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| 0998361119
| 9780998361116
| B01MXIDQDB
| 3.59
| 1,141
| Nov 08, 2016
| Nov 08, 2016
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liked it
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It’s almost too easy to write a vampire YA romance. Real authors tackle the hard romances, like mummies. How does a clumsy teenage girl fall for a tho
It’s almost too easy to write a vampire YA romance. Real authors tackle the hard romances, like mummies. How does a clumsy teenage girl fall for a thousands-year-old mummified but reanimated corpse? You’ll have to read Unwrap My Heart to find out. Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book because I am a Meat Buddy, i.e., I have pledged a small amount of money every month to Read It and Weep , the podcast that Alex Falcone and Ezra Fox do along with Chris and Tanya Smith. And even if their podcast were not a highlight of my week, this book alone makes that pledge well worth my money. Fox and Falcone have put their years of reading bad books and watching bad movies and TV on behalf of their listeners to good use. This book is just delightful. It walks the line between parody and an actual, heartfelt story in a way I wasn’t expecting. As with the material from which they drew inspiration (particularly Twilight), the protagonist, Sofia, is a klutzy and rather uninteresting character—but the side characters more than make up for that. Sofia’s dad is a mustache-sporting and laid-back fellow, except when it comes to the dangers of boys and salmonella. Sofia’s best friend, Duncan, is an amateur archaeologist who has already made a name for himself in the field before even graduating high school—and let’s not even mention his huge collection of cast phalluses. Hearing these characters’ backstories and seeing how they interact with Sofia is invariably hilarious. There are so many good lines in here that if I quoted them all I’d probably be in violation of the copyright. I loved how Sofia’s dad explains why it’s always important for her to keep pepper-spray on her person: “Show me a problem that can’t be Maced, and I’ll show you a mugger with goggles”. Or, a bit earlier in the book, when he learns that a school project prevents her from going on a weekend camping trip, he says, “Ah, School Dad told you that? He’s worse than Strict Dad. Probably should listen to him”. The thing is, these lines are meant to be funny (and they are). But exchanges like this, pervasive as they are throughout the book, also feel so real. This is how I have conversations with my friends, with my dad even. We’re funny with each other in a way that dialogue in many other YA novels (including Twilight) doesn’t capture. Maybe it should come as no surprise that a comedian like Falcone is good at coming up with one-liners. Nevertheless, it’s hard to land those lines so often, especially amid Real Talk™. Take, for example, the exchange between Duncan and Sofia mid-way through the book. I love that Falcone gets to exorcise a long-running complaint of his on the podcast when it comes to the term “love triangle”: “It literally never occurred to me that Princess Beige would ever be in a love triangle.” I love this scene, because even as Duncan is calling Sofia special because he’s trying to admit he’s in love with her (oh, it’s not a spoiler, like you didn’t guess that was coming from page 1), he’s also reinforcing the trope that Sofia is Special in that way only teenaged YA protagonists in paranormal romances can be. And, for what it’s worth, I agree with Falcone that “love triangle” is rather inaccurate. Other things I enjoyed about Unwrap My Heart include the running gag that everyone mistakes Seth for a hipster instead of a mummy, as well as the suspiciously consistent denial that any other supernatural creatures exist. I liked that the villain was largely incompetent but that Sofia and friends had a hard time defeating him, at least at first, because they have about as much experience with fighting a supervillain bent on world domination as you might expect. Also, how everyone in Rock Ridge except Sofia seems to be part of a bird-appreciation club with weekly meetings. Finally, let’s talk about sex. As soon as Sofia discovers Seth’s “secret” (that he is a mummy, if you haven’t already caught on), the very first thing she considers is how this will affect having sex with him. Which seems like such an honest thing for a YA protagonist to think about. Stephenie Meyer goes from skirting the issue in Twilight to having to explain it in … err … gory detail in Breaking Dawn. I love how proactive Sofia is, what with her searching the Internet for anything remotely useful. Similarly, I love the dream epilogue at the end and how it gives Sofia agency. Reading this book is like listening to an episode of the podcast. It’s smart and funny and a relaxing escape from all the mellow-harshing reality we have going on in 2016. It takes a lot of work to write parody prose that is neither so over-the-top it implodes upon itself nor so clever it twists back on itself like an ouroboros of comedy and turns into legitimately good fiction. But you don’t have to be a Read It and Weep listener to enjoy this book or its jokes. I’m a little disappointed that Falcone and Fox did not include a helicopter named Charlie Tango, and I can only hope they rectify that in the sequel. Speaking of sequels, if they don’t want to do a direct sequel to Unwrap My Heart, I’d love to see their take on a time-travel story—maybe Chris would have some input on that, given the amount he and Alex have discussed time travel. Or perhaps the next Completely Legitimate Publishing novel could involve a pro wrestler turned actor turned action hero…. Or will we finally see the prose debut of Space Shark? Whatever it is, I would also love to see some LGBTQIA+ characters. Spoofing hetero YA romance is all well and good, but I know Falcone and Fox can find a way to make their parody romance more inclusive. Whatever the next adventure is, I will be there. [image] Merged review: It’s almost too easy to write a vampire YA romance. Real authors tackle the hard romances, like mummies. How does a clumsy teenage girl fall for a thousands-year-old mummified but reanimated corpse? You’ll have to read Unwrap My Heart to find out. Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book because I am a Meat Buddy, i.e., I have pledged a small amount of money every month to Read It and Weep , the podcast that Alex Falcone and Ezra Fox do along with Chris and Tanya Smith. And even if their podcast were not a highlight of my week, this book alone makes that pledge well worth my money. Fox and Falcone have put their years of reading bad books and watching bad movies and TV on behalf of their listeners to good use. This book is just delightful. It walks the line between parody and an actual, heartfelt story in a way I wasn’t expecting. As with the material from which they drew inspiration (particularly Twilight), the protagonist, Sofia, is a klutzy and rather uninteresting character—but the side characters more than make up for that. Sofia’s dad is a mustache-sporting and laid-back fellow, except when it comes to the dangers of boys and salmonella. Sofia’s best friend, Duncan, is an amateur archaeologist who has already made a name for himself in the field before even graduating high school—and let’s not even mention his huge collection of cast phalluses. Hearing these characters’ backstories and seeing how they interact with Sofia is invariably hilarious. There are so many good lines in here that if I quoted them all I’d probably be in violation of the copyright. I loved how Sofia’s dad explains why it’s always important for her to keep pepper-spray on her person: “Show me a problem that can’t be Maced, and I’ll show you a mugger with goggles”. Or, a bit earlier in the book, when he learns that a school project prevents her from going on a weekend camping trip, he says, “Ah, School Dad told you that? He’s worse than Strict Dad. Probably should listen to him”. The thing is, these lines are meant to be funny (and they are). But exchanges like this, pervasive as they are throughout the book, also feel so real. This is how I have conversations with my friends, with my dad even. We’re funny with each other in a way that dialogue in many other YA novels (including Twilight) doesn’t capture. Maybe it should come as no surprise that a comedian like Falcone is good at coming up with one-liners. Nevertheless, it’s hard to land those lines so often, especially amid Real Talk™. Take, for example, the exchange between Duncan and Sofia mid-way through the book. I love that Falcone gets to exorcise a long-running complaint of his on the podcast when it comes to the term “love triangle”: “It literally never occurred to me that Princess Beige would ever be in a love triangle.” I love this scene, because even as Duncan is calling Sofia special because he’s trying to admit he’s in love with her (oh, it’s not a spoiler, like you didn’t guess that was coming from page 1), he’s also reinforcing the trope that Sofia is Special in that way only teenaged YA protagonists in paranormal romances can be. And, for what it’s worth, I agree with Falcone that “love triangle” is rather inaccurate. Other things I enjoyed about Unwrap My Heart include the running gag that everyone mistakes Seth for a hipster instead of a mummy, as well as the suspiciously consistent denial that any other supernatural creatures exist. I liked that the villain was largely incompetent but that Sofia and friends had a hard time defeating him, at least at first, because they have about as much experience with fighting a supervillain bent on world domination as you might expect. Also, how everyone in Rock Ridge except Sofia seems to be part of a bird-appreciation club with weekly meetings. Finally, let’s talk about sex. As soon as Sofia discovers Seth’s “secret” (that he is a mummy, if you haven’t already caught on), the very first thing she considers is how this will affect having sex with him. Which seems like such an honest thing for a YA protagonist to think about. Stephenie Meyer goes from skirting the issue in Twilight to having to explain it in … err … gory detail in Breaking Dawn. I love how proactive Sofia is, what with her searching the Internet for anything remotely useful. Similarly, I love the dream epilogue at the end and how it gives Sofia agency. Reading this book is like listening to an episode of the podcast. It’s smart and funny and a relaxing escape from all the mellow-harshing reality we have going on in 2016. It takes a lot of work to write parody prose that is neither so over-the-top it implodes upon itself nor so clever it twists back on itself like an ouroboros of comedy and turns into legitimately good fiction. But you don’t have to be a Read It and Weep listener to enjoy this book or its jokes. I’m a little disappointed that Falcone and Fox did not include a helicopter named Charlie Tango, and I can only hope they rectify that in the sequel. Speaking of sequels, if they don’t want to do a direct sequel to Unwrap My Heart, I’d love to see their take on a time-travel story—maybe Chris would have some input on that, given the amount he and Alex have discussed time travel. Or perhaps the next Completely Legitimate Publishing novel could involve a pro wrestler turned actor turned action hero…. Or will we finally see the prose debut of Space Shark? Whatever it is, I would also love to see some LGBTQIA+ characters. Spoofing hetero YA romance is all well and good, but I know Falcone and Fox can find a way to make their parody romance more inclusive. Whatever the next adventure is, I will be there. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Dec 2016
not set
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Dec 2016
not set
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Sep 27, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 0063031361
| 9780063031364
| 0063031361
| 4.02
| 35,911
| Nov 10, 2022
| Nov 15, 2022
|
it was amazing
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**spoiler alert** Last year I was surprised by how much I enjoyed
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
, Sue Lynn Tan’s reimagining of the mythology of Cha
**spoiler alert** Last year I was surprised by how much I enjoyed
Daughter of the Moon Goddess
, Sue Lynn Tan’s reimagining of the mythology of Chang’e (and specifically, her daughter). I was apprehensive whether Tan would bottle moonlight twice with Heart of the Sun Warrior—yet here we are, another five-star read. What can I say? Tan’s storytelling abilities are impressive. Some time has passed since the end of the first book. Xingyin is living fairly contently on the moon with her mother, who is now free to leave whenever she pleases, though she still has the duty of lighting all the lanterns that illuminate the moon each night. Liwei, heir to the Celestial throne, continues to court Xingyin and make moves towards proposing. Yet Xingyin knows Liwei’s parents are no fans of hers, and this is confirmed when she begrudgingly attends a birthday celebration at the Jade Palace. An engineered slight puts the moon goddess—and her daughter—on the back foot again as they ultimately become ensnared in a much larger attempt on the throne. Xingyin and her allies—including some unexpected ones—must fight back against a usurper who only has evil in his heart. But this war might cost Xingyin all of the precious love she has gained since her previous victory, and there is no guarantee even of success. Spoilers for both books in this review. Tan’s writing continues to be operatic in form and epic in scope. Once again we are thrust into a rich world. As she brings elements of Chinese mythology to life, she uses them to tell a broad and adventurous story. The stakes—the Celestial throne and stability of the entire immortal world—could not be higher. The love triangle of Xingyin with Liwei and Wenzhi is back, and once again, this aromantic reader did not mind the romance here. Additionally, the appearance of Houyi and his return to the immortal realm is very touching. At first, I thought it was a bit trite, until I really dug into the book and understood the genre and form in which Tan is operating. I won’t attempt to get too technical here, because I haven’t read or watched a lot of Chinese drama. But I feel like Heart of the Sun Warrior kind of has everything? This is best demonstrated at the climax of the book, when Xingyin is about to go up against Wugang with the ultimate subterfuge. Wenzhi helps her, and Liwei finally gives his rival a grudging nod of respect—they will never be friends, not after what Wenzhi has done, but suddenly we have the Celestial Prince and the Demon Prince on the same side, fighting in a war together, and if that isn’t epic, I don’t know what is. But you have to be able to get to that payoff, and this is where Tan excels. This is a book that lays down groundwork and then pays it off. It’s seldom a surprise—foreshadowing is strong here—but it is always rewarding. The dragons come back. The Celestial Empress baits Xingyin into a terrible promise, and then that comes full circle. Xingyin is caught between worlds—the worlds of the court and the moon, even the worlds of duty and family. What is she supposed to do? How come everything falls on her shoulders? The death of Ping’er hits hard as well. I love the ending. I love that Xingyin and Liwei don’t end up together. Sometimes you love someone, but it just doesn’t work out. You want too many different things. Xingyin and Wenzhi getting a second (third?) chance is perfect for this genre of story, even if, again, it feels trite. Tan has a masterful grasp of what is expected and works in a story like this. As with the first book, I don’t feel like I have a lot of need to go into detail though. This book is a block of marble, expertly carved and exquisite from every angle. Definitely read the first book first, then do yourself a favour and pick this one up when you can. It’s a book where happy endings aren’t always the ones we expect or even desire, but they are the ones we need—and they are forever. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 18, 2024
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Aug 23, 2024
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Aug 26, 2024
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1684631734
| 9781684631735
| 1684631734
| 3.71
| 103
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
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it was ok
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What would you do if you could make the world a better place and save the soul of someone you’re attracted to, but you would have to die in his place?
What would you do if you could make the world a better place and save the soul of someone you’re attracted to, but you would have to die in his place? A hero would jump at this chance, of course. The Last Huntress is a story about willingness to sacrifice and standing against powers far beyond our comprehension. Lenore Borja’s world is creative and intriguing, though I can’t say the same for the story she chooses to tell in it. I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review. Alice finds herself initiated rather abruptly into the current generation of huntresses: women throughout history who can access the Mirror Realm and track and exorcise demons. They are trained and overseen by Cithaeron, a once-mortal man now reincarnated through the lifetimes. But things are different now. Alice might be the last huntress ever called, and she seems to have more power—that comes at more of a price—than the others. She and Cithaeron are bound up, twin flames, yet Alice’s destiny is one of self-sacrifice in exchange for Cithaeron’s soul. For lurking behind the Mirror Realm, behind our world, behind it all, is the spectre of Hades and the other Olympians. The Last Huntress starts off like so many young adult stories. Alice is the new girl in town, and she meets a cast of peers, some of whom are boorish and awful (David) and others who become her new sisters (Olivia, Hadley, Soxie). The dialogue is trite, the action a series of set pieces, the development fairly standard. Alice’s initiation into the huntresses is as confusing for the reader as it is for her, but once she is finally in the know, the book picks up. Borja’s creative use of Greek mythology is the best thing about this book. The parts she uses are a bit more obscure to me, but I like how she characterizes Hades and the other Greek gods. I like the lore gradually revealed, especially near the climax, of why the gods have been absent and what Hades’ master plan entails. Alas, the nature of the demons and their connection to the Mirror Realm is somewhat underdeveloped (which will be a recurring complaint from me). We never really get a chance to settle into this world or the story. We don’t get much of an understanding of what business-as-usual is for the huntresses before Alice’s arrival throws everything off its axis. Even as Alice’s destiny unspools, Borja keeps throwing twist after twist at us as the story careens further away from its initial conditions. There’s no breathing room. There’s one memorable chapter where Alice is bonding with her fellow huntresses and having fun, but that’s about it—everything else is urgency, danger, go go go. The romance subplot is also, as far as this aromantic chick can tell, just all right? Maybe even a bit boring? It’s supposed to be hot and heavy. But we get so little time with the two characters, and most of it is spent in crisis mode. Again, I just don’t feel invested in or connected with these characters as people. The Last Huntress is a book with a lot of potential; it just falls flat for me. It never quite comes together into something truly memorable. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 11, 2024
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Aug 12, 2024
|
Aug 20, 2024
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1250788951
| 9781250788955
| 1250788951
| 4.29
| 8,594
| Nov 07, 2023
| Nov 07, 2023
|
it was amazing
|
Another satisfying conclusion to a fantasy trilogy? What have I done to deserve this? Freya Marske joins a small yet hallowed group of authors for wra
Another satisfying conclusion to a fantasy trilogy? What have I done to deserve this? Freya Marske joins a small yet hallowed group of authors for wrapping her fantasy series with aplomb. A Power Unbound brings together the threads from the previous two books, resolving the story of the Last Contract and the more personal stories of the characters Marske has breathed into life over two novels. I was so excited to read this, and it does not disappoint. As usual, spoilers for the first two books but not for this one. This book is told primarily from the limited third-person perspective of Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn. Featured in the previous two books as a remote, unforgiving chap who had lost or given up his magic, Jack becomes more accessible to us in this third book. We learn more about his tragic past, the incident that claimed the life of his twin sister and robbed him of his magic. We also see how far Jack will go to take care of the people he loves. That includes family, friends, and lovers—because yes, there is more romance here. As the equinox approaches, the bad guys looking to bring together the three pieces of the Last Contract are dogging every move of Jack and his allies. It will take everyone working together to outwit and outfight those who would take the magic of England for themselves. I’m not sure what I can say that I haven’t already said in my reviews of A Marvellous Light or A Restless Truth … Marske is just a phenomenal storyteller. She knows how to set up a conflict, ratchet up the tension scene after scene, and then pay it off with a big, desperate climax. As far as character goes, the standout is, of course, the other perspective character, Alan. As we get to know this journalist/smutty writer better, we learn what drives him: the big family he feels responsible for taking care of, his desire to better himself in a world where upwards mobility is frowned upon. It’s through Alan and his attraction to Jack that we finally see fully Lord Hawthorn’s cold exterior melt—and yes, I mean that in every way, including the romantic. Like with the first two books, the romance and smut here did nothing for me and were, if anything, things I skipped over—if spice is your thing, though, then whew, yes, read these! Nevertheless, I love the mixture of queer smut and fantasy set in Edwardian England. This is a rich, layered setting that Marske uses to her full advantage. Probably the standout aspect of this novel, however, is simply the way Marske finally brings this series to a close. I love how she wraps this up! Without going into spoilers, let’s say that the story of the Last Contract is definitively resolved. Is there room for more stories with these characters? Certainly. But don’t worry about any cliffhangers connected to the main plot. I love how Marske plumbs the depth of this world that she has created, bringing together the threads of magic: faerie, ley lines and the land, spirits and ghosts—it all comes back, and it’s all put together in a way that makes sense. Paramount to the plot is the theme of one’s connection to the land. One’s heritage. It’s so interesting to see this appear in a non-Indigenous story. Marske positions the contractual magic of English magicians against the land-based magic of hedge witches and sorcerers, essentially positing that contractual magic is associated with the rise of mercantilism and capitalism in England, whereas land-based magic is far more humanist, natural, forgiving. It’s a beautiful, anticapitalist sentiment lurking beneath a book that, after all, has relatively well-off people as several of its main characters. My only complaint is that, since this book follows Jack and Alan, we don’t get to spend as much time with Maud, Violet, Edwin, or Robyn. I expected as much given how Marske changed things up for A Restless Truth. Nevertheless, I’m left wistful for more stories, especially from Maud’s point of view because I have a soft spot for her! Beyond that, this is a fitting and feels-worthy conclusion to one of the most original, fulfilling, and spicy fantasy trilogies I have read in the past decade. If you like historical fantasy set in England, don’t mind a little queer romance/smut, and want a tense mystery along the way, then stop sleeping on this series. Read these books: you won’t regret it. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 13, 2024
|
May 19, 2024
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Jun 02, 2024
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 1529344565
| 9781529344561
| 1529344565
| 4.30
| 69,169
| Nov 16, 2021
| Nov 16, 2021
|
liked it
|
Finally got around to picking up Our Violent Ends, the sequel to These Violent Delights. These books are a close-knit duology—although the main plot o
Finally got around to picking up Our Violent Ends, the sequel to These Violent Delights. These books are a close-knit duology—although the main plot of the first book is resolved, Juliette and Roma’s story is not. Chloe Gong wraps it up here in a poignant, melodramatic way that remains true to the source material while also elevating it in complexity and scope. Spoilers for the first book but not for this one. The monster is dead, and so is its maker. Shanghai can breathe a little easier. The Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers can go back to killing each other. Or can they? The monsters return, blackmail ensues, and the Nationalist army is marching on the city. The only way out seems to be for Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov to work together. Yet Roma believes Juliette has betrayed their forbidden love, believes her to be heartless, to be his enemy now. Juliette has no plans to disabuse him of her deceit. It’s star-crossed love indeed. Romeo and Juliet is not in my top Shakespeare plays, though I gather from Gong’s bio that she thinks it gets a bad rap—certainly enough that she wrote this two-book reimagining of it! Yet what makes Our Violent Ends so good is that Gong has worked around the original play’s key weakness, which is its shallowness. Through her setting of Shanghai, 1927, and the depth with which she portrays the two main characters, Gong takes the themes and major beats of Shakespeare’s most famous tragic romance and makes them her own. She wastes no time throwing us into the thick of things. Juliette and Roma are independently investigating the resurgence of the monsters, but it isn’t long before they are thrown together. In addition to switching between limited third-person perspectives of these two, Gong also gives us a glimpse into the mind of Tyler (Tybalt). We don’t get as much perspective from them, but we still learn a lot about the motivations of Lord and Lady Cai, as well as Lord Montagov. And it all comes down to power. The first two thirds of the book are fine. But that last act, when all hell breaks loose? Oh my. As Roma and Juliette plot their next moves and struggle even to survive, Gong’s themes crystallize. It’s about power. Who has it. Who wants it. Should you even want it? Both lovers were born into power, shaped to wield power, yet their survival might lie in rejecting that power. Juliette and Roma—as well as Marshall, Rosalind, and Kathleen/Celia—endure many temptations towards power. How they respond to these temptations, the courses of action that these characters take, is the principal focus of Our Violent Ends. Gong sets out to remind us that individuals are fickle, complicated beings. We are all capable of good, of evil, of selfish or selfless acts. What is truly monstrous are the systems we set up. While at times uneven, when this book hits, it hits. Think what you will of Romeo and Juliet. Regardless, Gong demonstrates a remarkable facility for adapting Shakespeare’s tragedy into a tale all her own: one full of history, romance, combat, loss, and renewal. This duology, both volumes, is well worth your time. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 26, 2024
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Feb 03, 2024
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Feb 19, 2024
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0063141515
| 9780063141513
| 0063141515
| 3.93
| 37,305
| Jul 05, 2022
| Jul 04, 2023
|
it was amazing
|
Most of my IRL friends don’t read the same genres as me. There’s overlap but not that much. I don’t mind this, though, because it means that when they
Most of my IRL friends don’t read the same genres as me. There’s overlap but not that much. I don’t mind this, though, because it means that when they recommend a book to me and say, “I think you will really like this,” as my bestie Rebecca did when she gave me Honey and Spice for my birthday last year, I receive an incredible gift. I love when people push me to read outside my comfort zone. Sometimes I don’t enjoy it. Other times, like with this first novel from Bolu Babalola, I have the pleasure of a breathtaking ride that has left me with a better understanding of romance than ever before. Kikiola Banjo, or Kiki, attends Whitewell College in southern England, where she hosts Brown Sugar, a campus radio show about relationships and situationships. Respected yet somewhat inaccessible, Kiki finds herself the centre of more attention and scrutiny than she desires when she ends up kissing Malakai Korede, whom she had recently met and then excoriated on her show (albeit not by name). Seeking to use this attention to her benefit for a summer internship application, Kiki persuades Malakai to enter into a fake relationship with her. You know how it goes from there. Or do you? One of the best things about Honey and Spice is how Babalola expertly wields foreshadowing that consistently satisfies yet also subverts expectations. I don’t often read romance, but when I do, I want it to be new adult. I want it to be set in a college in the UK. I want it to be diverse, queernorm, and more. Honey and Spice has all that (the central romance is not itself queer, to be clear, but there are numerous queer characters having queer romances all around, and it’s lovely). Kiki and Malakai are both, like Babalola herself, British-born of Nigerian descent, and the story is steeped with references to Nigerian cuisine and dress, lots of unapologetically unitalicized Yoruba, and more. Did I, a white woman from Canada, know what the hell was going on every moment of this story? No, and that is wonderful. Just go with it. Because that part of the book isn’t for me (let’s face it, a whole heck of a lot of this book isn’t for me), and that’s fine. I can only imagine other readers are going to finally see themselves represented in this book, and I am here for that joy. Maybe one of the best yet most understated moments of the book happens when Kiki watches Malakai’s short film, which is about the Black barbershop he practically grew up in as a kid, and how that connects to his ideas of masculinity as a young Black man. It’s raw and powerful and it’s just this moment that underpins, uplifts the beauty of Malakai’s character overall. Alas, such Black joy exists against a backdrop of discrimination. Rather than erase that in favour of fluff, Babalola deftly negotiates the tension between romance/sexytimes and commentary on anti-Black racism in UK society, and it is so good. From the internecine power struggle within “Blackwell” to the wider questions of how to just exist as a minority on campus, Honey and Spice doesn’t shy away from the hard moments. And I want my romance to have some teeth to it. Look, I understand entirely the desire for fluffy beach reads and am in no way dismissing their value. But for me, as an aromantic gal, a little social commentary in my romance is very fulfilling. On that note, let’s get to the part of the review you’re all waiting for. Look, as an aromantic person, romance as a genre is a tough sell for me. Knowing this, Rebecca tried to sell me on Honey and Spice by noting that “it also involves how complicated family can be, female friendships, motivation, creativity, and the importance of vulnerability”—all of which is true, some of which I’ll discuss in a bit. Yet this is also a romance novel, so how did I feel about it? This is one of the best romance novels I have ever read, with some of the best sex/makeout scenes I have ever read. I don’t say that lightly. Bolu Babalola has actually maybe helped me better understand why some of y’all are so obsessed with kissing (ew). I want to give you a little taste of this spice (or is this the honey?):
Wowwwwwww. Is that what kissing is like for some of you? I get it. I still don’t want to do it, but I get it now. Babalola has put such thought into how she describes her characters, their actions, and yes, their making out. It’s my favourite approach to eroticism: descriptive yet not purple prose, full of movement and metaphor. Her mastery of language extends beyond those moments, however, encompassing the book as a whole. Honey and Spice is beautifully written, beautifully told. That beauty is apparent in the characterization, which is so dense on the page. Kiki and Malakai are incredibly round, three-dimensional main characters. They are both likeable and sympathetic, yet at the same time, they mess up. Kiki has baggage, and it makes her refuse to see what’s right in front of her. (Thankfully, her bestie, Aminah, calls her on that bullshit.) Malakai is so kind and gentle and the opposite of the toxic dude Kiki initially believes him to be, yet he is also stubborn and proud. Even the side characters, like Aminah, get some development, and I love it. I love the friendship between Kiki and Aminah, as Rebecca predicted for me. The subplot around Kiki and her former best friend from high school intrigued me. This part of the story gets dangled in front of us a few times, only to be resolved in a weirdly contrived, coincidental way, and then it just … never really comes up again? Like, I love this whole angle to Kiki’s backstory and motivation. However, this subplot is perhaps the only area of the book that I would call less than perfectly polished. Everything else? Amazing. Seriously. If you love romance, then walk, don’t run, to read Honey and Spice. If, like me, it’s not your usual genre, but you still enjoy new adult or intense novels about coming-of-age, dealing with relationships, etc., then you should still give this a try. It’s probably cliché to say this nowadays, but this deserves to be a movie. Babalola does not miss. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 20, 2024
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Jan 23, 2024
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Feb 11, 2024
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Paperback
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| 1250835437
| 9781250835437
| 1250835437
| 3.72
| 1,821
| Oct 03, 2023
| Sep 26, 2023
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liked it
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What would you do if a relative died and left you her creepy house, and fortune, on the condition that you relocate your life to live on the property?
What would you do if a relative died and left you her creepy house, and fortune, on the condition that you relocate your life to live on the property? Oh, and everyone around you keeps acting super sketch? That’s Cordelia Bone’s problem in The Witches of Bone Hill. Part romance, part thriller, all fantasy, this book uses a lot of classic tropes, often to good effect. Ava Morgyn’s writing took me a while to warm up to, yet by the end of the book, I found myself sad to say goodbye to the Bone sisters. Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a review. Cordelia and Eustace Bone are estranged sisters of a mother estranged from her family. Cordelia is going through a messy divorce with a cheating husband when she hears from her sister for the first time in years: their great aunt Augusta is dead. Time to return to the family property in Connecticut, where a stodgy lawyer named Todgers (I kid you not) informs them that they can only inherit if they stick around. Sounds strange but OK. Then the weird shit gets weirder, for Cordelia and Eustace’s relatives weren’t just eccentric, reclusive, and rich—they were witches. And so are these two sisters. I did not like the opening of this book at all. Cordelia comes across as a well-off, if scorned, woman of privilege. Morgyn kind of infodumps a bunch of stuff, like her relationship (or lack thereof) with Eustace, as well as most of the John/cheating backstory. Then a mafia boss shows up and shakes her down, and it all feels … cheesy. To be honest, that feeling never really goes away for the rest of the book. I guess I kind of just … started to roll with it. I could have dealt without either John or Busy’s extended involvement in the plot—neither of them feel all that necessary, and Busy is almost completely extraneous. But these are minor complaints. The romance, similarly, didn’t work for me—but that’s just how I am with romance, as many of you might already know. For someone coming to this book specifically looking for such a subplot, I think you’ll like it. Sparks fly, the usual misunderstandings and recriminations occur, but in the end, you know how these things go. It’s standard—though not, I should say, all that steamy. So I won’t lie: The Witches of Bone Hill was a slog for me at first. This book is also long, relatively speaking (I read it on my Kindle, but it’s 384 pages in print), and it takes a while for Morgyn to get to the point of the story. But once we get there, it’s really good. See, this is a story about two sisters who have to find their way separately but together. Eustace is ecstatic with their inheritance. She wants nothing more but to accept it, settle down, and embrace her burgeoning gift. Cordelia sees her gift as sinister, and she isn’t ready to leave behind her old life. The way that Morgyn contrasts these sisters, even as we learn more about their sordid and complex family history, is delightful. This is a book about how inheriting darkness doesn’t mean embracing it. I really liked how Eustace and Cordelia plot to turn the tables on their adversary by throwing a party. The climax of the book is well done—though the identity of the villain is predictable, and the resolution equally easy to foresee, it’s still a fun ride. It’s still powerful to see these two women come into their own, connect to their ancestors, and rise to the occasion. The Witches of Bone Hill is not quite a book for me, but I liked it well enough. If you like romance a bit more than me and want something that feels both fresh and familiar at the same time, I think you’ll enjoy this. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 26, 2023
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Oct 2023
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Oct 10, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1250905524
| 9781250905529
| 1250905524
| 3.01
| 754
| Sep 26, 2023
| Sep 26, 2023
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it was ok
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My summer of witches has extended into an autumn of auguries by dint of my reading schedule attenuating in these waning days of 2023. What Became of M
My summer of witches has extended into an autumn of auguries by dint of my reading schedule attenuating in these waning days of 2023. What Became of Magic is a book I was looking forward to reading on my deck at the end of August, but it also worked well in the cooler days of September. Paige Crutcher brings a dazzling dash of creativity to her storytelling. Alas, I didn’t enjoy her narrative style or her characterization. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for a review. Aline Weir was always the loner kid. One day at a sleepover, a ghost of a girl named Dragon befriends her. Aline grows up and grows into her witchy power to help spirits cross over. An accident with a boy her age, however, reverberates across the world and will have consequences for more than Aline. Practically raised by Fates, she finds herself drawn to the magical town of Matchstick. Soon she is in a pitched battle against an ancient enemy who has designs on the personifications of magic themselves—unless Aline and her allies can find a way to restore the balance. What Became of Magic keeps insisting that Aline is special—indeed that she is inextricably bound up with Magic, who is both a force and a man. But I don’t see it. Aline is boring, at least from the distance at which we get to know her. Crutcher’s narrative choices don’t work for me. There is a veritable montage of Aline’s childhood at the beginning of the book. Instead, bits and bobs of flashbacks spread out through the narrative might have kept me more interested. As it is, I never felt myself connecting to Aline. Like, Crutcher makes it very clear that her parents were always distant and never thought Aline would amount to much of anything—but we never really see Aline feel it, you know? Then, after Aline leaves the bookstore for the town of Matchstick, the plot spins wildly out of control. Suddenly Crutcher throws us into a quest-like structure. Again, she puts a lot of work into establishing both allies and enemies, as well as laying out the stakes. It should all come together to create a great story. Yet it’s messy, convoluted—the rules are constantly shifting. And none of the characters are three-dimensional enough for me to care about them. Not even Aline. I also can’t stand romantic subplots premised on destiny, for it veers uncomfortably close to removing agency (or even consent). To be clear, that’s a personal preference of mine; I’m not trying to say that is what Crutcher implies happens here. Indeed, if anyone is going to enjoy this chaotic book, it’s going to be romance fans who want to swoon over the idea of True Love between a witch and a magic man. As it is, there was just nothing for me to grab onto as I read this book. I felt like I was listening to a child tell me the fantasy story they had just made up—each time they jump to a new scene, I need to stop them and ask questions because I cannot keep it straight in my head. Crutcher’s imagination is unquestionable—but the organization of this book, its editing, the plotting and pacing and protagonist—none of it works for me. In the end, What Became of Magic felt like a missed opportunity. I say this not to be harsh. I don’t think it is a bad book. But I came really close to DNFing it. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 22, 2023
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Sep 25, 2023
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Oct 10, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1728229421
| 9781728229423
| 1728229421
| 3.82
| 21,990
| Jun 01, 2021
| Jun 01, 2021
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liked it
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Just a cheeky little apparently standalone novel to close out my summer of witches (though, glancing at my to-read shelf, summer might become an autum
Just a cheeky little apparently standalone novel to close out my summer of witches (though, glancing at my to-read shelf, summer might become an autumn of witches too)—and how fitting that it should be a book where the seasons are connected to one’s witchcraft. The Nature of Witches is a delightfully straightforward tale of magic, love, fear, and growth from Rachel Griffin. As long as you don’t expect too much from it, you will be entertained. Clara is an Everwitch, so rare that the last one lived over a century ago. Most witches find their magic tied to and characterized by the season of their birth; Clara, on the other hand, is equally strong during any season—at least in theory. In practice, Clara isn’t living up to her potential, or so it seems her teachers feel. In this world, witches live openly among nonmagical humans (“shaders”) and use their magic to control the weather. Climate change is making that more and more difficult, however, and the higher-ups among witches see Clara’s Everwitch abilities as crucial to changing that. But Clara is afraid: the stronger her power gets, the more likely it is to lash out and kill those she feels close to. It happened when she was younger, and she is determined not to let it happen again. I really like Clara. Griffin makes it easy to relate to her fears and desires. She feels isolated by what she is, and she isolates herself even further in turn, compounding the problem. When the inevitable love interest shows up, she tries to push him away for his own good—classic. As someone who typically doesn’t enjoy romance, that subplot was probably the hardest for me to enjoy—at one point, I thought he was going to betray her, lol, but that’s just me craving more drama. And therein lies my critique: honestly, this book drags in the conflict department. The conflict is there—both Clara’s internal agonizing over what to do about the upcoming total eclipse, as well as how she butts heads with her teachers, etc. But it never feels like it fully ignites, if you know what I mean? I kept waiting for something more intense to happen. Instead, the book just keeps plodding on towards the next summer. To be clear, I don’t need high stakes! This was a great book to read on my end-of-summer vacation at my neighbour’s cabin on a lake. I don’t mind that we don’t see Clara saving the world or that there isn’t a nefarious plot by shaders or anything else another author might dream up to inject more tension into this story. That isn’t the point. Griffin is going for lower-stake, slow-burn character drama, and I am here for that—I just wish she had developed it differently. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the characterization. I loved how Clara, despite her understandable dislike of Mr. Burrows and Ms. Suntile, also empathizes with their goals. Rather than turn these two authority figures into one-dimensional antagonists, Griffin makes sure they are relatable humans, just trying to do their best with the resources they have—and that includes Clara. I also enjoyed Clara’s method of communicating with Sang. I do wish the resolution hadn’t been quite so neat and tidy. Don’t get me wrong—I like a happy ending, and I don’t know if it was foreshadowing or just predictability that let me see this one coming. In an echo of my earlier critique, I would have liked to see Clara do a little more of her own sleuthing to figure out the solution she hits upon. One final note of praise: I read this book as my summer was coming to an end, and I am writing this review well into September, with each day colder and darker than the last. This book reminded me that the passing of the seasons is beautiful, something to celebrate rather than to dread. Each season has its time in the sun; each has its purpose. Each will come around again. Ours is to appreciate it while it is here. The Nature of Witches is a smooth, easy read. If you like romance and witchcraft and appreciation for nature, you’ll like this book. While I won’t be giving it any awards any time soon, I am truly glad I gave it my time, and it was a perfect read for the time in which I read it. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 2023
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Sep 02, 2023
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Sep 23, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1786188279
| 9781786188274
| 1786188279
| 3.52
| 200
| Aug 29, 2023
| Aug 29, 2023
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it was ok
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Time travel stories can come in so many forms! It has been a while since I’ve read a Benjamin Button–style story. A Second Chance for Yesterday has it
Time travel stories can come in so many forms! It has been a while since I’ve read a Benjamin Button–style story. A Second Chance for Yesterday has its protagonist, Nev, hurtling backwards in time. The title is everything: sibling authors writing under the name R.A. Sinn ask us if a person can reform simply by having the chance to do things over, albeit in reverse. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Solaris for the eARC. Nev Bourne is the lead programmer on a technology that lets people rewind time a few seconds. An accident at work causes her to relive, successively, each previous day of her life. Nev is going backwards in time, yet no one else is aware of this. It’s only through an unlikely team-up with a former college associate that Nev manages to wrest some semblance of control from this chaos and work to fix the glitch—before it can happen to the millions of people who will soon use this tech. This novel works best when you don’t try to peek underneath the hood and question the mechanics behind the time travel. Sinn posits that Nev’s employer has a “quantum mainframe” that can somehow reset the universe a few seconds into the past whenever someone triggers an ocular implant. OK, sure. If you can handwave past that, the story itself is quite enjoyable. They take some time developing the mystery behind Nev’s reverse chronological experience. Once she understands her predicament and enlists Airin (or rather is enlisted by them, convinced by their memory of Nev’s … futurepast?), the story ramps up in intensity. I think what makes this story so interesting is the way that it gradually morphs from “I have to escape this fate for myself” to “I have to protect others and prevent this from happening at all.” Sinn is clearly trying to make Nev out to be a flawed, somewhat selfish person who needs to learn a lesson as she travels backwards through her life. It’s a valuable idea, though I’m not sure it is executed very well. The same can be said for the antagonist (if that is what you want to call him) and the eventual resolution of the glitch. In the eleventh hour, Nev confronts the antagonist. It’s a pretty tense moment, yet the result is anticlimactic. The same goes for the ending itself. Not quite a cliffhanger yet also not quite conclusion, the ending might be Sinn’s attempt to say, “It doesn’t matter what happens to Nev from here on out.” It might be an attempt to ask the reader to imagine Nev’s futurepast. I’m not sure—and that’s the problem. This is a book with a very cool premise and a lot of glimmers of brilliance. But everything from characterization to plot to the final lines feels half-finished. Underwhelming. Far from crisp. A Second Chance for Yesterday has great ideas, but it never comes together to become a truly entertaining or enlightening read. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 18, 2023
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Aug 21, 2023
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Sep 09, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1250849454
| 9781250849458
| 1250849454
| 3.85
| 14,168
| Nov 07, 2022
| Nov 08, 2022
|
liked it
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C.L. Polk is fast becoming one of my favourite fantasy authors (love that they are Canadian to boot, eh). Even Though I Knew the End is everything I w
C.L. Polk is fast becoming one of my favourite fantasy authors (love that they are Canadian to boot, eh). Even Though I Knew the End is everything I want in a novella: fast pace, great worldbuilding, and a protagonist I can get behind without too much exposition. Helena, aka Elena, was once in training to be a “mystic,” one of few women accepted to the very sexist Brotherhood. Then she made a demonic deal, sold her soul. Ten years on, Helena has scraped by as a private investigator, but her deal is coming due. Only one last job can possibly save her soul—giving her more time with the woman she loves—but it will be a dangerous one. Chicago in the 1930s is not a great place to be queer, to be a woman, or indeed, to be hunting a “vampire” serial killer. Probably the best aspect of this book is the effortless genre blending. Polk mixes urban fantasy with crime noir—something many writers attempt yet few truly pull off. This book scratched the itch I’ve had since I left behind The Dresden Files. Helena has a hardboiled exterior with the same down-on-her-luck attitude wielded by a lot of private investigators. The additional layers of magic and mayhem, demons and deals, makes the book more appealing to readers like myself. I also really enjoyed Helena’s doomed love story with Edith. I described this as a “love tragedy” to a friend. It isn’t a romance per se, for it lacks the classic happily-ever-after—I would describe the ending as “happy for now.” Indeed, the ending rather surprised me! Maybe it shouldn’t have, considering the title. I won’t spoil it. But it speaks both to the theme of the power of love as well as the obstinacy of people. Polk also exploits one of the virtues of the novella form, which is that it functions well for standalone stories. With no need to worry about continuation, they can draw Helena’s story to a close. Would I read more set in this universe or with these characters? Yes, though to be honest it wasn’t quite as engrossing as Polk’s secondary fantasy novels like Witchmark . This is a cute (in a dark way), clever (in every way) novella. It’s easy to read in a single afternoon yet packed full of emotions, drama, and mystery. Highly recommend to fans of Polk and urban-fantasy fans in general. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 06, 2023
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Aug 06, 2023
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Aug 14, 2023
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0593435117
| 9780593435113
| 0593435117
| 3.83
| 2,136
| Jan 10, 2023
| Jan 10, 2023
|
really liked it
|
When it comes to queer fiction, especially queer YA, it is becoming trendy for reviewers—myself included—to say that we need to move beyond coming-out
When it comes to queer fiction, especially queer YA, it is becoming trendy for reviewers—myself included—to say that we need to move beyond coming-out stories. We need stories about young queer people who are already openly, joyously queer. This is true. However, with Friday I’m in Love Camryn Garrett demonstrates why a coming-out story is still viable and valuable. Mahalia Harris didn’t get a Sweet Sixteen—her mother couldn’t afford it. A year later, she decides to throw herself an alternative: a coming-out party. Her plans are complicated by two factors: first, Mahalia doesn’t have much money herself; second, she is crushing hard on the new girl in school, Siobhan, who also happens to have a boyfriend. Oops. Mahalia puts a plan into motion that, if successful, would see her coming out to family and friends by the end of the summer. But, as usual, life finds a way to get in the way. Ever since I first read Full Disclosure , Garrett has been one of my must-buy authors. I love the layers she gives her stories. On one hand, Friday I’m in Love is a romance. It’s Mahalia crushing on and attempting to woo Siobhan, and it is every but as cute and dorky as it sounds (there are playlists involved!). Yet Mahalia has her flaws—she is a teenager after all—and can hurt those around her, like her best friend, Naomi, or her mom, while focused exclusively on her party. This is as much a story about existing in community as it is about individual drive, passion, or love. Along the same lines, I love that even though this book is about coming out, Mahalia herself is very clear on her sexuality (and Naomi is along on the ride with her). Again, there is still a valuable place for books about protagonists who are questioning and discovering their sexuality. But I love that Mahalia is confident and clear: she likes girls, and right now she likes Siobhan in particular. As I often remark, I’m not the right reader to discuss how good the romance tropes are! Nevertheless, I enjoyed the romance in this book and would actively recommend it to my more romantically inclined friends for their reading lists. Each chapter has a banner at the top that displays any recent transactions and then Mahalia’s bank account balance. This is a very overt reminder of how perilous Mahalia and her mother’s financial situations are: even as money comes in to Mahalia’s account from paydays, it goes out again just as easily. Naomi, her family more privileged, acts as Mahalia’s foil in this regard. Through her, Garrett demonstrates how even just a little more money—and more security of capital—can set someone apart. Naomi works at the grocery store just like Mahalia, but she doesn’t have the same constant existential concerns around finances that Mahalia has. And this tension, latent in their friendship, manifests more strongly both because of issues with Mahalia’s mother and because of Mahalia’s focus on pulling off her party. Garrett puts a lot of emphasis on the value of friendship, which I also appreciate. As Mahalia began brushing off Naomi’s attempts to talk about her issues, I smiled to myself, knowing this would led to conflict—perhaps even a blowout—down the line. I love how Garrett walks the line of creating a protagonist who, while very likeable, also needs to be held accountable by others. This is also evident in Mahalia’s complex relationship with her mom. Like so many families where money is an ever-present anxiety, Mahalia’s mother tries her best to shield her daughter from that anxiety while also instilling a sense of fiscal respect and responsibility. When setbacks, racism, and ableism affect Mahalia’s mom’s income, Mahalia unfortunately has to step up. This puts a strain on their relationship in a way that some readers, including myself, have the privilege of never knowing. I could go on about all the other relationships in this book, particularly Mahalia and her dad. But what it boils down to is this: Garrett has created a story that is very slice-of-life. It’s as colourful as its cover. I love the ending, love the way Garrett balanced romance and reality. It was a perfect read for Pride month, but it is also a perfect read any time. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 14, 2023
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Jun 15, 2023
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Jul 03, 2023
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Library Binding
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| 3.56
| 45,056
| Jun 06, 2023
| Jun 06, 2023
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liked it
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Did I apply for this book on NetGalley solely because of the title and story’s surface similarities to
Oona Out of Order
? You bet I did. Cassandra
Did I apply for this book on NetGalley solely because of the title and story’s surface similarities to
Oona Out of Order
? You bet I did. Cassandra in Reverse even has a blurb from Margaret Montimore. But don’t let this association colour your ideas about Holly Smale’s take on time-hopping through one’s own life, for this novel is very much its own story—and it’s a good one. Thank you to publisher MIRA for the eARC! Cassandra Dankworth is dumped by her boyfriend and fired from her job on the same day. Also, her flatmate situation has become untenable. After this no good, very bad day, Cassandra is at her wit’s end. Overwhelmed and defeated, that’s when she discovers for the first time that she can, through sheer mental effort, travel back along her own timeline and relive her life from any point. She can’t go back all that far—certainly not far enough to save her parents from a fatal traffic collision when she was younger. But four months is enough time to save her relationship, her living situation, and her career. Right? As I said in my introduction and is worth reiterating here: when you look at Cassandra in Reverse more closely, it’s actually quite distinct from Oona Out of Order. Notably, Cassandra has agency over her time-travel ability, whereas Oona is a passenger on her nonlinear life. Cassandra’s ability is a kind of gigantic do-over button—and who hasn’t wished for this power, let’s be honest? Any time I say something that proves mildly embarrassing or uncomfortable, any time the perfectionist in me thinks “I could have handled that better,” I wish for exactly this ability to blink my way back to that moment and do it ever so slightly better. Of course, this leads to some self-imposed Groundhog Days, if you will, as Cassandra starts to obsess over getting certain days right. The iterations start to blur together (both to her and the reader), a deliberate decision on Smale’s part, I believe, that helps us to see how confusing this experience must be for Cassandra. Living a single day over and over is one thing—redoing weeks at a time, while trying to hold memories of all the different timelines in one’s head? That must be an incredible feat! The book left me with several unanswered questions about Cassandra’s ability. First, there’s no explanation for why she can time travel (fair enough) nor why she can, seemingly arbitrarily, only go back to about four months prior to the start of the book. Perhaps most intriguing to me is the possibility that this ability makes Cassandra effectively immortal, albeit with some caveats. In theory, she could live out her life and then, in her old age, travel back in time to a younger age and keep looping her life, even trying different variations of it. Of course, this assumes that her ability remains viable for the rest of her life (and that she could go back further than four months prior by then). But it’s an interesting idea! To be clear, the fact that none of these questions are answered doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I just wanted to ruminate on them in my review. Indeed, I rather like that Cassandra raises some questions about the ethics of time travel at all. As I mentioned in my review of Some Desperate Glory, my experience watching The Flash TV series has thoroughly convinced me that time travel is largely unethical. Cassandra ponders what happens to each timeline she abandons when she travels back to reset hers: what happens to all the other people, all their lives that get reset? At some points, Smale demonstrates how tiny changes in Cassandra’s actions inadvertently ripple out in a butterfly effect to alter the courses of lives of people she didn’t even intend to affect. That’s an awesome responsibility. Moreover, what if there were two people with this ability wielding it at the same time? A kind of time travellers’ duel, if you will? Frightening. Oh, I’m supposed to be reviewing the book, you say? Oops. I guess you could say this is my praise for Cassandra in Reverse: it does what any good time-travel story should do, which is get me thinking about the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey nature of time travel! I also have conditional praise for the portrayal of an autistic protagonist in Cassandra. I say conditional because I’m allistic, so it’s not really my lane to evaluate Cassandra as autistic representation. The dearth of autistic representation in mainstream fiction means that, inevitably, we put too much pressure on individual instances of own-voices rep to capture every nuance of identities that are necessarily not monolithic. Cassandra is one particular portrayal of one particular experience of being an autistic woman in English society—and it’s a portrayal that I suspect won’t satisfy some autistic people. At the same time, I hope others feel very seen by what Cassandra undergoes in this book. Speaking only from my perspective as an allistic yet neurodivergent woman: I really liked how Smale captures how much our society is not designed for autistic people. Cassandra is very sensitive to smells, very much likes having all of her things in the right place, has trouble reading people’s emotional states, etc.—traits that we often dismiss or outright mock, usually in ableist ways. Told from her first-person perspective, however, her experiences are less about stereotypes and more about an accounting of the struggle to exist in a society that’s constantly gaslighting you simply for who you are. Nowhere is this more evident than in Cassandra’s interactions with her coworkers. I am so happy that Cassandra ends up finding a friend in one of them—watching that relationship grow, albeit iteratively as Cassandra resets the timeline, was one of the most delightful parts of this book. The rest of her coworkers are incredibly ableist in the most dull ways. There were moments when I groaned because it felt like they were caricatures, almost, or at least not sketched in great detail. That being said, towards the end of the book we see moments of greater depth from some of them (like Barry), and I do appreciate that. Then we have Cassandra’s relationships with her boyfriend and sister. It’s doubly hard for me to comment on the former, because not only am I not autistic but I’m also aromantic (although maybe in this case that means I can at least better approximate Cassandra’s confusion about what Will expects from her, because I would feel much the same, I suspect). Suffice it to say, Cassandra’s attempts to “fix” things with Will are, as far as I understand, a very real if painful portrayal of how our society makes autistic people feel broken for not fitting into the moulds and roles we expect in these areas of life. In the same way, the rift between Cassandra and her sister exists for several reasons—notably the trauma following their parents’ untimely deaths—yet Cassanda’s undiagnosed autism lurks at the heart of those reasons. Again, Smale’s point is not that Cassandra is the broken one but rather that our society is broken. I fear that some allistic readers will pick up this book, read a couple of chapters, and put it down, deriding Cassandra as an annoying or anal character, calling her unlikable—precisely the reaction, essentially, of the coworkers and clients in this book. If you stick around, you’ll see what Smale is doing, I hope. You’ll see how Cassandra is using time travel as the ultimate masking tool. Which is why I don’t know how I feel about the ending. No, actually, I think I really don’t like the ending. I’m not going to spoil it. I don’t want to discuss it here in that much detail. But I can describe how it made me feel: ambivalent, and now as I write this review slightly betrayed. Maybe I am misunderstanding Smale’s theme, or maybe I just don’t see how this ending ultimately caps that theme. From where I sit, unfortunately, the ending seems to undermine it—establishing that Cassandra is as doomed as her counterpart from Greek mythology, essentially. I don’t know—if you liked the ending or want to share your interpretation of it, hit me up on Twitter and let’s chat. Cassandra in Reverse has its rough patches, to be sure. Many of the deliberate artistic choices on Smale’s part (the repetitive structure, the portrayal of Cassandra’s autism) will make this book less enjoyable for some readers. Yet it is those same choices that make this book memorable, unique, valuable, in my opinion. Smale sets out to say something interesting, and her take on a time-travel story involving romance and family drama and dealing with trauma deserves definitely got me thinking about all of these things. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 26, 2023
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May 27, 2023
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Jun 11, 2023
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Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||||
| 0545417813
| 9780545417815
| 0545417813
| 3.36
| 1,278
| Sep 30, 2014
| Sep 30, 2014
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it was ok
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This is one of those books where I don’t remember how it got on my to-read list. Love Is the Drug is just shy of ten years old now, although thanks to
This is one of those books where I don’t remember how it got on my to-read list. Love Is the Drug is just shy of ten years old now, although thanks to its pandemic storyline it feels perhaps even more topical than it did when Alayna Dawn Johnson wrote it. A YA thriller that mixes Washington, DC, privilege with misogynoir, this novel has a lot of individual elements to recommend it, yet for me it never quite came together as an enjoyable whole. Emily Bird has it all. She’s with the in crowd at her private school, has the perfect boyfriend, seems to be going places. But something goes down at a party one night—she gets drugged, or something, hits her head, memory absent—and shortly thereafter, a flu sweeps the world and Washington, DC, goes into lockdown. Emily—or Bird, as she increasingly starts to think of herself thanks to the influence of some rebellious spirits like Coffee—is determined to understand more about that fateful night, even if it means antagonizing a private-security spook with CIA connections. Bird isn’t sure who she is anymore—but she is done being a good girl. Shortly after starting this book, I was beginning to wonder if it would be my first “bad” book of 2023. My reading so far this year has been off to a fantastic start! Love Is the Drug just didn’t grab me. It took me a while, however, to really wrap my head around why that was the case. It’s a less recent book, sure, but there are plenty of 2014 YA releases that still feel relevant to me today. Eventually, I settled on the intersection of setting and character. To be more specific: Bird’s high school experience just feels entirely too bland and familiar. The opening scene at the party felt like the same kind of teenage party scene I had read so many times. Sure, it was a little different because Bird and her peers are mostly rich kids going to one of the most elite schools in the country. Aside from that, however, the setting and the various minor characters who populate it just didn’t feel fresh to me. Paul, Bird’s overbearing sleazeball of a boyfriend, felt like every cluelessly opportunistic young boyfriend I’ve read before. I was having so much trouble finding something about the book to cling on to and enjoy. This feeling continued for most of the first half of the book. Maybe I should have given up on it. I think mainly what kept me going was the pandemic: I was so interested to see how that worked out given its eerie prescience here in our post-COVID world. So I kept reading. And damn it if Johnson didn’t mostly change my mind! Somehow the second half of this book nearly completely turned my opinion around. I think when Bird drops the baggage of her old self, commits to being friends with Marella, decides she’s going to do whatever it takes to bring Roosevelt down—I was like, finally. Let’s do it! The book kicks into a higher gear, and the result is a much more satisfying read. I’m happy about this because there is plenty to like about this book. Johnson is making some very salient commentary on life as a Black girl in the upper echelons. Bird’s parents, particularly her mother, have a very clear idea of who she is supposed to be: relaxed hair, always polite, going to make a name for herself. We see how Bird’s mother has really bought hard into things like respectability politics, and when Bird dares to express a desire to rebel even a little bit, her mother loses all perspective. Yet her mother isn’t a villain, isn’t a bad person per se—she genuinely believes that her very conservative ideas, that blending in, is necessary for Bird’s survival. Her mother understands the harm of misogynoir in America, and her reaction is to try to fit in more rather than stand out and stand up against it. In this way, Johnson chronicles how different generations of Black families deal with the intergenerational trauma of anti-Black racism differently, and it’s fascinating. The pandemic content is also, of course, deeply interesting in our current context. Johnson in many ways anticipates how the country would respond to a pandemic respiratory virus: masks, lockdowns and quarantines, the rush for a vaccine. I can only imagine how readers prior to 2020 might have panned the portrayal as unrealistic, but I don’t think anyone who reads the book now can do anything except shake their head at how optimistic, if anything, Johnson was regarding the swiftness and absoluteness of the US government’s public health procedures. You might notice, if you have read the book, that I’ve said relatively little about the romance between Bird and Coffee. I don’t know that I have much to say, for it’s yet another one of those aspects that just didn’t feel original. I feel terrible saying that because I’m really trying hard not to slate this author. The intensity of feeling that develops is, at times, a very rewarding experience for the reader. But the overall subplot just never feels like it goes anywhere interesting or gets all that exciting. Love Is the Drug is a book with great intentions that just never quite settles into itself. It has all the ingredients for a great thriller, yet it doesn’t turn into a filling meal. While I don’t want to give the impression it’s awful, I also don’t recommend it, not even for the experience of reading about a pandemic set in such temporal proximity to our own. When I return to this review ten years from now, this is not a book that I will remember. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 04, 2023
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Feb 06, 2023
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Feb 14, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1645677060
| 9781645677062
| 1645677060
| 3.85
| 1,107
| Aug 30, 2022
| Jan 03, 2023
|
liked it
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Although not strictly speaking a romance by one definition of the genre (see the penultimate paragraph of my review for a minor spoiler as to why), Ta
Although not strictly speaking a romance by one definition of the genre (see the penultimate paragraph of my review for a minor spoiler as to why), Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell has many of the satisfying hallmarks of romance. The eponymous character is a seventeen-year-old boy with a serious crush on his online gaming buddy. When they get a chance to meet offline—but his buddy doesn’t know it—Noah takes it upon himself to launch an epic plan to win this guy’s love. It gets steamy, it gets hot-and-heavy, it gets recriminatory—everything you might want in terms of drama from a romance. Thank you to NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for the eARC in exchange for a review. The characters feel really age appropriate in how Madden portrays them, especially in the obvious mistakes they make. You know what I mean: things that we might roll our eyes at, knowing better both as older readers and as members of the audience rather than participants in the story. For example, Noah gets bullied at his private school, but he refuses to tell his vice principal who’s bullying him for fear of greater reprisals. It’s also obvious that lying to Eli isn’t a great idea, or that going to the gym with Alex is going to cause problems—but these things aren’t obvious to Noah, who is in the middle of the story and who is a seventeen-year-old boy hopped up on hormones. Madden has a talent for walking that line between “makes sense for a teenager” and “well that was just for the sake of plot” in a way that errs on the side of the former, keeping the story interesting without veering into the unbelievable territory. It also helps that many of the antagonistic characters have good reasons (from their perspective) for not liking Noah, who himself is quite flawed. The way that Madden takes time to flesh out these other characters and explore their motivations, whether it’s through conversations overheard or heart-to-hearts with Noah, balances the overt melodrama of his relationship with them. There were a few characters or situations where I felt like this didn’t hold true. Noah’s dad is basically a cipher for the entire book: he exists and is a stereotypical mostly absent father figure, and I wish Madden had explored that more thoroughly. Similarly, some of the secrets—what’s going on with Noah’s mom, the big event that broke up Noah and his former best friend, etc.—are not all that surprising when finally revealed. Finally, Noah’s sister, Charly, has some of her own shit going on, which I appreciate—but she largely exists to be a voice in Noah’s head, via text message. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell is very dramatic in a way that you might expect for a novel involving a lot of theatre people. Its main character is flawed in a sympathetic way and makes a lot of mistakes. I know that some people will decry this book being marketed as a romance because it lacks a Happily Ever After (HEA). That’s totally valid—I shelved it as romance because, for me, that label describes what’s happening in the book rather than the actual romance genre, but I wanted to be clear in my review for anyone reading this who needs a heads up. I think the ending is realistic and appropriate given the mistakes Noah makes in this book, and there is hope for a happy ending in the future, but frankly if Eli had ended up forgiving Noah so quickly, I would have been a lot more frustrated. So blame the publisher, not the author, for the classification here: as long as you know not to expect an HEA, I think you could still enjoy the romantic aspects of this book. So I will recommend Take a Bow, Noah Mitchell if you want a reasonably dramatic portrayal of a m/m YA love story. The pacing is good, the characters are mostly well drawn and interesting, and the plot takes appropriate twists and turns to hold your interest. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 24, 2022
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Dec 26, 2022
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Jan 08, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1250788919
| 9781250788917
| 1250788919
| 3.91
| 13,693
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
|
really liked it
|
Earlier this year I delighted in
A Marvellous Light
, by Freya Marske. She wove a finely balanced tale of murder, magic, and intrigue. I was so exc
Earlier this year I delighted in
A Marvellous Light
, by Freya Marske. She wove a finely balanced tale of murder, magic, and intrigue. I was so excited for the sequel and pleased when I received an eARC courtesy NetGalley and Tor. I knew the sequel was going to be good. I was not prepared for it to be this. A Restless Truth follows Robin’s sister, Maud, on an ocean voyage from the United States back to the United Kingdom. A murder most foul catapults Maud from the role of companion into detective. Out of her depth, Maud nevertheless resolves to rout a murderer and retrieve the piece of the Last Contract that her companion had been protecting. Fortunately, she collects some allies, including Lord Hawthorn from the first book, and a new character/love interest in the form of Violet Debenham, intentionally described socialite-turned-performer. That’s right—after the m/m pairing of the first book, Marske gives us a f/f romance here. As with the first book, the romance/sex scenes are far steamier/spicier than I tend to seek out in my non-erotic fiction. But I loved the development of Maud and Violet’s relationship every bit as much as I did Robin and Edwin’s. This one is different because Maud is only gradually realizing her sexuality. Violet’s consequent ambivalence—she isn’t sure she is the right person to be Maud’s first, to guide her through this—is sweet and tender. There’s so much discussion of consent, fights over things both silly and significant, and then make-up sex. I love a book that just has some joyously normalized queer romance even though romance is not in and of itself my genre. Fortunately, A Restless Truth has a lot more to offer than romance. This book presents a mystery, but unlike the first book, it’s much closer to a locked-room mystery. We’re on a boat! In the middle of the Atlantic! So the killer can’t exactly go overboard at any moment, and while magic is a factor, everyone who knows this is also motivated to keep the rest of the boat unaware—to avoid “unbusheling” them, if you will. This gives Marske quite a lot of room to escalate the drama and tension gradually. What begins as a straightforward mystery with a side helping of romance blooms into a tense, explosive, seditious plot that has Maud and her allies making plans, breaking plans, and eventually just fighting for survival. Whether it’s exposition or a climactic confrontation, Marske’s writing is tight and so satisfying to read. I had a busy week, so I did end up putting this book down more than I wanted to, but I didn’t want to put it down! Maud is a delightful protagonist, though I think Violet ultimately stole the show for me. The way that Marske balances contrasts their upbringing—Maud’s sheltered life, Violet’s more worldly experiences—is beautiful. There’s a scene two thirds of the way through the book where Violet considers opening up and sharing more of her concerns with Maud and ultimately doesn’t, and it’s that withholding, and Maud’s sense of understanding, that is so heartachingly good. Sometimes, no matter how whirlwind a romance is, you just aren’t ready to divulge your most intimate secrets yet. The supporting characters have so much to offer as well. Marske has a talent for foreshadowing, for laying out the pieces on the board in such a way that you know they are all going to come together before the end of the book, but you can’t quite see the final layout. It’s very satisfying, watching these minor characters who were introduced in the first chapters show up here and there to help nudge the plot along without it feeling too contrived or heavy-handed. Because we’re on an ocean voyage, Marske has the ability to introduce a quirky but limited cast and then work with them to advance the story. I also love how Marske continues to build this world, its magic, and the mystery around the Last Contract. I had no idea that this book would take us away from Robin and Edwin—and it is a sign of how much I am coming to appreciate Marske as a storyteller that I found myself relishing their absence. Now I’ve met so many other characters I’ve enjoyed, and I can’t wait to see what the third book brings! A Restless Truth was not the book I was expecting as a sequel to A Marvellous Light—it was better. That’s no mean feat for a second novel. Also, because this book is very “contained”—both in setting and characters—you could dive into this one before you read A Marvellous Light as long as you don’t mind general spoilers for the first book. Nevertheless, I would recommend you read both. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 24, 2022
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Nov 2022
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Nov 13, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0062943472
| 9780062943477
| 0062943472
| 4.45
| 283,191
| Mar 09, 2021
| Mar 09, 2021
|
really liked it
|
Sometimes truth is more interesting than fiction. Sometimes fictionalizing the truth—books based on a true story, if you will—helps highlight true sto
Sometimes truth is more interesting than fiction. Sometimes fictionalizing the truth—books based on a true story, if you will—helps highlight true stories that have yet to receive their due. History is seldom boring. The Rose Code is that type of historical fiction. Set primarily in Bletchley Park during the Second World War, this book is not about the genius of Alan Turing or Dilly Knox. It’s about love and sex and betrayal. Kate Quinn follows three women who become close friends only to be torn apart. It’s a perfect, dramatic mix of spy thriller and romance. Osla, Mab, and Beth are three very different Englishwomen. Osla, technically Canadian (the best kind of being Canadian), is high society yet determined to prove she is more than a “dizzy deb[utante].” Mab is working class yet determined to climb that social ladder. Beth is a village girl, raised sheltered and never allowed to flourish. All three of them end up working at Bletchley Park, helping in various ways to crack codes and translate German messages. As the war drags on, they face personal challenges. Meanwhile, Quinn feeds us chapters set in 1947, on the eve of the royal wedding of Elizabeth and Philip. One of the three women has ended up in an asylum, framed, and now she has appealed to the other two for help. But their friendship ended long ago, on D-Day. If they don’t reconcile, a spy who operated out of Bletchley Park might continue to walk free. The differences among our three protagonists is key to the success of The Rose Code, at least for me. I love how Quinn gives each of them such distinct motivations, personalities, etc. Firstly, it helps reify the setting—though England remains very stratified, WWII certainly changed much in terms of social mobility, particularly for women and the nature of marriage. Secondly, it makes the falling out among Osla, Mab, and Beth that much more understandable and realistic. The actual reasons they each have for souring on the others seem a bit trivial—but isn’t that how it goes? Aren’t we all capable of undeserved or unexpected spitefulness, especially when emotions are running high? This book just gave me so many feelings for these three. I related quite a bit to Beth. Though my childhood was much happier than hers, I share her mathematical inclinations. Quinn has clearly written her to be neurodivergent, possibly autistic. I love the character development that Beth undergoes as her work at Bletchley Park draws her out from the mask she built in her mother’s home. I also sympathized a lot with Mab and her fierce desire for independence. Osla was probably the character with whom I identify the least—so it is all the more impressive that Quinn had me caring for her and understanding her need not to be written off as a high-society bimbo. The code-breaking setting of the story also feels quite real, thanks to the intense amount of research Quinn put into it. The chapters are tight, paced in such a way that I really didn’t want to put this book down. Quinn carefully balances historical events, up to and including the end of the war and Elizabeth’s wedding, with the need for smaller stakes and antagonists within the reach of our protagonists. The bad guy in this book is not particularly interesting, I grant you, but he’s sufficient for Osla, Mab, and Beth to grab on to as an enemy. The stakes here are less about losing a war and more about losing one’s friendship, perhaps one’s life…. (Lobotomies sound terrifying!) In the hands of another author, The Rose Code easily could have become a huge mess. I didn’t know exactly what to expect going in, but I’m glad that I finally found my way back to Kate Quinn. This book has so many different entry points I can see it appealing to a broad variety of readers. It was a really pleasant way to say goodbye to the final days of my summer reading on my deck. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 29, 2022
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Sep 2022
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Oct 01, 2022
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1538708795
| 9781538708798
| 1538708795
| 3.93
| 2,376
| Sep 13, 2022
| Sep 13, 2022
|
it was ok
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What if you could take your feelings of sorrow, hurt, grief, loss, etc., and surrender them up? And if, in turn, the person to whom you surrendered th
What if you could take your feelings of sorrow, hurt, grief, loss, etc., and surrender them up? And if, in turn, the person to whom you surrendered these feelings could use them to nourish a beautiful, if capricious, garden? That’s what In the Shadow Garden explores. Liz Parker’s dark romance thriller, set in a small town in Kentucky, is about what we do with our worst memories. But it’s also about friendship, family, and who we let into our hearts. Parker’s ability to conjure up a perfect storm of emotions is impressive. However, unlike its eponymous garden, this novel didn’t end up bearing fruit for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC! Yarrow, Kentucky. Three founding families: the Haywoods, the Bonners, and the Bakers. Except you can really ignore the Bakers, because they don’t figure much into the plot. The Haywoods are witches—most of them—and able to help ease the feelings around trauma. The Bonners make bourbon, and their distillery has never been more successful—or lucrative for the town of Yarrow—than since the Haywood matriarch allowed them to grow “dark corn” from seeds from the Haywood shadow garden. But twenty years prior to the start of this book, something terrible happened. The entire town chose to forget that summer. And now, with the death of a Bonner, everything comes back to what happened in 1997. I love the premise and the setting Parker creates here. There are some great seeds of conflict, from Addison’s inability to wield her family magic effectively to Irene’s attraction to a prodigal Bonner son. The family dynamics, both within and among the families of Yarrow, are well done. The dialogue between family members is crisp. There’s a lot about the atmosphere of this book that made me think of Gilmore Girls for some reason—I think largely because of the grown-up mother/daughter relationship between Irene and Addison. That’s about the highest praise I can offer! Beyond that, however, there isn’t much I can say that I enjoyed. The mystery/thriller aspects of the novel are underdeveloped. Most of the plot is predictable, the villains obvious and their motives uncomplicated. Even the secret of Addison’s parentage is obvious from pretty much the first time her hair colour gets mentioned. There’s a single red herring that is only half-heartedly dangled in front of our faces before it is hastily resolved to make way for the romance, which is tepid. Now, that’s my cup of tea when it comes to romance—but I was hoping to recommend this to one or two of my friends who enjoy romance more than I do, and I don’t think I will, simply because there’s no steam here. We get told there’s an attraction between the two characters involved, but it’s wooden (or at least, doesn’t seem distinct from any of the other relationships in this story). The magic aspects are somewhat better off yet still stop short of truly hooking me. I love the idea of the shadow garden and the description of the Haywoods’ magic. As a tea drinker, I approve of the number of cups of tea consumed by everyone in this book! (As someone who doesn’t drink alcohol, I was less interested in all the bourbon consumption, but you do you!) Again, Parker’s descriptive writing skill is not in question—how she spins that into a story, unfortunately, is less rewarding for me. Really all I can say about this book is that it feels full of missed opportunity, a garden planted and tended to with love yet never fertilized in a way that would let it flourish. I wish I could have been more excited by this book, because it’s a great concept. Parker could have done so much with this story. But the characters are flat, the plot overly simple, and the narrative unremarkable. This one is a pass from me. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 14, 2022
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Sep 18, 2022
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Sep 23, 2022
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1534457712
| 9781534457713
| 3.83
| 153,375
| Nov 17, 2020
| Nov 17, 2020
|
liked it
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I was somewhat skeptical about this book going into it simply because of how it was marketed as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare retelling
I was somewhat skeptical about this book going into it simply because of how it was marketed as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare retellings can be hit-and-miss. Thankfully, These Violent Delights is a hit! Chloe Gong takes the broad strokes of Romeo and Juliet but adapts the story quite heavily. There are some subtle nods (like a bar named Mantua) and some really nice set pieces (like the mistaken-for-dead moment) that Gong makes her own. All in all, I was able to sink into this story and not worry about comparing it to the material that inspired parts of it. Juliette Cai is the heir to the Scarlet Gang, which runs one half of 1920s Shanghai. Their rivals are the White Flowers, and Juliette once had a forbidden romance with their heir, Roma Montagov. That was nipped in the bud, but Juliette is back after four years away in the United States—just in time for a madness to sweep through Shanghai, the people afflicted all tearing out their own throats. Juliette and Roma both become the investigators for their respective gangs, so they get thrown together under extreme circumstances: enemies turned lovers turned enemies again—can they put aside the betrayal of the past to prevent a betrayal in the present? It took me a while to get into the story. I think this is because of how Gong throws us into the plot very quickly. I barely had time to get to know Juliette before Roma’s first appearance, and that apprehension in the back of my mind about how closely this story might hew to the play likely had a role as well. So it says something about Gong’s storytelling that, eventually, I got sucked in. I wanted Juliette and Roma to find the solution to this deadly mystery as much as they did. On top of the mystery, there is a lot happening regarding the power relations in Shanghai. Partly historical, partly science fictional, this book plays fast and loose with the political situation in Shanghai in the 1920s. Nevertheless, as someone who isn’t familiar at all with Shanghai and its history, I found it fascinating. The cast are diverse in terms of race as well as gender—I was pleasantly surprised to see a trans character among Juliette’s allies—and Gong explores how this Chinese city has been encroached upon by foreign powers (i.e., white people). Indeed, the mystery itself is a kind of commentary on the fight for the very heart of Shanghai and its people. My one criticism? The cliffhanger ending. This appears to be a duology, and I am so glad that the second book is out (and also available from my library), because I was incensed. Yes, the primary mystery gets solved—but enough of the plot is left unresolved that it almost ruined my enjoyment of the rest of the book! Again, this says a lot about how much faith I’m putting in Gong that I will read the sequel after such a betrayal. I need to find out if Juliette Cai is truly the ruthless killer she has told herself that she must be. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 20, 2022
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May 23, 2022
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Jun 03, 2022
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ebook
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| 1529080886
| 9781529080889
| 1529080886
| 3.96
| 41,533
| Oct 26, 2021
| Dec 09, 2021
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really liked it
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I love it when I take a chance on a book and it pays off. I knew nothing about Freya Marske or this novel, A Marvellous Light, but the description was
I love it when I take a chance on a book and it pays off. I knew nothing about Freya Marske or this novel, A Marvellous Light, but the description was sufficient to persuade me to buy it. No regrets. This Edwardian fantasy novel about magicians, with a gay romance and plenty of class and family drama, is a perfect spring read (or indeed, a perfect read for any season). Marske takes a mystery and spins it out into a tight drama with an interesting cast of supporting characters. Robin Blyth learns about magic on his first day appointed to a new civil servant position. Still dealing with the death of his parents and becoming head of his small household, Robin struggles to make sense of what he has learned. But he has no time to adapt: the shady people who killed his predecessor come after him, hoping he knows more, forcing him to team up with his sullen colleague, Edwin Courcey, magician. Together, Robin and Edwin need to figure out what these people want, why they are willing to kill for it, and how to save Robin for a curse that might otherwise kill him. Let’s get right into talking about magic. I enjoyed Marske’s portrayal of magic as a combination of power and technique. Some magicians have a great deal of power but struggle to use it well. Others, like Edwin, have very little raw power yet have the intelligence and wherewithal to figure out more innovative spellwork. The actual casting, involving complicated finger positions (cradling) would doubtless be visually intriguing if this book were ever adapted—your aphantasic reviewer here had to put her book down and rearrange her fingers in order to visualize it! The relative inequities among various magicians, and the intersection of this with class in Britain, works very well. I like how magic is secret yet not a particularly closely guarded one. Edwin’s frustration that Britain’s magic has ossified compared to other countries, some of which actually do research, is really interesting and something I hope we get to explore further in the series. Overall, the worldbuilding and action here reminds me of both C.L. Polk and Naomi Novik! The actual plot is … fine. It’s a good mystery, if a little obvious at times, and the action and pacing are uneven. While I enjoyed the climax and conclusion, they came upon suddenly, with a supporting character and a new minor character being introduced to quickly round out the cast of allies. Marske wraps up the “mystery” in a sense while leaving plenty of room for sequels. It’s not a totally satisfying ending, but it works. No, A Marvellous Light shines on its main characters. The alternating perspectives between Robin and Edwin are great. The burgeoning romance is ever-so-subtle before blossoming into need, which I’m told is good. The sex scenes turn more explicit than I expected, and this book confirmed for me that, while I really don’t think there is any good word for genitalia, I would at least like variety in the words being used. That complaint aside, I enjoyed the cut-and-thrust of attraction, desire, disappointment, and dissatisfaction in this romance. Come for the magic, stay for the characters, and allow yourself to get enveloped in this world. There is so much more I want from Marske (in a good way). I am definitely reading the second book. Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter. [image] ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 23, 2022
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Apr 24, 2022
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May 11, 2022
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Hardcover
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my rating |
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| 3.59
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liked it
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Dec 2016
not set
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Sep 27, 2024
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| 4.02
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it was amazing
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Aug 23, 2024
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Aug 26, 2024
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| 3.71
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it was ok
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Aug 12, 2024
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Aug 20, 2024
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| 4.29
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it was amazing
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May 19, 2024
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Jun 02, 2024
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| 4.30
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liked it
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Feb 03, 2024
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Feb 19, 2024
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| 3.93
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it was amazing
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Jan 23, 2024
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Feb 11, 2024
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| 3.72
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liked it
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Oct 2023
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Oct 10, 2023
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| 3.01
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it was ok
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Sep 25, 2023
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Oct 10, 2023
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| 3.82
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liked it
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Sep 02, 2023
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Sep 23, 2023
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| 3.52
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it was ok
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Aug 21, 2023
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Sep 09, 2023
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| 3.85
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liked it
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Aug 06, 2023
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Aug 14, 2023
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| 3.83
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really liked it
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Jun 15, 2023
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Jul 03, 2023
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| 3.56
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liked it
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May 27, 2023
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Jun 11, 2023
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| 3.36
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it was ok
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Feb 06, 2023
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Feb 14, 2023
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| 3.85
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liked it
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Dec 26, 2022
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Jan 08, 2023
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| 3.91
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really liked it
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Nov 2022
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Nov 13, 2022
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| 4.45
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really liked it
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Sep 2022
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Oct 01, 2022
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| 3.93
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it was ok
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Sep 18, 2022
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Sep 23, 2022
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| 3.83
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liked it
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May 23, 2022
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Jun 03, 2022
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| 3.96
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really liked it
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Apr 24, 2022
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May 11, 2022
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