While I'm seriously behind on my reviews, my reading and listening did not suffer too much this month.  (I've been preparing an Open House for this weekend)  The titles with links have reviews, the ones without are still pending.

(Audiobook) Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones
Finish Date: 05/04
2.8/5 STARS

(eBook) Nil on Fire by Lynne Matson
Finish Date: 05/09
4/5 STARS

(Audiobook) Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine
Finish Date: 05/10
4/5 STARS

(Audiobook) A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray
Finish Date: 05/17
4.2/5 STARS

(netgalley arc) The Clockwork Dynasty by Daniel H. Wilson
Finish Date: 05/19
3.8/5 STARS

(Audiobook) Fairest by Marissa Meyer 
Finish Date: 05/21
4.3/5 STARS

(eBook) Unrest by Wendy Higgins (review pending)
Finish Date: 05/24
5/5 STARS


(Audiobook) Hunted by Meagan Spooner (review pending)
Finish Date: 05/26
3.7/5 STARS

(netgalley arc) The Weight of Lies by Emily Carpenter (review pending)

Finish Date:  05/29

4.8/5 STARS

(Audiobook) Jackaby by William Ritter (review pending)

Finish Date:  05/31

2.8/5 STARS

10 Books Total for May (3,428 Pages Read)

6 Audiobooks, 2 eBooks, and 2 Netgalley ARC's

and 1 DNF.  (Of Beast and Beauty, (that one I still might try again, just ebook form instead, the hoopla audio for it was terrible.)

 

Book Title:  The Clockwork Dynasty

Author:  Daniel H Wilson

Series:  Stand-Alone

Genre:  Steampunk

Publisher:  Doubleday

Setting:  Past and present; including Oregon, London, Russia, and China

Source:  I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

⇝Add to Goodreads⇜

 

⇝Book Theme Song⇜

(link will take you to my tumblr post with video)

Fake it by Seether  --It's so perfect for Peter & the other avtomats…it's also one of my all time favs.

♫Who's to know if your soul will fade at all

The one you sold to fool the world

You lost your self-esteem along the way

Yeah

And just fake it if your out of direction

Fake it if you don't belong

Fake it if you feel like a infection

Woah your such a f*ckin' hypocrite♫

OVERALL RATING:  3.7/5 STARS GRADE=B

⇝My Thoughts⇜

The idea behind The Clockwork Dynasty is an ingenious one, but the execution fell a little short for me.  I just couldn't stay focused when reading this, I had to reread some passages again and again.  I feel like this could have been because it was not my usual type of read.  But…Idk???

I also never felt like I was invested in the characters, especially June…why does June seem so inconsequential.  I wanted more depth from them.  So, maybe I might have wanted to cheer them on.  So…overall this is a imaginative story, it just didn't have enough heart for me.  The cover, though, is absolutely spectacular. 

⇝Ratings Breakdown⇜

Plot:  4.2/5

Main Characters:  3.5/5

Secondary Characters:  3.5/5

The Feels:  3.5/5

Addictiveness:  3.5/5

Theme or Tone:  4/5

Flow (Writing Style):  3/5

Backdrop (World Building):  4.3/5

Originality:  5/5

Book Cover:  5/5

Ending:  4/5  Cliffhanger:  Kind of does, actually.

Will I continue this series?  Maybe…if it continues, and it seems like it should.

You do recall World War Z right? For those have read it, they would be aware of the format and narrative of the book. It’s set through various points of views from various characters. Some may like this format, some don’t. I’m thinking that’s one of the deciding factors as to whether a reader will like this book or not. For me, I don’t mind it. It focuses on a small select group of characters so each one would have their own story arc.

The sci fi speak is comprehensive and it doesn’t make the book a hard read. In fact the action and different points of view make the pace of the plot fast and an enjoyable read. There’s plenty of moments where it can be frightening - in a society where we rely more on machines and robots only to have them turn against you and everything runs amok is a scary thought. (The part where Zero Hour happens is an example)

Now let’s be fair. Those die hard sci fi readers may or may not like this one. Perhaps it’s not sci fi enough, perhaps it’s too noobish, so I’m not sure if it’s for this type of crowd. Since I stop at the mention of quantum physics, this book is fine for me.

So did I like the book? YES I DID. I love the different points of view, I love the action, and the whole entire thing was an awesome read. I understand how it may not be for everyone but we all have varying tastes. It’s definitely worth a try in my opinion

Thank you Doubleday for giving me a Review Copy!

"Somebody soon, our technology is going to rise up and we humans are going to be sliced into bloody chunks by robots that in our hubris we decided to design with buzz saws for hands."

Given how today is going, I'm finding this incredibly hot. 

Lady boner.   Today is just fucking horrible.    Fucking horrible.   The fact that dudes say 'no means no' when it comes to then, but get to decide when my no means no and think this is totally fucking okay is fucking horrible. 

First, I just realized I can blog about the audiobook and not review it per say. Because honestly I'm not really reviewing so much of the contents of the audiobook, but the experience. I mean there are hundreds of reviews on all the books I listen to. I don't really need to add another. So let's get to it!

I have to start by saying I tried to listen to this book last year. And I got through maybe 30 minutes of it. For whatever reason (and I can't remember it now) I was too emotional to get into this book. I somehow thought this was going to be a very emotionally us v them kind of deal. And it was. But man, I was dead wrong on everything else. But I'll get into that in a minute.

So the narrator of this audiobook is Robbie Daymond. At first I didn't like it. I was so sensitive to listening to his voice. Every sentence a crackle in the narration. He came off as overly sensitive and I dunno...weak. But then I found myself moved to just cheer for the character Owen at all costs. I became so emotionally invested I would listen to this audiobook at night in bed. Trying to not fall asleep to the story playing out in my head.

So the story is about mutants in a way. Man made ones. So you are disabled. Maybe mentally or physically. No problemo. Let's put this little device in your head and wham bam! You are cured. So instead of being a fetal alcohol syndrome baby and having a case of the dumbs, you get to be uber smarty farty pants. And now reggies (regular non amped people) aren't so thrilled with you. You win all the contests. You take all the jobs. So now we are gonna treat you like the enemy and go to war.

What I hated? The book just ended. And it was ok. But I wanted more. And I have a feeling that's the point. I'm sure there will be a sequel. I hope.