Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Review: The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Tainted Cup
 (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett
Del Rey
Publication Date: February 6th, 2024
Hardcover. 432 pages.

About The Tainted Cup:

"In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible.

Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home.

Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
"

After reading and not really liking Foundryside, I really thought Robert Jackson Bennett just might not be an author for me. But when I heard about The Tainted Cup, I was really excited by the premise and decided I needed to check it out and give RJB another chance... and my god am I glad I did because I loved The Tainted Cup. This was magnificent. Leviathans? Plants and poisons? Yes, please to all of these!

If you like the idea of a Sherlock Holmes/Agatha Christie-style murder but with a much more fantastical setting and stakes that are ultimately much higher, this is the book you're looking for. The story opens on a most unusual murder scene in which a man has been killed by what is essentially a large tree that has sprouted from his body. From here, we are introduced to the assistant of the investigator and our protagonist, Dinios Kol (also known as Din), and eventually to the main investigator, Ana Dolabra. 

Din is an extreme delight of a protagonist and being in his head was one of the best reading experiences I've had in a while. He is unfailingly professional and polite when needed, while also somehow maintaining a very distinct personality and sense of truthfulness that makes him effortlessly endearing. He is incredibly sharp, loyal, and really comes across as someone who is thoughtful about the world around him, especially as he is introduced to more of the different types of power that exist in this world and how that affects the entire societal setup around him. 

I also really loved watching the relationship between Din and Ana grow throughout the story (to clarify: professional relationship), as I think through their interactions we really got to know more about both Din and Ana. Ana is one fo those characters you can't help but be riveted by every time she's in a scene because you absolutely never know what's going to come out of her mouth or what she's going to do, but you know it's going to be something you want to hear. She's a bit eccentric in all the best ways and is not someone I would ever want on my bad side, and her intelligence and perceptiveness is something that I can only admire. 

The world-building in The Tainted Cup is incredible. This is an empire surrounded by seas that are filled with Leviathans that are so threatening and dangerous that enormous sea walls have been constructed in order to attempt to prevent them from getting in and ravaging the empire. For some reason, anything with beings on a leviathan scale is just so terrifying and captivating to me because of the sheer horror it invokes to actually imagine something on that scale as a real, tangible threat. There is also so much political intrigue that is gradually uncovered throughout this book, and the depth of conspiracies and secrets and everything in between is shown to be much more than any of us–characters and readers alike–could imagine. This world has so much to explore and uncover within it, and I feel like this first book has really only given us a taste of what's to come.  

People in this world are also able to attain various types of physical and mental alterations, which is basically a magical modification that allows people to have various abilities enhanced. For instance, Din is an engraver, which means he has been altered to the point that he has a faultless memory and can remember things in perfect detail. Others have altered senses of smell or even physical abilities that make then strong enough to handle tasks related to caring for the sea wall and impending Leviathans. Most of these alterations do come with a price, however, as many with them live much shorter lives or eventually begin to have afflictions later in life related to their alterations. I was fascinated by the idea of all these alterations people can do to themselves and how they often do them for the empire itself, as it takes a level of either dedication or desperation to commit yourself in such ways. 

The pacing and writing in The Tainted Cup are both excellently crafted. As one might expect in an investigation-focused story, there's a lot of methodical sleuthing and questioning and the like, and absolutely none of it is a drag at any point. I was genuinely hooked at every turn and was so eager to keep reading and find out what next thing would be uncovered that would either shock me or make me feel giddy at the thought of what might happen next (not giddy in a way that I take pleasure in what might happen per se, but moreso that giddy feeling you get when you've figured something out and can't wait to see what happens–you know what I mean, right?). 

Overall, I've given The Tainted Cup five stars. I loved this book and cannot wait for the next one! I'm not lying when I say this is one of the best and most captivating fantasy books I've read lately and I absolutely adored the characters to the extent that I'm genuinely eager to reunite with them in the sequel. The wait for the next book is going to feel torturous!


*I received a copy of The Tainted Cup in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org



Friday, February 9, 2024

The Friday Face-Off: Current Read #24

                 Friday Face Off New

 Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme at Books by Proxy. Join us every Friday as we pit cover against cover, and publisher against publisher, to find the best artwork in our literary universe.  You can find a list of upcoming topics at Lynn's Books.


This week's topic is:
Current Read #24

I'm just finishing up Robert Jackson Bennett's latest release, The Tainted Cup, and figured it'd be a great option to feature for this week's Friday Face-Off since it has two beautiful cover editions! I'll have a review up for this one next week (I actually meant to have it up this week, but we've recently had a storm where I live that created a bit of an interruption in my reading so I unfortunately didn't get a chance to finish/get the review up yet), but in the meantime let's take a look at the to covers that currently exist for it!

2024 US Hardcover

2024 UK Hardcover

My choice(s):
I actually really love the US edition (which is ironic since I'll have two UK editions soon... but you know, these things happen). I love the general styling of the gold details and the title/author lettering,  as well as the green plants coming in off the side. That being said, the UK edition is still super neat and has a lot of great detail within the beautiful art that makes it really stand out. (It's main downfall is that it has mushrooms on the cover, and, contrary to what seems like every other person in the world, mushrooms really, really squick me out and I don't like looking at them [the gill things under a mushroom cap just make me feel horrible]–I'm sorry, I just hate them.) Overall, though, you can't go wrong with either one!

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Island Rule by Katie M. Flynn, Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon, and The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham

   

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

Island Rule by Katie M. Flynn
Publication: March 5th, 2024
Gallery/Scout Press
Hardcover. 288 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"From the author of The Companions, a genre-bending collection of interconnected short stories in the tradition of Jennifer Egan and Karen Russell

An angry mother turns into a literal monster. A company in San Francisco can scrub your entire reputation and create a new one…for a price. A failed actor on a reality show turns into an unlikely world savior. And much more. Through twelve interconnected stories, Katie Flynn masterfully blends people, places, and even realities.
"

In recent years, I've discovered I really enjoy a weird short story collection, and this sounds perfect. I also really like that they are all interconnected, as that always adds some neat elements. 


Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Publication: March 26th, 2024 (US)
Fig Tree (UK)/Henry Holt and Co. (US)
Hardcover. 304 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"An utterly original celebration of that which binds humanity across battle lines and history.

On the island of Sicily amid the Peloponnesian War, the Syracusans have figured out what to do with the surviving Athenians who had the gall to invade their city: they’ve herded the sorry prisoners of war into a rock quarry and left them to rot. Looking for a way to pass the time, Lampo and Gelon, two unemployed potters with a soft spot for poetry and drink, head down into the quarry to feed the Athenians if, and only if, they can manage a few choice lines from their great playwright Euripides. Before long, the two mates hatch a plan to direct a full-blown production of Medea. After all, you can hate the people but love their art. But as opening night approaches, what started as a lark quickly sets in motion a series of extraordinary events, and our wayward heroes begin to realize that staging a play can be as dangerous as fighting a war, with all sorts of risks to life, limb, and friendship.

Told in a contemporary Irish voice and as riotously funny as it is deeply moving, Glorious Exploits is an unforgettable ode to the power of art in a time of war, brotherhood in a time of enmity, and human will throughout the ages.
"

I think this sounds like it'll be a bit of a riot and right up my alley with the ancient Greek setting and focus, and I'm so excited to get a chance to dig in. Also, the cover in this post is the UK one, which I've included since it's actually the copy I currently have (though mine is yellow instead of red?). 


The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Y. Ham
Publication: March 5th, 2024
Zando
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A work of literary horror in the gothic tradition, The Invisible Hotel is a startling, speculative tale of a woman adrift and a country’s shifting identity in the long afterlife of the Korean War.

Yewon dreams of a hotel. In the hotel, there are infinite keys to infinite rooms―and a quiet terror she is desperate to escape. When Yewon wakes, she sees her a young woman, out of her job at a convenience store, trapped in the tiny South Korean village of her birth, watching her mother wash the bones of their ancestors in their decrepit bathtub. Every house has them, these rotting and fragmented bones, reminders of what they have all lost to a war that never seems to end. Yewon and her siblings were born in this bathtub―and every year women give birth to new babies in the bathtub.

Now, Yewon’s brother is stationed near the North Korean border, her sister has just undergone a life-changing tragedy, and her mother is constantly worried, her health declining. In crisis and in stasis, Yewon’s dreams of the decrepit hotel lead her to an unsettling truth about her country’s collective heritage.

Recalling international trailblazers like Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police , The Invisible Hotel marks the arrival of a singular new voice with a sharp social acumen.
"

Everything about this just sounds perfect and I am ridiculously eager to have a chance to check it out!

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Blog Tour: The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West + Excerpt

Today, I'm excited to share my stop for the HTP Books blog tour of The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman! If you're someone who was always interested in Amelia Earhart or the early days of flying–especially the early days of women flying–then this is going to be a book you're going to want to be sure to check out. Of course, you'll also still probably enjoy the book if you just like well-written historical fiction with a wonderful protagonist and a compelling narrative.
Below you'll find some information about the book, the author, and some links where you can go pre-order the book and check out the author's website and socials, as well as an excerpt to get you hooked. :) Thanks for stopping by!

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Title: THE UNCHARTED FLIGHT OF OLIVIA WEST
Author:  Sara Ackerman
Pub. Date: February 6th, 2024
Publisher: MIRA
Pages: 
384
Find it: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Harlequin | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million


SYNOPSIS:
"This extraordinary novel, inspired by real events, tells the story of a female aviator who defies the odds to embark on a daring air race across the Pacific.

1927. Olivia "Livy" West is a fearless young pilot with a love of adventure. She yearns to cross oceans and travel the skies. When she learns of the Dole Air Race—a high-stakes contest to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing from the West Coast to Hawai'i—she sets her sights on qualifying. But it soon becomes clear that only men will make the cut. In a last-ditch effort to take part, Livy manages to be picked as a navigator for one of the pilots, before setting out on a harrowing journey that some will not survive.

1987. Wren Summers is down to her last dime when she learns she has inherited a remote piece of land on the Big Island with nothing on it but a dilapidated barn and an overgrown mac nut grove. She plans on selling it and using the money to live on, but she is drawn in by the mysterious objects kept in the barn by her late great-uncle—clues to a tragic piece of aviation history lost to time. Determined to find out what really happened all those years ago, Wren enlists the help of residents at a nearby retirement home to uncover Olivia’s story piece by piece. What she discovers is more earth-shattering, and closer to home, than she could have ever imagined."



Excerpt:

Olivia
San Diego, 1920


     Livy had been coming to the airfield for months now but still had yet to go up in an airplane. On weekends, when Pa was out fishing, she would offer to wash the planes or do whatever odd jobs she could for a penny, while watching planes go up. Always hoping to get a ride, but so far out of luck. Though not for a lack of trying. She had been pestering Mr. Ryan for months now. “Paying customers only,” was his standard response. “Or students.” But so far, all students were men. A sixteen-year-old girl had no business in a cockpit.
     Ryan Flying Company and School of Aviation was on the edge of the Dutch Flats alongside the San Diego Bay and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, a long Spanish-style building with a tall bell tower in the middle. Palm trees neatly lined up in front like green soldiers at attention. When the tide pulled out, you could smell salty brine and decaying sea life. The hangar was modern and clean, but it was plopped on a brown expanse of hard-packed mud that kicked up dust when dry. Of late, the place had become a magnet for all things aviation.
     Mr. Ryan had begun letting other people park their planes here free of charge, and customers flocked for the sightseeing tours.
     On a warm Sunday in March, after surviving a long sermon at church with her mother, Livy beelined it to the airfield. A new pilot had been hired for the tours and she was hoping he might be a softy, and maybe, just maybe, she could persuade him to take her up. Such a gloomy and gusty day, with dark clouds threatening rain, meant less people taking a tour. It also happened that Mr. Ryan was in Los Angeles for the week, and what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.
     Livy was hunched over, wiping down the wheels of Mr. Hall’s biplane, when she heard the incoming engine. She stood up to watch the wobbly machine approach. A storm was brewing to the south, you could taste it in the air, and that always made the pilots nervous. She watched the plane make a precarious drop before leveling off, and then come in for a hard landing. As soon as he came to a stop, the new pilot hopped out of the plane, waiting for his customer and holding a hand out when she finally disembarked. A red-haired woman in heels, face white as chalk.
     Livy walked over, wiping her hands on her overalls. “How was it up there today?”
     The woman staggered past Livy without even a glance. “Never again.”
     The pilot trailed behind his passenger and shrugged. “What can I say? Usually, they’re begging for more.”
      Once the woman left, zooming off in a shiny Model T, Livy moseyed over to the hangar and stood in the doorway. The pilot was at the counter drinking a Coke and studying a clipboard. With his goggles pulled up on his head, his thick blond hair stood out in all directions, as though he’d stuck his hand in an electric socket.
     Livy cleared her throat.
     He looked up. “Can I help you?” he asked.
     “I’m Olivia West. I work here.”
     More like volunteer and hope that people would pay her, but she could dream.
     “Oh, right. Mr. Ryan said you might be here. I’m Heath Hazeltine, new pilot.” He was staring oddly at her, and for a second she wondered if she might have grease on her face, like she often did while working here, but then he said with a shake of his head, “I was expecting something different.”
     “I come in on the weekends, wipe down planes and other odd jobs,” she said, for some reason feeling like she had to explain, then added, “I’m learning to fly.”
     That was a stretch, too, but she did always listen to the pilots talk, watch how they got the propellers spinning and closely observe the takeoffs and landings. She knew which part of the runway was more rutted with potholes, and which angle was best for approach.
     He cocked his head slightly. “That so?”
     “It is.”
     One side of his mouth turned up, just a hint. “I didn’t know women could fly airplanes, let alone teenage girls.”
     Livy felt her whole face go red. “I’ll be seventeen in four months. And I’ll bet I know more about airplanes and weather than you do, especially down here in San Diego.”
     All she really knew about him was that he’d come from Los Angeles and had flown in Hollywood some, doing stunts. No one had mentioned anything about him being so young. She had been picturing some old guy with a sun-beaten face and graying hair.
     “Feisty. I like it,” he said.
     She stood on her tippy toes and straightened up, all five feet three inches. Though her thick curls tucked under the hat added some extra height. “Take me up, and I’ll teach you a thing or two.”
     He laughed. “What can you teach me?”
     When he smiled, his whole face changed, making him seem even younger and a little less arrogant—and painfully handsome. Livy felt a swoosh in her stomach and her cheeks tingled. He couldn’t have been much older than twenty, and yet there was a certain worldliness about him. She found herself wanting to impress him.
     “Like I said, I know everything there is to know about this area. What have you got to lose?” she said.
     He looked at his watch. “My new job, for one. And I have another tour in twenty minutes, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. Want to help me patch that big pothole in the runway?”
     None of the other pilots ever offered to fill the potholes, they always figured someone else would do it. The mud stuck to everything and gave off a rank odor, and a lot of them saw it as beneath them.
     “How about I go fill those holes for you, and you take me up after your tour,” she said. She thought he was going to refuse her, like Mr. Ryan always did, but instead he nodded and said, “You’re on.”
     Disbelief flooded through her. “Really?”
     “Really. Now get out there before my next customer arrives.”
     But the passengers never showed up, most likely on account of the weather, and the books were empty after that. Heath helped Livy up onto the wing with a big, rough hand and a rock-solid arm. He moved like a man who was extremely comfortable in his own skin, as though the world rotated on his time. Livy decided that he was the perfect man for the job. You wanted your first time up to be memorable, but also to be survivable. Confidence was an asset.
     “Sure you want to do this? Those clouds look formidable,” he said.
Livy had noticed the band of charcoal clouds at sea, heralding the foul weather moving up from Mexico. A sudden chill came over her, and she tried to blot out the memory that always accompanied storms blowing in. The dark thing that would always be with her, always haunt the recesses of her mind. Blinding salt spray, cold waves smashing over the bow and washing everything from the deck, the sound of her name being stolen by the whipping wind. Olivia! The last moments of his chafed hand holding on to hers. Her heart began to squeeze in on itself, but she willed the thoughts away.
     This storm was likely to be a bad one, but hell if she was going to blow her only chance to fly. Timed right, they’d be able to outrun it.
     “Positive. From the looks of it, we have about thirty-seven minutes before that front hits here. Just head north along the coast and we should be back in time.”
     She climbed into her seat, and he leaned in and tightened the belt on her waist.
     “Thirty-seven, huh? Not thirty-six?” he said, close enough that she caught a whiff of mint and salt water.
     When he pulled away, their eyes met. Chocolate brown with flecks of fire. Her first instinct was to look away, but instead, she held his gaze. 
     "Nope, thirty-seven. Let’s go, we’re wasting time,” she said. “Oh, and you’ll probably want to come in from the east on your approach. The wind will swing around coming in off the ocean when it moves in.”
     When he stepped back, he almost fell off the wing, catching himself on the wire. They both laughed, breaking whatever strange thing it was that had just passed between them. Without another word, he hopped in and started up the engine. After a few sputters, it chugged to life. Livy slid her goggles on, and made sure her cap was strapped tight. The whole plane buzzed, sending vibrations from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. As they bounced down the runway, gathering speed, she could hardly believe her luck. One, two, three. Liftoff.
     The shift from clunky and earthbound to weightlessness was unmistakable. Everything went light and buoyant and yet Livy was pinned to her seat as the plane went up. It was a steep climb and all she could see was sky in front of her. She let her head fall back and closed her eyes, imagining herself as an albatross soaring. The hum from the wires that held the wings together grew louder the faster they went. Heath let out a holler and Livy found herself half laughing, half crying. It was even more wonderful than she’d imagined.
     When they banked to the right and leveled out some, she saw that she had a bird’s eye view of San Diego Bay, Coronado Island and the city itself—white buildings, red roofs and palm trees. The wind from earlier had died down, leaving an eerie stillness in its wake. They flew toward the cliffs of Point Loma and beyond that, the blue Pacific. There were none of the usual bumps and drops that everyone talked about. It was smooth sailing and she was in awe.
     About six minutes out, the nose of the plane suddenly pointed skyward and they began climbing sharply. Pretty soon, they were nearly vertical. Livy knew all her specs of the Curtiss JN 4 “Jenny”—top speed was about eighty miles an hour, she dove well, but when climbing fast, she had a tendency to stall. So, what the heck was Heath doing?

Excerpted from The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman. Copyright © 2024 by Sara Ackerman. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A., a division of HarperCollins


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sara Ackerman is the Hawai'i born, bestselling author of The Codebreaker's Secret, Radar Girls, Red Sky Over Hawaii, The Lieutenant’s Nurse, and Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers. Sara's books have been labeled “unforgettable” by Apple Books, “empowering & deliciously visceral” by Book Riot, and New York Times bestselling authors Kate Quinn and Madeline Martin have praised Sara’s novels as “fresh and delightful” and “brilliantly written.” Amazon chose Radar Girls as a best book of the month, and ALA Booklist gave The Codebreaker’s Secret a starred review. Find out more about Sara and her books at www.ackermanbooks.com and follow her on Instagram @saraackermanbooks and on FB @ackermanbooks.

Author photo by Tracy Wright-Corvo.

Author Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads




Monday, February 5, 2024

Month in Review: January 2024

We've officially made it through the first month of 2024! It's been a pretty busy month for me, but I'm feeling good so far about my productivity and the progress I've been making on work/hobbies/various tasks. I've always been a bit anxious about new years and whatnot, but I think I'm doing much better this year than I used to, even though there's actually a lot my husband and I are planning on tackling in 2024. But all that aside, let's talk about books!

One thing I wanted to try to work on this month was to improve my focus while reading, and I think I've been doing pretty well with that since I somehow ended up reading 14 books! It was a solid month for books, as I liked most of these and even loved a couple. Some of my favorites from the month were Sparrow, The Butcher of the Forest, Alone on the Ice, and The Book of Sand. Let's cross our fingers I can keep this momentum up for the rest of the year (or at least one more month, haha)!

How was your January? Were you ready for the year to end?? Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 14

Sparrow by James Hynes 
Source: Giveaway | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I had a feeling I'd like this historical fiction, and I did! This was a really heartbreaking story that I really loved, despite the fact that it's honestly a pretty tough read most of the time. Highly recommended for fans of The Wolf Den!

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed 
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: I adored this dark fantasy novella immensely and I'll have a review up for it closer to its publication later in February!

Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration by David Roberts 
Source: Owned | Format: Paperback
Thoughts: I finally got to this survival story about Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition and the title isn't wrong, it really was an incredible survival story.

Winter in the Blood by James Welch
Source: Owned | Format: Paperback
Thoughts: I read James Welch's Fools Crow a couple years back and had been meaning to get to Winter in the Blood, so I'm glad I finally did. 


The Book of Sand by Theo Clare 
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: I belive the author of this one passed shortly before the book was released. 

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler 
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: This didn't end up grabbing me quite as much as I'd expected it to, but it was still a really fascinating premise and is a novella that I would absolutely recommend. 

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton 
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
Thoughts: This was really beautiful and more emotional than I expected! It actually was quite different from what I expected in general, but I still really enjoyed it. 

The Great Air Race: Glory, Tragedy, and the Dawn of American Aviation by John Lancaster 
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: I ended up reading this on a bit of a whim and I had a really fun time with it! I only know some basics about America's aviation history, so this was a really informative story that capture some important events, figures, and even shared a bit about aviation progress outside of America. Highly recommended for both how entertaining and informative it was.


Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: I finally got around to reading this one and it was good, but not quite as impactful as I expected it to be. I did really like the ending and of course it's still beautifully written.

River East, River West by Rey Aube Lescure 
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Thoughts: This was a small but powerful novel split between two timelines set in past and present Shanghai and it felt like a really important read. I liked diving into life in Shanghai for different time periods and experiencing what it's like for people to struggle with identities. 

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides 
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: To be completely honest, this was a huge disappointment. I was excited to check this one, but held my expectations in check because these can be hit or miss, and it was a miss. This just felt scattered and didn't work for me. 

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland 
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
Thoughts: This was somehow almost exactly what I expected it to be, and I had a good time with it! Reminded me a lot of Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (or the other way around, I don't recall which came out first), so if you like one I really think you'll like the other. 


The Club by Ellery Lloyd ★.5
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: This was fun and had a pretty good start, but fizzled out a bit and got a little complicated by the end. Still, a fun thriller overall. Sidetracked by S.T. Abby 
Source: Library | Format: Audiobook
Thoughts: I initially had no plans to continue this series, but Libby recommended it to me and it was only three hours so I did, and now I'm actually mildly more interested to see where it goes, so maybe I'll continue, we'll see.

DNF/To-Be-Finished:
From what I can recall, I don't think I DNF'd anything this month.


 Posts:

Blog Memes:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan & Neferura by Malayna Evans

  

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.


This week's upcoming book spotlights are:


Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan
Publication: February 27th, 2024
Orbit
Paperback. 448 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Welcome to Tiankawi – shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears.

But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on peering down from skyscrapers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk — sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas—who live in the polluted waters below.

For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to reform. At last, she has the ear of the city council and a chance to lift the repressive laws that restrict fathomfolk at every turn. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn't hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when a water dragon is exiled to the city.

New arrival Nami is an aristocratic water dragon with an opinion on everything. Frustrated by the lack of progress from Mira's softly-softly approach in gaining equality, Nami throws her lot in with an anti-human extremist group, leaving Mira to find the headstrong youth before she makes everything worse.

And pulling strings behind everything is Cordelia, a second-generation sea-witch determined to do what she must to survive and see her family flourish, even if it means climbing over the bodies of her competitors. Her political game-playing and underground connections could disrupt everything Nami and Mira are fighting for.

When the extremists sabotage the annual boat race, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Even Nami realises her new friends are not what they seem. Both she and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth it, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown.
"

What an interesting premise! I think this sounds so fantastical and I can't wait to get a chance to read it. 


Neferura by Malayna Evans
Publication: February 13th, 2024
Sourcebooks Landmark
Paperback. 368 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"For readers of The Wolf Den and Kaikeyi comes the thrilling tale of the forgotten daughter of a legendary Egyptian pharaoh and the path she must take to escape her own dangerous fate.

There are many paths to power.
They all come with a price.

Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget.

But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise. Peace, it seems, never lasts for women who wield power in the open.

Especially when they cross a vengeful man. When Neferura overhears Thutmose's plot to end her mother's rule, she knows he must be stopped, no matter the cost. The discovery of a mysterious tattooed wisewoman and her shadowy network of spies offers an uneasy alliance. But the wisewoman wields more power than Neferura knew possible -- power with the potential to rival her own. Neferura must decide where her loyalties lie and how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loves before everything crumbles at the hands of a tyrant.
"

I love that this is focusing on Neferura and am so curious to see what the author does with this one. I love these types fo stories, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Mini-Review: Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton

   

Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton
Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: January 2nd, 2024
Hardcover. 320 pages.

About Here in Avalon:

"Rose has come a long way. Raised—and often neglected—by a wayward mother in New York City’s chaotic bohemia, Rose has finally built the life she’s always a good job at a self-help startup, a clean apartment, an engagement to a stable if self-satisfied tech CEO who shares her faith in human potential, hard work, and the sacrifice of childish dreams.

Rose’s sister Cecilia, on the other hand, never grew up. Irresponsible and impetuous, prone to jetting off to a European monastery one month and a falcon rescue the next, Cecilia has spent her life in pursuit of fairy-tale narratives of transcendence and true love—grand ideas Rose knows never work out in the real world. When Cecilia declares she’s come home to New York for good, following the ending of a whirlwind marriage, Rose hopes Cecilia might finally be ready to face compromises and all.

But then Cecilia gets involved with the a cultish-sounding cabaret troupe—one that appears only at night, on a mysterious red boat that travels New York’s waterways—and soon one of a growing number of suspicious disappearances among the city’s lost and loneliest souls. The only way Rose can find Cecilia is by tracking down the Avalon herself.

But as Rose gets closer to solving the mystery of what happened to her sister, the Avalon works its magic on her, too. And the deeper she goes into the Avalon’s underworld, she more she begins to question everything she knows about her own life, and whether she’s willing to leave the real world behind."

Here in Avalon was not at all what I expected, but it's still a beautiful story that I found myself strangely captivated by. I thought this was going to have a lot of magical realism elements and that there was going to be some underground magical world in New York City that we would uncover à la Neverwhere or something and that is very much not the case, but there is still a lot of different forms of magic in this book. 

What I liked: I really enjoyed this book and everything it tried to do. I loved this idea of a group of people that want so badly for people to be able to experience something magical and unique and once in a lifetime (well, for most, at least) that they go to immense lengths to create something almost otherworldly and ethereal and magical just for them and those that are struggling. I love the mystique surrounding this red boat and cabaret and how we slowly learn more about it with Rose. Rose and Cecilia also acted as such great foils to one another and I liked getting to know both of them throughout the story. It was fascinating to watch both of them react to different aspects of life in such different ways, as well as how the author kept us on a very specific journey with Rose that slowly and occasionally intersected with Cecilia's in some really interesting ways. Tara Isabella Burton also has really lovely prose and does a great job of explaining certain emotions and experiences in very relatable ways.

What I didn't like: This definitely dragged a bit in the last third of the book. I think a lot of the slow character development and passage of time was critical in some areas, but at other times I felt the story dragged on just a bit too long without. much really happening or progressing. While I think it reflected the tone fo the story effectively, it slowed down the reading experience a bit too much and probably could have been pared down a little bit. I also have a few frustrations with some of the cabaret members and things that occurred, but I don't want to spoil too much relating to that part of the story, so I'll just say that a little bit of the magic was taken away for me in ways that took me out of the story a bit. 

Overall, I've given Here in Avalon four stars.

*I received a copy of Here in Avalon in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org