Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

November 26, 2021 | piperreads

“A hero does not choose her trials. She steps into the darkness, then she faces what comes next.”

All her life, Spensa dreamed of becoming a pilot. Dreamed of being able to help her people and being able to find the truth of what happened to her father. Now having f those dreams, she is left with the crushing truth with her father but she’s not willing to give up on him and she’s certain there is more to the story and she’s determined to find out. When she makes it out of her protective shell of a planet, she heard the stars and she heard terrified her as everything she had taught as a child turned out to be a lie. Her world shaken by the truth, Spensa must do what is necessary to help her people and if she must travel to end of the galaxy then that’s what she’ll do.

Another terrific story of this series! I absolutely loved this book probably even more so than the first book and a big part of why I enjoyed it so much is the excellent development of Spensa who is a champion of authenticity, courage, and determination which makes her very relatable. Sanderson really knows how to craft well written characters and with Spensa, she’s so real that you find yourself in her. One of the things that I have enjoyed about the series is how Sanderson doesn’t just throw in themes for the take of it. They were important and the way he writes them shows that as the themes in this series are very relevant to real life with personal biases, prejudice, and individualism vs collectivism. How people should hear and listen to others even if they are different from you and that is something that we all need a reminder about. It really added to the story line and made me enjoy this book even more.

Highly recommend this series! I’m checking out the third book now cause it just came out!! I’ll have a review up soon hopefully but until then happy reading!

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

November 25, 2021 | piperreads

“People need stories, child. They bring us hope, and that hope is real. If that’s the case, what does it matter whether people in them actually lived?”

The remains of the human race have been crushed, defeated, driven to almost extinction on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. One such human, a young girl by the name of Spensa who longs to be a pilot may have found a way to achieve her dream while helping her people in the process. One day, she finds wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this could be her way out but there are more hurdles than she expected and this journey could alter the course of her for better or worse.

This was such a fantastic book! I had heard a lot of good things about this series so I decided to finally check it out and I’m so glad I did. I’m currently reading through the second book right now in anticipation of the third coming out next week. From start to finish, this book was excellent and I loved everything about it. Spensa is such a fantastic main character, with flaws and qualities that make her very relatable and I’ve been loving her character development along the way. It felt very real and I could empathize with her when she was tested with what was the right thing to do and how to go about it. I enjoyed the other characters in addition to Spensa. With the solid worldbuilding, rich and diverse characters, interesting plot and how everything came together to lead up to the second book, I highly recommend it. I am actually checking out his other books because this series reeled me in and I want more! Stayed tuned for my review on Starsight coming up!

No Exit by Taylor Adams

November 14, 2021 | piperreads

“Don’t fear the pros. The pros know what they’re doing, and do it cleanly. Fear the amateurs.”

On her way home, Darby Thorne gets stuck in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of her mother’s home in Colorado. With the roads impassible, Darby has no choice but to wait it out at a rest stop where inside are four strangers, vending machines, and a coffee maker. Desperate to get home, she heads back to her car where she makes a horrifying discovery, a young girl is locked in an animal cage in the van next to her car. There are more questions than answers as she finds no cell phone reception to call for help, one of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper, and not only find a way to save herself but the little girl before it’s too late.

This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time! From beginning to end, I was hooked and turning the page in anticipation. I’ve been getting into thrillers more and more in the last year or so and it can be hard sometimes to find a great thriller as some can be cliche and predictable. But, this is not one of those books and I was glad that I decided to read it. From the writing, characters, plot development etc., I really enjoyed how they all fleshed together for a really good thriller with smartly creative plot twists that weren’t predictable and they also made sense. This will have you on the edge of your seat begging for more so if you’re in the mood for a good thriller, I would highly recommend this!

Medusa

November 8, 2021 | piperreads

People think your beauty is their possession. As if it’s there for their pleasure, as if they’ve got something invested in it. They think you owe them for their admiration.

This was such a beautiful retelling of Medusa that not only gives her a voice but really makes you feel for her. Medusa has been exiled with her two sisters, Stheno and Euyale to a remote island where the only company they have is each other and their dog. They have been on the island for four years and Medusa is feeling lonely and trapped but things change when a Perseus, arrives on the island and she believes he might be able to alleviate her problems but this will lead her on a journey of love, trust and betrayal.

While this is a beautifully written retelling of Medusa giving her a voice and sending her on a journey on self-acceptance with owning and acceptance the good and bad and being able to find peace with your past. I think this is something that many people need to see as we all have very different set of unique experiences that led us to where we are and that finding peace with your past is so essential for growth and acceptance of who you are. It’s a message that I myself crave and love and think many others feel the same.

It does delve into sexual harassment, in particular with rape culture, victim blaming and slut-shaming even by other women. Which I know that can be uncomfortable to read about especially as a woman myself, but it is very important to understand even though it hard seeing it come from other women. But, that is something that can and will happen even now in our current culture. The story along with the illustrations, which were absolutely stunning rewrote the narrative for Medusa and gave her a story that she could embrace and own. Highly recommend it!

Once upon A Broken Heart

November 7, 2021 | piperreads

“Heroes don’t get happy endings. They give them to other people.”

Finding solace in her beloved father’s novelty shop, Evegeline Fox grew up on the legends of immortals such as the tragic Prince of Hearts. She knows his powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and that bargains with him never end well. But, when Evegeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she is desperate to stop the wedding before it’s too late. She begs the Prince of Hearts to help and at first it seems like things are going her way but after their first kiss, she learns that the Prince has other plans for her and it will either end up with a happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy.

This book is pure magic from beginning to end. I knew I was going to be in for a real treat as I have enjoyed Stephanie Garber’s previous books. Caraval was one of my favorite series to read, it was such a treat so I was hoping this book would be just as good and thankfully it was. What I loved about this book is that none of it felt predictable or cliche, there were so many twists and turns and just when you thought you had things figured out, it turned in another direction. But, she really knows how to spin retelligns of fairy tales, I would love to read more books if she did retellings. But like Garber’s other books, the way she develops her characters is what really stands out as they are always unique, interesting, and incredibly flawed. If you like retellings and lush worldbuilding, then this book is just for you!