smartflutist661's reviews
1350 reviews

Mage Assassins & Other Misfits by Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen

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fast-paced

4.25

Exactly what I was expecting, plus Kit’s power is evolving in an interesting direction. Very much looking forward to the conclusion. 
Evocation by S.T. Gibson

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3.25

Both the plot and the romance felt underdeveloped. One or the other I could get behind, but both made this somewhat unsatisfying. I did appreciate the (somewhat) rare triad romance, but not enough to continue the series.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

This was hard to read, but entirely captivating—such that I sat down, started it, and finished without more than shifting position a couple of times. In particular, being in Annie Bot's head while
she had no choice but to want to please her abuser
was brilliantly disturbing.

I also appreciated that at the end
she puts herself in a position to help others like her, at nonzero risk to herself.
There are a lot of ways this could have ended that would be far less satisfying, though perhaps turn this into just as good a book but of a different kind.
Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff

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3.5

I loved finally getting to see the "enemy" in this century+ war. The beginning dragged a bit. Worried about how the series is going to move forward, though.
The Heart of Valor by Tanya Huff

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adventurous

3.0

Most liked getting to spend some time with raw recruits in this one. The big mystery wasn't super mysterious, but it also wasn't so obvious that it made the book worse.
The Better Part of Valor by Tanya Huff

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adventurous

3.5

I'm a sucker for a good dungeon delve, and what else is a seemingly-abandoned alien space ship? I appreciate that we're getting a different kind of adventure each book so far.
Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff

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adventurous dark

4.0

Classic military sci-fi, balancing aliens, humor, and the horrors of war within pew-pew lasers. (Though they use projectile weapons for anti-hacking reasons...).
Dying of the Light by George R.R. Martin

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adventurous
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dirk was both a bit pathetic and occasionally too familiar, but he did get a lot of character growth over the book. Very reminiscent of Andre Norton from a similar period, for me. The rogue planet was very cool, all of the characters had a strong voice, and there were real stakes to everything—Martin's raw talent was definitely on display here. Would recommend to any fans of this era of sci-fi.
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

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3.0

The fact that Vonnegut didn't seem to like the 50s much kept this very 50s-esque book from being even worse. But overall, while there were strong, clear themes, as a story it fell down a bit. Basically, 2.5 stars for being thematically interesting, an additional half a star for... kind of having a single character?
You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.5

Pirates! Living spaceships! ... werelions? The writing was occasionally clunky, which lost it a half star or so, but it did get better (or I noticed it less) over the course of the book, and the science-fantasy world was interesting enough that I'm definitely going to continue. Though this I would also have liked it if this book were about twice as long so it could go into more depth with the worldbuilding.