Book Review: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

 The Kaiju Preservation Society

by

John Scalzi

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia

Imprint: Tor

Publication date: 29th March 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 264

RRP: $32.99AUD Paperback

Source: Courtesy of the publisher

 My review of The Kaiju Preservation Society

I have to start this review with an admission. I had no idea what a Kaiju was!! It's clearly evident that I am not an avid science fiction fan. That being said, I really enjoyed this book; it was a lot of fun.

 

The story opens on the cusp of the COVID pandemic and after losing his job at a tech start-up company Jamie takes a job as a food delivery person. One of the customers offers Jamie a job at an animal rights organisation working in the field to protect and preserve large animals. What he doesn't tell Jamie is the animals the team care for are not here on Earth.

 

The story that follows is filled with humour as Jamie and the rest of the team, who mostly have PHD's in biology, geology or physics, go about studying the Kaiju. Jamie seems to be there as general dogsbody and comic relief. He is quick with the sarcasm and doesn't take himself too seriously. Jamie is a very likeable main character.

The parallel Earth was all well explained and very simplistic in it's execution. The Kaijus and their biological makeup, nuclear energy and whole ecosystem is pure escapism and I couldn't get enough of them.

I loved the banter between the team it was a lot of lighthearted fun with plenty of schoolyard humour. 

There was never any real sense of danger even though the characters did encounter potentially dangerous situations. This, combined with the level of humour, made me think the book was more for the young adult audience rather then the die-hard Sci/Fi fan.

 

recommended for 13 - 16 years (and those just wanting a bit of fun)

 

 

My rating  4 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

About the author

 

John Scalzi is one of the most popular and acclaimed SF authors to emerge in the last decade. His debut, Old Man’s War, won him science fiction’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, The End of All Things and Redshirts, which won 2013’s Hugo Award for Best Novel. Material from his widely read blog Whatever has also earned him two other Hugo Awards. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.  

Book Review: Shelter From the Storm by Penelope Janu

 Shelter From the Storm

by

Penelope Janu

When Patience Cartwright is stranded in her home town, the last thing she expects is a second chance at love.... 

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Publication date: 4th January 2023

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romance

 

Pages: 448

 

RRP: $29.99AUD paperback

 

Source: Better Reading Preview

 

My review of Shelter From the Storm 

Patience Cartwright’s life is the Navy, all she wants is to be at sea. A clash with her superiors sees her with the choice of either leaving the Navy forever or accepting a secondment to work with a group of environmentalists on a national project.

There is only one problem, Hugo Halstead, the man who broke her heart years ago is head biologist on the team.
 

I love how Penelope Janu has delivered a story about the environment and biodiversity that is wonderfully informative and blended it with a heartfelt romance. In Shelter From the Storm Janu effortlessly weaves vivid descriptions of the countryside and local bird-life into the narrative.
 

Patience is a delightful character, smart and stubborn but also vulnerable. She is a character you will warm to right from the beginning. Patience excels at all things mathematical and she uses maths as a coping mechanism to calm herself by counting and doing equations and calculations in her head. I enjoyed this side of Patience because calculus has always fascinated me and I love anything numbers.
 

In Shelter From the Storm Penelope Janu touches on subjects such as occupational sexism, child abuse, PTSD, environmental issues and biodiversity. I loved all the information on frogs and it’s easy to see this is a topic dear to the author.
 

I totally enjoyed Shelter From the Storm brimming with secrets, twists and a heartwarming romance. It is a captivating story about breaking down walls, overcoming past hurts and moving on with your life.

 

My rating 5 / 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the author

Penelope Janu lives on the coast in Northern Sydney with a distracting husband, a very large dog and, now they are fully grown, six delightful children who come and go. Penelope has a passion for creating stories that explore social and environmental issues, but her novels are fundamentally a celebration of Australian characters and communities. Penelope enjoys riding horses, exploring the Australian countryside and dreaming of challenging hiking adventures. Nothing makes her happier as a writer than readers falling in love with her clever, complex and adventurous heroines and heroes.

 

Other books I've read by Penelope Janu.

On the Same Page

 

My 2023 Reading Challenges

 

I love reading challenges and they are a lot of fun but I do find them quite a lot of extra work so I am only going to sign up for three challenges this year.

 

These three challenges are areas I want to improve on in my reading. 

 

I'm signing up again for the Non-Fiction readers challenge hosted by Shelleyrae @Bookdout. I didn't do this one in 2022 and I only read 4 Non-Fiction and one was a knitting book. 😄

Follow the link to read all about the challenge https://bookdout.wordpress.com/2023-nonfiction-reader-challenge/  #readnonficchal

 

 There are 4 levels and I will be joining nonfiction grazer. It's sort of a commitment without a commitment. 🤣 I hope to read 6 Non Fiction in 2023.

Nonfiction Nipper: Read & review 3 books, from any 3 listed categories

Nonfiction Nibbler: Read & review 6 books, from any 6 listed categories

Nonfiction Nosher: Read & review 12 books, one for each category

Nonfiction Grazer: Read & review any nonfiction book. Set your own goal

Categories:

History
Memoir/Biography
Crime & Punishment
Science
Health
Travel
Food
Social Media
Sport
Relationships
The Arts
Published in 2023

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Mount TBR Reading Challenge hosted by

My Reader's Block

  

Another challenge that I joined in 2022 was the Mount TBR Challenge. I didn't get my goal last year but I will try again for 12 books that have been on my shelf from 2020 or earlier. #MountTBR2023

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My third challenge is just one for myself. I read 43 books by Australian Female authors in 2022 and only 14 books by Australian Male authors. In 2023 I want to increase my Aussie male author reading to at least 20 books. 

 

You can follow along with my challenge progress under the 2023 challenge tab. 

Happy New Year 2023!

 Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023

May your year be filled with family, friends and five star reads. 

 

Book Review: Becoming Beth by Meredith Appleyard

 Becoming Beth

by

Meredith Appleyard

 

She's remembered the truth about her own life... what happens now?

 

Publisher: Harlequin Australia

 

Publication date: 7th September 2022

 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

 

Pages: 418

 

RRP: $32.99AUD Paperback

 

Source: Beauty & Lace Book Club

 

My review of Becoming Beth

 

This review first appeared on the Beauty & Lace Book Club 

 

Becoming Beth is a story about finding yourself after major life upheavals and moving on.

 

Beth is in her 50's and back at her childhood home after an unexpected marriage breakdown. She has left her job and needs time to mourn not only her marriage but also decades of old hurt and the loss of her mother after a severe stroke.

 

I loved that Meredith has given her readers an older character having to start over in life. Beth is living with her elderly father however he is not frail and is quite able to care for himself and Meredith Appleyard touches on the stigma of mature children living at home with their parents unless they are a carer.

 

Becoming Beth is set during the pandemic with mentions of lockdowns, social distancing and disinfectant spray. These were all a part of our lives for so long and I liked that it was included in the novel rather than setting it during a previous year. I think I am now ready to read books with covid restrictions affecting families with parents dying, no visitors, no funeral. I couldn't have done that a year ago.

In Becoming Beth Meredith Appleyard highlights problems faced by small country towns with fundraising to maintain community halls. I loved how the townsfolk all worked together and helped each other. The whole book had a lovely community feel with people of all ages working together for the good of the community. 

 

Meredith Appleyard portrays the heat of an Australian summer with ease. I breezed through this book, it was such an immersive story with just the right amount of drama and a couple of mysteries running through it.

The only thing I would have liked a bit more of was the romance element.

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

 

About the author

 

Meredith Appleyard lives in the Clare Valley wine-growing region of South Australia, two hours north of Adelaide. As a registered nurse and midwife, she has worked in a wide range of country health practice settings, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service. She has done agency nursing in London and volunteer work in Vietnam. After her first manuscript was rejected, she joined a writers' group, attended workshops and successfully completed an Advanced Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing with the Adelaide College of the Arts. And she kept working. When she isn't writing, Meredith is reading, helping organise the annual Clare Writers' Festival, or at home with her husband and her border collie, Daisy 

In 2022..... My Life in Books

 

 

I love this fun book tag created by Shellyrae @ Book'd Out and you can see her post HERE

 

The idea is to complete each prompt with a book that you have read in 2022.

2022 was the year of: The Way it is Now

In 2022 I wanted to be: The Brightest Star

In 2022 I was: The Understudy

In 2022 I gained: A Recipe for Family

In 2022 I lost: The Postcard from Italy

In 2022 I loved: The Last Summer

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2022 I hated: Keeping Up Appearances

In 2022 I learned: The Raven's Song

In 2022 I was surprised by: Lily Harford's Last Request

In 2022 I went to:The Wattle Seed Inn

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2022 I missed out on: The Reunion

In 2022 my family were: A Family of Strangers

in 2023 I hope for: A Little Spark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you think this looks like a fun tag why not check out Shellyrae's post here and join in with your own bookish answers. 

My Life in Books... 2020

 

Wrap-up of my 2022 Reading Challenges - Let's see how I went!

 It's that time of year when we look back over our challenge pledges and see how we went.

The first one was the Dymocks Reading Challenge

There were 20 categories plus an additional 6 extra categories.

I managed to complete 21 of the 26 prompts

You can see the full list of books HERE

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Next up is the Mount TBR Reading Challenge

 

 

 

I chose the lowest level which was 12 books from your TBR

I managed to read 7 books that had been on my shelf prior to 2019

 

You can see the full list HERE

 

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Next was KT's Book Bingo on Instagram

 

 

 This had 25 squares to complete and I managed to fill 18 of the 25

You can see the full list HERE

 

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The last one was 22 reads for 2022

 

This is from The Book Stack Facebook Group

 I managed to complete 19 of the 22 prompts

 

You can see the full list HERE

 

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Well that's a wrap for 2022. I didn't complete any of my attempted challenges but I had fun joining in!