Category: Book review

“Through a Glass, Darkly” By Donna Leon Review

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It is a luminous spring day in Venice, as Commissario Brunetti and Inspettore Vianello come to the rescue of Vianello’s friend Marco Ribetti, who has been arrested while protesting against chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon, only to be faced by the fury of Marco’s father-in-law, owner of a glass factory on the island of Murano.

This book is the 15th book in the Commissario Brunetti Series which is sort of a guilty pleasure of mine because every book in this series is a 2 star book but I still love the series and Ill continue to read it as long as Donna Leon will continue to write to new books to this series. 

The characters in this book are pretty basic and to be honest I don’t care for any of the side characters other than the family of the main character. The reason behind this is because every character here seems so boring and it is hard to tell characters apart. In a way every character in this book feels like they were just meant to fill up the space in a way.

Character Development in this whole series doesn’t in a way. Because if you compare this book with the first book in this series then the main character and every other character in this book is just the same.

The writing style in this book is pretty basic and feels like it was written more for teens rather than for adults. It feels like that because of the very easy language used in it.

This book is good when you want to shut down your brain completely after a long day. Because this book doesn’t need any brain power and the less brain power you use on this book the more you will enjoy it. 

The crime in this book didn’t happen until the second half of this book and to be fully honest the entire crime mystery part of this book had just like 10 pages and the rest of this book was just about the main characters’s side job.

This book has no thrill or suspense and it is so fucking slow. But for whatever reason I still had fun with this book and I’ve enjoyed it.

There is no twist at the end because we sort of see what will happen at the end like 50 pages before the ending. Which pretty much kills the twist at the end. But also the ending just leaves us with a cliff-hanger which annoyed me in a way. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

“Dressed for Death” By Donna Leon Review

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Commissario Guido Brunetti’s hopes for a refreshing family holiday in the mountains are once again dashed when a gruesome discovery is made in Marghera – a body so badly beaten the face is completely unrecognizable. Brunetti searches Venice for someone who can identify the corpse but is met with a wall of silence. He then receives a telephone call from a contact who promises some tantalizing information. And before night is out, Brunetti is confronting yet another appalling, and apparently senseless, death.

Yet again another decent book from the Commissario Brunetti series. Even thou it isn’t the best mystery series I’ve come across, it still managed to drag me in to the universe and I will continue to return to this series.

The mystery here was pretty good and the twist was pretty clear once to came to the middle of this book which really killed the big twist at the end which really annoyed me and it really makes me give a mystery book a low rating when this happens. 

The plot was decent for the most part but there were many moments in this book where the plot focused on other things rather than on the main plot of who killed the victim. Which really annoyed me and it made the book longer than it needed to be. And the plot also felt pretty awkward just because the main character made it super awkward when he was talking to or about transvestites and the entire sex selling industry. Which really annoyed me because we are in 2022 and we should be more comfortable to talk about it now.

The writing style here was petty basic but it in a way fitted in with the rest of the story in a way. But of course it didn’t fit for a mystery novel which this book was in the end. 

This book is in the end a good and light read for bedtime reading right before you go to sleep. This book is good when you don’t use your brainpower on it. 

When you read this book it feels like it was written in like 1950s or something around it and not in 1994. Because this book keep telling us that people who are working in the sex selling industry or just like the rest of us and that everyone need to do something to survive. Which is a very old perspective on it I guess.

I give this book 2 / 5

“Star Wars: Before the Awakening” By Greg Rucka Review

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A companion piece to the “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” character novels, Star Wars: Before the Awakening is an anthology book that focuses on the lives of Rey, Finn, and Poe before the events of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I gotta say that this book was a decent intro book to the new trilogy of Star Wars. I personally don’t like the new trilogy but I liked this book.

This book has 3 different stories in it. One story is from Finn, the second story is from Rey and the last one is from Poe. The first and the last story were very good but the middle one which belonged to Rey really made me want to erase the new trilogy and everything linked with it from existence. Both the first and last story brings more instate to Finn and Poe and makes me but the middle story makes the opposite. It makes me hate Ray more than I already did. 

The characters in this book are a little bit spread a little bit. Leia bad ass as always, Finn and Poe good characters and Rey sucks as always. In this book both Finn and Poe get more to them which makes them more likeable and they backstory gets expanded which I loved. 

This book as action to it but the last story really brings the most exciting action to the table. Finn’s story had good amount of action which I’ve enjoyed. Ray’s story was so boring that it made me want to throw this book into the fireplaces. And Poe’s story was just the best thing ever in this book because there were planes, space travel and a lots of action. 

Ray’s story feels like it is way too long, and it stretch to the point where it makes her entire story more and more boring. Her story doesn’t tell us anything which we already didn’t know about her from the movies. Her entire story told us basically that she lives in a desert, she is a scavenger and that it. 

The writing style here was okay but it felt like this book was written from middle class kids rather than adults fans of the franchise. Of course I didn’t mind that.

I give this book 3 / 5

“The Fellowship of the Ring” By J.R.R. Tolkien Review

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Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

I needed to be honest here and admit that I never watched the Lord of the rings movies. I’ve tried couple of times to watch the first movie but I shouldn’t couldn’t finish it in the end. This fact made me super sceptical to this book and this series because I was expecting that it would happen the same thing as with the movies but to my surprise it didn’t. 

The writing is quite outdated I needed to admit. The old English in this book is so thick and it kept distracting me while I was reading book. But of course this is the thing which happens over time so I can’t trash this book over this.

The plot itself here was good but it really didn’t drag me into it, of course I’ve enjoyed it a good deal but while reading this entire book I felt that something was missing from the plot. 

The thing which annoyed me the most with this book was the songs and poems if you will in every chapter which really made me want to burn this book in the fireplace. These songs and poems were really annoying and distracting for me 

Most of the characters in this book were interesting and super enjoyable but there were some characters which annoyed me. But I’ve liked the main characters in this book.

I personally felt like there should be more action here. The action in the form of a battle with the Orcs and I really wished to see more of them in this book and not just couple of lines about them here and there.

I give this book 4 / 5

“Smuggler’s Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure” By Greg Rucka Review

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It is a period of civil war. The heroic freedom fighters of the REBEL ALLIANCE have won their most important victory thus far with the destruction of the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR. But the Rebellion has no time to savor its victory. The evil Galactic Empire has recognized the threat the rebels pose, and is now searching the galaxy for any and all information that will lead to the final destruction of the freedom fighters. For the MILLENNIUM FALCON’s crew, who saved the life of Luke Skywalker during the Battle of Yavin, their involvement with the rebels is at an end. Now HAN SOLO and CHEWBACCA hope to take their reward and settle some old debts.

This book is a very entertaining, interesting and fun read. However it isn’t a super advanced read and you don’t need brain power to read and enjoy this book. This book is an also a good read to fill more of the Star Wars timeline.

I would say that this good is a middle school level book because it doesn’t have brutal content in it and it is very easy to understand. While reading this book you can truly turn off your brain for a while but still have good time. 

The plot here was very entertaining. It was very easy and very interesting. It engaged you from the first chapter and it really makes it easy to love more Han Solo and Chewbacca and the relationship which they two have with each other. The plot is very basic but you still will have a good time reading it and at the same time you will be able to shut down your brain and just get into the world of Star Wars.

This book gives us expansion of Han Solo and Chewbacca as characters but also this book gives us expansion of the universe of Star Wars in a way. It had taken us to places which I don’t remember seeing or reading about before but also it introduces new characters to the universe which never gets boring when it comes to Star Wars.

The characters in this book was so incredible. Of course the two main characters in this book Han Solo and Chewbacca are as awesome as always but we also get many otters good characters in this universe which I personally I’m super thankful because it never gets boring discovering new characters in the Star Wars franchise. 

The written style was vert basic and easy but that in a way made this whole book for me so enjoyable because the plot was also very basic and easy. In this way the writing style and the plot made an incredible match in this book.

This book gives us good space fights which I am a big fan of in Star Wars. And this book really shows that Han Solo and Chewbacca are the best fucking pilots to every exist. And Millennium Falcon is the best fucking spaceship in existents which means a lot because there are dozens and dozens of bad ass spaceships in Star Wars.

This book will keep you on edge from start to the end of this book, which all books should be like. I really couldn’t put this book down and I just needed to finish it. 

I give this book 5 / 5

“The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure” By Jason Fry Review

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The REBEL ALLIANCE has destroyed the Empire’s dreaded DEATH STAR, but the galaxy remains convulsed by civil war, and the Imperial starfleet is hunting the rebels throughout the galaxy. LUKE SKYWALKER, the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, is now hailed as a hero. But Luke seeks only to support the freedom fighters, serving the Rebellion behind the controls of his X-wing fighter.Even as he flies alongside the pilots of Red Squadron, Luke feels stirrings in the mystical energy field known as the Force. And this farm boy turned fighter pilot begins to suspect his destiny lies along a different path.

I was super excited to read this book and I had high expectations for this book as for any other Star Wars book and movie and show because it the fucking Star Wars we are talking about. 

This book is a fun little book to read and the cover of this book will make a killing on your bookshelf because it so stunning. But the book itself when you look behind the cover it is just an okay space opera adventure of Luke Skywalker. Of course this book shows a little bit better what relations did Luke, C3-PO and R2-D2 had with each other which really was the best thing about this book for me at least.

This book doesn’t add anything new to the universe of Star Wars nor to the characters here. But he get a nice little adventure which Luke, C3-PO and R2-D2 had after the events in episode 4 but before episode 5. It was very fun to learn about this adventure and it was a decent book but it didn’t engage me so good as some other Star Wars books.

The plot here was good but it was very short so as you might expect we didn’t get a lot of details or a super detailed adventure but for me this book worked fine. This book is from C3-PO and R2-D2 perceptive so it is them telling this story but the reactions which these two have with each other is like the best thing ever. 

The plot of this book is mainly Luke learning on how to use The Force and how to fight with a lightsaber. And of course we get some very good descriptions on what to keep in mind when you are learning to use both the The Force and a lightsaber which really for me was the highlight of this book.

The writing style wasn’t super advanced here, to be honest it was super basic but I didn’t mind it because a book doesn’t need to have an academic writing style in it to still be good and enjoyable. 

In this book we get very really little characters and half off these characters doesn’t get more than a page or two involving them. But Sarco was very interesting character in this book which really could have been explored more in this universe.

I give this book 3 / 5

“A Dance with Dragons” By George R.R. Martin Review

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In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

The fifth book in the “A song of ice and fire” series done and the time to wait for more books in this series have began for me as well. 

This book gotta be the weakest book in the “A song of ice and fire” series so far. Because it has all the characters I less care about. I love Tyrion but we don’t get much from him in this book. And even thou I am team Targaryen I hate Daenerys there is something about her which always made me dislike her.

The plot in this book is okay but I have had big expectations for this book as for the previous books in this series which this book didn’t live up to. The plot in this book was less engaging than in the previous books in this series, and there were couple of chapters which felt like they were written just to make this book longer. Of course this book have had some very good moments but also it have had some bad moments which were on the edge of annoying me in a way. 

The main reason why I’m so big “A song of ice and fire” fan is because the politics in the series and this book had more drama in it than politics which is okay but it could have been better if there were more politics in it. 

Another thing which annoyed me here is that we get a lots of Daenerys but only like 15 pages about dragons which are pretty much at the very end. Daenerys is a Targaryen and Targaryens have dope dragons and are the best fucking house in this series. Targaryens have something for me which makes them the number 1, but Daenerys doesn’t live up to it. She feels like a kid who tries to be a queen but has no idea what she is doing which makes me hate her as a stand alone character and this book gives more of this aspect of Daenerys which I hate as you already know. 

The characters here felt less fun, engaging and interesting in this book than in the previous 4 books in this series which was the main reason why I rated this book so low when you compare it with the rest of the books in this series. The characters in this book gave me the feeling that George R.R Martin stoped caring about them and that he just wanted to write this book to cash in a little bit. 

However I loved that we got more of the Many-Faced God which is one of my favourite things in the “A song of ice and fire” series. To be honest the Many-Faced God and the temple of Many-Faced God was he best thing about this book for me. And it was the main reason why I continued to read this book to the end despite the fact that there were a lots of things which I didn’t like about this book.

The writing style here was very good. It was on the level with the rest of the books in this series which I appreciated probably the most. 

I give this book 5 / 5 

“The Institute” By Stephen King Review

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In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

I fucking love this book is so fucking good. I had low expectations for this book which I shouldn’t have had because this book is banger.

This book isn’t the typical Stephen king book because there is no monster chasing the main character around but rather human nature is the monster in this book. The monster in this book is people who will go to great lengths for something they believe which will save their country and the entire world no matter how many people they kill in the process. For me this is more scarier than demon clowns, killer cars and vampires because in the end the true villains are the humans. 

The beginning of this book was very slow and kind of boring in a way because it was so slow and nothing exciting or interesting was happening. But after like 30 or so pages the book gets addicting because you won’t be able to put it down because it gets so interesting. That’s what makes Stephen King one of the greatest authors of all time because he can create so interesting and so addictive plots.

The main characters here feel like real human beings which makes me love this book even more. Even the side characters feel like real human beings. To be honest it all the characters feels like I wouldn’t have a problem being good friends with them if they were real human beings. Every character in this book has something which makes her or him to a unique character on their own and they really stand out from the rest. 

This book gives a huge mental asylum vibe especially the “back room” part of this book which I loved. It has something evil and eerie to it, even thou there are no clowns, scary serial killer or a boogyman running around in this book. It just the evil and fucked up things which humans can do to another human being to get what they want.

The writing style in this book the best thing ever, if you have read some of the most popular Stephen King books then you will know what I’m talking about. Because this book has the typical Stephen king writing style which is like the literature version of ecstasy. Once you start reading this book you won’t be able to stop or put it down is what I meant when I’ve said literature version of ecstasy.

The ending has the huge Stranger Things (Season 1) vibe to it which really made me love the book even more because I love this kind of vibe when it feels like a classic horror story with good plot, amazing characters and so much more to it. The ending don’t have a twist to it or anything, the ending is kind of obvious in this book but I personally didn’t mind this.

I give this book 5 / 5

“A Feast for Crows” By George R.R. Martin Reivew

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Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermath new conflicts spark to life. The Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow’s Eye, as black a pirate as ever raised a sail, returns from the smoking ruins of Valyria to claim the Iron Isles. From the icy north, where Others threaten the Wall, apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms to the Citadel.

I gotta say that this series gets better and better. Which really is a rare thing when it comes to series. I need to admit that this book is my favourite so far in this series. 

The plot is just wow. In this book the whole plot of the series gets more complex. When it comes to the book for itself then there is more drama in it, there is more backstabbing, there is more trauma, there is more deaths, there is more interesting character. The plot gets very good here and you forget everything else when you are reading this book. Because there is the huge game of thrones going on but there is also weird weather stuff happening like snow in the south where the snow didn’t been round since the last dragons has been seen. The plot of this book is only about few characters which are Cersei, Jaime, Sam, Sansa, Arya and Brienne. And all of theirs stories are linked to each other in a way or another which for me makes it to the best book in this series so far. 

The characters in this book. Gets even more into them, they feel more like real human beings. And they make better and wiser decisions. After reading this book I need to say that I began to love Cersei as a characters. Jaime also becomes so much more likeable when he is away from Cersei which makes it to the best character development in the history of literature. Every major character in this book has so much character development from the first book that you will be blown away.

The ending in this book leaves on a cliff hanger but it also is so satisfying and epic which really made me forget the cliff hanger and just made me more excited to pick up the next book in this series. 

The only thing which I didn’t like about this book is that Tyrion wasn’t in this book. Tyrion was mob favourite character in this series so not getting his part of the story in this book really pissed me off here. But this book made Jamie my second favourite character and Cersei became my 3rd favourite character in this series. So you might say that this book made a lots of changes for me.

Read this book assured me that “A Song Of Ice And Fire” is the best fucking book series ever written and probably no series in the future will ever beat this. This series is a classic at this point. 

I give this book 5 / 5

“Death and Judgment” By Donna Leon Review

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Detective Guido Brunetti is submerged in the seedy Venetian underworld as he tries to crack a prostitution ring run by wealthy and powerful citizens

I gotta say that I enjoy this series so far but to be honest it isn’t the best mystery series. 

The plot here was okay but of course it wasn’t the mind blower. The plot in this book is okay for the most part and it is good when you want to read a mystery book but also want to turn off your brain for a while. The plot of this book is easy and you don’t need brain power to enjoy this book.

The writing style was pretty basic here and it felt like it was meant for a high school student. But I don’t mind that because it was on the level with the plot which is the opposite of heavy and super highly planed with details of the crimes and twists at the end. 

The ending is okay for the most part but it was satisfying but of course it doesn’t have an happy ending of a murder case being solved. Which Ive enjoyed because again it was on the level with the rest of this book. 

The twist here was kind of obvious here. It was obvious who the killer was when the main character have meet her the first time in this book. Which really the twist at the end didn’t exist and killed itself in a way.

The characters here were very weak but the main character is so simple that it makes him to a likeable character. To be honest I don’t care about the side characters in this book because they have nothing unique about them which makes them worth remembering but the main character is like the only thing which makes me coming back to the “Commissar Guido Brunetti” series. 

I give this book 2 / 5