Tizzy's Blog

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee June 27, 2017 Review rating 4/5 I find it a bit difficult giving this novel a genre,

… mostly because it’s a mish-mash of several, at times hitting the mark and at times missing it.

You see, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue starts out like a very decided romance story. A bit of a strange one from my experience, as it goes a tad further than the other YA fare I’ve read yet doesn’t quite go far enough to be too much. I’d say...

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga April 03, 2012 Review rating 3/5 I must start by saying this is actually a good novel.

It is entertaining, weaves a story that remains interesting throughout, and has a few rather memorable characters or scenes. In fact, in general it is a very skillfully told tale about the son of a serial killer who’s trying to catch a copycat while battling his inner demons.

But as they say, the devil’s in the details and it’s the details what keep me from giving this gene...

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller September 20, 2011 Review rating 5/5 A tale as old as time.

Perhaps rather literally here, as this is a retelling of the Iliad, an epic poem that has been making the rounds for over three millennia and of which the reader might perhaps have a passing awareness of. One about Achilles, a demigod who faces the age-old question (for demigods, not for us mortals) of seeking fame and fortune in order to be ascended to godhood, and on the way finds a litt...

Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1) by Seanan McGuire September 1, 2009 Review rating 4/5

This is the best Urban Fantasy novel I’ve read, though then again only UF series I’ve read are the first two books of Shadowhunters (which has a decent storyline but reeks of incest too much for my taste) and the first two books of Dresden Files (which I’ve heard are the worst, so I should give book 3 a try.)

A fantasy whodunnit

A part of why I’ve liked it so much is that Rosemary and Rue – which tr...

Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep #1) by Mira Grant November 14, 2017 Review rating 4/5 A horror film disguised as a book.

That’s the main thing I can say about Mira Grant’s Into the Drowning Deep: It feels, and reads, very much like a horror film. In that way it’s different from any books I’ve read before, as most of the Horror literature I’ve been exposed to had markedly different pacing and tropes than what we usually find in movies, while here Grant feels content with embra...

The Dalai Lama’s Cat by David Michie October 1, 2012 Review rating 3/5 A cute tale about an arguably Buddhist cat and his experience living with the Dalai Lama.

And that’s about all I can say.

It’s not bad. As I mentioned, it is a pretty cute tale. The issue is, perhaps, that it’s not the kind of literature I’m used to reading. I generally read either gripping stories that keep you guessing or textbooks – and this one falls square in the middle. It’s not much of a tale, as it barely has...

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente April 10, 2018 Review rating 3/5 Sometimes less is more.

This teaching is often useful with books, as many authors are prone to overwriting and delivering far more information on their stories than any reader could ever find necessary. Sadly, this is a pitfall that Space Opera falls square into, and perhaps the main reason that keeps it from being a great or excellent novel for, sadly, Space Opera is just a decent one.

It didn’t have to be this way. T...

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer Jan 28, 2004 Review rating 5/5 A return to the sea…

I first read this novel back in 2007, and I absolutely loved it back then. For years I meant to read it again, and only this week I managed to open a space on my reading schedule to go back to this beautiful, thrilling story once more.

What I found there this time is every bit as good, if not even better, than how I saw it a decade ago.

An adult-sized children’s tale

The Sea of Trolls is, in its heart,...

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan Oct 07, 2014 Review rating 4/5 A fitting ending to the series, although not the best book in them.

Having decided I’d finish reading this series relatively quickly for my standards (I never read two books in a series back to back to prevent author burnout, usually waiting months between volumes,) I picked up The Blood of Olympus just so I could stop having Riordan on my immediate to-read list – not that I have anything against the man, considering thi...

The Outsider by Stephen King May 22, 2018 Review rating 4/5 A thrilling tale.

This is the first time I ever read a King book the same year it releases, let alone on release date. And I’m glad to report this is one of those King books that are worth the price, the wait, the length, whatever.

It’s not his best ever book. But damn, is it good and entertaining all over.

The Outsider, which has been called a modern-day version of King’s own It, relies most of its horror not so much in what’s...