In a contemplative and suspenseful novel of speculative fiction, Sarah Gailey has further burnished their reputation as a writer who deals deftly withIn a contemplative and suspenseful novel of speculative fiction, Sarah Gailey has further burnished their reputation as a writer who deals deftly with moral ambiguities.
Dr. Evelyn Caldwell is a woman hardened by her years of abuse and neglect as a child, and her marriage to Nathan Caldwell, a man who is both needy and jealous of Evelyn's research prowess. Evelyn is studying cloning. Cloning of humans. When Nathan steals her research, it isn't to try to out publish her, it is, shockingly, to try to create a better Evelyn, who is docile, obedient, and more submissive to him. Martine is everything that Nathan thinks he wants, including, shockingly, fertile. He leaves Evelyn to marry Martine and though it smarts, Evelyn is trying to recover when she receives an unexpected phone call from the quite pregnant Martine begging for her help. Nathan is dead. He tried to kill her and she defended herself, says Martine. The story of what Evelyn and the Echo Wife do is an interesting one, indeed.
Another wonderful novel from Sarah Gailey. They have a gift for writing complex female characters who aren't necessarily always likable but who are always fascinating. Full of quiet suspense and twisty turns, this novel is a short, diverting read.
The audiobook, narrated by Xe Sands, captures the novel's atmosphere beautifully.
I received a digital and paper review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
I was a beta reader for this novel, which I'm sure will be very well-received. Inspired by the Dashiell Hammett novel "The Thin Man" and film of the sI was a beta reader for this novel, which I'm sure will be very well-received. Inspired by the Dashiell Hammett novel "The Thin Man" and film of the same title, this is a fun suspense novel set on an interplanetary cruise vessel. It has plenty of diversion and funny elements to it, making it a very enjoyable murder mystery.
Unlike mean-spirited people who hide behind private profiles and then one star a book they either haven't read or haven't read the finished version of, I will not assign a rating until closer to the release date....more
When we last saw Sarah Zellaby in Imaginary Numbers, (InCryptid #9), she had been kidnapped, and forced into what we can only hope was her final instaWhen we last saw Sarah Zellaby in Imaginary Numbers, (InCryptid #9), she had been kidnapped, and forced into what we can only hope was her final instar as a parasitic wasp, and was cranking out the math that could break our world, but trying her darndest not to break it. Antimony Price, her newly adopted brother James Smith, and her cousin Artie Harrington (who is the love of Sarah's life) were trying to save her. And they did! Great job... sort of. There was that part that they all ended up stranded in another dimension, along with the entire campus of Iowa State University, some students, some baby cuckoos (okay, one is thirteen and on the murderous cusp), a seemingly "good" cuckoo named Mark, and a whole bunch of cuckoos whose brains blew out and who are now shambling husks (do NOT call them zombies) wandering under an orange sky with flying centipedes and... um... Okay, some things went a bit wrong. Did I mention that since Sarah thought she was going to die anyway that she erased herself from the brains/hard drives of Annie, James, and Artie because she needed the space? Sarah remembers them, of course, but who remembers the Calculating Priestess of the Price family? Price family members with no recollection of Sarah being a good cuckoo will require some deft management if she wants to stay alive and get her beloved Price family back home.
Let me say at the outset that any book that gives me math and spiders as integral to solving interdimensional problems is probably going to win my heart. Of course, using math to solve big problems isn't a hard sell. Spiders, though... But just wait until you meet Greg. You'll love him. Promise. All in all, this is another fun InCryptid outing. And yes, reader, there are Aeslin mice on hand to document it all.
I'll report back about the audiobook when it becomes available.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
The latest novel by Susan Meissner, author of As Bright as Heaven, one of my favorite books of 2018, takes us to 1906 San Francisco, the year of the gThe latest novel by Susan Meissner, author of As Bright as Heaven, one of my favorite books of 2018, takes us to 1906 San Francisco, the year of the great earthquake. Meissner likes to weave her tales around major events (like the influenza pandemic of 1918 in Philadelphia in As Bright as Heaven). In this novel, she follows Sophie Whelan, an Irish immigrant who has been living in New York City. Sophie has answered an advertisement posted by Martin Hocking, a man looking for a wife and mother for his five-year-old daughter Kat. She corresponds with Martin and ends up moving to San Francisco and marrying the strange and strikingly handsome man. Sophie quickly becomes a loving mother to poor little Kat, a child who believes her mother died because of her, and who barely speaks when Sophie comes into her life. Her relationship with Martin, however, is one that never progresses. Why would a handsome man like Martin Hocking look for a mail-order bride? What is his job and why is he gone so much of the time? Who is Martin Hocking, really? When a pregnant woman named Belinda Bigelow shows up on Sophie's doorstep in the swanky Russian Hill district of San Francisco, looking for Martin and saying her husband James has disappeared after taking a job with him, Sophie and Kat's world begins to unravel. And so does Belinda's. Just as the three of them make plans to leave San Francisco, the earthquake of 1906 and Martin Hocking change the course of their lives.
This book had far more of an element of mystery and suspense to it than other Meissner novels I've read. The story works well and the twists and turns keep going to the end of the novel. The relationship between Sophie, Kat, Belinda, her little daughter Sarah, and... another woman I shall not name for fear of spoilers... form such a unique and perfect found family. Mothers, daughters, and found sisters have always been integral to Meissner's stories and so it is here. The mystery of Martin Hocking, and of Sophie herself, is a pleasure to read.
The audiobook is nicely narrated in a soft brogue by Alana Kerr Collins, and with Jason Culp voicing a US Marshall.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukymatathil offers up a luminous series of essays on nature as a sort of contemplative memoir in "World of Wonders." ThisAward-winning poet Aimee Nezhukymatathil offers up a luminous series of essays on nature as a sort of contemplative memoir in "World of Wonders." This book was written largely during an academic residency at Grisham House in Oxford, Mississippi (for more on the Grisham writers program, check out Grisham Writers in Residence. Since 2014 Nezhukumatathil has been a full professor of English at Ole Miss, one of the youngest poets ever to achieve that rank.
I have read this beautiful book a little at a time over the past few months, enjoying each of its passages as a reminder of how much beauty there is in an often difficult world in these times. One needs to look, of course. There is also the reminder of how much people of color have to patiently endure. The essay that has stuck with me most is that on the luminous and strange axolotls: "If a white girl tries to tell you what your brown skin can and cannot wear for makeup, just remember the smile of an axolotl. The best thing you can do in that moment is to just smile and smile, even if your smile is thin." Or "An axolotl can help you smile as an adult even if someone on your tenure committee puts his palms together as if in prayer every time he see you off-campus, and does a quick, short bow, and calls out, Namaste! even though you've told him several times already that you actually attend a Methodist church. But it's as if he doesn't hear you or he does and doesn't care, chuckling to himself as she shuffles across the icy parking lot, hands jammed into his pockets. Wide and thin, the axolotl's smile..." From the fairly horrifying laboratory research on axolotls (which involves repeated amputations, spinal cord severing, and other egregious injuries to study their regenerative powers) to the fact that they no longer exist in the wild in their home territory of Mexico, this essay just gutted me. Mind you, there are happy moments in this group of essays, as in "Superb Bird of Paradise," when both sides of Nezhukumatathil's Fillipino and Indian family and her husband's Kansan family come together at their wedding and dance the macarena in spite of its having been on her banned playlist (long story) for the DJ at the reception and how her now tween and teenage sons love to dance.
I am happy to mention that in every single official photo of Aimee that I see, she's wearing red lipstick. I've spent time looking at the faculty in her department, trying to guess which one should be asking "AITA?" I hope her promotion and tenure committee colleague is appropriately ashamed of himself but given the ways of the world, I bet he still thinks he's being clever.
World of Wonders is beautifully illustrated by Fumi Mini Nakamura.
The audiobook is read by the author herself, which is always a treat. You can also follow her YouTube channel for readings and interviews.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I just took my time with it and then bought three copies, including audio, because I loved it so....more
There's nothing like a pandemic to make one long for travel. Armchair traveling is one welcome solution and Japan: Connecting You to Wonderlands proviThere's nothing like a pandemic to make one long for travel. Armchair traveling is one welcome solution and Japan: Connecting You to Wonderlands provides beautiful photos and simple recommendations for traveling in the regions and prefectures of Japan. From the hydrangeas of Kanagawa to the purple misohagi (loosestrife) of Lake Hibara in Fukushima Prefecture, from the cranes of Kushiro, on Hokkaido, or the geese of Izunuma in Miyagi, Sato captures the lush beauty of the Japanese countryside. This slender (98 pages) volume works best as a picture book that tempts the prospective traveler.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Annie Oakley, born Phoebe Ann Mosey, is an American icon. A sharpshooter who toured the US and Europe along with her husband Frank Butler in Buffalo BAnnie Oakley, born Phoebe Ann Mosey, is an American icon. A sharpshooter who toured the US and Europe along with her husband Frank Butler in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, Annie's early life was marred with physical abuse and neglect and what may have been child sexual abuse when she was "bound out" to work for families in her community at the age of nine. Whatever happened to her affected her for the rest of her life, and likely informed her thoughts that all women should be armed and know how to defend themselves against these "wolves" with a gun. In some ways, Oakley was the inception of a sort of gun culture among women. Nowadays we might be more interested in the "me, too" aspects of Annie's life, and how abuses that girls and women endured were minimized and denied. Her fascinating life is in part the subject of this novel, but it is a life seen, processed, endlessly reviewed by Ruth McClintock, a historian obsessed with Oakley's life. Ruth lost her chance at a doctorate, at a "serious" academic life and appointment, as a result of her obsession. When she learns of letters purportedly written to an Austrian analyst by Oakley in the early 1900's, she is stunned to find them written in Oakley's handwriting and that they seem to detail events surrounding a train accident in 1901 that spelled financial disaster for her traveling show, and which spurred thoughts of revisiting the past in order to change the future. Ruth is hooked, in no small part because of her desperate guilt over the suicide of her younger sister Kennidy, who was also a victim of sexual abuse.
This sprawling and often fascinating novel looks at causality, changing the past, the future, the evolving state of women's rights, the culture of silence surrounding child physical and sexual abuse, and child neglect. Romano-Lax manages to pull off this complex switching between past and present, and even multiple concurrent timelines in the past, in spite of little detail about how the time travel actually works, beyond seeming to begin with brain trauma. Ruth and Annie fragment themselves by stepping back and forth between past and present, trying to find justice for themselves or their loved ones, seeking vengeance against the wolves that prey on young people.
This novel- complex, layered, and thought-provoking- is not quite historical fiction and not quite science fiction. It's a genre-bending memorable read.
The audiobook is affectingly narrated by Elizabeth Wiley.
CW: child abuse, child sexual abuse, threats of violence, physical violence, suicide
I received a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
We Begin at the End is the story of two people, 13-year-old Duchess and an aging police officer who goes by Walk. Duchess and Walk live in (fictional)We Begin at the End is the story of two people, 13-year-old Duchess and an aging police officer who goes by Walk. Duchess and Walk live in (fictional) Cape Haven, California. Duchess's mother Star is a woman broken by life and her battle with addiction. Duchess is left to parent her brother Robin, and Walk tries to look out for Star, Duchess, and Robin. It isn't going well at the start, as once again, Star has OD'd and is rescued from the brink of death. In this small town, everyone knows about Duchess's private life. In the meantime, Walk is preparing for the return of his best friend from his youth, Vincent King, a man he helped send to prison at age fifteen for manslaughter in the death of Star's baby sister, Sissy. Once in prison, Vincent was implicated in the death of another prisoner and sentenced to an additional twenty years. Walk is still consumed with guilt over the role he played in his friend's imprisonment, though it was justice for Sissy. Star cannot quite deal with Vincent's imminent return, for complex reasons the reader will learn over the course of the book. Star, Duchess, Robin, and Walk are linked to Vincent in complex ways and his return to the town sets up a series of tragic events.
This novel is a poignant murder mystery. Duchess, in particular, lives through so much heartbreak. She is incredibly resilient and I found her behavior, based on my years in the child welfare world, to be authentic. You keep reading because you have to know who did what, but everything about the lives it recounts is just heartbreaking. Don't be deterred by the sadness. This is such a good book.
The audiobook is warmly narrated by George Newburn, whose voice I recognized from the much-loved Boy's Life by Robert McCammon.
CW: addiction, murder, PTSD
I received a digital audio and paper review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Cadie Kessler is an entomologist working for the Forestry Department in the state of New Hampshire. She leads a fairly lonely life, focused o3.5 Stars
Cadie Kessler is an entomologist working for the Forestry Department in the state of New Hampshire. She leads a fairly lonely life, focused on her research into how an invasive beetle species' damage to trees makes the forest more susceptible to wildfires. The trees start to die and their dead wood becomes kindling. As she struggles to justify her collection of data from a federal location she shouldn't be using, she receives a message from her childhood friend, Daniela Garcia, telling her she needs to come home because a body has been found. And just like that, the darkest secret of Cadie's life, rears its ugly head for the first time since childhood. A novel that is both a murder mystery and set in my own state of New Hampshire was sure to be a lure for me.
Waiting for the Night Song embodies so many things that I believe in, from the importance of science to the potentially devastating and complex environmental damage of climate change to the importance of having an immigration policy for Dreamers and their families who have lived here for decades. And so perhaps it's odd that I rate the novel at only 3.5 Stars. While I was interested in some of the science-y basis of the novel and Cadie's passion for her work, I found the lack of nuance in the story problematic. Sometimes the climate and immigration issues felt so heavy-handed. I'm not sure that people with differing views would even keep reading and perhaps, slowly, have the change of heart that one hopes literature can bring about. The potentially exploitative situation the Garcias are in is one that should lead the reader to feel the precariousness of any family in this situation. Had their situation been developed a bit more subtly, I think the subplot would have been more effective. Other than that grievance, the murder mystery itself played out nicely, with the reader slowly beginning to grasp what Cadie fails to see, as she still leaves with her child's eye view of fateful events. I look forward to reading more of Carrick Dalton's work in the future.
I also had the occasion to listen to the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Barrie Kreinik.
I received an advance review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
The latest entry in the Rick Riordan Presents series, Sarwat Chadda's City of the Plague God introduces us to Sikander Aziz, younger son of Iraqi refuThe latest entry in the Rick Riordan Presents series, Sarwat Chadda's City of the Plague God introduces us to Sikander Aziz, younger son of Iraqi refugee parents, and his kind-of-friend Belet, adopted daughter of the goddess Ishtar. Sikander, whose parents run a popular Arabic/Mediterranean deli, misses his older brother Mo, who recently passed away. Sik is only thirteen but is a very responsible young man, who helps his parents run their business in lower Manhattan. Imagine his shock when the Mesopotamian god Nergal shows up with some demons (one of which speaks entirely in rhyming couplets) claiming that Sik has something that his brother Mo stole! Saved by the feisty Belet, the adopted daughter of Ishtar, goddess of love and war, Sik embarks, rather unwillingly, on an adventure to save Manhattan, his parents, and his friends, from Nergal the Plague God, whose plague dogs run rampant in the city Sik loves.
Chadda has written a well-paced and truly fascinating tale using Gilgamesh and the gods and goddesses of Mesopotamian mythology. He also manages to reframe aspects of Arabic and Islamic culture in ways that are instructive for teaching tolerance and understanding. (In particular, I loved his use of common Islamic terms that are all too often misused or misconstrued, such as jihad, a righteous struggle that is often personal.) Chadda touches on the prejudice and bullying that Sik has had to put up with, though Sik is rather inured to it at this point. But this story makes young readers identify strongly with Sikander, his love of family and his feelings of loss for his brother. Belet is also a fabulous, fearless character. I hope that we will see more novels from Chadda in this world. This novel, begun before the start of the pandemic, encourages young people to be strong in the face of our present adversity.
The audiobook, narrated by Vikas Adam, was delightful.
I received an advance review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
Aussie author Jane Harper's fourth novel is a standalone mystery set in the fictional village of Evelyn Bay, Tasmania. The tightly-knit community was Aussie author Jane Harper's fourth novel is a standalone mystery set in the fictional village of Evelyn Bay, Tasmania. The tightly-knit community was home to a tragedy over a decade before, when three young people, Finn, Toby, and Gabby died the day of a terrible storm. (While Finn and Toby drowned at sea, Gabby's death is a mystery, as her body was never found.) When Kieran Elliot returns to Evelyn Bay with his partner Mia and their baby Audrey, his primary purpose is to help his mother Verity move his father Brian to a home for those with dementia. But he is also facing a painful past in this small town, where everyone believes that his brother Finn and friend Toby died looking for him when he became stranded in dangerous caves along the Evelyn Bay shore as a high tide fatefully coincided with a historic storm. More than a few people including, he believes, his parents blame Kieran for what happened that day since the caves were known to be a dangerous place when the tide comes in. Coming home represents facing these past traumas for Kieran but also dredges up trauma for the locals, as well. Within a day of Kieran and Mia's arrival, Bronte, a young woman working at a local diner, is found drowned on the beach, shocking the Evelyn Bay residents and stirring up painful memories of Gabby's disappearance twelve years before.
This is an interesting murder mystery, and Harper does an excellent job of building a novel set in an insular community in which many residents cherish their views about their local young men being "great blokes." The investigation into Bronte's death (ruled a murder, of course) stirs up not too deeply buried feelings of guilt, anger, jealousy, and the lingering grief of the losses from twelve years before. Kieran is a character the reader empathizes with from early on, and his reasons for leaving Tasmania for a life with Mia in Sydney are abundantly clear. Locals seem bent on deflecting blame for Bronte's death onto tourists, but everyone is still pinning Finn and Toby's accidental deaths on then-teenage Kieran. They're all, not surprisingly, in the wrong. With her confident storytelling skills, Harper's The Survivors kept me guessing!
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Steven Shanahan with a lovely Aussie accent. It was a fine production of a book that's been on bestseller lists Down Under, since its release....more
A few years ago I read and reviewed The Hazel Wood and found that I was so disappointed in the underpinning of the novel. Give me the Tales I saidA few years ago I read and reviewed The Hazel Wood and found that I was so disappointed in the underpinning of the novel. Give me the Tales I said. The Tales would make the story feel more grounded. After reading this collection of some of the darkest fairy tales one could read, filled with enough misogynistic behavior to make any sensible young woman a feminist, I can heartily say that THIS should be The Hazel Wood #0.5. While I understand why Albert wanted Alice's identity to remain obscure, the underpinnings of these stories make Alice's story even more compelling, rather than less so. Albert has created a tone not unlike that of the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, but with a modern, feminist twist. Death and harm are everywhere, even as characters, and sisters are having to save themselves. These tales were, in some respects, the best writing I've seen of Melissa Albert, and she's a very creative (if dark...) writer.
The audiobook, read by Rebecca Soler, is excellent. However, readers that enjoy increased speed (I'm guilty) may find that past about 1.5 x the stories lose their power....more
A return to the Kate Daniels world? Count me in! A novel featuring Kate's daughter Julie, count me in even moreso! A welcome diversion from transitionA return to the Kate Daniels world? Count me in! A novel featuring Kate's daughter Julie, count me in even moreso! A welcome diversion from transition of power drama!
Blood Heir is set about a decade after the end of the main Kate Daniels/Magic series that culminated with Magic Triumphs. Julie has left Atlanta to travel and train with Kate's Aunt Erra. Erra has founded New Shinar out west and Julie is now considered a princess of Shinar. She is still close to her younger brother Conlan, her grandfather Roland, and her Uncle Hugh, who is a source of much mirth in one scene, let me tell you. The novel opens, however, with Julie returning to Atlanta, thanks to a terrifying vision from one of the Witch Oracle members, Julie's friend Sienna (the Maiden Oracle), in which Kate is killed by an avatar named Moloch. Julie is determined to derail the chance of this vision becoming reality. To do so she has fought with Moloch at a terrible cost- he took one of her eyes and she in turn has taken one of his. But Moloch's eye, which she now has as her own (bright green) has completely reshaped Julie. And by this, I mean quite literally. She is strong, and beautiful and now looks like she is related to Kate and Erra. She still has sensate magic that makes her something of a human m-scanner, but she is possessed of other magic now and is a real force. She's a force showing up at the Order of Merciful Aid holding the Tower under the new name Aurelia Ryder. Her trip into Atlanta has seen her encounter some aggressive boudas led by one Ascanio Ferara, and a huge wolf with a very unusual magic signature, who goes by the name Darren Argent. What she's doing in Atlanta and why is a very interesting tale.
For any fan of the original Kate Daniels series, its first offshoot about Hugh d'Ambray (Blood and Iron, and some of the novellas (Andrea and Raphael, Jim and Dali, etc.), this novel is a no-brainer. But its inception makes it even more welcome- Ilona Andrews started writing it because an ICU nurse wrote to them and was looking for diversion, so they could get through the pandemic nightmare they were dealing with. The authors rose to the occasion in the best way. With their characteristic humor and deep dive into ancient and biblical mythology, I can't wait to see what's next for Julie. "Be careful what you wish for, Princess," leaves the future wide open for sequels. Silver and gold, anyone?...more
Melora Perseous is a young woman with a tragic past and dark secrets. Part of a historied family with links to Greek gods and goddesses, she dreads thMelora Perseous is a young woman with a tragic past and dark secrets. Part of a historied family with links to Greek gods and goddesses, she dreads the seven-year cycle called the Agon, a period during which the gods walk the earth for seven days as mortals. Hunted by descendants of ancient bloodlines, if the gods are killed (and quite a few have been), their slayer seizes their power and their immortality. But gods aren't the only ones at risk during the Agon. Entire bloodlines are at risk of being wiped out by gods, old and new, who are fearful of having their power wrested from them. Lore came back home one night at the end of the last Agon and found her parents and younger sisters brutally murdered. She's been on the run, so to speak, ever since. And the participants of the Agon seemed to leave her alone. But recently, the man who was like an adoptive father to her, Gil, passed away, and now she and her roommate, the ever chipper Miles, are fending for themselves, getting by on assets that Gil left them. Since it's been a while since anyone has come looking for Lore, she's surprised when the goddess Athena shows up grievously wounded on her doorstep, a short time after her long missing friend Castor shows up at her sparring match in an underground club. How long will it be before Wrath (Ares), Aristos Kadmou, the man she thinks killed her family, comes looking for her and something he believes is in her possession?
Set in a very different sort of New York City, thanks to the gods flooding and smashing things, Lore is an engaging YA dark fantasy from the author of the NY Times bestselling author Bracken. She confidently weaves a novel mythos out of some of the Greek legends. The novel has been called the Hunger Games meets Greek Mythology and, in some respects, that's not far off the mark. Some of the old gods are far wilier than one believes but also, perhaps more weary than their hunters think they are. I read this book in less than a day, curious to see if some of my guesses about characters and events were correct.
I've also had a chance to listen to some of the audiobook, narrated by Fryda Wolff, who captures the propulsive nature of the story in her voicing.
I received a paper advance review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Combining historical fiction and mysticism/magical realism, The Mermaid of Jeju is a polished debut by Sumi Hahn. Telling the story of Junja, an 18-yeCombining historical fiction and mysticism/magical realism, The Mermaid of Jeju is a polished debut by Sumi Hahn. Telling the story of Junja, an 18-year-old haenyeo who lives on the Korean island of Jeju, a region affected by alternating Japanese and American occupation and the growing divide among the Korean people at the end of World War II. Haenyeos are deep sea divers and Junja's family is associated with the sea. Curious about the mountainous regions of Jeju, Junja offers to run an errand for her mother to Hallasan, to trade abalone for a pig. There she meets a young man named Suwol and the axis of her life changes course. When she returns not long after to her village along the seashore she finds her mother dead and is confused by what has occurred. As the Japanese disappear and violence and arrests increase, Junja eventually leaves Jeju with Dr. Moon, her eventual husband. Following her sudden death in 2001, Dr. Moon is plagued with confusing dreams and returns to Jeju seeking answers about the fate of those he and Junja knew, including Suwol.
This is a beautiful novel of historical fiction capturing a dangerous period in Korean history in which many were caught on the wrong side of political ideologies and occupying forces. It's made me seek out more information about Jeju and order Lisa See's Island of Sea Women to read more historical fiction set on Jeju.
The audiobook, narrated by Cindy Kay and Raymond J. Lee was beautifully produced. An affecting story...
I received a digital audiobook of this novel from Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review....more
Beneath the Keep is a prequel to the Tearling series, focusing on the events that led to Kelsea Raleigh Glynn being removed from her mother ElyssBeneath the Keep is a prequel to the Tearling series, focusing on the events that led to Kelsea Raleigh Glynn being removed from her mother Elyssa's care, and raised in hiding in the Tearling. One major character in Kelsea's story is the enigmatic Mace, or Lazarus as some call him. In this novel we learn of the Mace's history, and his evolution from a boy named Christian, to an unbeatable prizefighter named Lazarus, to the moment he takes up the mace and becomes a member of the Queen's guard. We also learn about the Blue Horizon and William Tear's "better world" aspirations.
This novel took me a long time to get through- in fact, it took weeks, because it was so grueling. The underworld that Mace was raised in is cruel, brutal, filled with misogyny, pedophilia, and every vice one can think of. While his evolution as a character was a rewarding arc, the story that takes us on that arc was often difficult to read about. This one is only going to be for diehard Mace and Tearling fans, and for those not triggered by the many challenging issues shown in the Tearling society. While Mace actively fights against all these evils, Johansen spares no detail in showing us that Mace was raised in a society that uses those with little or no power in the vilest of ways.
The audiobook is beautifully read by Mandy Williams.
CW: heroin addiction, child abuse, child sexual abuse, rape, torture, murder, mass murder
I received a digital and paper review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
Author Tara Moss has served up a historical mystery set in post-World War II Australia. Her protagonist Billie Walker, a former war journalist whose wAuthor Tara Moss has served up a historical mystery set in post-World War II Australia. Her protagonist Billie Walker, a former war journalist whose war photographer husband Jack disappeared while reporting in German-occupied Europe. Billie gave up on looking for him to try to reach Sydney before her father died, but alas, it was too late. Now Billie has taken up her father's profession, private investigation, though most of her cases have been marital infidelity. When a reserved, foreign-sounding mother hires Billie to find her missing son, the last thing she and her war veteran assistant Sam expect is to be drawn into more Nazi-related wrongdoing.
This is an engaging installment in Moss's new series. From the grave limits posed by post-war rationing to its enlightened take on the abuses of the aborigines and its dark look at the legal migrant Italian "enemy aliens" interned in Australia (just as America interned Japanese-Americans) and Italian POW camps, the backdrop that Moss painted a detailed picture of Sydney in 1946. I know some criticize Moss's passion for detail, but it works well in a historical fiction novel. Some aspects of the plot, like chasing after killers, require a little bit of suspended belief, but overall, the story flies. Billie is a plucky and witty protagonist. There are hints of a potential suitor in Detective Inspector Hank Cooper, but I just can't get enough of Billie's intrepid mother, Baroness Ella.
The audiobook is narrated by Corinne Davies, with a lovely yet very easy to understand Aussie accent.
Please note this novel was released in Australia as Dead Man Switch.
I received a digital review copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
If you grew up during the early Masterpiece era, you probably remember the BBC production of James Herriot's novels in the "All Creatures Great and SmIf you grew up during the early Masterpiece era, you probably remember the BBC production of James Herriot's novels in the "All Creatures Great and Small" series, set in the Yorkshire Dales from the 1930s to the 1950s. They were delightful and pretty faithful to Herriot's books, which were novelizations of his (James Alfred Wight's) real-life experiences as a Yorkshire vet, along with his rather madcap partner, who he called Siegfried Farnon (Donald Sinclair, who was not always pleased with the way Siegried was characterized.) Writing as James Herriot, Wight had a gift for storytelling, and in addition to writing the books adapted for the BBC/masterpiece TV series, he wrote many popular dog and cat stories and quite a few children's books. I read, and loved, the three books which were published in the US in the 1970's, in addition to watching the BBC show. All Creatures made a real impression on my family. We even had a Peke named Trikki Woo.
When I saw this audiobook on offer on NetGalley, I thought it would be a soothing listen, and I wasn't wrong! But I'm also glad to have listened to this audiobook before the debut of the new Masterpiece production of "All Creatures Great and Small." Though the newer series highlights the sheer beauty of Yorkshire, it's already really departed from the book that James Herriot/James Alfred Wight wrote, and it's a pity. Readers who want a truer picture of the vet's life during his early years in Yorkshire should read the books. You can enjoy the scenery in the new production but the books give a better picture of his actual life.
Nicholas Ralph, who stars as Herriot in the new production does a beautiful job of narrating this audiobook, which is suitable for middle grade children and up. He manages to imbue the narration with the dry humor Herriot intended, some of which seems sort of missing in the show, which has exaggerated Siegfried in the wrong ways.
I received a digital audiobook of this novel via Net Galley, courtesy of Macmillan Audio, in exchange for an honest review....more
Historical fiction writer C. W. Gortner serves up a rousing portrait of the great actress Sarah Berhardt in her latest novel. Sarah Bernhardt led a soHistorical fiction writer C. W. Gortner serves up a rousing portrait of the great actress Sarah Berhardt in her latest novel. Sarah Bernhardt led a sometimes tragic and always colorful life. Gortner captures her life with an imagination fueled by facts. This is no small challenge since Bernhardt often fueled fantastical versions of her everyday life for publicity benefits. A novel grounded in hallowed biographical information, The First Actress gives the reader a sense of Bernhardt's life and the challenges that she faced as a young woman in a socially unforgiving culture. I really enjoyed this one.
The audiobook, narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir, was delightful.
I received a Digital Review Copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
The audiobook tie-in of Jingle Jangle is a companion to the joyous Netflix movie musical, telling the story of young Journey and her grandfather JeronThe audiobook tie-in of Jingle Jangle is a companion to the joyous Netflix movie musical, telling the story of young Journey and her grandfather Jeronicus Jangle, two very different inventors with similar gifts of magic. Jeronicus Jangle's magnificent inventions have been stolen by his former protegé Gustafson and he is frustrated and depressed by his struggles to make a new holiday toy, Buddy 3000 work. His granddaughter Journey shows up at his door with a letter from her mother (about that...) and slowly wins over her grandfather, helping him recapture his belief in magic. What's the square root of possible? Why believing, of course.
This is a happy holiday audiobook that is perfect for a car trip with children! They'll be rooting for Journey and her new friend Edison to save the day.
I received a digital audio review copy of this book from Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review....more
Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth, has offered up a very different "princess in the tower" story. The witch who put Princess Floralinda in a towTamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth, has offered up a very different "princess in the tower" story. The witch who put Princess Floralinda in a tower emphasizes it was "nothing personal." The princes who try to rescue her are probably goodhearted but are pretty inept at fending off the dragon on the first flight of the tower, and other delights are ahead on each of the flights to the top. Unicorns, mermaids, goblins, giant spiders, I mean, the tower is a tower of horrors, or delights, if you're a witch trying to make a go of challenging princes. After months of languishing with little more than bread, milk, oranges, and such (mind you, when you get hungry enough, the ever-replenishing aspect of these is quite the boon) Floralinda has had enough and plans to forge her way down the tower stairs on her own to an escape. To do this she enslaves a bottom-of-the-garden fairy by the name of Cobweb, who may or may not (probably not) be female, and who is clever but an absolute trial. Floralinda captures her in order to gain expertise in escaping the witch's tower because Floralinda is a smart enough cookie to know she isn't smart at all. Cobweb is her ticket out of this place. But if they're not careful, they'll come to love each other, in spite of every ounce of common sense telling them otherwise. Are princesses who rescue themselves still princesses? To. Be. Determined.
An utter delight, this novella was a limited edition hardcover release from Subterranean Press, but is available in an ebook format and in an audiobook edition narrated by the wonderful Moira Quirk, who narrates the "Locked Tomb" books featuring Gideon and Harrow the Ninth.
Andre Norton finalist Jenn Reese, a children's fantasy author, steps into a contemporary children's lit story with elements of magical realism. SamantAndre Norton finalist Jenn Reese, a children's fantasy author, steps into a contemporary children's lit story with elements of magical realism. Samantha and her sister Caitlyn have been removed from their parents' custody because of physical and psychological abuse. They've been sent to live with their Aunt Vicky and her wife Hannah. While Caitlyn seems to decompress in their home, Sam struggles to adjust to her new reality. She's sure she'd going to be allowed to return to her familiar life any day now. She's reluctant to make a new friend in Lucas, the son of her aunt's work partner. She doesn't see why she needs to be registered for school in Oregon when she lives in California and her best friend BriAnn is probably wondering what is going on with her and where she is. Aunt Vicky introduces Sam to the Game of Fox and Squirrels, a fantasy card game with a slick fox named Ashander and a group of squirrels including Maple, Birch, and Cedar. When a very real Ashander shows up in Sam's room, he offers her the chance to find a golden acorn, which can fulfill any wish Sam might have, like say, going home to her parents. While she pursues the acorn, Sam slowly, almost unwillingly, begins to see the reality of the life she had been living with her parents, and what sacrifices Caitlyn made to protect her younger sister. She also learns, with the help of Vicky and Hannah, what a healthy family can look like.
Limning a brutal family reality and the fantasy world that helps Sam come to terms with her father's abuse and mother's complicity, Reese has done a simply amazing job creating a novel that children and adults will both relate to. This is a novel that slides the knife to the heart in so smoothly and softly at times, in all the little ways that you see Sam justifying the life she and Cait were living, making excuses for her father.
The audiobook, narrated by Sarah Franco, is lovely.
I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Imagine an ancient race of women, never more than three, who are driven by the aspiration to get the humans of planet earth off the planet, 3.75 stars
Imagine an ancient race of women, never more than three, who are driven by the aspiration to get the humans of planet earth off the planet, to take them to the stars. The Kibsu are generations of women who look very similar in appearance, who possess remarkable abilities (especially mathematical abilities), who are in hiding from a mysterious group of male trackers, and who seek to influence history in order to drive humankind to become spacefaring. To this end, we meet Mi'a/Mia, daughter of Sarah, who is on a mission to get Werner von Braun to join the Americans at the end of WWII, and later to get the Soviets to compete with the Americans. The Kibsu have been around for many centuries and have appeared at crucial moments in history to influence mankind's interest in the stars. But things seem to have taken on greater urgency, as Mia's mother Sarah, and her mother before her, started taking an interest in the carbon dioxide levels on earth. Mia is a reluctant participant in her ancestral goal. The Kibsu achieve their goals in a fashion as violent and bloodthirsty as needed. There is no line they will not cross, and Mia harbors doubts about this. While this seeming urge to win at all costs is innate, Mia is inwardly horrified by the means she finds herself using to get what she needs- von Braun in America. Kibsu must also reproduce, hopefully a single daughter, and Mia finds this a challenge to contemplate, because she's fallen in love with another woman. A woman who can never know the realities of Mia's life.
This is an interesting start to a new series. While aspects of the story were fascinating (love the von Braun angle, the bloody history of the Kibsu on earth, so aspects of the story just didn't gel for me. The trackers, all male and hunting down Kibsu women were so hazy. Where and whence they originate just felt like such a muddle to me. I was far less interested in them than the Kibsu, and they didn't even have a name like the Kibsu do? I am, nevertheless, looking forward to see where Mia's story goes from here and will dive into the next book with interest.
The audiobook, narrated by a diverse cast, was excellent.
I received a digital and paper review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Author Chloe Neill ("Chicagoland Vampires") has shifted gears into a historical fantasy and adventure novel with Regency-era underpinnings. Set in theAuthor Chloe Neill ("Chicagoland Vampires") has shifted gears into a historical fantasy and adventure novel with Regency-era underpinnings. Set in the Saxon Isles, the novel largely takes place three years after Gerard Rousseau, Emperor of Gallia (a character that is clearly to be Napoleon Bonaparte) has been exiled on Montgraf. Captain Kit Brightling, a foundling raised in a school for talented girls, operates outside the Beau Monde (the not so beautiful aristocratic society) but has risen to her rank helming her fast ship, the Diana. Deftly using water magic (a gift termed 'alignment'), Kit and her small ship can maneuver and outrun larger ships in the fleet. She is, secretly, a special agent for Queen Charlotte, and is rather dismayed when her Queen sends her on a rescue mission with Colonel Rian Grant, one of Lord Sutherland's (Wellington's) officers and also Viscount Queenscliffe. The honorable Viscount doesn't think much of those who are aligned or of sailing off with a woman captain to rescue a former colleague. With both vying to be in charge, they are forced to reevaluate their prejudices in order to sally forth. As they sail to rescue Marcus Dunwood, Kit is dismayed to find that not only does she like Grant more than she would wish, the magic that flows in the ocean has been disturbed and is even absent in some areas, portending great danger.
This was a really enjoyable read and as someone who had read one or two of Neill's Chicagoland books and found them rather forgettable, is a really admirable (as opposed to admiral) departure. The novel flies along and for anyone looking for a Regency-era fantasy, I have to say it's one of the better ones I've read in recent years. I'm looking forward to the next Kit Brightling novel. I'm also looking forward to finding out more about Louisa, Kit's own foundling child.
The audiobook was divertingly narrated by Danielle Cohen.
I received a digital audio review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
Tomorrow Will Be Better takes place in the same setting as Smith's beloved landmark novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the Williamsburg and Bushwick neiTomorrow Will Be Better takes place in the same setting as Smith's beloved landmark novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the Williamsburg and Bushwick neighborhoods of 1920's Brooklyn. The story largely focuses on a young woman named Margy Shannon, newly eighteen years of age and seeking her first job, her first beau, and escape from the grinding life of poverty faced by many Irish American's in the 1920's. With occasional flashbacks to Margy's sterile and largely unloving childhood, we see her desperately strive for a better life as she takes a job and tries to become more independent in spite of her mother's every effort to stifle her. Part of her plan involves an early marriage to leave her parents' home. Frankie Malone, a young man who diffidently courts her, comes from his own oppressive family. Their ill-fated marital relationship provides a stark look at hopes, dashed dreams, and gender-role expectations of the era. Though the novel shows Margy's depression over a stillborn daughter, it still manages to end on a note of hope.
I read this novel many years ago and it is now being reissued (along with an audiobook edition) by Harper Collins. I'm especially struck by the novel's frank depiction of marital problems in all the families in the story, its look at the divisive role that religion and immigrant status (new immigrants, first and second generation immigrants) play in families, and most stunning, its inclusion of an asexual character and that character's frustration in their marriage. While not as endearing as a story as Francie Nolan's in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tomorrow Will Be Better provides a sharp look at the pre-Depression era in Brooklyn and the often caustic relationships between people in those times. Though I read the book as a teen, I think I was too young to truly appreciate some aspects of Smith's insightful writing.
The newly released audiobook, narrated by Nicola Barber with accents and all, was lovely.
I receive a digital review copy and a digital audio copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review....more
3.5 Stars, bumped for the handling of trauma, addiction, manipulation of childhood memories, and its unflinching look at death and dying in an elderly3.5 Stars, bumped for the handling of trauma, addiction, manipulation of childhood memories, and its unflinching look at death and dying in an elderly relative.
M. Jonathan Lee's latest novel 337 is a poignant look at domestic abuse and emotional loss, particularly its effects on two brothers, Sam and Tom. We know from the start of the novel that their mother "left," and in leaving has doomed her two young children with their bullying and emotionally abusive father. Sam, the older child, is the central figure of the novel. He's recently had his marriage fall apart, is estranged from his father and paternal grandmother, and is distant from his younger brother Tom, who he both loves and was slightly jealous of while their mother was still with them. Tom has battled addiction and Sam thinks he's pretty much lost in a delusional world, one in which he is in a rock band and jams with Neil Young. As the book opens, Sam receives a call from his father, demanding that Sam go visit his Gramma, who is dying. Over the course of the novel you find out why his father is asking him to do this (not that it's an unreasonable request) and why everyone in this family has become so broken.
337 artfully peels back layer after layer of what happened in Sam's family as he has flashbacks to painful events in his childhood, including at the hands of detective inspectors investigating his mother's disappearance. Many of these are triggered by his visits to his grandmother, and his percolating desire to make peace with her before her death, even as he looks for answers about what happened with his parents. As Sam struggles to remain in the present, practicing what his therapist has taught him, events slowly converge on the fateful disappearance of his mother and what really happened in the days, weeks, months, and years after his mother's disappearance.
This novel is a poignant look at the legacy of domestic violence and the hard process of dying and repairing relationships at the cusp of death. The novel is incredibly poignant in its examination of Sam and his grandmother's last days. That said, some aspects of the story just felt unnecessarily contrived. The ending actually left me cold, since it was kind of what I assumed all along. I have a lot of thoughts about what happened with Sam's parents but they largely involve spoilers. This might be a good book club selection just for the discussion about what justice looks like in this novel.
The British hardcover edition of 337 has a twist in hardcover. The first fifteen pages of the novel differ, albeit subtly, on the blue-covered side of the hardcover versus the yellow-covered side. (I should note that this edition of the book is only available in hardcover in the U.K.) For me it was a bit of a distraction (though I'd recommend readers of the British edition start with the blue side) and honestly, I waited to see the US release today on Kindle to see how the US edition was handled. The hardcover is beautiful, with its saturated colors that, in a way, reflect the two brothers, Sam so blue, and Tom, as it turns out, so much sunnier. Honestly, however, the reader loses little in reading the US version.
I received a courtesy copy of the UK hardcover from Hideaway Fall in exchange for an honest review....more
Loading...
