January's Book Reviews

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - 4 stars

Recap: The story of Achilles, told by his lover Patroclus.

Review: A very enjoyable historical reimagining. Most of the characters were larger than life and easily identifiable. I particularly liked the different ways the gods were portrayed as they interacted with mortals. There was a lot of male pride and ego sloshing around which you'd probably expect for that time. I thought the ending was very touching and a perfect fit to the tale.

Half the World by Joe Abercrombie - 5 stars

Recap: Thorn Bathu dreams of being a warrior but things don't work out how she planned when she accidentally murders a fellow trainee and is sentenced to death. Father Yarvi saves her and takes her halfway around the world to train her and use her for his own plans.

Review: Realistic injuries and recovery! Book two is just as enjoyable as the first, maybe even more so thanks to such a great character. Thorn is all wrong as a girl but you love her for it. As always there is great character differentiation making it easy to keep track of who is who. We have the hero's journey and training, politics, hidden agendas and a few surprises plus a dash of romance. What more could you ask for?

Leaps of Faith by A.M. Leibowitz - 5 stars

Recap: A collection of short stories offering glimpses into the lives of members of the LGBTQIA community - their loves, their losses, highs and lows, both heartwarming and devastating.

Review: I've come away feeling honoured in being given a glimpse into these lives which is odd when you consider this is a work of fiction but I think that speaks to the depth of humanity and compassion these characters display. They are obviously part of a larger canon but the collection hangs together in a way that you come to understand and almost grow with them. These short stories cover a lot of intense topics but when you think about it, that's life and we often stagger from revelation to disaster to joy. My favourites were From The Lips Of Children and Hope Of All The Earth. My Life, My All was one of those endings we knew was coming but written in a delicate and compassionate way. 

Ghosts of the Sea Moon - 4 stars

Recap: Captain Rafe Morrow, of the Celestial Jewel ferries souls to the afterlife but his sister, the Goddess of the Moon, is being on his destruction.

Review: Some great world-building here and I loved all the nautical references. Rafe is a complex and likeable character and there are some unique extras in his crew. The madness of the Moon Goddess was well written and Hugh's role in the god's argument was amusing. Occasionally the dialogue became stilted and wooden which jerked me out of my reader flow. I'm looking forward to reading book two.

That's it for this month, feel free to Buy Me A Coffee to support my reading endeavours.

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.