puddlejumper's reviews
702 reviews

Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black

adventurous medium-paced

2.5

This is a low stakes cosy fantasy about an adventurer going on a quest to find his missing husband. 

This didn't work for me. I found the humour quite off putting, one of the characters keeps flirting with the MC even though he says he wasn't interested. It got a bit uncomfortable but I think it was supposed to be horny Grandma funny? 

I didn't like the main character. He was single minded and mean. He treated the people around him badly and never apologised or accepted that he was wrong. Made it hard to care about him. 

The author was clearly having fun with the characters and it's not badly written. I just didn't like it. 

Yoga for Pelvic Floor and Postpartum Health by Rebecca Weisman

2.25

It is difficult to judge this book because who this is targeted at will change my opinion on the book. 

If this book is aimed at yoga teachers who are looking to learn more about pelvic floor and post partum bodies or as additional information alongside pre/post natal yoga training then I think this is a good book. 

If this is aimed at non-teacher yoga people to guide them in their self practice then this is not a good book. 

The good stuff first. The anatomy section is amazing. It is important to know the different layers of pelvic floor, the muscle fibres, and how it connects to the rest of the body. 

Too many books treat pelvic floor as something completely independent from the rest of the body which is just not true. 

This bit was the best part of the book. It was suitable for everyone and was written in an accessible way. 

The exercise section is where things get tricky. The models used show a range of body types which is great except they are all super flexible. Even when a modification is given, there usually isn't a photo of it. 

Many of the exercises require props which not everyone will have. This includes teachers. I had no idea what a trestle was and I've never seen that in a yoga studio. 

Many of the exercises are advanced exercises and not suitable for people new to yoga. I would not recommend these to people without having a teacher guide them. I would also worry they would get stuck in the folding chair because those ones looked dangerous. 

Again, this is where the audience matters. There is nothing wrong with having more challenging poses if this is aimed at teachers. If this is aimed at the general population then have them in a separate section or offer many different modifications. 

The exercises themselves were interesting. There are better and more accessible exercises than the ones shown in this book. They might not strictly be yoga though.

The special conditions at the end were interesting though they did not cover hysterectomies or pelvic floor dysfunction not connected to child birth which I thought were big oversights.

I wouldn't recommend this to the general population. I would recommend it as a teaching aid purely for the anatomy section. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis

2.75

I was really excited to read a queer retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth. I was disappointed.

I could not stand the writing style. Lyrical writing can be poetic, this was bloated with unnecessary similes and metaphors. The words start to lose meaning. 

The dense prose distracts from the utter lack of plot or real character depth.

The author made the baffling decision to have Psyche’s chapters in first person and Eros’ in third person. Eros was the more interesting character, first person would have given more insight into the character. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Well that was devastating but in the best possible way. I couldn't put this down and I was tense reading it. It built and built to a conclusion that made sense to the world and story.

As much as I loved it, the pacing felt a little off and some POV chapters weren't as well done as others. Though that could be my bias as some characters I cared more about than others. 

It was an excellent final instalment of an excellent fantasy series. I would recommend this to everyone who enjoys fantasy and epic novels because it is something really unique in those genres

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Exercise Your Way to Health: Osteoporosis by Mary Sheppard, Debbie Lawrence

2.75

Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The book starts immediately where the last book left off. I would suggest re-reading the first book or reading the wiki because it goes straight into action and assumes you remember everything that happened. 

I liked that it started this way. It was a continuation and that really worked for this series. 

I loved it. The world building was great, the pacing felt right, and it was fun to join the characters again. 

The series had a satisfying conclusion. I thought the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked a bit more time spent on that but overall I really enjoyed the book. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Movement for Every Body: An Inclusive Fitness Guide for Better Movement--Build mind-body awareness, overcome exercise barriers, and improve mobility by DPT, Marcia Dernie

3.75

The idea of this book is a really great one and definitely something that is needed. The fitness industry has become increasingly toxic and not an inclusive environment though this is being challenged by a lot of fitness professionals. 

I liked that there was a focus on exploring movement and exploring your body. That is something that has been lost. 
Movement has to have meaning now. You can't just move because you enjoy it, it's to lose weight or build muscle or whatever, and that's very damaging. 

My feelings are split about this book. I am both the target audience and not the target audience. I am a Pilates teacher and I am a neurospicy hypermobile. 

The focus on improving sleep, hydration, stress levels etc were excellent. The bite sized explanations on the body and exercise were really well written and easy to read and understand. Loved that. 

The exercises were well explained and the photos helpful. I liked the movement snacks. Short flows are a great way to get people moving and building it into their routine. 

My problem is with the ‘assessment portion’. It was not an assessment. It was a mobility check in and I have no issue with that! Get to know your body, get to know what niggles and clicks to inform you going forward but you are not assessing your body. 

You are encouraged to make notes about what you feel doing these movements but that is the end of it. There is no further advice, or explanation, or suggestions for different movements. 

There's a difference between noting your shoulder crunches in arm circles and knowing to move more slowly, than noting you rotate in a seated side bend which could be due to muscular imbalance though you wouldn't know that. 

Assessment implies that this information will be used to inform something. If you take these notes and pass them onto a movement teacher they will ask you to repeat the movements so they can watch you. I think I'm mostly confused by the language. 


Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden by Christopher Perkins

adventurous

2.75

 

I am finally able to review this! I’ve been running the campaign for close to two years now and we’re going into the finale in July (which is not in the book). I replaced the Icewind Dale setting with Eiselcross from Wildmount. Nothing major was changed but I thought I’d mention it. 

This cannot be run as written; it is a poorly conceived adventure and needs a lot of help from third party material. It felt more like random encounter after random encounter rather than a complete adventure. If you are looking for snowy side quests or ideas then grab a few from here and re-jig as necessary. 

The main problem is how disjointed it is. It takes the players from levels 1-15. The first half/early levels are spent wandering around Ten Towns and doing quests. I kept referring back to spring never having come, never ending winter, it was colder, food was scarce etc and my players did not care. They were happy dicking around Ten Towns. 

Ten Towns is problematic. I would grab either an expanded version of them or write your own as some of the stuff included in the book did not make sense or was unnecessary. Looking at you incest town. 

The middle part has nothing to do with the main plotline. It’s essentially a side quest to grind levels. The players had no motivation to engage with it. It was mostly dungeon crawls, fortresses, nothing unusual or special. 

My players had a lot of fun in Ythryn, though mine was Aeor and I took a lot of inspiration from what was done in Critical Role. They did not enjoy hitting specific locations to find bits of poetry. Again, they weren’t fully interested in the plot. 

There were fun elements but get third party stuff to help restructure it and make Auril an interesting BBEG. Her stat block was a joke. If your characters are level 15 when they encounter her, she won’t be a challenge at all. 

The art work was amazing. I loved flicking through this book because it was so colourful. It does add depth to a tundra/snow setting, the monsters are fun, and you can transplant the dungeon crawls into other settings. The maps were really good as well so the locations could be useful in other campaigns. 

I would definitely run it again but I would make changes before we even start. 

Also, if your players/characters like animals ignore the awakened animals part because that is all they will focus on. 

Facing Down the Furies: Suicide, the Ancient Greeks, and Me by Edith Hall

challenging emotional informative

3.75

Memoirs are not a genre I gravitate towards. I wanted to read this book because of my interest in Greek tragedy and because I've experienced suicidal ideation. I was curious about using ancient literature as a way to explore and understand people's decision to kill themselves and the impact it has on the people left behind. 

It was a very interesting read, but I found it a bit disconnected. It was a dry read. Even the sections about her family and her experiences were very dry. If it was more emotive I might have felt more connected. 

Equally, it is the author’s right to keep that to themselves especially regarding such a sensitive topic. It isn't a criticism or a demand for vulnerability. I personally found it difficult to overcome that distance.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! Volume 1 by Nmura

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

 

This was a very sweet and easy to read manga. The title pretty much gives the plot away – Hasimoto badmouths his boss to a friend in an online game, not knowing that his friend is actually his boss. 

There are multiple misunderstandings, mostly because Hasimoto is ridiculously dense, but they serve to further the plot and character development and are comical rather than angsty. 

It was definitely cute and easy brain fluff. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC