousness can be downloaded to various bodies to travel across large swatches of space, eliminating the need for the time it takes to travel and preserving the original bodies during this travel.

I appreciated this idea. This book asks, What does that look like when the human body isn't considered you? The answer is rentable bodies and extreme violence.

This leads to our main character, Takeshi Kovacs, getting contracted by a billionaire to discover who murdered his last body.

The story definitely pokes fun at the idea of money and class and how, without the fear of pure death, since you can download your consciousness to be reuploaded, et infinitum, the meaning of life becomes ephemeral.

Where this story fell apart for me is the handling of women's bodies.

Mild spoilers ahead! Trigger warning: Torture.

Every time a woman's character is depicted, we know the state of her "elusive globes."

Now, I totally understand that Takeshi Kovacs is a male, so I didn't mind this for a while.

At one point, we learn that one of the characters has a body that emits a drug all the time through her sweat, fluids, etc, that makes her and others around her aroused. This was an intriguing idea because, again, this spoke to the consumerism concept that living for 100s of years might generate and a disregard for the sanctity of human bodies that is pervasive in this universe.

I explain all this to say that I know the difference between when the cyberpunk genre tries to be edgy versus when the author steps too far.

The scene that made me ultimately DNF this book was when Kovacs gets tortured, and they purposefully switch him into a female body (again, the character comments on the state of the woman's upper body). The author explains that the reason they chose to torture him as a woman is because women feel more pain during their periods, and then the book proceeds to brutally mutilate the woman's body.

What literary purpose did that serve? If the goal was to make him suffer, they could've just burned his male body parts, too—why the gender swap?

Does this add to the story, or is it shock value?

Let me know what you think!

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Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Trial of the Sun Queen is about a young woman named Lor who is taken from a notoriously brutal jail cell to compete for the chance to become queen. She literally goes from rags to riches overnight. The competition is Survivor-like in the sense that the competitors don't know what the events will be ahead of time, and some test physical strength while others test mental acuity.

This book was entertaining. At one point, I saw a summary saying that it was Hunger Games meets The Bachelorette, and while I can definitely see that, I thought that kind of took away from this book. Trial of the Sun Queen took some inspiration from Throne of Glass, but the book maintains a serious tone while keeping me at the edge of my seat.

Trial of the Sun Queen is one of those books that I had a good time reading, but I admit it wasn't ground-shaking or thought-provoking. But I think that's okay. I don't think this book wanted to be that. It wanted to entertain, and it succeeded.

I will continue to read the next book in this series. Book three, Fate of the Sun King, was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Readers' Favorite Romance. The fourth and final book came out on November 26, 2024.

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Fable for the End of the World

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own!

Fable for the End of the World is an incredibly well written YA dystopian story about love, sacrifice, survival, and hope. (Very strong Hunger Games vibes).

Ava Reid is a tremendously talented storyteller. I thought the entire book's writing was so vivid, descriptive, and really pulled the reader in. I found myself truly immersed in the story and feeling connected to the two main characters, despite the setting being something straight out of my nightmares.

Some of the story's pacing felt off, and though much of the dystopian setting is discussed, I would have loved for it to have been explored in more depth. Though I thought the ending was fitting, I was disappointed because I still wanted more and had questions left unresolved.

Overall, it's a really great book! Would love if there was a sequel.

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Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Thing

⭐⭐

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own!

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me.

This was the story following Calliope, one of three sisters connected through strings of magic who only have each other after their mom left them. They were brought up to protect wards of the Dark Oak through their connected magic, which demands a high cost, memories. I like the cozy fantasy vibes and thought the story idea was fun. And, while I did like the concept of the magic system and thought it had potential, I wish there had been more a more developed background on it and a detailed description of how it worked.

I had a hard time staying interested in this book because the pacing was hard to follow, and I found the relationship development between the FMC and MMC to be forced and ingenuine, I did enjoy the ending and promise of true development, both individually and together.

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A Harvest of Hearts

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

3.5/5.

There was a lot that I loved about this book. It was an engaging and entertaining dark fairytale with an interesting magic system.

Andrea Eames writing was really fantastic and incredibly descriptive.

In A Harvest of Hearts, Foss Butcher, the main character embarks on a mission to track down the sorcerer who "snagged" her heart and get it back, befriending a talking cat and the sorcerer himself through the process. The story is told from Foss' perspective, helping the reader to understand her and her character development throughout the story. The sorcerer, Sylvester, was a great character, and I found him very likable but thought he lacked some dimension. I really wanted more depth and development on page between Foss and Sylvester. We only had a few scenes where they seemed to connect, and I would have loved more!

Additionally, though the entire book was enjoyable, the pacing was inconsistent throughout the first and second half of the book. I wish the second half was longer because it felt a bit rushed, and I wanted more information!

Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own!

[twochaptersahead]

A Crown So Silver, Lyra Selene

Rounding up to 4 stars.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC, all thoughts are my own.

A Crown So Silver opens with a slow pace and does not fully pick up until about the 55% mark. I had a difficult time making my way through the first half for a few reasons. I was a bit unsure about the setting change at first, though I ended up enjoying it. And secondly, I absolutely LOVED the FMC, Fia, in A Feather So Black, but was really quickly annoyed with her in the first half of the book. Her character seemed to shift, and I didn't understand why she was acting so impulsively and a bit immature. And I was a bit confused how quickly so much conflict developed with the MMC, Irian, especially as it seemed their characters developed together in the first book.

BUT I am so glad I kept reading, because the second half of the book was really great. Fia's character change, actions, and the difficulties in her relationship were more heavily explained, and I began to understand and feel more empathetic towards her character. Additionally, we learned much more about Irian and what motivated his actions, which allowed for more development of their characters together. It was suspenseful, magically, and that ending!!!!! I cannot believe I will have to wait so long to get answers! The second half of the book is what brought this up to four stars for me.

Lyra Selene is fantastic, and I think her writing is beautiful!

I would 100% recommend both A Feather So Black and A Crown So Silver, and truly urge readers to be patient with the book while the story develops. It is worth it! Really, really looking forward to the next book.

Publication date: Jan 21, 2025

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The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn was a 5/5 star read for me!

I thought the writing was incredibly well done and did a great job of adding atmosphere to a book about a woman named Piers Corbin who has always been drawn to poison—both in plants and dangerous relationships.

After faking her death to escape a violent marriage, Piers moves to the mountains to live with her estranged great-aunt. There, Piers discovers her legacy as a Bane Witch: a woman who can consume deadly plants and eliminate evil men. As she embraces her dark inheritance, working at her aunt’s café and toying with a local sheriff’s interest, she catches the attention of a nearby serial killer. With her past and present closing in, Piers must confront her own nature and the killer before it’s too late.

​This book was a great moody rumination with feminist overtones that didn't feel heavy-handed. Instead, this added to the empowerment of what being a witch is about, which we have learned about from other tales and folklore. The author left me at the edge of my seat enough to keep me turning the pages while still maintaining an atmospheric tale that centered on a unique form of magic.

​I would recommend this to any reader in my life who loves thrillers, mystery, and fantasy.

Pub Date Mar 18 2025

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Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I adored this book! A light but captivating fantasy, with easy to follow world building and magic system. All of the characters were fun and engaging. I thought the main characters growth and  development as both individuals and together was so enjoyable to read. I love this world and hope there will be a sequel to explore other characters and their stories!

Would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own!

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Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

I really liked the concept of this book, but it was just not for me. It was slow, but definitely kept you wanting to read because of the suspense. There were a few twists that I enjoyed and didn't fully see coming. But, it felt a bit slow until the last 25%. I really did not feel like I connected with or really liked any of the characters, and many of their interactions felt forced and a bit awkward to read.

Event though this did not work for me, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

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Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

2.5 - This book was not for me. I thought it was a cool idea, but just fell flat. I also really did not like any of the characters that were followed, so I had a hard time getting into it and enjoying it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

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Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 - This was a unique dark fairy tale and I overall enjoyed it. I felt like the middle dragged on a bit and the ending was abrupt, leaving me wanting more. Despite the this being a dark fairy tale it highlighted many deeper themes. Also had some great quotes. "I suppose every monster is real for someone somewhere".

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

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Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This wasn't my favorite but was still pretty cute. I had a hard time getting into it because I found the FMC really unlikable at the beginning, but she grew on me. I did like their growth and communication development and really loved that there was no third-act break up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

Blaze

0 notes

[sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog]

My new book Everything Is Tuberculosis comes out March 18th.

I'm signing 100,000 copies of the first printing. You can preorder a signed copy here or wherever books are sold.

This has been the most fulfilling (and heartbreaking) writing experience of my life so far. I really hope you enjoy the little book that resulted from it.

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It’s super exciting that more people, to include myself, will be more informed about tuberculosis! I love John Green’s work. While he is known for his young adult work, his non-fiction has been outstanding as well. The Anthropocene Reviewed is a book that I think about every single time I try to give book star ratings.

This will definitely be at the top of my TBR. Well, unless @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog needs ARC readers??? 😁😊

- Anne

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Soma by Fernando Llor

Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Soma, by Fernando Llor, I immersed myself in a fun and vibrant world on the brink of alien invasion. The comic book takes place while Maya is trying to get out of a creative slump while feeling disconnected. After helping a friend with dating problems, she returns to work and finds an alien, Soma, crash-landing in her living room. Soma warns her of an imminent invasion, and together, Maya and Soma must try to save her neighborhood/city, which is the alien invasion's first stop before the rest of the world.

I thought this comic was super fun and fast-paced. Due to its easy-to-follow nature, this would be an excellent story for young adults and beyond. As someone firmly in adulthood, I find this a fun read to pass the time. The story kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed the straightforward nature of all the characters. I think the colors of the art and style matched the story.

I didn't give it five stars because I felt that because the story valued straightforwardness, it sacrificed a bit of depth. The most fleshed-out characters seemed to be Maya's friend, but we are asked to care a lot about Maya and Soma when we don't know as much as I'd like to know about them. Maya is a struggling artist, and I understand why Soma cares about humans, but what else? Regardless, I will still read a sequel in the future, and I am now a fan of Fernando Llor.

I received an advanced reader copy for free, but all thoughts are my own.

Review by @waterflowsup

Book publication date Feb 25 2025

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Lie to Me by Theo Baxter

Book provided for free by NetGalley

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lie to Me by Theo Baxter is about a best-selling author named Elena Winthrop, who is at Stephen King's level of stardom. However, Elena has a life filled with grief and trauma that follows her to adulthood and manifests as anxiety attacks. She relies heavily on her husband, a cheater, and her personal assistant, Lila. But when Lila dies suddenly, Elena’s carefully controlled world begins to crumble—and things quickly take a darker turn.

Elena learns that her husband has been unfaithful. As if that betrayal wasn’t enough, disturbing gifts arrive at her doorstep, accompanied by chilling messages suggesting someone is watching her every move. Is someone tormenting her, or is she slowly unraveling under the weight of grief and betrayal?

Despite its intriguing premise, this book didn't quite hit the mark for me.

I thought the writing style was a bit too repetitive for me. Since the main character is a writer, I felt the lengthy descriptions of things like writer's block were a result of the author, not the character, experiencing these things. Additionally, while I understand that her anxiety and trauma made Elena who she was, I thought that the author started to rely on panic attacks as a way to tell me, the reader, the same information over and over again instead of showing me something new.

I like what Theo Baxter was trying to accomplish with his character, Elena Winthrop. I appreciate the depth of Elena’s character, and I felt the execution could have been tightened to enhance the overall impact. It would've been nice to see her have some wins earlier in the book so she isn't wholly defined by her trauma while eliminating unnecessary descriptions of mundane things that don't build Elena with something we don't already know.

Book Publication Date Nov 17 2024

Written by @waterflowsup