Ricky Pine's Blog, page 66

Review: The Disasters

The Disasters by M.K. England
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This ARC, I picked it up because A) I recognized M.K. England's name from the Pitch Wars mentors list; B) because of the promise of The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy; and C) the promise of queer content.

Those promises, England meets them and then some.

By far, this is one of the most diverse novels I've ever read. Not only because it comes from the mind of an enby author, but also because of the very inclusive cast of chara...

Review: The Wicked King

The Wicked King by Holly Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another ARC I've found at work, and another review to make...and this time, I think I've finally been convinced to step onto the Holly Black Hype Train, which means I'll be catching up on her bibliography that I've missed up to now. And probably enjoying some of her other books more, because it's taken me such a long time to finally find one that I liked, but it's also been a long enough time since I read those other books of hers that...

Review: Rabbit & Robot

Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a bit since I read an Andrew Smith novel, and after picking up this ARC at work (luckily a second one came; someone else took the first one before I could), I'm pretty glad I took another chance on his latest.

The story here is more cohesive than The Alex Crow and the Marbury Lens duology, and it feels more meta-humorous than Grasshopper Jungle. That same meta-humor might get the book in trouble with certain online types becaus...

Review: A Blade So Black

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"We can change the whole world
Gonna take it over, gonna start it over
Don't you know what we could be?
A new beginning, fight until we're winning
Tell me that you're in it
Don't you wanna be a superhero?"
-Simon Curtis

"Heroes always get remembered, but you know legends never die!"
-Panic! at the Disco, "The Emperor's New Clothes"

The last ARC I traded for online in August, finally reviewing now, and I'm gonna call this one a case of saving...

Review: The Point

The Point by John Dixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It kinda surprised me last month when I saw, on the bookstore shelves, a new book by John Dixon. His first in, what, three years? But while it's not a confirmed follow-up to Phoenix Island or Devil's Pocket, it's a for-sure welcome addition to the man's bibliography. Continuing in Dixon's classic style, here we get into a pretty deadly YA military-sci-fi thriller. Though my workplace puts this book on the adult shelves - not without reason, gi...

Review: For a Muse of Fire

For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to the fourth in my series of reviews of ARCs for which I traded this August, and for sure one of the best, brightest, and most unique new books of the year! Heidi Heilig impressed me a great deal with her first duology, The Girl from Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time. Now, she starts a new trilogy in For a Muse of Fire, another stellar fantasy in Heilig's signature style. It's dark and deadly, very lavish, highly critical...

Review: Bruja Born

Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this latest book of the Brooklyn Brujas is not only well worth the slightly longer-than-expected wait (a year and a half, or more, since Labyrinth Lost), but a new easy candidate for the best book yet by Zoraida Córdova. It's a different kind of personal for Lula Mortiz, the second sister in the family, who is the protagonist of this one (don't worry, Alex still plays a very significant role.) Lula, though, she's scarred both phy...

Review: Nyxia Unleashed

Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scott Reintgen's first book, I gave it a 3.5 and rounded it down to a three at the time last year. In hindsight, though, I'd round it up to a 4. This book, though, it earns an easy 4 right from the get-go. While the first Nyxia novel was just a little too fast-paced at the wrong times, this book takes things a little more slowly to allow for more world-building, as we're now on the native planet of the Adamites - or, as they call the...

Review: Catwoman: Soulstealer

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Third time is...ehh...not so much the charm for DC Icons, a series I was eagerly awaiting when it was first announced but have now found myself feeling increasingly less excited for. The first book, Leigh Bardugo's Wonder Woman: Warbringer, was a well-deserved hit and a half. Marie Lu's Batman: Nightwalker wasn't half bad, but failed to live up to the usual Marie Lu gold standard for me. And as for what comes after this one, I'm...

Review: Odd One Out

Odd One Out by Nic Stone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Love is hard, sex is easy."
-Arcade Fire, "Signs of Life"

Welcome to the third in my series of ARC reviews for books I received on Twitter's very own #arcsfortrade this August 2018. We're at the halfway point now, surrounded by two books on either side of Nic Stone's latest: the already-read Girls of Paper and Fire and Light Years on one side, and my forthcoming reads For a Muse of Fire and A Blade So Black on the other.

And I can tell you that...