A Month of Reading: March Book Reviews

Unlike most semesters, I found time to read during the mid-semester crunch, and so I took full advantage of it. Between reading and obsessively trying for 100% achievement completion in Banished I don’t have time for individual reviews, so instead I’m giving a brief summation of my impressions for each book. Titles include:

RomanceBarbarian’s Redemption, Fire in His Blood, Collide, Apricot Kisses, seven books from the Morna’s Legacy series, Scandalous Desires, and It’s Complicated.

FantasyOnly the Stones Survive, The Graveyard Book, Collide (heavy genre overlap), A Darker Shade of Magic, and A Gathering of Shadows.

Reviews are in order of date read. (My star ratings are explained here.)

Only the Stones Survive by Morgan Llywelyn 1.5-Stars

It took me two weeks to finish this book, and then only because I brought it as my only form of entertainment (by that point, nearly halfway through it) on a trip with a four hour layover followed by a four hour flight. I’m still not quite sure what this story was about. The characters were forgettable and far too numerous for the book’s length and the plot dragged. Every time it finally would get interesting, the viewpoint would shift. I give the story one star for its world-building and a half star for being readable (even if it was boring). If you’re into Irish mythology the book may intrigue you, otherwise I’d give it a pass.

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Review: Refine

RefineRefine by Nichole Van

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Refine is the amazing conclusion to the House of Oak series (available as a Kindle Unlimited option on Amazon). The books just kept getting better as the series progressed, and this one I could barely put down long enough to sleep.

UPDATE: In March 2017, a surprise fifth book was released in this series: Outshine. Refine was the original “final” book at the time of this writing.

Both Jasmine and Timothy (Linwood) experience great character development throughout the book.

We go into it apprehensive because Linwood has been a shaky character to this point, but who he is, how he got there, and who he becomes is an amazing journey. A lot of the story takes place in a setting that forces Timothy to finally take a good look at his life, and how he copes with unfamiliar territory is both hilarious and endearing. Him watching a movie was probably one of my favorite parts of this book, followed by his interactions with James.

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