Book Recommendations #2

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June is audiobook month! The books I am recommending are all books I listened to in audiobook format, and thoroughly enjoyed. Audiobooks to some have a bad rep, and some would argue don’t count as reading. These audiobooks may have you changing your mind.

Champions of the Dragon: Epic Fallacy Book 1 by Michael James Ploof

This story reminded me of a bit of a Monty Python type story. There were many laughs to be had, and some scenes that just had you raising your eyebrow. There are lessons to be had though in the book about working together, and having confidence in yourself.

A group of misfits is brought together to take on a dragon. They are individuals from 5 different villages, and the villages wanted them out for various reasons. The champions are unaware, they were not selected to be champions. They were selected to keep the dragon satisfied and feed her young. Or is the wizard who gathers them pulling a fast one?

I’m not a fan of Monty Python, I think the humor there is too stupid for words. This book while somewhat reminding me of that kind of story, has me looking forward to getting to the second book of the series.

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

Illuminae hit hard when it came out. It’s a story told in a new way. No longer is it just words on a page, but instead dossiers and notes from video footage of events which transpired on a planet deep in space somewhere, and then on three ships making a run from the planet which falls under attack.

While running for their lives with a warship on their tails, the AI that is supposed to keep them alive may be an enemy. Kady is a hacker who hacks into the ship and it’s databases to ferret out what is going on and realizes to survive she needs to depend on her recently ditched boyfriend. This makes for an interesting relationship between them.

With things going wrong and a warship on their tail, this book is too exciting for words. And even better, the audiobooks for the trilogy are narrated by a full cast! It’s like listening to a show.

My Sister’s Grave by Robert Dugoni

My sister and I don’t have the best of relationships. So when I come across a book where the main characters are sisters, something draws me in. It’s like I want to know what a sister relationship looks like.

In this book, I die. Not literally, but one of the sister’s in the book happens to be named Sarah, and she happens to die. Tracy is the main character, and sister to Sarah. Tracy becomes obsessed with her sister’s disappearance and murder. As a young adult she figures out some things with her sister’s case, and knows what the adults are saying isn’t the full truth. There are holes in the story. The police have a suspect, and he does go to jail. Because of the holes though, Tracy isn’t sure if he’s the right killer. Tracy is now an adult and a cop herself. Her world is turned on it’s head when her sister’s body is finally found. Now, she picks the case apart again, and gets some help from a childhood friend. Together they start a journey that threatens Tracy’s life.

I loved the story. It was weird at the start to hear “Sarah” and “dead” or similar words, but I got over it quick totally being pulled into the story.