I really am a big fan of Brusatte at this point. Having read The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us before this one, I knew I would be in for a good time and it didn't disappoint.
This is turning into a super interesting series, and I'm actually really excited to find out where it goes with book 3. I think I preferred book 2 to the first instalment, though they are really quite different to each other. I found the first book (Dogs of War) to be fascinating and unique, but the structure jumped forward in time rapidly and relentlessly. Whereas this book felt more stable and continuous.
This was absolutely thrilling - 100% fun in all the ways you can expect from Matthew Reilly. I had been so curious as to whether this would live up to his usual standards, seeing as it is quite different to his norm. But this was completely addictive and totally unputdownable, just like all his other stuff.
This series continues to please and be exciting! I am reading the Valdemar books mostly blind. I have no expectations and so no idea what to expect. It really surprised me that there was a 10-year gap between The Black Gryphon and The White Gryphon, however.
Okay, either I've been listening to the audiobook performance for long enough that I'm desensitised or miracles do happen, because this audiobook performance was so much better than for the first book.
Well, Sarah Beth Durst certainly nailed the brief when she said she wanted to write a book that felt like drinking a hot chocolate. This book has to be the definition of cosy fantasy, and I loved every second of it.
This book was a slooww read - but by the end, I'm pleased that the hard work paid off. This took me quite some time to get through because, to be frank, the first 50% of the book is boring. It's a very slow pace and favours a Tolkien-style of writing where journeying is 80% of the plot.
Another sensational Kate Quinn book. I loved every page of this and highly recommend it to Kate Quinn fans (as well as everyone else!) Though it may be somewhat different to her other books, being crime/mystery, it still has that distinctly historical-forward (and feminist-forward) tread to the plot that makes her writing so special.
A fun sapphic retelling of Beauty & the Beast. This took me by surprise and was a great, young adult historical fantasy novel that I recommend for light, pacy reading.
A fun and mysterious fiction novel about cartography and the magic of maps.
Upside-Down Books 