Author: Ryan

Book Review – Courting Justice by R.L. Sommer

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Courting Justice

Jake Lehman and his wife, Sydney, have left Washington D.C. for a fresh start in San Francisco. Their legal careers are on the rise, but so are tensions between them as they continually find themselves on opposing sides of cases concerning judicial ethics and gender equality. Their conflicting views on the topic―coupled with growing career obligations, social pressures, and constant travel―come to a head when both Jake and Sydney are recommended for a Supreme Court seat.

With rising pressure threatening to divide the Lehmans, an innocent encounter is misconstrued by prying eyes and puts their relationship and Jake’s career in jeopardy. Can Jake and Sydney’s relationship withstand the intricacies of these cases and the complications of their careers?

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WWW Wednesday – May 19, 2021

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Nothing! 👻 I’m between books at the moment. I did take the free time to finally post my review of Light of the Jedi, if you’d like to check that out. It’s not often that I’m behind on reviews (because I read so slow).

Recently Finished

Doctor Aphra Unspeakable Rebel SuperweaponOver the weekend I finally read through the last two volumes of the first Doctor Aphra series, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End, both by Simon Spurrier et al. I really wish I had read through these a lot sooner, as they tied together with details from earlier books, which I was fuzzier on the specifics of this far removed from reading. She continued to be an appreciably complex figure, her selfishness harming people she cares about so often, and these last two books had some great twists and turns that really dove into her oscillating nature. I also love how this series continues to be the place for all the weirder little details in the Star Wars universe. I wish the more mainstream stuff would take a leaf from this series.

Courting JusticeI also read through Courting Justice by R.L. Sommer (sequel to Recusal) over the weekend, an eARC I received a little while ago, which is set to be published next week. It was pretty short, so I’m happy to have gotten through it so quickly. I don’t normally start books if I haven’t read the first in the series, but I was assured that reading the first one wouldn’t be necessary to appreciate this book. I wonder how much it would have made me feel differently if I had. Nevertheless, fiction about the legal system isn’t in my usual wheelhouse, so I thought I’d give it a go. I plan to have a review up on Monday, so I don’t want to expound too much about specifics here. Not one of my favourites, I’ll tell you that much.

Reading Next

BacchanalUp next, I’m going to be reading another eARC, which I’m hoping to have done before the end of the month: Bacchanal by Veronica Henry. Featuring a young woman with latent magical powers joining an evil carnival that travels around the Depression-era South, this is a book I’ve been especially curious about over the last little while. I’ve stopped myself from looking into too much more information about this book, so I can go in as fresh as possible, but I have a good feeling about it. It’s ticking a lot of boxes for me.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Book Review – The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

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Light of the Jedi

Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule is the first novel of The High Republic, a multimedia series of stories set in the Star Wars universe, 200 years before Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It is a time of great prosperity for the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. New systems are regularly coming into the fold and the Republic is looking to expand their outreach to the more overlooked corners of the galaxy. Central to this cause is Starlight Beacon, a new space station located in the Outer Rim territories that will soon act as a prominent Jedi outpost, safe haven, and literal beacon to aid travelers as they navigate these dangerous regions.

 All is not as well as it seems in the galaxy, however, as a seemingly freak accident in hyperspace has caused massive pieces of debris to enter the Hetzal system, travelling at near light speed and threatening death and destruction to anything in their path. With billions of lives on the line, only a contingent of Jedi and the fleet of the Republic Defense Coalition have a chance of mitigating this great disaster. As more and more systems eventually come under threat as well, attention turns to an infamous group of marauders known as the Nihil, who pose a greater threat than the Republic and the Jedi could possibly imagine.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – May 12, 2021

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

ThePrincessDiaristI’m a good 70% of the way through The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher. I’d have liked to have had it done, but some personal plans got in the way of any further reading time (not that I’m complaining). I’ve got a mix of emotions about this book. On the one hand I’m really enjoying it as a rather frank memoir about a young person who grew up around Hollywood stardom having her own whirlwind experiences on the set of a film she had no idea would become so big. On the other hand, I feel like there was some sleight of hand here, because it’s much more about her affair with Harrison Ford and what she recalls of their relationship than it is her experiences around the film, which is what I was expecting. I am enjoying it regardless, but I can’t help but feel misled.

Recently Finished

Alas, nothing this week.👻 I really ought to get back to reading comic books. I’m really letting those slide now…

Reading Next

Doctor Aphra A Rogue's EndI’ve yet to start those High Republic comics yet, which I’ll certainly get to, but I think I’ll also read the final two volumes of Doctor Aphra by Simon Spurrier et al, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End. These are the last two volumes in the first series about the character. There’s a whole other series to start, which I believe began in 2020, but I really need to finish this up first. I feel much more comfortable letting a new series languish than one I’ve been in the middle of for years.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Book Review – Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

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Norse Mythology

With a title that obscures nothing, Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is a 2017 collection of old Norse myths, retold by the author, a longtime lover of these old stories and heavily influenced by them in his own writing. Using the best primary sources available to him, such as the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, he regales readers with tales including the creation of the universe, the nature of the World Tree, the adventures of powerful gods like Thor and Odin, the misadventures and mischief of the giant Loki, and many more, weaving each tale into a loose narrative arc that starts with the beginning of all things and ends with their destruction.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – May 5, 2021

Ryan8 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

ThePrincessDiaristLast night I started reading The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, the author’s memoir of her experience starring in the original Star Wars, including excerpts from a journal she kept at the time. I’m only about 50 pages in, and so far it’s just been memoirs. I’ve been enjoying it so far, though her writing style took a bit of getting used to so soon after I finished the last novel I was reading. It’s straightforward enough, but being more reflective of a life lived, she has jumped back and forth a bit between periods of time, though not dramatically. It’s got a nice conversational tone, at any rate, and I really like her sense of humour, which is honest, irreverent, and a little biting.

Recently Finished

Light of the JediMonday night I finished reading Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, the first novel in the The High Republic series of media, set 200 years before the Skywalker Saga. I ended up committing to some reading quotas over the weekend, helping me to power through the book a lot faster. The catastrophic incident that took up a great deal of the beginning of the novel was a little protracted, but I ended up really loving the way events unfolded in its wake. A few of the perspective characters felt superfluous, but I enjoyed a good majority of the new characters introduced in this book, especially the way the villains were built up over the course of the story. I’m really excited to read more of these books. I should have a full review up soon.

Reading Next

The High Republic Issue 1I’ve got a couple of ARCs to choose from that I want to be starting next, but I haven’t decided which I want to read first, so I’ll refrain from being too specific until I’ve made up my mind. What I’m pretty excited to dig into finally, though, are the issues I’ve slowly accumulated of a High Republic comic book series that has been coming out since January. I’m happy I restrained myself from starting there, because from the scant details I know, it seems to be dealing with some of the fallout from Light of the Jedi.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

New Books & Novel Discoveries (April 2021)

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Spring’s been hitting a little differently this year, eh? Or is it just me? The first half of this past month was so surprisingly warm and welcome, it’s too bad the latter half decided to act like regular old Spring with mud, cool weather, and the occasional flurries. What an odd month it’s been. I almost had very little to show for new books this month, but I couldn’t resist hitting up my local bookstore this week.

Without further ado, on to the books!Read More »

WWW Wednesday – April 28, 2021

Ryan6 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Over the weekend I started reading Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule, one of the first books under the banner of The High Republic, which is an era set hundreds of years before the film saga. When I started this over the weekend I had lofty ideas of reading quotas, getting 50 pages done a day to speed up reading. I read just over 50 pages on Saturday, and have made no progress since. So that’s a bad start with that. I’m enjoying the book so far though, which has been introducing a large cast of new Jedi characters. An unexpected catastrophe is affecting and entire star system and a large force of Jedi, alongside a Republic fleet, are trying to save as many people as they can. It’s exciting stuff, but I want to see where the story goes once things quiet down too.

Recently Finished

Sadly, nothing this week. I’ve continued to neglect comics. Boo to me. 👻

Reading Next

I’ve still had trouble deciding what I’ll read next from my to-read lists, but to do away with the indecision I’ve just now decided to go with The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher, which is a collection of her old journal entries she wrote during the filming of the original Star Wars. I want to make sure I keep up with my lists in May, but I intend to get two ARCs finished that month too, so I’ve mainly picked this above the others because it’s relatively shorter. I am excited to finally read some of Fisher’s writing too, mind you.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Book Review – Where Have You Gone Without Me? by Peter Bonventre

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Where Have You Gone Without Me

Where Have You Gone Without Me? is a recently published crime thriller novel by Peter Bonventre, a longtime journalist and award-winning sportswriter. The story follows Eddie Sabella, a 37-year-old hot shot reporter and columnist at a tabloid newspaper in New York City. The year is 2006, when a local church is rocked by a supposed miracle: their statue of St. Joseph appears to be crying real tears. Eddie gets an exclusive thanks to a tip and at first things play out like any other story for him, who is ever on the prowl for the next subject of his column. It soon becomes the story of a lifetime, however, after the statue is stolen, putting Eddie in contact with a colourful cast of characters including restaurateurs, aging mobsters, and a long lost love who up and disappeared on him 15 years before.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – April 21, 2021

Ryan2 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m between books at the moment, so nothing! Boo! 👻

Recently Finished

LovesicknessOver the weekend I read through Lovesickness by Junji Ito, the newly released story collection of the manga author’s work. I posted a full review of it on Monday. The headlining story was quite good, which came as a surprise since it took me a while to warm up to it. I was also surprised by how long it was, expecting at first that it would only be one chapter long. Turns outs “Lovesickness” is 60% of the collection, so this book wasn’t the same type of story collection as Shiver, Smashed, or Venus in the Blind Spot. The remainder of the book brought the reading experience down tremendously though, which was a shame because I think that main story was one of the best Ito stories I’ve read in a while.

Where Have You Gone Without MeLast night I finished reading my eARC copy of Where Have You Gone Without Me? by Peter Bonventre. Since my last proper update about this book, I warmed up to it considerably. I’m not sure this will make me crazy for mystery thrillers going forward, but it certainly hasn’t turned me off of them. It was something of a slow burn, taking its time to build up the case. I kept expecting it to take a sudden, sensational turn, but it kept things fairly low-key and down to earth, though still compelling, for the most part. I should have a full review up soon, I’m still collating my feelings on the whole thing. I can’t remember the last time a singular story made my feelings fluctuate so, but I’m happy they ended up more positive.

Reading Next

Light of the JediI’m of two minds right now, because I haven’t really chosen what I’m going to read next as far as my to-read lists go, but I have decided I want to read Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule finally. I keep meaning to start this book as one I almost exclusively read at home, a supplemental read, but so far that’s just left me not starting it at all. I really want to start getting into these High Republic books, though, so I’m just going to start it, and that’s that. I’ll decide on another book from my lists to pick up soon too, I just can’t make up my mind on that right now.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.