Tag: reading

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Book Challenges Book Reviews Books Booktok/Booktube Featured Bookish

What Happened When I Read 7 Books in 7 Days (And What It Did to My Reading Taste)

Estimated Reading Time: 6min

I have challenged myself to do something that I’m not actually fully convinced is going to happen… to read 7 books, in 7 days. That means I’ll need to read one book every day for a week to complete this challenge. Let’s see if we made it.

BOOK 1: The Fine Print (Lauren Asher)

asher

As part of my reading books without paying attention to my normal content warnings, I gave this one a go… I’m glad I did.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Grumpy sunshine with a Disney park type background was really fun. The look into running something like that was very interesting, and while there are documentary style pieces about what it’s like working at a park like Disney, this was a deeper look into a potential world that could exist (minus the grumpy and temporary man in charge all of a sudden looking to head a project with a deadline).
I thought the character development was pretty well done. The plot thread in the other brothers in a way that I am excited for their stories.

Grab the book Here

BOOK 2: The Wake-Up Call (Beth O’Leary)

Honestly, this book was forgettable for me, and the only reason I kept reading it was because of this challenge.

I don’t know why exactly you should root for people who clearly dislike each other so strongly to push aside that feeling and admit their attraction to each other, but here we are. If the “hate” was dialled down a little more, I would have bought into it a little more. Still, I see what we were going for and it was fine.

Grab the book Here

BOOK 3: Wilder (Rebecca Yarros)

Okay, so I’ll admit to a semi-cheat for this one, as I’d already read through around 1/4 before I came back to it, but due to so little of it being read beforehand (and how much I wanted to finish the book) I’m going to count it!
Took me by surprise, Reminded me of The Suite life on Deck if they were doing extreme sports. Outside of the Instant attraction these 2 people seemed to have 21 another, It didn’t really see why they would want to spend time together outside of when they had to. I don’t know how Realistic it felt for people to build a foundation based only on attraction.
I did like the trying to find the person sabotaging angle, I enjoyed the extreme sports and the way it tied into the cruise ship around the world and the university experience, And I thought the characters Made sense and their motivations and decisions also seem to lineup with who they were written as In general.

Grab the book Here

BOOK 4: Red Star Rebels (Amie Kaufman)

I don’t know quite what I was expecting with this book, but after enjoying the Illuminae files series so much, I decided to give it a go and I quite liked it.

I liked this “if Die Hard were on mars” type story as the two main characters were thrown together in a live or die countdown. It felt a little rushed at the end, and I could have had a bit more of that fleshed out, but I quite enjoyed it. The book was short enough and exciting enough that I could see myself reading it again in the future.

Grab the book Here

BOOK 5: Yelllowface (Rebecca F Kuang)

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this book, but I’ve tried reading a RF Kuang book before and I didn’t get very far… this was a different story!

I was invested from page one for this book and the increased unhinged mind of the main character grew until the very end of the story in a believable way without being too trite.
The commentary on race wasn’t too in your face, and seemed quite natural in this story and setting.

Grab the book Here

BOOK 6: Heist Royale (Kayvion Lewis)

lewis

Alright, so I did technically do it again. I had already read through 1/3 or so of this book previously, but it was so long ago, and I had been having so much trouble to actually finish this book, that if I hadn’t included it in this challenge, I don’t know if I would have ever finished it so… no regrets.

While I really enjoyed the first book, this one was hard to get through. I think the gambit in book 1was just a bit more interesting, and better laid out than the challenges in this book.
I spent some of this book not absorbing much, and not caring much. The stakes didn’t feel as compelling, but it was still interesting to see the different heists unfold.

Grab the book Here

BOOK 7: Laddertop Vol 1 (Orson Scott Card)

Okay, this might seem like a cheat, but I maintain that Manga is still reading! So… yep, we did it!

Loved the design, the plot itself was okay but the first volume didn’t do anything particularly engaging just yet. I would be mildly interested to see where the plot goes, but had a lot of fun with the animation.

Grab the book Here

Well, that was a very interesting challenge to create for myself. I honestly didn’t think I was going to make it, but it helped that I was immersive reading (audio and physical book at the same time) for about half of these. Guess it goes to show that you can read a book quickly if you don’t have much else going on 🙂

Have you read any of these books? Share your thoughts on them in the comments.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book vs Movie Books Featured Bookish

Project Hail Mary: Why the Book Works Better Than It Should

book vs movie

Estimated Reading Time: 4min

I’m not going to lie, but I was SUPER excited when I saw the ads for this movie being released because Project Hail Mary was a favourite of mine from Andy Weir… Here we go! Careful reading below because SPOILERS!

I originally read this book back when it came out, but I decided to forge ahead with the movie with only a few years old memory of the actual book. Once I watched it, however, I had to go back and read it properly to compare. This time, though, I was able to listen to the audiobook.

Audiobook Advantage

The whole reason the book had been recommended to me was apparently because of how good the audio was, and for Rocky’s sake, I have to agree!

How Faithful Was The Adaptation?

The movie did a great job at sticking pretty closely with the book, particularly the first 2/3 of the story. The last third condensed the science and for the sake of the screen time, thank you all. It didn’t take away from the story very much doing it that way, and because they had done such a great job with the rest of the adaptation, it was forgivable and didn’t feel too smooshed as it can with some movies that do this.

The Rocky Reveal Problem

I was disappointed when I saw the trailer that Rocky was such a focus, because when you read the book, EVERYONE kept that a secret. You found out about Rocky as Grace did after a portion of the book as a big surprise. I understand why the trailer focussed on it, and Rocky is such a fun character that after the initial shock that the audience wasn’t going to get a fun surprise like Grace did, I was okay with it.

My Biggest Change From the Book

I felt like Ryan did a really good job at playing Grace on screen, but I don’t really know why we got a more humanised version of Stratt. She’s supposed to be unlikable. That’s the point. I don’t know why Hollywood is obsessed with trying to make people more likeable at the detriment of the ‘bad guy’ feel they are supposed to have. I know people like to think that deep down the troubled villains are just tortured, but sometimes people are just bad. They just let the evil win, and there’s not much we can do to excuse or to explain it away (speak to a psychopathic serial killer one day and then say people are just complicated). Having said that, Stratt wasn’t some sociopathic killer, but she didn’t need that much humanisation in my opinion. She could have just remained the character she was on page (who, by the by, did explain why she made the decisions she did and they did make sense… we just didn’t need the warm and fuzzies to round it out).

The Visual Experience

Seeing the visual of things that were explained in the book was amazing. I loved being able to see not just an interpretation of Rocky, but the ships and the story unfolding. I think they did a great job at making the movie look good visually. This story was made to be visual, and I enjoyed it a lot.

So… Did the Book or Movie Win?

So, the final question remains, did the book or the movie win out as the best? Well, the book explored a lot more science, a lot more inner dialogue and emotion, as books often do. However, the movie was able to show some of the incredible visuals of this story and explore another side that the book couldn’t. I actually think I’m calling a tie, because I was so impressed with how the movie handled the story. If I HAD to pick, the book would probably squeak by, simply because of the additional details it was able to bring (and there’s more Rocky in there than the movie!).

Grab the book Here

Have you seen Project Hail Mary, or read the book? Did you enjoy it, or think it could have improved? Share below!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books Booktok/Booktube Featured Bookish

I Read Viral BookTok Books With No Rules Again | Here’s the Pattern I Can’t Ignore

Estimated Reading Time: 3min

The first in this series did great, the second was a flame out, but what about the third? I’m reading books from Booktok and Booktube while throwing out my normal reading rules. I don’t usually like explicit scenes or darker themes, certain trigger/content warnings put a book out of the running, but we’re ignore those rules and trying out these books to see if they’re worth it.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Wasnt expecting a war between “gods” and that is not something I was interested to read. The conflict of fighting journalists was resolved before the end of the book…. it was the whole reason I came and I wasn’t interested to see the new direction of the story afterwards. Didn’t finish this one.

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Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

Ridiculous, horrendous, hilarious. The idea is so preposterously amazing that I absolutely loved it. Even amongst the dark, very intense moments and ideas, the humour made it enjoyable. Something that would otherwise be horrible, somehow is now incredible. I now officially want a cat to win and rule the world… yup.

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Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston

poston

A bit slow to start for me but once it got going, I had a lot of fun. Hearing someone else’s thoughts until you write the song that plagues you both was such a fun idea. Part Music and Lyrics, this was laced also with dementia and family history.

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The Do-Over by T.L. Swan

While some of this book was genuinely hilarious, I thought Christopher was the most insufferable, selfish, entitled, un redeemable asshole that didn’t deserve jack!
I don’t understand why she liked or chose him. He had literally zero redeemable moments. In fact, the idea that he was semi nice to a kid on the streets of Spain was NOT enough. He was a dick regardless. The story really was a love story between him and this kid because he didn’t do squat for the woman he supposedly loved, but then when this kid needs him, he’s willing to change it all. Nope. Why did she even bother with him? He didn’t have any character development or emotional intelligence upgrades. He started as an ass, and he ended as an ass. I wasn’t rooting for him whatsoever and she deserved better.

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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I loved the style that this book was in, loved the way The story unfolded, Just everything. I dont normally read something like this, But I’m so glad I made an exception. Because of the format, it was different and way more engaging for me. I was yelling at the book and my jaw dropped to the floor so many times as things happened. I was absolutely enthralled the entire time.

Grab the book Here

I think this was the first challenge where I found a five star book! And one that came remarkably close. Honestly, this round was a mixed bag, but some hit the mark and others fell flat. I think this back and forth has convinced me to hang up the hat.. or…..

Let’s do it one more time!

Have you read any of these books? Let me know what you thought.

See You in the Adventures
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Challenges Book Reviews Books Booktok/Booktube

I Read BookTok Favorites With No Rules | Here’s What Kept Repeating

Estimated Reading Time 3min

Normally, I avoid certain books (especially from Booktok or Booktube) because of content or trigger warnings. There are some books too explicit, too dark, too much with an ick of mine… but this time, I threw out all the rules.

I decided to read books that people swear are amazing, and ignore all my normal rules for reading – triggers and all! Let’s see if it was worth it 🙂

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Having this many POV can sometimes be a bit messy, but I think this was really well done. It added such incredible drama to the story, I love to jump in and out of people’s perspectives, plus when everybody in a heist is in a different spot as part of the team layout like this is necessary. I liked everyone. All the characters in their own ways were fantastic, they interacted with each other really well, and the plot moved forward with these character dynamics in mind. The actual heist/prison break itself was really well done. I enjoyed the setup, the planning, the execution, and everything in between.
The magic system was quite good, it was a bit of a spin on the normal type of abilities you can see in people. I like the way that this particular system spun things, and I would love to see more.

Grab the book Here

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Wow.
I wasn’t gonna read a book by Colleen but I’m really glad I chose this one. Even though there are some pretty intense themes in the story, I really enjoyed most of this. There is a little bit of trauma bonding, but a lot of really funny and cute moments as well. I was a lot more invested than I thought I would be. I liked the characters and the plot – it was really engaging.

Grab the book Here

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

I really wish this was not as spicy as it was, because I really liked this book. I don’t usually like spice however I was reading this as part of a challenge. The dynamics with the characters in this book was so fun to watch unfold. They were hilarious, I enjoyed the plot but it’s definitely a romance book that focuses on characters which was fine. I loved the characters. I had so much fun and I was giggling so often that if anyone else was home, they would’ve thought I was crazy.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book was not what I expected.
There was some parts of that I really liked, like looking into the Hollywood in the golden age. I also appreciated how candid the character of Evelyn Hugo was, and the way the relationship with Monique was explored.
I understand what the book was doing, but if I knew that going in, I probably wouldn’t have read it.
Pretty well written, pretty interesting the way the plot was expressed, and pretty engaging characters.

Grab the book Here

I think this experiment was a success! For the most part, I got great books, some of which taking me by utter surprise! While I am happy that I opened up my expectations for this, I’m not sure if I will keep going…

Just kidding – let’s do it again!

Have you read any of these? Let me know what you thought of them.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books Great Reads

The Recent Books That Completely Changed My Reading Mood

Estimated Reading Time: 3min

I had the absolute pleasure to read some AMAZING books recently. Some were 5 stars, others a little less, but all of them gave me such an incredible experience that I’m going to share!

The Perfect Rom-Com (Melissa Ferguson)

This book was hilarious, and I had so much fun reading it. It was not just giving two weeks notice, it was singing in the rain which I had so much fun with. I loved the characters, and found the story to be great. I enjoyed where we went, I loved how everything unfolded, and The relationship was so much fun. Getting a peek behind the curtain for writing is always fun, and I loved The relationships -they were so much fun. Getting a peek behind the curtain for writing is always fun, and I loved the humour and cool angle that was taken.
Fun from start to finish, and one of the best Romcoms I’ve read all year.

Grab the book Here

How to Plot A Payback (Melissa Ferguson)

She is two for two in recent reads!

Even without the reference to my favourite movie of all time, similarities to Friends (Neighbours.. I mean come on haha), and writer characters, I still would have loved this story.
The tv show element was really fun, and Lavender was not what I was expecting from the description. The characters themselves were great, and I loved seeing them interact and react.
Can I also say, no third act conflict or misunderstanding blah blah was so refreshing! I loved this. Things felt real and even though Lavender was a little push over ish, I know people like that so it still felt pretty authentic to the character.
It was fun, engaging, witty, romantic without being sappy, just good times all around.

Grab the book Here

Wandering Wild (Lynette Noni)

I had way more fun with this book then I thought I would. Even though I saw the ending coming 1,000,000 miles away, it was definitely a great way to end this – It made a great story, and it was a really good decision plot wise. I enjoyed the tension, I thought that the difficult background stories were woven in pretty well, and I enjoyed how the story progressed. It felt like a pretty natural progression given the circumstances, and I enjoyed the dynamics of the character characters and the plot.
A little Insta love-ish, but I didn’t mind so much.

Grab the book Here

The Chaos Grid (Lindsey Lewellen)

Enjoyed the world for this story, and could see the elements of Jonah in the story as well. The world Building was done really well, without slamming too much information in your face but also leaving too much out so you don’t understand. Well balanced, and very impressed with that.
I enjoyed the characters, the banter, and the way things unfolded. I thought it was really really well written, and there were some really great content in the book.

Grab the book Here

These books were so good that I had to share. What are some books that you’ve read recently that you would recommend?

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Reviews Books Great Reads

Books That Surprised Me (And Why I Didn’t See It Coming)

Estimated Reading Time: 4min

I read some books recently, some with high expectations, others with low or none – and the results were surprising!

Murder Between Friends (Liz Lawson)

Went into this book with Absolutely no context, hadn’t heard of it before, and wasn’t sure what to expect. I really enjoyed it. Even though I piece together bits and pieces of the story as I went through the book, I didn’t piece it all together in the correct order until the end. I was invested in the mystery, trying to figure out what was going on as I went through and was actually quite engaged. After reading a lot of books in a similar genre, I wasn’t sure if it would keep me engaged. It did.
The characters were very much acting like teenagers, but that’s the point in a YA book. I didn’t mind too much, though I did find Ally was very angry a lot of this book. It did kind of grate on me, and I also thought that Grace was a lot of a pushover all the way through as well, which also grated on me. Some of this book was written really well, the mystery in particular was fantastic. Character wise it was fine, I’m not a teenager so some of that is going to naturally not be as easy to connect to any more. Having said that, I still thought it was really well done.

Grab the book Here

The 49th Mystic (Ted Dekker)

dekker

I’m really of two minds with this story. On one hand, I see the deep theological concepts at work. On the other side though, I see some of what appears to be closer to New Age understanding. I don’t know how to marry the two together. I always thought that the Circle world looked a little too deeply into the demonic side (particularly the fourth instalment). I’m not saying that there wasn’t Christian themes and theology in the story – because you could find it in there, but a lot of what was explored felt less biblical/gospel related like the Circle series was originally, and a lot more of that “spiritual” kind. I always feel a bit squirmy in some of the exploration of the darker side of these books.
The story itself, I found to be quite interesting. I liked that Rachelle was trying to work through the idea of being blind both physically and spiritually. There were some very interesting themes that were explored and I liked the concept of the city of Eden. I was tossing up with the rating whether it would be higher or not, but I think that I was left with the feeling of unease more so than contemplation as is often the case with Dekker books. Having said that, there were moments that I was challenged in my own understanding, and my own situation. We can all be blind sometimes to things in our lives, but I think we need to weigh up a story like this with the Scriptures.

Grab the book Here

How To Lose A Lord in 10 Days (Sophie Irwin)

Mixture of how to lose a guy in 10 days and pride and prejudice. It was really fun, and this period of history in writing does not usually appeal to me. This was one of the exceptions. I am so glad I read this book, it was so much fun. I loved the back and forth, the one upmanship, and The absolute chaos. It was too fun to watch these characters interact, and how things unfolded.

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The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook (Brandon Sanderson)

I wasn’t going to read this book, but when I started it just to check it out briefly I couldn’t stop.

It was funny, interesting and kept me engaged the whole way through. This was a prime example of the amnesia storyline done well. I’m not usually a fan of mediaeval timelines, or anything to do with wizardry, but there was honestly not really any magic in that way. I also enjoyed the mediaeval time, mostly because it had people from a little further in our time technology wise.

I enjoyed discovering our main character as he kept going through the series, and how he interacted with everyone as he went through it.

Grab the book Here

While some books were nice surprises, others were disappointing, but that’s the nature of books. Sometimes you like them, and sometimes you don’t.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Advice Books Goals and Wrap Ups

I Was in a Reading Slump | Here’s What I Ended Up Reading (And Why It Didn’t Stick)

Estimated Reading Time: 6min

It’s been a while… and that’s because I’ve been in a book slump. Reading has been on the back burner, difficult to have time and space for, and overall just not much had been appealing to me. Having said that, I did get through some books in recent times, despite the slump, so here they are.

Two Can Play That Game (Leanne Yong)

Cute, fun, nerdy, everything you wanted. There was minimal romance, and most of it was about the games. If you love games, you’ll love this. I had a lot of fun seeing the Australian Malaysian world, and the character development was good too. I felt it was very slow paced, which made it a bit difficult for me to get through, but having said that, I also really enjoyed it. I found myself laughing out loud a lot, and I really liked Most of the book.

Grab the book Here

Unblemished (Sara Ella)

On one hand, I thought this book was quite interesting. The world had a lot to offer, the magic system quite fascinating, and I could see what the author was doing with plot and themes. However, there were so many points that made me frustrated or halted along the way. I will say one thing, this actually felt like a YA book – it was written for that audience – and I applaud that!
Unfortunately, there were a few things for me that didn’t make sense or just felt like they didn’t fit. Firstly, there is a steep learning curve (in my opinion) for the world and magic system. Especially for a YA story. You discover everything along with the main character El, but things are so complex (almost unnecessarily so) that it is a challenge to keep everything straight – including the people. That’s the next issue, so. Many. People. I had to try and keep track of a lot, who apparently are all their own islands and have depth. Normally this would be a good thing, but for a book so short and with so many other things to try and work through, it was too much. That leads me into another issue, so much of the book was eaten up at the start with the grief and real world stuff. I just wanted the story to start already; it felt a little too drawn out for me. Another thing that kept interrupting the flow of the story was all the flashbacks! They were so unnecessary. That page space could have been filled with more time to flesh out the world explaining; instead we got so many flashbacks that didn’t really serve a proper purpose.
Another thing is the very strange sibling dynamics in this book. Dude. Can we not?
I also don’t like love triangles so that was frustrating on a personal level. Joshua was so hot and cold and all over the place, it was hard to see what the heck the draw was. We didn’t see much of any of the reason we should root for him – a lot of that was just implied or seen quickly in a section of a flashback. We really needed more for him to see why El ignores all the bad treatment now for us to buy into it. Even if she won’t choose him at the end of the series (not sure yet how that’s going to work out), give us a reason not to hate him please.
I don’t see myself continuing but I don’t think it’s the target audience that is the reason.

Grab the book Here

Royal Heirs Academy (Lindsey Duga)

While I enjoyed this book, I did think maybe it was doing too many things in one book. There were four main characters we were following, or with their own back stories and their own current plot lines. There was The who’s gonna be the new air to the throne thread, there was also The how they’re going to get used to this exclusive and somewhat secretive unless you know the right people school, and make it work. There was a lot happening. Having said that, I still really enjoyed this book. I think a few less characters would’ve made it easier to follow, but I did like all the characters. I think the way the story progressed was good, but the ending felt a little bit out of character. I understand what they were doing, but I am a little split on how it went down. I thought it was very well written, and the characters were very interesting and easy to understand. I would read the next book, and I did quite enjoy it.

Grab the book Here

The Last Legacy (Adrienne Young)

It’s been a while since I read the first two as I knew this was a bit more separate from those and in doing so, I kind of shot myself in the foot.
Technically part of the series, but I don’t remember what the link even is. These people are very separate with only a minor link to the rest and without establishing with anyone in the main character list from book 1 and 2, it was just very separate.
I didn’t get the high seas pirate ship adventure like the first two books which was why I was interested in the first place. This felt boring, which for a family of criminals wasn’t expected. The last third was the most interesting but it honestly took me so long to get there that I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted this book to be over, which was different to my experience of the first two.
Didn’t really care about the characters or what was going on, but it was written well. If you’re interested in a book with this time period you may enjoy. Not for me.

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Out of Tune (Beth Reekles)

Pretty cute, pretty fun but also pretty standard. Not much that was particularly stand out. Nice writing, easy story, pretty good.

Grab the book Here

I hope that the books I’m reading right now will help keep out out of a slump, but what are some tips that you know to get you out of the reading slump zone? I’d love some help!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Categories
Book Challenges Book Reviews Book Series Books

Finishing Series I Abandoned Halfway Through (Part 2): What Changed My Mind

Estimated Reading Time: 4min

I’m at it again! I’m trying to finish series that I started but still haven’t gotten a chance to finish. Here are the final reviews.

Circle Series by Ted Dekker

GREEN

Oh. My. Gosh.
I didn’t think this was where this book would end up and wowie it went into some very dark places indeed. It towed a very razor sharp line spiritually for me, almost like CS Lewis described when he wrote the Screwtape Letters (apologies if you don’t know the back story on that but I won’t go into detail here.. check the forward on his SL book from Lewis if you’re interested).
The parallels with some of the Old Testament Bible stories were interesting. It was pretty clear for Elijah and the alter competition with the priests of baal, but honestly it was so descriptive of some pretty dark things in the entire book that I felt quite icky a lot. The pagan world would have been something else to behold for sure. I don’t like or do vampires, but here we are. Warning for graphic self harm and injury detail… it was a lot.
Having said that, the way things were woven in was incredible. I randomly picked up a book from the Paradise series a while ago and turns out it was the best thing I could have done before reading this, as I feel like some of the things in this book wouldn’t have made as much sense if I hadn’t.
If not for a few really good connection points, I definitely could have skipped this one. Definitely for a fan of darker or more horror like books, but that’s not me. Nice to have the conclusion of the official Circle books, but I don’t think I would read this one again.

Grab the book Here

Elite Bodyguards (Lynette Eason)

WITHOUT WARNING

I enjoyed the story and characters for this book. There was a lot of action from the get go and it was well done. Characters were good, and it was nice to see things like PTSD handled relatively well. I thought the plot flowed pretty well, and while it was interesting and full of action, it did feel a little bit static. I wasn’t desperate to find out what was happening next, maybe because of the break beats in the book, or maybe just because I wasn’t as invested in the plot. It felt a little like a slow investigation, that was partnered with very fast paced action. You couldn’t turn around any corner without something action happening, but at the same time the investigation was moving really slowly. I think that was maybe why I didn’t enjoy it as much. I did like it, but not as much as others. A pretty good read, a pretty good adventure/mystery, and some interesting characters as well.

Grab the book Here

A Time To Die (Nadiene Brandess)

brandes

A TIME TO RISE

Mixed feelings for this one.
The characters are supremely annoying for majority of the entire trilogy and the final book was no exception. Their world may be dystopian but people act the same across all changes in society. That said, when people make odd choices or feel strangely in moments that they shouldn’t, when they don’t make sense it is frustrating. Making silly choices vs unrealistic is different. These ones made unrealistic in my view.
That being said, the plot was way more interesting and engaging than the other two books. I actually liked the plot progression in this one quite a bit, and found myself caring what happened. Unfortunately, that was one of the only saving parts of this for me. It was written quite well too.
This book has a lot more pushy messaging. I love Christian fiction, but… this wasn’t preachy as such, it was more….. smack you over the head every few pages so you didn’t forget that this was Christian fiction. It was a lot more insistent with the messaging than the other two. It makes sense as that’s been the characters journey, but it fully leaned into pushing it quite forcefully in this one.

A little spoilery (so fair warning):

Scully’s storyline made zero sense for me. I see what was attempted but it came so far out of nowhere that I did not buy it whatsoever. The ending also felt too… easy. Not earned.

So, it was hit and miss I suppose.

Grab the book Here

Danger in Shadows (Chapman)

LIGHT OF THE DAWN

Pretty well written but it was basically a book full of side quests. It was one problem on a journey after another. This series was a bit like this throughout. It made it feel disjointed for me. There wasn’t a clear plot driven story, more a character review of how people would react in a blanket destruction. Characters were fine but not too engaging. Stories were good, some more interesting than others but nothing largely fascinating. I was bored quite often.

Grab the book Here

So glad to finally have these series finished off! It was difficult for some, a lovely conclusion for others, but either way it’s done! !

See You in The Adventures!
Christy Grace