Book Review: Homegoing

TITLE: Homegoing
AUTHOR: Yaa Gyasi
PUBLISHED: June 7th, 2016
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Family drama
PREMISE: A sweeping family saga that follows the ancestors of two half-sisters who wound up in very different circumstances...
MY REVIEW: This novel has been all over the place this year in the literature circuit and there is a good reason for that: the writing is just damn good. The fact that this is the author's first book is mind-blowing to me and makes me eager for what we have in store for her future books.
This is not really an action-packed book. It is mostly a character study and a look at how our ancestors lives and history of the world effects where we end up. It does have multiple points of views so if that is an annoying thing, this might not be for you. It also does not shy away from things like abuse, racism, and so on. So it's not really what I'd call a happy book.
But it is a very thought-provoking book. The only issue I really have with this is sometimes I wanted to spend more time with some of the characters and then we were off to the next ancestor. I understand why it was done that way though. The prose are still gorgeous and it all ties up beautifully. If this is Gyasi's debut book, we are in for some damn good books from her in the coming years.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of family saga type books, fans of Roots
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five gorgeous writing prose

Book Review: My Lady Jane

TITLE: My Lady Jane
AUTHOR: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: June 7th, 2016
GENRE: Historical Fantasy
PREMISE: A humorous alternate history retelling of Lady Jane Grey's time as queen.
MY REVIEW: I'll be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first of this book. Lady Jane Grey, for those who don't know, had a very sad ending in her life. I wasn't sure how one could make a humorous story out of that. I should learn to trust YA authors more. They managed it.
This book mostly works for me due to its tone. The premise is silly and the tone owns that. In the beginning the narration point blank says hey, we're screwing with history here. The humor is very Discworld-Gail Carriger like and that made very enjoyable.
If you're looking for a serious historical fiction book, this is not going to be your book. But, if you like hilarious takes on history with badass females in it...I highly recommend this one. It looks like this one is a stand alone, but apparently the authors are working on another book like this about the Bronte sisters. I can't wait.
WHO SHOULD READ: Discworld fans, humor book fans, parody fans, historical fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five shapeshifting royals

Book Review: United

TITLE: United
Book 3 in the Alienated Trilogy
AUTHOR: Melissa Landers
PUBLISHED: August 2nd, 2016
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Science Fiction
PREMISE: Cara and Aelyx are finally together on a far away colony only to be forced apart once again by an invading alien force saying an alliance between humans and L'eihr is too dangerous to be continued...
MY REVIEW: I'll be honest, I was a little surprised when I heard there was going to be a third book in this series. I was under the impression the story was done and was happy with the way things ended. But...I'm a completionist, so I read this anyway.
As I suspected...it was pretty much unnecessary. Then there's something that happens in the end that cheapens a big thing from book 2 so much that I kind of wish this book hadn't happened. But it did. So here we are.
I'm torn on this one because I personally didn't like it very much and just wondered why it was needed. But I also realize that some people like really happy endings and wanted more from the series. So if that is you, go ahead and read this. If you're like me and was satisfied with the ending from book 2...I'd stick with that ending.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first two books, romance fans
MY RATING: Three out of Five was not needed feelings
RATING FOR TRILOGY: Four out of Five

Book Review: Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

TITLE: Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life
AUTHOR: Ruth Franklin
PUBLISHED: September 27th, 2016
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Biography
PREMISE: A biography on the life of author Shirley Jackson.
MY REVIEW: Okay, confession time: I've actually never read any Shirley Jackson. Yeah yeah, I know. Shame on me. She's on the list, really. I hope to maybe get to her next year. This book motivated me to get to her sooner, rather then later.
Because this was a very interesting look into a very complicated woman. I had to skim parts because the author assumes you've read all or most of her books (this is a fair assumption, I'm not faulting the author for that) and I didn't want to be spoiled for things. But the parts I didn't have to skim were fascinating.
This is thoroughly researched and well organized. Like most biographies, it went into details that weren't terribly necessary, but did give an overall picture of her life. As far as biographies go, this was a really good one.
WHO SHOULD READ: Shirley Jackson fans, biography fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five troubled authors

Reading Through the Classics: The Picture of Dorian Gray

TITLE: The Picture of Dorian Gray
AUTHOR: Oscar Wilde
PUBLISHED: 1890
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Paranormalish
PREMISE: A narcissistic young man has a portrait painted of him....
MY THOUGHTS: You know that image a lot of students have of classics? Where they're stuffy and boring? Now, I personally don't agree. Not all classics are the same. But this one here...could honestly qualify for that classics are boring image. Because wow, was it dull. Even with the murders going on, it was dull.
Part of my issue is that it is very dialogue heavy. A majority of the book is Dorian chatting with either Henry or Basil. Usually one or all three of them are being sexist douches during this dialogue. Yeah, yeah, I know, sexism was common during Wilde's time. I don't care. Doesn't make the rampant misogyny in this book okay. As for the LGBT mentions in it...there was subtext. I guess. Though I personally felt like the subtext was more on Basil's part then on Dorian. The stuff with the portrait doesn't start until halfway through the book, I guarantee you by then you will probably want to punch all of these characters in the face.
Yes, I got the social commentary. We'll have to agree to disagree on the writing. Because Wilde literally would spend a whole chapter on something that could have been summarized in a paragraph. I guess that's what happens when you pay authors by the word. This book isn't really a difficult read. It's pretty straightforward. It's just...very dull and at times very aggravating. I am going to try and read The Importance of Being Earnest at some point, but other then that...I think Wilde and I are going to have to part ways.
WHO SHOULD READ: Classic buffs, fans of the horror/paranormal classic canon, Oscar Wilde fans

Book Review: If I Was Your Girl

TITLE: If I Was Your Girl
AUTHOR: Meredith Russo
PUBLISHED: May 2016
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQA
PREMISE: A girl moves to a new town hoping for a fresh start and that no one finds out her secret: that her name used to be Andrew.
MY REVIEW: I'll be up front with you: this review has lots of bias because I frankly adored this book. Have I mentioned how happy I am that we're getting more happy ending LGBT books? Because I am really happy about this. Not to say we don't need things like The Miseducation of Cameron Post or whatnot, but I think books like this or Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda or You Know Me Well are needed as well.
This is basically like a lot of contemporary romances, it's cute, it's sometimes very angsty, and there's a lesson to be learned in it about yourself somewhere. It's a very quick read. I actually read it in one sitting. There's heart along with the cuteness and it just made me smile.
Is it a tad idealistic? Perhaps. No more idealistic then a lot of contemporary YA romance books are though. It's a feel good book and I personally am all for more feel good books with LGBTQA representation.
WHO SHOULD READ: those looking for LGBTQA books, Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda fans, You Know Me Well fans, contemporary romance fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five happy sighs

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Part of the Harry Potter series
AUTHOR: JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
PUBLISHED: July 2016
CATEGORY: Play
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: Harry Potter's son deals with his father's legacy as the past comes back to haunt everyone.
MY REVIEW: I'm a little late to the game in reading this one. I wanted to put off reading it because I've found reading a huge book release such as this tends to come with baggage. It's usually best for me to wait a few months where I don't have everyone's opinion rattling in my head and distorting my opinion of it.
My opinion is this: fandom overreacted as fandom tends to do. By the way I think they overreacted on both sides. It is not the crap pile that I've seen a lot of fans claim. Nor is it the brilliant story I've seen die-hards say it is. Honestly...it's just okay. It really helps if you don't look at this as the eighth Harry Potter book. The publishers kicked themselves in the foot by advertising it that way. To me...this is fanfic, plain and simple. I get the feeling Rowling didn't actually write much of it. I'm sure she gave the basis for it, and there are some sparkling moments of dialogue that I can tell she definitely wrote. But I suspect most of it was written by Tiffany and Thorne. It just doesn't have Rowling's typical flare. I especially think this after seeing Fantastic Beasts, which was great, and very clearly written by her.
With that in mind...I don't really consider this an actual part of the Harry Potter series. So I'm not terribly offended by it. It's just something that's there. If you want to read it you totally can, but if you just want to stick the books, you're honestly not missing much really.
WHO SHOULD READ: Harry Potter fans who don't have strong opinions about character's futures
MY RATING: Three out of Five shrugs

Thematic Sunday: January/February 2017 Books to movies/TV list

As is the case every year, 2017 brings a lot of adaptations to the big and small screen. If you're one who likes to keep up on such things, here are some from January and February to get a head start on.

January:

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

To start us off, Sherlock finally comes back on BBC (PBS in the States) on January 1rst. It is apparently the final season so buckle in folks.

The Oz series by Frank L. Baum

On January 6th, NBC brings us a trippy retelling of the Wizard of Oz series that rather reminds me of Tin Man. We'll see how this one goes.

The Amityville Horror: A True Story by Jay Anson

January 6th brings yet another Amityville horror movie. Technically this book is not the movie in question, but the original Amityville movie's source material is this old 1977 horror book.

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Technically this movie comes out on Christmas, but it's not getting a wide release until January 13th. So many people won't get to see it until then. To tide you over, check out the recently released nonfiction book that inspired the movie.

A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket

On Netflix, January 6th, A Series of Unfortunate Events fans will finally get an adaptation they deserve as a TV show. Also, I'm going to be reading through this series in 2017. Because uh...I've never read it. ;ducks head;

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

On January 28th, a movie based on this series of books about a dog searching for his purpose over the course of several lives releases.

Afterlife With Archie series/or Archie series

On January 26th, CW launches a new TV show based around the Archie franchise. From the trailer I suspect they're going the Afterlife with Archie route. Which would be in tune with CWs genre friendly bent. If you're not interested in supernatural Archie, there's the regular Archie comics as well as Jughead and the Betty and Veronica series. All of the new Archie comics are pretty damn solid. I recommend all of them.


In February:

X-Men: Legion Quest

On February 8th, FX starts a new show centered around X-Men Legion. From the looks of it, it takes several liberties as these comic book shows often do. But still, a good excuse to check out some old X-Men comics.

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

On February 19th, HBO premieres a mini-series based on this 2014 best seller.

Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

On February 24rth, this historical fiction novel comes to the big screen.

Book Review: The Queen of Blood

TITLE: The Queen of Blood
Book 1 in the Queens of Renthia series
AUTHOR: Sarah Beth Durst
PUBLISHED: September 20th, 2016
GENRE: Fantasy
PREMISE: In a world where demons run wild and destroy human life, a girl competes to be the next queen: the one person who can control the demons.
MY REVIEW: I have long been a fan of Sarah Beth Durst. She always has interesting ideas and takes familiar tropes and turns them on their head. When I heard she was doing a fantasy series I was through the roof.
Durst did not disappoint. We get a interesting world with equally interesting characters. I don't know why people keep trying to say this is YA because it's really not. It's adult. There is a time where one of the main characters is a teenager, yes. But a majority of the book is centered around adults and deals with very adult themes. I suppose there is some crossover appeal, but considering the sex scenes and sometimes gory violence...yeah it's adult.
I personally loved this one. It was unique and interesting as always with Sarah Beth Durst. I can't wait to see the rest of this series.
WHO SHOULD READ: Sarah Beth Durst fans, Game of Thrones fans, Queen of the Tearling fans, adult fantasy fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five demons wreaking havoc

Book Review: The Amateurs

TITLE: The Amateurs
Book 1 in a new trilogy
AUTHOR: Sara Shepard
CATEGORY: YA
PUBLISHED: November 1rst, 2016
GENRE: Mystery
PREMISE: A group of amateur detectives meet up on a website and take on a cold case involving a teenage girl who disappeared.
MY REVIEW: Oh Sara Shepard, why can't I quit you? I'm the first to admit your books are cheesy. You also over do it with the red herrings. Also, can you please stop with the gross normalization of older men hooking up with teenage girls? Honestly, there's so much in your books that irk me. Yet...this is the third series I've tried of yours.
If you've read Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game series, you pretty much are prepared for The Amateurs. It's very much in the same vein. It even comes complete with aggravating characters. But damn if Shepard doesn't know how to spin a good mystery and keep up the suspense to keep you turning the pages.
So I don't know guys. This book has all the same issues PLL and the Lying Game has. Yet, like those series...it's damn addicting. I'm giving this book three stars...but we all know I'm probably going to be here for the next book as well.
WHO SHOULD READ: PLL/The Lying Game fans, mystery fans, Shondaland fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five so ridiculous it's good books