User Profile

Michael Haider

AeroEagle@wyrms.de

Joined 1 year, 3 months ago

Just another IT guy in the financial services industry, living in Connecticut, USA. I enjoy reading science fiction and fantasy mostly, but will give just about anything a try.

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Michael Haider's books

reviewed Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass, #3)

Sarah J. Maas: Heir of Fire (Hardcover, 2023, Bloomsbury USA Childrens) 4 stars

Celaena has survived deadly contests and shattering heartbreak-but at an unspeakable cost. Now, she must …

My Review of Heir of Fire

4 stars

After finishing part one of the book, I commented on the Storydarlings' podcast discussion that I thought Heir of Fire was a transitional book that was light on action but contained lots of character development and introduced new characters. To that point, our old friends Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian were doing their own thing, progressing as characters, while new characters such as Aedion, Manon, and Rowan were introduced and woven into the story. The first half of the book wasn't boring or unreadable by any means, but for me, was a bit of letdown after the almost constant action of Crown of Midnight.

As expected, the book picked up in the second half, and the last third of the book was especially action packed and full of events that not only had an impact on Heir of Fire but would clearly influence the remainder of the series. By book's end, …

Sarah J. Maas: Crown of Midnight (Hardcover, 2023, Bloomsbury USA Childrens) 5 stars

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a …

My Review of Crown of Midnight

5 stars

The second book in the Throne of Glass series built upon the first and smashed my expectations by a wide margin. While not a literary masterpiece by any stretch, I thought Sarah J. Maas' writing was greatly improved in Crown of Midnight, making for a more engaging read than Throne of Glass. In addition to the general improvement in the writing and storytelling, there's more of everything in this one - intrigue, humor, fight scenes, and yes, romance.

The trio of friends, and sometimes love triangle of Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian all grow by leaps and bounds in this one, while not losing that spark that made them fun, compelling, and sometimes maddening characters to begin with. Celaena remained a badass with skills and a personality to be reckoned with, but I really enjoyed Chaol and Dorian's development in this one. Chaol started the series as a pawn for the …

Gabrielle Zevin: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Hardcover, 2022, Knopf) 4 stars

In this exhilarating novel, two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners …

My Review of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

5 stars

I had heard almost zero criticism of this book prior to reading it, so I went into it with high hopes, and expected to enjoy it. Not only did I enjoy it, but it's one of the best books I've ever read, and it's the type of book I could see myself doing annual rereads of. It was that good, and it had its hooks in me from the start.

Despite the three main characters being about a decade older than me, I found myself easily identifying with them, and feeling like they could have been friends of mine. The camaraderie the three of them shared was a delight to behold, as they navigated their 20s and 30s and dealt with the normal issues 20 and 30somethings deal with, in addition to their own demons. Sam and Sadie's relationship is especially turbulent at times, and they sometimes made me want …

Rachel Yoder: Nightbitch (Hardcover, Doubleday Books) 4 stars

One day, the mother was a mother but then, one night, she was quite suddenly …

My Review of Nightbitch

4 stars

I’ll start by saying that as a male, I’m probably not the intended audience for this book. I will also admit that I was initially turned off and maybe even a little offended by how reading this book made me feel. I knew going in that this book would be outside of my wheelhouse, but I still felt attacked by how unapologetically feminist the book was. Luckily for me, I was able to get over myself and embrace Nightbitch for what it was. It’s a hilarious, bizarre, sad, and frustrating book. From start to finish, Nightbitch is uncompromising in telling the truth, even the dark and dirty truth of a struggling stay at home mom.

My one gripe with the took is that it ran a bit too long. It was incredibly well written, but sometimes it felt like there was just a little too much of everything. I think …