Alastriona's Place

House of Ice & Shadows (Myths & Outlaws #2)

2026-04-10T11:22:00.001-05:00

House of Ice & Shadows by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After being held hostage by Queen Meara as a child X (Xaydin) hates Meara and anyone connected to her. He isn't too fond of Shifters either as a Shifter impersonated his Father and caused his Father's death because of a broken contract. He spends his time hunting apaswere (a race that tattoos contracts on their skin and kills anyone who breaks a contract), and is determined to kill the apaswere that killed his Father. When the book opens X is on a mission to kill the apaswere that holds the contract with Dash and Queen Meara.

Meara sends her daughter Gisela to protect the apaswere, but secretly sends Diflyn to kill the apaswere and Gisela. X and his family befriend Gisela before they realize who she is and X falls in love with her. In the end they overthrow Meara and Gisela becomes the new Queen with X by her side as her husband.

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The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6)

2026-03-24T14:39:13.400-05:00

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Somebody wants to destroy every copy of Katherine's book and they are willing to kill to do it, but why? And can Robert Langdon save Katherine and the manuscript?

#Science-fiction, #Prague, #books

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Pendergast: The Beginning (Agent Pendergast #0.5)

2026-03-12T06:49:00.890-05:00

Pendergast: The Beginning by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book. Learning how Proctor came to work for him and their past together. Would love to learn more about their missions in the Ghost Company. Dare I hope there is a new series in the making about Colonel Pendergast?

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Stolen in Death (In Death, #62)

2026-03-07T20:07:17.821-06:00

Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Magdelana's back and this time she is scheming to bring Rourke down when she hires a thief to steal the Royal Suite that Rourke stole as a teenager from the Tate Museum. Not only does Eve have to take Magdelana for being an accomplice to murder she has to protect Rourke from his past.

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The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3)

2026-02-26T08:29:06.140-06:00

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it immensely and love the addition of Victor to the group. The Viking even turned out to be an OK guy once he stopped trying to have people killed.

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Twelve Months (The Dresden Files, #18)

2026-01-30T11:53:03.048-06:00

Twelve Months by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliantly written. Harry is trying to get through his grief over Karrin Murphy's death. Navigate his engagement to Lara and find a way to cure Thomas and save him from the Svartalves Justice. Lara and Harry find common ground in their desire to save Thomas, but it's Harry's (accidental) entrapment of Lara that leads to Thomas' salvation. Because she used Harry to entrap Lara Mab grants Harry a boon and as she predicted Thomas' life was what he asked for. Mab steps in and helps Harry control Thomas' Hunger and gives Thomas the will to live when she threatens Justine and their unborn baby. Alas it's not a completely happy ending. In order to satisfy the Svartalves sense of justice over Thomas murdering Austri he has to turn over his infant son to be reared by them, and Justine can never know that she was pg or gave birth to a son in order to survive the ordeal of her possession. Justine is still in Mab's care when the book ends as Mab is trying to cure her.

More hints that Harry being Starborn is of the utmost importance, it's what allowed him to entrap Lara and we learn that Drakul is also Starborn.

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The Seven Rings (The Lost Bride Trilogy, #3)

2026-01-20T10:46:00.001-06:00

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the characters in this book especially some of the ghost. Clover is a hoot. Would really like to learn some of the backstories on the ghost is future books. I feel that Clover especially would have a lot to say.

Sonya gets the rings breaks the curse and marries the guy. Yes it's somewhat formulaic but it's a nice good triumphs over evil romance.

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Coyote Hills (Clay Edison, #6)

2026-01-12T11:28:00.002-06:00

Coyote Hills by Jonathan Kellerman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Surprising plot twist. A rich couple are convinced their son was murdered although the police are calling the drowning accidental. They hire Clay to get the case reopened and he finds three other drowning victims with the same odd combination of drugs in their system.

The more Clay looks into Adam Valois' life the more unsavory activities he discovers. Was Adam really a victim or was he the killer?

One victim is still alive and Clay has to get him to talk to unravel the case and get justice for the victims.

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Circle of Days (Hardcover) by Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)

2025-12-17T07:02:00.001-06:00

The various tribes inhabit the plains but come together at the rites to celebrate and trade wares. Seft is born a flint miner but his Father and older brothers are abusive, when he falls in love with a herder girl, Neen, he joins her tribe at Riverbend along with his friend Tem. They are good at wordwork and Seft becomes the leader of the cleaver hands.

Seft and his sister in law Joia (a Priestess) dream of building the monument out of Stone instead of the wood it is currently built with. But they have to figure out a way to transport the stone to Riverbend before they can do this.

Han (Joia and Neen's brother) falls in love with a farmer girl Pia. The farmers view women as property and when Pia and Han run away together Stam hunts them down and kills Han and Fell (Woodlander). Stam then forces Pia to return to the Farmland with him by threatening to kill her baby Olin (named after Han's Father).

Fell's brother (Bez) finds the bodies. He visits Pia secretly at the Farmland and confirms that Stam killed his brother. He then kidnaps Stam and takes him back to his village for an execution to restore the balance.

The Farmer's lead by Troon steal The Break from the herders a place where the cattle can pass through to get to the river to drink. Ani ( a village elder and the Mother of Neen, Joia, and Han) talks the herders out of resorting to violence to get back the land. But eventually this leads to disaster. The cattle desperate for water stamped through the break destroying the farmers crops and the farmers threaten to kill the cattle if they do it again. Ani looking for a non violent solution tries to get the farmers to return part of the break so the cattle can get to water but they refuse. Seft comes up with the idea to ask the Woodlanders for part of the wood in exchange for cattle, and proposes to build a path through the woods for the cattle to get to the water. The Woodlanders agree and the herders start clearing the path, but Scagga stupidly decides to burn the vegetation instead of carrying it to the plains and sets the entire woodland on fire. The Woodlanders no longer have enough woods to survive and the Farmers gleefully start plowing up the burnt woods laying claim to it. The Woodlanders ask for recompense (food) from the herders for burning their woods and the Farmers for stealing the land but they refuse to provide food to the Woodlanders. With no way to feed his tribe Bez decides to steal the food they need. Troon retaliates by killing all the elderly, young children and pregnant women left in the Woodlanders village when there is no one there to protect them. Angered by the massacre Bez leads his people to attack Riverbend during the Midwinter Rite when herders and farmers will both be there and burn the Monument. Bez is wounded during the attack and dies shortly after from infection. The rest of his tribe flee to unknown parts. Scagga insist on leading an attack on the Woodlanders to wipe them out for the attack but discover that they are all gone. Chapter 22 ends with Joia singing the song of the dead for the Woodland Tribe that is now extinct.

When Joia and Seft recruit people to bring the stones to Riverbend Troon leads an attack on the herders and the vistors who are with them. Desperate to prevent Troon from killing everyone Joia suggest stampeding the cattle. All the male farmers who are with Troon are killed except for Shen. Shen returns to Farmplace and attempts to take over but Duff has the backing of the women and they force Shen to leave.

The book ends with Stonehenge being built completely of stone.

The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2)

2025-12-10T12:36:00.001-06:00

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to admit I never suspected the killer, but I do suspect Donna and Bogdan will be involved by Book #3. The Bullet That Missed

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Pendergast #22 Angel of Vengeance Douglas Preston , Lincoln Child

2025-11-12T08:35:00.001-06:00

Framed in Death (In Death, #61)

2025-10-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

Framed in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found it slow going at first as I never connected with the victims but once Eve got on the scent the book picked up and provided a riveting read. As the oh so rich enabling Mother wound up in a cell along with her egotistical son who couldn't accept the fact his artwork was mediocre at best.

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My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Goodreads Author), Neil Smith (Translator)

2025-10-15T18:20:00.002-05:00

My Friends by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliantly written as always, I laughed, I cried and I really wish there could have been more happy endings.
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Badlands (Nora Kelly, #5)

2025-10-09T18:23:00.003-05:00

Badlands by Douglas Preston
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Corrie Swanson needlessly killed two coyotes ruined the book for me. Sadly they seem to think it is alright to kill animals they killed a dog in Crooked River and I stopped reading them for a long time. I had hoped it was a one off event. Sadly it appears they are fine with killing animals.

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Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult (Goodreads Author)

2025-09-11T15:59:00.001-05:00

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cassie's life seems picture perfect when movie star Alex River's ask her to marry him, but the honeymoon is barely over before the abuse begins. Only her pregnancy forces Cassie to flee to protect her unborn child but once her son is born she goes back hoping that this time Alex really has changed only to discover that he hasn't.

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Onxy Storm Questions

2025-09-09T07:12:00.000-05:00

This is sort of a follow up to the previous post who took the eggs and why? One theory was that someone took the eggs to Unnbriel in trade for their help with the war, but they demanded two of each kind so wouldn't that necessitate 12 missing eggs?

Another possibility is that the eggs were given to the Irids. Maybe not just for safe keeping. The Irids were horrified by how Andarna turned out, and have a low opinion of the other dragon breeds. Maybe Andarna suggested it was the fact she was raised in Navarre by the other dragons that lead to her willingness to use her magic for violence. And that if the hatchlings from the other breeds were raised by the Irid they would be more peaceful like them.

Did Andarna come back alone or was Leothan with her? Nothing suggest that Leothan was with her, but I have a suspicion that Andarna didn't just leave because she wanted to know her family but because she thought she could get them to help. In other words I think she always planned to come back.

If Xaden took the eggs which everyone seems to think happened that means Tairn, Andarna and Saeygl were involved, and killed their elders. The dragons obviously have to know what happened but they aren't telling their riders. My theory is that dragons challenge each other for leadership. Tairn/Andarna (and Saeygl) took control of the Empyrean by challenging the Elders that died and winning. (Andarna was already a member of the Empyrean as the only Irid) Therefore now Tairn (and Saeygl) decide what the Empyrean will and will not do. Tairn at one point told Violet he was willing to break the Empyrean's rules. Or did the Elders actually die? Is it possible that the Elders took the eggs to a secret hatching ground and disappeared and that telling the humans they died was a way to explain their absence. Whatever is going on Tairn and Andarna would know, but they aren't telling anyone even Violet.

As always the Dragons are the key.

Onyx Storm (The Empyrean, #3)

2025-09-07T20:30:00.002-05:00

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I hate writers that end books on cliff hangers especially whey they announce they are taking a break. If you feel the need to take a break from writing at least don't leave your readers hanging.

And really we haven't advanced much since Iron Flame

The book is consumed with Violet trying to find a cure for Xaden and Xaden trying not to use his venin powers. And I think this is an important point and if there is a path to Xaden's salvation it's probably this ...He never uses his powers unless he needs them to save the people he loves. Which makes it even sadder that at the end of the book he uses his powers to save Sgaeyl and turns fully venin. But and this is a big but...he apparently has a plan and Sgaeyl not only agrees to help him she gets Tairn to agree to allow him to see Violet and help with the plan if Violet agrees to it. Since Violet gets Imogen to wipe her memories we have no idea what happens after that other than Violet married Xaden and the head priestess of Dunne's temple gave her official blessing to the legal binding marriage. Tairn is "sleeping" and can't answer questions and Andarna isn't being her usual chatty self, although she does declare " I will not let them burn you". What we do know is that someone Xaden cares about turned venin and that 6 eggs are missing, four riders, their dragons and three elders were murdered in the valley and five riders were missing it's four now that Violet has returned.

Panchek was the traitor and Xaden allowed him to be ended by Berwyn. Since Berwyn is Xaden's Sage he can't kill him no matter how much he wants too but he does knock him unconscious.

I can't let Sgaeyl die. Can't leave him to stumble down the same path I did. Can't allow my friends to perish because I selfishly want to keep Violet by my side

If I understood the ending correctly Xaden killed all the wyvern in the pass.

As much as I don't want it to be I think Garric is probably the one who turned venin he is missing and the last time we saw him he was drained of power to the extent his couldn't use his second signet of distance wielder, and he wanted to find a way to help. If he channeled from the Earth he would have been able to reach Xaden. It can't be Bodhi because Imogen saw him throwing up, unless he is also a distance wielder, he never revealed to Violet what his second signet was. I really don't think it is Brennan as some fans have hypothesized as he would have no reason to turn. He was able to save Mira with Sloane and Dain's help. If he had been going to turn I think it would have been then in order to save Mira but by sending Sloan to Violet, Aaric (precog) sent them what they needed to save Mira's life. Aairic has been keeping his signet secret as it is one the authorities think of as dangerous.

Is Naolin Berwyn? A possibility maybe as he supposedly died "trying to" saving Brennan's life. The official story is that he died beside Brennan after draining himself. Maybe he turned venin to save Brennan. That would explain Tairn's attitude toward Xaden and his refusal to talk about Naolin.

Secondary to curing Xaden they were trying to find the Irids hoping they could help and Andarna wanted to meet her (den) family. The Irids turned out to be really judgy and disowned Andarna because she didn't turn out the way they wanted, as they value Peace over Warfare. When they refuse to help and disowned her Andarna's response is priceless.

"You preach peace while only having known its privilege", Andarna hisses in retort. "You are all a disappointment to me"

Leothan does show some interest in Andarna (he is more closely related to her than the others are) and when she disobeys Violet and protects Dunne's temple (like Aaric said to do) he intercedes to save her life by firing the wardstone at Aretia. He also offers Andarna a chance to learn their ways but she must severe her bond with Violet and go with him. Andarna chooses to leave with Leothan.

At the end of the book Andarna returns in time to help Violet defeat Theophanie and protect her when Violet is found in the courtyard.

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Songs of the Humpback Whale Jodi Picoult

2025-08-27T06:56:00.003-05:00

Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book was awful and I usually love her books. Flips between the past and present and told from multiple characters POV. Jane leaves her husband and starts an affair with a man young enough to be her son. The only reason Jane goes back to her husband is that her daughter's boyfriend who was old enough to be her father and the boy toy's best friend dies in a tragic accident when Jane refuses to allow them to be together.

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Simi (Shadows of Fire, #3) by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Goodreads Author)

2025-08-11T23:10:00.002-05:00

Simi by Sherrilyn Kenyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's told from Simi's POV so the majority of the book is in "Simi talk". Points of interest Simi knew Nick was the Malachi when she slept with him. She apparently knows lots of things that she doesn't always share with Ash.

So didn't see the Thorn and Simi romance coming.

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The Death Mask (Eve Duncan, #31)

2025-07-21T16:34:00.002-05:00

The Death Mask by Iris Johansen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love Irish Johansen but this plot is tired, she really needs to branch out to new material and start leaving Eve at home. Same plot different book. Bad rich man wants to rule the world and he needs Celine (beautiful girl) and Eve to do it. Good rich man (Alex Dominic) comes to Celine's rescue and they join forces to bring the bad guy down. Eve refuses to work with the bad guy so he kidnaps her son. Eve then agrees to work with the bad guy and Joe and Alex Dominic join forces to bring the bad guys down and rescue Celine, Eve and Michael. And don't get me wrong I would have done whatever it took to save my son, but Eve seems to get kidnapped an awful lot or forced into working for bad guys to save someone she cares about.

I did enjoy the material concerning Folashade.

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Lethal Prey (Lucas Davenport #35; Virgil Flowers #16)

2025-07-15T17:19:00.001-05:00

Lethal Prey by John Sandford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is a little different than usual as we know from the start who the killer is. Lucas & Virgil just have to catch up to what we know and the ending isn't satisfying as we don't know if the circumstantial evidence they are able to amass will lead to a conviction. I am actually surprised she is out on bail and enjoying life after burning Virgil's barn down.

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The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time, #8)

2025-07-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

No news on Matt he is still missing, and only gets brief mentions.

Elayne takes the thrown of Caemlyn and tears down the Dragon Reborn's flags, leading Rand to pout.

Rand sent Perrin to bring The Prophet to him, but The Prophet may have switched sides. Faile learns that The Prophet (Masema) had been meeting with the Seanchan. Faile is taken prisoner by the Shaido along with Elayne's Mother and nurse.

Egwene is ready to attack the White Tower.

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Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts (Goodreads Author)

2025-06-24T06:43:00.002-05:00

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fall in love with Sloan and her family the Fix-It brothers sure did. And while the book is full of two romances and lots of remodeling of old homes the main plot revolves around the people that go missing and how Sloan works tirelessly to uncover their killer.

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Going Home in the Dark Dean Koontz

2025-06-20T12:22:00.001-05:00

Going Home in the Dark by Dean Koontz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you want a scary book this book delivers, if you want a funny book this book delivers, if you want a book that makes you think this book delivers and if you want romance there might be a dollop of romance between it's pages.

Four misfits find each other as teenagers and become the amigos. When Ernie who stayed in Maple Grove falls into a coma the other amigos return to try to save him even after medical professionals pronounce him dead. Trying to hide the body and recover their lost memories the three remaining amigos must outwit a hilarious cast of characters.

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Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)

2025-05-24T14:46:00.003-05:00

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed learning how Rysn became a holder of a Dawnshard, and learning more about Chiri-Chiri. So I now know where two Dawnshards are Rysn has one and Sigzil holds one until Wit returns to reclaim it Wind and Truth, and both are on Roshar so I am assuming Odium (Retribution) is going to be looking for them. I hope Brandon Sanderson doesn't make us wait to long for the next book in the series.

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