Book reviews and ratings from Michael Harley. 2026-06-08T12:33:37Z https://michaelharley.net/books/ Michael Harley michael@michaelharley.net 2026-06-07T22:15:14Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2026/billy-on-billy-an-audio-memoir/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/abs-4286513f-f25f-4910-b05f-c0d82a356deb.jpg" alt="Billy on Billy: An Audio Memoir cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Billy Eichner</p> <p> · Audiobook</p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> June 2026</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★½</p><p>I enjoyed this more than I expected. It takes a while to warm up to Billy but he grows on you.</p> <p>—Mike</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20Billy%20on%20Billy:%20An%20Audio%20Memoir">Reply via email</a> · <a href="https://infosec.exchange/@michaelharley/116711150159423529">Discuss on Mastodon</a></p> 2026-05-27T09:12:05Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2026/a-fatal-grace/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL8475921W.jpg" alt="A Fatal Grace cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Louise Penny</p> <p> · 314 pages · St. Martin&#39;s Minotaur · Audiobook</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8475921W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> May 2026</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★½</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20A%20Fatal%20Grace">Reply via email</a></p> 2026-05-10T17:26:16Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2026/rhythm-of-war/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL20842226W.jpg" alt="Rhythm of War cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Brandon Sanderson</p> <p>The Stormlight Archive #4 · 1136 pages · Tor Fantasy · Audiobook</p><p>The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL20842226W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> May 2026</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★★ · 🧡 All-time favorite</p><p>Very long book. I wanted epic fantasy and this is that in spades. I guess my only complaint about the writing style/story telling style is that it doesn't feel that anyone very important is going to die. Unlike George RR Martin books, where <em>main characters can and probably will die</em>, this series feels that the main characters are going to figure out a way through. The story archs get a bit... predicable. Oh no Kaladin is sad and can't go on but then BOOM he fights through and finds a way and saves the day. Rince repeat. Still, I really liked this book and the series. 5 out of 5 and it get's the heart too.</p> <p>—Mike</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20Rhythm%20of%20War">Reply via email</a> · <a href="https://infosec.exchange/@michaelharley/116551465812532870">Discuss on Mastodon</a></p> 2026-04-22T01:12:31Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2026/still-life-a-three-pines-mystery/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL8475913W.jpg" alt="Still Life (A Three Pines Mystery) cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Louise Penny</p> <p> · 416 pages · Little, Brown Book Group Limited · Audiobook</p><p>Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it&#39;s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much...</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL8475913W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> April 2026</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★½</p><p>Pretty good. Can def see lots of potential so looking forward to the next book.</p> <p>—Mike</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20Still%20Life%20(A%20Three%20Pines%20Mystery)">Reply via email</a> · <a href="https://infosec.exchange/@michaelharley/116445727990610694">Discuss on Mastodon</a></p> 2026-04-02T00:00:00Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2026/knots-and-crosses/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL483838W.jpg" alt="Knots and Crosses cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Ian Rankin</p> <p> · 240 pages · Orion Books Limited</p><p>Edinburgh policeman, John Rebus, must solve murders involving seeming crank letters. He is not the only officer workering the case, but the only one who has all the pieces to resolve it.</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL483838W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> April 2026</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★</p><p>Eh, I couldn't really get into this book. I love this genre so I'm surprised. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read instead of listened but the narrator of this audiobook wasn't really my fav.</p> <p>—Mike</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20Knots%20and%20Crosses">Reply via email</a></p> 2026-03-17T00:00:00Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2026/oathbringer/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL17834026W.jpg" alt="Oathbringer cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Brandon Sanderson</p> <p>The Stormlight Archive #3 · 1243 pages · Gollancz</p><p>The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, at the top of his game</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17834026W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> March 2026</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★★</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20Oathbringer">Reply via email</a></p> 2025-12-29T00:00:00Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2025/this-inevitable-ruin/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL41914127W.jpg" alt="This Inevitable Ruin cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Matt Dinniman</p> <p>Dungeon Crawler Carl #6 · LitRPG, Science Fantasy · 880 pages · Ace</p><p>They call it Faction Wars. The ninth floor. Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal... It all makes for great fun and even greater television. After all, none of these powerful aliens really die...</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL41914127W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> December 2025</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★★</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20This%20Inevitable%20Ruin">Reply via email</a></p> 2025-12-18T00:00:00Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2025/the-eye-of-the-bedlam-bride/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL36748104W.jpg" alt="The Eye of the Bedlam Bride cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Matt Dinniman</p> <p>Dungeon Crawler Carl #7 · LitRPG, Science Fantasy · 832 pages · Penguin</p><p>A pantheon of forgotten gods. An old grudge between a talk show host, an heiress, and the man they shattered along the way. A rapidly deteriorating AI system. An inconvenient tiara upon the head of a friend. It is bedlam on the eighth floor. As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. ...</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL36748104W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> December 2025</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★★</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20The%20Eye%20of%20the%20Bedlam%20Bride">Reply via email</a></p> 2025-12-03T00:00:00Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2025/the-butchers-masquerade/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL34721292W.jpg" alt="The Butcher&#39;s Masquerade cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Matt Dinniman</p> <p>Dungeon Crawler Carl #5 · LitRPG, Science Fantasy · 720 pages · Penguin</p><p>Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose. Run, Run, Run. A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.” The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds. As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible th...</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL34721292W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> December 2025</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★★</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20The%20Butcher&#39;s%20Masquerade">Reply via email</a></p> 2025-11-28T00:00:00Z https://michaelharley.net/books/2025/the-gate-of-the-feral-gods/ <p><img src="https://michaelharley.net/books/covers/OL42486158W.jpg" alt="The Gate of the Feral Gods cover" width="200" /></p><p>by Matt Dinniman</p> <p>Dungeon Crawler Carl #4 · 848 pages · Diversified Publishing</p><p>New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure. You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that’s talent. A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps. It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the...</p><p><a href="https://openlibrary.org/works/OL42486158W">Open Library</a></p><hr /> <h2>My Rating</h2> <p><strong>Read:</strong> November 2025</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> ★★★★</p><p> <a href="mailto:michael@michaelharley.net?subject=Re:%20The%20Gate%20of%20the%20Feral%20Gods">Reply via email</a></p>