Carole's Sunday Review: The Colonel and the Bee - Patrick Canning

Author: Patrick Canning 

Narrator: Mil Nicholson

Title: The Colonel and the Bee

Genre: Steampunk, Adventure, Historical Fantasy, SciFi

Pages: Audiobook

Published:  June 1st 2018

Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

The Amazing Beatrix works as an acrobat in a 19th Century circus, no home or family to speak of. When a daring escape from her abusive ringleader crosses Beatrix's path with that of the daring adventurer Colonel James Bacchus, the unlikely pair team up, fly to safety aboard the Colonel’s miraculous four-story hot air balloon, and begin a grand quest to find the most precious gem in the world, The Blue Star Sphinx. 

If the heroes can outmaneuver the deadly treasure hunters, escaped convicts, and double-crosses that await them, they may win the treasure they seek, or better yet, a sense of true belonging. 

This book had me hooked from the moment I read the title and then seen the book cover. I knew I had to read/listen to it. 

The story follows Beatrix/Bee. She was an acrobat in a circus with an abusive ringleaders. She decides its time to go after meeting Colonel James Bacchus. They team up and journey the world in the Colonel's amazing hot air balloon. Along with some friends they begin a grand quest to the find the Blue Star Sphnix. 

Normally books that are technically "steampunk" are out of my reading category. Not a huge fan. BUT this did not feel steampunk minus the hot air balloon that is pretty much the size of a house. Other then that I couldn't tell. It was perfect for the likes of me. I can't stand over-the-top steampunk novels. This had a splash of steampunk and it worked well for me. 

I liked Bee and the Colonel. Except the Colonel did have me worried. He seemed SO perfect at first. Smart, classy, funny, brave, adventurous, kind to everyone, proud, handsome, etc. I was worried, but then we got to see the real Colonel after a bit. The outside is perfect, but he has some flaws there. 

This was a fun adventure for sure. I had no idea how it was all going to end. Especially with the big twist and reveal. WOAH. Didn't see that coming! 

I enjoyed the humor and the writing style. I learned some new words for sure in this one! 

The ending was pretty good. It did make me happy how it all ended. 

I think my only complaint was how young Bee was. At first I thought she was older, but then I realized she is barely a teenager! I don't mind young characters, but I guess I assumed she was closer to being an adult. Like 16 or 17 or something of the like. It did work though. She was young and naive in a lot of things. 

The narrator was fun. She was a little old sounding for Bee (maybe this is why I thought she was a touch older). But I did enjoy her voice for the characters. She has an excellent way to bring the accents and the characters to life! Good pick overall there. 

In the end, I really enjoyed this story. It was full of life. I really want more adventures! The characters were a gem. The story was intriguing and fun. The narration was a charm. I adored this novel. And that cover???? Makes me want to go on a hot air balloon and travel the world! This novel was certainly a gem and I highly recommend it. I'll stamp this with 5 stars. 

Skyward - Brandon Sanderson

Hardcover, 513 pagesPublished November 6th 2018 by GollanczSeries: Skyward #1Sci-fi YAOwn

Oh Sanderson, I do love your books! And at the same time, OMG man, finish one series at a time. ONE. He keeps coming up with new ones, and I do realise that I will be 60 or something when he finished Stormlight, just in the mean time he will have started 20 new ones. Oh wait, and he will be dead by then too. Sigh.

But anyway, he is an amazing writer!

I can't say Spensa is very likable at first, she is angry and driven. But he is so good that it works. She wants to be a pilot, and everyone sneers at her since her dead was a coward. People are the worst!

I mean this is a society that is under constant attack by aliens, one would think they need all the pilots they can get!

Interesting world, humans crashed and tries to survive in caves as aliens attack from the sky.

Seeeecrets!

And at the end I crave more. The book is is so light and easy to read. 100 pages fly by in a second. I totally needed that!

And at the end I like her too.

Great book!

Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

Carole's Sunday: The Channeler - Jenna Ryan

Author:   Jenna Ryan
Title: The Channeler (Continuum Series, #1)
Genre: YA, Paranormal, SciFi, Fantasy
Pages: ebook
Published:  January 18th 2019 
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)



Caleb Swift knows he's a complicated guy. He sees the unseeable: winged beings that haunt both his dreams and his waking visions. He knows the unknowable: horrifying visions of countless unspeakable futures he feels powerless to prevent. And if that weren't bad enough, these potent revelations might be driving him insane.

Who needs that kind of trouble?

Not Caleb. He's doing his best to live a totally uncomplicated life, to ignore the visions of doom that hound him relentlessly. But no matter what he does, one particular vision still plagues him. The one with the girl. The girl who's in mortal danger (or will be soon). The girl only he can save.

Now Caleb has a choice. To ignore his gift, to live the ordinary life he so desperately desires, even if it means letting her die...

Or to act. To interfere. To become extraordinary. And let one girl's future turn his present completely upside-down.

This immediately caught my attention. The cover, the title, the story, and the character. I knew I wanted and needed to read this story right away. 

The story follows young Caleb. He has visions of countless unspeakable futures and it kills him he can't change any of them. He tries to live a totally normal life, however, there is a girl who he sees in one of his visions that he can't get out of his head and knows he needs to try and save.

I gobbled this story up. I finished it in a couple of sittings. I was enthralled with Caleb and the world right away. Sure it was slow-paced at first, but we were getting introduced to Caleb and his pals. It takes time. The slowness bugged me a touch, but I think it needed it. 

Caleb was a fun character even though his moodiness bugged me sometimes. I liked Darla and I really adored Gav. He was a hoot. 

As much as people wish they want the power to see the future, it is not all daisies and rainbows. It honestly is a pain the romp and I felt sooooo bad for Caleb. I can't imagine that life! He was so miserable and it drained him. Poor guy. 

It did drive me bananas about his enemy. We don't get much on it. Maybe in the next book we'll get to see more that enemy and more of the supernatural part of the world. There was some, but I felt we spent a lot of time in the mortal world. Buuuuut I have hope for book 2! I wanna see more of the supernatural and I want to see that enemy of Caleb's get it's butt get kicked. 


OoooOOOooo that ending. It was good. Very cliffhanger-y...but it worked for this. I am invested and want to know what happened. I have hope! But we shall see. 

Overall, I did enjoy this. It was a quick read and I finished it in two sittings. A couple little, minor things that bugged me, but nothing extreme or something I couldn't look past. The ending, oddly, was good. I'm not usually one for cliff-hangers of that magnitude, but it worked for the story. Are you surprised? I AM! I am excited for book 2! I'll stamp this with 4 stars.