As I discussed in a previous blog post, I review every book that I read on Goodreads.

I do this in my dual roles of both writer and reader, the former to help my fellow writers try to generate book sales, and the latter because I just enjoy sharing my opinions about what I’m reading.

I tend to post my book reviews in batches.  Part of this is because when I first finish a book, I often need to ponder how I felt about it for a bit.

At the same time, though, I love reading so much that as soon as I finish a book, I immediately want to start another one and totally immerse myself in this new story.

This sometimes leads to me putting off writing (or otherwise posting) reviews for books I’ve already read for weeks or months after the fact, until I actively force myself to sit down and do them all at once.

Recently, I posted all the reviews I’ve written since January, for everything I’ve read since December 31.  This includes the following three books and one short story, in varying genres:

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Red Queen
Victoria Aveyard
Genre: YA dystopian fantasy
Stars: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Red Queen really surprised me with how much it entertained me. The politics of the Silver court were exciting and unpredictable.  One of the tag lines of the book is that “anyone can betray anyone”, and this was proven all too true.  One betrayal in particular was genuinely shocking, at least to me.
Read the entire review

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The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller
Genre: Literary, historical fiction
Stars: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Told from the first person point of view of the hapless Patroclus, his love and hero-worship of Achilles shines bright in his guileless narration. … [M]y heart ached at the inevitable tragic ending looming on every page, unbeknownst to the characters.
Read the entire review

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Pet
C.S. Pacat
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT
Stars: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Set against the backdrop of a succession conflict that occurred during the book series, we are shown over and over Ancel’s political ingenuity, his seductive showmanship, his extravagant tastes, and his relentless snark.
Read the entire review

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Slavery in Classical Greece
N.R.E. Fisher
Genre: Nonfiction
Stars: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Fisher discusses such topics as … how slaves were treated by both their masters and society in general, the various duties slaves performed in Classical society, [and] the often unacknowledged debt the development of democracy owes to chattel slavery[.]
Read the entire review

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Another reason that I write book reviews is because I also read book reviews to help support my book buying and reading decisions.  My reviews are a way to give back for all those whose words have helped me choose books over the years.

So if anyone has been on the fence about any of the books I’ve discussed, I hope my reviews will help you make your decision.

What are you reading right now?

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(Image source #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5)