Empire of the Damned, by Jay Kristoff is the second novel in the Empire of the Vampire series.
I have always loved vampire novels, ever since reading Interview with the Vampire. Empire has all the qualities that I loved from that series: a tortured main character with a sordid past, interesting other characters, epic world-building, lore, magic, and history.
Since this is the second in the series, I won’t say too much about the plot. Like the first in the series, it’s a pretty lengthy book at 709 pages. If you don’t mind epic tales, love vampires, and a good story, I highly recommend this, but you’ll need to start with the first book. You can find what I wrote about the first book in a mini review in this post.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.Some links in this review are affiliate links, and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Given that I’ve been thinking about how to expand my career options beyond the traditional tech job, when I saw Succeeding as a Solopreneur: Six Keys to taking the Leap, Winning Clients, and Building Wealth by Liz J. Steblay offered by NetGalley, it seemed very timely.
Overall, it was a quick read, and I definitely learned some stuff.
First, I do not know enough about running a business to know if I need to be an LLC, get a business license, or file for “doing business as”. I have some research to do! The book provided more questions than answers for me here.
Second, I am not sure if I’m ready to take the leap into being a solopreneur just yet, so I’m not giving up on my job search. Rather, I’d like to explore both in parallel.
I also need to learn way more about marketing, making a brand for myself, and start doing more networking.
Overall, Succeeding as a Solopreneur was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The author talks early on about defining herself as a consultant/entrepreneur, later flipping it, and then ultimately dropping consultant to become simply an entrepreneur. However, the work she does as an entrepreneur, to me, seems like consulting work. So, I spent a lot (too much) time wondering what the difference was, why it matters, and if this book was really for me.
Some of the book seems pretty relevant for anyone looking to work for themselves. Is self-employed the same as solopreneur? What about gig workers? It’s all still a little murky for me. And this is where I felt the book was a let-down. It wasn’t clear to me if I was included in the definition or not.
Also, she spends a lot of time on networking and selling yourself. But this, again, felt geared towards people working in a similar “consulting” line of work. If you are, for example, a website developer, or a graphic artist, how much does your LinkedIn profile photo really matter?
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.
The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is a fast-paced fantasy novel that centers around a family curse, magic, fairytales, and monsters.
On the surface, The City of Stardust has everything I want in a fantasy novel–a strong female protagonist, magic, monsters, and a decent villain. However,in the end, I felt the novel was a letdown.
Violet Everly grew up in seclusion, kept secret from the world, with no explanation. At the age of 10, her mother leaves, and her uncles Ambrose and Gabriel take over her care. Slowly, Violet becomes aware of the family curse, and the reasons for her mother’s departure.
While the family curse is ultimately explained, in my opinion, it still left a lot of gaping plot holes. Throughout the story, we find Violet following the trail left by her mother Marianne, and this is also a huge letdown. Although I suppose the door is open for a follow-up novel that tells Marianne’s story.
For a novel with magic at its center, we see very little of the magic. The story focuses on the Everly curse and the search for the City of Stardust. The magic is almost an afterthought, which is too bad.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and RedhookBooks for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.Links in this review are affiliate links, and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
The Morningside1 by Téa Obreht is set in the not-so-distant future, where due to the destructive forces of human nature, the world has been ravaged by rising tides, food shortages, and unpredictable weather patterns.
Silvia and her mother have come to reside at The Morningside, what was once a luxury tower. As part of the Repopulation Program, they have been allowed to immigrate to this community. As part of the Posterity Initiative, everyone has limited access to rations, and eating meat is forbidden.
This is a novel about secrets, mourning what was, and how the world and humanity can recover what it lost. However, I felt it was trying to do and be too many things all at once. First, there’s the post-apocalyptic aspect, and then on top of that, we have folklore, magical realism, and classism.
Overall, I just didn’t get into the story or the characters. I would have enjoyed it more without the magical realism aspect, which I felt detracted from the other parts of the plot.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own.
