Tag: fantasy

Audiobook Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, narrated by Bahni Turpin

Saturday Nite Reader28 Comments

 

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(Legacy of Orïsha #1)

Overall Story:

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4 disco balls

Narration:

5_DiscoBalls

5 disco balls

Published: March 6, 2018 by Macmillan Audio
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
Length: 17 hours and 44 minutes
Category: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction
Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers’ Literature (2018), Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Author and Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2018)

I bought this book in March of 2018 and it had been sitting on my shelf a bit too long. I typically do not read fantasy, but was intrigued by the synopsis and gravitated toward the stunning book cover. Fast forward to January 2019 and it was my book club book! Its a beast of a book clocking in at 527 pages so I thought I would enlist the help of the audiobook from the library to keep me on pace.

I am SO glad I picked up the audiobook! The book is action packed and narrator, Bahni Turpin, brought all the characters to life. She captured the emotions effortlessly that I would often listen to the audio while reading along (as I do like to hold a book in my hands).Read More »

Saturday Spotlight: The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

Saturday Nite Reader10 Comments

Introducing Saturday Nite Reader’s weekly meme: Saturday Spotlight! Each Saturday I will spotlight a book I have read or am currently reading; and, of course what I think is special about it. I invite you to participate as well! Just link back to my weekly post and don’t forget to add your spotlight link in the comment section for all to see. Happy Sharing! XO, Nikki

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This Week:
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

Published: August 13, 2013 by Doubleday (edition shown published July 10, 2018 by Picador)
Category: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism

Earlier in 2018 I read author Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life and it destroyed me. I still talk about this book: its so fresh in my mind. It probably doesn’t help that I created a Spotify playlist called All the Feels that were songs that reminded me of scenes from the book, and that I listen to it almost every day. But, I digress…

img_0968On a worktrip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, I stopped by Waterstones bookstore and had to grab a copy of the UK paperback version of A Little Life. It’s a different cover therefore it needs to be added to my collection: I already have the US paperback and hardcover versions. Since books are home decor then it’s okay have more than one copy of the same book – or at least that is what I tell myself.

While in the fiction section, I came across Yanagihara’s first novel The People in the Tress and of course I had to get that one too. They compliment each other so well don’t you think? Like, you can’t have one without the other. If the writing is anything like A Little Life, than I know I will love it.

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Book Review: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Saturday Nite Reader11 Comments

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3.5 disco balls

Published: March 7, 2017 by Riverhead
Category: Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
Man Booker Prize Nominee (2017); Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017); National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (2017); Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2018); Folio Prize Nominee (2018); Kirkus Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017); Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2017); Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017)

This book is deep dude.
But, in all seriousness, author Mohsin Hamid did an exceptional job at conjuring up my inner psyche and putting it to work. The first half of this book I was sucked in and kept stopping and thinking “wow, what would this be like for me?” and even more so “this is all too relevant and that is scary.”Read More »

Saturday Spotlight: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Saturday Nite Reader20 Comments

Introducing Saturday Nite Reader’s weekly meme: Saturday Spotlight! Each Saturday I will spotlight a book I have read or am currently reading; and, of course what I think is special about it. I invite you to participate as well! Just link back to my weekly post and don’t forget to add your spotlight link in the comment section for all to see. Happy Sharing! XO, Nikki

img_0886This Week:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Published: June 21, 2003 by Scholastic, Inc.
Category: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

It was 2001, or around that time, that I discovered the HP series. I wasn’t much of a leisurely reader. I was still in college and barely wanted to read any of my textbooks let alone a book for books sake. But, I found myself devouring Books 1 – 4 over the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. I had caught up just in time to preorder Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix (my copy shown above).

I will not come to finish The Order of the Phoenix. I was in the middle of reading it when someone asked me if I got to the part where…(well I won’t ruin it for you, the way someone ruined it for me!) After receiving that spoiler, I never picked up the book again. Fast-forward around 15 years later and I still have yet to finish the infamous, popular HP series. I couldn’t even watch the movies for the books I did not read, because I didn’t want the books to be ruined for me (when I eventually started them again).

img_0885I’ve had the book sitting on my bookshelf all the time and just recently opened it to discover my bookmark still in its rightful place: I made it to the start of Chapter 21 (half-way through)!

Now the dilemma, do I re-start where I left off, at the beginning of ‘The Order of the Phoenix’, or restart the whole series because its been too long?

My answer: restarting the whole series over again! I need to reacquaint myself with the characters and the inner workings of Hogwarts. Heck, I still don’t even know which HP House I would be in! Now to just find the time…(the struggle of a book blogger)

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Blog Tour: The Afterlife of Walter Augustus by Hannah M. Lynn

Saturday Nite Reader22 Comments

Blog Tour Poster (1)

This is my first blog tour and what a fun book to kick off the first of hopefully many more.

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3.5 disco balls

Published: July 12, 2018 by Amazon Digital Services
Category: Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal

Normally fantasy and paranormal are not my reading jam, but there was something about the synopsis to The Afterlife of Walter Augustus that piqued my interest right from the start. I had this feeling that Walter Augustus was going to be like Ove (from A Man Called Ove) and I needed to see if I was right. I mean, who doesn’t just love Ove?

Walter Augustus is dead. He is living in the interim until no one remembers him anymore; then he can clear over to the other side and be with the rest of his family. Walter is very close to crossing that threshold when Letty will ruin everything. Letty is alive. Letty is about to be haunted: is she going crazy or are there really such things as ghosts?Read More »

Audiobook Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Saturday Nite Reader21 Comments

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4_DiscoBalls

4 disco balls

Published: August 16, 2011 by Random House Audio
Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BOTM $9.99 add on
Category: Science Fiction, YA, Fantasy, Dystopia
Prometheus Award for Best Novel (2012), ALA Alex Award (2012), Mary Shelley Award for Outstanding Fictional Work (2016)

Eureka! I finally found one: an audiobook that I loved. I mean what 80’s baby wouldn’t appreciate an audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton loaded with 80’s pop culture references to boot? Fun Fact: my favorite Wil Wheaton movie is Toy Soldiers.

I will admit that when I first read the synopsis of this book I didn’t think it was my jam. My best friend convinced me otherwise and boy was she right! I loved it! Like really loved it. I am not sure if I would have felt the same way reading the book versus listening; I think since I enjoyed the narration that I was more engaged. Either way I now can’t wait for the movie coming out in March.Read More »