Category: Audiobook

July 2025 Wrap Up

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It doesn’t look like I got a lot of reading done this month, but the books I did read were fantastic – plus I have a few more on the go that are amazing.

July is the month where I realized that the book club I was participating in was just not for me. Out of 7 months of reads, I only completed two, and I had missed out on a bunch of the in-person discord chats about some of the books, too. I’d like to continue looking for a book club that will appeal to me a bit more. I love reading outside of my preferred genre, but I’d like one that at least leans in the general direction. We’ll see how that search goes.

So my DNF (did not finish) for the month was “The Dose Effect” and that was a book club read. Honestly I just had such an issue trying to find this book in a non-Amazon location. For those unfamiliar, I stopped purchasing books from Amazon and using my kindle earlier this year, and I swapped over to Kobo, where I’ve been ever since.

I finished the audio book to the next Dungeon Crawler Carl book, and started the next one. I love Princess Donut, what can I say.

4.5/5 Stars – The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

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I finally finished book 6 (audio book) of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series – first, it was VERY LONG. Such a good listen though, probably one of my favourites so far. The adventurers are on a new floor, which of course means new mechanics. This floor involves cards almost like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon, and they’re used in combat.

There wasn’t enough Princess Donut in this book, and I wasn’t especially engaged in the card fight mechanic for the floor. Carl goes through some brutal memories and scenes involving his step brother and Dad. The AI is messed up. Mordecai was OK. The nun was creepy.

This book was completely off the wall in a way that I’ve come to expect from Matt Dinniman, except I have NO IDEA how he does it. The entire book is filled with action, horror, humor, and drama. The more you listen to it, the more everything that seems over the top and ‘too much’ clicks exactly into place, and you’re just left standing there thinking “woah, holy shit.” and the amazing (to me) part of it is – IT MAKES SENSE. Matt Dinniman has created an incredibly over the top messed up world that logically makes sense in my brain when he describes it, despite the fact that it is completely made up bonkers nonsense.

This book held more emotional scenes than the previous ones (IMO), and I was there for it. I can’t wait to start the 7th book.

4.5/5 stars

5/5 Stars – Dandelion

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Dandelion – by Jamie Chai Yun Liew.

I borrowed this from the library as an audiobook, and while it started off very slow (giving a LOT of background to the main character, introducing family members, etc), I really loved it by the end. It was heartbreaking, and felt real. Later on I discovered it was a work of fiction, and I almost wish I had not known that. This book was suggested by CBC reads, in my effort to read more Canadian authors. All of the other books had very long wait times, and this one was available immediately. I’m not sure why.

The ending felt a little rushed, the reader is presented with a lot of information in a very short span and everything wraps up in a neat little package which didn’t exactly feel realistic. Going over the reviews a lot of readers felt that the writing was poor – but that didn’t come across in the audiobook version and I’m glad I decided to listen to it in that format.

5/5 stars

5/5 Stars – The Third Gilmore Girl

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I’m such a huge Kelly Bishop fan, this was a no-brainer to borrow from the library (as an audiobook this round). It took almost 6 months for it to be available, not the fault of anyone really, but good grief! Still, what an utterly fascinating woman. She is very different than what I was expecting, and I didn’t know about her very long history in dance!

5/5 stars

4/5 Star Review: The Gate of the Feral Gods

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This book was amazing. Princess Donut makes the book, as always. I listened to it as an audio book – HIGHLY recommended for all of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Rough story about Maggie & Chris. Frank. I wonder how Agnes manages each floor. I’m excited to start the next book and it’s probably the only book that I suggest people listen to the audio instead of reading it.

4/5 stars

5/5 Star Review

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My very first 5 start review of 2025 – woohoo! I loved this book. The author is an intellectual and it came across the pages in a way that wasn’t condescending or obnoxious and had a lot of things I could relate to, especially when he was talking about his children. The book was about a lot of food – it made me hungry (a good thing)! I’m so glad I decided to borrow it from the library. So far, the best read of the month.

5/5 stars

2/5 Star Review: White Fragility

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I’m not sure what to think of this one. It’s written by a white woman and she comes across as having a white savior complex, where blacks need to be rescued. I wanted to educate myself but I was pretty frustrated during certain parts. It was an OK book and I’m glad I tried it, but I think this subject is better coming from someone else.

2/5 stars