Is Wings of Olympus Book 1 Worth the Read?

Wings of Olympus would be a great read if I were in middle school. This had everything I would have wanted: Greek mythology, horses, and bits of adventure.

The Book:

Cover of Wings of Olympus, forest background and a girl in white dress petting a white pegasus with black tipped wings, White scripty font saying Wings of Olympus
Wings of Olympus cover pulled from Goodreads.com

Title: Wings of Olympus

Author: Kallie George

Series: Wings of Olympus #1

Genre: Middle-grade, Fantasy, Mythology

Pages: 240

“High on the slopes of mighty Mount Olympus, among the sun-splashed meadows and sparkling waters, glide the winged horses of the ancient gods. Here up high is normally no place for a lost, parentless girl like Pippa. But once every hundred years, the gods and goddesses descend to the mortal realm to choose jockeys for their winged horse race—and Pippa is one of the lucky children chosen to ride.

With her undersized, impetuous winged steed, Zephyr, by her side, Pippa has to confront the greatest challenge of her life: achieving victory in a race across the sky.

No one expects Pippa and Zephyr to win, or even finish, this death-defying race. A poor orphan who’s spent her life working in stables, Pippa doesn’t seem to belong in the world of the gods. And while she loves Zephyr with all her heart, he’s smaller than the other winged horses racing. But if Pippa and Zephyr don’t find a way to win, the gods will separate them—forever.

To stay with Zephyr, Pippa will have to work harder, train longer, and dare more bravely than her competition. In a race filled with petty, jealous gods and goddesses and a host of ruthless riders, Pippa must prove that love is greater than might.” –Goodreads

My Review:

I wish this book had just a bit more stuff to it. It was a bit underwhelming. A common wish in this review is that I wish there had been more stuff. I wish I had had more plot, more character building, more worldbuilding, etc.

Plot:

The plot for Wings of Olympus was neither exciting nor boring. It was so-so. I didn’t have anything super crazy that I liked about it. It was a good premise. I think there could have been more “challenges” but from a 240-page book what more could I ask for?

The fates made an appearance, but they didn’t really aid to the story. I thought that there would be more about them since they were like the introduction to the story, but they existed in a half a chapter.

Characters:

The main character, Pippa, was so sweet. She, like me, has a love for horses. Pippa seems to have a strong sense of not feeling like she belongs, and I feel as though many middle-grade readers can find themselves in this character.

The side characters were unmemorable, except for one boy character (who I do not remember the name of and don’t really want to search to find) who helps Pippa out.

I love how all the Gods came off exactly how I expected them too. Ares was arrogant and Aphrodite didn’t really seem to care about her competitor. Hades attempted to cheat. It all worked.

Setting:

This takes place in Olympus and honestly, I wish there was more worldbuilding. The whole thing is a mountain (duh), but what kind of mountain was it? I don’t know. Was it rocky? Was it snowy? Was it full of luscious green grass? I have no clue.

Quality of Writing:

The quality was middle grade. I do think the audiobook made the story more fun. Middle grade books sound less middle grade when they are read aloud, in my opinion.

What I Liked:

  • Horses!
  • Winged horse races!
  • Lovable child character

What I Didn’t:

  • Needed more worldbuilding
  • Short
  • I wish I could have gotten to know the characters better

For a middle-grade book, it was great. As someone who reads more complex novels daily, it was so-so. I wish we had gotten more, but there is a second book. I am just waiting for it to get to my online library.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Read This If You Love:

  • Horses
  • Greek mythology
  • Middle-grade
  • Non-romance books
  • Pet bonding

I Am A Broken Record: A Gail Carriger Novel Review

The Book:

Gray background with city skyline in the background, A female in a red dress and a black and white parasol, title Blameless in red along with author name and "an alexia tarabotti novel"
Blameless cover from Goodreads

Title: Blameless

Author: Gail Carriger

Series: Parasol Protectorate #3

Published September 1st, 2010 by Orbit

Genre: Fantasy, Steampunk, Romance

Pages: 355

Quitting her husband’s house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season in the third book of the NYT bestselling Parasol Protectorate series.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London’s vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires — and they’re armed with pesto.
BLAMELESS is the third book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.” –Goodreads

My Review:

After a heartbreaking, and utterly shocking, twist at the end of the second book, I almost was nervous to pick this up. I won’t go too much into it but Changeless had some crazy stuff happen at the end.

I was excited to see where Carriger went with this novel, and she served up a steaming plate of the best vegetarian meatloaf you have ever had. Doesn’t sound appealing? It does to me, so we are going with it.

I loved this book. I mean this is a moot point now since I always love her books. She cannot fail me.

The romance was like the last book, a little so-so but it did have a good tension aspect that carried over from the events of the last book.

We get to see so much more lore about preternatural and the supernatural set in this book. I love the worldbuilding and the new places she goes in this book. She is AMAZING!

I am keeping this short again because I have another review to do for this series right after and I just did one and they are all going to be the same!

Please read Gail Carriger, I will die on this hill. She is amazing and deserves all the love!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Check out my latest posts here:

Another Gail Carriger Review?! Here Is My Changeless Review

The Book:

Gray background made of clouds, gradient London skyline near bottom, blimp at the top of the cover, female in blue dress and steampunk style hat holding onto a railing, title and author name written in blue
Changeless cover pulled from Goodreads.com

Title: Changeless

Author: Gail Carriger

Series: Parasol Protectorate #2

Published April 1st, 2010 by Hatchette Book Group

Genre: Steampunk, Fantasy, Romance

Pages: 389

“Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

CHANGELESS is the second book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.” –Goodreads

My Review:

I am going to keep this short since, at the time of writing, I have read the next book and am onto the next.

I love Gail Carriger, but damn she writes A LOT.

All of these reviews are going to sound the same because I love her books and they are all similar. They are all really well done and have the same sort of plot line.

That being said, a lot of her books seem to blend together, so I am not 100% on all the events in this book, hence why I am keeping this short.

The saddest part of this book for me was how we slowly got away from the romance portion of the book. There was no more slow-burn like the first. The characters are happily together. That is always great, but there is not a huge extent of books anymore. There is no waiting to get together tension, there is just them being loving.

We got introduced to beloved characters from the prequel series Etiquette and Espionage in this book. I was so excited to see familiar characters again.

I wonder who else she will bring in.

Carriger is so witty and fun. Her writing is always amazing and she definitely deserves the read. Check out my review of Soulless, the first book in this series if you are interested in starting.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4

Rating: 4 out of 5.

For more check out my latest posts:

Loveless: A Book Review

The Book:

Title: Loveless

Author: Alice Oseman

Series: Osemanverse #10

Published July 9th 2020 by HarperCollins Children’s Books

Genre: Contemporary, YA, LGBTQIA+

Pages: 433

It was all sinking in. I’d never had a crush on anyone. No boys, no girls, not a single person I had ever met. What did that mean?

Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day.

As she starts university with her best friends, Pip and Jason, in a whole new town far from home, Georgia’s ready to find romance, and with her outgoing roommate on her side and a place in the Shakespeare Society, her ‘teenage dream’ is in sight.

But when her romance plan wreaks havoc amongst her friends, Georgia ends up in her own comedy of errors, and she starts to question why love seems so easy for other people but not for her. With new terms thrown at her – asexual, aromantic – Georgia is more uncertain about her feelings than ever.

Is she destined to remain loveless? Or has she been looking for the wrong thing all along?

This wise, warm and witty story of identity and self-acceptance sees Alice Oseman on towering form as Georgia and her friends discover that true love isn’t limited to romance” –Goodreads

My Review:

This is going to be the shortest review ever!! I am trying to avoid saying anything wrong and there is seemingly a lot of controversy about this book these days.

The story was cute. I liked the self-discovery we went on with Georgia. I liked seeing her friends’ lives through her eyes. I felt like I also learned about asexual/aromantic sexualities. I did not understand completely understand, but now I fully comprehend and respect the author for creating that understanding.

Oseman has a nice YA style writing. I definitely don’t think this is my favorite by them, (Heartstopper has my heart).

The main character of the book was so-so. I thought that the story was great, but sometimes the character just didn’t do anything. It seemed like we were exploring their sexuality, but that was it. We weren’t doing anything else with the main character. I don’t think that is wrong but I love it when characters have more. What I mean is Georgia had no interests that really drove her. Does that make sense?

I don’t think the book was bad, but I do not feel qualified to talk too much about it. It was mainly about sexuality, and I have seen mixed reviews about the representation in this book. Since it is the only thing this story really has (meaning there is no real plot), I don’t feel like I can say too much due to my lack of authority on this topic. Let me know what you think if you have read this book.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.5

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Want to Read

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s theme:  

Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To (Submitted by Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse)

  1. Diana Gabaldon- the “Outlander” series
  2. Sabaa Tahir- “Ember in the Ashes”
  3. Deborah Harkness- “A Discovery of Witches”
  4. Holly Black- “The Cruel Prince”
  5. Sasha Alsberg- “Breaking Time”
  6. Holly Jackson- “A Good Girls Guide to Murder”
  7. Tracy Deonn- “Legendborn”
  8. Kiera Cass- the “Selection” series
  9. Nicholas Sparks- romance books
  10. Katie Quinn- “The Diamond Eye”

Link your own post below or tell me who you want to read!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

The Sequels are Always Better: Kingdom of Flesh and Fire Review

The Book:

Title: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Series: Blood and Ash #2

Published September 1st 2020 by Blue Box Press

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, New Adult

Pages: 637

A Betrayal…

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice…

Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret…

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.” -Goodreads

My Review:

*Spoilers for the first book most likely*

This book was everything!

I did not like From Blood and Ash. The writing was sloppy and I had way too many questions and it angered me.

But, in this book, it all came together. The writing became more concrete and defined. I understood more about the creatures in this world. We got a map in this novel. The worldbuilding was way more in-depth in this book.

The romance was amazing. It was kind of lovers to enemies to lovers and I loved it. Casteel and Poppy’s romance was unique. They were so frustrating, but the frustration is all a part of the fun.

The world became a four-dimensional world. I felt like it was paper-thin and not super defined in the last book. In this one, I felt like I understood the history and the layout of the world a lot better.

I will say that this critique of it is not very developed in the last book could be because Poppy does not know much about the world around her. We do not get some information because she is not supposed to know that information. I did think the way it was written was confusing though.

This book had a better structure. I hated how the last book had no time jumps unless someone fell asleep. In this book, we speed through unnecessary events a lot faster.

I also was in shock over the ending. I have the next book, but I have not started reading it because I want my genuine reaction to the book.

I love the turn this book has taken. I have gotten more invested and am ready to see where this goes.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Review: The Midnight Library

The Book:

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Published September 29th 2020 by Viking (first published August 13th 2020)

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary

Pages: 304

“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?

A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.” -Goodreads

The Review:

I always seem to slack on my blog when I go back to college. Sorry about that. But, I never claimed to be perfect. That is where I have been for the past two weeks, so please dont judge me.

Anyways…

The Midnight Library was a good book. I was not super impressed. I think the hype surrounding the book made me think it was going to be more. I still would recommend this book.

I think the biggest downfall was the ending was very predictable from the beginning. I knew what was going to happen in the end around halfway through. It was the only thing that made logical sense.

I thought the plot was unique though. When you are near death you get to try all of your different lives you could have lived. I would love to be able to experience that. The story took me through some beautiful storylines, but ultimately was not as exciting as I would have hoped.

The main character was kind of bland. She did not give a lot to the story. Even her “change/shift” was lackluster. It may have been because the plot was predictable.

While this book failed to excite me, it was still a good read and was a great first book to read this year.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.5

Rating: 3 out of 5.

My Most Anticipated Books of 2022

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s theme:

Anticipated Books in the First Half of 2022

The first half of 2022 has some exciting books coming out and I am excited to share some that I am looking forward to, and some that I have already pre-ordered.

  1. Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard (June 28th)

I have been super into Victoria Aveyard this past year. I am hoping the obsession continues. I got the pre-order for this after attending her cover reveal live stream.

2. Galant by V.E Schwab (March 1st)

I pre-ordered this book. I thought it sounded interesting and I cannot wait to read it.

3. Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (January 18th)

As you know, I love Colleen Hoover. I am so excited to have another book of hers to devour.

4. House of Sky and Breath by Sarah. J Maas (February 15th)

I have not read the first book, but I still cannot wait for another Sarah J. Maas book!

5. Lore Olympus Vol. 2 by Rachel Smythe (February 2nd)

While I have already read the Webtoon, I do like to spend my money. So I am looking forward to snagging a copy of this since I have the first volume.

6. Family of Liars by E. Lockhart (May 3rd)

I read We Were Liars years ago and I am so excited that it has gained so much recognition this past year. I am so excited about this sequel.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

You’re So Dead: A Review

The Book:

Title: You’re So Dead

Author: Ash Parsons

Published June 15th 2021 by Philomel Books

Genre: Mystery, YA, Thriller

Pages: 400

“Plum Winter has always come in second to her sister, the unbelievably cool, famous influencer Peach Winter. And when Peach is invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxurious art and music festival for influencers on a private island in the Caribbean, Plum decides it’s finally her time to shine. So she intercepts the invite–and asks her two best friends Antonia and Marlowe to come along to the fest with her. It’ll be a spring break they’ll never forget.

But when Plum and her friends get to the island, it’s not anything like it seemed in the invite. The island is run-down, creepy, and there doesn’t even seem to be a festival–it’s just seven other quasi-celebrities and influencers, and none of the glitz and glamor she expected. Then people start to die…

Plum and her friends soon realize that someone has lured each of them to the “festival” to kill them. Someone has a vendetta against every person on the island–and no one is supposed to leave the island alive. So, together, Plum, Antonia, and Marlowe will do whatever it takes to unravel the mystery of the killer, and fight to save themselves and as many influencers as they can, before it’s too late.” -Goodreads

My Review:

So, I had no clue what this book was about when I first started reading it. I am notorious for not reading the synopsis. I saw this on my Libby app and it seemed popular, so I checked it out.

The first chapter ruined this book for me. It really did. It gave away that the book was about murder and that the main character would be one of the people who could be killed. It made all the suspense at the beginning of the book disappear. Had the first chapter been removed, the book would have had suspense and thrill when the first person dies.

And you, reader, might be saying, “Well if only you read the synopsis-“

NO

I do not care. I went into the book blind and I can say that it would have been 46% better if they had left the first chapter out.

The characters were dull. Plum Winters and her friends are irritating, to say the least. They are just three teenage girls who somehow can lead this group of celebrities better than the ex-military man in their group. I think not.

The premise of the book was really cool so the book won major points for that. Fyre Festival, if you don’t know, was a huge festival that basically flopped in 2017. (There is a really good Netflix documentary on the event. Definitely go watch that!) This book piggybacks off that idea with the Pyre Festival in the book.

Because of my background knowledge of this festival, I sort of thought the book was interesting. It turned a real-life event into an even greater sh*t show. The murder aspect of a social media festival was a fun twist.

I am really getting into mystery books this summer and I think this will be good for the fall and the chilly weather.

I will say, as far as mysteries go, this one was not the best. It did not have a huge amount of suspense. The culprit and the events leading up to the ending were interesting. The ending just seemed really random and also finished up really quick.

I cannot talk anymore about this book. Please, never ask me about it again.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 2

Rating: 2 out of 5.

My 2021 Books:

This year I read 64 books. This was a huge accomplishment. I am so excited to be able to publish this list as a post.

I keep a list of the book I read as a page on my blog, but now this list must go to make room for my 2022 list.

I did not want this list to go away, so I have decided to post the list.

Also, I wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who follows my blog and who likes and comments. I appreciate everyone and cant wait to see where this blog goes in the next year.

Book I Read:

  • Empire of Storm by Sarah J. Maas
  • Lucy by Jamacia Kincaid
  • What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera 
  • Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
  • Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
  • Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
  • We a BaddDDD People by Sonia Sanchez
  • Love Poems by Sonia Sanchez
  • homegirls and handgrenades by Sonia Sanchez
  • Into the Wild by John Krakauer
  • Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
  • Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
  • Caraval by Stephanie Garber
  • And I Darken by Kiersten White
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  • Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
  • Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
  • Legendary by Stephanie Garber
  • Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
  • Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters” by Kim Todd
  • Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
  • The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
  • The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead
  • Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
  • Fence: Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan
  • Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
  • The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
  • White Magic by Elissa Washuta
  • The Glamourist by Luanne G. Smith
  • A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
  • You’re So Dead by Ash Parsons
  • The Conjurer by Luanne G. Smith
  • Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, etc.
  • Finale by Stephanie Garber
  • Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon
  • She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
  • The Diabolic by S.J Kincaid
  • Layla by Colleen Hoover
  • The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
  • Beach Read by Emily Henry
  • Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
  • The Vanishing Stairs by Maureen Johnson
  • The Hand of the Wall by Maureen Johnson
  • From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Arementrout
  • Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
  • American Animals by Eric Borsuk
  • The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms
  • The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms
  • A Veil of Truth and Trickery by Analeigh Ford
  • City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
  • City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
  • Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
  • City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
  • Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
  • Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
  • The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
  • Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
  • Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
  • Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
  • Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie