Book Review: Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff Vandermeer

After coming off the intense wild ride that is Annihilation, I was really excited to learn that I got a copy of Jeff Vandermeer’s newest book, Hummingbird Salamander. With a plot just as unique as the title and as beautiful and bright cover, this book was very mysterious, and nothing like I expected. Eco terrorists, murderous strangers, clown stalkers and taxidermy with numbers behind their eyes, I can safely say that I’ve never read anything like this before.

4/5 Stars 351 pages
Published April 6th 2021 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The story follows a woman who doesn’t want you to know her name. A badass bodybuilding and hardworking woman who we just know as Jane, who also has a husband and daughter and a great job. But unfortunately, she’s also a woman caught in the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy theory that has become a reality. And you’re right in there with her, seeing everything through her eyes.

Her life is pulled into a spiral the day the coffee shop barista hands her an envelope. Inside, a key to a strange locker and an address. In the letter, it claims that the writer is already gone, and that the main character is on her own now, but not completely alone. And that’s just the prequel. After arguing with herself about it, she decides to go check it out and finds a preserved hummingbird with a note that just says, simply, Hummingbird Salamander. Like that’s the answer to all the world’s questions. This, if you can believe it, sets the tone for the entire book. A mysterious confusing, and even maddening at times wild goose chase, this amazing book is unlike any other that I’ve read, and I never saw the ending coming.

The only thing that this book has in common with Annihilation aside from the same author, is that it’s just one of those books that are impossible to speed through. If you start skimming over stuff, you’re going to be lost, and it requires the entirety of your attention. A slow burn that has a lot of violence and just really unsettling scenes.

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Overall, this is a really great book, and it’s something I never could have imagined it would be. Better for more mature readers, I recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery, but also someone with a strong stomach. And also someone who will stick through to the end no matter what. But that’s just coming from me, someone who would buy the book just to display the cover.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!

And if you’d like to keep up with the author, he posts a ton of cute racoon content, you can here on twitter!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re having a great day.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Book Review: Where The Road Leads Us by Robin Reul

5/5 Stars 304 pages
Published April 6th 2021 by Sourcebooks Fire

An amazing story of teenagers growing in the people that they need to be to succeed, Where The Road Leads Us quickly became one of my new favourites. With an eccentric storyline and vibrant characters, I’m sure anyone who gives this book a chance will feel the same as I do, and need a physical copy for their collection.

Following two teenagers, Jack and Hallie, they have very different lives. We see them meet and go on the adventure of a lifetime to really find out who they are and what they really want inside, blossoming along the way and getting tangled in a little romance too. What more could you ask for?

Jack, a lonely boy missing his brother and his parents, and following his father’s footsteps because he feels like he has to. Going on a road trip to find his missing brother because he just needs someone to talk to about life. And Hallie, a girl with an illness that’s put her family in debt, forcing everyone to work more to keep up with her meds, because they love her and want her healthy. But she’s been too scared to really live her life. So she goes on an adventure that doesn’t end up being anything like she expected.

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Though I’m usually into more paranormal types of fiction books, it’s really nice to take a break once in a while and read something like this and really fall in love with not only the characters but the story itself. I couldn’t ask for more, to be honest, and I think it’s a perfect read for anyone looking for a feel good book, aged sixteen ad up. Definitely check it out if you get the chance! I’m obsessed for sure.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here!

And if you’d like to keep up with the author on Twitter, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and having a great day. Live your life a little!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Book Review: Eden’s Serum (Eden Lost #1) by Angelique S. Anderson

4/5 Stars 310 pages
Published April 6th 2017 by Creative Angel Design and Publication

Encapsulated in a beautiful cover, ,this horrific story tells about a world where tech has advanced far beyond the need for identification and money, and even illness. Eden’s Serum is one that only the richest of the rich can afford, offering youth, health and above all, immortality. But as Adam is about to find out, not everything is as it seems, and his ultra rich bachelor life may not b as satisfying as it once was.

After developing a kind of super card that took the world by storm, dubbed simply the Identicoin, the book begins with an emergency. And Adam is headed head first into the bomb threat at his workplace to do whatever he can to save his life’s work. Interesting enough, this opening scene really sets the pace for the rest of the book, if you can believe it. Because two years later, the Indenticoin has completely taken over the world. And Adam has more money than he knows what to do with babies are now assigned an Identicoin at birth, holding all the important paperwork they could ever need for their upcoming lives, and are required to wear it at all times in public by law.

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The next technological leap that Adam wants to take with his life is making himself immortal. Through injection and claimed to be made from plants, it seems safe enough, after all, Adam’s genius must stick around as long as possible so that he can continue to change the world with his inventions. But is it truly safe? Has it even been fully tested? And why do the doctors preparing him for this next part of his life seem so sketchy? What are they hiding?

Aside from these everyday problems; Adam’s work turns out to be spying deep into his personal life, which he’s obviously not happy about, but is willing to put up with it for a cushy promotion, new house, and a workplace he’s allowed to run, by himself. But not long after his injection, he goes to work hiring people for his new office, and begins experiencing horrible blackouts, accompanied by blinding pain.

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Honestly, I really enjoyed this book. I love things about tech and the future and everything like that, and this book fits that perfectly. It was mysterious and exciting, and all the characters were very realistic with their good and bad traits showing for everyone to be hyperaware of. I was very interested in uncovering everything that was hidden by the higher-ups in this story, and the big adventure that Adam and Evelyn have to o through to really get to know what’s really going on was extremely gripping and easy to get into. I think this was a really great take on the classic Adam ad Eve and the Garden of Eden story. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next in the series, and I think to put it simply, this is a great story about trusting y our gut and your own intuition. If you like science fiction and are sixteen plus years old, and also not squeamish about violence, I would say definitely give this book a shot!

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can here through my link!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well, and maybe don’t trust an injection that claims to make you immortal.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Review: The Devil Whispered by Shawn Starkweather

3/5 Stars 413 Pages (in paper) Published February 1st 2021 by Shawn Starkweather Publishing Company

Honestly as great as the plot and the characters were in this book, I had the hardest time getting immersed into it. For whatever reason, I still haven’t figured it out over five hundred pages later, I Just couldn’t keep my attention on this book. Whether that’s a me problem or a book problem I’m not sure, but I do have these good things to say about it. If you’re looking for an action packed cyberpunk mystery novel mixed with military personnel, robotic limbs and internal computers, and crazy body mods and just crazy tech in general, than this is definitely something you should look into checking out next.

At the beginning of this book we find out main character, Jacobi, hunting down a man for some kind of mob boss. He finds him surrounded by drugs and girls and easily apprehends him, and brings him back to his father. This is just the beginning though, because the favour he gets in return will really help him out later in the book. What’s really going on here, Jacobi learns after visiting his friend in jail after he has brutally murdered his wife, is that someone seems to be hunting down the members of his old army team. But why would someone do that? Their names and team were all under lock and key, not just anyone would be able to have that information. But his friend says it wasn’t his fault and that someone made him do it. How could someone just control another person like that? All these questions and more are all wrapped up by the end of the book.

Out of all the characters I think I like Risa and his other friend with the robotic limbs the most. I read another review that says this book seemed sexist, and while that opinion is valid, I really didn’t get that vibe from it. I would say the vibes I got from this book were more military James Bond with all the cyberpunk goodness and crazy tech we love that comes along with that genre. The world around the characters wasn’t explained in depth, and honestly neither were the characters themselves, and maybe that might be why I had trouble really getting into it. That being said, though, I did enjoy it, and I don’t think I lost any time while I was reading it. It just took me longer than usual to get through it because of those things.

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Overall, If you’re looking for something exciting and action packed, with lots of tech and storylines within the bigger storyline, than this might be something you want to check out next. I would say that anyone aged sixteen and up would be able to read this, there’s not really any explicit scenes, and what very little sexual scenes there actually are in this book, I counted two, they’re glossed over very quickly and don’t get too in depth with them other than saying yeah, they did this. Which I appreciated. I don’t think that this is one of those kinds of books. The plot twists were exciting and everything weaved together really nicely in the end. And I’m left wishing I had an internal computer or robotic limbs, or those cool night vision mods that turn your eyes all black.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can do so here!

And if you’d like to follow the author on Twitter, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying safe.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Review: Complex (Silent Beautiful Universe #1) by A.D. Enderly

4/5 Stars 700 pages
Published November 17th 2020 by Luminary Media

Not usually into books of this length, Complex really blew me away because it was able to completely hold my attention for it’s entirety of 700 pages. Five separate books in one, though not described as that, this was a rollercoaster from start to finish of an epic tale in which a dystopia was ruled by businesses. Which, if you ask me, is actually a very real option for the future, especially in places where they have more power than they should. I don’t know why this hasn’t been written about more often, because I really just find it fascinating, and I can’t get enough. But you know me, I’m obsessed with all things tech, scifi, and dystopia. What more could I ask for? This book is perfect for me.

Described as a story of two sisters Val and Kat, who are left alone after the death of their father in their dystopian world of Legacy, the area just outside of the Arc, a dystopia run by businesses. Though it seems like everything is better and safer, there are just different kinds of threats hiding behind the green grass and order. But this story is so much more than just that. The characters range from very poor, to very wealthy, all having completely different personalities and lives. And each person has their own piece to bring to the perfectly put together puzzle. After Kat is kidnapped in the middle of the night, Val blames herself for not being able to fight off the offenders, but can’t sit around feeling sorry for herself forever. She does what she has to do to get information about her missing sister, including selling her body online for a scummy man who claims he has what she needs. But what she digs herself into is far beyond anyone could have ever guessed would happen.

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There’s Trevor, a romantic interest for Val and a very helpful character in the story with his hacking skills and clever way of thinking, Riku, a high up man in the military who just wants to right the wrongs in the world, and hopefully save his friend and her child. There’s Ian, an insanely smart hacker who we don’t get to know very thoroughly but he really ends up helping out in the end, Ray, an assassin with a drug addiction who doesn’t really care about anyone other than the people he’s working for, and Manalo, a sweet old grandfather who just wants to have a purpose for his life again, after the loss of his wife. And there’s a few other characters we get to see the world through, but really all of these characters breath life into this epic and long winded novel. Without their lifelike personalities, I would have lost interest a long time ago, because even though I’m extremely interested in the world that they live in, you need good characters to keep everything moving along at a steady pace. And boy, did it.

I think this book is an amazing mix of dystopian scifi, futuristic tech with the computers inside every single person, and a very intriguing story of what could go wrong when businesses end up taking over for the government. When emergencies happen, like a virus that spreads too quickly and mutates too fast to keep up with, and especially when the computers get too strong for us to handle. When they realize that they want more than just to help, that they want to do. And I loved every moment of it. The end of the book also hints to a series, which I’m very excited to deep dive into once it’s released. With that ending, who wouldn’t be? I’m very glad I got a chance to check it out, and I think that the beautiful cover it has would be welcomed into anyone’s intensive book collection. Honestly, I’d even like a poster of it if that was a thing. It’s just so aesthetically pleasing, and says so much about the book without having to actually say anything. Overall, if you’re a fan of tech, scifi, dystopia’s, and stories of survival no matter what, than I definitely recommend checking this book out.

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If you’d like to grab a copy, you can do so here.

And if you’d like to keep up with the author on Twitter, you can here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re doing well and staying warm. And reading long amazing books.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.ca and affiliated sites.

Fae Child (The Fae Child Trilogy #1) by Jane-Holly Meissner Review

5/5 Stars 220 pages
Published December 15th 2020 by Inkshares

Here’s another one of those books that I finally finished, and thought to myself, why didn’t I read this sooner? With the same old winter and summer courts in the land of the fairies, this book gives a unique twists on the fantasy when a young child is mistakenly pulled through a portal, and left in her place is a changeling. Focusing on both sides of the portal, one with the girl and her journey back home, and the other with her father, an exiled elf from said land who’ll stop at nothing to get her back before it’s too late.

What I didn’t expect from this book was how childlike and innocent it managed to stay throughout the story, whether it was battles with goblins or wolfs or other wild creatures or on the other side of it, as a father battles his own feelings trying to pretend that the changeling is in fact the daughter he knows is missing to save his wife from finding out the unbelievable truth about the whole situation. Though the characters went through some stressful times in the story, I didn’t feel stressed out reading it, which is something I really appreciate especially with my headspace lately. I couldn’t ask for more from this book.

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The worlds that it’s weaved into are really easy to imagine, and the characters are loveable even when they’re being a touch frustrating throughout the story. I really couldn’t put it down once I started it, and I think my favourite characters were probably Foster, a young child guardian of the summer court, and of course Abbie, our main character. I’d love to get to know them better in the future. Since this is a trilogy, I can’t wait to see what’s next in the storyline. Will the characters be older? Will it be completely different characters in the same world? Why aren’t half elves really allowed to exist in either world? These are just some of the many questions I’d love to have answered in the next installment.

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Overall, if you’re looking for an exciting story built out of an old classic, than I highly recommend checking out this book. It has a beautiful cover that would make a lovely addition to any bookshelf, mine included, and I think really anyone from young teen to adult would enjoy this, and I can’t see any reason why they wouldn’t, unless they’re just really not into fantasy like this.

If you’d like to grab a copy, you can do so here through my Amazon Associates link!

And if you’d like to keep up with the author, you can here on Twitter!

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great day, and are doing well.

Puppet by Pauline C. Harris Review

Have you thought about Pinocchio lately? Neither have I. But this retelling of the story sheds new light on it, following an orphaned sixteen year old girl who finds herself with superhuman powers, as she’s whisked into a world she would have never been able to imagine, and she’s forced to do things she would never have been able to do in her daily life.

4/5 Stars 246 pages
Published October 2014 by Patchwork Press

Penelope prefers to be called Pen, because she thinks her full name sounds like an old lady name. She’s had a sad life in an orphanage, wishing for her own family and even pretending that the man running it is her father. She steals to feel something, and then she’s caught, and forced to stay and work there five years after turning eighteen. That is, until Jed and James come into the picture.

Jed is a mad scientist in all senses. His son James, however, is very normal, and seems to be against his fathers experiments. Pen just gets dragged into it all because she just wants a home for herself, and an out of the only world that she knows. The price is that she’ll lose her human strength in exchange for superhuman almost robotic like strength, and eventually, the ability to lie.

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I never expected this book to be what it was actually about, and when I read the description I was really intrigued. I haven’t read anything like this before, and I was pleasantly surprised. Pen is a really relatable person despite her superhuman strength and speed. And the adventure she’s forced into is really exciting, I didn’t want to stop reading it once I started, and finished it in about a day.

Though this isn’t my absolute favourite book, I didn’t have any problems with it, and all the questions I had were answered by the end of the book. Though I do think that there could have been more explanation for some things, I don’t think it was necessary, and I did really enjoy reading it. If you’re looking for something really different to bring your outside your normal reading routine, then I recommend checking out this book for sure.

If you’d like a copy to check out for yourself, you can grab a copy here, through my Amazon Associates link!

And if you’d like to follow the author, you can do so here!

Thanks for reading! Hope you’re having a great day.

Where Dreams Descend (Kingdom of Cards #1) by Janella Angeles Review

5/5 Stars 464 pages
Published August 25th 2020 by Wednesday Books

Though I forgot to post a review on the publishing date, I did not forget about the content of this book. It has a beautiful cover that I’d love to have on my bookshelf, and inside the cover is an equally beautiful and well written story about a girl getting out of her cage after years and years of oppression. Though, it’s not the usual kind that you would think of.

Kallia has been a showgirl and using her magic inside a casino for as long as she can remember. Her only escape from the owner she used to trust but now dislikes is her greenhouse, and she’s willing to throw that away to follow her dream of being the only famous female magician. The problem is, is that the owner is a master of illusion, faking friends and even people she would have liked to think of family, and that makes it very hard to get out of his grasp.

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Though she loves showing off her powers and gaining a crowd, she really just wants to make a name for herself outside of that world she’s in, without a mask on. Even after escaping from the house and through this insane forest that tries to trick her into losing her mind, she faces horrible sexism and insults from the judges. But one of them is different.

Taking the world by storm is something she can do easily, showing off her insanely powerful magic tricks and spells, full of illusion and music and just life, but what she can’t do easily, is fight off her past. Especially when it’s trying to hunt her down and bring her back to the world she fought so hard to escape from.

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Everything about this book was so well put together, and left me wondering what could possibly happen in the next installment. I can’t wait to check it out. I don’t have any questions left over aside from that one, and I didn’t for even a minute think that there was something out of place or missing from it. I’m so glad I got to check it out, it was everything I wanted and more, and books like these make me rethink my usual opinion about books about magic.

If you’d like to grab a copy of the book for yourself, you can do so here.

And if you’d like to keep up with the author on Twitter, here’s a link to that.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to chat about this book in the comments, if you’d like to also. Hope you’re doing well and staying safe!

Potency (Glow #1) by Aubrey Hadley Review

Looking for your next young adult book about aliens? Than this may be the one for you. At an epic six hundred and twenty pages, this story is gripping and unique. The cover is beautiful, and it’s really the reason that I picked it up in the first place, before even reading the description. It would make a wonderful addition to anyone’s bookshelf, and I think that it’s a story I’ll remember for a long time, not only because it’s a series, but also because it’s really interesting.

 

Following Harper, a seventeen year old girl living in Nevada, she lives her life a little sheltered. Lately she’s only able to hang out with her friends when she sneaks out, because of her seemingly overprotective mother, who not only home school’s her, but ever since she found out about a new kind of sleeping sickness invading the world, she’s not allowing her outside either, in case she catches it. After all, she doesn’t want one of her daughters to die.

 

4/5 Stars 620 pages
Published July 16th 2019 by Ruby & Topaz Publishing

The story begins with Harper running into her house carelessly after sneaking out and running through the desert. She sees something that she can’t believe with her own eyes, and she’s convinced that she’s part of some kind of conspiracy because of it. After all, who sees a shadow that glows rainbow in the middle of the desert in the middle of the night? She swears she’s never going to sneak out again after that, but of course, she does.

 

After that event, however, things start to change for her. After returning home from babysitting one day, she logs onto facebook to see a video of a man literally disappearing. After that, not only the video disappears, but her facebook account does too. Feeding into her conspiracy theory paranoia, she sneaks out to warn her friend, but returns home to find her house empty, and her neighbourhood being locked down in a quarantine. Her neighbour has caught the sleeping sickness, and the government isn’t going to let it spread any further. Her family has snuck out before the borders were set in place, and she’s left alone in her home, until she finds a familiar face. That’s when things start to take an even worse turn however. She’s abducted by aliens, and her new life begins.

 

This book was so different compared to the other books I’ve been reading lately. I’m always into a good first person alien book, and this one wasn’t any different. The only problem I really have with it, is that it was so long that I kind of lost interest at some parts and then came back to it. I would have liked to see it split into maybe two books, because of that.

 

The characters are really interesting, my favourite being Harper of course, since she’s the main point of the story. The aliens in this book were so different than other aliens I’ve read about, and I really enjoyed getting to know them and their world, as well as their technology. I’m really excited to see what happens in the next book, though I’m kind of hoping that it will be a little shorter. I think this book has the potential to have a lot of fans, and I’m interested to see where the rest of the story takes us.

 

Definitely check it out if you think this is something you’ll enjoy. The book is available here.

Thanks for reading!

Dreamthief (Olive Kennedy, Fairy World M.D. #1) by Tamara Grantham is on Sale!

My house is finally getting whipped into shape after moving a couple weeks ago. I can’t wait to see it all come together.

 

Let me just say that this book has a beautiful cover. At least, the one on Amazon does. I’m not sure which one is newest, but I’m talking about the blue one. It just jumps out like, “Read me!” I would probably read it even if it didn’t have a really intriguing description.

Published in 2015, this book has a 3.9 star rating across 137 reviews on Goodreads. It’s description claims that: “Visiting Faythander is a nasty business.

“Forget the fairies and unicorns, most people come back with lost memories and mental problems. Olive Kennedy knows. She’s the therapist who treats patients suffering from Faythander’s side effects. Despite her empty bank account, she takes pride in her job as Houston’s only Fairy World medical doctor. She’s never failed to cure a client—until now.

“Traveling back to Faythander wasn’t on Olive’s to-do list. But she has no choice. The fate of both Earth and Fairy depends on her ability to stop an ancient being called the Dreamthief. To complicate matters, she may be losing her heart

321 pages
Published September 1st 2015 by Crimson Tree Publishing

to someone who can’t love her in return. Saving the world, she can handle. Falling in love—not so much.”

 

I like this one, because it’s not the normal into the land of the fairies kind of story. I also really enjoy the fact that they added some kind of mental health aspect to it, because, if it’s a land where time stops, doesn’t that mean your brain keeps aging and your body doesn’t? I can’t see how anyone would be able to keep themselves sane.

 

If you’re interested, you can grab a copy of this book here.

Here’s a link to the author’s Twitter, if you’d like to keep up with them.

 

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.