this was SO GOOD!

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars – Christopher Paolini

Science fiction.

Rating 9/10

Kira cannot wait to be done with this job so that she and her to be husband can work together on another mission. On Adstra she is collecting information about the planet she finds a cavern. She falls into the cavern to discover an ancient civilization of some sorts. Dust is everywhere and then she blacks out. She reawakens in the ship but different. There is some sort of matter covering every inch of her body that somehow is considered dangerous. She is put into quarantine to be analyzed. This sort of suit protects her from being poked and prodded. Out of quarantine she finds her way out of the ship to safety as there is an attack by an unidentifiable enemy that has tentacles and very hostile. The Soft Blade, as the organism covering her body named itself, tells her what they are and that they are dangerous. Kira learns more and she finds herself on another ship of people that are being rescued and to be taken to a planet for refuge besides the ship. She convinces the captain to work with her about the information of these Jellies by boarding one of their ships to get intel. Once she does that, she discovers that the Soft Blade had every reason to be afraid and wanting to help. She enlists help from a ship and its crew to help her prevent the War.

This novel was intriguing from page one to the very last page. I got this book because I saw it had great views and bad views on TikTok. I took it upon myself to read it. I loved the pacing and the characters; the author really was thorough in world building. However, there was a lot of uninteresting slow points and when there was some action, there was not a lot of fighting and it was settled too quickly. Do not get me wrong, I love this novel. I think this was good science fiction. I am not sure if I would reread it because this book is rather large but middle school me would have loved giant books. As an adult I have mixed feelings and sometimes I like to read a moderately sized science fiction novel or a series that was paced so perfectly as this one. I do recommend this novel for sure. I wished that this were rather a series, but we shall see if the author does.

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a different type of Sea

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters – Rick Riordan

Children’s fiction, Greek gods, fantasy, demigods, gods, goddesses, fiction.

Rating 8/10

A year passes by and Percy is excited to attend another summer camp at Camp Half Blood. His mother tells him a cryptic message saying there is something he should know. Not even before the end of the school day, Annabeth arrives and informs Percy that there is trouble at the camp. He brings along a friend who is a baby cyclops named Tyson. They arrive at the Camp Half Blood and learn that the camp is in danger. Meaning that the haven for half-bloods is no longer safe. Percy gets cryptic messages from Grover in his dreams to come save him as well as get the item that is on the cyclops island that will heal the tree that was poisoned. Percy and Annabeth along with Tyson go on a perilous journey into the Sea of Monsters to save camp.

This was just as interestingly action packed as the first but a little short. We see more lore and mythology flushed out as the plot thickens. The characters develop more and their interactions as well. I do not like a novel that flushes out the lore of the world in one book, I like the breadcrumb method. What I love the most is that the Greek lore is adapted to the modern age and makes the literature more fun to read than the older classic literature such as the epic of The Iliad and the Odyssey. I feel this is more authentic telling with a modern twist so that it is not a snooze fest. I have yet found the Percy and Annabeth pairing interesting past friendship so far. So please bear with me as I still do not ship any character with anyone else. Sorry I do not think that Percy and Annabeth can be ship material unfortunately. Maybe this will be a first series that I do not ship anyone. Anyways, I found this entertaining as well. I cannot wait to read the next book.

before Ariel…

Sea Witch – Sarah Henning

Fairy tales, Hans Christian Anderson, young adult, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Evelyn and her Prince friend, Nik, witnessed their friend drown four years ago. Both still shaken up about it but they mourned for so long. They had grown exceptionally close to each other. One day, there is unease seas that throws Nik into the ocean and later a mermaid saves him. When Evelyn goes to her hidden cove, she notices the mermaid who looks like her deceased friend. Later on, she runs into a girl who is a spitting image of her long-deceased friend. The new girl introduces herself as Annemette. Evelyn takes her to see Nik. Nik and Annemette kick it off while Evelyn turns her attention to the prince’s cousin. After the long day, Annemette confesses that she is a mermaid as well as only has four days to remain on land to find out if the Prince is her true love. She wants to remain on land and never return to the sea. Evelyn promises to help her with just that. What Evelyn doesn’t know is that she is to be made a fool by Annemette because she came back on land fully knowing what had happened to her and craves revenge on her friends who abandoned her.

I have to say that I was not expecting this novel to become dark as it had. I should have seen the signs however that this novel would have taken a turn. I did have had pity in Evelyn because she thought all along that this mysterious girl was their long dead friend and there was ought to be some form of resentment. I enjoyed reading from a perspective of a villain and their origin story. I’d like to think it forms some sort of equal judgement to understand where they are coming from and why they are the way they are. I loved this novel and the little surprises here and there that the author embedded into the plot. This novel is worth reading and I might try to get my hands on the sequel. I loved the writing style for sure. The style was very immersive into the world that Henning took the reader into. 

saving literature

The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern

Fantasy, fiction.

Rating 10/10

Zachary is looking through the library when he comes across a book that has a title yet no author. He decides to check out the book to only find that the book not just has stories but it narrating his life as he is reading the book. Becoming freaked out he decides to investigate the symbols on the book. He finds a women who has that symbol on her necklace and attend the charity foundation event. At the party he comes across a note that has instructions. He follows them and meets this guy named Dorian who needs Zackary’s help retrieving his book in exchange of getting Zackary’s book from someone who stole it from him. Zackary retrieves Dorian’s book and is pushed into a room that is eerily reminding him of Alice in Wonderland where she must eat and drink things except, he must drink the concoction and roll the dice for his fate. He ends up finding himself in a whole new world where he meets Mirabel who explains the people who are that are after Zackary. These people want to shut off all the doors into the Starless Sea. It is up to Zackary, Mirabel, and Dorian to fight these people and save the doors that allow people to enter the Starless Sea.

I saw this trending at my libraries prior to the whole shut down of most public places. I had a hold on this book too and canceled it. I couldn’t foretell if reading this would be possible until now. My boyfriend decided to surprise me with some book purchases. I’m thankful he took notice and got this book. This was a really good book and I felt for Zackary’s passion towards literature. This book is like perfect for bibliophiles who love stories a lot because there is a lot of stories going on within this book. I don’t want to get into details because I wouldn’t want to spoil too much but give enough of a synopsis to provide enough interest into venturing out to get this book to read. Totally worth purchasing because its one of the books that can be reread and enjoying the story even more. I had reread this in a sitting because I loved it so much.