Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

Alysa’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Deanna is a spreadsheet master 🙂

Hi there, I'm Alysa from NYC!

This will be my fourth Tower Teams, I think, and I've been doing group NBRC challenges for about 5 years overall, though I'm a lot less active than I used to be, and my reading amounts have gone down. Stupid Real Life, lol.

I've been on teams with a couple of you before but not many. Nice to see you again, or meet you for the first time!

Shelf: tower-x-2023

Lexi wrote: "Alysa, I listened to almost all of it as an audio for my reread and thought it really did not work as an audio. I much prefer the book."

Yeah, I'm glad I only listened to a couple of chapters. Hard to know if I'd have liked the audio more if I'd started with it, but I'm guessing not. Sometimes I will start a book in audio and dislike it so much that I'll switch and restart the book entirely! I don't think I'd have done that here, as it wasn't quite that bad. Just... some odd choices in delivery, I guess.


Cat wrote: "I'd've preferred this book way more without the massive love story being a thing"

I know, right? But it seems to be Klune's thing to genremash romance with dystopia/post-apocalypse/fantasy/magical realism or whatnot, so if we pick up yet another one of his books (this is my third), we get what we get and we don't get upset, LOL.

Day 3 Chapters 17 - End

1.How do you feel about the manager’s decision for Wallace at the end of the book? Does it change how you see the overall character arc for Wallace?

I saw it coming, and hoped I was wrong, because I think it kind of cheapens the arc. Everybody dies; Wallace isn't special. Though I did appreciate the "Pablo" joke quite a bit.
That said, since this book is a romance it gets more leeway on the Happily-Ever-After aspect, and since Wallace got to stay, at least it was balanced by Nelson and the dog finally departing.

2. We seem to mention that overall message of this book more than some others. Do you think a book like this needs to have a message?

Y…es? I mean, a book like this is fundamentally message-y, so it makes sense that it's so explicit, but it does get repetitive.

3. Desdemona is shown more sympathetically in this part. How does this compare to her portrayal earlier? Do you think Wallace made the right choice with how to address Nancy?

Desdemona seems a little bit defeated, though I'm not sure it feels organic to her character arc, such as it is. I'd preferred her to remain a caricature than to be given an entire personality makeover, so at least in this part she's allowed to be somewhere in between.
I like how Wallace helped engineer a decent outcome for the Nancy situation, and having Wallace and Hugo play directly off of Desdemona's approach to Nancy was a big part of that -- even though, as Cat pointed out, they basically used Desdemona and then packed her off.

4. We learn more about what the manager does and does not know. How this affect your view of what he does? Why do you think the choice of a deer and stag were made for his form?

The Manager not actually knowing what lies beyond the door makes total sense, and helps explain why the bratty-child form he takes when talking to the MCs is so appropriate: he is insecure and hates not knowing something. The stag thing was therefore a little odd, given the animal's traditional symbolism related to spiritual purity and maturity, though it did make for some nice imagery.

Bonus: How does the sense of place effect this book? Most seems to be outside time or place but with references to real places (Seattle, London).

It just seemed like an idealized, generic small-town America. It does remind me of how Klune used a fictional but USA/UK-inspired location in The House in the Cerulean Sea, but the unknown city in that book worked a bit better for me than the locations in this one, probably because of its more fantastical nature. Or maybe because Cerulean Sea was simply a better book overall.

Gah, it took me until yesterday to finish this, because I waited for a library audiobook in order to listen to a few chapters rather than reading. I initially thought I had an eARC of this book, but it turns out that it was a NetGalley audiobook to which I lost access when I changed out some of my devices last year. *facepalm* Needed to listen at least for a bit, so I can have an opinion for my NetGalley review! Weird experience. Voices do not sound like how I imagined the characters, except maybe Wallace and Mei.


Day 2 Chapters 10 - 16

5. We are seeing different ways that death can be experienced, the dead and how they deal with that change, Mei and Hugo and also the "outside" players of Nancy and Desdemona. Why do you think Desdemona, and her exploitation of the grieving or credulous was included?

I found her mildly entertaining in a wow-what-a-jerk kind of way, like funny charlatan characters can sometimes be, but she is not *entirely* a charlatan, if she is at least somewhat detecting or suspecting the dead at the tea shop, and this makes her exploitation of grief even worse. Her OTT delivery is a lot, though and rubs me as lazy and maybe mildly sexist writing. I have been wondering whether she’ll be back later in the book, to take more punishment from Wallace.

6. We see Wallace get to grips with "unexpecting" and being able to interact with physical items (reportedly) super quick. Do you think this is intended to give a deeper insight into Wallace? And if so, what?

It seemed way too convenient to me, and I hadn’t thought about it as a way to add deeper insight into Wallace. Hmmm, I still think it’s just a convenience either way.

7. Hugo is amazeballs at guessing tea for dead people. What tea flavours do you think you would have? as an aside, Hugo must suffer from being this studly handsome creature that all sorts of weirdos fall into insta-lust with inability to take no for an answer. Does this sex-god bit of Hugo work for you? what is it adding to the story?

I drink a lot of black chai blends, Darjeeling, versions of English Breakfast both basic and pretentious, and occasionally red rooibos or hibiscus if it’s not a good time for caffeine but I need something hot. Depending on how the rest of my life goes and what new emotional associations I form, I suspect Hugo would give me some Darjeeling.
Other people’s reactions to Hugo’s attractiveness seem to me to be purely Klune’s shorthand for underlining how hot Hugo is, like when old ladies at weddings make inappropriate comments about the best man, or whatever, and if he is gay it’s often joked that that is “such a waste,” and this is all played for humor. Meanwhile, this behavior can make the object pretty damn uncomfortable. It is a bit troubling if Klune just wants to depict how hot Hugo is, without realizing that he (Klune) is actually torturing the character.

8. Alan arrives and manages to wreak all sorts of havoc as he deals with his trauma. Do you find his reaction to Harvey understandable or a plot-device stretching credibility?

Alan is an irritating plot device, in general. I didn’t mind him at first, and felt pretty bad for him, but he wore out his welcome after Harvey arrived.


Finished book but I will come back later and answer Day 3. Gotta got to a meeting.

Day 1 Chapters 1-9

1. What an introduction! Wallace Price is quite a piece of work. He is definitely setting up as a redemption arc. What about the other characters? Do you have a favorite?

Wallace seems more or less irredeemable at the beginning; author Klune sure set himself up for a big job ahead! I think Wallace is my favorite character so far because he's just so unlikely! Otherwise, I'm enjoying Nelson for being a feisty old man, and Hugo because tea. I'm a sucker for good tea and tea-lovers.

2. I have not read a lot of books about the afterlife. But this is certainly a gentle view. A private reaper, a quaint tea shop and time to transition from one state of being to another. Have you read other inventive takes on the afterlife? What is your favorite story (so far)?

I've read a fair few, but I don't have a favorite. The most recent read that comes to mind is The Keeper of Night., which was largely based on Japanese mythology. Overall, I think I tend to enjoy UF death & afterlife stories more than I like expansive High Fantasy versions because the former tend to be just good fun, while the latter tend to veer much farther into "deep" explanations of theology and heaven and whatnot, and as an atheist I get annoyed when the fantasy adventure I thought I was reading suddenly turns into, like, surprise!Christian propaganda. I'm not saying that's always what happens, or that I automatically dislike anything with Christian themes (the Narnia books, for example, are famous for this). I just don't like the bait-and-switch, or the feeling that a story has morphed into what feels like schlocky religious wish-fulfillment. And this has happened to me multiple times.

3. I am a little confused about the humanity of Mei and Hugo. The hook and chain connecting Wallace and Hugo. Mei able to transport herself and Wallace across great distances (and time, I guess). Are you questioning their explanations or accepting this as part of the universe the author has created?

So far I'm just going with it and not thinking too much. Mei having always been able to see ghosts makes her role seem organic, but the rest is kind of odd. I don't get the hook and chain thing yet.

4. The chemistry between Hugo and Wallace was a little surprising to me. Where do you see the relationship between Hugo and Wallace going?

Having read Klune's previous "breakthrough book" The House by the Cerulean Sea and feeling like the romance was kind of shoehorned in there, I think the same thing is going to happen here. In fact, I think romance and/or sexuality is a feature of most if not all of Klune's books, whether it fits the narrative or not. Which is fine, obviously! Most readers will just know that, going in. It's part of the attraction, just as romance in fiction is an attraction more broadly. This is not exactly Lit Fic, for all it may aspire to be. So it doesn't matter if the romance feels organic, as long as it's there!

Ooh I need to read this! Never read my eARC *shame*
I will try to join but no promises on keeping up with the timeline...

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley

From the author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Kingdoms, an epic Cold War novel set in a mysterious town in Soviet Russia.

In 1963, in a Siberian gulag, former nuclear specialist Valery Kolkhanov has mastered what it takes to survive: the right connections to the guards for access to food and cigarettes, the right pair of warm boots to avoid frostbite, and the right attitude toward the small pleasures of life so he won’t go insane. But on one ordinary day, all that changes: Valery’s university mentor steps in and sweeps Valery from the frozen prison camp to a mysterious unnamed town that houses a set of nuclear reactors and is surrounded by a forest so damaged it looks like the trees have rusted from within.

In City 40, Valery is Dr. Kolkhanov once more, and he’s expected to serve out his prison term studying the effect of radiation on local animals. But as Valery begins his work, he is struck by the questions his research raises: why is there so much radiation in this area? What, exactly, is being hidden from the thousands who live in the town? And if he keeps looking for answers, will he live to serve out his sentence?

Based on real events in a surreal Soviet city, and told with bestselling author Natasha Pulley’s inimitable style, The Half Life of Valery K is a sweeping new adventure for readers of Stuart Turton and Sarah Gailey.

Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy

Orphan Black meets Margaret Atwood in this twisty supernatural thriller about female power and the bonds of sisterhood

Josephine Morrow is Girl One, the first of nine “Miracle Babies” conceived without male DNA, raised on an experimental commune known as the Homestead. When a suspicious fire destroys the commune and claims the lives of two of the Homesteaders, the remaining Girls and their Mothers scatter across the United States and lose touch.

Years later, Margaret Morrow goes missing, and Josie sets off on a desperate road trip, tracking down her estranged sisters who seem to hold the keys to her mother’s disappearance. Tracing the clues Margaret left behind, Josie joins forces with the other Girls, facing down those who seek to eradicate their very existence while uncovering secrets about their origins and unlocking devastating abilities they never knew they had.

Thanks everybody, and especially Captains of course!
I liked this Wheel a lot. 🙂

Alysa wrote: "Finished all my stuff but haven't been online! Will update everything in a little bit!"

Okay, my books and spreadsheet entries should all be updated now!

Finished all my stuff but haven't been online! Will update everything in a little bit!

✿~Danielle~✿ wrote: "Finished Until Willow"

When I saw that, my hindbrain read :
Danielle is finished reading until after Willow -- as in, the next episode of the show.
LOL

Finished Dying for a Living last night. Spreadsheet is updated!

Finished The Echo Wife! Was not expecting that to be so good!
Going to update spreadsheet now.

And then… starting a “zombie” book. :)

Aha, the spreadsheet has our Round 5 info already!
Joy! 😃

Finished When the Reckoning Comes.
Not bad, but disappointing.

Updating Spreadsheet now!
I will finish The Echo Wife for this Round. I hope we get our final round assignment soon so I can plan my next reads... 🙂

Finished Girl in the Walls! Spreadsheet updated.
Well THAT was quite an unusual book. In a good way, IMO! l enjoyed it.

♞ Pat wrote: "I lied. I couldn't put it down and read until well past bedtime, but it's done. "

LOL, me too with the not going to bed when I should. So tired, but reading faster so far, this week :)

Finished The Bone Spindle yesterday. Updating spreadsheet now.

My daughter and I are both staying home sick today. Mostly for her, the poor thing. Maybe we will get some good reading in. I have been reading Escaping Ordinary aloud to her, because apparently one is never too old to have one’s mom do this, especially if that is how one started a series 🙂. It’s not on the spreadsheet yet because I don’t know if we will finish this week or next, but it will definitely make it in as an extra Wheel book!