Now we are near the middle of the year so I wanted to update on how my 2023 Bingo Reading Challenge Hard Mode is going.
I have so far read around 25 books for this challenge and also managed to complete the 5th Row on the Bingo Board (yay!). I changed a couple of previous choices for the prompts to accommodate the books I read where they would fit better.
As stated in my Challenge post one of the rules was that I don’t have to complete the entire board to be successful at the challenge. One row or one vertical is victory too. Therefore, I count this challenge as already successful!
Even though I still want to try to complete more rows or columns in the bingo board just because I am having a lot of fun with all the prompts.
Without much further ado, let me talk about the prompts I completed for this challenge and the books I read for them:
1st Row
H) 1,2 in a series. – First AND second in a series-
First in a series – Blood Heir (Aurelia Ryder #1) by Ilona Andrews – 5 stars! This was a light and extremely entertaining book that I could not put down.
Second in a series – Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2) by Michael J. Sullivan – I heard the GraphicAudio dramatized audiobook for this, which was very well done and as entertaining as the GraphicAudio audiobooks of Age of Myth. I like all the characters here and I want to continue this series.
H) 700+ pages:
Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4) by Brandon Sanderson.
4 stars. The ups and downs of interesting and not so interesting scenes made this book difficult to review.
To summarize my feelings about this book: Did I consider this book a let down sequel? Yes. Will I continue this series? Yes, because I liked the first and second book and hope the fifth book will be more like them and that the main characters get more space.
Rainbow heart: LGBT+ or BIPOC- LGBT- Creatures of Will and Temper (Diabolist’s Library #1) by Molly Tanzer – 5 stars!
This is so original. I really like when characters are multi-layered and in shades instead of good or bad.
Dorina reminds me of Sandra singing Maria Magdalena (“Promise me delight!”), and Evadne reminds me of Nanashi in the webcomic Earthsong. They are both such interesting characters! This is an author I want to read more from, and I surely want to continue this series!
2nd row
H) 3,4 – Third AND Fourth book in a series –
Third in a series – Age of War (The Legends of the First Empire #3) by Michael J. Sullivan. 5 stars! The GraphicAudio audiobooks for this series are very well done and I can’t stop listening to this!
Fourth in a series – Age of Legend (The Legends of the First Empire #4) by Michael J. Sullivan. 4 stars, I can’t put these books down, this a brilliant series to binge read or binge listen!
Red: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #16 by Lois McMaster Bujold. I did a detailed blog post for this entire series here, therefore I won’t be repeating my review for this book in this post.
H) Not one, but 3 books on your physical bookshelf:
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham – 3 stars. This is a good example of classic sci-fi but it was too slow for me.
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope – 4 stars. An entertaining book with many layered characters and an interesting plot.
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (Bartimaeus #1) – 5 stars!
This was so entertaining! A light fantasy read with lots of magicians and djinns! I want to continue reading this series for sure.
H) Science Fiction without spaceships or aliens: Dogs of War (Dogs of War #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Well written Sci-fi with profound themes. This author accomplishes a new breakthrough with every book.
3rd Row
Audiotape: Audiobook or, if you don’t like audiobooks, a book in a genre you don’t usually read. I listened to Doors of Sleep (Journals of Zaxony Delatree #1) by Tim Pratt. 3 stars.
I agree with the review of Niki Hawkes here. This had good ideas, but the way the story was told made it as boring as a contemporary book where you spend all the time in the head of the very boring good guy, who reminded me of Mickey Mouse; while the villain reminded me of Donald the Duck.
The story could have been better paced and the interesting worlds better shown than that. I will read the sequel eventually, mostly because I have an ARC, but I sincerely hope it’s better than this first book.
4th Row
Rabbit: Bunny by Mona Awad. 5 stars! Hypnotic, beautiful prose that reads like poetry and I couldn’t put down. If cozy horror exists then this chilling book is a perfect example of it.
3 ARCs – Thanks to NetGalley for the 3 books reviewed here, and the publishers for giving me ARCs of these books in exchange for honest reviews.
The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia – 4 stars. I liked the story world and the cultural background of the characters. This Novella packs a lot in few words and it could have been easily a novel.
However, the one negative thing that didn’t make this book a five stars for me was the pacing of the plot development, which was either way too slow and way too rushed. Overall, an interesting book and I will keep an eye on the future books by this author for sure.
And Put Away Childish Things (Terrible Worlds: Destinations #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The beginning of this book was slow for me, but the middle and end were smart, funny and brilliant as all Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books are. I consider this author the best contemporary SFF author presently publishing and I want to read all his books with no exception!
Witch King by Martha Wells – 2 stars. The premise and the story world are very promising, but the story isn’t written in a way where the narrative kept me interested. The characters here all sound very much the same. Too much description and too many details I don’t care at all about, too little tension or even a more substantial plot to keep me interested. I don’t know if this was meant to be cozy fantasy, but it didn’t work for me. I unfortunately didn’t like this nearly as much as Murderbot.
Poetry, Nonfiction or Graphic Novel – Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer by Maya Angelou. 5 stars! Beautiful poems that touch deeply! No need of false complexity here, only honest simple words.
5th Row
I completed this Row! Therefore I get 💥 🐉💥!
H) A book by an author you never read before released in 2022 or 2023.
Ithaca (The Songs of Penelope #1) by Claire North. 5 stars!
The characters are deep, multi-layered and something to remember. It was a pleasure listening to the narration on the POV of Hera. Outstanding writing, I surely plan on reading more by this author.
Twist: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. 5 stars! A beautifully written story with amazing plot twists, I recommend this even if you aren’t a mystery fan. I surely want to read more by this author.
3 favorite author: 3 books by Adrian Tchaikovsky:
Children of Ruin (Children of Time #2) – 5 stars. Trust this brilliant author to reinvent his narrative colours with every book, he is a surprising writing chameleon (or octopus)! 🙂
Children of Memory (Children of Time #3) – 4 stars. I won’t say much not to spoil anything, but this whole trilogy (?) is a modern classic with deep and important themes and not an easy, but a rewarding read exactly for this reason. I wonder if there will be more books in this series?
Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1) – 5 stars! Awesome epic fantasy! I will continue this series for sure!
Castle: A fantasy/romance or a sci-fi/mystery genre-bender.
Sci-fi/mystery genre-bender – Death of a Clone by Alex Thomson – 5 stars! A fast read and a perfect mix of sci-fi and mystery.
This book deserves more reviews and attention for sure!
3 standalones:
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes – 5 stars! Beautifully written, poetic and deeply touching, with all ‘the feels’.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – 3 stars. This was not for me but I probably wasn’t the audience for it since I am not a great romance reader.
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec – 5 stars! Outstanding and deeply touching characters and story. I want to read more by this author!
And these were the books I read for this challenge so far.
And you, are you doing any year long reading challenges in 2023? Let me know in the comments.
My Reader's Journey 