Alice Poon delivers the first of a duology epic fantasy based in Chinese mythology and kung fu. In this first novel, Sai'er is a simple village girl training in the ancient arts of kung fu. Thanks to a helpful sprite, she learns she is the reincarnation of the goddess Chang’e. She must go on a quest to stop the wicked Sky Wolf, who is reincarnated as the Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di. Aided by her foster brother Binhong and several other friends, both mortal and supernatural, Sai’er embarks on an adventure rivaling any in the fantasy genre.
I don’t think this necessarily has to be an adult novel, either. Yes, there’s some sex and gore, but I don’t think it was gratuitous or anything inappropriate for a teen to read. Maybe that’s just my Gen X showing. My parents had no clue what I was reading - or where I was, really - most of the time. So maybe take it with a grain of salt, but this read-all-of-Stephen-King’s-and-V.C.-Andrews'-then-published-works-by-the-time-I-was-12 GenXer thinks it’s totally fine for teen readers as well....more
I did a read-along book pairing with Wells's original Island of Doctor Moreau. Super fun, so many things to think about for both tales! I have a giant blog post about it, so feel free to pop over if you want to read ALL my thoughts about both books. All of them....more
Lots of things to say about this book that I'll probably explore more in a blog post.
First, I think I'm too old for YA anymor2.5 stars, rounded to 3.
Lots of things to say about this book that I'll probably explore more in a blog post.
First, I think I'm too old for YA anymore. I mostly just wanted to send Felix to his room for being such a whiny little ungrateful bitch basically 100% of the time.
I love the representation in this book. However, is there something like a Bechtel Test for LGBTQ characters where their entire character and reason to exist in the book isn't centered around their gender identity? I don't think this book would pass such a test if one exists. Felix (and Ezra, Declan, Leah, etc) is a whole person. His gender identity is part of that but not all of that.
Overall, I liked this but only somewhat. I didn't hate it but I definitely didn't love it either....more
Poetry isn't usually my go-to genre at all, but I do like some. Rupi Kaur's poems deal with issues I can associate with. Home Body, though, was not asPoetry isn't usually my go-to genre at all, but I do like some. Rupi Kaur's poems deal with issues I can associate with. Home Body, though, was not as good as her first two, even though this one dealt with more of her trauma than the others did. Still recommended, but not before milk and honey or the sun and her flowers...more
An awesome entry in Nemisin's Inheritance trilogy! Can't wait to dig into the 3rd book.An awesome entry in Nemisin's Inheritance trilogy! Can't wait to dig into the 3rd book....more
Binti is a young woman from Earth, a member of the Himba people of Namibia. She is what is known as a master harmonizer, a person who has a skill in bringing balance to all, usually through math. Her role is to succeed her father as her tribe’s master harmonizer. However, that is upended when Binti is accepted into the prestigious Oomza Uni, an entire planet devoted to learning. Binit runs away against her parents’ wishes to study, but while her ship is en route, it is attacked by the warlike Meduse, leaving her the traumatized only survivor. Binti eventually forms a bond with Okwu, one of the Medusae from the attack, and a link is created between their two peoples, paving the way for an unusual peace.
I read these novellas in the form of an omnibus paperback, so I can’t really separate the three stories in my mind. To me, they’re all one story. But, as always, I am impressed with Okorafor’s skill in creating such rich characters and culture in a relatively short span of pages. The Himba people are not fictional; they have a long and complex culture from which Okorafor could draw. But she fleshed out the people in ways that made them entirely real. I cared about every character on the page, which is a rare thing for me.
Overall, I liked this story, though I think I enjoyed Okorafor’s other works that I’ve read a little more. This trilogy (plus the short story included in the omnibus edition) seemed to focus more on how to fit in social issues than how it impacts the plot, so I think there are some gaps that need to be filled. But still, the Binti trilogy is a terrific story and one I definitely recommend....more
Full review is on My Blog I'm also on Twitter and Instagram Yeine Darr is the daughter of a disgraced noblewoman of the Arameri, the rulers of the HunFull review is on My Blog I'm also on Twitter and Instagram Yeine Darr is the daughter of a disgraced noblewoman of the Arameri, the rulers of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Their seat of power is in the city of Sky. Yeine is summoned to Sky by her grandfather, her mother’s father, who is also the ruler of the Arameri. To her utter shock and horror, he names her as one of his three heirs to the throne. Now she will be expected to compete against two cousins she never knew for the throne. While she is learning the ways of Sky, rife with political machinations and corruption, Yeine also learns that several gods are held by the Arameri as slaves after they lost to the god Bright Itempas in the Gods’ War. Now those gods are bitter, unsurprisingly, and they have a plan to help Yeine win in her struggle for the throne.
This first instalment in Jemisin’s The Inheritance Trilogy is, in many ways, a pretty typical fantasy narrative: a young warrior woman loses her family, is named an heir to the kingdom, falls in love with a god, is used as a pawn by a variety of people, and eventually is victorious. But Jemisin sort of upends a lot of traditions as well, which was her stated goal in writing her novels.
Overall, I liked this and am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy....more
Noemi Taboada is a young socialite in 1950s Mexico City. Her father is a wealthy merchant and the head of the family. As such, he is concerned about image and avoiding scandal. So, when his niece Catalina sends a letter to him that sounds completely unhinged, he wants to get to the bottom of that and fix whatever needs fixing before it hits the society pages in the newspaper. He sends Noemi to visit Catalina in her husband’s home manor of High Place in the remote Mexican countryside. Things go downhill from there.
I really loved the first part of this novel. It was everything a proper Gothic novel should be - eerie, mysterious, dark, neglected, and so on. Very much felt like a Mexican Jane Eyre. I kind of lost the Gothic feel around 2/3 of the way through, when I think it felt more like a straight horror novel than Gothic. That said, I still really loved all of it, it just felt like it switched genre a little bit in the middle there. I wouldn’t even care that much except I’m not a huge fan of horror.
Overall, I thought this was a fun read. Didn’t blow me away, but it was fun. Would certainly recommend....more
Please visit My Blog for my full review of this book and many others | I'm also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to give me a follow!
Elatsoe “EllPlease visit My Blog for my full review of this book and many others | I'm also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to give me a follow!
Elatsoe “Ellie” is a Lipan Apache who is able to raise the ghosts of dead animals. She comes from a long line of family members with this talent, back to her great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, who her family calls Six Great, also Ellie’s namesake. Ellie’s constant companion is the ghost of her dog, Kirby. When Kirby freaks out, Ellie soon learns that her cousin Trevor was killed in a car accident, but it was a cover-up to his murder. When Trevor’s ghost visits Ellie and asks her to help take care of his wife and baby son, Ellie and her best friend Jay try to figure out what really happened to Trevor, and how a white man called Abe Atherton from Willowbee, TX is involved. Dark, ancient secrets then threaten to consume Ellie and all her family as she digs deeper to uncover the truth about Trevor’s death.
There was a lot to like about this book: asexual main character, lots of Native American tradition and stories, discussion on racism and misogyny, and ghost fossils! Hello, ghost trilobite!
There was a lot, though, that I definitely did not like: it was marketed as YA but it read wayyyyyyyy younger, Ellie and Jay are not believable as people who have grown up together as best friends, super lame dialogue, and, for the audio book version, a truly awful and boring narrator.
So ultimately, this was a solid meh for me. I didn’t hate it, I think it had some good things in it, but I definitely did not love it. ...more
Please visit My Blog for my full review of this book and many others | I'm also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to give me a follow!
I read this Please visit My Blog for my full review of this book and many others | I'm also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to give me a follow!
I read this for my book club, which is good because on my own, there is no fucking way I would have even looked at a book titled Love After Love. It sounds like a romance. I do not do romances. I’m glad I read it because it is on my top books of 2021 now. All the characters were richly developed, even if they were little shits. It was also interesting - and sad, sometimes - to see a glimpse of life in the Caribbean. Would definitely read more by this author! ...more
Please visit My Blog for my full review of this book and many others | I'm also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to give me a follow!
Okorafor’s cPlease visit My Blog for my full review of this book and many others | I'm also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to give me a follow!
Okorafor’s characters are ALL delightful and well developed. I fucking love Sunny and her friends, and am fascinated by the intersection of history, myth, and folklore that these books portray. The adventures and challenges Sunny faces are crazy fun to read and show kids overcoming obstacles, learning to be independent, becoming supportive friends, and strong leaders. Love it! Rumor has it that there’s a third book in the works for this series; I really hope that is true and that it will come out sooner rather than later. ...more
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