Damned Souls and a Sangria - Annette Marie (Audiobook)

Tantor Audio, 2020, 8.6 hours

Read by Cris Dukehart

Listened to: August 2025, age 47 

 

The Guild Codex: Spellbound book 8 

 

Well, here's the big payoff for the series so far.  It was worth it.  Another great book, and now I'm sad, because we're done with Tori and her mages.

 

This series, especially the Spellbound thread, was fantastic.  It stayed strong all the way through to the end. 

 

Rating: 5 

Lost Talismans and a Tequila - Annette Marie (Audiobook)

Tantor Audio, 2020, 7.9 hours

Read by Cris Dukehart

Listened to: July 2025, age 47

 

Guild Codex: Spellbound book 7 

 

More of the same, which is fantastic.  Great series. 

 

Rating: 5
 

Druid Vices and a Vodka - Annette Marie (Audiobook)

Tantor Audio, 2020, 9.3 hours 

Read by: Cris Dukehart

Listened to: June 2025, age 47 

 

The Guild Codex: Spellbound, book 6 

 

I really like this series, especially the Tori books.  This one's no exception.

 

Rating: 5 

The Alchemist and an Amaretto - Annette Marie (Audiobook)

Tantor Audio, 2020, 6.9 hours

Original copyright 2019

Read by: Chris Dukehart

Listened to: April 2025, age 47

 

The Guild Codex: Spellbound, book 5

 

The whole overarching series is good, but I *really* like the initial / main story.  Tory is a fun viewpoint for the insanity.  The characters don't necessarily change too much, but we get to learn a lot about why they are who they are along the way.  This instalment was a strong action/mystery story, but with some significant repercussions that look like they're going to start tying the other series in pretty quickly.

 

Rating: 5

Hogfather - Terry Pratchett

Harper Torch, 1999, 421 pages

Read: January 2025, age 46 

Discworld, book 20

 

This was yet another fantastically quotable book,  funny, and deeper than it had any right to be.  Prime Pratchett, in other words.  

 

My only real quibble is that in the ebook format, the footnotes were unlinked end-notes, and that didn't work very well for me.  Reading them all at the end just isn't the same.

Rating: 5

The Golden Enclaves - Naomi Novik (Audiobook)

Random House Audio, 2022, 14.8 hours

Read by: Anisha Dadia 

Listened to: December 2024, age 46

 

The Scholomance, book 3

 

A strong ending to the series.  I enjoyed it all the way through, though I do think that the author flinched at the end; it was a happier conclusion than I think the series warranted.  Excellent, overall, though.

 

Rating: 5-

Demon Magic and a Martini - Annette Marie (Audiobook)

Tantor, 2019, 7.3 hours

Read by Chris Dukehart

Listened to: September 2024, age 46

 

The Guild Codex: Spellbound, book 4 

I just like this series.  It's fun.  The series are starting to link up now, too, which is a good time.

 

Rating: 5

The Olympian Affair - Jim Butcher (Audiobook)

Penguin Audio, 2023, 20.4 hours

Read by: Euan Morton

Listened to:  October 2024, age 46

The Cinder Spires, book 2

A somewhat smaller story than book 1, it was perhaps stronger for that choice.  There were still duels, airship battles, and wonderful characters to hang out with.  A lot of fun.

 

Rating: 5
 

Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree (Audiobook)

Macmillan Audio, 2022, 7.3 hours

Read by: Travis Baldree

Listened to:  September 2024

 

This book is just a warm hug, and listening to was just as nice as reading it.

 

Rating: 5

 

 

Blackout - Mira Grant

Orbit, 2019, 417 pages (757-1174 of the omnibus)

Original copyright 2012

ISBN: 978-0-316-45145-1 

 

Newsflesh #3 

It's not often that a series stays as strong throughout as this one did.  I highly enjoyed it.  As ever, the strength of the book was in the characters, which remained fantastic.

Rating: 5

The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik (Audiobook)

Random house, 2021, 13.5 hours

Read by Anisha Dadia

Listened to: June 2024, age 46

Scholomance, book 2

Almost as good as the first book, this one has all the strengths, but our main character has fixed most of her weaknesses, and is now a god upon earth.  That was less interesting to me.  Additionally, the setting became less interesting as a result.  The characters were still a lot of fun, and the story didn't go the way I thought it would, which is always nice.

Rating: 5-

Deadline - Mira Grant

Orbit, 2011, 584 pages

ISBN: 978-0-316-08106-1

Read: March 2024, age 45

 

The Rising, book 2

Every bit as good as the first book, though it didn't have quite the same novelty, and I missed a couple of the previous characters.  I'm not generally in favour of heavily broken main characters, but this time didn't bother me really at all.

Rating: 5

A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett

Corgi, 2005, 351 pages

Original copyright 2004

ISBN: 0-552-55264-X

Read: March 2024, age 45 

 

Discworld book 32, Tiffany Aching book 2 

In which Tiffany meets Granny Weatherwax.  How could it be anything but fantastic?  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating: 5

A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik (Audiobook)

Random House, 2020, 11 hours

Read by: Anisha Dadia

Listened to: April 2024, age 46 

Scholomance, book 1

This was an excellent book - funny, with a wonderful flawed main character, strong supporting cast, and a fantastic setting.  I very much enjoyed it.

Rating: 5

Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree

Tor, 2022, 294 pages

ISBN: 978-1-250-88608-8

Read: February 2024, age 45

 

Just a really nice little novel.  I read it in essentially one sitting, and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

 

Rating: 5

 

Replay - Ken Grimwood (Audiobook)

Tantor, 2008, 11.4 hours

Original copyright 1998

Read by: William Dufris

Listened to:  October 2023

 

I've had this one on my bookshelf for a couple of decades, and didn't really remember much about it - just generally positive feelings.  It was really good.  Very thought-provoking, and an interesting treatment of a time-loop story.  Impressive.

 

Rating: 5

Feed - Mira Grant

Orbit, 2010, 571 pages

ISBN: 978-0-316-08105-4

Read: November 2023, age 45

Newsflesh, book 1

This was a pretty fantastic book.  It was more a murder-mystery thriller with zombies as set dressing than the straight-up zombie book that I was kind of expecting - think Scooby-doo (minus the dog) in zombieland.  The characters made the book, and they were phenomenal.

Rating: 5

Discord's Apple - Carrie Vaughn

Tor, 2010, 299 pages 

ISBN: 978-0-7653-2554-9

Read: August 2023

 

I got completely drawn into this book - I started it at lunch and then read after supper until it was done.  

 

I highly enjoyed it. 

 

And then I spent a bunch of the night processing it.  Wonderful.  

 

Rating: 5

Network Effect - Martha Wells

Tor, 2020, 352 pages

ISBN: 978-1250229861

Read: July 2023, age 45

 

The Murderbot Diaries, book 5

This book is basically the answer to my complaints about the three previous novellas - decent novellas, but really 3 parts of a really excellent book.  This one is just a really excellent book.  This series deserves all the awards it got.

Rating: 5

Exit Strategy - Martha Wells

Tor, 172 pages 2018

ISBN: 978-1-250-19185-4

Read: June 2023, age 45

 

The Murderbot Diaries, book 4

 

This was part 3 of a most excellent novel.  It paid off the inconclusive ends to the previous two novellas, and I would have preferred them all in one volume.  The first stands alone, but the next three really don't.  This one was fantastic, though. 

 

Rating: 5