Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, a highly beloved and talked-about science fiction novel. Now, personally, I am not much of a science fiction gal, so I really wasn’t sure what I was going to think. I ended up really enjoying the book (science and math stuff aside) and found the world and the characters to have really shone through, making it such an enjoyable read.

Main Characters:

Ryland Grace: Such an unexpectedly great main character. He’s smart (obviously), but not in an intimidating way. He questions things, messes up, figures it out, and brings a lot of personality to what could’ve been a super technical story. He made this book so much more approachable and, honestly, really fun to follow.

Rocky: I won’t say too much because it’s better to experience it, but one of the best parts of the book. The dynamic here is something I did not expect, and it adds so much heart, humour, and depth to the story.

Eva Stratt: The scientist who creates the mission that Grace goes on often butts heads with Grace on their ideas, but in a respectful, professional way.

My Review

As mentioned, I went into Project Hail Mary not really knowing what I was getting into or if I would like it. I did not expect to love this as much as I did. Sci-fi isn’t usually my go-to, and anything involving heavy math, science, or engineering? Also not my thing. So I went into this a little hesitant, but this book makes it so accessible. I didn’t really understand those aspects of the book, but I also didn’t feel like I needed to to really grasp what was going on in the story. You can feel the characters’ emotions, and that often showed me more than the science and math did. I rated Project Hail Mary a 9/10 rating, and would totally recommend it to people like me who don’t usually check out science fiction, or aren’t usually drawn to those types of stories.

In Project Hail Mary, we follow Ryland Grace when he wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As his memory slowly returns, he realizes he’s on a mission to save Earth from a catastrophic threat that could wipe out all life. As he pieces together what’s happening, the story jumps between past and present, showing how the mission came to be, and how Grace ended up being humanity’s last hope. Along the way, unexpected connections form, and the scope of the mission becomes even bigger than initially imagined. We, the readers, are spun a gorgeous world in space through the eyes of someone who never expected to be up there.

So yes, due to the plot of the book and Grace’s role in it, the book includes a lot of science, math and engineering. Yes, there’s complex problem-solving. But I never felt like I needed to fully understand every detail to stay engaged. The way it’s written keeps things clear enough that you can follow along without getting lost, which made a huge difference for me and how I was pulled into the book. What really pulled me in was how the story unfolded. The connections that are made throughout, especially the ones you don’t see coming, are so well done. It takes things in directions I never would’ve expected, and it just works.

And Grace as a character? Loved him. He carries the story in such a natural way, and you actually enjoy being in his head as everything unravels. He makes the high-stakes, end-of-the-world mission feel personal and grounded.

I will say, it’s a little unsettling how some of the issues in this book don’t feel that far off from real life. Like, it’s sci-fi, but also, not entirely? That added an extra layer of tension for me.

The space aspect was also just really cool. It’s such an out-of-reach concept for most of us, and I loved getting to fully dive into that world and go along for the ride. It felt immersive without being overwhelming.

And the ending? So good. It wrapped things up in a way that felt satisfying and meaningful, which isn’t always easy with a story this big.

I’m also really curious to see how the movie adaptation turns out, whether it sticks close to the book or switches things up a bit.

Overall, this completely surprised me in the best way. Super engaging, surprisingly emotional, and just a really fun (and slightly terrifying) ride through space.

I hope you enjoyed this review! Thank you for checking it out! Feel free to subscribe to the page to be one of the first to know when I release a new review!

When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy

Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into horror writer Nat Cassidy’s creepy and hard-to-put-down book, When the Wolf Comes Home. While not the first of his reads I have picked up, I really enjoyed this one and found it to be unique, scary, and riveting. It made me really look forward to checking out more of his books in the future.

Main Characters

Jess: Our main girl and, honestly, one of my favourite parts of this book, she’s messy, flawed, and emotional. Her empathy drives a lot of her decisions, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. When Jess meets the boy, she is brought into a horror scene she never expected. In an attempt to save him, she is pushed to intense limits and is forced to put herself in danger to try and help save the day.

The boy: Running away from a monster, the boy crosses paths with Jess, and is forced to face his fears in no way a child ever should, but he also has much more control than we may suspect.

Cookie: Jess’s mother, who, while maybe not always the best mom, pulls through for her daughter when it’s needed the most.

The man:  The boy’s father, who follows Jess and him in an attempt to get him back, however, follows at a distance due to the danger that follows his son.

My Review

As mentioned before, I’ve checked out some of Nat Cassidy’s other books and found them to be scary, but extremely enjoyable. When the Wolf Comes Home is an action-filled, thrilling novel, filled with horror and some people’s worst nightmares. The characters are enjoyable (and sometimes aggravating), but the plot itself is unique, and unlike anything I’ve ever dived into before. I gave it an 8/10 rating overall and am looking forward to diving into more of Cassidy’s spooky tales in the future.

The story follows Jess as she gets pulled into a deeply unsettling and increasingly terrifying situation involving a young boy and something not quite right. What starts as concern quickly turns into something much darker, with reality bending in ways that feel both surreal and way too real at the same time. As things escalate, the book leans hard into fear, what it does to us, how it changes us, and the choices we make when we’re pushed to our limits. Jess is forced to fight her greatest fears to protect the boy, but she also questions if she can really protect him from himself, or the realities of his world. The boy must question if he can fight off the monsters that haunt him, or crumble to the fear of his reality and what is chasing him.

As mentioned before, I’ve checked out other books of Cassidy’s, and when When the Wolf Comes Home came across my way, I knew I had to check it out. I saw lots of positive reviews and felt like it lived up to the hype for sure. This book is so unique. Like, genuinely nothing I’ve read before. The plot is wild in a way that somehow still works and makes sense, and I was completely locked in watching it unfold. The creativity here is insane, and the way everything comes together? So satisfying. It’s heartbreaking at different points, intense in others, but also loving and sweet in others. It has its gory parts, and some areas are a bit harder to stomach, but if you read lots of horror like I do, it’s really nothing crazy.

It’s fast-paced, emotional, and straight-up creepy. Not just surface-level scary, either, it gets under your skin. The kind of book where you feel uneasy even when nothing is technically happening because you are just waiting for that other shoe to drop. What really stood out to me is how much it focuses on fear. Not just the classic there’s something scary chasing you theme, but how fear actually changes people. The decisions, the reactions, the spiral, it all felt very intentional and honestly a little too real at times.

Jess carried this book for me. I loved her. She’s not perfect, and that’s exactly why she works so well. Her empathy, even when it complicates things, made everything hit harder emotionally. And yeah, the kid can be annoying, but in a way that makes sense. He’s a child dealing with trauma, and the book doesn’t shy away from that. If anything, it adds to the emotional weight.

This is not a feel-good book. Like, at all. My heart hurt more than once. But it’s a damn good one.

I had such a good time with this, and it definitely solidified that I need to keep reading more from Nat Cassidy.

Has anyone else checked out When the Wolf Comes Home, or any other of Nat Cassidy’s reads? What did you think, and what others would you recommend?

Thank you for checking out this review! I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to subscribe to the page on the bottom of the site to be one of the first to know when I post a new review.

A thoughtful look at why whodunit murder mysteries remain so popular. This post explores suspense, character motives, and the joy of piecing together clues as a reader.

https://www.jeanneriedelbooks.com/who-done-it-murder-mystery/

#MysteryFiction #BookBlogs #ReadingCulture #crimefiction #books #readingbook

❝𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘦𝘯, 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘗𝘎 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 (𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴) 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺.❞

Here Sam takes a look at some of the times #Tolkein pushed the #fantasy genre to bold new heights.

⤵️ #bookblogs
https://www.booknotification.com/blog/6-times-tolkien-reinvented-fantasy/

"What can you say about the #Brontë sisters that hasn’t been said a thousand times already? One of the most important literary families in history, it was not one, but three geniuses making their mark. Hitting back against social conventions, the Brontës were renowned for their conviction and clarity."

Sam looks into the top moments that really stand out. 📚

⤵️ #books #bookblogs

https://www.booknotification.com/blog/6-times-the-brontes-were-a-big-mood/

Welcome to the first Saturday of November. It's time for the #6Degrees of Separation meme, hosted by Kate from Australia. Here's Kate's post, including all the links to other participants #BookBlogs.

#bookstodon #reading #literature

Six Degrees of Separation – from We Have Always Lived in the Castle to Seasonal Associate https://booksaremyfavouriteandbest.com/2025/11/01/six-degrees-of-separation-from-we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle-to-seasonal-associate/

#Bookthreads #booksky 💙📚 #bookstodon TCL's #LetsDiscuss2025 #8 – Changing Bookish Opinions – #LetsTalkBookish2025 #3. Thanks to Aria @ Book Nook Bits for this week's discussion topic. Stop by to find out more! #bookish #bookstagram #bookbloging #bookbloggers #bookblogs #bloggingchallenge

http://tcl-bookreviews.com/2025/08/18/tcls-letsdiscuss2025-8-changing-bookish-opinions-letstalkbookish2025-3/

Does anyone know a good #book #blog with a functioning #RSS feed? I want to follow #bookreviews and other #book posts. I'm primarily interested in following #blogs within the #chicklit and #romantasy genres. I also really enjoy #romcoms and some #cozy reads, so if anyone has any recommendations for #bookblogs that fall into these categories, send them my way! :)

Thanks!

@bookstodon #bookish #bookstagram #bookstodon #books #bookstadon #reading #romantasy