The Seeker's Keys by Christina L. Rozelle (The Treemakers #3)

Genre: Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic
Rating: 4/5 stars

Joy, Jax, Smudge, and the others must work to find the three keys that will open up "The Wall" out of Bygonne. They continue to face tragedy and loss at every turn, and secrets are being revealed all the time. Can they find the keys and escape the hellish nightmare that has been their lives?

There is so much that goes on in this book that I feel like it could have easily been split up into multiple books. Unlike the first two, which are solely from Joy's point of view, we get to see Jax's and Smudge's POVs in this book. This ended up working well since the group is split up for a lot of the book. There is a LOT of traveling back and forth to and from the Refuge. They return to some familiar places and must also go to new, terrifying places. Much is revealed about the technology and history of Alzanai and Bygonne in general. The group meets many new allies, including a man named Seraphim, who knew Joy's father.

This book provides a strong ending to the series, and I do feel like most of the questions were answered and the ends were tied up. Without spoiling too much, the ending was simply beautiful. The kids experienced an unreal amount of tragedy, but the ending was worth it. Jax and Joy's story in particular was wonderful -- they matured so much throughout the series. I'm normally not a huge fan of multiple POV, but I loved seeing his perspective in all of this.
This book series really still stands out as one of the most unique YA dystopian series I have read. It avoided the major "chosen one" stereotype (even though Joy was a leader-type, it didn't all depend on her). There was a love triangle, but I never mind that honestly. It wasn't riddled with zombies... Just a great story about a group of people who went through hell and back.
There are just a bit too many coincidental factors. Granted, the children, in the first book, were very isolated and knew almost nothing about their world, but this last book was sort of an explosion of technology appearing suddenly to save them, puzzles being solved by chance, and other things happening at JUST the right time to be convenient for the plot. In particular, the ability to talk in each other's minds via the 5R11s -- it was a really cool thing to use when Joy was in Alzenai with Zee (although even then I truly thought it was awfully convenient.) In this book, it seemed like they were literally handing out the 5R11s like candy. Then this mind speak/control was somehow extended so they could use the reapers as well. It just seemed like a bit much. Things tied together a little TOO nicely if that makes sense. Another thing that kind of bothered me was the dialogue. It seemed a little stale/artificial. It was a constant back and forth of explanations and sort of mundane chatter about plans they were executing. I feel like a lot of that superfluous stuff could have been eliminated or summarized and it would have made the book shorter. They also kept blowing sunshine up Joy's nose about how she was SO amazing and was going to save them all. They did that with a few of the characters actually. That got a bit old. It was also a syrupy at times. I honestly love Jax and Joy's relationship and was ridiculously happy when she finally chose to be with him. <3 I was less of a fan of Smudge in general, but I thought her and Johnny's relationship was sweet. But some of their interactions seemed too saccharine.
I was also confused by some of the technology in the book. Even with them talking about it over and over it was still kind of hard to wrap my mind around. There was a ton of new information in this book that was a little hard to absorb.
One of the parts of the book I really enjoyed was the Old World transfer program with Vila and Jax, partly because it helped explain a little more about why the world was the way it was. It was also just kind of a fun change of pace.

I know I will be suffering from a bit of a book hangover for a few days :-) Good books/series will do that to you! I am super excited about the prequel that is coming out in 2020. I'll be one of the first in line to preorder for sure!

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Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (Book 3: Dresden Files)

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Something is stirring up the spirit world. Ghosts are becoming bolder, nightmares are breaking into people's minds, and the lives of the people in Chicago are in danger. After dealing with a baby-murdering ghost in a hospital, Harry learns that something is causing the veil between the Nevernever and the real world to become weakened. He has to figure out how and why it is being done so that he can put a stop to it. In the meantime, he must deal with the ghost of a particularly vindictive demon that he and his posse killed some time ago. Harry must also deal with the Red Court vampires at the same time. His friend Michael and his family, Murphy, and several others are in grave peril unless the veil can be restored and the nightmares tamed.

I enjoyed this book because it is the first time we really get to see what the "Nevernever" is like. Dealing with ghosts and spirits is quite frightening actually, and the terror that Harry, Murphy, and the others experience is easily felt in these pages. It's very interesting to me that even demons can leave behind ghosts. I loved the introduction of Michael in this book -- I found his over-the-top righteousness to be a humorous foil for Harry at times, but I didn't find Michael's character to be annoying or irritating in any way. I'd honestly love to see more of him.
The politics with the vampire courts was honestly very confusing to me, and the plot of this book kept getting more and more complicated as the book went on (it was a little hard to keep it all straight at the end.) I find it irritating that Harry gets into so much trouble by defending innocent lives, when the vampires are clearly totally in the wrong, despicably evil. Lea is an absolutely fascinating character. I know Harry sort of hates her, but I find her actions interesting. What happens to Susan in this book is pretty sad, and I look forward to seeing if/how that resolves.

Love this series!

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (Book 4: Dresden Files)

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 stars

Harry has been in a funk since Susan left, spending most of his time in his lab trying to work out a cure for vampirism. He isn't eating, sleeping, or taking care of himself well--nor is he working enough to pay the bills. The White Council comes to town to figure out what to do about the Red Court, which has officially declared war on the wizards (largely due to Harry's actions at Bianca's event in the last book). Harry manages to avoid being condemned but must figure out a way to secure an alliance of sorts with the Winter queen, Mab... who just happens to now be in possession of the contract he once had with Lea. Mab wants him to solve a murder for her. To make matters even more complicated, someone from Harry's past shows up unexpectedly. Can he figure out how to fulfil his end of the bargain with Mab, stay in the good graces of the Council, and stay alive?

In this book, we delve deeper into the world of Faerie. I have read a few books dealing with the Fae (such as Karen Marie Moning's Fever series) and I enjoy the lore of this species. I like how the Faeries have shown up in this series so far, and it was nice to have a whole book dealing with them. I did find some of it to be a little confusing and complicated, and the whole weakness for iron thing always seems kind of silly to me, but I really enjoyed it anyway. I will be interested to see what Mab's next two requests are. It WAS incredibly dumb of Harry to agree to her three requests, but I know there was no other option for him. He was worn down and exhausted at the time. Here is hoping things get better for him in the next few books. His decision making skills have not been great lately.
One of the things I love about these books is how multi-dimensional they are. There are always so many plots and storylines going on at once, some obviously weaving together and some not. It's always amazing to me how things tie together in the end and how things carry over into the next books. This series was obviously well planned out, and I appreciate that. I am developing quite a fondness for characters like Karrin Murphy, Billy and the other werewolves, and even Morgan the Warden. The writing is spectacularly witty.

I have absolutely devoured these books so far, and I know I will love the next 11 + books in the series. <3

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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.5 stars
(Audible)

Sir Henry Baskerville comes to visit Sherlock Holmes to ask for protection against an ominous threat. He has just inherited the Baskerville estate after his relative, Charles Baskerville, died from some sort of grim attack. While in London, Henry receives a note telling him he is in danger. Weirdly, several of his boots go missing, and Holmes and Watson discover that he is being followed by someone. Watson decides to travel with Henry to the estate, while Homes stays behind because of other, more pressing, business.
When they arrive, Watson is enchanted by the moor surrounding the estate, and he spends some time walking it and meeting the residents in an attempt to figure out what happened. People keep mentioning a hound, and he hears howling several times. To make matters more complicated, there is an escaped criminal on the moor somewhere. He writes letters to Holmes to keep him up to date on his discoveries. Watson is not sure who to trust, and keeping Henry safe proves to be a bit more challenging than he first anticipated...

I somehow have avoided spoilers for this book for my entire life, and so I was pretty thrilled to get to listen to this on Audible and experience the story that way. The narrator is terrific, and the story has that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle flair that makes it quite entertaining. It has that certain English charm to it with the somewhat boring and mundane details being hashed out. I haven't read too many of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but I liked how this one was a bit longer, and there were certainly quite a few twists and turns throughout the book. The mystery got explained in great detail at the end, which was both interesting and also a little annoying. But I really enjoyed this book and will probably read/listen to the other stories at some point.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher ( Book 2: Dresden Files)

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5/5 stars

This series is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorites. In this installment, Harry must deal with an influx of werewolves... and not just one kind. He learns from Bob about all the different kinds of werewolves and how to deal with each. He barely manages to escape with his life multiple times, and he has to deal with Murphy being upset with him for keeping secrets from her. Things heat up with Susan as well.
The main thing I love about this series, as I have said before, is how much of a hot mess Harry is. He isn't cocky. He isn't a stick in the mud. He isn't boring. He is goofy, but in a totally non-annoying way. The way he thinks about things is very amusing. I really enjoy reading these books. They are light and fun in some ways and dark and ominous in other ways -- a perfect blend. The one thing that I can see might become an issue in this series is how often he nearly dies or runs out of energy. He somehow always manages to scrape by no matter how exhausted or wounded he is, which does come across as a little unrealistic. But hey, it's fiction!
I'll be reading the rest as soon as I can get my hands on them!

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The Soultakers by Christina L. Rozelle (The Treemakers Book #2)

Genre: Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic
Rating: 5/5 stars

Joy and the others are getting settled in Zentao, which Smudge has told Joy is an underground augmented reality. The threat of being attacked is real, and Joy has a few days to come to terms with the shocking news of her pregnancy. While she is getting closer to Mateo, she also still has feelings for Jax. When tragedy strikes and they must make an escape, they lose loved ones and Joy ends up in a place she did not expect...
I read the first book in this series quite a while ago and was impressed with the story. It is a very unique dystopian/post apocalyptic series, and I found the book to be very engaging. I have no idea why I waited so long to pick up the second one! This book really sort of blew me away. First of all, it's quite gritty and dark--I love that about it. So many times when I read books I get the impression that the author was holding back as they wrote or something so as to not offend people's sensibilities (and for traditionally published books, there is certainly a lot of censorship that goes on). There are a lot of truly disturbing things that happen in this series, and while it means that this book is probably not suitable for children, it does make for a powerful story. The characters are broken down and put through the ringer over and over again, but they are overcomers. They don't have that hero complex that so many authors want to insert. It's just a thrilling story of survival and family. The setting is rich, and I feel like the way things unfold makes the book very engaging. I can't quite follow everything, and not everything makes total sense to me logically (like for example, Lord Daumier wants "Lilly" to be both fearful of him but also act like she's happy to marry him. I don't really understand how that's possible... It seems like two totally different demeanors.) A lot of the AOAI stuff makes my head spin, and sometimes it all seems a little too convenient, but I love what it adds to the story.
I LOVE this author's work, and I will definitely be investing in more of her books. <3 I have already started on book three. I can't wait to see what happens!

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The Black Trials by Tara Benham

Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 4.5 stars

Fanya has just turned sixteen and is about to complete the government mandated trials for entering adulthood. She, like every other sixteen year old headed to the training center, knows little about what will happen. When she gets there, she is surprised to discover that she has extra tasks to complete, and people keep telling her that she is "special" and she "thinks differently" than everyone else. After completing what is called "The Black Trial" (an additional task almost no one else has to do) she is scheduled to face three of her worst nightmares. Can she survive the nightmares-come-to-life? If she does, what does the government have in store for her?

I'm always up for a good dystopian novel, and this one certainly keep me guessing. It was full of little twists and turns and unexpected things. It got really exciting when they sent her off to the location of her nightmare trials. That part was delightfully creepy -- like some kind of horror movie! I feel like I would be spoiling the book to remark on too much more, but I really did enjoy this book a lot. It is a quick read, and it's fairly unique. It does remind me of the Maze Runner series a bit, and it's always just a little frustrating to read books that end on cliffhangers, but I will definitely be picking up the next book. The "chosen one" trope is not my favorite (and I was getting sort of irriated at EVERYONE blowing sunshine up Fanya's nose about how she was so "special") but I thought the book was enjoyable despite that, and I understand that things aren't always as they appear. There is much that will be revealed later, I am sure!

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The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4 stars
(Listened on Audible)

In this installment of the Outlander series, Jamie and Claire are busy homesteading and have been joined by Brianna and Roger. Briana has a son, and due to an incident with a sleazy smuggler, they are not certain who her son's father is. Bree and Roger are married, and they spend some time with Jamie's aunt Jocasta and River Run in Cross Creek. Jocasta is to be married to a man by the name of Inness Duncan, and her marriage is a big to-do in this particular area of North Carolina (and not just because she has at least one rejected suitor who causes trouble for her.) Jocasta wants to make Brianna her heir (since Jamie refused in the last book), but Briana wants no part in it. Brianna and Roger are uncertain if they want to go home (and are not sure they will be able to with the baby anyway.) Young Ian becomes a part of a Mohawk tribe, and we are not sure if and when we will see him again. Jenny has a hard time forgiving Jamie for "losing" her youngest son, and Jamie struggles with her unforgiveness. Claire dabbles in making some homemade antibiotics and attempts to help the people as best she can with her limited resources as a doctor. Fergus and Marsali build their family. The Revolution is brewing, and Jamie and the men are called to action, although the result of this is fairly anticlimactic. Plenty of shocking events transpire, including murder, arson, near-death experiences (for a few of the main characters), mystery solving, and plans gone awry. There is a little bit of everything in this book. Overall, this is a very entertaining and interesting book that gives a unique insight into the time period.

This series has evolved quite a bit since book one. We are no longer in the charming and exotic Scottish highlands. We are in North Carolina, and Jamie and Claire and their families are in the process of settling the area, so this book has more of a "Little House on the Prairie" feeling.
Thinking back over this book, there are SO many memorable moments. As others have mentioned, there's not really a strong overall plot to this book except for the undercurrent of brewing war and the fact that Stephen Bonnet keeps reappearing to cause trouble. It does, in some ways, feel like a "filler" book, but the adventures and emotions are wonderful. I really haven't liked Brianna throughout the series (I never could quite forgive her for how she treated Claire when she found out about Jamie), and I didn't really care much about Roger in the last few books, but they have definitely grown on me. Brianna is a bit younger than Claire was when the series began, and she is of course a totally different person with a different upbringing. Her choices are often times puzzling to me, and I find myself getting irritated at her. I have to remind myself that it's okay for her not to be a carbon copy of Claire. She has had quite a bit of character growth, and I do look forward to seeing where her story goes. I normally don't care for POV switching in books, and we have gotten so used to hearing things from Claire's perspective that it was a bit odd at first, but I ended up enjoying it. I was sad to see less of Fergus, Lord John Grey, Jamie's son, and a few of the other characters. There are also quite a few new characters who were difficult to keep track of.
As a note: Can I just say that I really DON'T like Jenny? She seems to just get more unreasonable with each book! I can sort of understand some of the things she does, but she comes across mostly as mean, unforgiving, and hard to deal with.

The paranormal aspect of this book really stuck out in a few places. When Claire sees Ottertooth's ghost, I was legitimately creeped out. I also thought the whole part with the woman killing her abusive husband was disturbing. And in the end, when they open the mausoleum, I was really shocked at what was revealed!

Yes, the book is long, and yes, there are certainly quite a few superfluous scenes and details. That is simply the style of the writing though. I choose to listen to this series on Audible, and so, as I have stated in previous reviews, it's sort of like spending time with old friends to read about Jamie, Claire, and the others. It's an immersive experience. I truly don't mind the "mundane" aspects of the book. The slow burn of the story is part of what makes this series beautiful. It took me about nine months to listen to this book on Audible. She could make the books shorter, no doubt, but that would take away a lot of the charm. The "meat" of the book could be described as "boring," but I honestly did enjoy almost every single bit of it (of course, the narrator, Davina Porter, is amazing). The last ten or fifteen or so chapters were quite gripping. It's not that there were any bombshell revelations like in past books, but I can tell that the author worked hard to really engage readers so they would pick up the next book. (It totally worked for me!) I won't spoil the ending for anyone, but one particular person's reappearance made me really happy, and there were two or three other "jaw-dropping/gasping out loud" moments in the last part of the book.

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