eiion's reviews
75 reviews

This whole series has just been amazing book after amazing book.
Following Rogue Protocol (MurderBot #3), Exit Strategy definitely picked it up a little bit. It pulled together a lot of the threads we had been picking up over the last 2 in the series and brought MurderBot back together with the crew that they had met in book 1. I had been hoping for this since I read All Systems Red, and it was honestly done really well. It was so clear how everyone on that crew really cared for or at least respected MurderBot in their own way, and seeing them interact with the MurderBot they once knew and learning how to interact with and make accomodations for the MurderBot they had become was so sweet. 
And of course it wouldn't be a MurderBot book without some great action sequences, the threat of sudden death, and pages full of (un)ethical hacking and getting friendly with transport bots. I was STRESSED when MurderBot's memory restart was taking so long, but I also kind of loved getting to relive some of those memories, and see what exactly triggered a lot of their repair cycle. It was sort of like getting to understand what made MurderBot... MurderBot, and that was a really special part of the story.

Again, I can't believe it took me so long to continue with this series, but I'm so glad there's so many books for me to just barrel through.

Rogue Protocol, the third installment in the MurderBot series was a fun adventure following MurderBot's goal of trying to find more information about GrayCris, an abandoned terraforming operation, and get back to Dr Mensah. and of course, it wouldn't be MurderBot without getting tangled up with a group of humans they begrudingly don't hate and nearly dying multiple times.

I did really enjoy this book, but it wasn't my favourite by any means. it felt a little more like a filler adventure. while it was interesting and full of action, I don't think we actually got a lot of information other than confirming some suspicions and spurring on the rest of the series. the stuff we got about GrayCris was interesting, but not groundbreaking by any means, and I didn't love the side characters in this one as much. Miki was sweet and gave MurderBot a few Moments that contributed to their character development, and Don Abene had some charm, but they didn't stick out in my mind.

even though it's book three, I think it suffered a little from "second/middle book syndrome". book one introduced us to the character, book two built on them, and this one was sort of... the adventure they needed to have and the last piece of evidence they needed before they could get back to the main conflict and story at hand. it was still an enjoyable and easy read, but I am partially glad that it wasn't longer than the 150 or so pages it was, I just don't think I would have been able to get through it as easily.
definitely looking forward to book four - now that we have all the pieces, I have a feeling it'll start coming together.

at the core of this review, I don't think this book was marketed correctly.
Evocation followed the story of David, Rhys, and Moira in a spiritual, occult-esque urban fantasy as they navigated romance both new and old around a subplot of demonic possession and centuries-old magic.
at least, that was how the book should have been pitched.

instead, Evocation was marketed as an occult urban fantasy following David being attacked by a demon hellbent on possessing him and taking his life by his thirtieth birthday in the terms of a contract signed centuries ago. in trying to deal with this, David was forced to reach back out to his ex-boyfriend Rhys and Rhys' new wife, Moira, dragging up old feelings and building on new ones. and while the plot points above are present in the book, it's not the primary focus of it. this was a romance book with an urban fantasy and occult subplot. 
the stakes of the main conflict and the pacing were just completely off. we didn't even know about the deadline of his thirtieth birthday until at least 60% of the way through the book, and the possessions that David was experiencing were often glossed and without consequence. when the plot peaked and he started getting ill and at threat of dying, they all seemed shocked that it had gotten that far despite explicitly knowing that it was going to deteriorate, and they were suddenly scrambling to find solutions to try, even though that was what they had supposedly been doing since finding out about David's condition. there was a lack of focus on the occult parts of the story, and the rituals they attemped just seemed poorly thrown together and not very important.


the romance was perfectly fine; boundaries and conversations took a front seat in the arc, and I honestly really loved Moira and David's relationship. him being gay meant that he's not attracted to her, but he still very much loves her in his own way, and they have a really unique connection that I found touching.
the characters were very in depth (maybe a little too in depth for a 300 page book - there was a lot to unpack that definitely required at least 2 therapists and an entire gallon of sparkling water) and fit into the story nicely. and for the record: Moira is iconic and can do absolutely no wrong ever, she is perfect and will continue to be for the rest of her life.

I didn't dislike the book, but going into it expecting one thing and coming out of it with another was just a bit disappointing. I think as long as you know what to expect going into it, this could easily be a 4 or 5 star read for someone else. but for someone who doesn't read primarily for the romance, I was a bit disappointed at the lack of demon posession and magical happenings.

why did nobody tell me how good this book was?

when I finished the first MurderBot, All Systems Red, it was a perfectly fine sci-fi novel, but it wasn't anything special. it felt a little unfinished, I didn't connect to MurderBot, I was worried that each story was going to be an unfulfilling standalone, and I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to commit to finishing the rest of the series. but I am so glad that I picked this one up.

not only did we get to meet ART (my favourite character ever), but we got to explore so much more of MurderBot's character and budding humanity. they had genuine motivations, and wants, and we went from a kind of boring, detached MC to a morally grey MC who's finding themselves in a world that they're both scared of and forced to integrate into. exploring their humanity was the most rewarding part of this.
I loved seeing the story from their POV and seeing all the quirks that made them them. how they watch their conversations from the security cameras to avoid eye contact, how they force shutdown to avoid awkward conversations, and how they awkwardly attempt to copy human mannerisms in an attempt to blend in. they're not trying to be a human, but they're not trying to be a SecUnit anymore. they're just... them. MurderBot, Eden, whatever you want to call them, they're their own thing. trying to survive, they're not quite a person, but just as full of life and depth.

definitely continuing the rest of the series from here, and seriously debating going back to re-read All Systems Red, just to see if I like it a little more knowing what I know now about the rest of the series and the character.

the tension and the atmosphere in this book was horrible in the best way possible. I was so anxious that I had to take breaks from reading to pace around my flat. the writing is just so good at burrowing deep into your chest and filling you with a sense of dread that keeps you on edge the whole time. it didn't rely on shock value or cheap scares to make me feel genuinely nervous.

character wise, I wasn't upset with what we were given in terms of the crew and the side characters. everyone lacked a little bit of depth, but they didn't feel 2 dimensional or just pawns in a wider game. but the main character Claire was wildly annoying. I'm sorry girl, but if I have to hear about how traumatized you are one more time I'm going to lose my mind. it just added nothing to the story. she wasn't insufferable, but it had me rolling my eyes a few times.

the set up for the overarching plot was pretty good, it tied in both character development and reasoning with the setting that Barnes was trying to promote. semi-realistic sci-fi just has a special place in my heart. the main conflict took some time to really build up, the tension was just enough to keep me engaged all the way through.
in the first 50% of the book or so, it was told in perspectives of "then" and "now", Claire recounting her story to the people who had rescued her. I don't mind this style of storytelling, but a few of the deaths or major things that happened were spoiled in the "now" timeline before they had happened in the "then" timeline. I don't think that this aspect of hopping between timelines was done particularly well.
the latter 50% of the book consisted of her actually going back to the ghost ship with the company, trying to figure out what had happened, see if there were any survivors, the whole nine yards. unfortunately, the whole "twist" of what actually happened, what was causing the mass hysteria and delirium felt a little... convenient or cheap. it seemed like Barnes came up with the conflict and the issue without having a reason for it and then fell back on 'big corporation bad'. it wasn't an offensive explanation or twist and I'm not upset about it, it just wasn't satisfying nor did it seem consistent in its mechanics, which was a shame.

I honestly didn't think that the plot or the characters were that amazing - a solid 3 stars. but any book that can make me scared of the noises my dishwasher is making in the middle of the day deserves another star.

WHAT A BOOK!! I haven't been so excited to read something in AGES, as soon as it arrived I knew it was my next to read. and the Broken Binding special edition of it is absolutely amazing.

Calypso was a perfect blend of sci-fi and poetry. It kind of reminds me of the 2018 film "Annihilation" in terms of aesthetic, which is such a choice comparison to make for visuals alone, but I loved that movie and loved this book, and in some weird roundabout way, they're sort of similar! I didn't know what to expect going in, and coming out of it, I still don't fully know what I was given, but I do know that I loved it. 

Holy mother of formatting. The main appeal of Calypso is the different perspectives and the way they each speak/type. It's impossible to fully explain how each perspective speaks, but they're all so unique and stand apart from each other in a way that gives them so much character. Langmead plays around with voice, style, punctuation, capitalization, margins, spacing, and even alignment, all to create four really distinct voices that each contribute to the story in their own way: Rochelle, Catherine, Arthur, and The Herald. I had a BLAST getting to learn the characters, and it's no small feat for an author to be able to write such gorgeous characters with all different styles. 
Rochelle was the main character, so we saw a lot more of her. She had so much importance in terms of learning about who she was, who she is, and her whole story was so touching and beautiful. 
Followed closely by Catherine, who was EASILY my favourite character both for style of writing and personality 🌸 because who doesn't love a bioengineered plant woman who'll sacrifice herself for a better world? Catherine's chapters were STUNNING, especially as we neared the latter half of the book, and her perspectives made me cry at least twice. 
Arthur was the third most prevalent, but he really existed to give some exposition and to set the scene a little more, to give depth to the decisions being made. I would have liked to see more from him, but he wasn't as immediately important as Rochelle and Catherine were. 
The Herald had one "chapter"; his perspective felt a little unnecessary but I did really enjoy it regardless, and it gave a pretty good chunk of the story all within his section. 
Dotted throughout with captivating illustrations, I was just so sucked into the world.

Despite the fact that the book was definitely more of a vibes read, and that the characters carried the story, it did still have a concrete plot & a really touching arc. It was short, so it didn't explore a lot of the intricacies I usually look for in sci-fi, and it didn't add anything to the genre. This wasn't a plot that we've never seen before, or an inventive take on the genre.
If you're wanting a more concrete, realistic, or "proper" sci-fi book, this isn't it. While it was still amazing, it was meant to explore topics like humanity, history, learning from our mistakes, giving to the future, and self sacrifice, using a sci-fi setting as a tool to do that, rather than focusing on being a sci-fi piece. Maybe that makes 0 sense but I'm sure the people who need to hear it will understand it. 

I do still think that fans of sci-fi, poetry, and people who want to be immersed in vivid, tangible imagery will love this book. But just be aware going into it: it's weird! And you have to sort of embrace that, because for how great it is, it's also just so out there and wild, and I really did love every second of it. 💫 I feel like I could honestly just go on and on about this book, but you need to read it for yourself to fully understand

I went into this book with very high hopes, but unfortunately, it just didn't deliver. 

The Leviathan had a really great concept. 
Toying with the idea of witchcraft accusations and a God-defying main character in the 1600's caught my attention. For the entirety of Part 1 I was really excited to see where it would be taken, I thought that the setup was interesting & the atmosphere was done really well. I found it really interesting the switch in time settings, so we were reading what was happening in 1643 alongside the story that was unfolding in 1703. While the bulk of the story took place in 1643, getting small hints and glimpses of the aftermath of those actions and the subsequent future was enough to keep me engaged. I truly believed that we'd be getting a more witchcraft focused plot, which we unfortunately did not. 

-- SPOILERS AHEAD, SPOILER FREE BLURB AT THE BOTTOM --

It started to fall apart a lot in Part 2.
This was where we were introduced to Esther's demon-self or possession arc. It was weird, I'll admit, but I did stick with it because it was interesting & I wanted to see where it would go. Was Esther the witch? Was Chrissa cursing her? What was going on? I was also asking questions related to the blurb - we had been promised a sea monster of some kind, where was that? None of these questions were ultimately answered. Thomas & Chrissa/Mary began to sort of work things out which was, in and of itself, kind of interesting, but I really didn't care. None of the characters gripped me. 
Part 2 was also where the writing really started to drag on & I found myself forcing through it hoping it'd get better. The atmosphere was still okay, but I wasn't scared by it so much as I was bored.

By the time we got to Part 3, I was just waiting for it to be over. I figured that this was where we'd wrap everything up & start exploring the consequences, the story, and actually get down to the root of what had happened and where we were going from here. But nope! With maybe 100 pages left, we introduce the concept that Esther is some demon foundling child that's probably not human, and we get introduced to the sea monster, which apparently attacked Thomas' father's ship once. It had literally no purpose to the story other than to insinuate that it was made from the devil & might have contributed to Esther being found in the cargo hold by Thomas' father. The whole twist of her not being human and bringing in this sea creature felt so cheap, especially when Thomas went back out into the ocean to save Henry after Esther kidnapped him. And I know that when I summarize it, it sounds super exciting, but it wasn't. It was so boring. I was hoping for something more, a bit more nuance, something to actually warrant how boring Parts 2 & 3 were. 
Even with the part that then takes place in 1703, how we finish up the book, I didn't care what happened or why they were doing it. Again: NONE OF IT MATTERED! It was so cheap, and clearly trying to make the reader feel scared or emotional, but the only thing I could think the entire time was "Why do I care?"

-- SPOILERS END --

Overall, the book was boring. I didn't particularly enjoy reading it, and apart from a pretty well done atmosphere, I think a lot of the book fell really flat. There were too many concepts here and it felt sloppy and rushed, giving the reader this feeling of being completely unsatisfied. Each part felt like a completely different book plot, and where it lacked that cohesiveness, it didn't make up for it in excitement or interest. 
Just a bit disappointing, because I was looking forward to this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Callan Wink for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book took me FOREVER to read, but not because it was a hard read or even a bad one. Beartooth by Callan Wink instead demands a very particular part of  your attention, undivided and immersed fully in the story. Wink's writing brings so much of the setting and the characters to life without being flowery or forcefully vivid; it relied on the reader wanting to be a part of the story and putting in the work to understand and digest the book. 

This isn't necessarily a criticism, but I do think it's important to be said: there aren't ups and downs in this story. It follows a quite linear plotline that is always moving forward, always changing. There is no one central conflict or event - every moment in the plot is equally as important as the last. This isn't me saying that nothing happens. In fact, a lot happens, some very exciting & integral parts of the story. But it happens all on the same plane of necessity, and everything that is shown, done, or said, contributes in a significant way. It's all so deliberate that it's honestly admirable how much of the continuing plot I didn't connect, yet how little it surprised me. As such, it paints a gritty and realistic portrait of life. Nothing is simple, nothing has one cure or one solution, and other problems aren't put on hold just because one larger issue crops up. 

Beartooth relied very heavily on the characters. It wasn't primarily a character study, but the characters formed the majority of the plot and the world that Wink was writing about. Thad and Hazen were such interesting and in depth people. While we never saw into Hazen's head as the book was written from Thad's perspective, we got to see Thad's thoughts and his understanding of his little brother, which was a really great way to explore these characters. They're alike, bonded by blood, but possibly as far apart as they could get. I do feel like a lot of the benefit and reward of this story is watching them mature and grow, but also just getting to learn who they are. 

Thad and Hazen are two grown men, but Beartooth had all the undertones of a coming of age story, and it was a really rewarding and engaging read. I'm really lucky to have gotten a copy of this ARC, and can't wait for it to come out in February of 2025 for more people to get to enjoy it!

I actually really loved this Theseus retelling. I didn't expect it to be one of my favourite retellings ever, but here we are!
There was a lot of care and effort put into it, and it's easy to enjoy whether you know the original myth or not (though I do think it's elevated by knowing the full myth beforehand). 

This retelling changed a major part of the core myth: the Minotaur. In Renault's version, instead of Theseus slaying the Minotaur in what is basically a sacrifice to the beast, he is taken to Crete as a slave to be a bull-dancer, leaping and jumping with the animals who are trying to kill him for the entertainment of the people. The Minotaur is just a man, the sponsor of the Hellene team with a thirst for power and a disposition for jealousy and anger. 
But despite this major change, the rest of the story was actually really accurate to its source. Major plot points were hit almost to a T, and it was really clear that deliberate attention had been paid to how she incorporated her retelling with the primary material. 
What I really loved about this was that the story was entirely possible. Every change Renault made (the Minotaur being a man, the Six Labours being various bandits and hardships) was to make the story seem like it could have actually happened. The gods didn't come down to Earth physically, magic was never concretely cast, and even Theseus' powers of premonition for earthquakes (which they attributed to being claimed by Poseidon) is a rare but known phenomenon called "Earthquake sensitivity", where people can sense seismic activity before it happens. Renault's version of Theseus could have actually taken place, and I genuinely just love that. It's such a unique spin on traditionally fantastical and wild Greek stories. 

The changes she made to Theseus also put the character in a whole new light. Strong from a young age, tall and heroic, Theseus from the myths was always destined to do something for the history books. But Renault's Theseus, lithe, gymnast-like, short Theseus, he took to the bull-leaping like he was born for it and had to fight for respect, power, and the ability to be heard. Coupling this with the first person POV the story was written in, I just found myself so connected to the character, so drawn in by his aspirations, choices, and how he commanded a room. 

Renault stayed very true to the time period, which was something I both enjoyed and disliked. It made the story feel more authentic, but while I've been reading retellings and source material greek stories a lot recently, the misogyny is just KILLING me. She made so many changes, and it was clearly not important for the story to be told "exactly" as it happened or true to the time, so parts of me wished we could have changed up a little bit of the whole "woman are weak and I am a man who can do what I want". But again: it made the story feel more real, and I can't deny that the authenticity and organic-ness of it drew me in. 

If you're a fan of greek stories or retellings, I am telling you, this is the book for you. It was just so worth it, and absolutely such a refreshing spin on the myths and fantasy-esque plots that populate the old legends. 

I want to preface this review by saying that I read Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles and absolutely loved it, but that I also knew from that book and going into Circe that I wasn't a massive fan of her writing style.
so where TSOA shone, I think Circe fell a bit flat, but that will certainly not be the case for everyone who reads this book.

I think that Circe is a really interesting character. her story, her deeds, and her misfortunes make for a really entertaining life that she lead and a really fascinating character to learn more about. while I had fun reading this, I don't think this retelling did her justice. I think that a fantasy/YA-ified retelling isn't a good conduit for the stories of the gods, as fantastical and insane as they are. it's incredibly tough to write about hundreds of thousands years passing in a "normal" way, and to paint the picture of her transforming her crush into a god because she could as serious. the appeal of these ancient greek stories that surround the gods is that they're ridiculous and out of this world, and when you put them into a book that's meant to say they're actually happening and actually serious, it just loses some of the power of the original stories.

Madeline Miller's writing style is very detached. it works in some books like TSOA (

Patroclus HAS to be detached from reality and ignorant to what Achilles is doing and how insane he is, because Patroclus HAS to love Achilles, without that love, he has nothing. additionally, for them both to be mortal, neither one is summoning monsters or doing magic. they are fighting to survive. so a detached style fits that book and the actions a bit better

), but in Circe it just made it feel a bit bland. I didn't get the emotions that I wanted, and the adventures just didn't hit as hard as they did in her other book. it was still meaningful and had purpose, but I didn't love it. 

if she ever releases another retelling of a hero or a man/demigod, I'll probably pick it up. but I wouldn't gravitate towards a retelling of a god.