Month: June 2023

Year of Sanderson: “Tress of the Emerald Sea”

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“Year of Sanderson” is an on-going, monthly series that will post on the last Friday of each month in which I will cover various Brandon Sanderson-related things. This will largely be comprised of book reviews (some from his back catalog and some from the books being released this year), as well as assorted other topics like reviews of the items in the swag boxes that will be coming out as part of Sanderson’s Kickstarted campaign. Frankly, we’ll just have to see what we get from this series, very much like the Kickstarter itself!

Book: “Tress of the Emerald Sea” by Brandon Sanderson

Publishing Info: Dragonsteel Entertainment, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: own it!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org| Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

Review: Those who signed up for Brandon Sanderon’s record-breaking Kickstarter are aware that this book has been a long-time coming. Honestly, I can’t even be mad about the fact that its arrival was several months delayed. The response to the Kickstarter was completely crazy, and it’s hard to imagine any small publisher managing that sort of volume in a perfect manner, especially when there has been a lot of upheaval in the book printing industry ever since Covid. All of that said, I was so, so excited to receive this book in the mail! And it will mark the first review of a brand new Sanderson book in this review series (instead of the reviews of previously published works that I’ve posted in the past.)

First off, I want to say that I understand that there were some pretty hefty price tags alongside the various levels of this Kickstarter. I’m going to try to do a review of some of my favorite items from the monthly boxes somewhere in this series, but I’ve been incredibly impressed with the quality and uniqueness of the items. I’ve subscribed to book boxes in the past, and very often they feel like they’re simply churning out low quality, similar items in every box. Not so here. But, more importantly for this review, I’m so happy that I went ahead and bought the special editions of these books. Judging by this first one, it will be well worth the price. The cover art is beautiful. The foiling and “leather” binding is awesome. And the interior artwork is simply gorgeous. I can’t say enough good things. It’s the kind of book that I now have prominently displayed on my shelves, and every once in a while I’ll just look over at it and it makes me happy. Sparks joy, and all of that.

The story itself is exactly that as well: joyful. I had a smile plastered on my face from start to finish. This is the type of “cozy fantasy” that I think will appeal to readers across the SFF board. It doesn’t lean too hard into any one aspect of “coziness,” but instead simply revels in being an action-packed story, with fun characters, snappy dialogue, and wonder-filled magic. The marketing and author’s note for this story mentions that the inspiration for this story came from “The Princess Bride” and the question: what if Buttercup had tried to rescue Wesley when he was “killed” by the Dread Pirate Roberts instead of simply…accepting it? Not only is that concept amazing, but the book that Sanderson produces perfectly matches the type of book that should have any connection or reference to “The Princess Bride.”

The story follows Tress, a young woman who has lead a quiet life on a remote island up until she is forced to team up with pirates in an attempt to rescue the love of her life who has been kidnapped by a powerful sorceress. Tress is a fantastic leading lady. She starts from humble beginnings and her evolution to the leader she becomes is organic and believable. Indeed, as the story progresses, the narrator of the story is very determined in highlighting just what makes Tress special. She doesn’t suddenly reveal here-to-unknown magical powers or an ability to suddenly become the best fighter/assassin/pirate/what-have-you. Instead, her strengths are the quieter kinds, the ones that people often forget about as so necessary to what makes a hero great to begin with. Her determination, her bravery, her willingness to question others’ and her own assumptions. It’s all great stuff.

Speaking of the narrator, the story is told by Hoid, a character who both shows up on the page and “tells” us the story. Now, this will either mean a whole lot to you or nothing at all depending on your familiarity with Sanderson’s back catalog. And the best thing I can say here is that either way, whether you know all about Hoid or are just meeting him for the first time here, this book functions equally well. I do think that fans of the Cosmere will appreciate the little Easter Eggs sprinkled throughout the story, but they also were so lightly touched upon that I don’t think they will feel noticeable or out-of-place to the casual reader. As a fan of the previous books, I really enjoyed reading a book narrated by this character. Yes, there were times where some of the humor was a bit too juvenile for my taste (such is often the case, I’ve found, with Sanderson’s YA work), but there were also entire paragraphs that I found myself re-reading several times and wanting to physically highlight for the clever and insightful things being said.

I loved everything about this book! For one reason or another, it’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a book by Brandon Sanderson, but this read was the perfect kick-in-the-butt I needed to remind myself why I need to work better at staying up to date with his writing. But, come on, the guy writes a crazy amount! It’s like a full-time job reading all of his stuff as it comes out! That is one very nice thing about these four new novels coming out this year: they’re all stand-alones (as far as I’m aware), so I can look forward to the next three with the simple joy of knowing I’m not committing to any more series. If you’re a fan of Brandon Sanderson, cozy fantasies, or, really, anything SFF, you should definitely add this on to your TBR list!

Rating 9: With first book in Sanderson’s series of four, he proves once again that yes, he really can write this many books and still maintain a level of quality that blows the mind.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tress of the Emerald Sea” is on these Goodreads lists: Best books of 2023 and Fantasy with cozy vibes…

Kate’s Review: “American Vampire: 1976”

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Book: “American Vampire: 1976” by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque (Ill.), & Francesco Francavilla (Ill.)

Publishing Info: DC Comics, November 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: America is broken. Trust between the government and the American public has crumbled. Paranoia reigns supreme.

Skinner Sweet has exhausted all efforts to regain his lost immortality. With his powers and purpose gone, he is now determined to go out with a bang. At a seedy motorcycle rally in the desert where he’s closer than ever to his death wish, Pearl Jones and a shocking partner track him down for one last, desperate mission. The force known as the Gray Trader and its minions are tunneling through the bowels of the world to unleash hell on Earth–just in time for America’s bicentennial. With catastrophe looming, it’s up to Skinner and Pearl to reconcile and change the course of history–or die trying.

Review: Well folks, we have come to the end of another comic re-reading/comic completion hybrid, as “American Vampire: 1976” is the end of the road for the “American Vampire” series by Scott Snyder. There was a pretty substantial gap between “Volume 8” and “1976”, just as there was a gap in the real comics release of the series. I don’t know what caused the wait, but I remember part of my reason for kind of giving up on the series the first time around was due to the fact I knew it didn’t have an ending. Well, now it does, and to me it seemed like there were a few things that needed to be addressed in order to stick it. And…. I think that it mostly did, with a couple stumbles…

We have jumped forward to 1976, and our characters have scattered to the wind since we left them. Skinner Sweet, having been rendered mortal after his last tangle with the Gray Trader a decade prior, has accepted that he can’t regain his immortality and has decided to become a stuntman in hopes of going out in a blaze of glory. So when he’s approached by Pearl with one more mission, we find out what all our vampires have been up to leading up to the American Bicentennial. Pearl is barely holding things together with the VMS, Felicia is on a mission to save Gus from the Gray Trader who has taken him hostage, Travis Kidd blames himself for the loss of Gus, and we find out that Jim Book has returned to the fold and has been Pearl’s partner for a number of years. Oh, and Mimiteh has come back as well (and HOORAY, she isn’t just a stereotype AND he has clothing this time around). I loved that this took place in 1976, in a year that American was celebrating its history in the face of a lot of bleakness (the loss of the Vietnam war, post-Watergate disillusionment, etc), and as the VMS has to try and stop an apocalypse that is going to happen during the Bicentennial celebration. It’s a great tone, and a great way for the story to wrap up as America has it’s own, in a way, reflection moment. And the big last showdown with the Gray Trader and it’s final push to destroy the world was well thought out and had high stakes and lots of suspense.

There are a lot of characters that we need to tackle, and, for the most part, many of them get some good page time and a fair amount of focus. I loved seeing Pearl rally the troops, I enjoyed seeing Skinner being pulled in again as he’s trying to, maybe finally, be able to get his immortality back, and I liked seeing Travis Kidd have more growth and depth as he grapples with how he failed Felicia and Gus. But that does lead to one of the pitfalls here, as one of the characters who is a bit shafted is Felicia, as it felt like she was just a frenzied grieving mother as she worries about Gus’s well being. Sure, she gets some pretty okay moments, but she didn’t feel like Felicia, and since we were at the end of the road I really wanted more in saying goodbye. It ended up feeling abrupt and lacking for my favorite character in the series.

There was one other big stumble for me in this final collection as we wrap up this story, and I need to go into detail to explain the problem I had with it. SO, therefore I am going to have to tell you to skip to the last paragraph if you don’t want to know and give you a

SPOILER ALERT! (source)

So a few volumes back, it was revealed that Jim Book, the original hero who was the lawman pursuing Skinner Sweet back in the day after being his foster brother in childhood, was actually still ‘alive’ and was also a vampire from the American strain. It took this long for him to come back, and I was actually pretty amped to see him because I was excited to see him confronting Skinner, but more I was anticipating seeing him meet his daughter Felicia. And for awhile I was riding high on his presence, because it added a new interesting layer to Skinner, as his foil, who was not only an enemy but also his dearest friend and in some ways brother, was back in his life after so much baggage… But. BUT. Not only did we not get any pay off with Jim meeting his daughter Felicia (HONESTLY, HOW DARE THEY SIDELINE HER SO MUCH?)… Jim ends up betraying the VMS and has been evil and siding with the Gray Trader the whole time!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK?! What a frustrating and unearned heel turn for this character! And it felt like it was done 1) because it’s shocking and a HUGE blow and twist for the VMS, and 2) it just props up Skinner more as a hero because if Jim freaking BOOK is bad, then Skinner is going to look good by comparison, and you know what?

(source)

Am I being perhaps a little to precious about Jim Book as a character? Yeah, maybe. But it was also pretty damned rushed after a long delay to bring him back into the fold. There was a missed opportunity there because it would have been far more interesting for Skinner’s final push for potential redemption to be about his foster brother as opposed to his love for Pearl (especially since it made Pearl’s final story a bit too intwined with Skinner when she can stand on her own, thankyouverymuch).

Okay I complained a lot but for the most part I did enjoy “American Vampire: 1976”, I swear! The series had a lot to address and wrap up, and I thought that Snyder did justice to most of his characters and plot lines. And what a great moment in time for the story to end. I will miss Pearl, Felicia, Gus, and, God help me, even Skinner freakin’ Sweet. “American Vampire” is a great series, and I’m glad I finished it.

Rating 7: Overall this is a solid conclusion to an enjoyable series. “American Vampire: 1976” has some stumbles, but it’s nice to see Pearl, Skinner, Felicia, and others go out with a bang.

Reader’s Advisory:

“American Vampire: 1976” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Recommendations for Buffy Fans” (though the entire series should probably be on that list too).

Serena’s Review: “Among Thieves”

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Book: “Among Thieves” by M. J. Kuhn

Publishing Info: Gallery / Saga Press, September 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org |Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: In just over a year’s time, Ryia Cautella has already earned herself a reputation as the quickest, deadliest blade in the dockside city of Carrowwick—not to mention the sharpest tongue. But Ryia Cautella is not her real name.

For the past six years, a deadly secret has kept her in hiding, running from town to town, doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the formidable Guildmaster—the sovereign ruler of the five kingdoms of Thamorr. No matter how far or fast she travels, his servants never fail to track her down…but even the most powerful men can be defeated.

Ryia’s path now leads directly into the heart of the Guildmaster’s stronghold, and against every instinct she has, it’s not a path she can walk alone. Forced to team up with a crew of assorted miscreants, smugglers, and thieves, Ryia must plan her next moves very carefully. If she succeeds, her freedom is won once and for all…but unfortunately for Ryia, her new allies are nearly as selfish as she is, and they all have plans of their own.

Review: Here’s another book that’s been languishing on my TBR list until I saw that the sequel was coming out this summer and…oops! Better read the first one quick! One of the reasons I probably hadn’t gotten to this one right away is that I was feeling fairly burned out on these multi-POV heist books. I swear there was a year there where I read 5-6 books with different variations on this concept. But it’s been a bit now since I’ve read one, and, overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

One thing I appreciated right off the bat about this book was the fact that it is an adult fantasy novel rather than YA. I’ve found I’ve been struggling more and more with YA books that feature assassins as one of their main leads. For one thing, I struggle with the idea that a young teenager has somehow managed to develop the skills necessary in the short lives they’ve had, but then the story itself always tends to be extremely bloodless which just sits awkwardly with the entire concept. Here, while all of our characters read as young, in their twenties, they also have clearly lived dangerous and morally grey lives. They’ve killed, they’ve stolen, and they are willing to betray those they must to further their own life stories.

The story bounces back and forth between five different characters, but the focus is largely on the assassin, Ryia, and, to lesser extents each, the fallen soldier, Evelyn, and the smuggler/ship’s captain, Nash. All three are excellent characters, but Ryia by far is given the most story arch in this book. As the plot progresses, we learn more about her personal history and how this particular heist hits so close to home for her. However, I did have a soft spot in my heart for Nash. In many ways, she was maybe the most simple character in the entire book, being the only one not actively plotting to betray the others at any given moment. Like Ron in “Harry Potter” and Rachel in the “Animorphs” series (both favorites of mine), she was largely the heart of the little group, the brave one, the brash one, the sometimes foolishly straight-forward one. And I love her so much!

The writing and pacing of the story is quite fast paced. There were very few moments between action sequences, which I think worked in the book’s favor. Whenever the story slowed down too much, I did find myself getting stuck on the obviousness of a few supposed “reveals” in the story. There is one character in particular whose past is supposed to be a big mystery, but whose identity was fairly obvious quite early in the story. A certain artifact was also rather obvious in its powers, but our characters were fairly obtuse about this throughout much of the book. And then the romances, such as they were, felt very shallow and popping up out of not much of anything.

Still, it was a fun, fast read. I didn’t actively hate any of the character POVs (high praise indeed for me, as I’m definitely not typically a fan of this writing style), and I was able to finish it up in only a few sit-downs. If you’re a fan of heist stories, action-packed fantasy, and large casts of characters, this is definitely a good book for you!

Rating 8: While lacking in depth as far as characters and world-building, this was still a fun, fast read that I’d recommend as a good “beach read” type of fantasy novel.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Among Thieves” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Fantasy books with heists and Nautical Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “Fence: Vol. 1”

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Book: “Fence: Vol. 1” by C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad (Ill.)

Publishing Info: BOOM! Box, July 2018

Where Did I Get This Book: The library!

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Nicholas, the illegitimate son of a retired fencing champion, is a scrappy fencing wunderkind, and dreams of getting the chance and the training to actually compete. After getting accepted to the prodigious Kings Row private school, Nicholas is thrust into a cut-throat world, and finds himself facing not only his golden-boy half-brother, but the unbeatable, mysterious Seiji Katayama…

Through clashes, rivalries, and romance between teammates, Nicholas and the boys of Kings Row will discover there’s much more to fencing than just foils and lunges. From acclaimed writer C.S. Pacat (The Captive Prince) and fan-favorite artist Johanna the Mad.

Review: This is quite possibly going to come as a bit of a shock to you, dear readers, but when I was a sophomore in high school, I was on our school fencing team. Yes, I went to the kind of school that had a fencing team, but if I’m being honest with myself I was really only on the fencing team because a few of my friends were on it, I wasn’t actually cut out for it (and once I was consistently cast in plays and could just do theater to negate the sports requirement, that problem was solved). And given that at the time I was in multiple therapies for mental health and learning disability/neurodivergence related reasons, I was barely ever actually fencing. The team still gave me the E for Effort Award at the end of season, probably out of pity. But I retained enough knowledge that when I finally picked up “Fence: Vol. 1” by C.S. Pacat I was thrown into a bit of a nostalgia spin. I had read the first “Captive Prince” book by Pacat, and it wasn’t really my cup of soup. But “Fence” sounded promising, so I requested it, and what do you know? It was super entertaining.

Since this is the first volume in the series, it’s laying a lot of the groundwork and foundation for the ultimate theme and plot of the story as a whole, and I felt like Pacat did a good job of setting the stage. We are mainly following Nicholas, a passionate and determined fencer whose motivation is based on the fact his absent father is former fencing champion Robert Coste, whose snubbing left Nicholas and his mother growing up with little money and lots of struggles. He is now at King’s Row School, on a scholarship, and has a huge chip on his shoulder as an outsider whom the others are underestimating. It doesn’t help that Seiji Katayama, another fencing prodigy who humiliated Nicholas at a previous tournament, is there… and his roommate. Pacat does the due diligence of creating this rivalry between the two of them, all while putting them in a forced proximity situation that just builds their rivalry and the tension… I mean, I kind of know where this is ultimately going to go, but it’s early and there is more to do before we start getting into tropes. I liked meeting Nicholas and seeing his background slowly revealed, and I completely bought the ambition and resentment he was giving with the clues and context put in place. As he starts the process of trying out for the fencing team with an épée blade (that was MY blade), with his dreams and scholarship on the line, we end with the stakes being very high indeed.

In terms of the other characters, we’ve gotten a bit of a taste of the other team members and wannabe team members. Seiji is the obvious supporting character, as Nicholas’s nemesis, and as of now he’s still a little bit mysterious to Nicholas and the reader as well. I liked seeing the various characters and their types, whether it’s the sweetheart Bobby, the no nonsense Harvard, or the playboy Aiden, we have a dynamic group that is going to almost certainly play off of each other and create drama, and I enjoyed most of them as they have been presented to us now. There are hints about other people coming into play later, mostly Nicholas’s ‘legitimate’ half brother Jesse, captain of the rival school’s fencing team, but as of now we are still dealing with the King’s Row team and the discord in place there. Try outs are just getting started when this book ends, and I really have no idea what is going to happen with the team, as not everyone can make it. I’m already attached to a few of these characters and I need to know what happens next.

And finally, I like the art style that Johanna the Mad brings to the series. It feels a bit like an homage to sports manga, with a mix of cartoonish images as well as more realistic ones.

(Source: BOOM! Box)

“Fence: Vol. 1” is a promising start to this sports series. I am VERY interested to see where things go for Nicholas, Seiji, and the fencers of King’s Row. Who’s going to get the pity driven E for Effort Award, what’s what I want to know!

Rating 8: A well laid foundation and an intriguing and original premise makes “Fence: Vol. 1” a solid start to a sporty and maybe romantic series.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fence: Vol. 1” is included on the Goodreads lists “Fencing Fiction”, and “Graphic Novels: Featuring LGBTIQ+ Themes”.

ALA Annual Convention 2023: Highlights!

While we are both currently out of the library field, one way that we like to stay in contact with the field is to attend the annual convention for the American Library Association. This year’s convention was in Chicago, IL, so we were able to carpool our way down and spend a long weekend immersing ourselves in all things libraries and books! Here are a few highlights from our time!

Panels: We attended several panels over the course of the weekend. As both of us our very interested in readers advisory, many of these discussions featured authors discussing their books and the trends they are seeing in various genres. Serena attended a panel titled “Isn’t it Romantic?” that saw four romance authors discussing their upcoming titles and the continuing trend of the expanded horizons about just who romance titles can be written about and for! This included a romance about a environmental activist, as well as one that featured a chronically ill leading lady. As for Kate, she was able to go to a panel called “Boo!: Horror in Children’s and Young Adult Literature”, and got to hear some insights about why horror appeals to young people by people like Ryan La Sala, Daniel Kraus, Alex Brown, and and Kristen Simmons. It’s always really fun to see what authors have to say about the books they have written, and what they think about the process itself.

Authors: One of the highlights of ALA every year is the opportunity to meet some of our favorite authors! And this year was no exception! While Serena was very disappointed that T. Kingfisher had to cancel at the last minute, she was excited to meet Ehigbor Okosun whose upcoming fantasy title “Forged by Blood” is on her TBR pile for August. Another favorite was Beth Revis and Sara Raasch whose book, “Night of the Witch,” is slated for later this fall. She was also excited to meet Sherri Duskey Rinker and get copies of two of her “Construction Site” picture books for her boys! Kate’s highlights included getting to meet a couple of her favorite authors at the moment. The first was the always amazing and deeply insightful Stephen Graham Jones, who was promoting his new graphic novel “Earthdivers Vol. 1: Kill Columbus”, and the second was the horror queen Darcy Coates, who has jumped into the YA horror scene with “Where He Can’t Find You”.

Books: Sooooo many books! We both picked up a ton of upcoming and backlisted titles that we can’t wait to check out! Do we have an unreasonable number of tote bags and books to add to already-strained TBR lists? Yes, yes we do. Do we feel any shame about this? No, no we do not. Serena was incredibly excited to get copies of Pierce Brown’s upcoming “Red Rising” book, “Light Bringer,” as well as Mara Rutherford’s “A Multitude of Dreams” and Thea Guanzon’s “The Hurricane Wars.” And Kate’s haul was immense and mostly horror themed, with “Black River Orchard” by Chuck Wendig and “What Kind of Mother” by Clay McLeod Chapman being included in the bunch. But then there were the more surprising titles, like the upcoming romances “Check & Mate” by Ali Hazelwood and “Kiss the Girl” by Zoraida Córdova (and yes, that is a “Little Mermaid” reimagining if you were wondering.

And really, the setting of Chicago was a a lot of fun too! We live in Minnesota as you all know, so we were able to drive. Road trips are always super entertaining, after all. But Chicago as a city is always a joy, with deep dish pizza, a Great Lake, easy to walk attractions, and a certain vibe that just can’t be replicated by any other big city in the U.S.

Given that we are both happy and exhausted as ALAAC23 has come to an end, we want to thank everyone who made it so special, from the organizers to the authors to the publishers to the librarians. We will hopefully see you all next year in San Diego, California!

Serena’s Review: “The Blighted Stars”

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Book: “The Blighted Stars” by Megan E. O’Keefe

Publishing Info: Orbit, May 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org |Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: When a spy is stranded on a dead planet with her mortal enemy, she must first figure out how to survive before she can uncover the conspiracy that landed them both there in the first place.

She’s a revolutionary. Humanity is running out of options. Habitable planets are being destroyed as quickly as they’re found and Naira Sharp knows the reason why. The all-powerful Mercator family has been controlling the exploration of the universe for decades, and exploiting any materials they find along the way under the guise of helping humanity’s expansion. But Naira knows the truth, and she plans to bring the whole family down from the inside.

He’s the heir to the dynasty. Tarquin Mercator never wanted to run a galaxy-spanning business empire. He just wanted to study rocks and read books. But Tarquin’s father has tasked him with monitoring the mining of a new planet, and he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Disguised as Tarquin’s new bodyguard, Naira plans to destroy his ship before it lands. But neither of them expects to end up stranded on a dead planet. To survive and keep her secret, Naira will have to join forces with the man she’s sworn to hate. And together they will uncover a plot that’s bigger than both of them.

Review: I’ve always loved Orbit’s covers for their books. I’m not sure who in charge of this over there, but whoever they are, they’ve been knocking it out of the park for years now. I always feel as if I can quickly glance at a cover of one of their books and already know exactly the sort of story I’m going to be getting. So, too, with this one. One glance…yep, gotta check that one out!

I read a lot more fantasy than I do science fiction, but there is one thing that both genres share that I think makes them unique to most other genres: that is the fact that you are often plopped down into worlds and environments that are completely unique, populated with new species, described with new language, embroiled in new conflicts. Often, the reader is left to accept a hefty dose of uncertainty early in the story with the promise that all will become clear with time. I think this willingness to simply not understand for a decent chunk of a story is a trait fairly unique to SFF readers. And it is a trait that will definitely be needed here! Right off the bat, O’Keefe begins throwing around terms and technologies that are completely unfamiliar to readers. It probably took a good 30 or so pages for me to even begin piecing together how some of these things worked.

But herein lies the other side of this particular coin: SFF readers know that if they wait it out, the end result will typically be a wildly creative and unique perspective on life and people. And so, too, do we see here. One of the main technologies explored in this book is the ability to “map” oneself into copies of the body. But this technology, that on its face seems like a massive win for society, also comes with complications and dangers. We see people mapped into the wrong bodies. We see these “maps” breaking when they are placed in a new body. We even see people’s “maps” split into several different bodies. There’s a lot of incredibly interesting applications of this technology, and I loved getting to explore and understand how it all worked.

The book also does a good job of using not only this technology but the state of the society in which it exists to explore a wide host of various themes, including environmental concerns as well as wealth and access to technology. I was pleased to see how organically these themes were woven throughout the story, with the author managing to avoid any large chunks of exposition or “preaching” styles of writing. Instead, these concerns played well within the larger plot of the story and alongside the various characters with whom we experience the book.

Speaking of characters, I really liked the ones we meet here. I was especially pleased to find that the banter and dialogue made for a very fun read. As I continued to read, these humorous aspects to the characters were incredibly necessary as a balance to some of the darker turns the story took. There was a particular event towards the end of the book that really surprised me, and I’m still not really sure how I feel about it. Which, all in all, is probably a good thing since, at the very least, I’ll be thinking about this one for a while as I wait for the sequel.

I haven’t read any other books by this author, but this was definitely an excellent introduction. I would recommend this to all space opera fans, especially those who enjoy a nice balance of humor and depth.

Rating 8: Exploring themes of environmentalism and societal privilege, this book manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny at times and heart-breaking at others. A roller-coater of emotions!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Blighted Stars” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Excellent Space Opera.

Kate’s Review: “The Only One Left”


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Book: “The Only One Left” by Riley Sager

Publishing Info: Dutton, June 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: “At seventeen, Lenora Hope Hung her sister with a rope“

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.

“Stabbed her father with a knife, Took her mother’s happy life“

It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—”I want to tell you everything”.

““It wasn’t me,” Lenora said. But she’s the only one not dead“

As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

One of my literary time stamps during the year is that if it’s summer, Riley Sager will probably have a book coming out. I have been reading Sager since his debut thriller “Final Girls”, and have found all of his thrillers to be very, very entertaining with a lot of well done twists and shocks that catch me off guard a good amount of the time. I’m always on the look out for his new titles, and when I saw “The Only One Left” pop up on NetGalley I immediately requested it, thinking about how summer was on the way. The description is a bit retro with an 80s setting, with some Lizzy Borden and “Dolores Clairborne” vibes, all of which just snags my attention. And like all Sager books, it’s another twisted winner.

“The Only One Left” is a thriller that unravels the mystery through multiple avenues and perspectives. Our first perspective is that of Kit, a newly reinstated caregiver whose suspension has put her on thin ice with her company and her father. She is assigned to care for a notorious recluse named Lenora Hope, who is believed to have killed her entire family in 1929 (but never charged due to lack of evidence), but is now wheelchair bound, paralyzed, and unable to speak due to a number of strokes. Facing few employment choices, Kit goes to live at the Hope estate, which is isolated on some cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean. As Kit cares for Lenora, and gets to know the staff and learn the history of the Hope family, she wonders if Lenora is who everyone thinks she is.. or if she’s much worse. The other perspective is the writings of Lenora, who is writing what happened to her in the months leading up the murders. There are so many smaller mysteries intertwined with the bigger overarching mystery, with questions about Kit as a caregiver, questions about what the strange noises she hears at night are, questions about why the staff has stayed for so long, and questions about what happened to the former caregiver, who seemingly ran off in the night. With so many mysteries, there are bound to be hits and misses, and while I guessed a few of the surprises and reveals, I was also completely caught off guard by others. Sager knows how to divert attention, knows how to distract the reader, and knows how to bring together so many threads that seemingly have no meaning, only for them to be significant and surprising.

In addition I really enjoyed how we had two unreliable in their own ways perspectives, whether it’s disgraced caregiver Kit, or potential murderer Lenora, and the suspense builds up in a consistent and well paced way that had my head swimming at times. I loved getting into both their heads through their perspectives, and really liked how I would be thinking one truth about each of them one moment, and then second guessing myself another moment. Even the supporting characters in both perspectives would surprise me, as they felt like they had their own secrets to discover, while also being interesting and complex in their own right. And being significant in ways I never could have guessed until the very moment of reveal!

One quibble I did have with this book was that Sager does the thing that I don’t care for, and completely shifts the ending in last couple of pages in a way that changes everything for one last big twist. You all know that this kind of story choice just drives me nuts, and while Sager opts to do it in a way that isn’t as nihilistic as other authors have approached such a ninth inning twist, it still felt a bit too far. We had a pretty good ending in place. To totally upend the conclusion always feels hollow to me, even if it is a bit more of a positive surprise. On top of that it’s very much a telling versus showing reveal, and that can work sometimes, but as a giant info dump to completely change the conclusion it just adds to my frustration.

Overall, I love having a new Riley Sager to read every summer, because his books always entertain and find ways to surprise me. “The Only One Left” is another fun thriller that you can take to the pool or the beach and have an enjoyable reading experience!

Rating 8: Another entertaining thriller from Riley Sager just in time for vacation season! The end feels a little bit tacked on, but generally it’s an enjoyable and twisty tale.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Only One Left” isn’t on many Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “What A Strange Family”.

Serena’s Review: “Sing Me to Sleep”

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Book: “Sing Me to Sleep” by Gabi Burton

Publishing Info: Bloomsbury YA, June 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Saoirse Sorkova survives on lies. As a soldier-in-training at the most prestigious barracks in the kingdom, she lies about being a siren to avoid execution. At night, working as an assassin for a dangerous group of mercenaries, Saoirse lies about her true identity. And to her family, Saoirse tells the biggest lie of all: that she can control her siren powers and doesn’t struggle constantly against an impulse to kill.

As the top trainee in her class, Saoirse would be headed for a bright future if it weren’t for the need to keep her secrets out of the spotlight. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens her sister, Saoirse takes a dangerous job that will help her investigate: she becomes personal bodyguard to the crown prince.

Saoirse should hate Prince Hayes. After all, his father is the one who enforces the kingdom’s brutal creature segregation laws. But when Hayes turns out to be kind, thoughtful, and charming, Saoirse finds herself increasingly drawn to him-especially when they’re forced to work together to stop a deadly killer who’s plaguing the city. There’s only one problem: Saoirse is that deadly killer.

Review: I have to say, this cover is not it. I don’t know what went wrong here, but the strangely shiny, overly-produced artwork, and cheesy coloring of the entire thing is all just terrible. There are definitely covers I like more than others and ones that are just kind of “meh,” so I don’t often comment on this aspect of books. But man, I really hate this one. And it’s too bad, because the premise is so interesting (Black girl siren!) that they really could have done something with that. Instead, we get this.

Unfortunately, my experience of this book as a whole largely matches my feelings towards the cover: a big, fat, “not for me.” But, per the usual for the blog, I do want to start out the review on a positive note with some of the things I appreciated about this book. And one thing that stood out as unique was its worldbuilding was the inclusion of various different mystical creatures and beings. Of course, we have the main character who is a siren (though I was disappointed by the amount of time that what was originally an oceanic creature spent in completely human form on land). But there were also witches and elemental fae. When we were exploring the world and learning how all of these various factions worked with (or against) one another, the book was fairly interesting. But, even here, a lot of this information was delivered in the very exposition-heavy first half of the book. There was potential, here, however, and given that this is the first book in what I believe is a duology, the world-building is set up in such a way as to leave so interesting possibilities going forward.

I also didn’t hate the love interest. Yes, he did read a bit “Mary Sue” for my liking at times. Of course his father, the king, is the most evil person ever. And, of course, the prince will right all of the horrible wrongs in the kingdom as easily as a snap of his fingers once he gains the thrown. But, overall, he was still a likable enough romantic lead. That said, his likability just exacerbated my main frustration which came down to a persistent dislike of the main lead.

I get that Saoirse is written to be a morally grey character. Being a siren with the inherently violent abilities that come with it, this is only to be expected. But man did I dislike her. She’s incredibly reckless and thoughtless throughout the book. Her motivations only make qualified sense, with a particular eye-brow raise towards her relationship with her sister. And then she goes on to straight up murder several people throughout the story. She does have an inner arc that explores some of this, but I found her inner thoughts and journey to be rather shallow and not truly grappling with the realities of the harm she has done. And then our prince just kind of hand-waves all the murder away as “he can’t stay mad at her.” Dude. She killed a bunch of people all around you. This isn’t a personality quirk that is annoying but kind of cute.

And look, I like books with assassins and warriors who, naturally, also kill people. But I do think it takes a particularly skilled author to get this balance correct. You can create a character who is so jaded by this lifestyle that they don’t really experience regrets or you can create a world where this is fairly normalized by everyone. If not either of these, and you’re trying to create a character who has to grapple with their actions, this has to lead to a pretty serious character arc and, perhaps, a darker end to the story. As it was, I was left incredibly unsatisfied by the was Saoirse actions were “dealt” with.

On top of that, this reads as a very young YA novel. The writing style is very simplistic, without a lot of expression or depth. At times it left the pacing feeling too slow, and others, too fast. I realize that this is a debut, so there is still room for the author to grow into her style. And, like I said, there were the nuggets of interesting ideas to be found in this world. But in a lot of ways the story felt too caught up in the tropes and expectations of YA fantasy. Perhaps freed from some of these concepts, the second book will be better. If you’re a devoted fan of YA fantasy and can tolerate the younger side of the genre, this might be worth checking out. But for the average fantasy fan, I’d have to recommend passing this one by.

Rating 6: Lackluster in almost every way, I never felt like I could truly connect to this book, largely due to what I found to be a supremely unlikable leading character.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Sing Me to Sleep” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Magical Creatures and Fantasy Books with Black Leads.

Kate’s Review: “Night’s Edge”

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Book: “Night’s Edge” by Liz Kerin

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, June 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Liz Kerin’s Night’s Edge is a sun-drenched novel about the darkest secrets we hide and how monstrous we can be to the ones we love most.

Having a mom like Izzy meant Mia had to grow up fast. No extracurriculars, no inviting friends over, and definitely no dating. The most important Tell no one of Izzy’s hunger – the kind only blood can satisfy.

But Mia is in her twenties now and longs for a life of her own. One where she doesn’t have to worry about anyone discovering their terrible secret, or breathing down her neck. When Mia meets rebellious musician Jade she dares to hope she’s found a way to leave her home – and her mom – behind.

It just might be Mia’s only chance of getting out alive.

Review: Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Wunderkind PR for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Vampires hold near and dear places in my horror heart, though I am very picky about the way these stories are told. I’m glad that we are kind of past the ‘vampires as super romantic supernatural lovers’ stories from the early 2000s, just as I am always glad to see creators mine within the numerous metaphors you can take from this specific horror tale. So I was very interested when “Night’s Edge” by Liz Kerin ended up in my mailbox for a few reasons. The first is that Tor Nightfire is pretty damn reliable when it comes to horror fiction, so any title they have is sure entertain. The second is that the description is very much a mother/daughter tale, with darker “Rapunzel”-esque implications. And the third is that any unique take on vampires is going to catch my attention. Boy, was did this book live up to my interest and expectations. “Night’s Edge” is fantastic, scary, and heartbreaking.

First off, the vampire (known as Saras) world building is superb in this book. Kerin takes some of the bare bones of vampire mythos (blood thirst, vulnerability to the sun and various elements) and sends them through the lens of a modern disease that has changed and terrified modern real world societies. We get a fabulous background of the Sara epidemic in a very easy to follow and engaging info drop through the eyes of Mia, a young woman whose mother Izzy has been infected and turned into a being that relies on blood to survive, and we get some good explanations as to how a society would have to adapt to dealing with Saras, usually in ways that would isolate them away and are potentially punitive (ie scanned for it before being able to enter a building, or being sent away to facilities that are secretive and perhaps more like prisons). It makes it so that you can absolutely understand why a person like Izzy, who is a single mom with a child who depends on her, would want to hide her condition, and how hiding it makes her life and Mia’s life that much more difficult, stressful, and dangerous, especially as Mia gets older and starts to come into her own. We get the vampire goods with this approach, but we also get to see it within the context of modern society that is trying to grapple with it, and that has led to more problems as more and more Saras start to become angry, isolated, and feral due to their inability to properly feed and keep themselves under control. Think “True Blood” if the fake blood supplement never came to be.

And it’s really the mother daughter dynamic between Izzy and Mia that brings out all the complicated and heart wrenching feelings in “Night’s Edge”. Izzy was changed into a Sara by a crappy boyfriend named Devon, whose poisonous influence on her could be due to his Sara nature where he’s trying to survive and has turned hardened and cynical… or it could be that he’s just another shithead dude who mistreats the women in his life (I feel like it’s probably the latter). And even after they leave Devon behind (though these shitty guys just won’t stay away, will they?), her being a Sara has transformed and damaged her relationship with Mia because Mia has to give up so much to keep Izzy safe, and Izzy doesn’t seem very grateful. She has to keep other people at arm’s length lest they find out at rat them out. She can’t live a normal life on her own due to the reliance her mother has on her. And, most grotesque of all, she has to give Izzy blood from her body every night to keep her from going fully feral. The codependency is there, but the emotional abuse is apparent as well. I love how I completely feel awful for Izzy because she had no say in this. BUT, at the same time, Kerin makes no excuses for the way she manipulates her daughter to keep herself safe and comfortable without thinking about the sacrifices, like LITERAL BLOODLETTING, her child is making for her. It’s so complex and so upsetting and you root for Mia so much, especially as she starts to want more for herself when she meets the charismatic musician Jade, but also has no idea how to function without her mom. It just killed me as I was reading it, especially since I am a mother with a daughter and this kind of thing just cuts to the bone a little more these days.

AND THERE IS GOING TO BE A SEQUEL! Which is good, because this ends on a note that was a sucker punch, but also opens up the door for more. And I can’t wait to see where Kerin takes the next phase of this story, because “Night’s Edge” is phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. READ THIS BOOK!

Review 10: A visceral, scary, and devastating story about vampires, toxic relationships, codependency, and mothers and daughters that hit me right in the feelings over and over again.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Night’s Edge” is included on the Goodreads list “Horror to Look Forward To in 2023”.

Not Just Books: June 2023

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Note: We are going to the American Library Association annual conference in Chicago this coming weekend. So we’re posting our “Not Just Books” post a week earlier than usual so that we can take next Monday to highlight that event.

Serena’s Picks

Apple TV Show: “Slow Horses”

You know, sometimes all it takes to sell you on a concept is a famous name. And show producers know it! My husband and I started watched watching this one based only on our love of Gary Oldman and our mutual appreciation for BBC dramas of any kind. But I think we were both surprised by just how much we enjoyed this spy thriller. All of the acting was superb, and it was also surprisingly funny, something I wasn’t expecting going in. Apple+ is one of those streamers that we subscribe to for soccer game access, but it turns out they have some actually good shows?

TV Show: “The Crowded Room”

I really knew nothing about this show either and was again drawn in by the big name actors headlining it. While Tom Holland is obviously best known for his role as Spiderman, I’ve seen him in a few more serious dramas, and it’s clear that he’s quite talented beyond the superhero stuff. This was a very interesting show. I feel like one of my few superpowers is the ability to quickly predict twists and surprises in shows and books, so I was able to guess this one’s main conceit within the first 15 minutes. But that still made it an interesting experience for sure! If you’re looking for something different to watch, this is definitely a unique show.

Activity: Trivia Mafia

Back in the days before we had kids, Kate and I and our husbands and a few other friends had a weekly trivia night at a local pub. Obviously, this has been out of the cards for some time. But this year, my husband and I decided that now was the time to figure out this whole babysitter thing. So now that we have a great person who comes and watches our boys, we’ve been able to slowly get back out into the world. And one thing we’re doing over the summer is trying out trivia again. Obviously, now being reduced to only the two of us, we don’t do nearly as well. But it’s still fun, for sure!

Kate’s Picks

TV Show: “Empress Ki”

This is a bit of a crazy swerve for me, as I literally stumbled upon a clip from the South Korean historical drama “Empress Ki” on social media during one of my frequent meaningless scrolls. But I was so intrigued by the ornate costuming, the dramatic moment at hand, and the very dramatic but also very compelling acting by the people on the screen, that I went on a hunt to find this show. Ha Ji-won plays Seung-nyang, a Goryeo (a state of Korea during the time period) woman who was sent as a tribute to Yuan (a Mongol controlled state of China) when she was a child. After escaping her captors, she disguised herself as a boy and became a thief and warrior, and eventually finds herself in the court of Ta Hwan, the son of the Yuan Emperor. As Seung-nyang does everything she can to survive, she climbs the ladder, and positions herself as one of Ta Hwan’s consorts, though she still thinks of her first love Wang Yoo, who is in line to be king in Goryeo. This show is soapy, beautiful, and the time, place, and plot has me hooked.

Film: “The Birdcage”

This isn’t a film that is by any means new to me, as I’ve been a fan of the comedy of errors “The Birdcage” for a very long time. But this month our local Alamo Drafthouse had a special screening as one of their ‘brunch’ films, so some friends and I decided to go and see it on the big screen. And for being a movie that is almost thirty years old, it still holds up really well and has numerous laugh out loud moments. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play long term partners Armand and Albert, who run and are the star of a Miami drag club called The Birdcage. When Armand’s son Val comes home from college and announces that he’s engaged, and his fiancée is the daughter of a far right Senator, he asks Armand to pretend to be straight and conservative to meet the girl’s parents. Hilarity ensues. I still have a VERY hard time dealing with the ungrateful weenie son (how DARE he be SO MEAN to his parents, especially Albert, who is basically his mother?!?!), but Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, and Hank Azaria as flamboyant house keeper Agador always have me in stitches. Seeing in on the big screen with friends and a brunch spread was perfect.

TV Show: “Shiny Happy People”

We’re ending on a bleak and upsetting note, but I would be remiss if I were to leave the docuseries “Shiny Happy People” off my list for June, as Serena and I got together to watch it and binged it all in one distressing night. “Shiny Happy People” is a documentary series that looks into Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Life Principles, or IBLP, a fundamentalist Christian organization (though I’d argue cult) that is part of the mainstream consciousness thanks to TLC and the Quiverfull Duggar Family, whose show on TLC put their large family and conservative Christian values on cable TV. They presented themselves as moral and loving and perfect within their Christian led lives. Well, as it turned out their oldest son Josh is a sexual predator, and abused his sisters in childhood with no consequences and whose acts were covered up by his family. And he was eventually sent to prison for violent CSAM. But the docuseries, while using the Duggars as a jumping off point for the hidden violence and abuse, more so examines the IBLP as a cult and movement, and gives platform to numerous survivors who are now speaking out against the horrendous abuses, as well as the group’s ultimate mission to make the United States (and also the world) a society driven by far right Christian values and doctrine. It’s well done and enlightening, but it’s a rough ride.