Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Book Review: The Last Light by Pirateaba

 



Goodreads Summary: [Kings] awake, and [Emperors] build new lands. Change is coming to the world, from the King of Destruction moving to a certain [Doctor] finding more friends from home.
The Wandering Inn has a [Princess] who solves problems rather than creates them, and her name is Lyonette. Yet what happens when the [Innkeeper] returns to manage her inn? Lyonette must learn to be a good employee rather than manage everything herself, and sharing power is never easy...

Nor is it ever simple in war, but that is where Geneva Scala remains. In bloodier and increasingly brutal battlefields, The Last Light of Baleros is now growing in fame, but there is no future there. She is desperate, working against hostile forces who see her intervention as dangerous, and still bears the wounds of her previous war to save lives. But she is no longer alone.

Goodreads Rating: 4.62 stars with over 1700 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Magic, Fiction, Fae, Adventure, RPG, LITRPG, Action

Goodreads Challenge: 6/60 (I already feel impending doom!)

2024 Reading Challenge: #2 Read a book by an author you've previously read (Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello Readers! As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I just finished The Last Light, book 5 in the Wandering Inn series by Pirateaba. I wanted to get a blog post out while a few things were fresh in my memory. It's been hard for me to write posts about this series. I'm listening to it as an audiobook and have been starting one book right after the other. Events are getting blurred together, but I will try my best. Going forward, I'm going to take notes if I can.

This book was one of my favorites in the series so far. However, I've long since given up on predicting where this story will go. It's just sheer chaos. The last five hours were an absolute rollercoaster of emotions for me. There are also so many strings that I am still determining how they will connect or even if they will. I've been trying to figure out how to review this without giving spoilers, so I will try to provide some general thoughts about some of the characters/groups. Since I'm doing the audiobook, forgive me if I don't get character names correct. I am way too lazy to go through the web series and get the spelling.

Erin: Erin feels like the drunk friend you can't take your eye off, or they'll go missing. I'm listening to the series with a friend and am a book behind him. I've lost track of how many times I've proclaimed, "Erin is so damn stupid!" That said, she's loyal, sweet, and cares about her friends. But damn it, woman, think before you do.

Rhioka: Rhioka really grew on me in this book. She's still hot-headed-know-it-all, but I like her take no shit attitude. A lot of her story in this book wrecked me emotionally.

Lyonette: Now that the incidents in book 4 have thoroughly humbled her, I'm no longer rooting for her to be punched in the face. She's becoming one of my more liked characters. And what she did for Brunker. 😭

Lakin/Doreen: Love them. They're adorable, and I want nothing but the best for them.

Geneva: Her scenes fascinate me. The combination of her medical knowledge with Okasha's healing is so interesting. If they teamed up with Pisces' ability to mend bones, they'd be one hell of a medical team.

Octavia: I feel bad for what Erin puts her through, but she also annoys the ever-loving hell out of me.

Horns of Hammerod: They feel like a real team now. I am amused by the weird friendship between Kisemver and Pisces.

Antinium: In the audiobook, one visiting Antinium sounds like Sean Connery, and I can't unhear it. Is it weird that I like the Antinium? At least the individual ones. Bird even amuses me, as odd as he is. 

I have more thoughts, but they get spoilery, and I'm not sure which book some of my thoughts are about. Plus, I'm still processing the book's last 5-8 hours. I absolutely love this series, though, and I can't recommend it enough for Fantasy/RPG fans. It's amazing. I plan to start book 6 tomorrow. If you've read/listened to the series and want to ask me specific thoughts about books 1-5, feel free to use the Contact Me portion of the blog. 




Wednesday, February 28, 2024

2024 Reading Challenge Update - January and February

 


Hello, Readers! Happy almost March! I hope everyone is doing well. Here is a quick update on the books I read in the middle of January and February. It's a short list. I was sick most of January and am just now getting back into the swing of reading/listening to audiobooks. Also, I got addicted to Palworld. 

I primarily focused on listening to The Wandering Inn on Audible. I finished both books three and four of the series. I'm jumping into one book as soon as I finish the previous one. It makes it hard to separate my thoughts for each book into a blog post. It's definitely becoming one of my favorite series. I never know what will happen, and there are so many strings that I can't figure out how they connect. There are so many cliffhangers, and it keeps it exciting. As I type this, I'm listening to book five, and I am losing my train of thought because I keep getting distracted by what's happening in the story. Check out this series if you like video games, fantasy, and adventure. 

I also read A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. It took me a while to get into it, but I enjoyed it. I'll eventually finish the series, but I want to make some progress with other books before I get back into the series. I am not prepared to dive into a twenty-book series. 

Exciting announcement for Wheel of Time friends! I'm going to be at JordanCon in April! Tress is finally getting her wish and having me join her. If you will also be at the Con and would like to say hey, let me know. 

Here's a quick update for the Challenge:

Level 1: Book of the Month Club

1 Read a book you got for free

2 Read a book by an author you've previously read-

3 Read a book that is under 400 pages

4 Read a book published in 2014 (10 years ago)

5 Reread a book you have recommended to someone else

6 Read a retelling of a fairy tale or a classic novel

7 Read a book that is a comedy or satire

8 Read a book that's been on your "shelf" for over a year

9 Read a book with a color in the title

10 Read a book from the Los Angeles Public Library's staff recommendations // https://www.lapl.org/books-emedia/lapl-reads/staff-recommendations

11 Read a caper story (heist, thievery, etc.)

12 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 2: Casual Reader Club

13 Read book 1 of a Duology

14 Read book 2 of a Duology

15 Read a book about faeries - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

16 Read a book you meant to read for last year's challenge

17 Read a book with three or more colors on the cover

18 Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with a family member

19 Read a book published by Simon & Schuster or one of its imprints

20 Read a book with the word "Dark" in the title

21 Read a book published in 2004 (20 years ago)

22 Read a book with a Gothic theme

23 Read a book on a banned book list

24 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club

25 Read an Enemies to Lovers story

26 Read a Lovers to Enemies (or Friends to Enemies) story

27 Read a book that starts with the letter "S."

28 Read a book from Refinery29's "The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time"// https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/best-books-of-all-time

29 Read a book with a grey cover

30 Read a book by an author you think has an interesting name - Winter Solstice by Pirateaba

31 Read a Historical Fiction novel

32 Read a book with the name of a place in the title

33 Read a book about a veterinarian (or someone who works with animals)

34 Read the first book in a series you've wanted to start

35 Read a book that was published before you were born

36 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 4: Speed Reader Club

37 A book by Eleanor Hibbert under any of her pseudonyms // https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Alice_Burford

38 Read a Memoir

39 Read a book that is referenced in a film or TV show

40 Read a book with a skull on the cover

41 Read a book with the word "Truth" in the title

42 Read a book that involves gamer/fandom/geek culture- Flowers of Esthelm by Pirateaba

43 Read a book with a Scientist as the main character

44 Read a book that takes place in a cold climate- The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson

45 Read a book that has double letters in the title

46 Read a book by two or more authors

47 Read a book involving or inspired by Egyptian mythology

48 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 5: Overachiever Club

49 Read a book with a Unicorn in it- Fae and Fare by Pirateaba

50 Read a book that takes place during the 18th century (1701-1800)

51 Read a book by Jonathan Coe

52 Read a book with over 700 pages

53 A book with a title that has 5 words

54 Read a non-fiction book

55 Read a book with a picture of food or drink on the cover

56 Read a book by an author with Fred in their name

57 Read a book that takes place in South America

58 Read a book you previously started but left unfinished

59 Rickrolled! Read a book with one (or more) of the following words in the title: Never Going To Give You Up

60 Free Space! Pick any book