Review: Supermarket

Supermarket by Bobby Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been seeing little hints being dropped that this book was a thing in the last couple of weeks or so. Then I saw it on the table at work, picked it up because I thought, wait, who's the author? Is this book anonymous? Then I realized what this book really was - Logic's debut novel, under his real name of Bobby Hall. And I had to read it all as quickly as I could - which was pretty easy given that it's less than 300 pages and I had the power of several cups of coffee in my system. Well, more accurately, two cups of coffee and one espresso, but still. It's the principle of the thing. And the principle of this thing is that it's a millennial Fight Club on a much smaller scale, less about the subtle gayness (this book is actually about one of the most hetero I've ever read, tbh) and more about the exploration of mental illness and artistry. And in that exploration, Hall writes a protagonist who combines so many elements of myself and my dear friend Koda - himself the biggest Logic fan I know - into one that it's not even funny. Hell, the small-town Oregon setting is so very Koda, and considering I'm planning to move up to Oregon by the end of this year...well, let's just say that this book is going to require a few more reads on my part, but I'm more than down for that. I'll probably page through at least one copy several times over as I attempt to hand-sell this one at work, because god DAMN did I need this book right now. And I know so many fellow artists and fellow warriors in the fight to take back their own mental health who need this book right now too.

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Review: Bloodwitch

Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third full-length novel - and fourth book overall - in Susan Dennard's Witchlands brings the quality back up to the level I came to expect for all the books in this series after it began in Truthwitch. That one had been followed by Windwitch with its bloated character sheet, and Sightwitch with its gothic mind-screwery. Here, in Bloodwitch, we've got the bloated character sheet back - but also, I think that this time, Dennard does a better job managing the delicate balancing act of managing all the many POVs she crams into the book. Whereas Windwitch had the disadvantage of subtracting too much focus from my big faves - Safi and Iseult - those two get a lot more equal time in this book. As, of course, does Aeduan - which makes a lot of sense since this is the book named for his particular witchery. Though the plot needle doesn't move quite as forward as I'd hope it would - naturally, since Dennard's expanded the series from four full-length novels to five, and possibly even more? - it's still a breakneck paced, engaging fantasy. With a particularly distressing cliffhanger that I'm pretty sure is going to enrage many of my fellow readers. I guess my friend Becca was right to not trust Dennard with her characters' lives, eh?

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Review: On the Come Up

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here we have the way Angie Thomas retains her YA queenship: another big bestseller primed to dominate the charts for months on end. :D Especially with that ass-kicking cover, so much in the style of The Hate U Give and poised to be just as iconic. :D :D

Review: Supergirl: Master of Illusion

Supergirl: Master of Illusion by Jo Whittemore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For Master of Illusion, the conclusion to Jo Whittemore's awe and some Supergirl trilogy, I was hoping for a story that would continue in the style of the first two books, and cap the whole thing off with as much fun as Season 2 Supergirl was. (Before Quarter Queller wrecked the party in Season 3, but let's not go there.)

I was not disappointed. Well, maybe just a little because of Lena Luthor's presence setting my teeth on edge (though, as with everyone else, Whittemore does a far better job of writing her, to the point where I'm pretty secure in my supposition that most of me not liking Lena on the show owes more to KMG's dreadful acting than anything else), but for a fun little kid-friendly thriller full of awe and some shenanigans? And of course some sweeeeeeeeet Karamel love?

Review: Give the Dark My Love

Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't remember how long it's been since Beth Revis put out a new book. Not since her Rogue One tie-in Rebel Rising, I don't think...and that was about two years ago. And this book, it seems to have somehow taken me almost six months to get around to reading, so that throws my calculations a little further off. But as for this book, it's gotta be the most unique offering I've yet seen from Revis. It's been a while since I saw a good fantasy dystopian - can we count These Rebel Waves as such? - but Revis delivers pretty well here, blending medieval-esque fantasy with necromancy to make a surprisingly topical zombie story. Perhaps it's a little underdeveloped in one of the two POVs we get - Grey gets a lot less time to offer his two cents on the page than our star of the show Nedra - but the political parallels to today are unmistakable, and with that nasty little cliffhanger, there's no way I'm not going to read the second book. Which already has a title and a cover, as I've recently noticed, so I'm getting a little more hyped now...

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Review: Death Prefers Blondes

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Caleb Roehrig's third novel is a real rule-breaker in a lot of ways. Not only because it's got a lot of key stylistic differences from his first two books - it's much less murder-oriented, being a heist story; it's told in third-person POVs by an ensemble cast, with the unquestionable main character being a bi girl as opposed to a gay boy like the rest of said ensemble; and in this case, it's a little harder to connect with our cast of characters at first, largely because most of them come from some degree of privilege which Flynn and Rufus lack. But as the story wears on over its long, long course, we come to realize that there's a reason why Margo and her crew of fellow drag queens are turning to a life of crime. So much bad shit's happening to them, or has happened to them (Leif's backstory, in particular, made me cringe from secondhand terror at his mom's conservative, religiously-influenced reasoning for Why He Shouldn't Be In The City And Exposed To Opportunities To Explore His Sexuality - especially since my actual mom was in the room at the time I was sitting and reading that scene in the book!) I'm pretty sure this episode may or may not have been at least partly inspired by a certain episode of Good Behavior, for which I'm very grateful we now have a YA equivalent. Blake Crouch and Chad Hodge would both approve, I'm 100% sure.

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Captain Marvel: Sorry Spark, But Team Instinct's Got A New Leader Now

***NO SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN MARVEL, BUT SPOILERS FOR OTHER MCU FILMS - PARTICULARLY INFINITY WAR AND GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, AS WELL AS AGENTS OF SHIELD, APPEAR HEREIN. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.***

I've been seeing a lot of conflicting responses to Captain Marvel's official MCU intro in the days since her movie came out. A lot of people saying that it was a beautiful movie to watch, but the writing wasn't so good, or that Brie Larson was miscast. At least I don't really follow any of the whole "manbabies crying foul because they hate even the slightest whiff of feminism" crowd, so nobody I knew was complaining about the movie that unjustifiably. But I was told to lower my expectations and everything would be more enjoyable that way. Maybe I did just a little. But I still found it, like Aquaman, a case of the trailers being deceptively not the best, and the movie itself actually being pretty damn good - bar a few flaws, of course.

Ready to fly, Captain? I know I sure am.

Review: Firestarter

Firestarter by Tara Sim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tara Sim's first trilogy comes to a close, and as she promised for months before its release, it's a hell of an attack on all our feels. The biggest book of the trilogy in all the ways, Firestarter finally launches into a truly twisted endgame of forces fighting all across the world, from England to India and tons of points in between, for dominance over time - and that's even before the old gods themselves have their say.

Review: Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can't say I'm the biggest fan of this book, purely because of how often grossgusting it is. I mean, it's super engaging, and has the recommendations of Neil Gaiman and Roxane Gay going for it. And it's super colorful in a lot of ways. And super...well, I mean, I can totally see why Gaiman loves it, purely because it's very stylistically similar to American Gods with its sprawling road-fantasy to a lot of memorable places with a lot of memorable characters therein. But this book is also loaded with ultraviolence that puts A Clockwork Orange to shame. Hell, even Tarantino might blush at the repeated instances of child rape (among rape of adults too), people getting pissed on all over the place, and a certain preoccupation with penises as symbols of power. It's not an easy read, not by a long shot, but if you can stomach it, it's worth a shot. And I'm hoping not to have to wait too long for Book 2...though I'm not sure how much Marlon James intends to up the violence...

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Review: A Good Kind of Trouble

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I remember meeting this author for a brief moment as she was buying Tyler Johnson Was Here, and with her book only a few days away from its launch party (which I will sadly have to miss due to commitments at my other job), I was very happy to see an ARC available in a box in the office at work. So I've taken it for a quick weekend read and review, and let me tell you, though MG isn't quite my bread and butter like YA, this is already one of the best books of the year right here.

Review: Running With Lions

Running With Lions by Julian Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh, Harry, I do apologize for not realizing I'd pulled one of your faves off the shelves at work. But I hope I've made up for it by reading it - and enjoying it! Julian Winters' debut is a sweet - and often sweetly grossly boyish - lighthearted YA sports romance, extra-fun for me as an #ownvoices bi reader who relates all too well to Sebastian for a lot of reasons. Not only because he and I are both bi boys, but also because the whole "Bastian the Trashcan" thing, his self-consciousness about his weight and especially his stomach not being nearly as toned as any other part of him? Yeah, I got that too, and I very much appreciate Winters for doing like Cale Dietrich and using his queer-themed YA debut to skewer unreasonable male beauty standards.