Month: August 2023

Serena’s Review: “The Water Outlaws”

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Book: “The Water Outlaws” by S. L. Huang

Publishing Info: Tor, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperor’s soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justice—for women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. They’re also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.

Review: This was an obvious book request for me! For one thing, the cover is absolutely phenomenal! It’s one of those covers where you buy the book and display it face out on the shelves just to show it off. I was also very intrigued by the book description, what with its talk of rebel women, outlaws fighting for the betterment of those without power of their own. And, to my delight, it followed through on all of its promises!

Now, I know that this book is a reimagination of another classic Chinese story, “Water Margin” and that this is a gender-swapped version of that tale. But not being familiar with the original, I can’t really speak to how this compares to that one. However, I will say that gender swapping stories is not a simple change. One can’t simply write “King Arthur” but Arthur is a woman. No, there is much more to be done to successfully reimagine a story in this way. And while I can’t speak to the original, this book does an excellent job of centering its tale on the unique places in society that the women and other outlaws are struggling against. The limitations placed around them, the definitions foisted upon them. What’s more impressive was how neatly these larger themes were woven within a story that is very action-oriented.

From the very first moment, the book kicks off to a quick start with Lin Chong, an arms instructor, highlighting her fighting prowess in a practice skirmish with a new recruit. I loved the way the action of this fight (and all of the action scenes that followed) was described. It was easy to picture the beautiful, artistic, and yet lethal fighting scenes that were seen in movies like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and the like. Of course, once Lin Chong joins the bandit group, the action expands to larger scenes with much higher stakes, all of which I found equally thrilling.

I also really liked the overall writing style. Like I said, there’s a lot of action in this story, and it takes a particular skill to write out these scenes in a way that allows readers to fully grasp the scope and scale of what’s happening, all without losing sight of any main characters involved. There was also a sort of “meaty” style to the writing that I’ve come to associate with some of my favorite fantasy fiction. I can’t quite describe what I mean by that, only that I know it when I see it, and it always promises to lead to a great reading experience. What’s more, I was surprised by how funny this book was. Right from the start, I found myself chuckling away at the clever dialogue and smart observations.

The only real issue I had was a bit of disconnect I felt to the characters themselves. Usually, character issues are an instant black mark against a book for me, but this one was so strong in every other area that it wasn’t until halfway through the book that I realized I wasn’t feeling the same sense of connection to the characters that I usually expect to feel with a book I’m enjoying. For some reason, perhaps the fast pace or the “meaty” style of writing, I felt a bit distanced from the characters and their personal stories. Perhaps a bit more could have been done to shine a light on the inner emotions and workings of the characters throughout the story. But that aside from that, an issue that I didn’t even notice until halfway through the story because I was so caught up in the action, I really liked this one.

Rating 8: Full of the fierceness and power that comes from all groups pushed to the side by society, “The Water Outlaws” is a fantasy story sure to delight.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Water Outlaws” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Queer SFF of 2023

Kate’s Review: “Vampires of El Norte”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Cañas

Publishing Info: Berkley, August 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: Vampires and vaqueros face off on the Texas-Mexico border in this supernatural western from the author of The Hacienda.

As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead. Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago.

Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind.

When the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion—and Nena’s rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago—is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh. And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn.

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

Given how much I loved “The Hacienda”, I was totally waiting on pins and needles to see what Isabel Cañas was going to do for a follow up to her Gothic ghost story debut. It’s probably no shocker that I was elated when I saw that her next book was going to be about vampires. She approached the haunted house story with such a unique and cool hook, I just knew that she would do the same with vampires.

Much like “The Hacienda”, the time and place of “Vampire of El Norte” makes for the perfect setting for this horror novel. Taking place in the 1840s during the Mexican-American War, where the U.S. started to invade Mexico in hopes of taking more land for itself. Our protagonists Nena and Néstor find themselves swept up in it, as Nena is the daughter of a powerful ranch owner and Néstor is a vaquero who has returned to the ranch after a long absence when Mexicans start to band together to fight against the Anglos. The societal structure of Nena and Néstor’s world is laid out plainly and shows conflict, as these childhood friends are on different footing, but both have reasons to feel confined and oppressed in their own ways. For Nena it is her fear that her father will marry her off like property as a daugther, and for Néstor it is his lower class standing, which makes their lingering attraction from childhood all the more forbidden. But even more so is the fact that white settlers from the U.S. and the United States Government are encroaching in an act of violent colonialism, and for Nena and Néstor their very survival could be at risk, with him on the front lines, her acting as a healing curandera to the soldiers and fighters, and both of them being Mexican citizens who could face violence at the hands of invaders. The horrors of colonialism have a significant part to play in this book, as does classism and misogyny and the traumas that come with both. I really liked Nena and Néstor as they start to reconnect, and how their admiration and attraction is approached in a way that feels realistic while still being wholly satisfying. I also loved them on their own, as Nena is ambitious and capable, while Néstor is sweet and loyal, and their chemistry is simmering off the pages.

And then there are the vampires. It’s the perfect allegor, using vampires against the backdrop of Imperialistic wars as outsiders want to leech off of the people who live on the land that they desire to approrpiate. And I liked the vampire mythos in this book, as they are very animalistic and very brutal, with some interesting systems at play in how vampires function and live within the storyline and world. I really enjoyed the dread that builds as various characters find themselves stalked and hunted by the vampires, sometimes in lonely and vast areas in nature where there is little hope of help and already high stakes due to the war that is raging around them. There were lots of moments that really tapped into the suspense, and I think that if there was one aspect of this book that I needed more from it would probably be that I needed more vampire action.

Once again, Isabel Cañas nails a historical horror story, and brings with it not only supernatural threats and villains, but villains that were very real. “Vampires of Il Norte” needs to be on horror fans book piles!

Rating 8: A suspenseful and engaging horror story about vampires and colonialism, “Vampire of El Norte” is another well done historical horror novel by Isabel Cañas.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Vampires of El Norte” is included on the Goodreads lists “Mexican Gothic”, and “Historical Fiction Set in Latin America”.

Serena’s Review: “Thornhedge”

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Book: “Thornhedge” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Tor, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story.

Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right?

But nothing with fairies is ever simple.

Centuries later, a knight approaches a towering wall of brambles, where the thorns are as thick as your arm and as sharp as swords. He’s heard there’s a curse here that needs breaking, but it’s a curse Toadling will do anything to uphold…

Review: This is a story of great sadness and loss. Tragedy. Disappointment. No, no, not this book which, like all of Kingfisher’s novels that I’ve read so far, perfectly balances sweetness and sadness. No, this is the story of how out of all the authors attending ALA this past June, the one I was most excited to meet was T. Kingfisher. I even brought along my hardback copy of “Nettle and Bone” to get it signed. And then, the day that she was scheduled for a signing, I found out that she had to cancel. Tearing of garments, I tell you! But at least I did manage to get a hardcover copy of “A House with Good Bones.” Anyways, enough about all of that and on to the review!

So, shocking no one, I loved this book! The last two that I’ve read by Kingfisher definitely fell closer to the horror genre than to fantasy (hence why both previous reviews were buddy reads with Kate!). But my love affair with this author started with “Nettle and Bone” which has a definite fairytale vibe to it. So I was super excited when I saw that she was returning to fairytale fantasies with this one. What’s more, it’s a twisted fairytale where the focus is not on the princess sleeping in the tower, but on the “evil fairy” who cast her into that cursed sleep.

I always love it when authors take a well-known story and twist it like this, and Kingfisher is a master at her craft. Not only does she tackle “Sleeping Beauty,” but the story also contains references to changeling folklore and “The Frog Prince.” These stories are all woven together so expertly that, while familiar, the entire story feels fresh and new. What’s more, per the author’s usual, while the story is sweet and heartfelt, there are also moments of true terror and suspense. Honestly, more so than I was expecting! Once you start getting into some of the history that Toadling has lived through and realize the true stakes of the situation…oof!

I also really liked the exploration of love, especially familial love. Toadling’s life obviously took a major turn when she was stolen away as a baby by the Fae. But instead of living a cursed life, she finds a new family in water beings that others would look at and call monsters. I loved the sweet, honest depiction of how these ties form and how they defy any attempts at definitions or limitations. Beyond that, we also get an interesting look into the limits and depths of parental love with regard to the cursed princess. I don’t want to go into many spoilers, but for such a short book, I think Kingfisher really honed in on the darker side of parenting, and the way certain strengths in a parent can, at times, become weaknesses.

Toadling herself is also an incredibly sympathetic and likable character. So much of her life is chosen for her, and yet, at every turn, she’s constantly trying to do her best, even when she is asked to do things that are quite difficult and unfair burdens to be placed on her shoulders. Much of this story is her slowly taking back control of her own choices and what life she wants to lead. There is also an incredibly sweet romance sprinkled throughout.

I loved everything about this book. For such a short story, it really did manage to pull on nearly every emotion. I was laughing, I was crying, I was genuinely horrified by some of the imagery. Fans of Kingfisher will adore this, and if you’re not a fan of her already, boy, do I have a gift for you!

Rating 10: Kingfisher tackles the sometimes trite “beauty is on the inside” concept and puts together a work of art that proves that who we are is what we choose to fight for.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Thornhedge” can be found on this Goodreads list: Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2023.

Kate’s Review: “Whalefall”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus

Publishing Info: MTV Books, August 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: “Whalefall” is a scientifically accurate thriller about a scuba diver who’s been swallowed by an eighty-foot, sixty-ton sperm whale and has only one hour to escape before his oxygen runs out.

Jay Gardiner has given himself a fool’s errand—to find the remains of his deceased father in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. He knows it’s a long shot, but Jay feels it’s the only way for him to lift the weight of guilt he has carried since his dad’s death by suicide the previous year.

The dive begins well enough, but the sudden appearance of a giant squid puts Jay in very real jeopardy, made infinitely worse by the arrival of a sperm whale looking to feed. Suddenly, Jay is caught in the squid’s tentacles and drawn into the whale’s mouth where he is pulled into the first of its four stomachs. He quickly realizes he has only one hour before his oxygen tanks run out—one hour to defeat his demons and escape the belly of a whale.

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

Sometimes a book will come across one’s path that just makes a reader say, ‘I’m sorry… WHAT?’ It could be a plot description, it could be the abruptness of the book making waves in a community, it could be an upended expectation from an author or a genre. As of late, this kind of book in my literary adventures was “Whalefall” by Daniel Kraus. I stumbled upon the book on Goodreads, and was familiar with Kraus due to previous works like “Scowler” and his collaboration on “The Shape of Water” with Guillermo del Toro. So when I saw that he had a new book in which a diver is SWALLOWED BY A SPERM WHALE AND HAS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET OUT (I’m type shouting this because it is still astonishing to me), I knew that I had to, HAD to, get my hands on it (slight side track: At ALAAC in June I stopped by the publisher’s table hoping they had copies, but alas they did not, though I DID love their marketing in word of mouth given that the Oceangate disaster had just happened and they were like ‘have you been following that? Well you should keep an eye out for THIS book!’). NetGalley came through, and I sat down to read this book and it kept me so rapt with attention that I finished it in two sittings. This book is BANANAS, guys! Buckle up!

The whale did nothing wrong (source)

It probably comes as no surprise that “Whalefall” is a very engaging thriller, because a book about a man being swallowed by a whale almost has to be, but it’s the little things that make it so. The first is that Kraus really knows how to build the tension of the dive itself, with protagonist Jay going into a kind of rough area off the coast of California in hopes of finding the remains of his father Mitt, who committed suicide in the ocean after a grueling fight with mesothelioma. The ocean is already a bit tense, and it just builds until the initial encounter with the whale and aforementioned swallowing. Then the tension enters a whole new level as Jay has to figure out if he can make his way out before he either suffocates or is sent further into the digestive tract, where he would be slowly disintegrated. So obviously this is a race against time and it is so fraught and creative and the stakes are obviously very high. The claustrophobia and horror of being eaten is just so engaging and gripping, I found myself whipping through to see how he was (if he was?) going to get out of this mess! It’s “127 Hours” to an even more horrifying degree I think, and the best part is that Kraus does his due diligence to try and make it as accurate as possible, consulting experts and many books about whale anatomy and facts and so on and so forth. Which makes it all the more amazing and really kept me interested, given that I do love anything to do with the ocean and all the things that come with it.

But along with a relentless ‘time is running out’ thriller theme, we also get to explore a relationship and character study of a teenage boy who is still grappling with the death of his father, with whom he had a very complicated and fraught relationship. When we aren’t spending time inside a whale’s digestive tract, we are seeing snippets of the father and son dynamic between Jay and the now deceased Mitt, and how Mitt’s expectations and frustration with his son (which are probably more frustrations with his own life projected on a weaker target) damaged Jay to the point of estrangement. It’s a layer to the story that adds a whole other kind of tension, as Jay is trying to survive by tapping into the lessons his diver and sea obsessed father forced upon him, sometimes in ways that were hurtful and abusive. The complexities of this relationship, and the fact that Jay is on this dive in the first place because of his own guilt by going no contact not long before Mitt’s health decline and death, really make the story that much more intense. I found myself kind of frustrated with how Jay’s family was more interested in blaming Jay for the estrangement even though, at least to me, Mitt was the one responsible for the rift (so much emotional and sometimes physical abuse, content warnings abound in that regard), but I do think that Kraus was sure to show that there are a lot of gray areas within this kind of situation and the emotional states of the players at hand. It was an angle I wasn’t really expecting from a story about a guy TRAPPED INSIDE A WHALE, but it worked well.

There is also a bit of a personal angle to this book that connected with me, and that is the setting of Monterey, California. I have family in San Jose, and we would go out to visit them nearly every Spring Break when I was a kid. So the references to various things, like Monterey itself, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Point Lobos National Reserve, and Monastery Beach, really amped up the nostalgia for me. This area is one of my favorite places in the United States, and seeing Kraus bring it to life on the page was just lovely. It really brought me to the place, even though I haven’t been back in about ten years.

“Whalefall” would be the perfect thriller for any end of summer vacations or down time. It reads fast, it’s gripping as hell, and it goes places that upended all expectations I had. Definitely recommended!

Rating 8: Gripping, emotional, and absolutely bananas, “Whalefall” is a ride!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Whalefall” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it would probably fit in on “Best Wilderness Survival Books”.

Book Club Review: “Girly Drinks”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Our current theme is song inspirations, where we were given a random song from a random genre and had to pick a book based on the song.  For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol” by Mallory O’Meara

Publishing Info: Hanover Square Press, October 2021

Where Did I Get This Book: Kate owns it.

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

Song Inspiration: “Oh! Whiskey” by Jimi Goodwin

Book Description: Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colors and fruity flavors—these are the Girly Drinks.

From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?

With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book—and proudly have what she’s having.

Kate’s Thoughts

This wasn’t the first time I have read “Girly Drinks” by Mallory O’Meara. As someone who loved “The Lady from the Black Lagoon”, and who does enjoy alcoholic beverages in moderation, I received this book for my birthday shortly after it came out and then read it shortly after that. So when our book club compatriot was having a hard time trying to think of a title that would go along with the song “Oh! Whiskey” and was talking about that at our monthly meeting, I suggested this book because I thought it would be a good fit. And I was right! Not only did it fit the theme, it provided us with lively discussion about patriarchy, misogyny, and women fighting against both (as well as provided us with a fun night of sampling some out of the book beverages we don’t usually indulge in at book club!).

Mallory O’Meara does a great job of laying out the history of women and the alcohol industry, the contributions that many have made since ancient times, and the way that misogynistic and sexists societies have tried to stifle women from partaking, creating, and making a living off of alcohol, deriding their industrious or just recreational indulgences as sinful, improper, and dangerous. Moving from ancient Egypt and Babylon through the Middle Ages all the way up through the 21st Century, she has great research, a well done narrative, and a creative hook that ties women’s parts in alcohol all together (and how men have tried to keep women out through shame and sometimes violence). Chapters are framed around individuals or groups who had influence that is still seen today, whether it’s alewives who revolutionized beer (but whose power in the industry led to persecution with their symbols of pointed hats, brooms, and cats to ward off mice from the grains becoming those of a stereotypical witch), the Widow Cliquot who basically created champagne as we know it, or even Cora Irene “Sunny” Sund, who made the tiki bar The Beachcomber an empire that influenced cocktail culture post WWII. She also explores less known stories of non-Western women, like Japanese women who worked in sake, or South African women who fought literal decades for official recognition as brewers. It’s deeply fascinating, at times rage inducing, but always empowering as O’Meara bolsters women to recognize and acknowledge their power and influence.

“Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol” is a very entertaining and insightful read. We had a really fun time with this one! Order that cosmopolitan, ladies. And don’t let anyone shame you for it.

Kate’s Rating 8: An informative, cheeky, and interesting history about women, the alcohol industry, and fighting against misogyny and the patriarchy.

Book Club Questions

  1. If you enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages, what kinds of drinks do you like? Did this book give you any insight into your favorites? If not, do you like any mocktails as they have become more popular?
  2. O’Meara talks about women being shut out of drinking and socializing in taverns and bars and therefore having to make their own drinks and trying to socialize at home. Do you find yourself enjoying going out to bars more, or do you like spending time with friends and family at home? Again, this does not have to include alcohol.
  3. This book has many women in history who have interesting lives and backgrounds. Were there any that you owuld like to learn more about, or who you could see yourself hanging out with in a fantasy situation?
  4. What were your thoughts on the structure of the book and the different highlights in each chapter? Did any stand out to you?
  5. Were there any surprises in this book as it traces the influences of women on the history of alcohol?

Reader’s Advisory

“Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol” is included on the Goodreads lists “Feminist Interest 2021”, and “[ATY 2022]: Food and Drink”.

Next Book Club Book: “The Wee Free Men” by Terry Pratchett

Serena’s Review: “Bring Me Your Midnight”

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Book: “Bring Me Your Midnight” by Rachel Griffin

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Fire, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat.

Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help…until she meets Wolfe.

Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices dark magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his forbidden magic. A magic that makes her feel powerful. Alive.

As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance as well as her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.

Review: I haven’t read anything by this author yet, but I’m very familiar with the cool, witchy titles and covers of her books. I always eye them in the bookstore with appreciation. But as I don’t always gravitate towards contemporary fantasy, I haven’t actually gotten around to reading either of them. However, reading the description for this one, it sounded a lot like Adrienne Young’s “Spells for Forgetting” which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, however, this one didn’t reach those same highs.

Before getting into the parts of this book that ultimately left it as a bit of a disappointing read, I do want to focus on a few positive. For one thing, the cover art for this book is beautiful. Like the other books by this author, this one would definitely stand out on bookstore shelves. I also liked the overall concept of the book, with an island made up of witches who must expel their excess magic into the ocean to continue to exist peacefully with those around them. This idea is very interesting, and while the climate change points are not exactly subtle, that doesn’t take away from the overall impact of the set-up.

Unfortunately, as we saw so often in this book, things that should have been interesting would either not be fully explored or would peter out before the reader got to actually experience any conflict. We are told that the ocean currents around the island have become increasingly dangerous. However, other than a second-hand story from Tana’s childhood, we never actually see any dangers on the page. We’re simply told that it is so. Further, when this conflict is ultimately resolved, again, we don’t see anything of it. We are told it happens, and that is the end.

Again and again this sort of thing happened throughout the story. It was very much “telling” the reader how they should feel and what exactly was happening, but there was very little showing. Conflicts would show up throughout the story, but then, often in the same chapter, they were quickly wrapped up. Any attempts by the reader to build on stakes or feel any tension about what is coming next was almost immediately stamped down by a quick resolution.

I also struggled to picture exactly where and when this book took place. There were references to dresses and balls, but then the next moment would refer to a car driving by. It was very unclear what sort of society or world I was meant to be picturing. Is this a modern day story? Some point in the fairly recent past? For a story that is so centered around this unique community and rare, magical island, there was a distinct lack of descriptive prose. Yes, I would have enjoyed some more lyrical descriptions of this quaint town, but I also would have taken a basic description of what exactly I was supposed to be picturing at all.

Beyond this, Tana was a difficult character for me to connect to. She’s meant to be a twenty year old woman, but if I hadn’t been told this, I would very much have pegged her as a fifteen year old. Her voice is very juvenile, and her understanding of her place in the world and her choices was very passive to the point of fairly extreme naivety. At the same time, as her views were challenged, she quickly switched tack, seemingly with very little inner conflict at leaving behind lifetime-held beliefs. I also did not enjoy the romance in this story. It felt very insta-love like, and, again, I failed to connect to the characters or feel real stakes in their relationship.

This book didn’t work for me, which was too bad. I know the author is really popular, however, so if you enjoy more contemporary witchy stories, this may be for you. But if you’re looking for something with much depth, sadly I don’t think this is it.

Rating 6: Unlike the ocean with all of its mysterious depths, this one felt shallow and floundering.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Bring Me Your Midnight” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Flower Faces and YA Releases August 2023.

Serena’s Review: “Brittle”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Brittle” by Beth Overmyer

Publishing Info: Flame Tree Press, August 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: NetGalley, copy from the publisher

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

Book Description: After the murder of her father – which no one but her believes happened – Verve just wants to hold her family together and take on the role of provider. Unfortunately, a cruel fae lord believes she knows the location of an ancient magical weapon and steals her away to Letorheas, realm of the fairies. The fae lord seems to want something from Verve that goes beyond the weapon, something that many doubt she can provide. Verve must find a way to navigate the strangeness of Letorheas and embrace a destiny more intertwined with the fae than she would like to believe.

Review: This was definitely a “cover lust” situation. I just adore everything about this cover, and it was guaranteed that I would read it the moment I saw it. I’m also still always interested in Fae-focused fantasy novels, for my sins. Have I been burned by this particular trope in the past? Yes, I have. But I also can’t quite get “An Enchantment of Ravens” out of my head, which I read many years ago now, but absolutely adored. And, as I discussed recently about authors who improved on a second go-around, I’m always hoping to stumble upon another unexpected hit! Unfortunately, this was not that.

Right off the bat the story started with some very strong ACOTAR vibes. Now, for some, that is an incredible compliment and surely will draw in certain readers right away. For me, however, red flags were going up in every direction. But before I dive into the parts of the book with which I struggled, I do, as always, want to focus on some positives first. As I said, there is definitely an audience out there for this book (however, even this audience I think will feel that they’ve read many similar, better versions of this same story). The writing is also quite approachable and the action starts out right away. This is a fairly short book by fantasy standards, coming in at just over 300 pages. And it’s clear that the author is wasting no time getting to the point.

However, for me, that was where the problems started. I barely felt like I knew, let alone cared, about the main character between the story was immediately barreling into main plot points. What’s more, what I did know about the character had largely come from Verve herself simply informing me of her own traits and how she compared to the other members of her family. Of course, she is the brave, provider type who is too stubborn for her own good. It is this last point that really drew my ire as the book continues.

Per the ACOTAR standard, she is, of course, captured by a Fae lord and caught up in a bunch of Fae drama. In most fantasy novels, this should be the point where things really get good. Here are the opportunities for the heroine to rise to the occasion, to put her oft-declared strengths to the test. But instead, she comes across as foolish, stubborn to the point of stupidity, and petulant in the manner of a toddler. As someone who is currently raising toddlers, in no way do I want to read a novel where the heroine chooses to not listen to good advice and bizarrely ignore blatant realities around her all because she’s “sticking it to the power,” essentially.

Not only did this lead me to actively disliking the main character through much of it (honestly, I was starting to feel sympathy for her captors who were just trying to keep her from self-destructing), but many of her ridiculous decisions were necessary to drive the plot forward. I’ve ranted about this many times, but it’s almost guaranteed for me to low rate a book when I discover a plot that hinges on a character needing to be ridiculous, foolish, or just plain stupid. Yes, there are characters who experience growth through these traits, but even then, the traits themselves shouldn’t be necessary for the plot to move forward, except in the most rare of instances and part of a larger character arc.

I really struggled to like anything about this book, which was really too bad. I do like the overall premise, even if it is fairly familiar. And, again, that cover is a banger. There was also clearly a lot of ideas that were hinted at in this story, a unique religion, a magic system, some world0building. But none of it was fully fleshed out or enough to compensate for the frustrations I felt with regards to the plot and main character. Fans who are very devoted to Fae fantasy may want to check this out, but if you’re wary of the subgenre currently, this one won’t redeem your faith.

Rating 6: Not my cup of tea with a heroine who was annoying at best and actively unlikable much of the time.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Brittle” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Books about Faery.

Kate’s Review: “The Hurricane Blonde”


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Book: “The Hurricane Blonde” by Halley Sutton

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, August 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: A former child starlet is plunged back into the dangerous glitter of Hollywood after discovering a young actress’s body in this scorching thriller about the deadly sides of both fame and family.

Hollywood is a sickness. Few people understand this better than Salma Lowe, progeny of Hollywood royalty and a former child-star turned guide of the Stars Six Feet Under tour bus. Salma spends her days leading tourists around the star-studded avenues of Hollywood, pointing out where actresses have met spectacular or untimely ends. Salma knows better than anyone that a tragic death is the surest path to stardom. Her own sister, Tawney, dubbed the “Hurricane Blonde” for her off-camera antics, was murdered in the mid-’90s, and the case remains unsolved. Salma herself has sworn off acting and just hopes to stay out of trouble…until a real dead body is discovered on her tour, on the property where her sister once lived.

Salma soon realizes something uncanny: it’s not just that this woman is dead at her sister’s address–she also looks just like her, and is wearing Tawney’s distinctive hair clip. When the police investigation goes nowhere, Salma has no choice but to plunge herself back into the world she left behind to search for her sister’s killer…who may have just struck again. But the search for the truth will take her deep into the rot of Hollywood past and present, into her family’s own long-buried and terrible secrets.

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

I can honestly say that the first thing about “The Hurricane Blonde” by Halley Sutton that really caught my attention was the cover. I mean, look at that cover! The unsettling neon pastiche framing an anonymous woman alone is very eye catching, but then reading about the plot of this book it just really clinched it. What says the flashy and attention seeking Hollywood culture more than bright colors and a gauche veneer and an unsettling undercurrent? I didn’t really know what to expect from “The Hurricane Blonde”, and while there were some things that didn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel, there were other things that really impressed me. And unsettled me.

In terms of the mystery side to this story, it’s fairly straight forward with some pretty familiar beats. Our protagonist Salma is trying to distance herself from the past traumas of her murdered up and coming starlet sister Tawney, as well as her addictions, her mental health spiral, and the way that all of that was so very public because of her status of being the daughter of Hollywood icons. When a woman is found dead on Tawney’s old property, and she looks just like Tawney did, Salma is suddenly determined to try and figure out how to prove that Tawney was murdered by her ex-fiancé, who is now a powerful director. The story is told in both the present as well as in flashbacks to the time right before and right after Tawney died, presenting clues and puzzle pieces as Salma pushes herself further and further into the dark truths of show business and the way it makes victims of ambitious young women and girls. I kind of figured out a few of the reveals pretty quickly, and Salma’s investigation was pretty much everything I expected it to be.

BUT, for the kind of easy to figure out solutions this mystery thriller has, its greatest strength is the way that it absolutely calls out the toxicity of Hollywood culture in regards to the way it treats the young women who aspire to rise to stardom. And how even in death they can continue to be exploited and dehumanized. We not only have the disturbing and tragedy filled lives of Tawney and Salma, the daughters of Hollywood royalty who ended up dead or in a severely damaging addiction spiral (respectively), but we also see the ways that other women in the story within the industry have had to contend with misogyny, abuse, racism, and how the public makes a spectacle out of very real pain. This books pulls no punches whatsoever, going to dark places with some very disturbing moments and reveals. It really pulls apart Hollywood not only within the story, but also in real life, making mention of other young women whose pain and tragedies are either still spoken of as lore (like Dorothy Stratten, or Dominique Dunne, or the Black Dahlia) or have been revealed many years after the fact (like Loretta Young being raped by Clark Gable and ‘adopting’ her own daughter to avoid the scandal of an out of wedlock child). Certain beats of this book take inspiration from all of this, and that is what makes it stand out.

“The Hurricane Blonde” is a relentless critique of Hollywood abuse and violence towards women who want to find success there. Be prepared for the darkness and the triggers that come with it, but it sets itself apart from other thrillers because of it.

Rating 7: A dark and bleak critique of Hollywood culture and the way it chews up women and spits them out, “The Hurricane Blonde” is a twisted thriller with lots of simmering anger.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Hurricane Blonde” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but similar titles include “Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood”, and “The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick”.

Serena’s Review: “Forged by Blood”

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Book: “Forged by Blood” by Ehigbor Okosun

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, August 2023

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

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

Book Description: A brilliant new voice brings a brilliant new novel: debut author Ehigbor Okosun’s first book in an action-packed, poignant duology inspired by Nigerian mythology–full of magic and emotion and set in a highly atmospheric, complex world in which a young woman fights to survive a tyrannical society, having everything stripped away from her, and seeks vengeance for her mother’s murder and the spilled blood of her people.

In the midst of a tyrannical regime and political invasion, Dèmi just wants to survive: to avoid the suspicion of the nonmagical Ajes who occupy her ancestral homeland of Ife; to escape the King’s brutal genocide of her people—the darker skinned, magic wielding Oluso; and to live peacefully with her secretive mother while learning to control the terrifying blood magic that is her birthright.

But when Dèmi’s misplaced trust costs her mother’s life, survival gives way to vengeance. She bides her time until the devious Lord Ekwensi grants her the perfect opportunity—kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso. With the help of her reckless childhood friend Colin, Dèmi succeeds, but discovers that she and Jonas share more than deadly secrets; every moment tangles them further into a forbidden, unmistakable attraction, much to Colin’s—and Dèmi’s—distress.

The kidnapping is now a joint mission: to return to the King, help get Lord Ekwensi on the council, and bolster the voice of the Oluso in a system designed to silence them. But the way is dangerous, Dèmi’s magic is growing yet uncertain, and it’s not clear if she can trust the two men at her side.

Review: I was really excited when I saw this book scheduled for release this summer. I’ve read some great fantasy novels based on various African cultures’ myths, and I was intrigued to see what Nigerian myths and stories had to offer. I also think the cover on this one is really neat. Though it does read as very YA to me, which I find to be a really strange choice for an adult fantasy novel. And, unfortunately, this confusion of reading group is really something that brought this read down for me.

But first, let’s start with the good things. Fantasy novels really live and die by their magic systems and their world-building. I think there were some unique ideas for each offered up in this book. Early on, I was definitely intrigued by the nature of this world and how exactly the magical elements wove throughout the way this society operated. Unfortunately, things began to go off the rails fairly quickly.

While I was interested in the magic elements, as the story went on, I struggled to really put together how all of this was meant to work. Further, some of this explanation and continued world-building would be plopped down right in the middle of action scenes, really halting any momentum that had been building. There were also a lot of new terms and language, and these, too, were simply thrown at readers with very little introduction. Perhaps an index or glossary could have helped ease readers in (something that I think most fantasy novels could benefit from, regardless of where they’re pulling their inspiration). These kinds of challenges with pacing and how to properly introduce your reader to a new world are often found with debut authors, and, when given time to grow their craft, can be greatly improved upon in future books. Such is the hope here.

Also, as I said regarding the cover, there felt like there was some disconnect in whom the target audience is meant to be for this book. The overall tone and style of the writing read as very young to me, and many of the choices with the main character also fell into common YA tropes. For example, the main character repeatedly had to not learn from her mistakes and make obvious errors in judgement to simply move the plot in the direction it was meant to go. There was also a very unfortunate love triangle with basically zero chemistry between any of the members. Honestly, if I hadn’t known that this was marketed as an adult fantasy novel, I would never have guessed that it hadn’t been meant as YA.

And that’s not to say that YA has to have simplistic writing or fall into trope-y traps; I’ve read a number of fantastic ones this year. But I do think that adult readers will have a lower tolerance for some of these things, and that this book would have been better suited for a younger audience. Even there, however, there were a number of weaknesses in the writing (there were times where the writing simply failed to properly describe what and how things were happening) and characterization (I think the interactions between almost all of the characters were fairly simplistic and predictable) that would have prevented this one from being a hit for me.

Rating 6: There were hints of what could have been a good story, but the weaker aspects of the writing really prevented me from enjoying this one.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Forged by Blood” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Africa-Influenced Epic Fantasy.

Kate’s Review: “Missed Cue”

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Book: “Missed Cue” by Lynn Slaughter

Publishing Info: Melange Books, August 2023

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

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon

Book Description: When ballerina Lydia Miseau dies onstage in the final dress rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet, homicide detective Caitlin O’Connor is faced with the most complicated case of her career. She strongly suspects that someone murdered the ballerina, and her investigation uncovers several people close to the star who had reasons to kill her. But the autopsy reveals no apparent cause of death. If Lydia Miseau was murdered, who did it, and how?

Meantime, there’s Caitlin’s hot mess of a personal life. She has a bad habit of getting involved with married men. She knows it’s wrong, so why does she keep entangling herself in unhealthy relationships? She’s finally decided to go into therapy to find out.

Review: Thank you to Melange Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

This is going to sound really sick, but if I am being honest and vulnerable, I am almost always going to be totally interested in a mystery or thriller or what have you if it involves a dead ballerina. As someone who has always been clumsy and on the, shall we say, more ample side, ballet was NEVER going to be in the cards for me. But I have always been SO interested in ballet as a medium and as a culture that could be rife with drama due to competitive and cutthroat undertones. So when I was offered “Missed Cue” by Lynn Slaughter, I was pretty intrigued. I had read another book by Slaughter (“Deadly Setup”) and had enjoyed it for the most part, so I was more than happy to give her another go, especially since this time it involved a dead ballerina and a complicated female detective.

As a concept I thought that “Missed Cue” was compelling. We all know that I do have a soft spot for crime procedurals, and I did enjoy the character of Detective Caitlin O’Connor with her skills as a competent detective as well as a bit of a mess in her personal life. It may be a bit of an old reliable character trope in many a detective procedural of someone who is great at their job but a bit bad at recognizing their own emotional pitfalls, but it works for the character and I’m not sick of it yet! Caitlin is not only having to deal with a strange and complicated new case, she is also dealing with some fallout from an affair she had with a married colleague, and ALSO dealing with her partner dealing with his own messed up personal life that is leaking into their partnership, and it makes for some interesting beats that can tie into the mystery at hand. I do think that it felt like at times that were were jumping into a characterization that was already halfway through its journey, as at times I was thinking ‘are there previous books that set up these dynamics and plot points and relationships?’ when, in fact, there are not. And this made it feel like some of the things presented weren’t as realized as they could have been.

I thought the mystery was pretty well developed, with some good suspects with understandable motives, and some fairly well done misdirections to boot. While it was mostly from a third person POV involving Caitlin, there were occasional insights into other characters where we would get their perspectives in certain moments that served to either give more clues that Caitlin wouldn’t have, or to muddy the waters a bit. I think that, like with the characterizations mentioned above, there could have been some expansion on the mystery and the details of everything, as as it was it was very straightforward and linear in how it all unfolded. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does leave me wanting more.

The most interesting and effective part of the story for was actually the moments that we got to see Caitlin in therapy. It is so rare, at least in my experience, in procedurals to see characters, protagonists or not, getting mental health help, even if they desperately need it. And seeing Caitlin in her sessions as she works through some of her issues, whether it’s bad choices she’s made or anxieties about her partner and her love life, was a refreshing addition to the story. It added another dynamic to the story, and it felt pretty original and interesting.

So overall, “Missed Cue” is pretty solid. A thriller with some curveballs and some unexpected upending of tropes thanks to the hard boiled detective actually trying to better herself. It’s nice seeing that kind of thing in a genre where damaged characters are the norm.

Rating 7: A solid thriller with a compelling plot, but I would have loved for the mystery to have more drawn out complexities.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Missed Cue” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Women Who Solve Crimes”.