Month In Review: July 2018

Well another month has come and gone!

Things are looking up here at Off The TBR. The really crazy hectic period at work came and went, and we hired another person in our department to help pick up some of the load which means I should be working less on the weekends which means MORE TIME FOR BLOGGING! This has already played out this month just in terms of reviews. I went from no reviews at all in June to posting two in July, and if it weren’t for a weekend long power outage across practically the whole city I might have posted a third.

So here’s what happened this month…

BOOK REVIEWS

The Half Killed Review (July 15th)

The first review I posted in July was for The Half Killed by Quenby Olson. I loved this book. Here’s my opening blurb for the review…

The Half Killed will seduce you. It will whisper and draw you gently into its pages. Before you know it you’re in its clutches. This isn’t a wonton sexual seduction, all about the eyes and desire. No, this is the kind that entices your mind, playing on your emotions of safety and fear, telling you its going to be all-right while you know for a certainty something evil lurks around the corner but you can’t help but trust and follow into the shadows. It is a dark, intimate, and immersive Victorian horror story that will keep you turning pages.

Fore the full review click here.

The Song Of All Review (July 29th)

The second review posted this month was for The Song Of All by Tina LeCount Myers. I actually read this one back in February when it came out and for a couple of reasons waited until now to write the post. Unfortunately the muses didn’t call out to me on this one which is sad because I REALLY wanted to love it. Click here for the full review.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAYS

I managed to post two Waiting On Wednesday announcements…

Noumenon: Infinity (posted July 11th)

Noumenon Infinity is the follow-up to one of my favorite Sci-Fi reads of 2017, Noumenon, by Marina J. Lostetter. Noumenon explored what might happen on a scientific journey through space lasting centuries while retaining the same genetic make-up through the use of clones. What kind of society forms out of that pot? How does it evolve? What conflicts arise? What has to be shed from their previous earthly cultures? What remains? How do they return home? Will Earth even be home anymore? Noumenon Infinity picks up where book one left off and I’m really looking forward to it. It drops on August 14th. Click here for the full post.

Bloody Rose (posted July 25th)

“It’s time to take a walk on the wyld side.”

Nicholas Eames’ follow up to the massively popular Kings Of The Wyld will be released August 28th and if I squeed I would squee. Well I’d squee for you because I already have a copy that’s waiting to be read next. Bloody Rose is/was my most anticipated release of 2018 and I can’t wait to dive into it. A new generation of bands has come along and one in particular, led by the daughter of Saga’s frontman is looking for some action. With an 80’s rock theme this one should be a wyld ride. Take a gander at the post here with a link to my Kings Of The Wyld review too.

SOME FORMATTING CHANGES

If you’ve been following Off The TBR you may have noticed some recent formatting changes. Specifically related to themed banners and pictures for reviews. I started using Adobe Spark to create banners for recurring types of posts (like Waiting On Wednesday) and I’ve been using some similar formatting for pics of books for my review posts. I haven’t fully settled on a look and feel but I’m working on something of a common look. Hopefully this will come together a little more over the coming months.

A LOOK AHEAD

So where am I going from here? Well, as I noted in another post, I’ve realized with work and everything else that trying to write more than one review a week is biting off more than I can chew. My goal is one review a week which will usually be posted on the weekends or Monday mornings (meaning I’m writing them over the weekend). It just takes too much brain effort to write the damn things and I’m usually too tired during the week to do it after work. So weekends it is.

I WILL try to get at least one other post up during the week though. These will consist of Waiting On Wednesday and Follow Friday type offerings with the occasional other thing thrown in. It’s taken me a while but I think this is a realistic expectation for me and the blog.

I may also be opening the blog up for review requests again pretty soon.

So what books will I be reviewing in the coming weeks? Here’s what I’ve read that still needs a review…

The Poppy War, by R. F. Kuang

Arm Of The Sphinx, by Josiah Bancroft

The Nine, by Tracy Townsend

Art Of War, edited by Petros Triantafyllou (once I finish reading it)

And finally, be on the lookout for an announcement (perhaps tomorrow) about my plans for a Self Published Fantasy Month here on Off The TBR. This is something I’ve been debating and wanting to do for a few months and…well I think I’m gonna do it. It won’t be anything extravagant but we’ll see what happens…

That’s all for today. Now go read something and tell somebody what you thought about it!