Ricky Pine's Blog, page 105

Review: On the Edge of Gone

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dammit, Corinne Duyvis, why must you abuse my feels so?



While I enjoyed Otherbound, for me, Duyvis' second novel is her real star-maker. This mostly owes to her depiction of the autistic MC, Denise. Though I've heard of a fair few books, particularly in YA, with autistic MC's, this, I believe, is the first one I've read. Which for me, being on the spectrum myself with hyperlexia, is a shame. I may not have the exact same condition...

The Red Rain Grand Finale: Sound & Color!

Sam Ayers strikes again, my friends.
For the final time, I'm presenting an expansion of the Red Rain series with one more novel, for which Sam has designed her most eye-popping cover art yet. This seventh Red Rain novel is an epic, apocalyptic finale, the culmination of not only Alex Snow's story, but also those of Gabe Snow, Fionna Lee, and Gideon Cabrera. These four will be the primary First-Person Smartass POV characters in the final Red Rain novel: Sound & Color.

Behold,...

Review: Liar

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the years since Justine Larbalestier published this book, it's become the subject of some controversy, much of which owes to Larbalestier being a white woman writing a black main character who is a compulsive liar. A black girl who may or may not be genderfluid, or even a trans boy - hell, it's hard not to read Micah as such, because of her history of having at least once attempted to pass as a boy, and taking birth-control pills to pr...

Review: Gathering Darkness

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So that's the third book of Falling Kingdoms done, and with no end in sight...

On the one hand, I'm happy to report that while I still have no idea why Magnus is so very much beloved by the fans, I'm more invested in his character now because he's started growing beyond my first impression - simply being "that prince who's in love with his adopted sister and it makes it impossible for me to ship them." As always, I'm also super into...

Review: Otherbound

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You can't exist on Book Twitter without hearing the name of Corinne Duyvis, so sooner or later I had to check out her books at the library. As I understand it, Otherbound was her debut, so of course I had to read that one first.

Although the book starts out by plunging the reader straight into the land of confusion, Duyvis doesn't waste time failing to properly explain and build her world - or, more accurately, worlds. The book is split be...

Review: Rebellion

Rebellion by Kass Morgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Behold, another book of The 100!

I think I was just as surprised as anyone else in this fandom when I learned that Kass Morgan was giving us a fourth book - because it came almost a full two years after Homecoming, and I think we were all under the impression Morgan was ending things with the trilogy (even if it was pretty open-ended.) Turns out she wasn't out of ideas - and this latest idea of hers, while a little more divergent from the CW s...

Review: The Secret History of Twin Peaks

The Secret History of Twin Peaks by Mark Frost
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a few years since I first saw the original Twin Peaks series on DVD, and after reading this book (a much-needed tie-in to tide the fans over until the long-awaited, long-delayed revival debuts on Showtime later this year), I think I'll have to go back and check out the original thirty episodes again. When I do so, however, I'll have a lot more in mind than just Black Lodge, White Lodge, general surreal creepine...

Review: Scythe

Scythe by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A new book from the author of Unwind? Of course I'm in.

Scythe proves to be another interesting little look at an apocalyptic future that could very easily come to pass. When death no longer occurs naturally, thanks to a number of technological advances (some of which have something to do with the Thunderhead, an all-powerful ASI descended from today's Apple products, unless I miss my guess), there needs to be an agency devoted to ensuring th...

My 2016 Favorites: The Second Annual Pinecone Awards!

In general, we all know 2016 was a sucky, sucky year. America shot itself in the foot, and the head, and the heart, and every vital organ. As did Britain. And who knows how many other countries will follow suit? David Bowie died and the universe started to unravel, to the point where every idol who followed him into the unknown was probably invited to a Tomorrowland-style alternate universe where deserving people could live peacefully.

But in the worlds of pop culture, even as the real world d...

Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sometimes, contemporary YA really isn't my thing (The Lovely Reckless), and sometimes, it's more my thing than I ever knew (More Happy Than Not, although it helps that that one dips more than just a toe into sci-fi as well). I rarely find any middle ground. Well, there was The Great American Whatever...and now there's Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Don't get me wrong, Becky Albertalli weaves a nice little story...