Book Review: The Lost City of Z

TITLE: The Lost City of Z
AUTHOR: David Grann
PUBLISHED: 2009
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Biography/History
PREMISE: David Grann explores the life of the explorer Percy Fawcett and ponders about what could have happened to him during his quest to find the city of gold/city of Z...
MY REVIEW: I have to admit, had it not been for the buzz that surrounds this book and the fact that it was made into a movie this year, and I'm trying to read the books made into movies this year, I probably would not have picked this one up. Sorry, explorers...don't interest me that much.
So I was kind of just okay with this one. As a non-fiction biography, it gets the job done. It gives you all the details you need to know, he doesn't wander off on other subjects like some non-fiction authors have a bad habit of doing, and despite not being terribly interested at first, I did find myself enjoying this. Mostly because it was about things I wasn't terribly familiar with.
I'll give this for Grann: his writing is very engaging. He also does not sugar-coat his subject. Sometimes you can tell when an author has become too attached to their subject, because they then try to paint everything the person does in a good light. Grann doesn't hold back on the fact that Fawcett was very very flawed. Like all human beings.
All in all, it was an okay book. I'm far more interested in the newest one he wrote though. That one sounds really good.
WHO SHOULD READ: non-fiction fans, those interested in explorer history
MY RATING: Four out of Five explorer hats

Reading Through the Classics: The Glass Menagerie

TITLE: The Glass Menagerie
AUTHOR: Tennessee Williams
PUBLISHED: 1945
CATEGORY: Play
GENRE: Realistic Fiction
PREMISE: A family in St. Louis go through family issues
MY THOUGHTS: Believe it or not, I never read Tennesse Williams in high school. No, not even this play. Which is weird when you consider that my school was in the St. Louis area. But that was my teachers for you. They had weird ideas sometimes about what they thought we needed to read.
This is what I've started calling: a family driven play. Basically: it's about a family at some moment in time in their life. I've started to notice this is a common story element in plays: take a family at some pivotal moment in their life. Study how that moment effected the family and their dynamics. It's interesting and it works. This one was one of the more interesting ones to me because of Williams' use of memory in the play.
Like Raisin in the Sun, this is mostly a character study so there's very little action. But it is definitely memorable. I can see why people have revived it over and over again (including this past year).
WHO SHOULD READ: Tennessee Williams fans, those who like plays

Notable Releases: 7/23-7/29

Here are this past week's notable releases. There are quite a few this week:

MG/YA

Nemesis Book 2: Sovereign by April Daniels

I read the first book of this new series (Dreadnaught) a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Can't wait to see where the author takes things.

Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody

Interesting looking fantasy debut. Have heard mixed things so we'll see how it goes.

The Gallery of Unfinished Girls by Lauren Karcz

LGBTQA debut that apparently has some magical realism elements mixed in. Not so sure about the magical realism part as that can be very hit or miss for me, but I'm giving it a shot.

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh

I admit it: I didn't particularly care for Oh's first series (Prophecy I think is the name?). Diversity was great. Plot and world building....not so much. I'm hoping time has matured her work and giving her another shot because I do like the author as a person and I hate it when I like the author's personality, but don't care much for their books. It's almost as annoying as when I love the books, but kind of want to smack the author sometimes.

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy

Thriller that's been getting some buzz.

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

Mystery thriller thing that's been getting some buzz. We'll see how it goes.

Lucky in Love by Kasie West

The latest Kasie West book. I know she has a bit of a following so giving you guys a heads up. I do see why she's popular. Her books are cute.

Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales by Kiersten White

Kiersten White book! Kiersten White book!







Adult Fiction

The Waning Moon Book 1: The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo

New historical fantasy series set in Russia. I'm game.







Non-Fiction

Sons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned With the US Army to Fight Hitler by Bruce Henderson

Seriously, look at that title. Who wouldn't want to read that?

The Making of Jane Austen by Devoney Looser

A Jane Austen book that's not particularly about her or her life, but how exactly she became as beloved as she is today. I admit, I'm nerdy when it comes to stuff like this so I'm here for it.





Comics/Manga

Legend of Korra Vol. 1: Turf Wars, Part One
Flash Vol. 3: Rogues Reloaded
Black Road Vol. 2
Fairy Tale Vol. 61
Extraordinary X-Men Vol. 4
Mighty Thor Vol. 2: Lords of Midgard

Book Review: The End of Oz

TITLE: The End of Oz
Book 4 in the Dorothy Must Die series
AUTHOR: Danielle Paige
PUBLISHED: March 14th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy/Classic Book referencing
PREMISE: Amy returns to Oz for a final showdown with Dorothy.
MY REVIEW: This series...I don't know what to think about this series anymore. It's been such an up and down sort of series, that was honestly...mostly down. I probably should have quit awhile ago, but damn it, I love this messed up version of Oz.
So, here I am. Reading a finale that was...just okay. Like honestly, the rest of the series was. I wasn't expecting much from the ending, but I was hoping for at least a little more then (SPOILER): after defeat, Amy goes back to Kansas and married her guy. (Edit: Don't know what happened with that sentence there. Fixed it) Like, really?
So yeah. A ho hum ending to an overall average series that I probably should have quit before now. I am such a sucker for awesome fantasy worlds.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that liked the first three books, Wizard of Oz fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five shrugs
RATING FOR SERIES: Three and a half out of Five

Book Review: The Last of August

TITLE: The Last of August
Book 2 in the Charlotte Holmes series
AUTHOR: Brittany Cavallaro
PUBLISHED: February 14th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Mystery
PREMISE: Charlotte and Jamie go on the case when Charlotte's uncle goes missing...
MY REVIEW: By all rights, I probably shouldn't like this series. On one hand, yeah gender-flipped Holmes is awesome. On the other hand, now suddenly, it's okay for Holmes and Watson to be involved when one of them is female (I hate when that happens and that is one of the reasons I love Elementary: they gender flip a character, but don't do any romance between the two). But this scenario works because it's actually not a gender-flipped Sherlock Holmes: it's an ancestor of Sherlock Holmes who happens to be female.
I love the way the author played around with that. Family legacies play a big part in this, and the idea of Holmes and Moriarty ancestors playing cat and mouse with each other for decades honestly...kind of fits to me. The mystery is good, the fallout from the mystery is even better.
Honestly, if you're going to gender flip Holmes, do it this way. I honestly, don't even mind the romance part between Holmes and Watson, mostly because the author doesn't play it as a true love sort of deal. It's an awkward teenage relationship. With all the drama that implies. All in all, this was a very satisfying sequel.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sherlock Holmes fans, Lock and Mori fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five modern Sherlocks

Book Review: Paper and Fire

TITLE: Paper and Fire
Book 2 in The Great Library series (yes series, it's apparently now going to be five books instead of 3. I'm cool with that)
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLISHED: July 2016
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian/Alternate History
PREMISE: Jess and his friends continue their lives at the Library with the danger growing every day...
MY REVIEW: I am a late-comer to this awesome series. I should not have doubted Caine though, because the first book of this series was fantastic and this second book is just as good.
For those that have not picked it up yet: the series is basically about a world where the Library of Alexandria never burned but instead grew to be a global super power that controls everything. It has Caine's usual different cast of characters and fast paced plots and the result is an entertaining as hell series that should be getting way more attention then it is.
Apparently I'm the minority that loved the sequel. I will admit this one dragged a bit. But it did what it needed to do and gave you lots of plot development. So I'm personally very satisfied. And need the new book immediately, because that was a mean cliffhanger.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first book, Rachel Caine fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five fangirl squees because damn I love this series

Book Review: The Vanishing Throne

TITLE: The Vanishing Throne
Book 2 in the Falconer series
AUTHOR: Elizabeth May
PUBLISHED: June 2016 (in the US)
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: After being trapped in the fae world, Aileana finally returns to her world only to discover three years have passed and the world is not as she left it...
MY REVIEW: So, remember years back when I reviewed The Falconer and really enjoyed it? Yeah, me neither. That book totally slipped my mind until I saw the third book in Barnes and Noble last month and went "wait, when did the second book get released?!" and so here we are.
The problem with picking up a second book after not reading the series after awhile is you sometimes forget details of the first book. But somehow, I managed to remember stuff. Or at least...important things so I was able to get the gist of what was going on in this book. And there was quite a bit going on. Literally every other chapter had some sort of plot development so I sped through this one in like a day.
This is much darker then the first book and leaves off at quite the cliff-hanger. Luckily the third book is out so I don't have to wait as long to finish that one up.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first book, those that like books about fae
MY RATING: Four out of Five solid plots.

Book Review: Royal Bastards

TITLE: Royal Bastards
AUTHOR: Andrew Shvarts
PUBLISHED: May 30th, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: A group of bastard children band together to save their kingdom...
MY REVIEW: Sigh. I wanted to like this book so badly. To be fair to the author: if I turned off my brain while reading, and stopped noticing how literally EVERYTHING in this book has been done before, and didn't wind up comparing the two, I might have been able to enjoy it more. But sorry, I don't do that while reading. Or consuming any forms of entertainment really. I like to think about the story and all of that.
So, I'm sorry to say: I did not enjoy this one. The world building is paper-thin and again, stuff that has been done before. The characters are typical stock characters that again, I've seen done before (in much better, more fleshed out ways). Every story line I was able to call from chapter two. It was that predictable.  That's not even going into how awkward it was to have teenagers in a medieval fantasy setting using modern language and slang.
The story isn't offensive. Nothing bothered me. It's just SO BLAND. I'm honestly really surprised at the high rating this is getting on Goodreads. Because frankly, I personally can't give this book more then two and a half stars. That's even with me being lenient and taking into account that this is the author's first book.
WHO SHOULD READ: Eh...if you don't mind bland fantasy books?
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five this could have been so much better then it was feelings

Notable Book Releases: 7/16-7/22

Here are all the releases from this past week that I'm interested in, are big buzzy books, or just general books of note:

MG/YA

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

A new Brennan book pretty much always makes me happy. This one sounds just as interesting and unique as her other books.

The Xenith Trilogy Book 1: Amid Stars and Darkness by Chani Lynn Feener

Sci-fi debut that looks like it might be good. It's been getting mixed reviews so we'll see.

Conspiracy of Us Book 3: The Ends of the World by Maggie Hall

This adventure series has been a fun race from the beginning. I'll be interested to see where it all leads.

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana

Interesting looking fantasy that apparently is drawing from Indian folklore.

The Bakersville Dozen by Kristina McBride

Mystery that looks like it might possibly be good.







Adult Fiction

The Breakdown by B. A. Paris

This week's twisty thriller offering.








Comics/Manga trades

Backstagers vol. 1
The Amelia Cole Omnibus
Princess Jellyfish Vol. 5
Mighty Thor Vol. 3: Asgard/Shi'ar War
Ms Marvel Vol. 7: Damage Per Second
Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat Vol. 3
Punisher Vol. 2: End of the Line
US Avengers Vol. 1
Bleach Vol. 70
Case Closed Vol. 63
Blue Exorcist Vol. 17

Series Review: Flavia de Luce

SERIES: Flavia de Luce
ORDER OF BOOKS IN SERIES:
1) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
2) The Weed That Strings the Handman's Bag
3) A Red Herring Without Mustard
4) I Am Half Sick of Shadows
5) Speaking From Among the Bones
6) The Dead and Their Vaulted Arches
7) As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust
8) Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd
AUTHOR: Alan Bradley
PUBLISHED: between 2009-present
CATEGORY: Packaged and sold as adult fiction, I say it's middle-grade but what can you do?
PREMISE: In 1950s England, in a small town, a precocious girl solves mysteries using logic and a love of science.
MY REVIEW: So last year I finally sat down and read the first book of this series and promptly fell in love. Since then I've been playing catch up and after getting to the eighth book last month, I finally am caught up. I'm still very much in love with it too.
Flavia de Luce is sort of a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Miss Fisher pushed into the body of a tween. The result is a delightful main character. On top of Flavia is a colorful cast of family members, and small town characters, who are all very entertaining. Basically, it's like one of those BBC mystery shows in book form, starring a awesome little girl.
The last book left off at quite a place so I'm very eager to get my hands on the next book which is coming out in September.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sherlock Holmes fans, BBC mystery show fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five awesome main characters

Book Review: Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit

TITLE: Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
AUTHOR: Jaye Robin Brown
PUBLISHED: August 2016
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance
PREMISE: An out and proud girl agrees to not advertise her sexuality for her father's sake when they move to a new town. Trouble starts however, when she starts falling for a local girl...
MY REVIEW: I've been meaning to get to this one for quite awhile. As far as a contemporary romance: it does the trick. If you loved things like Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda or just want a sweet LGBTQA romance with minimal angst, this is a good one to pick up.
Not to say there isn't angst, there is as the girl Joanna becomes involved with struggles with whether or not to come out, but no one dies, Joanna gets her girl. This is quite possibly, the happiest lesbian romance I've ever read. It's always nice to see happy LGBTQA romances out there. The world needs more of them.
Along with general cute romance, this makes a lot of good points about faith and the LGBTQA community. I wish I had gotten to this one last year. It definitely would have made the favorites list. Ah well, it's going on the best of the backlist books list at least.
WHO SHOULD READ: Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda fans, those looking for relatively happy LGBTQA books
MY RATING: Four out of Five happy feelings

Book Review: A Perilous Undertaking

TITLE: A Perilous Undertaking
Book 2 in the Veronica Speedwell series
AUTHOR: Deanna Raybourn
PUBLISHED: January 10th, 2017
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Mystery
PREMISE: Veronica Speedwell investigates a murder at the request of the mysterious Lady Sundridge...
MY REVIEW: The first book in this series was a surprise delight for me last year. I wasn't really expecting much from it when I randomly picked it up at the library, but it managed to get me and this second book was just as delightful.
We get more banter, some more backstory on Stoker, some general mystery solving hijinks and all the fun things that should come with historical mysteries. If you're hoping for romance to ignite between Veronica and Stoker....doesn't really happen much. But, there is still banter and chemistry so I say it's a good trade off.
From the looks of things, we have at least three more books in this series coming, and I have to say: I'm here for it.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first book, Parasol Protectorate fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five lady detectives

Book Review: Sorry, Not Sorry

TITLE: Sorry, Not Sorry
AUTHOR: Naya Rivera
PUBLISHED: September 2016
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Memoir
PREMISE: Actress Naya Rivera talks about her life.
MY REVIEW: Confession: I used to love Glee. In the first season. Then...the rest of the show happened and my love came and went like that. I still really like the cast members though (sorry guys, you all really deserved better then what the writers gave you). So, I picked this up.
As a memoir, this book does its job. It gives you an idea of who Naya is, what her life was like, etc. It gives some behind the scenes look at what being on Glee was like, and all of that. There was nothing terribly shocking. It's a pretty straight forward memoir.
So it was just okay. I would mostly recommend this for die-hard Naya Rivera fans or Glee fans in general.
WHO SHOULD READ: Glee fans, Naya Rivera fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five actresses who are awesome

Book Review: Refuge for Masterminds

TITLE: Refuge for Masterminds
Book 3 in the Stranje House series
AUTHOR: Kathleen Baldwin
PUBLISHED: May 23rd, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Romance
PREMISE: The adventures of the Stranje House crew continues with Lady Jane Moore...
MY REVIEW: The Stranje House series is a personal favorite of mine so I was looking forward to this book quite a bit. It did not disappoint. It kept the plot up, we got to get more background on Jane this time, and the romance was rather sweet. There's not really much I can add without going into spoilers. Just going to say: if you liked the first two books, you'll like this one.
Personally, I felt like that ending was a good one for the series, but it looks like we're getting another book according to the author. But I honestly can't complain. As I said, this series is a favorite. So I say bring on more books.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that have read the first two books, historical romance fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five female spies

Reading Through the Classics: A Room With a View

TITLE: A Room With a View
AUTHOR: E. M. Forster
PUBLISHED: 1908
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Contemporary (for the time period it was written in anyway)/Romance
PREMISE: A young woman goes on her coming of age trip through Europe and experiences many ups and downs through out it...
MY THOUGHTS: I have to admit, this was not at all what I was expecting. People always make such a big deal about Forster in the lit world that I honestly, was expecting something super serious. Turns out: Forster is FUNNY. His prose remind me a lot of Austen's prose. It has that biting snark that manages to keep slow pace drama such as this one, rather fun.
If you've seen the 1985 movie, you likely know what to expect from this. I confess...I haven't seen it. But from what people tell me, other then a few liberties, it is mostly the same as the book. This is actually a fairly quick classic, at under two hundred pages. I read it in about a week.
All in all, this one was a fairly pleasant surprise. I'll definitely be picking up Forster's other books such as Howard's End and whatnot in the future.
WHO SHOULD READ: Jane Austen fans, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell fans,

Notable Releases: 7/9-7/15

Here are all the notable releases from this past week that are on my radar. There are quite a few of them this week...

MG/YA

The Great Library Book 2: Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine

I have only just devoured the first two books in this series in the past two months and holy crap do I love it. I can't wait to read this one as the second book left off in...quite a place. For some reason I thought it was a trilogy, but it turns out, we're getting two more books! ;does a jig;

Waste of Space by Gina Damico

Damico always has such interesting ideas and this one is no exception: future reality show featuring teenagers on a space-ship.

Stoker and Holmes Book 4: The Carnelian Crow by Colleen Gleason

New Stoker and Holmes! New Stoker and Holmes! And it looks like we're getting a fifth one!

Girl at Midnight Book 3: The Savage Dawn by Melissa Grey

An entertaining series comes to what I hope will be a satisfying end.

Because You Love to Hate Me anthology by various authors

I'm in this for the awesome idea. I don't really care about all this drama people keep making about this book. Because it's just that: Drama.






Adult Fiction

What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons

Literary debut that has been getting tons of buzz.

Loom Saga Book 2: The Dragons of Nova by Elise Kova

I'll say one thing for this series: it's not making you wait. The first book came out in January. Looks like the third is coming out in December.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

Canadian book that is just getting released in the US and it features witches in New York City so I'm basically sold.

Two Nights by Kathy Reichs

Interesting looking new thriller from the author of the Temperance Brennan series (aka the inspiration for the Bones TV show).

Bannerless Saga Book 1: Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

After saying goodbye to the Kitty Norville series (still need to get caught up on that...) Vaughn tackles mysteries in a dystopian/sci-fi world. I'm in.






Non-Fiction

Coming of Age: The Sexual Awakening of Margaret Mead by Deborah Beatriz Blum

Interesting looking biography about one of the first female anthropologists.

Policing the Black Man edited by Angela J. Davis

A collection of essays that talk about various issues such as racial profiling, history of racism in the criminal justice system etc.






Graphic Novels/Manga

Daring New Adventures of Supergirl Vol. 2
Birthright Vol. 5
Drifter Vol. 4: Remains
Hulk Vol. 1: Deconstructed

Book Review: The Pearl Thief

TITLE: The Pearl Thief
Prequel to Code Name Verity
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Wein
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PREMISE: Before Code Name Verity, see Verity's years during peace time when she uncovers a mystery and tries to right wrongs...
MY REVIEW: You guys know I'm always up for an Elizabeth Wein book. Especially if she's doing another Code Name Verity book. This is a tad more light-hearted than most of Wein's books tend to be. At least to me. It's set during peace time for one. And it deals with a mystery instead of a war.
Now, it does deal with some heavy topics, such as racism towards the Romani people that went on during this time (and honestly, still goes on). there's also a nice surprise in Verity having a romance with a girl, confirming that she is indeed bisexual (the term bisexual is not used, but she's very clearly attracted to both men and women throughout the book). That was nice to see. The mystery was also interesting.
It wasn't totally what I was expecting. I was expecting much darker, but overall I definitely enjoyed it. It was a nice solid, historical mystery. If Wein decides to write more historical mysteries, I definitely would not be opposed to them.
WHO SHOULD READ: Code Name Verity fans, historical mystery fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five stolen pearls

Book Review: Sleeping Giants

TITLE: Sleeping Giants
Book 1 in the Themis Files series
AUTHOR: Sylvain Neuvel
PUBLISHED: April 2016
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Science Fiction
PREMISE: Over a series of interviews/documents we learn the story of a group of scientists that study an alien artifact found by accident...
MY REVIEW: This is a book that has been slowly, but surely gaining a lot of popularity. I've been seeing it make the rounds and have now finally gotten to it and I have to say: it is pretty damn good.
I will warn: it is very slow. It's sort of like Illuminae where everything is told through documents or interviews. But unlike Illuminae it's got a lot of science in it. So reading it can...sometimes be a bit of a head scratcher. But it is worth it in the end. Characters develop and the story unfolds into something pretty awesome at the end.
So it definitely is a slow burn of a book. But if you stick with it, I promise it is worth it to get to the end. If you're new to sci-fi, I say this is a good one to try first. It's more character driven and less interesting in showing off science babble, so I suspect it might be a good gateway book.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sci-fi fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five random alien robot hands laying around

Book Review: Under Rose-Tainted Skies

TITLE: Under Rose-Tainted Skies
AUTHOR: Louise Garnell
PUBLISHED: January 3rd, 2017 (in the US)
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary
PREMISE: A girl stuck being inside falls for the boy next door.
MY REVIEW: I wanted to like this book more than I did, because I understand that books like this are needed. It's just...I've seen this scenario before. Two times in fact. First, with Everything Everything, and though I haven't read it yet, I understand Highly Illogical Behavior also kind of follows the same plot. Both of those were released within the past year. So...I'm sorry I can't really give this book much points for originality.
Characters/romance wise...it's okay. It's cute. It gets the job done. It does explain the mental health issues really well, so that I give it tons of points for. Plot...again, it's like Everything Everything, so I was able to easily predict what was going to happen. One thing that really annoyed me was the unnecessary side plot that mostly involved villianizing a pretty popular girl who dared to have a crush on the main characters love interest. Authors, I thought we had moved past this? I guess not.
So yeah...it was cute and all. I give it lots of points for the issues it talked about. But ultimately, I can't give it more then an average rating because it was predictable as hell and we've seen this plot before.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Everything Everything, Romance fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five deja vu feelings

Book Review: Allegedly

TITLE: Allegedly
AUTHOR: Tiffany D. Jackson
PUBLISHED: January, 24rth, 2017
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Mystery/Contemporary
PREMISE: A girl who got convicted of killing a baby when she was little now tries to clear her name after learning that she is pregnant.
MY REVIEW: This is yet another book I had mixed feelings about. On one hand: it is riveting. Jackson is a talented author who knows how to keep people flipping the pages for more. Even as I kept thinking "I'm...not into this story that much", I still had to keep going. So it has that going for it. It's not the author's fault that I just can't seem to get into books with unreliable narrators.
I'm going to warn you now: you probably won't like anyone in this book. They are all fully realized deeply flawed characters. They make all the mistakes that come with that. I have some issues with stuff in the book. Also, definitely don't go into this hoping for a Orange is the New Black kind of situation where the characters are dark/in crappy situations, but support one another. Female friendship/support is basically non-existent in this book.
So yeah...I've got many issues with some of the ways this book was executed. But....it was pretty damn well written and it did its job as a suspenseful did she/or didn't she type of thriller. So it's good...but there are issues. I will say it's a very strong debut though. I'm keeping an eye on this author. Like I said, it's not her fault I just can't get into unreliable narrator stories. That's a me thing.
WHO SHOULD READ: Gone Girl fans, those that like books with unreliable narrators
MY RATING: Four out of Five solid debuts

Reading Through the (Modern) Classics: Rubyfruit Jungle

TITLE: Rubyfruit Jungle
AUTHOR: Rita Mae Brown
PUBLISHED: 1973
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Contemporary
PREMISE: A woman goes through life figuring things out and being proud of who she is.
MY THOUGHTS: I have so many mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, there things in here that make me side-eye the author really hard (like some very judgmental comments about pretty much everyone who doesn't live the life the main character/author seems to think they should be living). On the other hand...it was written in the seventies.
On one hand....nothing really happened? I'm reminded a lot of On the Road, where the characters just go here, do stuff and then move on. I mean, this at least didn't have the sexism and whatnot of On the Road. I definitely liked the characters better in this book. But again: slow plot. But on the other hand, context is important when reading classics. This was a very bold book when it was written in the time it was in. On the other hand writing is....eh.
So...yeah. I don't know how to feel about this one you guys. I didn't hate it...but I didn't love it either...but I also get why it made the splash it did when it was published. Just...I have a lot of mixed feelings.
WHO SHOULD READ: those looking for more LGBTQA classics, Rita Mae Brown fans,

Notable Releases: 7/2-7/7

Here are some new releases from this past week that I'm eager for, are buzzy books, look interesting etc. Note: Looks like publishers changed the release date of Now I Rise from last week to this week. ;shakes fist at publishing gods for making me look wrong;

MG/YA

A Void the Size of the World by Rachele Alpine

Interesting looking mystery.

The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy

Spooky looking mystery I've been hearing good things about.








Adult Fiction

Stillhouse Lake Book 1 by Rachel Caine

It's Caine, so I'll be giving this book a look at some point in time.

Queens of Renthia Book 2: The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst

I've been a long time Durst fan and I naturally loved the first book in this series. I'm glad to see it looks like people are finally starting to take notice of her books or at least this series.

Alex Craft Book 5: Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price

The fifth book in the Alex Craft series. I...need to get caught up on this series still.







Non-Fiction:

Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan by Elaine M. Hayes

Interesting looking biography.







Graphic novels/Manga

Woods Vol. 7
Angel Catbird Vol. 3
Berserk Vol. 38
Injustice Ground Zero Vol. 1
Wonder Woman, The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 2
Monstress Vol. 2
Wayward Vol. 2
Star Wars Vol. 5: Yoda's Secret War