I was obviously eagerly awaiting for this sequel because Price of Killers had a monster cliffhanger and I just had to know what happened next. And it I was obviously eagerly awaiting for this sequel because Price of Killers had a monster cliffhanger and I just had to know what happened next. And it was (and wasn’t) what I was expecting.
It was both exciting and very different to completely shift to Dante’s (Chris’s) POV in this novel and it finally gave me the chance to get to know him better. He has lost a lot in life and is single minded in his dedication to find justice for his partner. I could totally empathize with his struggle to keep his feelings for Hawes in check while also being able to do his job. Hawes on other hand seemed to handle it all reasonably well. The chemistry and angst between them was scorching hot. But the story also quickly moved into a bit of instalove territory - which was a little unrealistic but also kinda understandable because of all the high stakes and adrenaline fueled situations they find themselves in.
The writing is fast paced and full of evolving situations where we can’t guess what’s gonna happen next and that was a lot of fun. There’s not much action this time around though and I really wanted some of that. We also hardly got to know the Madigan siblings more and I thought that was a missed opportunity. The main suspense throughout the two books has been about finding out who is the person ultimately pulling the strings and I think it was pretty easy to guess this time around and I think I’m right, which was actually disappointing because I wanted to be devastated by the revelation. The ending was kinda unexpected but cool and I can’t even guess what’s gonna happen next.
Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did the first book but it was still fun and interesting and I’m very much looking forward to more explosive shenanigans in the finale.
Merged review:
I was obviously eagerly awaiting for this sequel because Price of Killers had a monster cliffhanger and I just had to know what happened next. And it was (and wasn’t) what I was expecting.
It was both exciting and very different to completely shift to Dante’s (Chris’s) POV in this novel and it finally gave me the chance to get to know him better. He has lost a lot in life and is single minded in his dedication to find justice for his partner. I could totally empathize with his struggle to keep his feelings for Hawes in check while also being able to do his job. Hawes on other hand seemed to handle it all reasonably well. The chemistry and angst between them was scorching hot. But the story also quickly moved into a bit of instalove territory - which was a little unrealistic but also kinda understandable because of all the high stakes and adrenaline fueled situations they find themselves in.
The writing is fast paced and full of evolving situations where we can’t guess what’s gonna happen next and that was a lot of fun. There’s not much action this time around though and I really wanted some of that. We also hardly got to know the Madigan siblings more and I thought that was a missed opportunity. The main suspense throughout the two books has been about finding out who is the person ultimately pulling the strings and I think it was pretty easy to guess this time around and I think I’m right, which was actually disappointing because I wanted to be devastated by the revelation. The ending was kinda unexpected but cool and I can’t even guess what’s gonna happen next.
Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did the first book but it was still fun and interesting and I’m very much looking forward to more explosive shenanigans in the finale....more
It’s probably more of a 3.5 but I don’t feel like rounding up.
I can’t say that I’ve been a huge fan of this series since the beginning, but I’ve enjoyIt’s probably more of a 3.5 but I don’t feel like rounding up.
I can’t say that I’ve been a huge fan of this series since the beginning, but I’ve enjoyed the Alaskan setting enough to want to continue. And I’m glad I did because I found this book to be much better than the previous installments.
The writing in this book took me a while to get into and I was a bit bored initially. But once the winter season started in the story, it was interesting to get to know more about how the volunteers work along with rangers, what are their responsibilities and what kind of incidents should they be equipped to deal with. There was always this sense of danger, especially related to avalanches which felt real and visceral and gave me a real appreciation for the work all of them do to keep the tourists safe. On the flip side, this book doesn’t showcase the beauty of the Alaskan backcountry but concentrates on the issues travelers might face - but I didn’t mind this shift. I had enough of the picturesque locales in two books and it was nice to see the other side too. The last third of the book was also quite emotional and I ended up crying a lot (it could have just been my mood too though). It’s probably one reason I liked this book more despite not connecting with the characters a lot.
Quill wasn’t an easy person to like. Not that he is bad, but he has so many internalized issues about relationships and being out as gay that sometimes I wanted to give him a hug, but other times I wanted to give him a good shake. But he was great at his job and I really liked that he didn’t shy away from talking about all the dangers, even if his audience didn’t appreciate it. Owen on the other hand is a cancer survivor, who now has a bucket list and wants to get through it all because he doesn’t want to waste any time. He is also a very social, talkative and extroverted person which makes him an exact opposite of Quill. And I totally understood his wish that Quill be more open, but I don’t think he completely empathized with Quill’s hangups. They are so different from each other that I couldn’t understand why they liked each other in the first place, but there was a lot of friendship and relationship development which I enjoyed. It felt very domestic and adorable and I liked those quieter moments. However, there was also a lot of back and forth, especially on Quill’s part and while I could feel where he was coming from, it got frustrating after a while. When the conflict happened, it seemed inevitable but I was also so upset that I kept sobbing for quite some time. However, the ending felt a little rushed but also earned and very very sweet.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read despite some of the issues I had with the characters. I loved following the rangers and getting to know their daily life, and that’s one main reason this is probably my favorite of this trilogy. This book also has the hurt/comfort trope - so if you enjoy these themes or the setting of Alaska, you should definitely check out this book. Even if you have been disappointed by the previous books in this series, I have a feeling you might enjoy this better just like I did.
Merged review:
It’s probably more of a 3.5 but I don’t feel like rounding up.
I can’t say that I’ve been a huge fan of this series since the beginning, but I’ve enjoyed the Alaskan setting enough to want to continue. And I’m glad I did because I found this book to be much better than the previous installments.
The writing in this book took me a while to get into and I was a bit bored initially. But once the winter season started in the story, it was interesting to get to know more about how the volunteers work along with rangers, what are their responsibilities and what kind of incidents should they be equipped to deal with. There was always this sense of danger, especially related to avalanches which felt real and visceral and gave me a real appreciation for the work all of them do to keep the tourists safe. On the flip side, this book doesn’t showcase the beauty of the Alaskan backcountry but concentrates on the issues travelers might face - but I didn’t mind this shift. I had enough of the picturesque locales in two books and it was nice to see the other side too. The last third of the book was also quite emotional and I ended up crying a lot (it could have just been my mood too though). It’s probably one reason I liked this book more despite not connecting with the characters a lot.
Quill wasn’t an easy person to like. Not that he is bad, but he has so many internalized issues about relationships and being out as gay that sometimes I wanted to give him a hug, but other times I wanted to give him a good shake. But he was great at his job and I really liked that he didn’t shy away from talking about all the dangers, even if his audience didn’t appreciate it. Owen on the other hand is a cancer survivor, who now has a bucket list and wants to get through it all because he doesn’t want to waste any time. He is also a very social, talkative and extroverted person which makes him an exact opposite of Quill. And I totally understood his wish that Quill be more open, but I don’t think he completely empathized with Quill’s hangups. They are so different from each other that I couldn’t understand why they liked each other in the first place, but there was a lot of friendship and relationship development which I enjoyed. It felt very domestic and adorable and I liked those quieter moments. However, there was also a lot of back and forth, especially on Quill’s part and while I could feel where he was coming from, it got frustrating after a while. When the conflict happened, it seemed inevitable but I was also so upset that I kept sobbing for quite some time. However, the ending felt a little rushed but also earned and very very sweet.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read despite some of the issues I had with the characters. I loved following the rangers and getting to know their daily life, and that’s one main reason this is probably my favorite of this trilogy. This book also has the hurt/comfort trope - so if you enjoy these themes or the setting of Alaska, you should definitely check out this book. Even if you have been disappointed by the previous books in this series, I have a feeling you might enjoy this better just like I did....more
This book was fun and very sweet at places. The hurt/comfort trope worked quite well, but when the conflict happened, I have to say I didn’t like it (This book was fun and very sweet at places. The hurt/comfort trope worked quite well, but when the conflict happened, I have to say I didn’t like it (seems to be happening to me a lot lately). Thankfully, everything resolved quickly and the ending was very adorable.
I liked the characters of Reuben and Toby. They had a nice dynamic right from the get go and their easy chemistry while they were living together was very cute. I also adored Reuben’s daughter Amelia. Her transformation from a cranky teenager to someone who just finds her path was delightful to read about. I wasn’t that much of a fan of Toby’s family despite their closeness and his utter adoration for them, they just felt too nosy. However, it does seem to improve towards the end which wasn’t bad.
Overall, it was a good read. It doesn’t have that much of an atmospheric feel like the previous book and Alaska is still very much a good part of the story. It’s an okay book for a one time read and felt very easy to finish in a single sitting. However, it doesn’t live up to some of Annabeth Albert’s older, more amazing books.
Merged review:
This book was fun and very sweet at places. The hurt/comfort trope worked quite well, but when the conflict happened, I have to say I didn’t like it (seems to be happening to me a lot lately). Thankfully, everything resolved quickly and the ending was very adorable.
I liked the characters of Reuben and Toby. They had a nice dynamic right from the get go and their easy chemistry while they were living together was very cute. I also adored Reuben’s daughter Amelia. Her transformation from a cranky teenager to someone who just finds her path was delightful to read about. I wasn’t that much of a fan of Toby’s family despite their closeness and his utter adoration for them, they just felt too nosy. However, it does seem to improve towards the end which wasn’t bad.
Overall, it was a good read. It doesn’t have that much of an atmospheric feel like the previous book and Alaska is still very much a good part of the story. It’s an okay book for a one time read and felt very easy to finish in a single sitting. However, it doesn’t live up to some of Annabeth Albert’s older, more amazing books....more
I was very excited to read this book because I’ve really enjoyed the author’s two previous trilogies It’s probably more of a 2.5 but I’m rounding up.
I was very excited to read this book because I’ve really enjoyed the author’s two previous trilogies and I wanted to see how her attempt at a standalone romance novel would turn out (especially without the suspense elements). I’m so sad to say that it didnt live up to my expectations.
The one thing you’ll consistently see me saying about this author’s books are that they are very fast paced and I always end up finishing them pretty quickly. However, this one turned out to be very slow paced and though I couldn’t figure out the exact reason, I had quite a bit of trouble with the writing style. I just kept wanting to put it down but I persevered and managed to finish it. As the main premise of the book is the two MCs on a culinary tour, we get some beautiful, mouth watering and delectable descriptions of amazing food and wine and it was a delight to read. As I’m pretty unaware of most of the high end food mentioned, I instead enjoyed reading about the different kinds of wines and the yummy and decadent desserts. The locations of the culinary tour covers some wonderful places across America and I almost felt like I was traveling alongwith them. This journey was definitely the best part of the book. The book is also pretty emotional towards the last third, because one of the MCs is sick and refusing treatment, and I ended up shedding a lot of tears. But I still didn’t have an easy time reading it. I had a tough time differentiating between the two POVs which usually doesn’t happen to me, and that’s probably one reason it took me a while to get through.
The romance is instalove because it all happens in ten days, but it was believable and definitely felt brought on by the heightened circumstances. I really liked Clancy, who is a complete foodie and his heartfelt appreciation of all the food he is introduced to was great to read. He is also a very compassionate doctor and I could totally feel how much he wanted to be an oncologist. Miller on the other hand is a famous Michelin Star chef and while I could understand some of his reasoning behind not wanting treatment, it was mostly rubbish. As someone who has an amazing family and a great group of friends, I found it callous that he didn’t want to give anyone even the chance to say goodbye. There was a lot of push and pull between the two of them, mainly because Miller has resigned himself to die and doesn’t wanna get close but Clancy doesn’t let him go. I liked the development of their friendship and love story but the writing style made me feel a bit detached from them. Sloane is Miller’s ex-wife but she plays a significant part in his life and this book and I actually liked getting to know more about their friendship over the years too. Both their families are also wonderful and supportive and it was nice to see all characters being so loving towards each other.
To conclude, this is probably my least favorite of Layla’s books. Without the suspense elements of her other books, this one felt very slow paced and took me a while to get into the groove. The love story is emotional and I liked it, but it’s not something I consider memorable. However, if you like reading about amazing food and wine, you might like this book. I would definitely suggest not going into this book hungry.
Merged review:
It’s probably more of a 2.5 but I’m rounding up.
I was very excited to read this book because I’ve really enjoyed the author’s two previous trilogies and I wanted to see how her attempt at a standalone romance novel would turn out (especially without the suspense elements). I’m so sad to say that it didnt live up to my expectations.
The one thing you’ll consistently see me saying about this author’s books are that they are very fast paced and I always end up finishing them pretty quickly. However, this one turned out to be very slow paced and though I couldn’t figure out the exact reason, I had quite a bit of trouble with the writing style. I just kept wanting to put it down but I persevered and managed to finish it. As the main premise of the book is the two MCs on a culinary tour, we get some beautiful, mouth watering and delectable descriptions of amazing food and wine and it was a delight to read. As I’m pretty unaware of most of the high end food mentioned, I instead enjoyed reading about the different kinds of wines and the yummy and decadent desserts. The locations of the culinary tour covers some wonderful places across America and I almost felt like I was traveling alongwith them. This journey was definitely the best part of the book. The book is also pretty emotional towards the last third, because one of the MCs is sick and refusing treatment, and I ended up shedding a lot of tears. But I still didn’t have an easy time reading it. I had a tough time differentiating between the two POVs which usually doesn’t happen to me, and that’s probably one reason it took me a while to get through.
The romance is instalove because it all happens in ten days, but it was believable and definitely felt brought on by the heightened circumstances. I really liked Clancy, who is a complete foodie and his heartfelt appreciation of all the food he is introduced to was great to read. He is also a very compassionate doctor and I could totally feel how much he wanted to be an oncologist. Miller on the other hand is a famous Michelin Star chef and while I could understand some of his reasoning behind not wanting treatment, it was mostly rubbish. As someone who has an amazing family and a great group of friends, I found it callous that he didn’t want to give anyone even the chance to say goodbye. There was a lot of push and pull between the two of them, mainly because Miller has resigned himself to die and doesn’t wanna get close but Clancy doesn’t let him go. I liked the development of their friendship and love story but the writing style made me feel a bit detached from them. Sloane is Miller’s ex-wife but she plays a significant part in his life and this book and I actually liked getting to know more about their friendship over the years too. Both their families are also wonderful and supportive and it was nice to see all characters being so loving towards each other.
To conclude, this is probably my least favorite of Layla’s books. Without the suspense elements of her other books, this one felt very slow paced and took me a while to get into the groove. The love story is emotional and I liked it, but it’s not something I consider memorable. However, if you like reading about amazing food and wine, you might like this book. I would definitely suggest not going into this book hungry....more
As someone who has never played any sport in my life, I still can’t figure out my fascination for sports romances, especially hockey because I hardly As someone who has never played any sport in my life, I still can’t figure out my fascination for sports romances, especially hockey because I hardly know anything about it. But they just make me insanely happy and this book was no different.
I remember reading the first book in this series and liking it but it’s been a while, so I didn’t go in with a lot of expectations. I just wanted to have fun and this author duo gave me that. I haven’t read any other books by Piper Vaughn but I have really enjoyed other hockey romances by Avon Gale and this one has a very similar feel. The writing is so easy to get through right from the beginning and I flew through the book in a single sitting. The authors do such a wonderful job making us root for this enemies to lovers to friends to more romance and I just couldn’t get enough. There is also a lot of focus on the game itself, it’s pressures, the camaraderie of the team etc and I loved reading about it all. Even the conflict felt very realistic and made me all emotional. This love story has more like an HFN but it feels very organic to the characters themselves and I also liked that coming out was never a point of contention.
Its amazing to see two protagonists of color in a sport like hockey which is majority white. Ryu is Japanese American who is very reserved, driven, a perfectionist who expects too much from himself. Emmitt on the other hand is Black, who has a faced a lot of prejudice but has never let it get to him and has finally arrived at the NHL. He is also supremely confident, a bit cocky and loves posting shirtless selfies on his insta. They are just so different from each other and competing for the starting goalie puts them at odds, but there were too many sparks flying to be ignored. I loved how they slowly became friends and realized they had feelings for each other despite not wanting to. It was kinda sweet watching them together, bringing out the best in each other on the ice, and also bonding over the immense parental pressures they have faced.
I absolutely loved the team camaraderie here too. Even though I don’t remember much from the first book, it was cool seeing Tristan and Seb together, just being all sappy and adorable. Tristan is the nicest guy ever and Seb is a force of nature and I really wanna reread their book now. Morley is another defenseman who was a prominent side character and he was annoying at first with his typical dudebro attitude and just making offensive jokes all the time. But I quickly realized he is a great friend, just with a puerile sense of humor. He is also not a fan of labeling his sexuality but doesn’t seem to discriminate between genders and I didn’t expect him to be so open and accepting about it. I have a feeling he is going to be the protagonist of the next book and I can’t wait.
To conclude, this was a fun, intense and emotional love story which had both hockey and romance in equal measures and I loved it all. I laughed, I cried and I didn’t want it to end - what more can I expect from a lovely book. If you like sports romances, then I definitely recommend this book. This works perfectly well as a stand-alone too but I think you should also read the first. I hope the wait for the next book in the series won’t be as long as this time.
Merged review:
As someone who has never played any sport in my life, I still can’t figure out my fascination for sports romances, especially hockey because I hardly know anything about it. But they just make me insanely happy and this book was no different.
I remember reading the first book in this series and liking it but it’s been a while, so I didn’t go in with a lot of expectations. I just wanted to have fun and this author duo gave me that. I haven’t read any other books by Piper Vaughn but I have really enjoyed other hockey romances by Avon Gale and this one has a very similar feel. The writing is so easy to get through right from the beginning and I flew through the book in a single sitting. The authors do such a wonderful job making us root for this enemies to lovers to friends to more romance and I just couldn’t get enough. There is also a lot of focus on the game itself, it’s pressures, the camaraderie of the team etc and I loved reading about it all. Even the conflict felt very realistic and made me all emotional. This love story has more like an HFN but it feels very organic to the characters themselves and I also liked that coming out was never a point of contention.
Its amazing to see two protagonists of color in a sport like hockey which is majority white. Ryu is Japanese American who is very reserved, driven, a perfectionist who expects too much from himself. Emmitt on the other hand is Black, who has a faced a lot of prejudice but has never let it get to him and has finally arrived at the NHL. He is also supremely confident, a bit cocky and loves posting shirtless selfies on his insta. They are just so different from each other and competing for the starting goalie puts them at odds, but there were too many sparks flying to be ignored. I loved how they slowly became friends and realized they had feelings for each other despite not wanting to. It was kinda sweet watching them together, bringing out the best in each other on the ice, and also bonding over the immense parental pressures they have faced.
I absolutely loved the team camaraderie here too. Even though I don’t remember much from the first book, it was cool seeing Tristan and Seb together, just being all sappy and adorable. Tristan is the nicest guy ever and Seb is a force of nature and I really wanna reread their book now. Morley is another defenseman who was a prominent side character and he was annoying at first with his typical dudebro attitude and just making offensive jokes all the time. But I quickly realized he is a great friend, just with a puerile sense of humor. He is also not a fan of labeling his sexuality but doesn’t seem to discriminate between genders and I didn’t expect him to be so open and accepting about it. I have a feeling he is going to be the protagonist of the next book and I can’t wait.
To conclude, this was a fun, intense and emotional love story which had both hockey and romance in equal measures and I loved it all. I laughed, I cried and I didn’t want it to end - what more can I expect from a lovely book. If you like sports romances, then I definitely recommend this book. This works perfectly well as a stand-alone too but I think you should also read the first. I hope the wait for the next book in the series won’t be as long as this time....more
I've obviously known a little about the wonderful translations that Ken Liu has done and his own fantasy work The Grace Average Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.2
I've obviously known a little about the wonderful translations that Ken Liu has done and his own fantasy work The Grace of Kings has been on my radar for a while, but I never planned on reading any of them soon. But when our Stars and Sorcery book club chose the award winning Paper Menagerie short story as our final pick of 2019, I thought why not read the whole collection. And wow was that a great decision on my part.
I really don't have enough words to describe the beauty of this book. The stories are fascinating but brutal, the worlds are unique, the writing is sublime and emotional, and the author weaves so many important themes in so few words. And as an Asian immigrant myself, there were many stories here that felt deeply personal and really resonated with me. There is a reason why so many of these stories have been nominated or won awards, and I highly recommend anyone who loves speculative fiction, particularly hard sci-fi, to give this collection a try.
Below are my individual reviews for the stories:
The Bookmaking Aspects of Select Species
By telling us how every different species has it’s own way of reading, writing and interpretation, the author weaves a lovely tale about the beauty of books, albeit in their various forms.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
State Change
I really don’t know how to explain this story without spoiling it, so I’ll just say it was an interesting way of asking us all to try to live life to the fullest and not feel limited by the boundaries that have been created for us.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Perfect Match
This was terrifyingly prophetic and probably gave a glimpse of what our lives might become in the future, every step being controlled or manipulated by algorithms and all of us just falling into the trap of living in an echo chamber and believing we are happy. But it also felt very inevitable and left me feeling a bit hopeless.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good Hunting
This is at once a cautionary tale about how technological advances can be both good and bad, replacing ancient traditions with more material comforts; but also increase the wealth gap. It’s also ultimately a tale of ingenuity and survival and hope and I loved it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Literomancer
CW: racial slurs and graphic torture
What started off as an innocent tale of friendship and the magic of language turned into one full of brutality. This is a story that brought to light the utter havoc that war wreaks on ordinary people. I couldn’t stop crying and wish I hadn’t read something so painful.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Simulacrum
A very compelling futuristic tale which has commentary about the pros and cons of capturing human memories in an AI like device to always carry with us; but at its heart, it’s the story of a father and daughter who are stuck in their relationship because no one is ready to understand how the other has changed and evolved over the years.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Regular
I can’t really explain this story properly except that it’s a murder mystery but also a very interesting commentary on the perils of using advanced technology that make us entirely dependent on them. This would make a wonderful full length novel too.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Paper Menagerie
This one left me sobbing and now I totally understand why it’s won so many accolades. A beautiful but sad story of empathy, belonging, and a mother’s love for her son, even when the son is unable to find a connection to her.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An Advanced Reader’s Picture Book of Comparative Cognition
This story definitely had too much of science and jargon, so I can’t say I understood a lot of it. But ultimately it’s message is that there are lots of ways to love someone, and we shouldn’t really expect anyone to change their passion for our sake.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Waves
This story takes from many creation myths that we know and weaves it’s own creation story, albeit a more highly advanced and futuristic one. Quite fascinating with its discussions about what defines humanity and death. I liked reading it but I can’t say I understood it fully.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mono No Aware
Set in a post apocalyptic future and using the game Go as a metaphor, this is an absolutely wonderful story about the importance of being selfless and doing what’s right for the whole community, not just us as an individual. It also really demonstrates the stark difference between the cultures of America and Japan, and what it means to carry forward your heritage.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All the Flavors
Based on the Chinese gold rush of the 19th century in Idaho, this is a tale of the resilience of Chinese men who came here to live better lives, and who in turn touched the hearts of the communities where they lived in, before all the anti-Chinese sentiment took hold in the country. A very beautiful tale of bravery, grit, loyalty and unlikely friendships.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel
Set in an alternative history timeline where WWII never happened but there was a cooperative agreement between the Western Powers and Imperial Japan, on surface this feels like a story of human ingenuity but when we dig deeper, it’s about labor exploitation and how much the glorious technological advances have been made on the backs of workers who had no choice.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Litigation Master and the Monkey King
CW: torture
While bringing some light upon the Yangzhou Massacre, this is a story about how ordinary people sometimes have to do extraordinary things, just because it’s right even though they may never see the consequences of their actions. A true tale of bravery.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary
CW: graphic descriptions of rape, torture and human experimentation
Told with a time travel backdrop and in the form of a documentary, this is the story of Unit 731 of Imperial Japan during WWII and the inhumane human experiments that were conducted on Chinese and Allied prisoners and people. I was horrified that I had no idea about this part of Asian history despite being so familiar with the Holocaust which occurred at the same time. I would definitely ask everyone to read more about the history of Unit 731 after you are done with this story.
This novella raises some very important questions for which there are no easy answers - should we forget wartime atrocities so that people can move on? Is asking the states that committed such crimes against humanity to apologize not valid? How much culpability do other countries bear when they cover up such crimes for their own selfish goals? How important is it for the people in the present to feel a connection to their past and process that trauma? There are many such thought provoking questions that come to mind while reading this story and it’s left to us find our own answers. I couldn’t imagine another brilliant way to end this excellent book.
This is like the perfect Halloween read that I read in winter instead; not that it was any less creepy. The author says in the interview that younger This is like the perfect Halloween read that I read in winter instead; not that it was any less creepy. The author says in the interview that younger readers find this book to be an adventure whereas the adults get scared and I think that’s the perfect description. It’s eerie, terrifying and very unlike anything I would ever read, but ultimately it’s a story about bravery and I ended up enjoying it.
I still won’t say that Gaiman’s writing style or humor works for me, but I now have hope that maybe I can get used to it given time. Let’s see !!! ...more
I only read the last short story in this collection - EPIC by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy - because it’s about my favorite fictional couple ever #WEI only read the last short story in this collection - EPIC by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy - because it’s about my favorite fictional couple ever #WESMIE ❤️❤️
It’s absolutely adorable and sweet and the love Wes and Jamie have for each other makes me so happy. I won’t say why but the hockey match was thoroughly delightful. And it was very refreshing to see Jaime be so confident and sure about what he wanted. And it’s obvious that Wes will do anything for him ...more
I’ve known about the author for quite a while now and have listened to his interviews and speeches, always leaving very impressed by what he had to saI’ve known about the author for quite a while now and have listened to his interviews and speeches, always leaving very impressed by what he had to say. When his first fiction novel The Water Dancer released recently, I decided I wanted to read his award winning prolific nonfiction works first, to truly experience his voice. And what a revelation this book is.
Falling just around 150 pages, this book in the form of letters to his son may feel small but the words it contains are profound, unapologetic, visceral, and give us a window into a world that we’ll never truly understand because we have not been born Black and grown up in a country where our existence revolves around fear and survival right from our birth. As a reader with an outside perspective, this book is at times uncomfortable to read, but if one is open to listening to experiences that one has never had, then anyone reading this book will realize the inherent brutal truth behind the author’s words. It is the truth of America’s violent history and it’s present, the truth that is the daily life of a whole community terrorized by the system that is supposed to protect its citizens, even when all of us with privilege can never fathom the toll of living like that.
The main audience for this book maybe the Black community, but I think it’s far more important for everyone else to read it. We may never understand the fears of every Black parent who have to teach their sons how to survive from an unimaginably young age, but we all have the responsibility to learn about it and acknowledge our privilege and be an ally in whatever way possible. I say this as a brown woman who grew up with privilege in my own country, and while I do get terrified at a traffic stop in the US, I also understand that the so-called “model minority” myth might accord me some safety. This is a powerful book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read more about the inescapable systems of oppression in the country....more
As always, the art style tends to be one of the best I’ve ever seen - intricate, detailed and excellent color scheme. This bI’m going for a 3.5 again.
As always, the art style tends to be one of the best I’ve ever seen - intricate, detailed and excellent color scheme. This book also had some new monsters and machines and I thought they were all illustrated beautifully.
I still won’t talk much about the plot because I can only follow it barely. But everyone is preparing for war and we have new players in the field, and I think we are heading towards some explosive action sequences in the upcoming books.
Whatever I feel about this story, I know I’m gonna continue because it has brilliant art and some wonderful representation and I’m quite satisfied with that. I’m sure that fans of the series will love this book too....more
Since the day Eden announced that there would be a final short story collection for the series, I have been very excited for it and spent the last twoSince the day Eden announced that there would be a final short story collection for the series, I have been very excited for it and spent the last two days checking my kindle to see if the ARC dropped. And once it did, I had to read immediately though it was late in the evening because there was no way I was gonna wait.
Noah and Matt are amazing together and it was wonderful to see Noah become such a different person from how he started. But this story was more about Matt coming to accept that he would never have a relationship with his parents and he did a great job taking care of his siblings. They were not my favorite couple when I read Trick Play but I have really come to love them so much.
Damon and Maddox’s story is sweet and hilarious and I would have expected nothing less when Maddy is present. Damon is really the rock supporting this friend group and it was nice to see him finally deciding to invest more time for themselves than his work. And I never expected Maddox to become so happy and content with commitment.
Ollie and Lennon are one of my favorites in this series but their story here didn’t live up to my expectations. But they are happy and that’s all I want. However, I absolutely adore the surprise gift that Lennon gave Ollie.
And then come Miller and Talon - my top favorite couple and they will forever remain so. The story starts off with a mature behaving Talon which was a total surprise but ends with their usual shenanigans and I couldn’t stop laughing. The ending of their story when the whole gang is present almost brought tears to my eyes.
And finally, it’s Jet and Soren’s turn. It was very lovely to see Jet making thoughtful decisions about both his career and life and Soren is the perfect partner for him. And their story ends a bit in the future and we get to know a lot more about the lives of the “Gay brigade” and it made me immensely happy.
I’m so so happy that this short story collection exists because I definitely wasn’t ready to be done with the amazing characters from this series. Found families is one of my favorite tropes ever and this series has one of the best friend gang/found family ever and I’m so glad I got to read about them. I maybe sad that it’s the end but I know I can always reread. Very satisfying conclusion to such a fun series. ...more
This was a good finale with lots of drama and angst but it was also pretty predictable (not that I minded it much). I raced througMaybe more of a 3.5.
This was a good finale with lots of drama and angst but it was also pretty predictable (not that I minded it much). I raced through it in just a few hours and had fun.
I have somehow never felt very connected to these characters like I did with the characters from the Irish and Whiskey or Trouble Brewing trilogies by this author. So, the best part in this book was seeing my favorites from those older series showing up for little cameos or just being mentioned. Totally made me wanna reread them.
Also couldn’t stop laughing at the dedication page of this book. I love my lovable assassin Ethan too ...more
As someone who hardly reads true crime or even fiction mystery books, this is not the kind of book you would expect me to read. Killers of the Yellow As someone who hardly reads true crime or even fiction mystery books, this is not the kind of book you would expect me to read. Killers of the Yellow Moon is also a couple of years old, so I can’t say it was even on my radar. But this is the end of a decade and we keep seeing all the “Best of” lists for the past 10 years, and when I saw this book on one of the best non fiction of the decade lists, I did some research and instantly became interested. And obviously getting to know that casting calls have gone out for a movie adaptation by Martin Scorcese starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Robert DeNiro made it the next book on my TBR.
I recently read a history book called How to Hide an Empire and it was revelatory in how much we don’t know about the past or even present of our own country. And this book may just be dealing with a small time period of the early 20th century, but it’s a matter of shame that it’s been forgotten within just a century, despite the people and the descendants who lived through the Reign of Terror still dealing with the ramifications even now. It really is preposterous and obviously the result of prejudice that FBI remains in the public eye as the highly acclaimed national law enforcement agency in the country, but the string of brutal murders, cover ups and rampant systemic corruption that led to the birth of this organization is neither taught as an important part of history, or even remains in anyone’s memory. Even I’ve read quite a bit about Edgar Hoover and how he created and ruled the organization with an iron fist, but this case that he essentially used to publicize the importance of his agency never made it into my readings, probably because it wasn’t deemed noteworthy.
The author writes the book like a mystery novel but with a bit of history, giving us the background for how the Osage Nation in Oklahoma came to be and the extraordinary work of their diligent representatives who managed to get them the mineral rights for their lands. Oil brought money and prosperity to the Osage Indians, but much pronounced is the bigotry among the white people and the government who couldn’t bear to see people who they felt were inferior living such prosperous lives. And it’s fairly obvious that from this prejudice (and we can call it jealousy and greed) came the Reign of Terror that lasted years and ended with scores of murders.
The author details the arrival of Tom White and his team of bureau officers, who took up the mantle of this investigation after many locals failed to do anything, and it was gratifying to see atleast some white people with a fair amount of power willing to do their duty and not discount the lives that were lost or those who were living in constant danger. The conspiracy that they unearth is massive and I think it was sheer persistence on their part, and the resilience of the Osage Indians that ultimately led to bringing the truth to light.
But it was the last part of the book that really stunned me, when the author talks about how he started his research and what he uncovered. With the access of many more documents from decades ago and testimonies from the living descendants of the victims, he pieces together an almost unimaginable tale of conspiracy - where local white businessmen, dangerous outlaws, reputable doctors, corrupt local sheriffs and law enforcement and government officials, and most importantly greedy white people - all formed an informal network of killers, masters of coverups and large scale robbers, leaving numerous families with death and destitution. And the worst part is that while Tom White and his team was able to get convictions for a few murders, many many others were never pursued, and generations of their families have struggled to piece together the truth of what happened to their loved ones - and they are still doing it today.
It’s always both fascinating and painful to read such historical accounts and see parallels in our current times, because it just shows that despite a lot of progress we have made, we haven’t really in many other matters. Rachel Maddow’s recent book Blowout talks about the huge tentacles of the Oil industry in Oklahoma and how long it took for ordinary people to be able to fight back, and what they lost in the meantime. And it’s just testimony that the resource curse is alive and well, the unscrupulous and ruthless nature of people clamoring for oil money hasn’t changed; it just probably has evolved from murders to more sophisticated business operations. Another thing that was brutal to read about was how some of the killers who were convicted of the Osage murders got paroled very soon, and even got pardons from the governors - just showcasing how less (or no) value this country places on the lives of nonwhite people - eerily similar to the president’s pardons of war criminals a few days ago.
No thanks to the establishment of this country, it’s through sheer will and resilience and deep rooted love of their history that has managed to sustain the existence of the Osage Nation, and it was an honor to get to know about some of the people that the author had an opportunity to meet. This book is the story of the terror through which they lived and survived, and some law enforcement officers who took their duty seriously. If you like reading historical accounts of true crime, you just can’t miss this book. It’s brilliantly written and thoroughly researched, bringing a vital part of forgotten history back into the consciousness. The only heartbreak is that so much of it is still unknown and the families may never know the truth....more
I’ve obviously known about this novella for a long time because it’s won so many awards and accolades. But it’s also set iIt’s probably more of a 3.5.
I’ve obviously known about this novella for a long time because it’s won so many awards and accolades. But it’s also set in space and sci-fi isn’t my thing, so I never planned on reading it. But our Stars and Sorcery book club decided to pick it up as our last BOTM of the year and I was finally intrigued enough to give it a try. And I’m glad I did.
First thing I have to mention is that I didn’t understand most of the scientific terminology used in the book, but that’s ofcourse my shortcoming and should be easier to comprehend for seasoned sci-fi readers. But the overall writing and the themes were easier to grasp. It packs a lot of feeling in less than 100 pages and I could feel all of it. It’s also understandably very fast paced and kept me on my toes, especially the middle portion of the story. We only get to know Binti and a couple of other characters but what I saw of them, they were fascinating and complicated. I love the found family aspect of it and hope it gets more fleshed out in the later novellas.
It’s evident from the beginning itself that the underlying theme is about prejudice - how we “other” people just because we don’t understand them or they look different from us. Binti understands this well and even in an environment where she is gawked at or called out, she holds her head high. She is intelligent and ambitious and wants more for herself than what her traditions allow, allowing her to change parts of herself, but she never lets go of her traditions. This story also dips a little into commentary about colonial exploitation but never goes deep into it.
Overall, this is an interesting story featuring a fierce and smart young Black woman and I loved getting to know her. While the world building isn’t too extensive, it’s written just well enough for us to truly feel it’s message of empathy and acceptance. ...more
This is how you lose the Time War is not what you would call my usual kind of book. It’s so far out of my comfort zone that it shouldn’t have even beeThis is how you lose the Time War is not what you would call my usual kind of book. It’s so far out of my comfort zone that it shouldn’t have even been on my radar. But I read Max Gladstone’s debut Three Parts Dead recently and completely fell in love with how unique a world it was. So, when I saw this latest novella collaboration by him and kept reading rave reviews about it, I just wanted to give it a try. I’m also trying to expand my reading into sci-fi, so I thought a shorter book would be the way to go. And wow did I make a great choice.
On first glance, I should hate this book. This is pure 100% purple prose. It’s actually poetry masquerading as prose. I can’t even say I understood all the sentences that were on the page. But even when I didn’t exactly get the literal meaning, I could totally feel the emotion behind it all. This is probably what beautiful writing looks like - I was sitting in a bookstore reading this book and as it went on, I struggled so hard to choke back my tears. It’s sublime and poignant and lyrical and utterly romantic. This is also not the kind of book you can race through - it requires patience and effort and really needs to be savored very slowly.
As you can glean from the title, the main part of the world building is time travel. The two main characters travel through strands of time, make changes that alter the courses of past and future, and leave each other letters through these strands. The epistolary format works perfectly to show us development of the relationship between the two MCs and as a huge fan of love letters in novels, I was totally charmed by them. The only world building we can be sure of is that there are two factions fighting a time war and our MCs are on opposite sides of the conflict - everything else is left vague and while that would usually put me off in any other book, I didn’t mind it here at all. There was just enough for me to feel it, a sprinkling of foreshadowing to keep me going and an ending that comes together so perfectly that it made my heart soar.
To wrap it up, I just want to say that this book is unlike anything I’ve ever read. This is genre bending at its finest - it’s a literary fiction novel with a time travel backdrop featuring a romance for the ages. If you like books that are unique and won’t fit into any boxes, you should definitely give this one a try. This may be a little novella but it demands attention, and I implore you to give it its due and savor it. Don’t try to understand it, just feel it. It just might surprise and capture your heart....more
Wow ... I didn’t know what I was expecting from this memoir but this was so much more. It’s the story of the author’s life told by navigating through Wow ... I didn’t know what I was expecting from this memoir but this was so much more. It’s the story of the author’s life told by navigating through important moments of his life and the ultimate thread overall is his relationship with his beloved single mother.
You can clearly see Jones is a poet because even his prose is stunningly beautiful and evocative - literally brimming with feelings like desperation, confusion, longing, fear and grief - and listening to the audiobook in his own voice brings even more life to it. I thought his particular fear about the ramifications of being both Black and gay was very palpable in his words and I could feel it myself. It really broke my heart. I was so lost in his words that I didn’t realize it was already over, and I just wanted to know more.
This memoir truly deserves all the accolades it’s getting across the community and I hope everyone picks this up. I’m not much of a poetry reader but I definitely wanna go back and checkout his previous award winning poetry books....more
Surely a 4.5 but just fell short of a full 5 star rating.
I’m not someone who knows much of American history - we obviously didn’t need to study it in Surely a 4.5 but just fell short of a full 5 star rating.
I’m not someone who knows much of American history - we obviously didn’t need to study it in school and whatever I’ve gleaned through in the past few years has been by watching documentaries, tv shows or reading fiction inspired by true historical events. Even in those cases, I have probably read more about WWII because the Holocaust is one of the most horrific events that I’ve come to know perpetrated by design by one evil man. As far as American history is concerned, I know about important events and key figures related to the Civil war and the civil rights movement, but not much more. So, why did I pick up this book? I have no idea. I just read one glowing review on Goodreads and decided to give it a try. And whatever I was expecting it to be, it surpassed all my expectations.
The one common refrain we always hear is that history books are boring. And this book is most definitely written by a history professor. But boring it ain’t. While I hoped that it would be interesting enough that I can read it slowly over the course of a week or two, I didn’t expect it to suck me into it so wholly that I managed to complete in just three sittings. The author writes in such an accessible manner with lots of anecdotes and dry humor that you can’t help but enjoy it. Particularly, the first half to two thirds of the book is very engrossing - the details of the events the author is describing are truly horrific and I was frankly appalled that I didn’t know any of it. However, what is more appalling is that this actual history of the United States is nowhere taught in its schools. Americans might very well proclaim (and even believe in their hearts) that they are a nation built out of anti-imperialist notions, and by virtue of literally erasing all this history from their textbooks ensure that this image stays intact, but the fact is, US has been an empire and colonized millions of people since the late 19th century and continues to do so till this day.
There are many important chapters of history that the author decides to talk about, but the two which get most page time are Philippines and Puerto Rico. While I had some idea that PR is still a colony of the US and has no representation in Congress while being very dependent on federal aid, I knew nothing about how it came to be so. And I literally had no clue that Philippines, a country in Asia was colonized by the US for around 47 years. The years of oppression, the wars and massacres that were raged to quell any rebellions and exploitation of resources reads like any standard imperial fare (I’ve read enough about British in India to see the similarities) - it’s just surprising to read because we never talk about US in the same vein as British while discussing colonization.
What was truly horrific and revolting to read about was the illegal and unethical experiments that so-called pioneers of American medicine conducted on their colonial subjects, with no regard for their consent because they didn’t care about “those” people. Forced sterilizations, experimenting the initial versions of the birth control pill (with highly adverse side effects), deliberately not giving medicine to some patients to determine how they fare, and airdropping mustard gas on thousands of people to understand its effect on humans - these are not so dissimilar to what Josef Mengele did - but while one is the infamous Angel of Death, other is the father of Chemotherapy. I guess this is what it means when we say history is written by the victors.
The latter half of the book deals more with how the nature of imperialism changed after WWII and technological advances made during the war enabled it to take the form of globalization. I was utterly fascinated by the chapters about how American standards became the norm across the world in every field and ISO came to be, and the rise of English as the global connecting language. Some might think this was actually good and only happened because of “free market capitalism” and not forced on anybody, but when one country controls more than 60% of the manufacturing economy of the world, the leverage it holds is enormous and what other countries do to appease it is just pragmatism and not enthusiastic acceptance. One very stark fact that reiterates it is that while all countries across the world decided to adhere to many US standards, US still separates itself from everyone by refusing to use the metric system. This may also seem trivial to Americans because they are used to believing they are the best at everything, but as an Indian, the fear of losing our languages and ultimately our culture to the hegemony of English isn’t really that unfounded.
The last section of the book about the pointillist empire is where I lost interest a little. The author rightly points out that the more than 800 US bases across the world make it an empire even now, albeit just a different kind but he doesn’t go into much detail. We only get to know a little about the military bases in Japan as well the initial ones in Saudi Arabia, which eventually and very unexpectedly led to the rise of Japan as a tough industrial competitor to the US; and the accumulation of wealth by the bin Laden family and then using it to fight against the US which facilitated that wealth in the first place. The author also points out little known facts about how Guantanamo bay came to be which eventually led to its use as a detention facility, as well as the loopholes in law which led to exploitation of labor in Northern Mariana Islands even though they were by right US citizens. The author refrains from going into much detail about any of these though, and also only makes cursory references to all the wars the US has fought in after WWII. I guess this was done to limit the size of an already big book, but it just gave a feeling that some important events were glossed over.
Wow did I go on quite a rant in this review. I didn’t even realize I had so much to say. To conclude, I just want to mention that this book is well written and very readable for anyone, whether you know anything about US history or not. Even if you usually find history books boring, I promise that this is very engrossing and enjoyable, mostly due to the author’s excellent storytelling skills. And if you are someone who is interested to know more about the usually hidden and unknown parts of American history, you should definitely give this a try. It’ll surely surprise you. And I think it’s important to know this history but ignorance of it can only lead to mistakes in the future. ...more
I haven’t watched the tv show Shrill but I remember reading a little of the book, but I never finished it because it was a time when I used to abandonI haven’t watched the tv show Shrill but I remember reading a little of the book, but I never finished it because it was a time when I used to abandon books midway a lot. But I also remember that I found it very interesting and powerful. So when I saw this book on my Libro.fm list for November, I knew I had to pick it up immediately and I’m so glad I didn’t put it off.
As I always like to do, I listened and read this book simultaneously and while it’s a very wonderful book to read, the author’s narration makes it excellent. She is fiery and passionate and brings out all the emotions that she may have felt while writing the book into her narrative voice, and it makes for a very immersive listening experience. Right alongside her, I felt angry and disappointed, I laughed out and I felt motivated. Any book that evokes such strong feelings in us deserves a read.
This book is also extremely quotable. I just kept highlighting paragraphs upon paragraphs in my kindle, and I think I could have done that to the whole book. The book is not a single coherent story, it’s more like a collection of essays with each chapter dealing with a different topic that the author deeply resonates with. She is a pro-choice, body positive, feminist writer and is completely unapologetic about her opinions and I admire her so much for it. I particularly loved reading her thoughts on the #MeToo movement, abortion rights, youth activism and women’s anger.
But what makes this book special is her no holds barred style of writing. That would probably be considered a good attitude for a man but not a woman, and the author talks extensively about all the ways in which this hypocrisy persists - where men are assumed to be the leaders and risk takers and capable, whereas women have to work doubly hard to prove themselves to be on par while also fighting off impossible expectations of niceness and likability. And whatever topic she is talking about, it’s inevitable that the discussion turns to the current president and she is fearless in her criticism of his policies, as well as the overall destructive platform of the Republicans and their right wing cohorts. And she is also highly critical of the “center” or “apolitical” people as if choosing not to be political in the current climate is in itself not a highly privileged political stance.
I could probably write a lot more in my review, but I want to end it right here and ask you to pick this up. Read it, listen to it, it’s your choice but do consume it. It may not talk about things we don’t already know, but sometimes it’s good to get a reminder - especially from someone who hits the nail on the head so articulately and without holding herself back. And as a fat woman, I admire the author even more for sticking up for her principles in the face of unimaginable trolling and threats. It’s an extremely well written and narrated book and I highly recommend it. ...more
It’s always nice to find a reference to a book while reading another book, and that’s exactly how I found this and decided to pick it up immediately. It’s always nice to find a reference to a book while reading another book, and that’s exactly how I found this and decided to pick it up immediately. I didn’t realize that it’s just a short collection of lectures by the author, but it is extremely profound regardless.
I know only a couple of the more common Greek/Roman myths and haven’t read the classics Iliad or the Odyssey, so it was fascinating to see the author trace the origins of women disempowerment and silencing to those myths. What’s more surprising is to see how these age old beliefs rooted in misogyny still reflect in popular current thought, albeit maybe in a different form - now manifesting as twitter trolls and rape/death threats on social media. The author doesn’t give us any clear solutions but asks all of us to examine the relationship between women and power, how we can try to gain it collectively (not just concentrating on individual high achievers) by not falling into the stereotypes of powerful women created by men. I particularly liked this line of hers -
We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for, and how it is measured. To put it another way, if women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than women?”
To conclude, I just wanna say this was quite interesting to read. If you like Greco-Roman mythologies and would like to know how the fraught relationship of women with power has age old origins, you should pick this up. It’s an illuminating experience and can make us reflect on what more we can do to rid our culture of these notions of women’s inferiority. It’s also very short and packs a lot of information in a few pages, so pick it up and hopefully, it’ll surprise you....more
I was very excited to know about the release of this book when I think I first saw Hillary and Chelsea on Stephen Colbert’s show and have been waitingI was very excited to know about the release of this book when I think I first saw Hillary and Chelsea on Stephen Colbert’s show and have been waiting to read it since then. Obviously it had a bit of a waitlist at my library(why am I surprised), so it took me this long to get to it.
As someone who doesn’t know much about American history (because I never studied it), the only knowledge I have gained is through TV shows, documentaries, articles and maybe a few books, in the past 5-6 years. And it’s not a surprise that when I am exposed to history through pop culture, I tend to learn more about men than the women. So this book is very helpful to someone like me who wants to know more about women who have made remarkable impact on the country or the world.
I don’t want to take any specific names because this book talks about 105 brilliant and gutsy women, but I appreciated getting to know their stories. These are women who refused to go along with the status quo, challenged the established norms, fought battles every step of the way to make sure their voices are heard (either with or without the support of their families) and never stopped fighting till they could. These are trailblazers who never cared about whether they got recognition for the work they were doing, they just wanted the work to be done and leave the world a better and more equitable place for the future generations of women. Some of them are still fighting and and I hope they inspire more women leaders to fight for their causes.
While most of the stories are historical accounts, some from just a couple of decades ago, the ones that resonated with me and affected me the most were the stories of the mothers and young women fighting for gun control. As someone who comes from a country where getting a gun license as a private citizen is literally impossible, I never understood the reasoning behind having guns in homes but just dismissed it as a quirk of America. But as I have watched school shootings, and other gun related violent incidents increase in the past 8 years while I’ve lived here, it has only made me more scared for my future hypothetical kid. So I will always be grateful to the activists who are fighting everyday against a behemoth that is the NRA and the politicians in its pocket who deploy the second amendment as a weapon against those who are fighting just to ensure that our children get to live long lives.
To conclude, I just want to say that this is an important book to read, especially to realize that despite having so many fearless women fight for our rights for decades, the fight is not yet over and there is a lot to be done. You will get to know little glimpses of women from all walks of life spanning centuries and across the globe who stood up for their convictions and brought us a bit closer to the goal of equality which still eludes us. I think every reader will find something in this book that speaks to them. You can read it all at once or just in small doses, whenever you need a bit of courage - but I promise it will make you feel empowered to know these great and gutsy women....more
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