Monthly Musings – September 2016

This is a where I look back at what I read (or tried to read) during the past month. I also plan on highlighting my experiences in any book club reads I from the month as well. I will always start with any books I would label as a surprise find/under-read books so if anyone missed my reviews for them, and don’t make it to the end of this post, they’ll be easy to find.

Another busy and fast month! I have been keeping busy trying to juggle all of my online activities, and keeping a balance with real life. Our recruitment effort for The Speculative Herald went really well, we are still narrowing down the field a bit, but I am really happy with the number and quality of applicants. Hopefully this will result in a more solid schedule over at TSH.

Highlighted Read from September

Review Summary 

• [1 Sep] Mirror Image: A Novel by Michael Scott, Melanie Ruth Rose ★★★★
• [8 Sep] Of Sand and Malice Made by Bradley P. Beaulieu ★★★★
• [12 Sep] Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal ★★★★
• [19 Sep] The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin ★★★★
• [22 Sep] The Bloodsworn by Erin Lindsey ★★★★
• [30 Sep] Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson ★★★★½

 September Backlist Burndown

For September, I read Rae Carson’s Walk on Earth a Stranger based on all the rave reviews. Honestly, I had heard nothing negative about it. After reading it, I concur. Was just a wonderful little book, and I’ve already purchased the next in the series.

Here’s what other people read and burned off their backlist this month! It makes me happy to see other people joining in with this, so thanks to all of you! 🙂 Anyone else that posted a backlist review this month, feel free to link up! Hope to see another great set of books for May.

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What I Read

• The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin (Female Authored Epic Fantasy)- I left this book feeling like Jemisin really knows how to end a book in a way that makes you feel satisfied yet so eager for the next book. That said, I didn’t love this one on quite the same level as the first one. The use of second person seemed to bother me more in this one. But, still a really good story/series.
• Walk on Earth a Strange by Rae Carson (Weird Western) – A number of my friends read and just loved this one last year. So, looking for a weird western for Bingo, I decided to give it a go. Love the voice of the main character, really looking forward to reading the next one that just came out.
• The Apartment by S. L. Grey (could count for Two Authors, but I filled that one already). This was a great spooky read for anyone looking to set the mood for the fall/Halloween and doesn’t plan to house swap anytime soon shudder
• Nevernight by Jay Kristoff – I have to admit, I had some mixed feeling about this one in the beginning. Some places, the writing style made me feel distant from the text, and would offer up what I felt were huge info dumps. There was also a strong YA feel to parts of it, though the graphic violence and sex would likely keep most people from labeling it YA. But, I loved how it all came together in the end and am really curious about the next book.
• Nine Princes in Amber by Robert Zelazny (Decade I was born) – So they forced me to read a book from the 70s. Considering I rarely read anything more than a couple years old, this was definitely out of my typical set of books. That said, this book aged incredibly well. Like, amazingly well. I really enjoyed it as well. Thanks Bingo for stretching my horizons! 😀
• The Facefaker’s Game by Chandler J. Birch – this is a debut book set to release in November. It was fun, features a number of tropes, but thats not always a bad thing. So, if you are looking for a new coming of age type of story featuring thieves and magic, this could be a good choice. I definitely enjoyed it.

/r/fantasy Bingo Card Update

Looking Forward to October 2016