Book List 1 (2024)

[wolf_spirit16]

Mistborn: The Final Empire


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 25h
Listened On: Libby
Started On: 07/05
Finished On: 07/10
Rating (Of 5): 4.5

Narrator: 5/5 Honestly very good. He has a wide array of voices, I couldn't imagine the Mistborn series with anyone else. All characters were unique and I could tell who was who even without it being stated.
Romance: 5/5 There was barely any in it and what there was, was only hinted at and touched on. It wasn't forced and focused on. And more importantly there was no 'spice'. I didn't need to deal with any badly written porn in front of my salad.
Magic System: 5/5 Really interesting magic system. Allomancy is such a cool concept and its nice to have the little details that make it not overpowered.

Characters: 5/5 I loved everyone here. Vin is clearly powerful but her newness to everything helps set the reader into the world as she learns with us. Kelsier is cool and powerful and a great guide but it becomes more and more clear that he is very flawed. All the side characters are likable to lovable. The Lord Ruler is imposing and mysterious. Everyone was fleshed out and given understandable motivations and flaws.
Favorite Character: Kelsier
Second Favorite Character: Vin
Least Liked Character: n/a

Notes: For being the first thing I listened to at work and the first book trying to get back into reading this was hard to beat. I absolutely loved this book and I can easily say it is one of my favorite books of all time. The final showdown had me standing still and staring straight ahead as it went down and the clear set up for what is to come leaves you itching for the next book.

Mistborn: The Well Of Ascension


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 29h
Listened On: Libby
Started On: 07/13
Finished On: 07/17
Rating (Of 5): 3

Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 2/5 The teenage angst of Elend and Vin was wildly annoying. They have the makings of a great couple but the growing pains really were exhausting.
Magic System: 5/5 The expansion we learn pertaining to the Kandra is a nice touch.

Characters: 2/5 I really didn't like most of the characters this time around at all. Vin was acting like a terrible love interest and terrible friend (when she directly goes against what 'OreSeur' asked really pissed me off. Here he is opening up to her and she does basically exactly what he was afraid of.) Elend was acting stupid half of the time. The side characters we loved from book 1 were much less lovable and in some cases no longer likable. I did love TenSoon though and was not entirely surprised by the twist pertaining to him but I was surprised at how far back that twist actually was set. Overall I think Sazed really pulled together what otherwise would have been a boring read. The new side characters seemed pointless, most of them seemed completely unneeded at best especially considering not a single one who got heavy focus even survives past the last chapter.
Favorite Character: TenSoon
Second Favorite Character: Sazed
Least Liked Character: Vin

Notes: This really suffered from Middle book Syndrome. It's a good book, and I will probably read it again, but it lacked everything I loved of the first book and close to the ending sucked ass. The way basically everyone dies felt cheap to me. I can see removing the characters to set up for the last book but the way it was done was cheap. We spent so much time with these people in book 1 and most of book 2 then in the last few chapters they die with absolutely no fanfare and they don't even die with a cause. The very very end was frankly totally disjointed from everything else. This book could have been condensed down to half the size. It wasn't a bad book, but it also wasn't entirely enjoyable.

Mistborn: The Hero Of Ages


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 27h
Listened On: Libby
Started On: 07/20
Finished On: 07/23
Rating (Of 5): 4.75

Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 5/5 Love was there, but not romance. As I previously said they were a serious power couple but it wasn't a lovey-dovey in your face way. The romantic love here enhanced things, it wasn't shoehorned in. They trusted each other and that was a beautiful thing to watch.
Magic System: 5/5 Somehow even better then the last two. The magic system was fleshed out even more and the species and history was fleshed out more.

Characters: 5/5 Back to loving all the characters again however Sazed actually annoyed me a lot for a majority of this book. Yes, he had a very good reason for it and it was very realistic but it felt like hitting a patch of molasses every time the focus switched to him. Everyone else though? Amazing. Elend and Vin were a power couple with love and respect and trust coloring everything they did together and apart. TenSoon was awesome and I wish more POV could have been from him. The remaining characters we've been loving stayed lovable. And the Ultimate BBEG in this story was phenomenal. He was fun and interesting and imposing and mysterious all at the same time. The one character downside is I don't think Human was fleshed out as much as it felt like he was going to be. We spent a little time with Vin trying to learn about his species but it ended up falling flat.
Favorite Character: TenSoon
Second Favorite Character: Vin? Elend? I can't really tell.
Least Liked Character: Sazed

Notes: I would give this book a straight 5/5 if it wasn't for the last few pages, to be honest. This whole book was phenomenal. I loved every bit of it. The characters, the history and lore revealed which left me mouth agape when we learn about the origin of the original Kandra, the struggle, the amazing final battle, the way Vin and Elend were absolutely badass. It was blood pumping from cover to cover. Spook is my least favorite of the 3 main viewpoints of this one but even he was an interesting read. I don't mind Sazed's ending, but I just don't like the world basically being totally ended. I don't like 'restart' endings like this, it really doesn't feel happy. They failed their mission. The world was destroyed and remade as something totally different and reset, most of humanity wiped out, very few people survived from start to finish. I don't love endings like that, but it was frankly the best I could imagine for the path this story took.

The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive)


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 45h
Listened On: Libby
Started On: 07/27
Finished On: 08/06
Rating (Of 5): 3.5

Narrator:  3/5 Two narrators. The guy who normally reads Sanderson books is a 5/5 but the lady is absolutely a 1/5 at best. When she first started I thought she was AI until I realized that this was before AI really was starting to become a thing. She ends every sentence incorrectly with a raise of tone. That usually indicates a pause or question so more than once she would say something and I expected it to be followed up with a character talking or something but instead it was a totally different paragraph. She can't do more then 2 voices per gender: Females get a young light voiced girl and an older regal woman. Males get an old man and an older man. Males also sound especially bad. I actually opened my app and stared at the return button for a long while before just deciding to keep going since I checked and all books going forward has her. It's so bad that at one of the interventions that is done, focusing on a random woman and man to show another character's back story, I forgot it was an intervention and was wondering why Shallan (her young girl voice) and the King (her older man voice) were having a conversation.
Romance: 5/5 None of that in here. At least nothing I classify as romance.
Magic System: 4/5 Interesting magic system with what we saw. The magic that we open with he hardly see again till the end. There is other magic like with the spren and fabrials which is interesting but a lot more laid back compared to the lashings of the opener.

Characters: 3/5 Honestly very few people were likable at all in this. Believable and I'm interested and invested in their causes, but I only really cared about Kaladin. One character acted horribly most of the time (Shallan), the other wasn't honestly all that interesting (Dalinar), and side characters surrounding all three main characters were between neutral to asshole the whole time. I suppose that can be a good thing for plenty of people, after all they're realistic characters, but coming out of Mistborn when everyone was amazing, even the ultimate BBEG, was a downgrade.
Favorite Character: Kaladin
Second Favorite Character: Tien
Least Liked Character: Shallan

Notes: Previously I tried to listen to this and returned it quickly cause it was just too much and too broken up. I was able to acclimate to Sanderson thanks to Mistborn so had an easier time with this but it's still a lot. Mainly because it feels so disjointed. It jumps between 3 main view points, only one of which I find interesting, and when one is getting really interesting it then switches views to another. Pair that with the horrible narrator for Shallan's chapters (and a small bit randomly near the end of a different woman's POV who by now already had an established voice with the male narrator so felt just plain wrong). I actually audibly groaned more than once when viewpoints switched. I don't mind multiple viewpoints but this seemed so disjointed and there was so much build up just to build the world. The thing that really saved this book was Kaladin (I can already tell he's gonna be my favorite) and the very end. The final battle was amazingly epic and had me listening to the very end of it as I drove home instead of waiting to finish the next work day like usual. I know this book had to set things up for following books in the Stormlight Archive so they can jump into it better so some of it's slog is forgiven for that.

Warbreaker


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 25h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 08/08
Finished On: 08/12
Rating (Of 5): 4.75


Narrator: 5/5 She was honestly phenomenal. Every character had their own voice and she captured emotion amazingly well, I wish she was the designated female narrator for Sanderson books instead of just this once.
Romance: 5/5 There were elements but it wasn't done in a way that was offputting. I can see it being weird to some since it is an arranged thing, but it was done well and felt pretty authentic.
Magic System: 5/5 This was just as interesting as Mistborn's magic system. It was confusing at first but part of that is because of Sanderson's way of jumping in first to give you a taste then pulling back and explaining slowly as you go. Again like Mistborn it was clever because having 2 of 3 POVs being people who did not know about the magic system means that them learning allowed the reader to learn alongside them. I wish we could have learned just a bit more on what actually is the effect of becoming a drab, but it was still a very interesting system.

Characters: 5/5 Honestly I almost couldn't choose fav and least liked characters. The main viewpoints jump between three main characters and all three are amazing characters and everyone surrounding them, even bad guys, are great characters. I was expecting to hate at least one but that never actually happened. Ciri is clever and caring. Vivenna goes through one HELL of a character arc. I frankly didn't like her for a while but she pushed through it and showed what she's made of by the end. Lightsong was a fun character and my main gripe was I would have loved to see him shine more but ultimately the focus being on the sisters with Lightsong being more in a supporting roll worked out well. All the main side characters interacting with these characters were phenomenal. My goodness my heart BREAKS that there isn't a book 2 to show these character's lives to follow but I suppose I don't mind too much because it really is kind of happy ending for the most part and I fear that would change if we got more.
Favorite Character: Vasher
Second Favorite Character: Susebron
Least Liked Character: Blushweaver

Notes: Honestly this book is easily my favorite alongside Mistborn 1 and 3. I loved and was invested in everyone's stories. The POV changed from person to person per chapter but when, at the end, you started changing POV within the chapter itself you knew it was the peak. The only reason I put Blushweaver as my least liked character is cause she just rubbed me the wrong way. She wasn't a bad character by any means nor was she a bad guy, just misguided, and I respect that.

Mistborn: The Alloy Of Law


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 11h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 07/26
Finished On: 08/13
Rating (Of 5): 3

Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 4/5 There was virtually none of that and what there was, wasn't too in your face as is the theme I hope stays with Sanderson books. Downside though was there was some of the typical crushing from one direction to the other in a way that was annoying, which would be fine if it wasn't already an annoying character.
Magic System: 2/5 Everything I liked about the original trilogy got desecrated with this one. The way it went from the focus being on Mistings/Mistborn and Furochemy to a combo of them with Twinborn and no Mistborn was really honestly just a joke of what made the original magic system fun. The focus the world had on Mistings being a thing seemed stripped away in this world. I can sorta see why, since we estalished in Era 1 that the more time that passes from the original mistborn/misting the weaker it gets, but there was just a whole hell of a lot less magic to this world, especially with the new setting, and I don't find that as enjoyable.

Characters: 2/5 I barely liked anyone in this one. Marasi was annoying as shit. We went one of the strongest female characters I've ever seen (Vin) to... this? I had really hoped she would be amazing but nope. Like, we didn't need a character like this. Yea, Vin wore trousers and "men's clothes" and was pretty tomboyish, but she made it clear that she also liked ballgowns and femininity and she learned that she could be both. Marasi however is completely opposite. She only likes feminine things and acts so guilty about it. Sure maybe this can be something like 'you can be powerful either way' but we already HAD that with Allrianne in Mistborn 2 and 3. Wax and Wayne are mid at best. Wayne is at least amusing, I like him. Overall the characters are wildly lacking.
Favorite Character: Wayne
Second Favorite Character: Wax
Least Liked Character: Marasi

Notes: This was a real bummer. I'm hoping it was just because of the massive shift. I feel this could and should have been a totally separate 'thing' without the Mistborn name but I suppose, because of the twisted use of previously established magic it had to be the same series instead. I also know that there are plans for more eras that stray further into the future so I suppose I should get used to it. Even so I really didn't like the setting change. It reminded me of Avatar TLA vs Avatar TLOK, where things that originally were magical and interesting and unique in the first ends up twisted and 'modern' in the second. We went from an epic world with ashmounds and imposing rulers to some old west gun slinging which wouldn't be bad in its own bubble but it isn't in a bubble, it shares the Mistborn name, so it's a downgrade. If this was tweaked in some way so that it didn't come off the heals of Mistborn Era 1 I would have probably rated this higher but old west stuck in the middle of your fantasy epic is a bit of a shock. Frankly the only parts I liked at all was at the end when we got a glimpse of some things from the first series. The reason my read time on this is so long is because I ended up dropping it and reading Warbreaker instead, I only finished it because I had half a shift left to go before my vacation and half a book left of this so figured I'd finish it. Again, I feel this would be a lot better had it not come off of a much more interesting world of the first era.

Elantris


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 29h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 08/07
Finished On: 8/10
Rating (Of 5): 5

Narrator: 5/5 Not the usual narrator but amazing nonetheless and in some cases better than the usual guy.
Romance: 5/5 Sanderson really likes the arranged marriage that works out trope but it's done in a pretty good way that feels genuine and the romance isn't shoehorned as a super important aspect. It's just there, as a simple human thing.
Magic System: 5/5 City of the living dead vibes was wildly interesting from the start then when you expand to the rest of the magic system it gets even better.

Characters: 5/5 All the characters were relatively likable. Like most Sanderson stories the theme of nobody freaking communicating does happen but it's not terrible. Everyone's motivations are very believable. The antagonist(s) made me want to rip my hair out in the good way. They were frustrating people but great antagonists. They were great characters with realistic motivations. I absolutely hated Hrathen for a majority of the story. He causes so many issues for our two main protagonists. I googled at one point to see who else hated him and I saw nothing but how he was such an amazing character and character arc and I didn't believe it. I remember thinking very clearly to myself 'well I know I definitely won't think that I hate him far too much.' But then I got there myself and we see that he wasn't just being a butt but was genuinely working to prevent something truly horrible. His actions though annoying for our protagonists were with the genuine intent for the greater good and harmless compared to the true bad guy. But Dilaf? Oh man fuck that guy. He kinda reminded me of a strange mixture of Scar's vengeance driven bloodlust from FMA and Wormtounge's slimy manipulation from LOTR.
Favorite Character: Raoden
Second Favorite Character: Galladon
Least Liked Character: Dilaf

Notes: This was such a fun story. I don't know why so many people think it's only meh, it's one of my favorites. The vibe of the story was very cool and the magic system was fun. It almost had a horror quality to it when you really think about what everyone was going through. All the way up to the very end. It actually made me so sad to see the characters who died basically right before the final climax. The character arc for the main antagonist was, as I said before, phenomenal and seeing the true villain get worse and worse just hair ripping. I regularly thought to myself 'Just stop this guy!' but then thought about it and it sunk it that there was nothing that could be done to stop him. Hrathen was doing his best to temper the bastard but the manipulation of Dilaf ran so deep he couldn't overtly stop him. (In fact in one part I actively thought "Ugh just kill him or send him away or something!" and about 30 seconds later Hrathen specifically thought about doing just that and it was shown why he can't.) Overall this is one of my favorite of the Sanderson books by far and Raodn is one of my favorite characters in the Cosmere.

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 23h
Listened On: took
Started On: n/a
Finished On: n/a
Rating (Of 5): 4

Narrator: 4/5 The normal narrators are here which normally would be fine but in terms of the Elantris mini story the pronunciation is SO BAD. I strongly feel that established 'voices' should not be done by someone else. I wish they got back the narrator that was used for Elantris to at least cover that story.
Romance: 5/5 I don't believe any of these mini-stories had any
Magic System: 5/5 All of the magic systems in this was very interesting. The expansion of Kelsier's story was interesting and seeing some of an Elantrian's point of view in the climax of Elantris was cool (though I was deeply pulled away from it thanks to the narrators), the other worlds were also interesting to see.

Characters: 5/5 The charactrs in this of course range from decent to great. I can honestly say none of the main points of view we saw were bad in these short stories.
Favorite Character: n/a I can't say I had a favorite character or even a favorite story
Second Favorite Character: n/a
Least Liked Character: n/a

Notes: This has a rating of 3 simply because it was a mix of stories so therefore rating each on would be difficult. The stories, characters, magic system, etc all range in quality and interest so being able to give a blanket rating on it would be difficult. It was very neat to see these stories that couldn't possibly be made into a full book and certain planets I would love to see more of.

Words of Radiance (Stormlight Archive)


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 48h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 9/16
Finished On: 9/22
Rating (Of 5): 4.75

Narrator: 4/5 It seems like Sanderson has settled on the same narrators as in the first book. Thankfully the lady narrator is better than she was in the first book, but it is still a painful lurch any time she takes over one of the preestablished male voices like Kaladin or Adolin especially because she still just can not do male voices at all. That said, however, I couldn't imagine Pattern with a different voice so she certainly has gotten better and at least her previous issue with all sentences ending on an upturn isn't as predominant this time.
Romance: 5/5 Once again, the romance that is included isn't an issue. I do feel some worry in the near future as I feel like there may be a triangle coming up, but as of where it stands it isn't bad and it's not a main focus.
Magic System: 5/5 Now we're back in business. Now we are seeing much more of the magic we saw in book 1 and then some. It's slowly expanding and getting more interesting.

Characters: 5/5 The characters are so, so much better this time around then in the first book. Now that everyone has been established they can really show their colors. Bridge Four is amazing as always and rather reminds me of the team in Mistborn Era 1. Though there are cracks that are starting to form so I know not to get too attached to them. The whole house of Kholin is becoming more interesting. Renarin is turning out to be a lovable character and I am sure we're going to see a lot more of him coming up, Dalinar is just as great as book 1, and Adolin? Oh Adolin my beloved, I do love him. He went from honestly just another side character in the first book to easily my second favorite character in this book. He is clearly trying his best, despite the odds. In some ways I feel he is better than Dalinar. While Dalinar is very much stuck in his ways and holding onto the honor and hope that is long dead Adolin is more realistic. One good instance of this is how he, unlike Dalinar, believed Kaladin immediately about Amaram. He didn't let some old memories of house friendship cloud his judgement. He believed the word of someone so 'beneath' him and could see the reality of what such a clean record might indicate. He absolutely shines as a good man. When it was revealed that he locked himself up in solidarity with Kaladin my heart absolutely fucking melted for him. And then the very end when he snaps and finally gives fucknut what he deserves? I... Oh...man... that was the best part in any book I've read yet. Fuck that was hot. But yea, Kaladin needs him by his side (as an ally... or more, but this book is too straight for that sadly).

And Kaladin? God, poor man can't catch a break. I get frustrated as I listen to the book and over and over and over again he just keeps getting beat down. He can't get a break, he can't take a rest. Constantly he is dragging himself up by the fingernails only to be beat down with a hammer and forced to crawl up again, never allowed even to rest. Constant betrayal and pain both physically and mentally. And his natural reaction to that, such as his lack of trust and understandable assumptions on what would be better for the country, only gets him punished over and over again. It seems like he isn't allowed to make mistakes or take off the mask he got forced upon him. I love my favorites going through hell and back and oh boy is my favorite taking laps around that shit pool. I see a lot of people whine about him and his obvious depression but it's like... dude even without clinical depression he goes through so much shit, the fuck you expect from him?

Shallan is a lot better now. She aggravates the hell out of me in many moments more than the other characters but not as bad as WoK. Her pension to steal and scam and lie even when given trust and a good thing is frustrating but it's, well... understandable. I can't possibly give Kaladin a pass for some of his more stupid and insufferable actions without giving Shallan the same pass. I mean hell... the flashback to her father? The Truth pertaining to her mother? When what happened with her dad was revealed I stood there, staring ahead with my stomach twisting. Just the sheer idea of that is just...Jesus. But then you add on what happened with her mother and that twists what happened to her father even more horrendous. However I will say she isn't nearly as funny as she seems to think. This isn't usually that troublesome when she's going about her day but when she is purposefully making quips to be 'funny' such as any time she sees Kaladin it is really frustrating. Girl you aren't funny. More often than not her 'quips' are just mean spirited, especially towards Kaladin. Though again, I'll give her a pass for for now since I give Kaladin a pass for being a massive grump.
Favorite Character: Kaladin my beloved
Second Favorite Character: Adolin my second beloved
Least Liked Character: Amaram or Sadeas, hard to tell. Not because they're written badly but because I want to strangle them.

Notes: Main reason this doesn't get a 5/5 is because Kaladin and Adolin don't kiss. I'm not even kidding, okay? I want them to kiss. It's such an obvious ship. Hell I'll even take Kaladin/Adolin/Shallan if I have to. This is a good story though and a lot more interesting right off the bat than the first which was clearly setting up the world. The new things we get revealed such as the Parshendi and getting things from their POV is very neat. It really pulls into question of they're really bad guys or just victims being used. Pattern is very nearly my favorite character, especially early on, because he is downright adorable. I do wish someone would at least let poor Kaladin catch a break, though on the other hand him being badass 90% of the time is a wonderful thing to see. (The real reason its not a 5/5 is the main problems from before. Shallan, though not as bad as before, is wildly annoying still.) Also of note I actually audibly cheered when our favorite sassy sword made an appearance again and I'm endlessly curious how he got here.

Mistborn: Shadows of Self


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 13h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 9/23
Finished On: 9/30
Rating (Of 5): 4

Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 5/5 The relationships that are in this book feel natural and isn't in your face.
Magic System: 3/5 Maybe just getting used to it or maybe because it's expanded upon a little more but the magic system in this, though it's a sad skeleton of Era 1 which was way better, is at least a little better implemented.

Characters: 5/5 A big upgrade from the first of the Era 2 books all of the characters were likeable or at the very least understandable this time.
Favorite Character: Wayne
Second Favorite Character: Wax
Least Liked Character: n/a

Notes: This was a bit better than the first of the Era 2 books, I enjoyed the story much more and the characters were way more interesting. The ending had my mouth open and horrified for Wax's sake. I didn't even have an inkling of that coming until moments before it happened. The stakes seemed a bit higher this time around than the first book which was good but it still kept the old west vibe. The better implementation of the magic this time made the old west vibe work a little better. The chemistry between Wax and Wayne was wonderful as always and best of all the Best Boi came back! I knew he technically was going to but it was still a surprise. MeLaan was also an interesting character and I was surprised to realize that she was the one that TenSoon had clearly been crushing on in the end of Era 1.

Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 15h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 9/30
Finished On: 10/1
Rating (Of 5): 4.25


Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 5/5 The relationship(s) that are in this book grow naturally and isn't in your face. Thankfully there was no love triangle that I had feared might become a thing at some point and the annoying crushing that happened in book 1 was long gone by now.
Magic System: 3/5 Still not as good as in Era 1 I really don't like the direction its going with what can be done with the magic. It still had very interesting aspects though and I suppose is a natural progression to blend magic into technology.

Characters: 5/5 Surprised to say I liked everyone this time. Wax and Wayne were likable, Steris really is starting to shine. Marasi has definitely grown as character.
Favorite Character: Wayne
Second Favorite Character: Steris
Least Liked Character: n/a

Notes: This book was way more adventurous than the other two which as someone who prefers Era 1 was a breath of fresh air. The old west setting was fun with the addition of more adventure. Seeing Steris coming out of her shell and really shining was amazing to watch, she is such a sweet character. And Wayne. Oh... oh that end there when he finally used a gun again was the hottest thing I've read in any of the Mistborn books. I'm a simple soul, I'm aware.

Edgedancer


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 6h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 10/5
Finished On: 10/6
Rating (Of 5): 2

Narrator: 2/5 Unfortunately the narrator I don't like from the other Stormlight books is back. I'm getting used to her and she seems to be significantly better than in WoK but still not my preference
Romance: 5/5 None
Magic System: 5/5 I like seeing more of the magic system of this world. I am interested on why Lift needs food to do what she does as opposed to purely stormlight like our other main characters.

Characters: 1/5 This was so hard to get through I was so tempted to just drop it. Lift is such a wildly unlikable character. I get she is supposed to be young but she acts barely one step above a toddler in a lot of ways. I didn't hate her as entirely by the end as I did through 3/4 of the book but if I never saw her character again it would be too soon. The only way I could see her in any way a decent character is if she went through a COMPLETE personality change. Her Spren was at least a decent character and a good look at how different spren can act compared to the others we've seen. It was very interesting to see Szenth again and this had a good example of why reading Warbreaker first is important otherwise you'd totally have missed the importance of him starting to draw Nightblood and her feeling sick. Trying to figure out what roll he and Szenth plays now is interesting.
Favorite Character: Wyndle
Second Favorite Character: n/a
Least Liked Character: Lift

Notes: I was so tempted to drop this book. I mean I read Lift's story in the Arcanum earlier and frankly the addition that this story had to that was very little in the way of important. I had to listen to this at 2x speed simply cause the site doesn't go any faster for listening. I do hope that in the future if we're forced to see this brat of a character again she has grown up and is actually a decent character. And by god please let her refer to the damn power properly and not 'being awesome'.

Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive)


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 55h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 10/6
Finished On: 10/20
Rating (Of 5): 4

Narrator: 4.5/5 I've finally gotten used to the female narrator. She's not got the weird upturn of all her sentences anymore but she still has virtually no voices for different characters and she really is terrible with male voices.
Romance: 3/5 The increasing amount of lovey-dovey romance between Shallan and Adolin is getting annoying but what is far worse is the love triangle type stuff. It isn't too bad but the whole multipl personalities with one being attracted to Kaladin thing is so fucking stupid for a majority of it, as is Syl pushing Kal to pursue Shallan. It's not bad yet but I do hope that the reigns are pulled back on some of the dumb soon.
Magic System: 5/5 We are learning more about the world and it is still holding up to being quite interesting. It is also the most amazing treat to see certain things related to other stories. So far I could catch a 'curse' that is used in Elantris and Wit uses Breath from Warbreaker at another point.

Characters: 3/5 Kinda surprising to drop down so drastically but a lot of characters are staring to become annoying. First of all, young Dalinar is garbage. I understand his actions were largely influenced but that doesn't make what he did suddenly forgivable. A lot of what he did was not fully under the influence of the 'thrill' it was him being a piece of shit. It kind of totally reworked what I feel about the man. Good for him for taking ownership and trying to do right, but that doesn't bring back the innocent people he slaughtered. That does not change the fact that he was flat out abusive towards his wife a lot of the time, even if it was only verbally. It does not change the fact that he became for a while a verbally (and I get the feeling almost physically) abusive alcoholic father towards his children. It does not change how he treated Renarin basically his entire life until just recently. Even when he wasn't under the 'thrill' he was horrible towards Renarin's existence. He has no right to act as righteous or in charge as he does. And then even AFTER the whole Thrill thing was taken care of we see another situation AGAIN of him blindly trusting someone just because he trusted the guy in the past. That was the moment I was like yea no this guy is annoying even in modern day.

Then there's Shallan who is annoying AF. Her split personality thing is so fucking old at this point. People try to say 'oh well its so realistic' I don't give a single shit. She is bringing this all onto her self and I am completely over her. She has always been mildly crappy of a person but it's showing more and more now. Her pretending to be Veil gives no excuse for how she almost pushed Adolin to the side. It gives no excuse to how she focuses most of her actions on selfish, self centered goals, usually making stupid choices, instead of helping others. She should be seeing a psychiatrist, not pretending to be a savior of the world.

Everyone else tends to waiver between somewhat annoying to unlikable. Not every single person is horrible but enough of them that I really only felt particularly invested a fraction of the book.
Favorite Character: Kaladin
Second Favorite Character: Adolin
Least Liked Character: Young Dalinar or Shallan

Notes: This wasn't a bad story but it was probably only a little better than the first book in the Stormlight Archive and that is only because more things were happening. Once again we get the situation of nobody is immune to death in a Sanderson book and we lost someone just as he was starting to get interesting. Ultimately this book focused a whole lot on Dalinar and Shallan which really stinks cause I disliked the hell out of them because of that by the end of the book. Kaladin and Adolin are amazing as always and once again I really had a moment that I was just like 'just kiss!'. I also find that Wit is hot as hell but that is neither here nor there. I did love the direction this went with the truth of the world. It really is pulling further into perspective how 'good' and 'evil' is, again, the matter of perspective. I still think that uniting them has more to do with uniting the listners and humans against Odium. The 'enemy' is not th listeners/singers but Odium and that is getting so much more clear.

Dawnshard

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 7h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 10/21
Finished On: 10/22
Rating (Of 5): 3
Narrator: 4/5
Romance: 5/5 None
Magic System: 4/5 Same issue we've been slowly seeing of becoming too 'techy'. Like why tf do we have a levetaing wheelchair now? The deeper look into creatures and lore and the hint towards what sounds like Breath again was neat though.

Characters: 3.5/5 Well apparently that idiot merchant that threw herself off a cliff in a previous interlude has a whole book now and I'm not thrilled about that. I have absolutely, positively, NO give a care about her. I like her little dragon crab thing, and I liked Lopen. Those were the reasons why there is a 0.5 added on. Otherwise I neither like or dislike this character or anyone else that was included in this story.
Favorite Character: Th Lopen
Second Favorite Character: Cheri Cheri
Least Liked Character: n/a

Notes: I know this was just a novella like Edgedancer, just a little deeper look into a character that wouldn't work in just an Interlude and, if what I understand is correct by those online, better introducing one of the main characters of the 'Arc 2' starting with book 6. I didn't expect a huge epic story but I still felt literally not a single care about anything going on in this book. I love Lopen, and that is about it. My feelings on this was wildly just.... flat. And when one of the characters starting talking a lot about the 'tech' pertaining to fabriels I actually felt myself actively zone out. I really didn't care and frankly this does make me worry about Book 6 and on. It wasn't a bad book, I didn't not enjoy it, I just can't see myself ever relistening/rereading. I will say, though. Rock's daughter sounds pretty awesome. I wouldn't mind her taking Rock's place.

Rhythm of War (Stormlight Archive)

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 57h
Listened On: Libby
Started On: 10/22
Finished On: 11/04
Rating (Of 5): 4.25
Narrator: 4/5
Romance: 4.5/5 It seems like the love triangle situation got sorted out so now it's really not an issue. Shallan and Adolin are still not a great couple. They don't feel compatable and Shallan has no trust in Adolin. It really isn't great but at least the triangle situation is sorted and their relationship while annoying and still feeling forced isn't too bad.
Magic System: 4/5 This is starting to feel shaky to me. I saw it in Dawnshard and it's happening here too. The focus on fabriels is becoming huge and more important than anything else and it really just isn't interesting. The concept is kind of cool but it turns things far too tech-y. The fact that they made a flying airship is not a good sign. The times Navani was focusing on the 'science' of them I once again totally just found myself zoning out. The deeper look into the spren and shadesmar however was cool.

Characters: 3.5/5 So similarly to the last main entery of the Stormlight Archive, I find myself between being nuetral and not liking the characters very much except for just a couple of them. Wit, Kaladin, and Adolin are my absolute favorites. Kal is really struggling with his depresso this time around but it was interesting to see him actually trying to push through it. Wit has always been fun but him showing up to pull Kaladin from the edge of giving up skyrocketed him in my heart and Adolin is as always best boi. Him refusing to let Kal be depressed alone, his sense of honor and what is right, his respect Maya despite what everyone says, he is amazing. I love that group.
But the others? Eh.... I'm on the fence about Jasnah though she seems to be potentially interesting I don't really like the 'best at everything ever' vibe she has going on, Dalinar still doesn't get a pass for being shitty, Navani is not interesting in the slightest and shows she is just as selfish as Dalinar. Like.... not only do I not care about Fabrials but we have seen AND she is told that spren have at least some semblence of conciousness yet she refuses to listen when she is called out for her cruelty. I am beyond annoyed she got such a powerful spren. Venli I WANT to root for but she really only cares about herself. It's really annoying that her words were accepted only after she helped herself/her interests, not helping others who needed it. And Shallan? Oh man... her split personality thing was hard to get through. I actually didn't mind it most of the time but when it started getting to the point she was gettind ridiculous about it... that was when it was getting annoying. I actually don't mind her split personalities in theory, but I have a feeling it was supposed to be rough because it was coming to a head.
Also.... someone needs to push Moash off a cliff.
Favorite Character: Kaladin (Or Wit, if you want to count him)
Second Favorite Character: Adolin
Least Liked Character: Moash

Notes: This book was one of my favorite Stormlight books for the parts that were focused on my boys. The fact the book flat out called the humans the bad guys of the past was phenomenal. I still think the Unite Them is in reference to bringing humans and listeners together against the true enemy but I guess we will have to see. This book would have been way better it not spent a solid 3/4 of the time focusing on Navani and fabriels though. We had this really could alternate world and whole situation with Adolin that I would have way rathered see more about. I would have also liked to see more Kaladin. Hell I'd take some more Shallan. Instead we spent most of the book on Navani and that was honestly a shame. I get that its 'her' book, but in other books that were certain character's books we still got plenty other characters. I mean hell, Way of Kings was supposed to be Kaladin's but it was more the Kohlin family. Still, it was a great book and had me pumped for the finale of this era.

Mistborn: The Lost Metal


Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 19h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 11/04
Finished On: 11/13
Rating (Of 5): 4.5
Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 5/5 What there is doesn't detract from the rest of the story, as tends to be Sanderson's way.
Magic System: 4.5/5 Still sticking with the general feeling of the magic system being a skeleton of what I liked with era 1 but there are things that are getting rather intresting.

Characters: 5/5 Pretty sure everyone really shined in this one. Wax was cool but he wasn't actually the main spotlight this time. That was more Wayne and Marasi. Marasi has grown into a badass woman, Wayne has really fleshed out far more then just the silly one with a lot of hats. Honestly Wax took a backseat to this one which I didn't mind, he was still involved enough to be meaningful. We saw Steres grow into an amazing woman as well compared to what we saw in book 1. Overall I feel all the characters really were fleshed out and wrapped in a neat bow. It was nice.
Favorite Character: Wayne
Second Favorite Character: Wax
Least Liked Character: Kelsier

Notes: Though Era 2 is nothing like Era 1 in terms of how great of a book series it is I will relent and say that it really ended with a bang. This whole book was a Sanderlanch, as it were, which was really quite fun. I loved seeing things like stamps that we only saw in the novellas and other little bits of magic from the cosmere that might seem familiar. But what rally drove this was the characters. We had previously gotten hints at Wayne being not quite as joyous as he seemed, and that really came to a head in this one. Wax finally coming to terms with the needs of Harmony was enjoyable and best of all was he wasn't the one to save the day. Seeing Steres's obvious tism lead her into saving the city was nice, I love that we get to see that she might be different but that isn't a bad thing.

Wayne's ending was... well.... damn. That's about all I can say. I didn't cry as much as at the end of Era 1, but I certainly teared up a bit. The fact he felt useless up until the very end when he finally came to realize his worth was a punch in the gut. I loved seeing more about Wayne but seeing him die was heartbreaking. I loved the fact we got to see 'after the fact'. And most of the epilogue was about the main characters and their greif over his death. That was a really cool touch.

I will say, however, and this surprises me... but I can't stand Kelsier anymore, or his orginization. We see the fact they're a headache on Roshar but that could be boiled down to 'they are given little direction there' but frankly that is no excuse and they are a massive problem even here on Scadriel. I get that his whole thing is to protect the planet, but like Marasi pointed out... how many people could have been saved had they communicated and not been so secrative? To me it seems like Keslier didn't care, because those mostly effected would be in Elendel and thus the 'rich' and 'powerful'. Nevermind all the poor people and working people who would be also effected. The fact that it's hundreds of years later and Kelsier is still an anarchist little shit is actually just really annoying. In my mind he really is becoming more of an antagonist, possibly downright villain, if he keeps this path up. I'm really proud that Marasi saw this and dipped out.

Twisted Wonderland: Book of Heartslabyul Vol 1


Author: Multiple
Length: n/a
Listened On: Physical
Started On: 11/14
Finished On: 11/14
Rating (Of 5): 5


Narrator: n/a
Romance: 0/5 why isn't this actually BL :(
Magic System: 5/5 Honestly the entire magic system is a really cool concept though it's not explained too deeply.

Characters: 5/5
Favorite Character: Cater
Second Favorite Character: In this story, Ace. In twst as a whole, Jack and Ruggie
Least Liked Character: Probably Riddle in this story tbh

Notes: Can't comment much on the plot or details that won't get the game seeped into the thoughts. But I can say that this is a fun retelling of the game story and the way they modified the player character into the story is interesting, though I really do feel I would have prefered it to be slightly modified to take the player character out entierly. The main take aways from this manga, though, is it is a shame it's not an official BL and I am a Cater simp.

Tress of the Emerald Sea



Author: Brandon Sanderson
Length: 12h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 11/16
Finished On: 11/18
Rating (Of 5): 5

Narrator: 5/5
Romance: 5/5 The whole story was trying to find the person you loved but that was simply the thing that originally guided our heroine to start her journey.
Magic System: 3.75/5 To be honest it's hard to really rate this. The magic idea was cool, for sure. What is basically very fine sand being the thing to make up the oceans of distinct coloring and distinct effects if made wet is super cool. It's not quite as interesting as other magic system's we have seen and it honestly isn't delved into nearly as much as I'd like. I think if there was another story set on this planet that further delved into the magic system it would be a serious hook. The thing that drops the points, however, is the modern technology that made it's way in. The literal laptop that is flat out called by name. I do not want my cool high fantasy to turn into sci-fi so seeing modern tech just wasn't great. Luckily that was included only very little by the end and wasn't a big deal. I did like seeing other magic from the cosmere, though. It is extremely neat to see things like lightweaving, aons, and breath being brought up.

Characters: 5/5 I love everyone here. The main character is a great protagonist, the side characters are interesting. The main antagonist through the majority of the story is extremely dislikable (in the way an antagonist should be). Most importantly is it has my favorite character of the cosmere both in it AND narrating it.
Favorite Character: Hoid
Second Favorite Character: Tress
Least Liked Character: Crow

Notes: This book was a really fun little pirate journey for the majority of it. I think the main draw to it is how it was narrated. Telling it as if it was Hoid sitting you down for one of his infamous story tellings was such a fun touch and his occational quips were extra fun. It was also fun to be on the recieving end from some of his 'scoldings' that he has given to those such as Kaladin in Stormlight for interrupting or throwing off his story telling. Seeing a moment of badass Hoid at the end was also a wonder. Though as for the story itself, it was fun. I saw a little hint at something with Huck online 'did you guess about Huck' or something like that. Though I don't think it was because of that on why I wasn't particularly surprised by it being Charlie at the end. It was a fun little twist and let me tell you the split second of thinking "Wait is she going to get married to a rat?" was a truly hilarious thought. Overall this was a fun book. Low stakes but full of adventure and watching the main protagonist grow into an awesome pirate captian was a real fun journey.

Priory of the Orange Tree


Author: Samantha Shannon
Length: 26h
Listened On: Took
Started On: 11/19
Finished On: tba
Rating (Of 5): tba

Narrator: 4/5 This is a good narrator. I honestly love her voice and the accents she gives to certain characters is very pleasent. Unfortunately though, nobody has different voices and what fluxuations there are is very minor. This can lead to being a little confusing if there is a conversation that doesn't explicitly state who said what. Still there are minor enough changes it isn't too offputting and there are some accent tweaks. What is neat is those accent tweaks seem to be consistent. Meaning, folks from the south all have a specific accent tweak, those from the north have another, etc.
Romance: tba
Magic System: ta

Characters: ta
Favorite Character: tba
Second Favorite Character: tba
Least Liked Character: tba

Notes: tba