tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294220598355802412024-03-19T09:18:57.733-07:00the beautiful strangeThe Beautiful is always strange…it always contains a touch of strangeness, of simple, unpremeditated and unconscious strangeness, and it is that touch of strangeness that gives it its particular quality as Beauty.
— Charles BaudelaireAbby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-54951424079519774382024-02-06T08:31:00.000-08:002024-02-06T08:31:55.623-08:00Book Review: The Absinthe Underground by Jamie Pacton<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T1/images/I/91-d-evRf1L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T1/images/I/91-d-evRf1L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Peachtree </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: minor violence, alcohol.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div></div></div></div><p>Sybil and Esme live in Severon, a decadent, sprawling city full of nightclubs, art, and beauty. For the two girls, however, life there is not all it seems: they're struggling, barely supported by their meager jobs, each of them dreaming of a future where they can spread their wings. Sybil longs for adventure, for something beyond the boredom of her humdrum daily life; Esme, on the other hand, is only too content to work at a library and have a home filled with cats. Despite their differences, they're best friends, and when they're drawn into the world of Fae by the beautiful, mysterious Maeve, it's together. Maeve promises them riches that they can't even fathom, if they do one thing for her: steal the royal jewels from the Fae Queen.<br /><br />It was the intriguing setting of <i>The Absinthe Underground </i>that truly made me decide to request an ARC. The story (partly) takes place in the city of Severon, inspired by Belle Epoque Paris. It's a unique idea for a story, especially when most fantasy books seem to draw their inspiration from medieval Ireland or England. Although it didn't up being quite to my tastes, I would love to see more people following Pacton's lead and giving us stories with unusual settings!</p><p>Our two heroines, Sybil and Esme, are complete opposites, but despite their differences (or perhaps because of them), they're inexplicably attracted to each other. Unfortunately, I say <i>inexplicable</i> because aside from small things like enjoying each other's company and finding one another attractive, there's very little character development for either of the girls -- and this impacts their relationship, too. Although I liked both of them well enough and found their narration pleasant, their individual storylines and characterization are remarkably one-dimensional. They both have a set of traits and characteristics that the author has decided for them, and they never veer far from these predetermined boxes. This ends up limiting the narrative and its ultimate conclusion. To make matters worse, the writing tells us and doesn't show us, and this prevents you from feeling totally immersed in the world.</p><p>Don't get me wrong -- their relationship is sweet, and I did enjoy their moments of flirtatiousness very much. But the lack of growth is disappointing especially <i>because </i>the two girls are likable. Another problem that surfaces is that tonally speaking, <i>The Absinthe Underground </i>reads more as middle-grade than YA (in spite of the many, many references to alcohol and drinking, which I found slightly odd). It's a little jarring, as Sybil and Esme are referred to as being seventeen several times, but they come across much younger in their POVs. This isn't necessarily a problem but, for me, it occasionally made the story disjointed.</p><p>The primary problem, however, is that everything is so convenient. This is low, low stakes, which isn't always a problem, but for a heist in Fae, it seems a little lackluster. Somehow, someway, everything always works out for Sybil and Esme, to the point where you begin to wonder what's the point of reading anyway, since you know everything will work out in the end. Some people enjoy stories like that, and I have no doubt that there will be many readers who appreciate <i>The Absinthe Underground</i>, but it was boring for me to watch them get into sticky situation after sticky situation only for their problems to be miraculously solved. It gets into unbelievable territory towards the end. Before the last act, I was planning on giving out two and a half stars, but that felt a bit too generous by the last page. It also suffers from everyone being painfully transparent, and you have to either believe that Sybil and Esme are extremely naive, or extremely stupid.</p><p>Ultimately, this story just wasn't for me. Again, I have no doubt that many readers, especially young ones, will find a lot to love here, but it simply wasn't my cup of tea.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-59896452214767170752024-02-03T16:44:00.000-08:002024-02-03T16:44:21.425-08:00Book Review: False Witness by Karin Slaughter<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81rqKgD02KL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="530" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81rqKgD02KL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, murder, drug addiction/abuse, parental abuse.</span></u></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leigh has spent her whole life trying to run from her past. She and her sister, Callie, did something when they were teenagers that has been haunting them ever since, and although Leigh has built a life for herself up from the ground as a successful defense lawyer and a wife and mother, she knows it's only a matter of time before her life implodes. And this possible destruction of everything she's worked for comes in the form of a high-profile client accused of a violent rape. This client makes it clear to Leigh that he knows exactly what happened twenty years ago, and that he's going to make her life a living hell. Forced to seek out Callie, who she has been estranged from, the two sisters will have to face a reckoning and, in the process, confront their own demons.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When people say that Karin Slaughter is one of the best thriller writers of this generation, they're not exaggerating. Although I've only read one of her previous novels, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Pretty Girls</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, it's clear from the get-go that Slaughter possesses a talent that makes everything she puts out intensely and frighteningly readable. </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">False Witness</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, like her other works, is dark, heavy, and in spite of the aforementioned readability, filled to the brim with topics that are often difficult to read about. However, she manages to pull off writing about this sort of stuff with grace and class, and though the material is graphic (and rather graphically written about), it never feels exploitative. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The two main characters, Leigh and Callie, are sisters, and it is this bond that drives the entire novel forward. Their relationship is deeply complicated, with Leigh feeling more like Callie's mother than her sister, mostly due to their abusive mother, while also dealing with guilt from something that Leigh believes is her fault that led to Callie's heavy drug abuse and the subsequent destruction of her entire life. Callie, on the other hand, deals with everything with a careless attitude that belies the turmoil she's experiencing inside. Slaughter perfectly captures a sister relationship, with all its complexities, anger and love. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stakes are extremely high, and there's not a moment where you're allowed to forget it. I was tense reading this, wondering what was going to happen next, if Callie and Leigh were going to be able to pull off their next crazy stunt. This book is primarily a study of womanhood, sisterhood, and how sexual violence pervades women's lives, from childhood until old age. It could be depressing and, yes, it sometimes is, but throughout Slaughter manages to make this a beautiful and moving story about the devastating effects of sexual abuse and the end somehow leaves you with hope.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, I'd highly recommend it, and I will definitely be seeking out more of Slaughter's books in the future.</span></div></div></div>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-26080004492174383682024-01-02T10:21:00.000-08:002024-01-02T10:21:32.445-08:00Book Review: Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/91CKba4qGvL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="531" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/91CKba4qGvL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, assault, misogyny, racism.</span></u></span></i></div></div></div><p><br />Eliza Jones and Grace Steele are opposites. Eliza is spoiled, the daughter of a wealthy newspaper owner, while Grace has grown up counting every penny, all of her hopes and dreams reliant on her piano. But both of them have something in common: they're enlisting in the WAAC, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, and they will be some of the very first black women to serve. Drawn together despite their differences, Eliza and Grace are challenged not only by racism and misogyny, but also by the hardships of army life -- but amongst their fellow female soldiers, they discover a sisterhood of courageous women that will challenge and encourage them at every turn, especially when they are finally sent overseas. </p><p>Originally I had requested this on Netgalley, and when I ended up not getting approved, I decided to pick it up at the book store. It has many things I look for in a book: female-focused, historical (and set during WWII), and a story highlighting the lives of black women. After reading the first few pages, however, I began to have an inkling that this might not be the book for me. I almost never stop reading a book once I've started, though -- unless it's egregiously bad or problematic, it somehow feels unfair not to give it a chance to get its footing. In this case, though, <i>Sisters in Arms</i> ended up being little more than a slog for me.</p><p>Our dual protagonists, Eliza and Grace, are both black women in their early twenties, but that's about where the similarities between them stop. For the first half of the book, I found myself liking Eliza best, as she's a little plucky and often makes a genuine effort to help others. Grace, on the other hand, is cold and distant, and while typically that wouldn't bother me in a character, it lends itself to the way that she treats Eliza, which I did not like whatsoever. She's rude, condescending, and sometimes even straight up hateful to Eliza, who does nothing but show her kindness every time they meet. Moreover, both of them come across as extremely juvenile -- until their ages were confirmed on-page, I half wondered if we were supposed to be reading about teenage girls. Everything, somehow, is very sanitary, reminiscent of a Hallmark movie, in spite of the fact that there are some dark moments and topics within.</p><p>Most of the time, I'm not particularly bothered if an author's writing style doesn't suit my personal tastes, but unfortunately, Alderson's writing just seemed a bit childish. It was more suited for YA than anything, and at times, disregarding the adult topics, I felt as if I were reading in that genre. The main thing is that I'm not a fan of fluff, and that's primarily what this book is. It's light, and although I don't like using the term "chick lit," that's really the only other way I can think to describe this. Fluff is not for me -- I prefer harder, darker books. So although I personally didn't enjoy this one, I imagine there are many who will, as this is exactly their type of genre.</p><p>It's boring, for me, when I read a book where everyone is fundamentally good. The ending nicely ties up all their loose ends with a ribbon, and I didn't find it quite believable or engaging. Eliza's father, for example, is "redeemed," and I found it a little hard to swallow. He is a domineering, manipulative man, and I didn't like the way the ending swept aside his former characterization. Many of the other characters suffer from this treatment at the end, too. I also found the conflict between Eliza and Grace, especially one part towards the end of the novel (which I can't discuss in detail without major spoilers), extremely puerile. The romances have that same problem, with the chemistry seeming forced.</p><p>However, I didn't know about the 6888th Central Postal Battalion before this read, and I love that it taught me about a piece of history that I didn't know -- and one that should be taught more often. These were strong, courageous women who rose up against all odds, and there are glimpses in this book of moments like that. For me, this one just didn't work, but I know there are many out there who will appreciate this story and enjoy it.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-61208064758225502242023-12-15T14:30:00.000-08:002023-12-15T14:30:25.865-08:00Book Review: The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431801037i/210722.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="325" height="400" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1431801037i/210722.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Content Warning: violence, death (including that of a child), sexual assault/harassment, misogyny, domestic abuse, racism, suicide.</span></span></span></u></span></i></div></div><p><br />Nnu Ego is the daughter of a proud chief of Ibuza and the one woman who refused to become one of his many wives. Raised up as the apple of her father's eye and the last remnant of the mother who died birthing her, Nnu Ego has high expectations for her life. She wants, as her community says, to "become a woman" -- to get married and have children. Her first marriage is a disaster; her second, considered a victory because of the children she's blessed with. Her relationship with her husband, a city man in Lagos, is fraught with difficulties, and although Nnu Ego is convinced that her life will become better once she has a child, preferably a son, it soon seems to her that the joys of motherhood are overrated -- not to mention few and far in-between. </p><p>A poignantly reflective novel that seeks to unravel the complicated relationship women have with motherhood, Emecheta's <i>The Joys of Motherhood</i>, published in 1979, is an excellent glimpse into the early burgeoning of black, and specifically African and Nigerian, feminism. Our heroine, Nnu Ego, is at odds with the new way of living emerging in Nigeria. Growing up in a village, she is used to farming, to hardworking men and women and the traditional roles that go alongside this lifestyle. When she arrives in Lagos, keen to meet the new husband that will hopefully fulfill her desire to have children, it's a true and thorough culture shock. Here, in the big city, her husband does something that, in Nnu Ego's eyes, is totally against all of the gender norms of masculinity she's grown up with: he washes and launders his white employers' clothes.</p><p>These are just a few of the ways that gender norms are expressed in Emecheta's writing. Most of it focuses on Nnu Ego's expectations of herself, and other women: you don't "become a woman" until you have a husband and until you have a child. Until that happens, you live a half-life, waiting to become fully human. Emecheta compares motherhood and womanhood to slavery over the course of the novel; at one point, Nnu Ego thinks of her children as the chains of her slavery, her husband Nnaife knowing that as long as her children with him live, she is bound to him forever, that she is unable to leave them.</p><p>It must be said that this novel is crushing in its bleakness. Time and time again there is subtle hope that Nnu Ego will break free from the cyclical nature of the life she's living, or perhaps that someone else in the novel will, but despair is the most constant emotion that permeates <i>The Joys of Motherhood</i>. Its ending, in particular, is devastating -- however naively, I kept thinking that something had to give. However, I'm so glad that I chose to read this, as it's a truly insightful, deep, and complex narrative that will stick with you long after you've finished the last page.</p><p>Highly recommended, and unmissable if you're interested in African feminism. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-33452191784852615262023-11-01T12:51:00.001-07:002023-11-01T12:51:27.550-07:00Book Review: Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91Wac2ILy0L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="531" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91Wac2ILy0L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Berkley </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, misogyny, racism, off-page sexual assault/rape.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div></div></div><p><br />Syd Walker is haunted. Fifteen years ago, a single night in her small Oklahoma hometown changed her life forever, driving her to move to Rhode Island and leave behind her family. Although she's sworn she'd never go back, Syd also works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as an archeologist, and the past has come calling with the discovery of a skull on a piece of land that is near and dear to Syd's heart. When she returns to Picher, she's shocked to find out that her sister, Emma Lou, has vanished -- and begins to suspect that her sister's disappearance is linked to the skull and to that night so many years ago that Syd has been running from ever since. </p><p>An exploration of the murdered and missing Indigenous women epidemic, <i>Blood Sisters </i>is set in the small, now abandoned, town of Picher. In 2009, Picher was officially declared as uninhabitable, owing to its high level of toxicity due to waste from mines. Our heroine, Syd, grows up amongst the chat piles, playing with her friends until the day that her life changes forever. While the premise itself is interesting, and the featuring of Picher adds another layer of depth and intrigue, the execution simply did not live up to its potential.</p><p>Syd, our narrator, is one of the main problems. She's neither interesting nor likable enough to carry the novel on her back, and what's most jarring about her is that she constantly and consistently makes decisions that are simply unbelievable. In spite of the fact that she works as an archeologist for the BIA, and there seems to be the suggestion of her intelligence, she acts and operates in a way that can only be described as stupid. It's understandable that she values her own life very little, a common problem that arises with survivor's guilt, but she also seems to not think very much about the people in her life and how her actions put them into danger, too. You would think this would be something she'd be highly aware of, due to her past, but apparently, that's not the case. </p><p>There's a gimmick that doesn't work well in this book -- I won't spoil it, although it happens very early in the book and continues until the end. It somehow felt cheap, and as if the author was looking for a way to impart information that Syd couldn't know, making the eventual reveal of what's truly happening all the more eyeroll inducing. In a further exploration of what I mentioned with Syd's character, it's also worth noting that none of the other characters fare very well, either. All of them are flat and one-dimensional, and sometimes the characterization (particularly in regards to one character at the end of the book, which I can't go into without spoiling the entirety of the plot) feels like it's out of a bad action movie. </p><p>The plot completely and totally goes off the rails. It's melodramatic, it's unbelievable, and it makes you want to put the book down and not pick it back up again. It's hard to believe what you're reading. It becomes so convoluted, so much like the aforementioned B action movie, that it loses any interesting threads it's picked up along the way. I was actually quite shocked that Lillie went down the route that she did, and the second half of the book is where it really all went downhill for me -- ending up with only two stars.</p><p>I'm giving <i>Blood Sisters </i>two stars only because the first couple of chapters are pretty good, and I think the premise was unique and interesting, but it's not something I'd pick up to read twice.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-50250088061928954922023-08-28T07:01:00.000-07:002023-08-28T07:01:09.690-07:00Book Review: Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91ySvbFROIL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="517" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91ySvbFROIL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown</span></span></span></u></i></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u> </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u> </u></i><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: racism, misogyny, homophobia, death.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div></div></div><p><br />Eliza Raine is different than the other girls who attend the Manor School for Young Ladies in York. She's the daughter of an Englishman and an Indian mother, a woman who was not formally wed, and when she returned to her father's home country as a little girl, it was a fact she was made distinctly aware of. Only fourteen, she keeps to herself at school, isolated in a room by herself, away from the other bedrooms. But when Anne Lister arrives -- charismatic, fearless, bold Anne -- Eliza's world is turned upside down and, as the two girls grow up, their relationship will leave indelible marks on them both.</p><p>Anne Lister is considered one of the world's "first modern lesbians." She was, as I described her in this book's summary, bold and charming -- a true go-getter in every sense of the word. While there have been quite a few adaptations and books revolving around her life (including the wonderful and critically acclaimed <i>Gentleman Jack</i>, which has managed to bring her into cultural consciousness), few have made little more than a passing mention to her education at a school York, where, at only fourteen, she fell in love for the first time with another girl. This girl has, for the most part, faded from history: Anglo-Indian, the daughter of a doctor, and someone who paid the price for daring to be fearless, something that whiteness and wealth seemed to protect Lister from.</p><p>Eliza is our narrator, and we alternate between passages of her memories of them as schoolgirls, and her letters written to Anne some ten years later. At first, as a fourteen year old child, Eliza is hesitant, doing her best not to get any marks at the Manor, keenly aware of the fact that while her compatriots may get away with some things because of their whiteness and privilege, she will not. She stays in a room by herself, sequestered away on the other end of the building, never quite sure if it was intentional or merely because of convenience. Her life suddenly becomes interesting, however, with the entrance of Anne -- and if, like me, you've read about Eliza and Anne before, you might have an idea where all of this is going. </p><p>Donoghue is truly a master at her craft. She so effortlessly and seamlessly weaves together true emotion, humor, and something quite heavier, all while spinning together such beautiful sentences that I sometimes had to pause just to appreciate them. Perhaps it comes from years spent perfecting her writing, but there surely has to be something else, something innate, that makes her so damn talented. She is an expert at capturing whatever time period she's writing about, and it's obvious that she does very intensive research. As you might expect from the novel's plot, there are many heavy topics addressed here -- sexism, racism, homophobia, and more -- and Donoghue does it with both a sense of how important they are, and sometimes with a little tongue-in-cheek. </p><p>In particular, though, the racism that Eliza experiences is very thoughtfully dealt with, and I think Donoghue does an excellent job of showing us just how much white privilege allows Anne to get away with what she does. Anne, of course, faced many challenges throughout her lifetime, and as a butch lesbian in the nineteenth century, her obstacles are nothing to be sneered at, but the juxtaposition of Eliza's life with Anne's makes a clearcut display of how wealthy white people are allowed to be eccentric, or different, without losing their liberty.</p><p>Another element I must compliment is that Donoghue does not romanticize Anne. If you've read her journals or studied her life to some degree, it becomes obvious that Anne was many things, but she was not often kind, nor was she very self-aware. She could be avaricious and cruel, and more often than not, she discarded her many lovers with seemingly little care to their feelings or the impact on their futures. Not to say that there weren't many good things about her, but it's nice to see this realistic, flawed portrayal of her, something like the real person. Eliza, too, has her flaws, and the characterization and development is yet another reason why <i>Learned by Heart </i>was a five star read for me.</p><p>Ultimately, the storyline here is tragic, and I was moved nearly to tears by the end. This book is beautiful, and wrung real emotions out of me. Because of Donoghue's decision to uplift the voice of a woman who was silenced in real life, I will always remember Eliza Raine. </p><p>Highly, highly recommended -- get yourself a copy as soon as you're able. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-46992507916698239762023-08-23T14:50:00.001-07:002023-08-23T14:50:43.617-07:00Book Review: He Who Drowned the World by Shelley-Parker Chan<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://mpd-biblio-covers.imgix.net/9781250621832.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="518" height="400" src="https://mpd-biblio-covers.imgix.net/9781250621832.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left; white-space-collapse: preserve;">½</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Tor </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, child abuse, homophobia, transphobia, torture, self harm.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div></div><p><br />Zhu Yuanzhang is so close to being on top of the world. After her shocking victory with her peasant uprising, Zhu has implemented herself as the Radiant King, and doesn't plan to stop there. Her old enemies, however, have not forgotten her -- and after her rise to power, she's created many new ones in the process, too. One of them is Madame Zhang, the former courtesan who is just as willing to claw her way up the ladder as Zhu is, and she's quickly becoming Zhu's most daunting opponent. In the hopes of overcoming Madame Zhang and making her way to Dadu, where she can seize the throne for herself, Zhu is forced to ally herself with General Ouyang, the very man who was once her fiercest competitor. But unbeknownst to any of these contenders, Wang Baoxiang -- Esen-Temur's scorned and ridiculed scholar brother -- has made his way back to the capital and, with his calculating maneuvers, may just bring the entire empire to its knees.</p><p>There are no words in the English language that could accurately describe how excited I have been for the sequel to <i><a href="https://thestrangebeautiful.blogspot.com/2022/01/book-review-she-who-became-sun-by.html" target="_blank">She Who Became the Sun</a>.</i> It easily became one of my top books of the year, and it will forever remain inscribed in my mind and heart. Parker-Chan has created a world populated with characters who are truly morally gray, and they're never afraid to allow those characters to venture onto the path of darkness and destruction, which is explored much more in depth this time around. Although Zhu remains our protagonist, there's a much heavier focus on Baoxiang, the new Prince of Henan, who is -- much like my beloved General Ouyang -- exclusively fixated on vengeance.</p><p>Let's start by talking about the arc of my two favorite characters, Zhu and Ouyang. Zhu remains her usual indomitable self, following her ambitions selfishly and ruthlessly. Ouyang has, obviously, taken quite a few knocks, and it's evident in his character, even more so than before. However, I had the sinking feeling as I read this novel that, somehow, Zhu has taken more of backseat than before. That isn't to say that she doesn't get plenty of chapters, or that her arc is not completed, but to me, it seemed as if Parker-Chan was so enjoying Baoxiang's character and his chapters that they sort of put everyone else on the backburner. While I like Baoxiang well enough, and he's very interesting, the nucleus of everything being on him was a bit disappointing for me. Some of my problems with him arise later in the book, and truthfully, I can't discuss those issues without spoiling the ending of <i>He Who Drowned the World</i>. But, I think it'll have to do to say that while the novel seems intent on having us sympathize with him, I found that extremely difficult to do as the plot progressed.</p><p>Zhu is and always will be the shining star of the duology, and I greatly enjoyed seeing her growth -- this time around, she actually begins to experience emotions that she hasn't quite encountered before -- and it's just easy to root for her. Her decisions are, more often than not, painful in their mercenariness, and although she makes some choices towards the conclusion that were a bit hard for me to understand (or agree with), she is never not interesting, never the kind of character you wish was off the page. In fact, once again I must applaud Parker-Chan's fearlessness in making Zhu greedy, ruthless, and yet still somehow tender with those she loves. Zhu and Ouyang are posited as mirror images and, while this is undeniably true, <i>He Who Drowned the World </i>makes it more apparent than ever that Ouyang is an example of the path that Zhu could one day find herself on. Ma Xiuying, one of my other favorites, has an extremely complicated arc this time around, and one that I'm still not sure how to feel about.</p><p>One of the few flaws in <i>She Who Became the Sun </i>(if you can call it a flaw; it really is just my opinion) is how it underutilizes Ma during much of the book. She gleams constantly with potential, and while Ouyang, Baoxiang, and Zhu are, in many ways, twisted versions of one another, she stands out as being singular. In comparison to all of our main players, she retains a compassion and gentleness that serves to make her simultaneously stronger and more vulnerable to the game. Yet she has a very tiny bit part in this novel, up until the last act, and I can't help but feeling slightly -- I'm not even sure what the correct word would be. Put off, maybe. Maybe one day I'll be able to fully put into words how I feel about Ma's arc, but today isn't that day. All I can say for now is that it was not what I expected nor hoped to see for such an interesting character.</p><p>Parker-Chan's writing is gorgeous. This has stayed consistent throughout their books, and most likely will always be a feature of whatever they choose to write. The way they use language is with true craftmanship, and honestly, I'm quite envious of the absolutely stunning sentences they come up with. Just beautiful, and makes the reading fun and flow so well, regardless of the difficult topics being addressed.</p><p>And with the mention of difficult topics, there is something else I'd like to touch on. <i>He Who Drowned the World </i>very heavily features rape, sexual assault, and misogyny. Now, these elements are, of course, present within the first book as well, but here they've certainly been dialed up a few notches. We actually get a few on-page rape scenes, and while I don't have any qualms with reading or writing about dark, hard things (and I understand why some authors choose to include such scenes), at some point these things started to feel almost... gratuitous. I hate saying that, as I know that is not Parker-Chan's intention whatsoever, but there were some I particularly took issue with. This time around, it feels almost as if every single female character is being "brought down" or "degraded" by a depiction of rape or sexual assault. Again, I really can't get into it in detail without spoiling many of the big plot points, but it's something I felt remiss not to mention at all, especially since it was something weighing heavily on my mind as I read. The scenes themselves are not extremely graphic, and obviously they're not written to be titillating, but some of them verged on the border of being just too much. Despite Parker-Chan saying that they don't write "grimdark fantasy," this sometimes felt like just that. For me, it's simply an issue of wondering why we have to see <i>all </i>of them on-page. I think some of them could have taken course in the beginning or aftermath without taking anything away from what's going on.</p><p>In conclusion, I liked but did not love this book. This ended up being a slightly disappointing end to the duology for me, and while it contained many things I <i>did </i>love, in the end the issues I grappled with throughout my reading kept me from adoring it as a whole. With that being said, I do want to say I love Parker-Chan's writing and characters, and I really can't wait to see what else they come up with. I'll definitely be reading whatever they write next.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-5118321242127623142023-08-13T15:12:00.000-07:002023-08-13T15:12:57.253-07:00Book Review: Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/917wvlV3kXL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="530" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/917wvlV3kXL.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left; white-space-collapse: preserve;">½</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Putnam </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, misogyny, sexual assault, colonization. </span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div></div><br /><p></p><div>In 2019, Rozeena is haunted by memories of her past. Out of her three childhood friends -- Haaris, Aalya, and Zohair -- she is the only one who still lives in Karachi, the place her parents fled during the Partition of India in 1947. Although she's done her best to put the events of 1964 behind her, she still fears her only son discovering the truth of his background, and so it suits her just fine to stay away from everyone in her old life. But when Haaris calls her all the way from America, pleading for her to take his granddaughter under her wing, Rozeena is thrown back into the midst of a time she doesn't want to remember -- and its consequences that are still echoing to the present day. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before <i>Under the Tamarind Tree</i>, I had only the vaguest understanding of India's Partition in 1947. It was a catastrophic event, engineered by British colonizers who were both too ignorant and too cruel to care for the millions of people under their watch, culminating in violence, confusion and, ultimately, the loss of between 200,000 to two million lives, and the displacement of nearly twenty million. Alam does a great job of weaving the events of 1947, 1964, and 2019 together, and although the primary focus of the novel is on Rozeena and her friends, the backdrop of the Partition and its trauma is ever-present, the catalyst that leads to many future tragedies -- some of which Rozeena, Haaris, Zohair and Aalya will never recover from.</div><div><br /></div><div>The setting of Karachi is beautifully rendered, and despite the fact that I've never even set foot out of Texas, Alam's descriptions of it are so real that I could almost imagine myself there. She takes time and consideration to perfect the background, and Karachi itself almost becomes a character, a sort of living, breathing being that is utilized by the story and characters. Even if you have very little prior understanding of Pakistan, its culture, religions, or its history, Alam does an excellent job of providing us with just enough information that it doesn't feel as if you're being spoon-fed exposition. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our main character is Rozeena; the book is entirely from her perspective, the other characters creating a sort of web around her, with her squarely in the middle of it all. In spite of Rozeena's narration and the many problems that she faces, however, she remains distant, and it was sometimes difficult to connect with her. It might be in part due to the rather simplistic writing style, particularly in the modern day, which is told through present-tense -- never a great vehicle for conveying emotion, if you ask me. I particularly liked the relationship between Aalya and Rozeena, and their efforts at reconnecting as they grow from children into young adults, and I would've actually liked to see more of it.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Under the Tamarind Tree </i>is an exploration of regret. Rozeena is constantly plagued by guilt from her past, unable to let go of the mistakes she made that changed the directions of their lives forever. The brightest spot of the book is the blossoming relationship between Rozeena and Haaris's granddaughter, who offers her a way out of self-loathing and depression. She sees in this girl a chance at making things right, of healing the wounds that she and Aalya experienced as young women, and it is this beautiful bond that centers the story and, in the end, makes it feel complete. </div>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-73990370470250552612023-07-14T10:05:00.002-07:002023-07-14T10:05:48.161-07:00Book Review: Mrs. S by K. Patrick<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674490136i/63083089.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674490136i/63083089.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Europa Editions </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, misogyny, homophobia.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div>At a remote English boarding school, where propriety is an enforced rule, a new woman has taken up the role of "Matron" -- and most importantly, she's a butch lesbian. Used to being an outsider looking in, but slightly taken aback by the way her appearance and "strangeness" is greeted by hostility, she grows restless in her role, concerned about her future, and extremely self-conscious. But then, she meets Mrs. S, the headmaster's wife. Mrs. S is everything the Matron is not: comfortable in her dominance and authority, and very feminine. Captivated by Mrs. S, the Matron quickly finds herself falling into an infatuation, one that will deeply change the lives of everyone around them.<p></p><div>Although it has taken me far, far too long to put up this review, please don't take it as a sign that I disliked this book. In fact, I think it's one of the most beautiful, arresting novels I've had the pleasure of reading this year, and there's quite a lot of stiff competition (like <i>Lucky Red</i>, for example, another ARC I just reviewed). Patrick's writing style is totally and completely unique: none of the characters are ever named, aside from the dauntingly gorgeous and commanding Mrs. S, and although at first you might struggle to get into the flow of Patrick's style, please do yourself a favor and do <i>not </i>put this down.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a perfect representation of being "other." The Matron, our main character and narrator, has struggled with this throughout her life, connected always to her lesbianism and butch appearance. Her relationship with her parents is extremely fraught; she comes to the English countryside, and expects her loneliness to be even more solidified, but is surprised to find that she isn't the only lesbian there. This also makes a great example of the saying "we are everywhere" -- that no matter where you go, or what people you meet, you will always find another person who is on the LGBT spectrum. For me, Patrick flawlessly and easily captures what it is like to be an outsider, especially as a woman. The sensation that you don't fit in, that all the other girls are connected somehow, and that you will forever be standing just outside of their circle.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Matron's relationship with Mrs. S is the primary focus, but there are so many elements at play here, and Patrick handles it masterfully. The ruminations on identity are spot-on, and all of it feels like lived, authentic experience (and I assume much of it is). As their relationship develops, you feel just as the Matron does, confused and baffle and in love and wondering what kind of game Mrs. S is playing -- or if it's even a game at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>Highly, highly recommended!</div>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-64287304334569733782023-06-25T18:07:00.001-07:002023-06-25T18:07:06.154-07:00Book Review: The Brightest Star by Gail Tsukiyama<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71uOv39yz9L._SL1500_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71uOv39yz9L._SL1500_.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>HarperVia </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: death, racism, homophobia, misogyny, outdated racial terms (used by those of that race), racial slurs (specifically anti-Asian and Chinese racial slurs), relationships between an adult/minor.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div><p><br />Growing up, Wong Liu Tsong falls in love with silent films, running home to mimic the expressions of the actresses she sees on screen. Taunted at school for her Chinese heritage, she dreams of becoming a star, picking out her own stage name as a child: Anna May Wong. While her sister Lulu is obedient, helping their parents faithfully at their laundry, Anna is a rebel, drawing the ire of their father. But when all of her hard work pays off and Anna gets an opportunity as an extra in <i>The Red Lantern, </i>she's hooked for life -- and there's no one who can stop her. Pitted against white actresses in yellowface, predatory film executives, and an American audience that wants their Chinese heroines either unsympathetic villainesses or good girls who always die, Anna rises in the industry nonetheless, and leaves a lasting impact that will change the lives of many Chinese and Chinese-American women for generations.</p><p>Anna May Wong has captured the imaginations -- and hearts -- of people ever since she debuted in 1919. A trailblazer by every definition of the word, she's someone who fought time and time again against discrimination and oppression, and although we now look back on her as a woman who was successful, she often felt the stinging blow of being denied role after role, only to have it taken by a white woman in dreadful, monstrous yellowface. Tsukiyama makes an effort here to peel back the layers, to allow us to see the film icon from her own perspective, and to also help us understand the setbacks she faced and overcame each time. </p><p>As a fan of Wong's, it was a thrill to see this book available on Netgalley. The cover, with its beautiful photograph of her with the haircut that inspired so many others to chop their bangs, caught my attention instantly. Reading the first page of <i>The Brighest Star, </i>however, I'm afraid to say that I felt the first, slightest hints of apprehension. This is my first time reading a novel by Tsukiyama, but she's famous and well-regarded, so I wasn't very concerned that I would dislike her writing. With that being said, as difficult as it is to say this, I'm not a fan of Tsukiyama's writing in the slightest. My main problem is partly due to writing style, which is all tell, no show, and partly due to pacing, which takes you so quickly through every part of Wong's life that it feels as if you get no time to absorb it whatsoever.</p><p>This is one of my biggest disappointments of 2023. It's hard to emphasize how much the pacing damages this story; it feels almost like flashes of her mind and thoughts and then, in the blink of an eye, it's gone. To put it simply, everything is flat, particularly Wong's inner monologue. There's absolutely no personality, and it's extremely off-putting, especially when you consider what an interesting and brave person Wong was. One other problem: the depiction of her relationship with Marlene Dietrich. Many people are aware of their relationship, but while Tsukiyama gives much dedication to the relationships Wong had with older, predatory men (including those when she was underage), and gives much detail to their "love and passion," Marlene is many times called nothing more than a friend. Very strange.</p><p>So, with all of that being said, I couldn't in good conscience give <i>The Brightest Star </i>a rating higher than two stars.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-47398467282429362652023-06-25T17:38:00.000-07:002023-06-25T17:38:50.580-07:00Book Review: Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91gmsQxQBhL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="548" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91gmsQxQBhL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Random House </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, homophobia, misogyny.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div><p><br />Bridget is only sixteen when she arrives in Dodge City, a newly-made orphan with nothing to her name but her bright red hair and boldness. It doesn't take long before she's approached by one of the Buffalo Queen's madams, who thinks that Bridget will earn them a pretty penny with her fresh-faced prettiness. As Bridget learns the trade and lives at the brothel, for the first time she finds herself with money and security, and the friendship of other women. But Bridget's relatively peaceful life will change forever when a female gunslinger and bounty hunter, Spartan Lee, rides into town -- and makes quick work of stealing Bridget's heart. Deeply in love and quickly garnering a reputation as a troublemaker, Bridget's lucky streak is running out, and she won't be the only one facing the consequences in the end. </p><p>The word 'cinematic' is used in the blurb for this book, and there's truly no better descriptor for it than that. This is a Western, but one that doesn't simply include women and LGBTQ representation: it centers them totally. It's got all the grittiness and hardness of <i>Tombstone</i>, but also a profound sense of family and connection -- and all the conflicts that come with it.</p><p>Our heroine is Bridget. She's known nothing but hardship for the entirety of her sixteen years, and so to her, the Buffalo Queen represents comfort, prosperity, and, again, family. Her two madams take her under their wing, but it's her relationship with Constance, a fellow sex worker, that really ends up helping her to define her life. Bridget is exactly what you look for in a main character: she's tough and bold, but she's also prone to making mistakes and getting herself into situations that aren't easily remedied. What particularly sealed my love for her is the fact that Cravens never shies away from making her sometimes difficult, or petty, or selfish. It makes her instantly human, relatable, someone that you end up rooting for because she is complex and three-dimensional. </p><p>Bridget's lesbianism is also a central theme throughout. It's a major part of how she ends up getting herself into so much mischief and trouble, and it was a joy to read about her discovering herself, unable to hide her thoughts or love on her face and all of the other girls being aware that she was head over heels. <i>Lucky Red </i>is primarily a journey of self-discovery, not only with regards to Bridget's sexuality, but also with her trying to figure out exactly what she wants and what she's willing to risk to get it. Also, despite the fact that there is homophobia at play in <i>Lucky Red</i>, it was a relief to have it juxtaposed by the accepting nature of others in Bridget's life. However 'historically accurate' it may be, it gets tiresome to read the same stories again and again, focusing only on the painful parts of being LGBTQ+.</p><p>To put it simply, this is a book I will be recommending to everyone. It's sharp, clever, gritty, and an absolutely fantastic homage to classic Westerns. This one deserves its five stars and then some, folks.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-31187302841087971382023-06-21T16:01:00.001-07:002023-06-21T16:01:15.266-07:00Book Review: Maddalena and the Dark by Julia Fine<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81MW767Xp+L._SL1500_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="526" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81MW767Xp+L._SL1500_.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">½</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Flatiron Books </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p>Maddalena and Luisa are opposites: Maddalena from a wealthy, patrician family, Luisa a foundling, forever indebted to the Ospedale della Pietà, the convent school that has taken her in and taught her music. When Maddalena's fortunes change -- due to the questions surrounding her parentage, and her mother who has apparently run off with a lover -- her brothers and father decide to send her off to the Pietà, too, hoping to make her into a respectable young woman who will be married off to an equally respectable young man. When Luisa and Maddalena meet, they feel an immediate connection, beyond anything either of them has ever experienced before. But Maddalena has dangerous plans to secure her own future, and as she draws Luisa deeper into her world, both girls learn that everything comes with a price.</p><p>Starting off truthfully, I have very conflicted feelings about this book. The first few pages were captivating, filled by beautiful, flowery writing, but it quickly became a double edged-sword. Having never read anything by Fine before, I didn't know what to expect, but any book set in eighteenth century Venice, featuring a romance between two women, is enough to entice me into requesting the ARC. However, as I went through the novel, I found myself never quite able to fully invest myself in the story, particularly when it came to Luisa's character.</p><p>The setting is rich with potential, and our opening, with the bold and slightly calculating Maddalena, certainly caught my interest. Maddalena is like many female characters who end up being my favorites: not quite likable, in a way that actually increases one's interest and enjoyment of her. Luisa, on the other hand, seems all right upon our first meeting with her, but as time went on, I grew increasingly irritated and frustrated with her naïveté and her inability to take any initiative whatsoever. Although Maddalena is manipulative and borders on being unkind, she's fascinating, layered and her motivations change and shift throughout. Strangely enough, it was Luisa who stuck me as being slightly false, and because of this, not very likable.</p><p>Perhaps it's partly my fault, but I also wasn't aware that the storyline heavily features magical realism, and that a large part of it includes rather abstract and surrealistic scenes. I'm not against those things by any mean, but I felt that to some degree, it was used to orchestrate and engineer the plotline to the author's liking. Not quite a deus ex machina, but something very like it, which for me, doesn't work. One more thing I'm awfully sore about: the relationship between Luisa and Maddalena. This is categorized as LGBT, and in some ways it is (Maddalena is very obviously a lesbian), but if you're hoping for a complex relationship between Luisa and Maddalena, I'm afraid you'll be very disappointed indeed. Look, I'm a huge fan of toxic, slightly cruel relationships between women (a la Villanelle and Eve, or Frances and Lilian in <i>The Paying Guests</i>), but this flops between being one-sided and maybe? Possibly? Something else. It's confusing, but not in a rewarding way.</p><p>Now, for the positives: Again, Maddalena's character is one that has stuck with me for a while, even after completing this book months ago. Fine's writing is really, genuinely beautiful, and I think there was so much potential here, but unfortunately it just ended up falling flat. By no means is this an awful book, but instead, sadly a bit mediocre. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-505090857332301622023-05-11T12:25:00.000-07:002023-05-11T12:25:17.073-07:00Book Review: Vita and the Birds by Polly Crosby <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81E7HrqoSYL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="519" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81E7HrqoSYL.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">½</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>HQ </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Content Warning: violence, death, homophobia, misogyny, institutionalization.</span></span></span></u></span></i></span></div><div><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p>In 1938, Vita Goldsborough seems to have it all. She's wealthy, a lady of leisure, but in their big house on the East Anglian coast, Vita's brother, Aubrey, does his best to keep her completely isolated from the outside world. But during one of her walks on the beach, Vita stumbles across an artist, sketching the seascape -- and not just any artist, but a <i>female </i>one. Fascinated, Vita does her best to befriend the woman -- Dodie Blakeney -- and as they grow closer, she begins to see a future for herself out from under Aubrey's thumb. In 1997, Eve Blakeney returns to the Suffolk town where she spent her summers growing up, hoping to get some closure after her mother's sudden death. But when Eve stumbles across letters written by Vita to her grandmother, she discovers a family secret that has been festering for decades -- and one that might change the course of Eve's own life.</p><p>A historical novel with family secrets and a lesbian romance? As soon as I read the premise for <i>Vita and the Birds</i>, I knew I had to request the ARC. I ended up reading it early, in order to get ahead on my ARCs, and as I've been having quite a stressful time in my life, I'm actually glad it was this one I chose. It's calming, somehow, in spite of the hardships that Vita and Eve are both facing, and it was easy for me to understand the ways that their calming seaside town brought peace to them in the midst of their problems. Crosby does a fantastic job of making small-town English life leap from the page, particularly when it comes to the unique building -- The Cathedral of Marshes -- that acts as the cornerstone of this book. </p><p>Now, although it's listed as a mystery, that's not actually how I would classify <i>Vita and the Birds</i>. There are mystery elements, but most of them were easy for me to unravel without much help from the narrative itself, and unfortunately, some of them actually fell quite flat for me -- I'd like to go into more detail about it, but I also don't want to spoil any plot points for those who are wanting to pick this one up themselves. As a whole, the novel is more introspective, more literary and character-driven than it is a mystery. For me, that's actually not a negative, as I prefer books who focus more on characters than they do on a fast-moving plot, but some people might find it a bit disappointing. I enjoyed Crosby's simplistic, pretty writing; it fit the novel perfectly.</p><p>The characters are relatable on the surface, but I actually struggled to connect with them. I liked Vita best of them all, but Eve, Dodie, and many of the other characters remained mystifying to me, sometimes doing things that seemed out of character or somehow just not quite right. Again, I'd like to extrapolate on this more, but I don't want to spoil anything, especially as one of the problems I had with Dodie's character comes towards the end and acts as a major turning point in the plot. Now, I'm afraid I have to go on a little rant.</p><p>There's a big problem I've found continuously in lesbian romances in media. <i>Why </i>is there never any buildup in these romances? For straight couples, you get pages and pages and chapter and chapters of barely touching, of hesitant conversations, of unspoken feelings. You would think that in a historical novel, you would get a lot of that in a lesbian couple, but with Vita and Dodie (and many others I've read), it seems as if one moment they're meeting and talking, and the next they've suddenly fallen in love. Is it so much to ask for a slowburn? This isn't a problem unique to Crosby, but it's one that plagues fiction focusing on lesbian/wlw relationships and for me, it's a huge pet peeve.</p><p>With all of that being said, I do want to commend Crosby on the beautiful way she paints this story, and I do think I would pick up another book by her. Overall, although I didn't love it quite as much as I wanted to, I definitely would recommend this to people wanting to read a bit of a slow-burn family mystery set in a small English town!</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-74338228495142406192023-03-29T16:03:00.000-07:002023-03-29T16:03:00.139-07:00Book Review: In Nightfall by Suzanne Young<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/81bHkjE1gJL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="534" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/81bHkjE1gJL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">½</span></div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>Random House Children's </u></i></span></span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u> </u></i><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, underage drinking.</span></u></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Theo and her brother, Marco, are <i>not </i>excited about spending their summer in gloomy Nightfall, Oregon. After Marco throws a huge party, destroying the house and nearly getting many of his friends arrested, it's their father's idea of a punishment and visit to his mom all rolled into one. Once they arrive, however, Theo is immediately and begrudgingly charmed by the small town, and once Marco meets the beautiful, intriguing Minnow, things start to get a little more interesting for the both of them. Theo, too, is enamored by a crush of her own, but she finds their grandmother a little strange, especially with her one important house rule: never stay out after dark. When Theo is drawn into Minnow's friend group, she quickly realizes that something about the girls is -- off, somehow. And by the end of her summer trip, she might be forced to confront the dark side of Nightfall.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These days, I don't mix much with most YA books. I just don't click with it anymore, probably because I'm not exactly the intended audience anymore. Sometimes, though, you just want to pick up something fun, feel transported back to your teenage years, and for me, <i>In Nightfall </i>is a great example of a book that does just those things. Originally, I was intrigued by the comparisons to <i>The Lost Boys</i>, especially the idea that this was a sort of gender-flipped version, but beyond that shallow first impression, it manages to find its own path -- something that a lot of books with big-name comparisons can't achieve.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Theo is our main character, as we get everything from her first-person perspective, but this is really more of an ensemble type of novel, particularly when it comes to the involvement of her brother, Marco, and their family unit. She's interesting enough, and very likable, with relatable problems that many teenagers (and even adults) will be able to sympathize with. One problem I found with the entire book, however, is that most of the characters don't feel very fleshed-out, and this issue mostly plagues Theo's crush, Parrish, and the group of "wild" girls that Theo and Marco both get involved with. The two characters who assist Theo in her quest to figure out what's going on in Nightfall (and potentially help her fight any monsters who may or may not be terrorizing the town) suffer from the same problem, and I think it feels especially noticeable when they're supposed to be the Edgar and Alan of Young's book.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With that being said, Young does an excellent job of maintaining the sensation of fun and adventure, and I was really rooting for Theo and her family. Young's exploration of changing family dynamics is also spot-on, although I do wish that there had been more time to follow up with Theo's strained relationship with her mother. Another element I have to compliment is the wonderful way that Young builds up the fake town; it feels somehow genuine and authentic, with little touches and details that add a quality of realness, while also managing to keep Nightfall mysterious and just slightly off-kilter. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What kept me from giving this four stars has to do with <i>In Nightfall</i>'s girl gang. I was so excited to see how they would come alive on the page, but unfortunately, their allure was lukewarm for me. Truthfully, I was expecting (and hoping for) a deeper connection between Theo and the girls, especially with its comparison to <i>The Lost Boys. </i>In the film, it's easy to see why Michael falls under the spell of the boys, the classic tale of wanting to belong, even if it means fitting in with people who you don't truly like or get along with. Minnow, Annemarie and Beatrice are more like window-dressing, and their backstories and lives are never fully explored, something that would've made things far more interesting.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I think it'll gather a lot of fans. It isn't perfect, but it's never short of fun, and it's the kind of thing you want to reread when you're feeling down.</span></span></span></span></div>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-72957808450891101152023-03-14T19:17:00.000-07:002023-03-14T19:17:19.015-07:00Book Review: Big Swiss by Jen Beagin<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/71S9QgztVwL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="522" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/71S9QgztVwL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner</span></u></i></span><i><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </span></u></i><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: suicide, misogyny, homophobia, rape (mentioned, off-page), eating disorders, violence, stalking, animal cruelty, racism.</span></u></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Greta lives in an old Dutch farmhouse, working as a transcriber for a "sex and relationship coach" in Hudson, New York. She's also a mess. Listening in on people's therapy sessions hasn't done much for her own mental health, but she gets a kick out of it nonetheless, and she's particularly captivated by one of her boss's new clients. Greta calls her Big Swiss (owing to the fact that she's tall and from Switzerland) and for Greta, listening to her sessions is somehow cathartic -- they both have experienced major traumas in their lives, but their ways of coping are about as opposite as you can get. One day, Greta hears a familiar voice as she's at the dog park, and when she realizes it's Big Swiss in the flesh, she quickly introduces herself -- not as Greta, but Rebekah. As the two of them become tangled up in a messy, intense relationship, Greta is forced to face the demons of her past and some of the demons in her present, too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let me start off by saying that <i>Big Swiss </i>is not my usual kind of book. I decided to give it a go, mainly because I love messy female protagonists with a dark, dry sense of humor (and the lesbian relationship is a plus, too!), but I think it's only fair to mention this before I properly begin my review. Some people have likened Beagin's style to Otessa Moshfegh, and as I'm a big fan of her books, I thought, why not? It's always good to broaden your horizons. Unfortunately, in this case, I probably should've trusted the hesitation I felt. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The biggest problem I have is with the two main characters, Greta and Flavia (the titular Big Swiss). At first, I was intrigued by their dynamic, and I even found them oddly charming in some situations, but as the novel progressed, I quickly grew tired of their flakiness, their inability to be kind to one another, and, head and shoulders above the rest, the lack of chemistry between them. It was difficult to understand why they put up with each other, and what attracted them to one another in the first place. Although the 'why' is repeatedly spelled out for us, it doesn't really make sense with the actual interactions we see on-page. Big Swiss, in particular, is not a likable or even interesting character to me. Why Greta is so instantaneously infatuated with her is really anybody's guess.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's a lot of social commentary here, but most of it falls flat. It's the usual type of dry humor, making fun of everyone for everything, and to put it simply, it's boring. I also don't think that this book is quite as funny as it thinks it is, and instead of laughing or feeling tickled by a lot of the things intended to be funny, I was mostly left cringing. Greta is tactless, almost to the point of stupidity or naivete, and although she's forty-five, I had to continuously remind myself that she wasn't actually meant to be a vapid teenager or twenty-something. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's also really no plot to speak of. The ending is a bit disappointing; it feels like a lot of build-up for nothing. I didn't hate this book, but reading it felt like filler, like waiting for something meaningful to happen. Also, there's a lot of casual racism, and I wasn't a huge fan of the way the book handled Greta's questioning of her sexuality, nor did I like some of Big Swiss's comments about lesbianism (the whole "I could never be a lesbian" thing was just kind of weird).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All in all, not my cup of tea, but judging by the very high ratings this book has gotten, I might be the odd one out.</div>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-73352073052173467052023-03-08T14:57:00.002-08:002023-03-09T16:00:12.031-08:00Book Review: Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780451495143" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="400" src="https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780451495143" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and Random House</span></u></i></span><i><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </span></u></i><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: misogyny, violence, death, rape, racism (including slurs), child abuse, homophobia (including slurs), torture, usage of slurs against the disabled.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div></div><p><br />Juan is determined to protect his son. A powerful medium, Juan has been exploited and abused by the Order for years, beginning in his childhood, and after marrying and having a child with Rosario -- the daughter of the most powerful family of the Order -- he knows that they will do anything to get their hands on Gaspar, who they plan on using for their own ends. Fleeing across the country after Rosario's untimely death, father and son encounter obstacle after obstacle, from the brutal tactics of Argentina's military dictatorship to Juan's own dark side, a side that often comes out when he is around Gaspar. As Gaspar grows older, it becomes clear that his inheritance is inextricably tied to cruelty, magic, and ultimately, death.</p><p>Following many characters and a jumping timeline, <i>Our Share of Night </i>is an epic that does its best to break every storytelling convention you can think of. Written by Mariana Enriquez, an Argentine journalist and author who made it onto the shortlist for the International Booker Prize, this novel is, at its heart, an occult version of the bildungsroman. What I noticed first upon picking this up was her immense ability in creating something that sinks its claws into you. From the very first page, there's intrigue, and also a sense of impending doom, an element that pervades the story from start to finish. We begin in the head of Juan Peterson, a father who is prepared to do anything to save his son from the selfsame cult that has ruined his life. He's mourning the death of his wife, Rosario, the daughter of the wealthy Reyes Bradford family, who also happen to be the foremost leaders of the cult he's so determined to escape. His son, Gaspar, is perhaps a touch too clever for such a young child, mirroring both his rebellious father and mother in many ways.</p><p>When Juan and Gaspar are making their way across the country, the military dictatorship -- coming to power during the infamous coup where Isabel Perón was overthrown -- is in full swing. Much of this book is political, and Enriquez deals with those issues both in the form of veiled allegories and in upfront, direct lines that speak of the forced disappearances taking place, of the torture, and the so-called Dirty War tearing the country apart. Enriquez's style of speech and writing is frank, but with characteristic flair and beauty; she never shies away from the ugly, and it makes her stories that much more compelling. Her characters, too, are just as gripping, although I found Gaspar to be strangely shallow in comparison to Juan, Rosario, and the others around him. Juan, in particular, is complex, a multilayered creature that Enriquez isn't afraid of making unlikable. Somehow, against all odds, Juan <i>is </i>sympathetic, a testament to Enriquez's ability to create someone as flawed and interesting as a real person.</p><p>For me, this book left me with many questions, and I think that the ending, in all its strange ambiguity, was fitting. This isn't a novel you can pick up and read lightly, and at six-hundred plus pages, it's not exactly something you can breeze through. There's a weight to it, and the sometimes slow pace actually feels beneficial to what Enriquez is trying to impart. I do have a few issues with it, though. Perhaps it's simply meant to be accurate to the time period, but I really didn't like the casual use of racism and racist terms by some of the characters (including those we are supposed to like). It's peppered throughout the book a few times, and while I understand the intent of using it in a character like Mercedes, from a wealthy European family, it was strange to see the weird passage about Gaspar coloring the map and the Chinese. It was pointless, and soured my liking of the book a little. I'd be interested to see these parts in their original Spanish. My other problem is that occasionally, the storyline was just plain confusing. There's a lot of characters, a lot of timelines, a lot of places and people and problems, and every once in a while it became overwhelming.</p><p>With that being said, I loved everything else about this novel. It's gritty, fascinating, beautiful, and a wonderfully unique interpretation of cults and magic, made even better by its cultural and political aspects. In many ways, it reminds me of horror books from the '60s and '70s, and in my opinion, there's really no better comparison. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-20634897750750390522023-02-19T17:03:00.000-08:002023-02-19T17:03:42.248-08:00Book Review: The Witching Hour by Anne Rice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/TheWitchingHourCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="240" height="400" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/TheWitchingHourCover.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, murder, racism, misogyny, rape, incest, sexual violence, abortion, miscarriage, torture.</span></u></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></div></div><p>Rowan Mayfair is a brilliant neurosurgeon, the finest amongst her colleagues at her California hospital. Ever since childhood, however, she has been plagued by the knowledge that she is different -- and that her powers are sometimes deadly. When she saves the life of Michael Curry, drowning in the Pacific Ocean, an undeniable attraction starts between them. Michael is convinced that while he was dead, he was given a mission, one that involves returning home to New Orleans, the place he grew up. Rowan, too, has a connection to Louisiana: her adoptive mother made her promise never to go there, and never to have any contact with her family, before her death. But as fate draws Michael and Rowan closer together, they both end up back in New Orleans, and it soon becomes very clear that both of them are caught in a web much larger than they ever could have imagined. Torn between the desire to learn about her family and its history and the promise of a future away from the Mayfair Witches, Rowan will be forced to make a decision that will impact not only her, but everyone she loves.</p><p>If you've read any of the latest entries on this blog, you're probably already aware that I'm a huge Anne Rice fan. After getting back into her Vampire Chronicles books, I was also intrigued by the stories of the Mayfair Witches, often purported to be better even than the book I personally consider to be her masterpiece, <i>Interview with the Vampire</i>. What Rice has created in her universe of witches is truly inimitable: complex, beautiful, and above all, grotesque and horrifying. It plays much more deeply on the elements of horror than her vampire books, and speaking with perfect honesty, I now agree with the people who say that <i>this </i>is indeed her best.</p><p>Her writing is, as always, gorgeous, perfectly capturing the sweltering Louisiana heat, the feeling of a cultured jungle that permeates the streets of New Orleans. There's nothing quite like reading a Rice book, and somehow, <i>The Witching Hour </i>brings together every gothic element with true finesse. Ultimately, this is a book about family, but with a particular emphasis on matrilineal lines, on the connection between mothers and daughters. <i>Interview with the Vampire </i>contains these themes as well, particularly in the relationship between Louis and Claudia, but here, it is fully realized and becomes a cornerstone of every aspect of the novel.</p><p>At its center are two main characters, Rowan and Michael, but throughout a large portion, they take a backseat to the family history and the lives of past Mayfairs. For me, the historical accounts written by the Talamasca are the best parts of this book, exploring their strange powers and lives through epistolary accounts. In many ways, however, Rowan and Michael become slightly less interesting, perhaps one of my few complaints; they seem, somehow, less fleshed out than even the characters who are written about through secondhand narratives. Rowan, especially, suffers a bit from the typical Rice main character problem, being a bit too flawless to be truly likable.</p><p>Still, though, I think this book is a triumph in nearly every way. The reason I'm not giving it quite the full five stars, though, mainly has to do with the fact that some sections are painfully boring, and I couldn't quite stomach the details about Julien's life -- he's truly reprehensible, and I can't fathom how he has become a fandom favorite. Also, the racism. Jesus. If you've read other Rice books, though, you probably won't be surprised. <i>Interview with the Vampire </i>will remain at its five stars for me, partly due to nostalgia and partly due to the fact that it's a book I feel changed my life, despite the fact that <i>The Witching Hour </i>is largely superior to it. </p><p>As a whole, I'd recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to picking up the next in this series. It's certainly something that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but <i>The Witching Hour </i>is a fantastic example of what gothic literature is capable of achieving. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-19078016548954769492023-01-24T20:59:00.000-08:002023-01-24T20:59:16.037-08:00Book Review: After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/414AU0HvBtL._AC_SY780_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/414AU0HvBtL._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and </span></u></i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12px;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>W. W. Norton & Company/Liveright</u></i></span></span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </span></u></i><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u> </u></i><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Content Warning: misogyny, violence, rape, sexual harassment, racism, domestic violence, abortion, homophobia.</span></span></span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p><br /></p><p>Following various famous lesbians during the nineteenth century as they try to capture the essence of Sappho, the Greek poet who proudly professed her love for other women, <i>After Sappho </i>is a series of vignettes showing both the hardship and beauty in the lives of these women -- from Romaine Brooks, the painter known for her shades of gray, to Natalie Barney, an American writer who created a literary salon in Paris that became the center of the era's lesbian community. Struggling against the crushing boot of male oppression, these women nevertheless rose to great heights, and have a special place not only in the memory of women and lesbians, but the rest of the world, too. </p><p>First and foremost, I want to applaud Schwartz's creativity. The imaginativeness of this novel is perhaps its strongest feature -- it wouldn't be quite right to say it's totally unique (as I believe Saidiya Hartman has a similar approach), but it certainly is something you don't encounter often. It's a fascinating interplay between reality and the imagination, and Schwartz's poetic, lyrical style of writing further adds to the dreamy sensation of reading it. Even in this day and age, where there is much more freedom in the exploration of gender and sexuality, many young lesbians will relate to the fervent desire of these women to explore a shared history, a connected past. It's not lost on me that while these women were reading tomes about Sappho, translating her poems from their original Greek, we are reading about them as they were doing it.</p><p>Many of the women included here are well-known, and have had much written about them. Virginia Woolf, for example, is featured heavily here, as is her lover, Vita Sackville-West, as is Natalie Barney, Romaine Brooks, Radclyffe Hall, Sarah Bernhardt, and many others. It would be remiss not to include them in some capacity, anyway -- they are responsible for influencing modern art and literature in so many ways, not to mention the lesbian community. There are a few others that I hadn't heard of previously, namely Sibilla Aleramo, one of the first openly feminist writers in Italy, as well as Lina Poletti, one of the first women to declare herself a lesbian in Italy. My only major complaint here is that, in some ways, I wish Schwartz had focused on lesser known lives. We have a wealth of information already on these women; wouldn't some of the ones we know less about have been particularly exciting to expand upon?</p><p>Josephine Baker and Ada "Bricktop" Smith are also briefly mentioned, but there's barely any time given to them at all. It made me question, speaking truthfully, why they were included at all. It felt as if they were namedropped, and that was it. I do understand, to some degree, why this is: Schwartz is focusing specifically on the set of women who are slightly interwoven with one another during this period, but still, what was the point of very briefly mentioning Ada and Josephine just to completely leave them out later?</p><p>As a whole, the book suffers from a sense of being somewhat disjointed. Because of the stylistic choice Schwartz makes, none of these women ever feel truly fleshed out, and the brevity of each section leaves you wishing that a bit more time had been spent on them. </p><p>All in all, I don't think that this is a completely successful venture, but I do applaud Schwartz's creativity and ambition. I'll be interested to see what her next novel holds!</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-47828274903494128312023-01-01T14:54:00.003-08:002023-01-01T14:54:29.083-08:00Book Review: Spear by Nicola Griffith<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620929093l/57693308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620929093l/57693308.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: violence, death, non-graphic mentions of sexual violence.</span></u></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></u></span></i></div><br /><p></p><p>Growing up in the wild, Peretur lives in a cave with her mother. She knows that there's something special about herself and her lineage, but her mother is secretive, clearly fearful of revealing too much. When she comes to learn of the court at Caer Leon, its knights, and its king, Arturus, Peretur senses that her destiny lies there -- and that, perhaps, she will discover why she has visions of a faraway lake, which she feels is somehow connected. As she fights bandits with nothing but her broken hunting spear, trying to make a name for herself in order to one day join the knights of Caer Leon, Peretur discovers just who she is -- and what the future holds for her.</p><p>Although this book is only around 180 pages, it is so remarkable and packs such a punch that I'm still thinking about it days later. As soon as you read the first page, you're consumed by the beautiful world that Griffith paints with her sublime prose, and our heroine, Peretur, is immediately engaging. This is a retelling of Sir Percival and his search for the Holy Grail, but in a world populated by retellings of King Arthur's court, Griffith pulls off no small feat in making it feel like it's uniquely her own. </p><p>It's hard to explain Peretur. She's tough, compassionate, complex, a kind, gentle stealer of women's hearts, a knight in the making. She's a little strange, too, in ways that make her instantly likable and relatable, and it's easy to see yourself in her as she struggles to fit in and find the place where she belongs. This story is primarily about homecoming, and what the word 'home' means. Sometimes home is not where you've grown up, not where you currently find yourself, but a place in the future, a group of people, a warm conversation with someone you love. In the author's note at the end, Griffith expands on this a little as she discusses Peretur's "Hero's Journey," and how for her, becoming a hero is not about finding power, but about finding out who she is and how she fits into the world.</p><p>There's not much focus on King Arthur or Guinevere, which, odd though it may sound, I actually liked. Not to say that they aren't an (obviously) important part of the story, but our focus remains squarely on Peretur, and she is never overshadowed by the more well-known figures from myth. Her dynamic with Nimue is warm and fascinating, and I liked her banter and complex relationships with the other Knights of the Round Table. It's a cliched phrase, but I truly mean it when I say that Griffith has managed to breathe fresh life into a story that has been circulating for centuries.</p><p>Peretur's relationship with her sexuality and gender is beautiful, and I love that, for the most part, it's totally uncomplicated. She is an unapologetic lesbian, and there is never any doubt in her as to her love for women, or how it impacts her life. I liked, too, that though she obviously identifies with being a woman, she finds herself in that place that many lesbians do: the ways she conforms to her gender, and the ways she does not, is complicated, individual to her, and beautifully explored in her knighthood. It's hard to do it justice just talking about it here -- I could never explain it in the myriad lovely ways that Griffith does -- but just trust me!</p><p>Highly recommended, especially to fans of Arthur's court who are looking for something a little different and new. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-39930061291429951392022-12-18T14:56:00.004-08:002022-12-18T14:56:55.306-08:00Book Review: Shadows of Pecan Hollow by Caroline Frost<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qgXm9IPkL._AC_SY780_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="330" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qgXm9IPkL._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Content Warning: death, violence, murder, rape, sexual harassment, abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, domestic and including that of a child), pedophilia, grooming, animal death, abandonment, abortion, animal cruelty.</span></span></span></u></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></span></u></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Kit Walker has spent the last fourteen years trying to forget her past. Once a part of the infamous "Texaco Twosome," robbing gas stations and conning everyone she meets alongside her caretaker, lover, and abuser, Manny Romero, she's decided to put it all behind her -- mostly because she is trying to be a good mother to her daughter, Charlie. But when Manny shows up, fresh out of prison and apparently eager to right his wrongs, Kit and Charlie are both thrown into a tailspin. Torn between the past and the future, Kit must come to terms with everything she's done and all that has been done to her, with consequences that will impact not only her and her daughter, but the entire town of Pecan Hollow.<p></p><div>Though this is Frost's debut, <i>Shadows of Pecan Hollow </i>often has a quality to it that is suggestive of a much more experienced author. This is not an easy book to read by any stretch of the imagination (pretty much any dark, heavy topic you can think of is covered here), but Frost does it with a quiet, human touch that explores both the darkest sides of humanity, and the more hopeful ones, too. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our heroine is Kit Walker: hard as nails, desperately trying to make a new life for herself and her daughter, and struggling with the weight of her past. For me, Kit was immediately likable, mostly because she is complex, flawed, and human. She's been in and out of foster homes her whole life, hurt by the people who are supposed to be the ones to love and care for her, and her righteous anger at the world is searing and realistic in its depiction. As you read on, it's easy to understand why Kit struggles to connect with others, why she is always prepared for people to do their worst. She's sympathetic, and because her character is so strong, it makes the story compulsively readable.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her daughter, Charlie, is also a wonderful character, rather fully fleshed out in spite of the fact that we only get a few chapters with her narration. It's Manny, Kit's partner in crime and Charlie's father, who rounds out the cast. He works as a perfect foil for Kit. He's cruel and narcissistic, but it isn't difficult to see why Kit was and is so disarmed by him. Snaking his way into the hearts of others and taking advantage of them is simply second-nature to him.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story itself is decent, primarily character-driven, something I personally enjoy. There are parts where it gets a bit sluggish, though, and I think that there's honestly a lot that could've been cut or pared down. Some of the writing, too, feels a bit clumsy, partnered with a few grammatical errors as well. These aren't particularly large issues, but they did impact my enjoyment somewhat. </div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, I'd recommend it - I think Frost does a masterful job of showing the aftereffects of lifelong abuse, and despite all the darkness in <i>Shadows of Pecan Hollow</i>, there's beauty, hope, and forgiveness, too.</div>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-8301376848813591812022-12-07T17:13:00.000-08:002022-12-07T17:13:39.994-08:00Book Review: In the Cut by Susanna Moore<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31awuP8diYL._AC_SY780_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31awuP8diYL._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Content Warning: death, violence, murder, rape, sexual harassment, racism (including racial slurs), homophobia (including homophobic slurs), misogyny.</span></span></span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p><br /></p><p>Frannie is a teacher. Her days are spent educating college-aged youths about language, its usages, writing, and the virtues of slang. In most respects, her life is ordinary -- she's divorced, single, and when she's not teaching, she dedicates herself to creating a dictionary of street slang. One night, Frannie is out at a bar, and sees something she isn't supposed to: an intimate moment between a man and a woman. Shaken and strangely enthralled, her world is turned upside down as a vicious serial killer stalks the streets of her neighborhood, and as she grows closer to one of the police officers working the case, Frannie realizes that the murders might be even closer to home than she thinks.</p><p>Adapted into a film that, at the time, was reviled by critics, <i>In the Cut </i>is an unapologetic look into gender-based violence, women's sexuality, and the often painful intersection of the two. At the time of its publication in 1995, it was considered slightly shocking, perhaps not so much because of its graphic sex scenes, but because of its frank and brutal insight into patriarchy. It's been on my list for a long time; I learned of the book first, and then later, saw bits and pieces of the film, enough to intrigue me to pick it up. Having finally gotten around to it, I'm left with mixed feelings on both its message and its impact.</p><p>To begin with, our protagonist, Frannie, is interesting. We're having a bit of an unlikable female character revolution right now -- the books of Moshfegh, Taddeo and Flynn come to mind -- and I think Frannie fits nicely into the category, although she might be considered more sympathetic than many of the darker, crueler characters who populate it. In spite of the dark, occasionally violent desires she harbors (mainly with regards to sex and men), she refreshingly exists somewhere between the Madonna/Whore dichotomy, prone both to prudishness and candor. Her romantic interest (if he can be called that) is Detective Malloy, a figure who represents the unsavory aspects of herself that Frannie seeks to suppress. </p><p>Malloy is both Frannie's mirror and her opposite: she, in her austerity, is attracted to his crude and vulgar way of speaking and acting. With him, she opens up to a side of herself that she wasn't aware existed in the first place. Truthfully, that's about as far as I'm able to understand why Frannie keeps coming back to him -- it doesn't shock me that a woman might keep returning to man who is brutish or provides a way for her to self-destruct, but it's his casual homophobia, sexism and racism that makes it baffling to me. It's interesting: Frannie thinks of herself as a feminist, someone openminded, and yet she never makes any effort either to question or challenge Malloy's biases. I'm not really sure why Moore felt the need to include it, let alone allow it to pass by without any introspection from Frannie.</p><p>Frannie's most interesting relationship is actually with Cornelius, one of her students, a young Black man who has a fascinating and complex way of using language that draws Frannie in. He ends up being underutilized; I often questioned why he was included in the first place, since in the end, he's brushed off without much fanfare. Her friendship with Pauline, too, is intriguing -- I wished there was a bit more of her, this woman who "dates married men because she wants to be alone on the holidays."</p><p>As for Moore's unraveling of patriarchal desire (and how women are dictated by men in every aspect of their lives), I thought it was good, but perhaps not as revelatory as it must've been in '95. Nonetheless, I think many feminists will find it to be a thought-provoking piece of literature, and I particularly enjoyed the way that Moore combines the erotic with the violent, the sexual with the grotesque. These things go hand-in-hand more often than we'd like to admit, and Moore excels at making her story engrossing in its repulsiveness. </p><p>Would I recommend it? That's a tough one. Once again, if you're interested in feminist literature, I think it's worth a go (especially when it comes to the misogyny of the '90s), but overall, there was something a touch unsatisfying about it. The strangely unchallenged racism, which I personally don't think Moore was equipped to handle in a fulfilling way, is the main reason why this book couldn't rise above the three star mark for me.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-12548494330012343702022-12-06T09:32:00.001-08:002022-12-06T09:32:14.930-08:00Book Review: Breathless by Amy McCulloch<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51VIl-E5piL._AC_SY780_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51VIl-E5piL._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Content Warning: death, violence, sexual harassment, misogyny.</span></span></span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p><br />Cecily Wong is about to get the interview opportunity of a lifetime. She's been handpicked by Charles McVeigh, a famous mountaineer known for climbing alpine style, to write an article about him as a part of his mission to summit all fourteen of the eighteen-thousand meter mountain peaks in the world. But there's one condition: McVeigh won't allow her to interview him until <i>after </i>she summits Manaslu with the rest of his team. Known for its avalanches, dangerous terrain, and unpredictable climate, Manaslu is a challenge that Cecily isn't sure she's ready for -- but with the place she's in at work and financially, she can't say no. Before they're even at camp two, strange deaths start occurring, written off as misadventures caused by hypoxia. Cecily, though, isn't so convinced -- and as she gets higher and higher on the mountain, she soon begins to realize that a murderer might be stalking them as they make the summit push.</p><p>I've always been interested in mountaineers. The dangers they face, the extensive preparation they must do both on and off the mountain, the question of what it is that drives people to put their lives at risk. I've never read a book revolving around a mountaineering expedition before, so I was intrigued when I first heard about it, and I was also pleased by the fact that the main character is a biracial woman, half-Chinese and half-white (I feel that, by and large, most thrillers are populated with only white heroes and heroines).</p><p>Unfortunately, <i>Breathless </i>did not manage to meet my expectations. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but there's a lot it lacks -- the writing, for example, is decent, but feels slightly juvenile, perhaps because this is McCulloch's first foray into writing an adult book (all of her others have been middle-grade). I could overlook the simplistic, slightly boring writing style, but what I can't overlook is how boring this book actually is in practice. The concept sounds appropriately thrilling, but the majority of the book -- more than half of it, I'd say -- mainly involves Cecily going back and forth over whether or not she'll be able to summit, and rather uninteresting conversations with the rest of the cast, who come off as shallowly as Cecily does. </p><p>The summit push doesn't even come until around the 90% mark; the rest feels like little more than filler. The deaths could be intriguing, but they feel, strangely enough, as if they're little more than decoration. Suspense doesn't really come into it, at least not until the very end. I would be remiss not to mention that Cecily continuously makes such such stupid, poorly thought out decisions that it was hard to root for her at all. Her naïveté is, frankly, astounding. She brushes so much off simply because she likes the people involved, or thinks they seem courageous or interesting. She almost seems to possess no journalistic sense of curiosity or skepticism whatsoever.</p><p>All in all, I wouldn't recommend this, particularly to people who are already big fans of the suspense/thriller/mystery genres. </p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-46274180614562739822022-12-04T06:53:00.004-08:002022-12-04T06:53:58.727-08:00Book Review: Pandora by Anne Rice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1426386680i/159436.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="285" height="400" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1426386680i/159436.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="background-color: white; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: pedophilia, grooming, death, violence.</span></u></span></i></span></div><br /><p></p><p>Born in Caesar Augustus's Rome, Pandora grows up with an adoring father who is a Senator, and is educated freely as many women of her time. She is ten years old when she first meets the then-mortal Marius, an encounter that will irreversibly alter her fate. Now, in a café in 1990s Paris, Pandora meets David Talbot, who is eager for her to finally tell her story in her own words.</p><p>Pandora is a fascinating, complex figure in Rice's world of vampires. Although she has been criminally underdeveloped, she has the promise of a truly interesting backstory, one of the vampires from the ancient world. Although her character is, obviously, more expanded here, I had the odd feeling the entire time that she was still acting as little more than window-dressing for the complex backgrounds and characters of the men in this series.</p><p>Although she's a young woman in one of the most fascinating times and places on earth, Rice mostly glosses over this section of her life. There's a bit of intrigue when she is a little girl, with discussions of Ovid and some of Augustus's court politics, but it never becomes fully fleshed out. Her affiliation with the temple of Isis is another interesting element, but again, it somehow feels almost... boring, or perfunctory. I love how the legend of Isis ties in with Akasha and Enkil; that's probably my favorite part of this book. But as a whole, it's disjointed, a little awkward and fumbling.</p><p>I was also disappointed by how few other characters play a part in Pandora's life. Once again, we are stuck with Marius, who is as creepy and inappropriate in this book as he is in all the others, and for the millionth time, I found myself questioning why Rice was so keen to make him such a central figure. His complicated, rather fiery relationship with Pandora is interesting enough, but their first meeting -- when she is a little girl and he is a man of twenty-five -- is uncomfortable, strange, and leaves a distasteful film over the rest of the novel. I won't go into too much discussion of it here, as I've already mentioned it several times previously in my other reviews, but regardless, it negatively impacted my opinion yet again.</p><p>The worst part is that through it all, Pandora <i>still </i>feels underdeveloped. She's intelligent, beautiful, and spirited, but really, that's about it. Her innerworkings come across as simple, especially when compared to others in the series. That being said, the portion of the book that takes place in Antioch paints a wonderfully fascinating picture of that ancient place, and I loved her interactions with Flavius, an Athenian slave who has a beautiful, gentle relationship with her. It wasn't awful by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly isn't the greatest Rice I've ever read.</p><p>Recommended if you are interested in Pandora, or some of the lesser known characters in the Chronicles.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-52740645073378043412022-11-27T07:49:00.003-08:002022-11-27T07:49:50.299-08:00Book Review: Merrick by Anne Rice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51usUoXlZ8L._AC_SY780_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="306" height="400" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51usUoXlZ8L._AC_SY780_.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">½</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;"><i style="font-size: 12px;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: pedophilia, grooming, racism, outdated racial terms, death, violence.</span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p><b><br />Please note: </b>This review contains discussion of pedophilia.</p><p><br />David Talbot is doing something he never thought he would do: making contact with Merrick Mayfair, the beautiful witch who came to the Talamasca as a child. Now a vampire, David is afraid of the temptation of turning her as well, but he has been asked by Louis de Pointe du Lac to approach Merrick and ask if she will summon Claudia, the child vampire killed so long ago. Merrick is up to the task, but first, David recounts the tale of Merrick's life to Louis, in the hopes that he will understand just how precious she is, and how important it is not to ruin her life with their vampirism. All three of them are drawn together by memories of the past, hopeful for answers and fearful of what remembrance might bring.</p><p> <i>Merrick </i>is not very popular amongst the Vampire Chronicles fandom. Regardless, I was eager to give this a try, interested particularly in the character of Merrick Mayfair, who is a biracial witch related to the white Mayfairs who have their own book series. Unfortunately, though, as I got closer and closer to the end, I realized why this book remains so infamously disliked amongst fellow fans, and why I see so little discussion of it entirely. The deadliest crime here is that, simply put, <i>Merrick </i>is largely boring. As always, there are moments of truly beautiful writing, particularly when it comes to the sections that take place in the Guatemalan jungle, but as a whole, it suffers from a strange lack of magic when compared to the rest of the books in the series.</p><p>Although Merrick <i>is</i> an interesting character, she suffers from the same problem that challenges most of Rice's female characters: compared to their male counterparts, they are often underdeveloped, feeling like little more than springboards meant for the male cast to use in their own journeys. There are a few exceptions, of course; namely, Gabrielle, who commands each page she is on with little effort. But as a whole, it just feels as if Rice isn't as interested in female characters as she is in the male ones. Merrick acts as a sort of test of David's character, both when he is a mortal man and as a vampire. In fact, I want to discuss this in more detail.</p><p>Once again, as we see with Marius, David is an unrepentant creep. There's no other way to put it. He is canonically a pedophile; several other characters make mention of it in this book, and David essentially just states it as a fact. Though he usually likes boys (gag), he is obsessed and captivated by Merrick, whom he meets as a girl of fourteen, if I'm remembering correctly. He often says she is not a child, which is baffling. <i>How </i>is this little girl not a child? This plays into the weird racism that surrounds Merrick throughout the book. Not only is she called exotic again and again, but she's also cast as a "temptress," seductive even in her adolescence. Many young black girls are seen as more "mature" and are sexualized in ways that white girls are not. It's gross, and it leaves you feeling icky, like you need a bath. </p><p>So, as you can imagine, it's pretty much impossible to like David. Louis, who I adore, is actually in this book very fleetingly. The relationship between Merrick and Louis is not particularly interesting, and though I am first and foremost a lover of Louis and Lestat together, I don't usually mind when they take on other lovers, as this is just part of vampiric nature -- nearly all of them are polyamorous in some form or another. But, Merrick and Louis just feel... boring. He forgives her for something quite awful, too, and all of it was just strange. And not in a good way.</p><p>With all of this being said, I'm sure you can tell that I was not a fan. Not recommended; honestly, if you're a fan of the books, I think you could skip this one without missing much. The scenes with Claudia also feel like an afterthought, so if that's your main motivation for reading this, I'd still skip it.</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29422059835580241.post-59969534818643588752022-11-22T11:52:00.001-08:002022-11-22T11:52:03.031-08:00Book Review: Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/f3bd341b-a9f4-4583-aaf6-849e96430634/1200/1200/False/astrid-parker-doesn-t-fail-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="400" src="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/f3bd341b-a9f4-4583-aaf6-849e96430634/1200/1200/False/astrid-parker-doesn-t-fail-1.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">⋆</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><i><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley </span></u></i><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i><u>for</u></i></span></span><i><u> </u></i><i><u>allowing me to read this ARC!</u></i></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><u><br /></u></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span face=""Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: center;"><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><u><span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Content Warning: cancer, cheating, emotional abuse (parental), verbal abuse (parental).</span></u></span></i></span></div></div><p><br /></p><p>Astrid Parker has her life together. Although she's established herself as an ultra-successful interior designer, business hasn't exactly been booming lately, which is exactly why she needs all the exposure from <i>Innside America </i>that she can get. Filming an episode of the renovation of the local Everwood Inn, where Astrid is the lead designer, is just what she needs -- but what she doesn't expect is that she'll butt heads with the carpenter granddaughter of the inn's owner, Jordan Everwood. Jordan is dealing with her own personal issues and failure, and she's not in the best state of mind to deal with what she thinks of as Astrid's "uninspired" design for the inn. But against all odds, Jordan and Astrid find themselves growing closer, even as the showrunners encourage them to have on-camera conflict... and Astrid begins to realize that everything she thought she knew about herself might not be true after all.</p><p>I reviewed <i>Delilah Green Doesn't Care </i>on this blog previously, and if you've read that post, you'll know that I absolutely adore it. I'm not huge on contemporary romances, let alone romcoms, but it really struck a chord with me that no other romance has managed to before. Her characters were relatable, the romance was just the right amount of fluffy and serious, and the entire book was just plain fantastic. However, with all of that being said... I'm afraid to say that <i>Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail </i>simply didn't satisfy me in the way the first book did. </p><p>Since this book is, first and foremost, a romance, I think the main issue is that Jordan and Astrid never feel quite as convincing, or as interesting, as Claire and Delilah were. Even when you don't compare the two books, many of the scenes between them are not that engaging. While I like both of them individually, the sparks between them feel sometimes lukewarm. Most of Blake's books have a lot of infodumping, and this one was no exception, but while typically I don't mind it, it felt as if it was doing most of the emotional footwork for the characters in this, never leaving any subtlety to their emotions or motivations. Instead of letting us (and Astrid and Jordan) figure it out for ourselves, we're told how they feel, why they feel it, and then they're immediately sent on the way to fix it.</p><p>The scene that sticks out most to me is when Astrid and Jordan go to the theater, and it's probably the best scene in the book, but I also wondered why they were divulging all of these secrets to one another, alcohol notwithstanding. It just felt... a little strange, and they hadn't quite had the development to make it seem believable. The narrative is punctuated by issues like these.</p><p>It's not that this book is awful (it's not), but none of it is really convincing. I also have to address how corny this book often is, and not in a cute way. Of course, it's kind of a given that when you read a cute romance (particularly one with comedic elements), there will be some corny moments, but it's usually the kind of corny that makes you smile. In this case, it made me cringe. </p><p>One more thing: Blake's takes on race and gender in this one made me pause. She uses the term "women and nonbinary people" pretty much nonstop, and I hate this. I hate this so much. Why does she conflate women with nonbinary people? What about people who associate themselves with masculinity? What about transmac people, who still identify as nonbinary or genderfluid? I could just go on about this, and it just struck me as so odd. She also describes everyone race first in this book, which felt really weird.</p><p>So, would I recommend it? To Blake's fans, probably. If you're a big fan of the romance genre, I think you'll probably enjoy this one, even if it's not the best you've ever read. For me, it was a bit of a drag: not the best, not the worst. I'll leave it up to you wise people whether you decide to pick it up or not!</p>Abby O.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17175420619680647998noreply@blogger.com0