Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: Atmosphere

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Historical Fiction, Contemporary Romance, LGBT

Pages: 337

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Year Published: 2025

Format: Audiobook

"Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA's space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston's Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmon and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant."

My Rating: 4.75/5

I love this author. I find that her ability to get you connected to characters helps you better connect to the time that these characters are living in. As many of the stories are female-centred in times where women aren't taken seriously speaks volumes. I also believe that the author does a beautiful job of telling love stories in ways that are not as formulaic as we see in other romance books. This may be because these books include romance and great loves, but that's not the only thing they are about.

Sidny

Book Review: Reckless by Lauren Roberts

Title: Reckless

Author: Lauren Roberts

Series/Standalone: The Powerless Trilogy (Book #2)

Genre: Romantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 400

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2024

Format: Audiobook

"The kingdom of Ilya is in turmoil...

After surviving the Purging Trials, Ordinary-born Paedyn Gray has killed the King, and kickstarted a resistance throughout the land. Now she's running from the one person she had wanted to run to. 

Kai Azer is now Ilya's Enforcer, loyal to his brother Kitt, the new King. He has vowed to find Paedyn and bring her to justice.

Across the deadly Scorches and deep in the hostile city of Dor, Kai pursues the one person he wishes he didn't have to. But in a city without Elites, the balance between the hunter and the hunted shifts- and the battle between duty and desire is deadly."

My Rating: 4/5

I was unsure of what to expect from this second book, but it went in a direction I'm not sure I loved. I liked it, but I didn't love it. Some of the plot points felt very forced to me. I did appreciate that the plot took a twist, but at the same point I felt frustrated that the novella in between book 1 and 2 didn't hold more on this book. I will continue the series, but I fear the first book will remain my favorite. 

Sidny

Book Review: Never Whistle At Night

 

Title: Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction

Author: Multiple

Series/Standalone: Never Whistle At Night (Volume #1)

Genre: Horror, Short Stories, Adult Fiction, Indigenous

Pages: 408

Publisher: Random House

Year Published: 2023

Format: Audiobook (Own It)

"A bold, clever, and sublimely sinister collection that dares to ask the 'Are you ready to be un-settled?' Featuring stories by:

Noriss Black- Amber Blaeser-Wardzala- Phoenix Boudreau -Cherie Dimaline -Carson Faust -Kelli Jo Ford -Kate Hart -Shane Hawk -Brandon Hobson -Darcie Little Badger -Conley Lyons -Nick Medina -Tiffany Morris -Tommy Orange -Mona Susan Power -Marcie R. Rendon -Waubgeshig Rice -Rebecca Roanhorse -Andrea L. Rogers -Morgan Talty -D.H. Trujilo -Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. -Richard Van Camp -David Heska Wanbil Widen -Royce Young Wolf -Mathilda Zeller

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai'po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear- and even follow you home.

These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples' survival and imagination, and a glorious revelling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon."

My Rating: 5/5

I listened to the audio of this book and loved it so much I ordered my own copy. I also loved that while each story was unique, they were all filled with twists and different horrifying elements. Some were less intense than others, but still incredible. I've also preordered the next volume and can't wait to see what other stories will stick with me. 

Sidny

Book Review: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Title: VenCo

Author: Cherie Dimaline

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Indigenous

Pages: 400

Publisher: William Morrow

Year Published: 2023

Format: Paperback Copy (Own It)

"Lucky St. James, a Metis millennial living with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella, is barely hanging on when she discovers she will be evicted from their tiny Toronto apartment. Then, one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. Burrowing through a wall, she finds a silver spoon etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM, humming with otherworldly energy.

Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for Venco, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.

Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo's network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power.

But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He's Jay Christo's, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.

To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning... or remain underground forever."

My Rating: 1.5/5

This started out in a direction I enjoyed, but as the book went on, I felt it dragged. The plot became fairly obvious, and the storyline, while entertaining at first, felt really heavy-handed for me for adult fiction. I enjoy the concept, but the storytelling wasn't for me, and the plot points weren't what I wanted. 

Sidny

Book Review: Powerful by Lauren Roberts

Title: Powerful

Author: Lauren Roberts

Series/Standalone: The Powerless Trilogy (Book #1.5)

Genre: Romantasy, Novella, Young Adult

Pages: 272

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2024

Format: Audiobook 

"Adena and Paedyn have always been inseparable. Fate brought them together when they were young, but friendship ensured they would always protect each other and the home they built in the slums of Loot. But now Paedyn- an Ordinary- has been selected for the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death.

Now alone in Loot, Adena must fend for herself. After attempting to steal, she's rescued by a mysterious man from the market. Mak's shadowy past and secretive power set him apart from the other low-level Elites of Loot. And as the pair team up to see their loved ones before the Trials, the quest tests their loyalty, their love and their lives."

My Rating: 4.5/5

This was a fun novella that I believe will set up different characters for the next book and helped me understand why Adena ended up in the space she did. I was surprised at how emotional this book made me. I look forward to reading the next one. As someone who loves Red Queen, I wanted to touch on accusations of plagiarism. While there are ALOT of similarities, the same could be said for every historical romance book; the plot points often are similar, the tropes, etc. I don't think that this book is original, but that could be said for a lot of literature. 

Sidny

Book Review: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Title: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

Series/Standalone: Vera Wong Series (Book #1)

Genre: Mystery, Adult Fiction, Cozy Mystery

Pages: 339

Publisher: Berkley

Year Published: 2023

Format: Audiobook

"Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady-ah, lady of a certain age-who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco's Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her college-aged son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing- a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn't know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of... swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands.

Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive: all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer. 

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?"

My Rating: 5/5

This was unlike other cozy mysteries that I've read. Mostly because it centred around a main character I hadn't read from before. Her narrative throughout the mystery kept me intrigued and laughing throughout. I loved the way we got to see so many sides of her character the woman, the mother, the community leader and more. I can't wait to read more. 

Sidny

Book Review: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

Title: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

Author: Matt Dinniman

Series/Standalone: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book #3)

Genre: Science Fiction, Adult, Dystopian, LitRPG

Pages: 532

Publisher: Indie Published

Year Published: 2021

Format: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

"Welcome to the Gun Show!

The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face.

The Iron Tangle. An impossibly complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away.

But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly useless book.

Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon."

My Rating: 4.25/5

I enjoyed the character development in this third instalment. The plot twists and the change of pace were interesting. I was grateful that the author started this book with the warning that it was confusing and not to worry about it that everything would come together in the end. That being said, it was still a lot of exposition and explanation. It did burn me out a bit, and we (my husband and I, since we're buddy reading) will be taking a little break. I hope to pick up the next one before the end of the year.

Sidny

Book Review: She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

Title: She's Not Sorry

Author: Mary Kubica

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Adult Fiction

Pages: 330

Publisher: Park Row

Year Published: 2024

Format: Audiobook

"Meghan Michaels is trying to find the balance between being a single mum to a teenage daughter and working as a full-time nurse. While on duty at the hospital one day, a patient named Caitlin arrives in a coma, having plunged from a bridge onto train tracks below.

But when a witness comes forward with shocking details about the fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was Caitlin pushed and if so, by whom and why?

Meghan has always tried to stay emotionally detached from her patients, but this time she mistakenly lets herself get too close, until she's deeply entangled in Caitlin's and her family's lives. Only when it's too late, does she realise that she and her daughter could be the next victims."

My Rating: 2.75/5

I liked a lot of parts about this book; there were multiple mysteries and ideas at play throughout a lot of the book. Unfortunately, because I've read a lot from this author, I saw a lot of them coming. What I didn't expect was for the ending to almost be a cliffhanger. I also think the nurse conversations, while important, were almost too repetitive (I agree with what was said, but it felt like every other line was a stance). I will continue to read from the author; this just wasn't my favourite. 

Sidny

Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Title: The Haunting of Hill House   

Author: Shirley Jackson

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Horror, Classic, Adult Fiction

Pages: 182

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Year Published: 1959

Format: Audiobook 

"'Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within...'

Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Luke, the adventurous future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with chilling, even horrifying occurrences beyond their control or understanding, they cannot possibly know what lies ahead. For Hill House is gathering its powers- and soon it will choose one of them to make its own."

My Rating: 1.75/5

I don't often read classics, and when I do, I'm reminded why. This book was unsettling but not horrifying, not in the same vein that I expected. The characters were annoying, and I had a hard time empathisizing with them. I would be curious to see if the show kind of adds to the story. I think the archetypes are interesting; the atmosphere was chilling, but other than that, I didn't enjoy my time reading this book. 

Sidny

Book Review: Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

Title: Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Author: Matt Dinniman

Series/Standalone: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book #2)

Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Litrpg

Pages: 400

Publisher: Indie Published

Year Published: 2021

Format: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

"'The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.'

The rating and views are off the charts. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game."

My Rating: 4.5/5

This book really grew my interest in the world. From the first book, I was a little hesitant to go in, but this book laid out a lot of good points, world-building, and character development. I love the humour in the books even when the content is gruesome. Matt Dinniman does a wonderful job of building a world where anything can happen, but not making it too absurd. The random bits of extra madness splashed throughout keep the story interesting and us wondering what will happen with Carl next.

Sidny