Ricky Pine's Blog, page 49

Review: Sword and Pen

Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel Caine returns to the world of the Great Library for the fifth and final time, with our heroes now embroiled in some of their greatest struggles yet. As nations go to war with ships armed with Greek fire ballistas, and the Archivist in Exile struggles to regain his fascistic imperialist hold on all knowledge (cheekily, Caine weaves in more relevant political subtext by having him in pretty close contact with the Russians, and the...

Review: Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tomi Adeyemi took almost two years after her debut to bring us Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and the final product we got - the middle entry of the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, that is, unless Adeyemi pulls a Victoria Aveyard and extends it to four novels, which I would NOT be surprised if she did - is more than worth the wait. And like last year with Queen of Air and Darkness, 2019 has saved its best for (borderline)...

Review: The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's the first time I've finished reading an entire series that Holly Black wrote - which, let's be honest, isn't much of an endorsement, since she's just one of those authors that I've historically had a ridiculously hard time getting into. Probably because she's very similar in style to my own writing, but then explain why I like Cassandra Clare's books so much? Probably because let's be honest, Clare writes far more likable...

Review: Flash: Green Arrow's Perfect Shot

Flash: Green Arrow's Perfect Shot by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There was already one trilogy of kid-friendly novelettes that Barry Lyga wrote for The Flash, and now he's finally getting to play crossover just in time for the CW's own Crisis on Infinite Earths adaptation - even if it is far more inspired by Crisis on Earth-X instead. Though still in a pretty distinct 'verse from the CW shows - which are humorously referred to as the "TV-world," short for "transmultiversal" if I...

Review: Jackpot

Jackpot by Nic Stone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Third time's for sure a charm for Nic Stone, who now proves herself once again as one of the most experimental and talented writers in all of YA. She started off harrowing with Dear Martin, gave us a seriously sticky exploration of sexuality in Odd One Out, and now, class and privilege and romance intersect in Jackpot, a gripping, emotional, and often funny sort of mystery. In addition to some little touches of fantasy when Stone writes...

Review: Call Down the Hawk

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not the biggest fan of The Raven Cycle - especially 'cause Stiefvater totally sank all my ships - but you know what? I went ahead to read this, if only to see where she takes Ronan next.

(Just no more problematic lines for the guy, mmkay, Maggie?)

In a lot of ways, it feels like The Raven Cycle never ended, and it's about the most perfectly mixed bag you could get. On the one hand, Ronan is our main protagonist by far for sure,...

Review: Exile from Eden: Or, After the Hole

Exile from Eden: Or, After the Hole by Andrew Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"That's why all boys go away: to chase endlessness."

Ahhh, the long-awaited sequel to Grasshopper Jungle, aka my favorite Andrew Smith novel - even if it's overly reliant on the Cheating Bisexual trope and is a go-to example of how much Smith is, by his own admission, not good at writing women. Then again, Shaun David Hutchinson loves the shit out of it, which I'm sure most of YA Twitter would tear him apart for. Lol.

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Review: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads lists this latest installment in the Rick Riordan Presents lineup as the first of a series, but it could also work pretty well as a standalone piece. Which might explain why there's no "coming soon" at the end of the book listing the title of the next installment. But Kwame Mbalia gives us an excellent debut in Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, a sprawling and mind-bending tour through a world...

Review: Supernova

Supernova by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The final novel of Marissa Meyer's second series is as long as Renegades was, roughly. But it builds amazingly on the cliffhanger ending of Archenemies, ramping up all the dramatic irony of Nova and Adrian's secret-laden relationship for all it's worth. Ultimately those secrets come out, but then more secrets totally subvert those secrets, a true pileup of reveals that makes this the most unpredictable book Marissa Meyer has ever written to...

Review: The Toll

The Toll by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shusterman took almost two years to bring us the follow-up to Thunderhead and conclusion to Arc of a Scythe, and seeing this 600-page brick grace the shelves at my work and my library, that's no surprise. Bringing one of his finest stories full circle, Shusterman begins nearly around the time of the Great Resonance that signaled the disappearance of the Thunderhead from the world after Scythe Goddard lost the election, then threw his little snit fit and wiped out the vast ma...