booksare42's reviews
592 reviews

 I cannot believe I waited this long to dive into the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians! The Lightning Thief was such a fun and enjoyable read. I understand the hype and I am so glad I finally read this book. 

My favourite thing about The Lightning Thief was the pacing. I liked that every chapter had some sort of action or battle scene. This made for an exciting read and I found myself wondering what trouble would Percy, Annabeth, and Grover find themselves in next. I loved how vivid the scenes were and how I was able to visualize what was going on. I also loved that all of the chapters had titles and I enjoyed trying to guess what the title was hinting at. 

My next favourite thing about The Lightning Thief was the characters. I enjoy a reluctant hero and Percy Jackson definitely falls into that category. He was easy to root for and a great mix of clever and reckless. I also enjoyed Annabeth and Grover. I thought the three of them made a great team and I loved that they all brought something unique to the quest. 

I also enjoyed the side characters. I liked meeting some of the gods like Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, and Hades. I also liked seeing the different mythical creatures like centaurs, satyrs, and nymphs. I’m curious about what role some of the other campers will play in future books and what side the different characters will take. 

I enjoyed the mythology in The Lighting Thief. I didn’t have a mythology phase growing up, so I’m not overly familiar with a lot of the stories and figures. I liked that the stories and figures were introduced in a way that didn’t require any prior knowledge. I feel like I was able to learn quite a bit about mythology while reading this book. 

Overall, this was a fun and action packed book. I’m very glad I read it and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series. 

Thank you to the Write Reads team and the BBNYA team for inviting me to join this blog tour and for providing me with a copy of this book to read during the competition. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ghosts of Mars is a fun middle-grade book full of friendship and adventure. It follows 13-year-old Eva, who is the first human born on Mars. Eva has a habit of getting into trouble and breaking the rules. She’s bold and determined, and when her Dad is in danger, she’s willing to risk it all to try to save him.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. I don’t read a ton of books set in space, so this was a nice change of scenery for me. I enjoyed the world-building and seeing how humans have managed to live on Mars and learning about their base. I also liked some of the technology on the base. I also enjoyed the concept of the Ghosts of Mars, I thought it was unique, though there were a few things that left me a bit confused. I think a bit more detail could have helped, but overall it was a great concept.

I had mixed feelings about the main character, Eva. I thought she was clever and resourceful, but there were too many instances where she acknowledged that her actions would have consequences, but then continued to carry on recklessly. I understand that she’s relatively young, but she was a bit too self-centered at times for my liking.

I liked the group of friends in Ghosts of Mars. I’m a fan of books where a group of friends team up and go on an adventure, especially if it’s a dangerous and ill-advised adventure. I liked that the group all had their strengths and I enjoyed seeing them work together to try to save the day. I also loved Thunderbird, the AI system, that helped Eva and her friends along the way, and I especially appreciated Thunderbird’s sarcasm.

This book was full of action-packed scenes. There were lots of dangerous moments, and also moments where I was wondering if Eva and her friends were going to get caught. This made the book a very quick read as it jumped from one action scene to another. If I remember correctly, some of the dangerous moments were a bit dark.

Another thing I appreciated about this book was the type 1 diabetes rep. Eva is a type 1 diabetic. She’s upset because everyone tells her that this condition means she’ll never fulfill her dream of being an astronaut and exploring different planets and she’s determined to prove them wrong. I like seeing books, especially middle-grade books, with rep like this.

Overall, I thought Ghosts of Mars was a fun read. There were a few minor things that I didn’t love, but it was overall enjoyable. If the author decides to write another book starring Eva and her friends, I will definitely check it out.

Thank you to The Write Reads for inviting me to join this tour and for providing me with the materials for it. Thank you to the publisher, Neem Tree Press, for providing me with a digital copy of this book through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Belly Woman is a non-fiction book that is mostly set in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016. This book is not the kind of book I would normally reach for, but I’m glad that I read it because it was very eye-opening.

Belly Woman is not an easy book to read. It contains a lot of triggering content, including graphic descriptions of medical procedures, miscarriages, and lots of death. It was difficult to read about so many people dying because the system wasn’t properly equipped to handle the situation. I often found myself taking breaks between chapters to process what I had just read, but to also step away from the suffering depicted in this book.

Writing wise, I found Belly Woman to be easy to read and understand. It wasn’t bogged down with technical or medical terms. Even when medical procedures were being described and technical language was being used, it was easy enough to follow what was going on.

I learned a lot while reading this book, not just about Ebola and maternal medicine in Sierra Leone, but also a lot about humanitarian work and MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)). This book opened my eyes to the balancing act between different international organizations and the governments of the countries they are assisting in.

I enjoyed meeting the people whose stories were told in this book. A lot of their stories were tough to read and lots of them ended in tragedy. I also enjoyed meeting Dr. Black’s colleagues, both the expats and the local professionals that worked at the sites. Meeting these people, learning their names, and hearing parts of their story added a human element to the crisis depicted in Belly Woman. This human element did make the book more difficult to read, but it also made it more powerful.

Overall, I thought Belly Woman was a very well-written and powerful read. I learned a lot while reading it and it also gave me a lot to think about and reflect upon. 

Thank you to BBNYA and The Write Reads for providing me with the material and book for this blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I didn’t know what to expect going into Wrath of Olympus because I have complicated feelings about mythology. I’m happy to say Wrath of Olympus left me pleasantly surprised and I’m already looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

What I enjoyed most about Wrath of Olympus was the main character, Maia. I thought Maia was a well-rounded and fantastic character. She was unsure of herself, but she was also brave. She was determined to try her best, even though she had a sinking feeling that things wouldn’t work out for her. She was kind and she was clever. I loved her interactions with the other characters and watching her grow and become more confident.

I also enjoyed the other characters in this book. Raven was mysterious and I would love to learn more of his backstory. Matrona and Captain Plinius were also great and I loved how much they cared for and believed in Maia. Milo left me with a lot of questions and I’m curious to see what he gets up to later on in the series. Blossom was also very memorable and a unique character.

Speaking of Blossom, I thought the concept behind the ships was unique. Women found to have Potentia (essentially divine blood) are enlisted into the naval academy and eventually become ships. These living ships are powerful and wise and are respected. They, with the help of their captain, lead their crews and support and defend Britannia.

I also enjoyed the mythology aspect of this book. There were some references that went over my head, because I’m not that familiar with mythology, but for the most part everything was simple enough that I could understand.

I also enjoyed the world building in this book. I liked the concept of Potentia and the mages, priests/priestesses, adepts, and other career paths for people who have Potentia. I liked that there were mentions of politics, but the story wasn’t bogged down with who was in charge of who and whatnot.

I also loved the mystery aspect of this book. Maia was essentially an orphan with no idea who her family was. I enjoyed following the thread through the story of Maia’s background and trying to figure out how everything tied together. This mystery kept me very invested in the story and made me want to keep reading.

Overall, I thought this book was fantastic. It was full of rich world building and memorable characters. I’m looking forward to picking up the next book soon to see what’s next for Maia.

Thank you to BBNYA and The Write Reads for providing me with the material and book for this blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Templar Sword was one of the books I read for the final round of BBNYA 2023 and it was one of my favourite books of the year. It was full of fantastic characters and adventure and I loved every minute of it. I’m writing my review almost six months after reading it, and it turns out that my notes were not the greatest, so I apologize in advance if this review is a bit scattered.

My favourite thing about The Templar Sword was that it was an adventure story. I liked the journey from place to place, not knowing what would happen next. I liked the sense of danger and wondering how the main characters would get out of the sticky situations they found themselves in. I also enjoyed the questions surrounding the templar sword and if it was real and if they’d find it.

I also liked the characters in this book. Noah, the main character, was a great main character that I was able to root for. There were a few moments where I thought he was overstepping, but I understood that he wanted to prove himself to his father and his father’s crew. I also enjoyed the dynamics between the characters and I thought Viggo and Isabelle were quite fun. I also loved Noah’s father, Magnus. It was clear that Magnus was flawed, but he was trying to do the right thing.

Even though this book was a whirlwind of adventure, I thought it was well paced. It didn’t feel too jumpy, though there were some moments where I had to suspend my disbelief. Fortunately, the book was fun and enjoyable, so it was easy to suspend my disbelief and get sucked into the adventure. I also thought this book was unique and it was nice reading something that felt fresh and original.

One thing I want to note is that this is the second book featuring Noah, Magnus, and the rest of the characters, though it can be read as a standalone. I think it works okay as a standalone, but I think reading the first book might have given be a bit more background information on the secret Order that Magnus is a part of and Noah wants to join.

Overall, I thought The Templar Sword was a fun adventure and I’m looking forward to reading more books set in this universe.

 Thank you to the Write Reads for organizing this tour and for providing me with the materials for it. Thank you to the publisher (Aladdin Books) for providing me with a digital copy of this book for the blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a fun middle-grade book full of action and adventure, The Legendary Mo Seto is the book for you!

The Legendary Mo Seto follows Modesty (Mo) Seto as she tries to land a role in a martial arts movie. Unfortunately for Mo, there are quite a few obstacles in her way, including not meeting the minimum height requirement for the role. With help from her best friend Nacho, Mo perseveres and works hard to try to land the role.

The Legendary Mo Seto has some great messages in it about bravery, perseverance, believing in yourself, friendship, that size isn’t everything, and how things aren’t always what they seem. This book has some great character development and it was fun seeing Mo’s personal growth throughout the story.

This book had some very loveable characters that I was rooting for along the way. I wanted Mo to succeed. I loved her friendship with Nacho. I also loved learning more about some of the secondary character and how Mo’s relationship with them evolved throughout the book.

This book also had a bit of a fun mystery element to it. Something weird is going on with Mo’s dad and she doesn’t know what’s it is. She also found a mysterious book in her basement that outlines a mysterious martial art. When she asks her dad about it, he evades her questions and forbids her from learning more about it. On top of all of that, weird things keep on happening on the film set. These elements made me want to keep reading to find out how they were connected and to find out what was going on.

The Legendary Mo Seto was also full of lots of fun action scenes. I enjoyed the martial art scenes and how dedicated Mo was to learning and trying to be the best. This book had some adventure elements to it and they did not disappoint.

Overall, The Legendary Mo Seto is a fun middle-grade book. It’s full of lovable characters and it has plenty of action to keep readers on their toes, wondering what will happen next.