Ricky Pine's Blog, page 11

Review: Nicked

Nicked by M.T. Anderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Loosely based on a true story about a crew going out to heist away the bones of St. Nicholas at a time when Bari, Italy, had a plague problem - because while it’s pretty standard procedure for relics to have miracles attributed to them, these bones specifically are said to weep healing tears like a phoenix. This had a great premise, but the execution left a bit to be desired, in part due to being barely over 200 pages, but...

Review: The Rivals

The Rivals by Jane Pek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second Claudia Lin mystery explores more of the sinister AI behind the dating apps of this world (which, let's face it, they're probably just as full of bots and shit in reality too.) With Claudia herself now back in the good graces of her employer (thanks to Komla being out of the picture), she actually seems to fall instead for a potential mark whom a client has asked her to track because she seemed too good to be tru...

Review: Sun Strike

Sun Strike by J L Pawley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This latest iteration of Generation Icarus reaches its conclusion in three books instead of four, although Pawley does indicate in the acknowledgments at the end of the book that there could yet be more adventures in the pipeline for the Flight. And yet, if this is the end of the road, it's been a great one for these characters, even if they pass along a terrible case of "post-dramatic Jess disorder" to the readers every ...

Review: Fledgling

Fledgling by S.K. Ali
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This much hyped YA dystopian piece, the first of a planned duology, takes the reader to a futuristic world heavily inspired by Arabia and Persia - hell, if not for Rumi’s poem about how “hope is the thing with feathers,” this book might not exist in the form under which it’s currently out in the world. Unlike a lot of examples of the genre, this book follows a great deal of POV characters, with a certain core three emphasize...

Review: Immortal Dark

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tigest Girma debuts with the first book of a new trilogy that straddles the line between YA and adult with a unique new adult dark academia style. With its specifically Ethiopian vampire mythos, university setting existing at one right angled remove from the modern world, the mystery of a missing sister, and a spicy but not explicit romance, it's the kind of book that you'll never find anywhere else. While I do wish ...

Review: The Third Wife of Faraday House

The Third Wife of Faraday House by B.R. Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The latest historical mystery from B.R. Myers goes into gothic realms on the shores of Nova Scotia, with a protagonist who winds up (unhappily, of course) stuck having to marry a wealthy captain with a grand old manse on the coast outside of Halifax. He's been a serial monogamist, and Emeline is to be the titular third wife...except the second wife hasn't quite shuffled off this mortal coil yet, and ...

Review: A Dreadful Splendor

A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I knew of B.R. Myers more for her dark YA fantasy mysteries, especially her Night Shift trilogy which I devoured in my Wattpad days. Here, for her adult literary debut, it took me a couple of years to finally get around to reading it, but when I found it on the shelf at Vancouver Library (in Washington, with the title spelled in American), I found it well worth the wait. Though a bit later in history than the wo...

Review: Blood Over Bright Haven

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m kind of in two minds about this book. It’s a dark academia fantasy, a standalone piece, and it gets a lot of R.F. Kuang comparisons because it’s dark academia from an Asian author with strong social justice themes.

Unlike Kuang’s Babel, however, it’s largely presented from the point of view of a white woman, and while it’s significant that she has to fight the patriarchy at every turn - Sciona is the city...

Review: Swim Home to the Vanished

Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fort Vancouver Regional Library has always been very good at spotlighting unique books for Native American Heritage Month, which is how I found this book and its eye-catching cover art. I’ve never been all that partial to magical realism, but this book made the style work pretty well, all things considered. It’s not a feel good book, most definitely not, but it does a good job of blending surreal d...

Review: The Stone Witch of Florence

The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Okay sure, I’m in a reading slump lately for a lot of reasons, but…seriously, how does one write a story set in medieval Florence with plagues and witchy wonders and still make it boring? How? Inquiring minds must know. Unfortunately, despite the prettiness of the packaging, it’s an official DNF from me on this one.

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