Ricky Pine's Blog, page 41

Review: Concrete Rose

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been almost four years since Angie Thomas gave us The Hate U Give and, as far as I can remember, it hasn't been off the bestseller list once since then. Did I ever expect at the time that she would give us a prequel centered on Starr's dad Maverick? I admit, no, and when she announced this book, its premise was pretty unexpected. But yeah, here we are, getting to see Maverick as a younger man, about the same age Sta...

Review: Wayward Witch

Wayward Witch by Zoraida Córdova
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third sister, the third Brooklyn Bruja, Rose...after the stories of Alex and Lula, this trilogy's finally come to its conclusion. While I do think it's a slight comedown from the first two books - it's not as easily memorable, and the stakes feel somewhat lower - it does at the very least achieve one thing its predecessors didn't. It brings the story of the Mortiz sisters much more full-circle than ever, getting i...

Review: Each of Us a Desert

Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mark Oshiro presents: And Now For Something Completely Different. Shifting away from the hard-hitting examination of systemic racism in Anger is a Gift, they now dive deeper into their Latinx roots with a new story set in a distant desert world, magical realism about a young woman in search of love - if only she didn't have to wander far and wide and avoid the monsters, metaphorical and literal, terrorizing her. Mag...

Review: These Violent Delights

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Without the monster, there is no madness. With no madness, he goes out of business." 
I gotta thank Jaroda for loving that line so much that he screenshotted my Insta post quoting it, and thank Blake for getting me to put this book in my library ebook queue. And boy was it worth the time it took to savor. Take Romeo and Juliet to 1920s Shanghai, sprinkle in the critique of early 20th century geopolitics of The Gil...

Review: Camp

Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It took me a while to remember this book existed, and then again to place an e-book order at the library, and then to read it - in one sitting, strangely enough. Well, one and a half - I only took a break to get out of the car I'd been riding in while getting through about the first 40-50 percent or so of the book. I just wish my thoughts on this weren't so...muddled. I mean, it's not a bad book, but it's also definitely one of...

Review: The Burning God

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This...can't be it. 
This can't be the end of R.F. Kuang's debut series. 
How can she possibly keep it only as this one trilogy after that ending? 
So. Two and a half years or so after she debuted with The Poppy War, a year and a quarter after The Dragon Republic, Kuang now brings us to the end with The Burning God, except there is simply no way this is where it all ends. After 600-plus pages in this book - and, not unlike ...

Review: Instant Karma

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow, ain't this a surprise...a Marissa Meyer book that I didn't love with all my heart the second I read it all? But then again, it's also extremely different from all her previous books, being a contemporary romance with only the barest hint of fantasy, and even then it's really just a faint tinge of fabulism at best. Though it's a pretty interesting premise, a girl who starts to think she's developed the ability to cast "instant...

Review: A ​Sky Beyond the Storm

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sabaa Tahir's back with the fourth and final book of her Ember in the Ashes series, and after more than two years since its predecessor came out, it's a pretty long Endgame to the Infinity War that was Reaper. 
Some time has passed since that book ended on such a devastating note, with the promise of a truly apocalyptic war in the finale. Now, while Tahir takes a little time getting there - I mean, the book isn't really that...

Review: Rhythm of War

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How does Brandon Sanderson do it? Seriously...how? A decade into this series and already a total of over 4000 pages written over four books, at least 1.5 million words by now...and this on top of other projects of his? Wax and Wayne? Skyward and sequels? Even the Steelheart trilogy? Nah, but The Stormlight Archive is well and truly his magnum opus, and here, it's pretty clear that Sanderson is absolutely on top of his game. Weaving...

Review: Lost Roads

Lost Roads by Jonathan Maberry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I admit, I'd almost forgotten that Jonathan Maberry was continuing the Rot and Ruin with a second series, but now, it's good to see that he's got a second book out with Gutsy Gomez, Benny Imura, and all our favorite zom-hunters - and yes, Joe Ledger, whose main series of (adult) sci-fi thrilllers, I remain perennially behind on. Just like Broken Lands before it, Lost Roads is terrifyingly fast-paced, blistering and bloo...