Unapologetic Reviews

I listened to Shari Franke's The House of My Mother as an audiobook, narrated by the author herself. It was a mixed experience. In the early chapters—where she describes her mother, Ruby’s childhood and their family’s early years—her reading felt distant, almost detached. Since Shari wasn’t part of that story, it came across as a recitation rather than storytelling. However, once the focus shifted to her own experiences, her narration became more engaging. Shari is careful not to tell her siblings' stories beyond what directly overlaps with her own, which is intentional and respectful. The only sibling she delves into is her brother Chad, and honestly, I felt bad for him at times. She recounts life before the cameras, the YouTube years, and what happened after their family’s channel declined—suddenly and dramatically, about halfway through the book. At that point, I thought, OK, so what’s the rest of the book going to be about? I couldn’t help but compare it to two other memoir...

Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs was written in the 1940s, so it's a rather old book—but that's true of pretty much all of Agatha Christie's books. I actually tried to read this book once before. Funny thing: when I was in high school, I had a summer of reading Agatha Christie. I didn't just read Poirot and Miss Marple, but I also read Tommy and Tuppence’s stories. I highly recommend them; I really love that duo. The best one was N or M?, which is actually more of a spy novel than anything else. That summer, I got most of my books from an antique store because they were very cheap there. The library didn’t really have Agatha Christie because it was considered lowbrow reading—not classic literature. The books I bought were old. My copy of Five Little Pigs was a misprint, missing parts of the story, so I never finished it. Plus, by the end of the summer, I had to switch back to reading the required school books, which were long and numerous. I got behind because of ...

The Answer is No is a short story by Fredrik Backman. It was translated by Elizabeth DeNoma from Swedish. So, this guy is a famous author, and I've never read any of his books because I normally don't read contemporary novels. But this just came out in December, and I saw it as a recommendation. I needed one last book to make my book count, which is only 20, mind you. It's 68 pages, and it was the end of December, so I was like, "Okay, let's give this a shot." The description said it's funny. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this short story. It talked about the absurdities of modern life in a very intelligent —and also funny way. I chuckled out loud several times while reading this. I also loved how it just started from one little event, and that led into this whole chain of events that culminated in the main character being in a different, but also very similar, space in the end. That was very interesting. The main character is called Lucas, and he...

I gave this book four stars. Although I’ve never read anything by Veronica Roth, I’ve always known her as the author of the Divergent series—which, frankly, isn’t my thing. I saw the movies and didn’t enjoy them much. But this novella? It’s a different story. One of its biggest strengths is the use of Eastern European mythology, especially Polish folklore. I loved how the mythical creatures seamlessly blended into the modern world. The fast-paced narrative also worked well for a novella, keeping it engaging and compact. That said, there were a few drawbacks. The present-tense narration felt jarring and unnatural, which made it hard to settle into the story. I kept hoping it would switch to past tense, and it sometimes did, but that didn't last. Another issue was the excessive descriptions. For a novella, there were just too many details—room layouts, herb lists, even comb counts. These slowed down the plot and felt like filler rather than substance. Despite these gripes, the core s...

An Air of Water is a prequel novella set in the Amefyre world, focusing on Viantha Waterborne. It’s an intriguing addition to the series, offering valuable backstory and hints that enhance the main storyline. While it stands alone as a self-contained tale, fans of the series will appreciate its connections to the larger narrative. The novella is set in winter, but don’t expect a cosy, festive vibe—this is no heartwarming Christmas story. It leans heavily into romance, which makes it more predictable than the main novels, but it’s still an enjoyable read. Viantha, a somewhat minor character in the main series, is fleshed out here, giving her depth, and explaining a lot of her actions. This development leads me to believe she’ll play a larger role in the next book. Her brother also makes an appearance... While the novella is well-crafted, I feel R.A. Sandpiper’s writing shines brighter in full-length novels, where the expansive world-building and intricate plots have more room to unfold...

I finally enjoyed a book! I've been in quite the slump lately, DNFing books, dragging my heels reading a book. This one I started reading on the bus. Not a lot of time to read when you have a newborn and an online university. This book dragged me in and wouldn't let go. I stole a minute here, an hour there. I read while feeding my son, preparing formula... So what got me so hooked? This story isn't too complex. It's about a girl who's attending an elite university on a scholarship. Yes, there's magic, but you won't see spells flying around on campus, nor a Potions class. Magic here costs and the funds are limited. That's something I found unique about the magic system. Every spell costs a kind of money and how much you have a month depends on your worth. A division between rich and poor even in that. That's one of the themes of the story. Ren, our heroine, can be a bit of a cliché. She's poor, dead father; because we can't have a protagonist ...

I debated if I should give it 5 stars, but in the end it was more like a 4. I did really enjoy the book, it just wasn't perfect. The world itself is interesting. You get the sense right from the beginning that all is not right with the picture portrayed by the dominant people, and that only becomes more obvious as things progress. What I found really interesting about the world was the description of fanatism and religious brainwashing, which are in interest of mine. The world itself is pretty small. We learn about two cities and the path between them, and not really a lot about anything else. It does keep thing streamlined and leave space for further exploration. There are two POV characters, Kyla and Marlowe. They're very different people, and not just because one is a guy and the other one is a woman. Their narrative voice is different too, so that was well done. I found Kyla's story a bit more interesting in this book, but things were just amping up for Marlowe at the e...

This is the first book I managed to get to the end of in a while. I’ve been in quite the funk. This novel is not perfect, but it kept me reading, so that’s a gold star. This book is about two young women caught up in the intrigues and mysteries of a fantasy version of 16th century Italy. The magic I really liked. Basically, there are people who as kids have these “mage marks” in their eyes, which is like central heterochromia. That is when around the pupil you have a ring of different colour. I actually have this. Why I hate surveys with eye colour. So I guess I’d be a mage in this world. Mages can have active powers like being able to command elements, or make plants grow, and then there are kind of scientists that can mix magic with machines, and people who make potions. So according to the author the basis of the story is this magic system, since obviously these powers manifest in little kids, and what do you do with them? Raverra – Venice – decided to bind their magic and make them...

First of all, having read the book, I still don’t really get the title. I mean, if the title has the word “kingdoms” in it, you expect intrigue, politics, conflict, that sort of thing. I’m trying to decipher a hidden meaning, and at the edge of my thoughts there is something that I cannot grasp, but it eludes me. No wonder I had a hard time even remembering the title. This, however, didn’t mean that the book was bad, it just means that I think the title was a poor choice. I actually enjoyed this book, though perhaps not as much as the first one. The reason for it was the ending. It almost seemed like it had this steady pacing up until a point, when the author realised she was coming up on her word limit, and suddenly tied everything up into this neat little bow. It felt off, but you’ll have to read it to understand it. It was an okay ending, but it was still weird. Now onto the story itself. This is a sequel of a kind. You still get some of the original characters, but they ...

I’ve been in a reading slump these past weeks. I’ve started books, but I didn’t feel that I wanted to immerse myself in them. However, yesterday I wanted to read a bit in the bath, so I took out my wishlist on Goodreads, and had a look at what I had put on there. That’s when I decided to go for this book. Yes, you read it right, this was yesterday. I couldn’t stop reading. At first, the story was a bit confusing. Of course, nowadays fantasy books don’t start out the way my LotR copy does, with 20 pages of explaining the world. You have to gradually learn what’s going on. This gives the reader the sense of discovery, of exploration, which can be a good thing. However, if not done well, it only gets very confusing for the first couple of chapters, and sometimes so much, it can get frustrating. This wasn’t the case here, though I was a bit confused in some places at first. The world itself in a way is kind of simple, but smart in that way. Some people build very complex worlds, but...

First of all, I have to say that I mainly started to watch From Five to Nine for Ishihara Satomi, whom I just adore! She’s not only incredibly beautiful, and I sometimes find myself staring at, but she also brings such warmth to all her performances. I also started to watch it as I’ve worked as an English teacher myself. I tried once to get a job in Japan, but apparently it’s impossible if you didn’t grow up in an English speaking country. This drama starts out a bit strangely, and frankly, throughout the story it was hard to understand Takane’s attraction to her. Sure, Junko is a lovely, vivacious, beautiful woman. Like I said, it’s very hard to not stare at Satomi sometimes, she’s that gorgeous, but one would think a monk would go deeper than that. Also, frankly, Takane’s very annoying, and I would probably have been more drastic in my refusal of him. So this drama is about a monk falling in love with an English teacher inexplicably fast and deep. He relentlessly pursues ...

In the beginning I struggled with this one. It was slow to start, and some of the new characters I really didn’t like. Especially one of the villains. Those were hard to read. However, towards the end it really picked up, and I started to like it a lot. It’s very hard to write a review with no spoilers of the series. It’s the third book, so everything in the story is very connected to the events of the previous books. So regarding the story, humanity still faces a crisis, and the different groups in the solar system still can’t get along. There are those who try, but there are also those who are resistant. This is pretty much the same in all the books. Reading it can be very annoying, because you find yourself screaming at the book to just get along already. The good thing about that though is that it can be applied to real life. There is an increasing crisis right here, on Earth as well. If only everyone could just set aside their differences and work together, we could deal wi...

I started reading The Black Prism because one of my English students recommended it to me. I’m a big fan of fantasy, and I had been in a book funk lately. Anything I tried, I just couldn’t get into. However, I started to read this book. I put it down, and kept thinking about it, and that was when I knew, I had a series to read. Finally! The story itself in a way is standard fantasy. There are rich and poor people, a coming war, feuding, magic users vs non-magic users. What sets it apart partly is the magic system. It was very interesting, though at first a bit hard to comprehend. It’s common nowadays to not actually explain stuff, but just have the reader gradually find them out. It did make it hard to understand in the beginning. I often wish people would just have a foreword to explain these things. It makes it a bit hard to get into the story, because you spend your brainpower trying to work out a complicated fantasy magic system. Once I got it though, I do like how it works...

I've been meaning to read this book for a while. I started to do the Popsugar challenge , and this fit in with the murder mystery novel.  The circumstances under which I started reading were a bit funny. I was on a train to London, heading from one Swan hotel to another. I happen to work in a Swan hotel. If you read the book, you get the hotel bit. The story itself unfolds in the account of three women. While it jumps around a bit in time, it doesn't feel confusing. The killer isn't impossible to figure out, you get all the clues. I knew who it was around 60%. It's not so bad, I often know around 20%.  The main character is Rachel, who is a bit of a train wreck. Her life is at a standstill, and she's unable to move on. The funny thing is that getting mixed up in the whole mystery is not a bad thing, possibly one of the best things ever to happen to her. Though from where she is, the only way is up. Megan is another character we follow. Her life isn...

The only reason why I managed to finish this monster book of monsters is because I went over to the audiobook version. I'm not sure if I should recommend it though. While the man does the male voices well, the female voices are a horror to listen to. The rest of the text is read as if the man was half drunk. This is the last published book in the series. Obviously, it's hard to keep it spoiler-free. I'll try my best though. Most of it is taken up by characters that were not in the previous book. Therefore, the people who were in that book are not in this one, at least, the first half. Most notably, Sansa is not in it at all, and Brienne just makes a sudden appearance. Most importantly, Daenerys features a lot in the book. The story moves along the usual pace, at the envy of a snail. I love the world, and I love reading about intrigue, but this is the book where you skip a lot. I don't care which four men went to the meet with Jon Snow. Nor do I care what men were at the...

The first story is Cocaine Blues , and in accordance with the title, cocaine does feature in the story. I was a bit apprehensive about how the famous drug will participate, but it wasn't in a positive light, thankfully. Having seen the series adaptation of the books, I couldn't help comparing the two. The series has an air of the 20s about it, part of what makes it so great. The book does as well. I tried to remember if I'd seen the story itself in the series, but I couldn't remember. However, the first season was over a year ago, and my memory concerning crime serieses is notoriously bad. It does allow me to see one episode multiple times though. The TV show has a lot of sexual elements, and the book didn't disappoint in that regard. The story itself was a lot of fun. It wasn't unsolvable, there were no clues hidden from us. What I also liked was how there wasn't just one story in the book, but several running simultaneously. You have Phryne enteri...

This was the book that made me glad that I waited for the series to end. The end of the previous book was a major cliffhanger, and if I had to wait for it, I would have been really agitated. The story branched off in two directions. One was the path that Annabeth an Percy took. I really liked the emotional side of it. The hardship, the fight to stay together, and the people they meet there. I could see real character development in them, growing up. Especially Percy. The rest of the group, who took the other route to the House of Hades, also did some growing up. Frank, I didn't pay much attention to before. However, in this book he came into his own. I loved Leo's story, and it was quite a surprise. I had forgotten about that part in the previous series. Hazel found new powers, and it was interesting how Piper and her could develop their own while working together. It was good to see that kind of cooperation between the two girls. Jason was more support in the story. He often w...

This book was actually quite frustrating. I was promised a trip to Rome. It took the majority of the book to actually reach Rome. Once there, it was fun to remember the places they were visiting, where I've also been. I actually wrote a short travel memoir of my trip there. This is the first time when the full cast comes together. It was interesting to see how they clashed with one another. The two groups kind of did remain, but that was understandable. I was happy to see Annabeth playing such an important role in the story. It's been a while since I read the first series, but I can't remember her being so prominent even in that. The love story with Percy continues, and they are quickly becoming one of my favourite couples. In this story, most people have coupled up. This would probably make other books too full of sap for me, but while the relationships were there, the quest, and the fate of the world was more important. Leo often felt like the odd one out, partly because...

At first, this one was a disappointment. I read the Percy Jackson series last year, and put off reading this one until the last book came out. I knew I would be frustrated to wait for the ending of the next adventure, so I read other stuff. When I started, I expected Percy and Annabeth. Groover. So I was asking: "Who is this Jason guy? Where is PERCY???" I got over my need for Percy quite fast. Though frankly, Jason is still not a favourite, but Leo was great. I also like Piper. I loved how they were the children of other gods, not the ones we've seen before. The adventure followed a familiar pattern. Meet, Camp, Quest across the country. What was different was that it felt more dangerous. There were many moments when I was wondering how the heroes could survive. The reason why I never really feel near Jason is that he's too perfect. Clean cut, great power, son of ..., handsome. Not that if he was my boyfriend I would throw him out, but he's just not the kind of c...

Reinoryokusha Odagiri Kyoko no Uso (Spiritual Teacher, Kyoko Odagiri) wasn't the drama I first thought it was going to be. I thought it would have a lot of fake psychic stuff, pretending to do magic, and would be kind of annoying. Why I really started to watch was Ishihara Satomi, who I've seen in a few things, and that dress. Oh my, that is so gorgeous, I kind of want it. What I got was a detective series, actually. The cases seem to be supernatural at first glance, but of course they're not. I was happy that it was a detective series, because I'm growing to really love Japanese detective stories. Unlike most Western ones, the difference is that most "culprits" aren't really evil, and not doing things out of malicious intentions. Their motivation is often to help someone, or to save people. Therefore when the resolution comes, it's usually done in a kind way. The mysteries themselves are interesting, but not impossible to solve. I did figure s...