Kevin Kwan's Sex and Vanity
So here is Kwan's first book since his very fun Crazy Rich Asians series, and it’s a fairly typical second-chance romance novel. It’s centered on Lucie, a half Chinese-American, half New York white WASP, who falls for a handsome young man at a weeklong wedding extravaganza. But things go awry, as they are wont to do. Several years later she's engaged to a very eligible bachelor (a character who is beyond cartoonish) when she encounters the young man again. What will happen?? Well, it’s pretty obvious what will happen. Parts of this were great—Lucie is a (mostly) likable character, and her struggles with her white relatives' racism and people being weird to her because she is mixed race are pretty compelling. I loved her relationships with her mom and brother. But the central romance is underbaked, the hero is too good to be true (and we don’t see enough of him), and there aren’t really any side-plots to distract from the weaker points. I mean, it’s still pretty fun, just not as satisfying as his earlier series. B/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 30th.
Saturday, May 30, 2020
2020 book 110
Victoria Goddard's Til Human Voices Wake Us
I wanted to remain immersed in Goddard's world, so read this one, which was new to me. It was slightly jarring, because in this one, her fantasy world overlaps with modern England, where a powerful mage is moonlighting as an actor and hanging out with Shakespeare, Robin Goodfellow, and Scheherazade. And also about to wrap up a centuries-long Game of good versus evil. This character is similar to the protagonist of Hands of the Emperor, in that he struggles to deal with/reveal his feelings (though this book was written first). And this does fill in some of the gaps of Goddard's world, too, which makes me eager to read the other ones I haven’t yet. B+.
I wanted to remain immersed in Goddard's world, so read this one, which was new to me. It was slightly jarring, because in this one, her fantasy world overlaps with modern England, where a powerful mage is moonlighting as an actor and hanging out with Shakespeare, Robin Goodfellow, and Scheherazade. And also about to wrap up a centuries-long Game of good versus evil. This character is similar to the protagonist of Hands of the Emperor, in that he struggles to deal with/reveal his feelings (though this book was written first). And this does fill in some of the gaps of Goddard's world, too, which makes me eager to read the other ones I haven’t yet. B+.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
2020 book 109
Victoria Goddard’s The Hands of the Emperor
Sometimes you just want to reread something you can really sink into, like a beautifully written long novel about government reform. Yes, that's what I said. I love Goddard's writing and she makes this story of a very high level bureaucrat—and his deep friendships, and his family issues, and being from a minority culture, and his politics, and his work for a living god—extremely moving and compelling. Like, here I am crying when a song gets sung during a ceremony. I love Goddard's world and this novel is great.
Monday, May 25, 2020
2020 book 108
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough’s The Redundant Dragons
The sixth (and final?) book in this series has a lot going on, but is pretty entertaining. I felt like it couldn’t decide how seriously to take itself. And it’s not subtle: the aunt who runs a brothel has the given name Erotica. And it has the usual continuity errors. But there are cool dragons, interesting women, ghost cats, and time travel, so I liked it anyway. B.
The sixth (and final?) book in this series has a lot going on, but is pretty entertaining. I felt like it couldn’t decide how seriously to take itself. And it’s not subtle: the aunt who runs a brothel has the given name Erotica. And it has the usual continuity errors. But there are cool dragons, interesting women, ghost cats, and time travel, so I liked it anyway. B.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
2020 book 107
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough’s The Dragon, the Witch, and the Railroad
The fifth book in this series is set about a hundred years after the last one and has way more interesting characters—a girl cursed to tell the truth, a werefox lawyer, a cross-dressing pirate, an elderly archivist, and several very awesome dragons. I am not quite sure the plot lived up to all that, and there were the usual proof-reading errors, but it was a fun read. Unfortunately, even though Scarborough wrote this in 2015, she is still dropping the g-word like crazy (though she is way better about the cultural stereotypes). I really feel like by 2015, even old white ladies should have known that word was not cool (or at least had editors to tell them so). B.
The fifth book in this series is set about a hundred years after the last one and has way more interesting characters—a girl cursed to tell the truth, a werefox lawyer, a cross-dressing pirate, an elderly archivist, and several very awesome dragons. I am not quite sure the plot lived up to all that, and there were the usual proof-reading errors, but it was a fun read. Unfortunately, even though Scarborough wrote this in 2015, she is still dropping the g-word like crazy (though she is way better about the cultural stereotypes). I really feel like by 2015, even old white ladies should have known that word was not cool (or at least had editors to tell them so). B.
Saturday, May 23, 2020
2020 book 106
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's The Christening Quest
The problem with promising your firstborn child away is that inevitably you will have a firstborn child, who will then be whisked away by a magic carpet before she can even be given magical gifts at her christening. So then your brother and cousin have to go on a journey to christen her and have magical adventures along the way. I was less interested in these characters than the ones in earlier books (whistling magic is just not as cool or versatile as hearth magic) and there are still a lot of gross cultural stereotypes. The last two books in this series were written this millennium, so I have hopes they will be less racist. B.
The problem with promising your firstborn child away is that inevitably you will have a firstborn child, who will then be whisked away by a magic carpet before she can even be given magical gifts at her christening. So then your brother and cousin have to go on a journey to christen her and have magical adventures along the way. I was less interested in these characters than the ones in earlier books (whistling magic is just not as cool or versatile as hearth magic) and there are still a lot of gross cultural stereotypes. The last two books in this series were written this millennium, so I have hopes they will be less racist. B.
Friday, May 22, 2020
2020 book 105
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's Bronwyn's Bane
The third book focuses primarily on the children of characters from the first two books, trying to end a curse and help their country during wartime, journeying around etc. Scarborough goes all in in racist cultural stereotypes here with her Travelers and with the addition of some Arabian Nights type figures. So that was like a constant thorn in my side while reading this otherwise innocuous story. B.
The third book focuses primarily on the children of characters from the first two books, trying to end a curse and help their country during wartime, journeying around etc. Scarborough goes all in in racist cultural stereotypes here with her Travelers and with the addition of some Arabian Nights type figures. So that was like a constant thorn in my side while reading this otherwise innocuous story. B.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
2020 book 104
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's The Unicorn Creed
The second book in this series has a lot going on: a cursed baby princess, an evil sorcerer kidnapping unicorns in a plot to take over the world, a bunch of unwanted suitors, not to mention zombies, nymphs, and fairies being added to the mix. Lots of fun fantasy adventures and compelling characters, even if the book has several instances of mixing its characters' names up. B/B+.
Content warning for an attempted (if easily averted) rape attempt, plus the usual nonsense with a band of Travelers and related stereotypes.
The second book in this series has a lot going on: a cursed baby princess, an evil sorcerer kidnapping unicorns in a plot to take over the world, a bunch of unwanted suitors, not to mention zombies, nymphs, and fairies being added to the mix. Lots of fun fantasy adventures and compelling characters, even if the book has several instances of mixing its characters' names up. B/B+.
Content warning for an attempted (if easily averted) rape attempt, plus the usual nonsense with a band of Travelers and related stereotypes.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
2020 book 103
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's Song of Sorcery
I’m still very much in the mood for gentle fantasy books, and this one obliged. It’s about a young woman, a hearthwitch, who finds out her sister has run away from her husband with another man*, and goes off to find her, accompanied by the minstrel who unwittingly brought the news. Magical adventures ensue, and there are awesome unicorns and dragons and CATS to be found. I really liked the world-building here, and the protagonist's magic is fun. My only problem with this book is where is * comes in; this book was published in 1982 and said man is a “Gypsy” and there is a lot about his family and their camp that doesn’t play well to modern readers (the words “flashing-eyed” are used, it’s honestly embarrassing). So I’ll downgrade this to an B+ due to 1980s racist stereotyping and slurs.
I’m still very much in the mood for gentle fantasy books, and this one obliged. It’s about a young woman, a hearthwitch, who finds out her sister has run away from her husband with another man*, and goes off to find her, accompanied by the minstrel who unwittingly brought the news. Magical adventures ensue, and there are awesome unicorns and dragons and CATS to be found. I really liked the world-building here, and the protagonist's magic is fun. My only problem with this book is where is * comes in; this book was published in 1982 and said man is a “Gypsy” and there is a lot about his family and their camp that doesn’t play well to modern readers (the words “flashing-eyed” are used, it’s honestly embarrassing). So I’ll downgrade this to an B+ due to 1980s racist stereotyping and slurs.
Monday, May 18, 2020
2020 book 102
Zen Cho's The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water
Cho's latest is a novella where a young nun ends up traveling with a band of thieves trying to make a big score, as narrated by one of the thieves. (I LOVED the narrative voice here.) Some fun action and the two main characters are great; I did wish a few of the other characters were more fleshed out, but I guess that’s not really the point in a novella. I would totally read a sequel though. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 23rd.
Cho's latest is a novella where a young nun ends up traveling with a band of thieves trying to make a big score, as narrated by one of the thieves. (I LOVED the narrative voice here.) Some fun action and the two main characters are great; I did wish a few of the other characters were more fleshed out, but I guess that’s not really the point in a novella. I would totally read a sequel though. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 23rd.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
2020 book 101
Jaclyn Moriarty’s Feeling Sorry for Celia
I got into one of those reading ruts where I started four different books and couldn’t get into any of them, and the only cure for that mental block is Jaclyn Moriarty, whose books are always a hundred percent awesome. This one is the first of her Ashbury/Brookfield books, about a cast of characters brought together by a pen-pal program. I love epistolary novels and this one is supremely funny and real, focusing on friendship and relationships with parents and wild friends and secrets and training for a half marathon. This makes me happy every time I read it.
I got into one of those reading ruts where I started four different books and couldn’t get into any of them, and the only cure for that mental block is Jaclyn Moriarty, whose books are always a hundred percent awesome. This one is the first of her Ashbury/Brookfield books, about a cast of characters brought together by a pen-pal program. I love epistolary novels and this one is supremely funny and real, focusing on friendship and relationships with parents and wild friends and secrets and training for a half marathon. This makes me happy every time I read it.
2020 book 100
Naomi Kritzer’s Catfishing on CatNet
As usual, I am making book club read books that I love and want to reread; responses to this seem to be positive, even for the less online people. But who would not love a novel set in the near future about an AI that loves cat pictures and its friends, and one of the teen girls it loves? Who would not delight in an AI reprogramming robots and helming rescue missions? Who would not enjoy a novel about internet pals and budding romances? I mean also there is a whole terrifying abusive man lurking in the background here, so be warned, but this book is awesome and I can’t wait for the sequel.
As usual, I am making book club read books that I love and want to reread; responses to this seem to be positive, even for the less online people. But who would not love a novel set in the near future about an AI that loves cat pictures and its friends, and one of the teen girls it loves? Who would not delight in an AI reprogramming robots and helming rescue missions? Who would not enjoy a novel about internet pals and budding romances? I mean also there is a whole terrifying abusive man lurking in the background here, so be warned, but this book is awesome and I can’t wait for the sequel.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
2020 book 99
Adrienne Kisner's Six Angry Girls
Ok, so, this book had a lot of things I loved (or should have loved): a band of girls forming a Mock Trial team bc various boys are horrible and they want revenge; knitting and knitting activism; a cool and helpful librarian; a cute queer girl romance. But parts of this were just . . . clunky. All the knitting activism stuff needed to be way more fleshed out. The author is clearly from Western PA, but all of her fake local names were TERRIBLE (Penn State Steelton? Pitt Fogton? Whyyy?!? Why not just use the real branch campus names? When you are correctly shouting out the Creamery and Eat ‘n’ Park?). And the dialogue sometimes uses contractions and sometimes doesn’t, which just makes things sound weird and stilted. And sometimes names were changed or swapped (hopefully this will get one more editing pass). I did think the trial stuff was interesting, was generally on board with the girl power messaging, and liked the ending (ok, Raina's was waaaaaay too unbelievable). But unfortunately I was distracted by all the above stuff. It just came off as lazy. Still, if you are not from Pittsburgh, that stuff might not bother you, and you can just enjoy this mildly goofy YA book. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in the summer.
Ok, so, this book had a lot of things I loved (or should have loved): a band of girls forming a Mock Trial team bc various boys are horrible and they want revenge; knitting and knitting activism; a cool and helpful librarian; a cute queer girl romance. But parts of this were just . . . clunky. All the knitting activism stuff needed to be way more fleshed out. The author is clearly from Western PA, but all of her fake local names were TERRIBLE (Penn State Steelton? Pitt Fogton? Whyyy?!? Why not just use the real branch campus names? When you are correctly shouting out the Creamery and Eat ‘n’ Park?). And the dialogue sometimes uses contractions and sometimes doesn’t, which just makes things sound weird and stilted. And sometimes names were changed or swapped (hopefully this will get one more editing pass). I did think the trial stuff was interesting, was generally on board with the girl power messaging, and liked the ending (ok, Raina's was waaaaaay too unbelievable). But unfortunately I was distracted by all the above stuff. It just came off as lazy. Still, if you are not from Pittsburgh, that stuff might not bother you, and you can just enjoy this mildly goofy YA book. B.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in the summer.
2020 book 98
Patricia C. Wrede’s Talking to Dragons
The final book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles was actually the first written, but Wrede did such a good job with the prequels that this ends up being a really satisfying conclusion! And of course it’s a charming story on its own, full of magic and adventure.
The final book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles was actually the first written, but Wrede did such a good job with the prequels that this ends up being a really satisfying conclusion! And of course it’s a charming story on its own, full of magic and adventure.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
2020 book 97
Patricia C. Wrede’s Calling on Dragons
The third Enchanted Forest Chronicles book is from the POV of witch Morven, who featured heavily in the first two books, but her POV is extra awesome bc she can talk to her cats! Lots more fun magical adventures, thwarting wizards, PLUS cat shenanigans. I need more books like this.
The third Enchanted Forest Chronicles book is from the POV of witch Morven, who featured heavily in the first two books, but her POV is extra awesome bc she can talk to her cats! Lots more fun magical adventures, thwarting wizards, PLUS cat shenanigans. I need more books like this.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
2020 book 96
Patricia C. Wrede's Searching for Dragons
The second book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles follows the young King trying to figure out who's messing with the forest's magic, and teaming up with the princess from the first book,,who's looking for her dragon. Solid plot, lots of funny moments, some good cats, a cute romance, etc. Perfect comfort reading.
The second book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles follows the young King trying to figure out who's messing with the forest's magic, and teaming up with the princess from the first book,,who's looking for her dragon. Solid plot, lots of funny moments, some good cats, a cute romance, etc. Perfect comfort reading.
Monday, May 11, 2020
2020 book 95
Patricia C. Wrede's Dealing with Dragons
And now it is time to revisit the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. In this first one, a young princess thinks being proper is boring, but she’s not allowed to do the things she thinks are interesting (fencing, magic, learning Latin) so she runs away to be the princess of a dragon. And helps uncover a dragon-related mystery! I love a practical heroine and this book has several.
And now it is time to revisit the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. In this first one, a young princess thinks being proper is boring, but she’s not allowed to do the things she thinks are interesting (fencing, magic, learning Latin) so she runs away to be the princess of a dragon. And helps uncover a dragon-related mystery! I love a practical heroine and this book has several.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
2020 book 94
Hannah Abigail Clarke's The Scapegracers
As I have previously mentioned on this blog, I am here for books about queer teen witches, and this one has a slammin' cover to boot, so I was psyched for it. The action starts when the resident lesbian outcast is invited to make some magic at a pre-Halloween party, after which the resident popular girl clique adopts her. So that is a mildly interesting trope to throw into a queer teen witch story. Those girls felt particularly unreal though, like I kept wondering if the big reveal would be that they were imaginary or ghosts or something. I was more interested in the protagonist and her family and her magic books. Of course this is a YA book, so obviously the intended audience cares more about glamorous teens than gay dads with an antique shop. This book also goes some darker places than I expected. A lot is left unresolved, so I guess a sequel is forthcoming? I will probably read it; I enjoyed the narrative voice here a lot. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on Tuesday.
As I have previously mentioned on this blog, I am here for books about queer teen witches, and this one has a slammin' cover to boot, so I was psyched for it. The action starts when the resident lesbian outcast is invited to make some magic at a pre-Halloween party, after which the resident popular girl clique adopts her. So that is a mildly interesting trope to throw into a queer teen witch story. Those girls felt particularly unreal though, like I kept wondering if the big reveal would be that they were imaginary or ghosts or something. I was more interested in the protagonist and her family and her magic books. Of course this is a YA book, so obviously the intended audience cares more about glamorous teens than gay dads with an antique shop. This book also goes some darker places than I expected. A lot is left unresolved, so I guess a sequel is forthcoming? I will probably read it; I enjoyed the narrative voice here a lot. B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on Tuesday.
Friday, May 08, 2020
2020 book 93
Lydia Millet's A Children's Bible
Woof. I like Millet's work a lot, her books are weird and/or great, but this one went beyond that and was great /and/ a punch in the gut. It’s about a group of teens (and some younger kids), pretty much left to their own devices as their parents are all busy drinking and chilling on an extended summer vacation. And then the storms come. At various points while reading I said “oh fuck” out loud and also straight up sobbed. This is kind of a brutal look at our society and its unwillingness to deal with climate change. A searing indictment, perhaps. But these kids are awesome. I loved the narrator and how she slips in and out of first person plural. I loved this, but also, dang. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on Tuesday.
Woof. I like Millet's work a lot, her books are weird and/or great, but this one went beyond that and was great /and/ a punch in the gut. It’s about a group of teens (and some younger kids), pretty much left to their own devices as their parents are all busy drinking and chilling on an extended summer vacation. And then the storms come. At various points while reading I said “oh fuck” out loud and also straight up sobbed. This is kind of a brutal look at our society and its unwillingness to deal with climate change. A searing indictment, perhaps. But these kids are awesome. I loved the narrator and how she slips in and out of first person plural. I loved this, but also, dang. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on Tuesday.
Thursday, May 07, 2020
2020 book 92
Martha Wells' The Gate of Gods
Wow, this was such an interesting AND satisfying wrap-up to the series, I seriously loved this trilogy (and am now glad I read the previous book that I liked less, since it gave the trilogy a lot more emotional resonance). It doesn’t shy away from the hardships and traumas of war, but it’s still somehow fun and exciting? Wells is the best. A.
Wow, this was such an interesting AND satisfying wrap-up to the series, I seriously loved this trilogy (and am now glad I read the previous book that I liked less, since it gave the trilogy a lot more emotional resonance). It doesn’t shy away from the hardships and traumas of war, but it’s still somehow fun and exciting? Wells is the best. A.
Wednesday, May 06, 2020
2020 book 91
Martha Wells' The Ships of Air
Yes, I am really digging this series now! The second volume has lots of twists and turns (one obvious,but still awesome, and many surprising), a lil romance, lots of action, and great characters. One more book to go!
Yes, I am really digging this series now! The second volume has lots of twists and turns (one obvious,but still awesome, and many surprising), a lil romance, lots of action, and great characters. One more book to go!
Tuesday, May 05, 2020
2020 book 90
Martha Wells' The Wizard-Hunters
I almost gave up on this series after the last one, and I’m so glad I didn’t, because this one was much more my jam. It centers on the daughter of characters from its predecessor, a suicidal playwright who gets drawn into a magical adventure! Things start in media res, in a war reminiscent of WWII (airships, bombings, except there's also magic), but quickly go in a number of unexpected directions. This is the first of a trilogy set in this word and I’m excited to see where things go next. A/A-.
I almost gave up on this series after the last one, and I’m so glad I didn’t, because this one was much more my jam. It centers on the daughter of characters from its predecessor, a suicidal playwright who gets drawn into a magical adventure! Things start in media res, in a war reminiscent of WWII (airships, bombings, except there's also magic), but quickly go in a number of unexpected directions. This is the first of a trilogy set in this word and I’m excited to see where things go next. A/A-.
Sunday, May 03, 2020
2020 book 89
Martha Wells' Death of the Necromancer
The second book in Wells' Ile-Rien series takes place a hundred years after the first, so features a new cast of characters (though several from the last book are mentioned). There was a lot to like about this—heists, cross dressing actresses, revenge plots, an interesting cast of characters—but it just felt soooo sloooow. Things pick up a bit halfway through as a few new people join the gang to track down an evil sorcerer, but still, pretty slow. Maybe it is just that, unlike Wells' more recent series, this one is dealing with more familiar tropes. I mean, it was fine. B.
The second book in Wells' Ile-Rien series takes place a hundred years after the first, so features a new cast of characters (though several from the last book are mentioned). There was a lot to like about this—heists, cross dressing actresses, revenge plots, an interesting cast of characters—but it just felt soooo sloooow. Things pick up a bit halfway through as a few new people join the gang to track down an evil sorcerer, but still, pretty slow. Maybe it is just that, unlike Wells' more recent series, this one is dealing with more familiar tropes. I mean, it was fine. B.