Review: Vengeful

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The follow-up to Vicious could very well be the end of another duology for Schwab, which I rather hope to be the case given how long and arduous and difficult the process for writing this book was, according to her. But also because it finally builds up to a really satisfying ending - even with a hint of "And the adventure continues!" - that I'd really, really, really hate to see her write a third book that overrides it. Once again, I find myself wondering, are we really supposed to NOT root for either Victor or Eli over each other? I mean, the series is called Villains, but Victor, as bad as some of his actions have been known to be, isn't anywhere near as bad as Eli, not by a long shot. And there are worse people out there. Better villains, too. Well-rounded, well-developed villains on the level of recent Marvel baddies like Killmonger or Thanos. I'm especially looking at Marcella, who's proof that if there's any writer besides Margaret Stohl who should get the job of writing an all-women Marvel movie, Schwab needs to get in there too. Maybe this one was a little difficult to read, due to the short chapters that keep flipping around between POVs and going all over the place in the timeline like Arrow on steroids - I actually managed to forget that Vicious was super-anachronic too, but checking a copy of that book on the shelf at work today reminded me - but it was also a blazing fast and blazing fun read too. If there is, in fact, a third book, I'll read it for sure...but again, despite how little I like the whole duology trend, I really actually do hope this is the end of the road for our Villains.

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Review: As She Ascends

As She Ascends by Jodi Meadows
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"It's just building and building and becoming more and more toxic! It's a botched job!"
-The Thirteenth Doctor

I feel like not enough people are reading this trilogy, and when it comes to selling them at work...well, to paraphrase that one Imperial official whom Darth Vader was telling off at the start of Return of the Jedi say it, I shall double my efforts. Especially in the wake of this, the middle entry of the trilogy, which I'm feeling to be the Catching Fire high point - and, for sure, Jodi Meadows' best novel yet.

Review: Dactyl Hill Squad

Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this is Older's first MG book? Whatever the count of MG books he's got, this one's one of his best by far. It's a concept that's unbelievably imaginative, a historical fantasy centering black and brown kids in 1863 New York, fighting a society that even though there aren't supposed to be slaves in New York, it's still racist af and there's one Magistrate Riker (for whom Rikers Island was not, in fact, named, per Older's author's note) who's looking to capture as many black people as possible and sell them as far south as possible. (And I'm not just talking the Deep South either.) But there's one secret weapon the people of Dactyl Hill can use to really stick it to their white oppressors: dinosaurs. It's perhaps the most unique and unforgettable steampunk twist since Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy, and for that, I'm here to get this book in the hands of as many kids as possible who cross my path.

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Review: The Rising Gold

The Rising Gold by Ava Jae
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Me when this book was first announced:

Review: The Storm Runner

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The latest in the Rick Riordan Presents lineup brings an #ownvoices look to Mayan mythology in the very style that we've come to expect from Percy Jackson and all the rest of the Camp Half-Blood multi-pantheon universe. Yes, I'm pretty sure all the Rick Riordan Presents titles are part of the same 'verse too. That's official, right? If not, why not?

Review: The Flash: The Tornado Twins

The Flash: The Tornado Twins by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"IT'S BANANA PEELS!!!"
-Ezra Miller

The last of Barry Lyga's Flash adventures for kids? Say it ain't so! Also say it ain't so that I'm the first to leave an actual review on Goodreads for this one? *checks* So I am. Shame, y'all are sleeping on these Flash stories. And Jo Whittemore's Supergirl books, too, but that's a story for another day.

Review: Lethal White

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lethal White.

Now THAT is a title.

It's been too long since our last Cormoran Strike story, and now I see why, with the sheer length of this book in addition to J.K. Rowling's other projects (namely, the Fantastic Beasts screenplays) keeping her busy. I hate to say it, but perhaps this book is a little too long and complex for its own good. I mean, when was the last time you saw a mystery novel over 600 pages long? Not that Galbraith slacks in the character department - there's a ton of them to go around, and a ton of potential motives and scenarios to go around too. And of course the personal-life subplots for both Strike and Robin, ongoing as they are. No spoilers, but Robin's storyline in particular will make you feel all the sympathy for her.

Review: Tricks for Free

Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

To hear Seanan McGuire tell it, Annie's become her favorite of the three Prices to write, and so it's pretty clear now that we're not done with her after this book. Not when the whole "Money for Nothing" parody naming scheme is gonna continue with at least one more book, That Ain't Witchcraft. What is some good witchcraft, though, is McGuire's continued grasp on the fine art of, you know, having got it. And it, of course, is some serious paranormal shenanigans with Annie at the center, surrounded by a cast of weirdos and cryptids who work with her at Disney - sorry, Lowryland. (Though the map at the start of the book looks a hell of a lot like Disneyland, right down to the logo on top.) I think the only real point against this book is that there's no Aeslin mice - at least not in the main story; they get their own novella attached to the end of this printing. But yeah, I'm a little bummed that those cutie-patootie creatures aren't there to really liven up the fun. Though Annie's my favorite of the three Prices too, especially because she's such a Gwen Stacy fan - something that I feel is all too rare these days.

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Review: Mirage

Mirage by Somaiya Daud
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Veronica Roth's recommendation was what got me to read this book first and foremost, and I'm pretty glad I did. Not only because it's very #ownvoices, steeped in cultural influence from across the historical Muslim world, but also very Roth-like in a lot of ways. Though the world-building barely scratches the surface in this book, it's still as rich and detailed as you can hope for. Maybe the book's a little shorter than I would have liked, and a little harder to savor slowly, and a few of the characters do feel a little one-dimensional (particularly Maram and Nadine and other such villains.) But Amani and her family are lovely people, extremely easy to root for, and so is Idris. I mean, sharing a name with a certain sex symbol actor is good enough, but Idris is such a beautiful, sensitive sweetheart that he and Amani make a ship worthy of status in the pantheon with Tris and Tobias. Coming next year, Court of Lions, in which I hope Daud really cuts loose with her world-building and reader-surprising skills.

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Review: A Map of Days

A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



My reaction, when thanks to Tahereh Mafi tweeting about it, I knew this book existed and all I could say was: I. AM. DECEASED.

The fourth book in Riggs' signature series plays out a bit like Iron Gold for me in that it's long and a little bit on the slow side sometimes, but it does a great job of expanding the world as built in the original trilogy too. Though Riggs doesn't do the four-POV route like Pierce Brown did - once again, Jacob's our sole POV character. But since he's about as new to the expanded peculiar world - and especially peculiar America - as the rest of us, it's to be expected that he remains our main window.

Peculiar America didn't get any exploration in the original trilogy, and now that we're getting a glimpse of it at last, it's not hard to see why. Not unlike America in real life, it's an enormous place, but unfortunately still suffers from a certain Wild West lawlessness too. Sharp sectarian divisions among America's peculiardom also reflect the bitterness of the political landscape, especially today. It's not unusual, of course, for Riggs to draw on history to shape his story. After all, the very premise, going back to Book 1, is rooted in a nightmarish metaphor for the Holocaust turning out to be the actual monsters all along. Now that we're on US soil in several times and places, Riggs doesn't waste much time putting both peculiar and non-peculiar America on blast for a long, ugly history of racism and colonialism and subjugation of anyone remotely different. On a more positive front, though, we get a very diverse and international cast of characters, even if most of them are minor at best - but at least this book is nowhere near as predominantly white as the previous three, or the movie, for that matter.

It's a heavy book, hard to digest at times, but Riggs does keep things light a lot of the time too. Jacob and Emma's relationship, for instance. Early on in the book, Emma ribs Jacob a bit for his lack of love experience - he's barely been kissed and is a virgin, which is par for the course given that he's always been kind of a loner (more than ever, in this book, I code him as a fellow autistic dude.) Jacob, in his internal monologue, talks about how much he knows he shouldn't internalize his virginity as a failure, and yet he can't help himself. But at least Emma knows the right thing to say to him, complimenting him for being careful with his heart.

I won't spoil anything about the developments in the plot or subplots, except to say that not unlike the very first book (and to a lesser extent, the second), there's a particularly diabolical weapons-grade cliffhanger.

As the peculiar world grows, everything explodes, and we're all guaranteed to never see anything about any of our faves the same way again. A Map of Days is Ransom Riggs' most timely novel yet, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the fifth book in the series - though remembering the long gaps between books in the original trilogy, it'll be an unbearable wait.

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Review: Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by Lev A.C. Rosen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When my friend Harry brought this ARC to my attention, he and I both worried that the book would rely a little too much on the "promiscuous gay" stereotype. And when I finally opened it up to read the prologue, talking about all sorts of "fourgies" and our protag Jack's reputation for hooking up with literally every man he can, was that a confirmation of our worst fears?

Well, then Chapter 1 comes along and we finally get Jack's POV for the rest of the story. Yes, he's very sexually active. Yes, he's unapologetic about it. No, he's not nearly as promiscuous as his overblown reputation implies, and a lot of that may just lie in people's perception being skewed by stereotypes without being tempered by, you know, actually getting to know the guy.

But yeah. Jack's had sex of all sorts, and done it with guys of all sorts. Gay, bi, straight - yes, there's one scene of a straight-identifying guy taking it up the ass and enjoying it, even if he makes it clear it's just a one-night stand experiment. But you know what? I liked that Rosen wrote in a cast of characters who were very open-minded when it came to sex. (Not everyone, of course. We gotta have our villains here.) But Jack, Ben, Jenna, Charlie, Peter, Ricky, Caleb, and of course Jack's mom, they're a diverse and welcoming lot, always a plus.

The central mystery was a little bit half-baked at times, I found. It got to the point where I found myself skimming pages a bit just to get to the next funny part, or else cringing a bit at some maneuver Jack pulls to try and solve the mystery - like, inviting one of his prime stalker suspects over for sex and peeking at the other guy's phone under the pretext of trying to get a look at his porn history. But when the solution finally comes out, it makes a ton of sense, and reinforces one of the book's key themes with profound resonance.

Not unlike with What if It's Us or Odd One Out, I read this one while laughing a lot, even if I also felt a certain cynical despair because I've never really had friends I could get high and drunk with, a parent who allowed me the freedom to explore my sexuality and tolerance for vice, and a network of people with whom I could explore said sexuality to my heart's content. Or maybe not "heart's," because Jack makes it pretty clear that love and sex aren't the same thing. Ehh, you know what I mean. But perhaps the best part of the book, for me, is Jack's advice column. Not only because of how witty as hell he is, or how much he takes care to provide the best advice to straight, gay, bi, ace people - I was especially pleased with his response to an ace-spec classmate's question about why they felt so "broken," and his insistence that they're perfectly okay as is. And also with when he gets a question about tops and bottoms that's so awkwardly worded it could only have come from a straight person, whom he well and truly takes to task. But also because, like everything else in his life, he's not afraid to get dirty but clean at the same time. He has standards, which he shows in his sex life and his advice column. Always use protection, always have consent, that sort of thing.

And also, whatever your needs for sex and love may be, don't let anyone - and I mean ANYONE - tell you they're not worth pursuing.

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Review: Smoke in the Sun

Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't a big fan of the first book in this series, but the conclusion to the duology is a welcome step up. Like The Heart Forger to The Bone Witch, Smoke in the Sun takes its predecessor's world and zooms in on the court-intrigue part to present some seriously heightened stakes. And with the magical elements of the story being much more in the foreground, that's an improvement too. Though the book does still feel a little long and muddled and hard to follow at times, it's pretty well-stocked with the dark-and-full-of-terrors atmosphere we've come to expect from Ahdieh. And some strong commentary, especially of the feminist variety, which rings especially true now that this world's really struggling to reckon with too many centuries of patriarchy. While I'm still not a big fan of the whole duology trend, Ahdieh does a good job bringing this one to a nice, neat close.

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Review: The Heart Forger

The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me be perfectly clear, this sequel to The Bone Witch is every bit as unique as its predecessor, and every bit as uniquely hard for me to rate. The world-building work has mostly been done in the first book, so this one's a little less dense and meaty on that front. But it's still a very long read all the same. That said, though, the stakes (I almost typed "steaks" because I'm watching tonight's episode of The Good Place, set in a parodic "American" steakhouse in Australia, as I type this) are significantly higher here in The Heart Forger, and it really shows in the increased intrigue in the court as well. And luckily, I did a quick reread of The Bone Witch first. Maybe I'll do the same for both the first two books when The Shadowglass comes out soon.

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