Once, many moons ago when I was just a baby Miranda, my friend and I were obsessed with a comic on deviantART. It was part of a challenge where severaOnce, many moons ago when I was just a baby Miranda, my friend and I were obsessed with a comic on deviantART. It was part of a challenge where several different artists created characters and storylines set in a world that the person in charge of the challenge had created. Week by week, the artists would post their own comics, and people would vote on which story and characters could go through to the next round.
My friend and I loved the storyline following two outlaws, Annie and the Professor (or as Annie called him, Ginger.) It was hilarious, the characters were well crafted, and the storyline was moving. I loved it so much, in fact, that I followed the artist for the next fifteen years, because I wanted to see what else she would eventually put out.
The artist was Margaret Owen, and I am so excited to be able to read her books.
Little Thieves is a loose retelling of The Goose Girl but focused on the villain of the story, the maid who steals the princess' life. When Vanja steals something she shouldn't and is then cursed by a Low God to repay her debt, she has only two weeks to break the curse before she turns to jewels.
To say this book is a triumph is an understatement. Owen takes the fairytale of The Goose Girl and upends it while still keeping the recognizable bits of the tale. It's creative and the way she uses the bits from the fairytale make sense, in a way that leaves you thinking, "How did she come up with that?" I read the book almost entirely in one sitting. That's how much I enjoyed it.
Perhaps what I enjoyed most was how clearly Owen has taken her ability to create comics and translated it into prose. Little Thieves is bursting with detail that I could visualize very easily simply because Owen knew how to describe what she was seeing artistically in her head into words. I sometimes have trouble picturing what an author is trying to describe; I didn't have an issue here.
All of the things I loved about Margaret Owen's comic on deviantART years ago are present in Little Thieves as well: Wonderfully layered characters, hilarious banter, an interesting world, and a romantic arc that made me squee. Yes, squee. Vanja herself is one of the best YA characters I've read in a long while. She does horrible things, yes, but given the world she grew up in, it makes sense. Owen treats her both with sympathy but also making certain she does, indeed, pay her debts. If the book had simply been entirely of banter between her and Emeric, I would have been over the moon. Owen simply has a way with words that can make you laugh like a donkey -- then pages later, she'll have you tearing up.
Some readers may find the villain to be lacking in nuance, but frankly, the world is full of men like the villain, and I find him all too believably real. The ending may also lack a bit of a punch to some readers; again, I didn't mind it.
I honestly have very little else to say except that I adored Little Thieves, and I'm so looking forward to everything else Owen releases in the future.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Considering that I got to 48% of Payback's a Witch, I probably should have finished it, but... honestly, I was bored. The technical aspect of the writConsidering that I got to 48% of Payback's a Witch, I probably should have finished it, but... honestly, I was bored. The technical aspect of the writing was fine, and the characters had pretty strong, distinct voices, but the pacing was all over place. Harper seemed to have trouble juggling all the different parts of the plot and figuring out how to have things move in a way that made sense. The character's plot to get back at the man who hurt them made very little sense, and would have been easy to foil in real life.
I wasn't overly into the relationship between Talia and Emmy, either, as I didn't see much to support their relationship other than mutual lust-at-first-sight. That may be some reader's cup of tea, but it isn't mine, unfortunately.
Also, this is maybe a stupid quibble when Payback's a Witch is meant to be a fun rom-com that you don't think about too much, but I was a bit bothered by the history of Thistle Grove. The novel states that the four founders of the town gravitated to the area because the land "had an abundance of magic".
The land that, by the by, is in America. So... what about the Native Americans who were there first? Were they using that land for anything? Or was it just happily empty of people and waiting for a bunch of colonizers to come take it?
Looking at the reviews, it seems I'm in the minority as far as Payback's a Witch goes, so YMMV. It just wasn't for me.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Iron Widow has a solid premise and, unfortunately, not much else.
I wanted very badly to love this novel, as I enjoyed all of its comp titles and I liIron Widow has a solid premise and, unfortunately, not much else.
I wanted very badly to love this novel, as I enjoyed all of its comp titles and I like what I've seen of Xiran on twitter. But Iron Widow feels a bit like a first rough draft where the writer was just getting the general beats down and not overly paying attention to anything else such as the world building, characterization, or pacing, or even making certain the characters' dialogue doesn't sound exactly the same.
Even accounting for the fact that English isn't Xiran's first language and the differences in storytelling norms between English and Chinese, the writing simply isn't good. It's very blunt, and while maybe that was the point as the novel is entirely in Zetian's POV and she's not a subtle person, I can't be sure about that. We're given no time to really pause and reflect on certain scenes or emotions, which leaves it all feeling shallow. Even Zetian's relationship with her Big Sister, who's the entire driving force behind the events of the novel, barely gets any mention. We're told everything and shown nothing.
It really seems as if the author only had a few scenes crystal clear in their head but had no interest in building the rest of the novel around those scenes in a way that made sense. There are a few bits of the novel that really shine, while the rest are hastily put together and shoved to the side so the author could get to the stuff they actually cared about. I couldn't really tell you a thing about the worldbuilding except that it's a Chinese sci-fi world where boys and girls have to fight aliens called Hunduns, and the girls are basically batteries for the boys and die in the process of the fighting.
Which brings me to Zetian's story: I could not, in any way, believe her arc because it made no sense. Where she ends up at the end of the novel is unbelievable; at several points in the story, she should have been stopped simply because she's about as subtle as a trainwreck on a boat and, frankly, not entirely smart about her plots. Readers looking for a character who manages to play the game intelligently and with subtlety should look elsewhere, because that's very much not Zetian's style, and while I understand that's what Jay Zhao was going for, it doesn't work. At all.
In a way, I think Iron Widow would have benefited incredibly from not being a YA novel--being an adult novel focused on teenage characters instead--and having multiple POVs. Zetian is limited in a lot of ways (including physically--she has bound feet, though at times it seems like Jay Zhao forgot about that, given that it doesn't overly impact Zetian's ability to do things that much) and the middle drags because we can't see how other pieces are being moved, if they're being moved at all. Given how the novel was written, I sort of doubt it; the characters come in when they're needed, do what the plot/Zetian's characterization and arc require them to do, and then leave, as if they don't exist outside of their on-page appearances or have an impact on the world outside of them.
And now my final, biggest issue with the novel: For all that it touts itself as a feminist novel, and for all that Zetian claims she wants to save girls, neither Zetian nor the novel seem to actually like other girls that much. Zetian is a prickly person, so I get that she wouldn't get along with everyone, but the novel itself doesn't treat girls other than Zetian that well. There's a difference between your character having some internalized misogyny issues and the writing backing her up on it by having every female character she encounters either be an enemy or get killed by the end of the novel. I don't require Zetian to never have a bad word to say about other girls or for the novel not to have antagonistic relationships between them, but her scenes with other girls are so scant and overwhelmingly negative. If feminism means only One True Awesome Girl, it's not one I'm interested in.
I did like the way the mecha functions, and I like that the love triangle resolves itself into an actual poly relationship. I wish the rest of the novel had been as good as some of the scenes inside, but unfortunately, it wasn't.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Content warnings: Emotional and physical abuse of children, gore.
A Dark and Starless Forest is a solid novel that falls prey to some typical issues inContent warnings: Emotional and physical abuse of children, gore.
A Dark and Starless Forest is a solid novel that falls prey to some typical issues in a debut novel.
The two biggest issues I found in the novel were the pacing and the themes. The pacing dragged in the middle and it seemed Hollowell wasn't quite sure what she needed to have Derry do. The plot needed to have Derry act in a certain way, so she did, but it didn't necessarily make sense with the events happening in said plot. The sense of urgency at having two of her sisters missing never quite sticks, since Derry and the rest of her siblings are mostly unable to go out and look for them and so have to continue living their lives as normal. Although Derry does ignore this rule, her forays into the forest become more about growing her magical powers than it does finding her sisters. Hollowell does try to explain in the story why the siblings mostly have to stay in the house, but it's not quite good enough reasoning.
The themes were close to being pinned down, but another draft of the novel would have made them clearer. Derry is surrounded by two main enemies: Frank, her adoptive father who's teaching her and her siblings how to control their magic for possibly dark purposes, and the forest that surrounds the house they live in. The atmosphere of the house was claustrophobic and oppressive, but the forest lacked the same danger and darkness. Hollowell clearly tries to state that both Frank and the forest want to use the girls for their own ends, but she doesn't quite get there in regards to the forest.
Derry is a character that some readers will probably dislike, as she's mostly passive and reacts to things instead of causing things to happen, and she's avoidant of the facts staring her in the face. However I was fine with this, as Derry is living in a situation that's almost a cult. Her family is completely cut off from the rest of the world, and whatever they know about it, they learn from Frank. Frank is emotionally abusive and gaslights the siblings often, and Derry, as a sixteen year old girl who's had to view Frank as a parental figure, is realistic in her reluctance to realize and accept that Frank is dangerous and harmful.
While the bond between Derry and most of her siblings is evident, the siblings themselves are too numerous and subsequently their characters fall to the wayside. A couple stand out, like Elle, Jane, and Winnie, while others were little more than names and attributes. I do applaud Hollowell for making her cast a good representation of diversity, but some of that was integrated into the novel better than others, such as Brooke's deafness being dealt with by all the siblings using ASL for a good chunk of the novel.
Personally, I will say that as a fat woman, it was a relief to read about a fat main character and never have her weight come up as anything other than a neutral description of herself. There are no fat jokes, no one harms her because she's fat or uses her fatness to harm her. Derry simply exists as a fat girl, and that was wonderful.
There was enough that I liked in A Dark and Starless Forest that I'll likely read what Hollowell writes next. Most of the problems in this novel are either debut issues or stylistic choices that some readers may not gel with, such as the worldbuilding beyond the house and the forest being thin to non-existent. Readers looking for a richly detailed contemporary fantasy won't find it here, but they will find a story about a girl discovering her magic and saving her siblings from an abusive man, and that's a story worth telling even with the issues.
2.75, rounded up to 3.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Sarah Andersen is one of those artists whose work speaks to my soul. I, too, am an introverted oddball who prefers the company of my cats and books/faSarah Andersen is one of those artists whose work speaks to my soul. I, too, am an introverted oddball who prefers the company of my cats and books/fanfics rather than other people. I would love to have some of her comics framed and hanging on my walls, such as my favorite from this collection, the comic where Medusa adopts a blind cat.
This is yet another great collection of Andersen's comics. Since I sometimes don't see these when they're posted on Twitter, I appreciate having them collected into a book to keep forever. Andersen's understanding of comedy in her art style, from expressions to body language, is topnotch as always. Her ability to use a comic format of only about four to six squares to get her ideas across in funny, heartwarming ways is always amazing.
I hope these collections continue, as I love having them on my shelf.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley....more
Content warnings: Murder of a dog on-page about 9% of the way in, physical abuse of a child, emotional abuse/manipulation of a child, food insecurity,Content warnings: Murder of a dog on-page about 9% of the way in, physical abuse of a child, emotional abuse/manipulation of a child, food insecurity, some gore.
This took me by surprise, but in a good way. From the summary I expected more of a young adult urban fantasy/paranormal read, but Bad Witch Burning ended up being more of a contemporary novel with heavy horror elements. Readers expecting a fast paced novel will be disappointed as there's more of a character driven focus for the plot. Which is fine because Katrell and the supporting cast are well written and I didn't mind spending time with them (save for her abusers).
Katrell herself is a worthy main character, although near the end she did end up having to hand part of the reins over to her best friend, Will. However, I didn't mind this, as Katrell's whole story was about having to always fend for herself and believing no one was there for her. The fact that she has to learn to depend on her friend and allow Will to help save her was a satisfying conclusion to her arc. This may not be some readers' preference, however, as it might come across as Katrell becoming a little passive.
The paranormal aspects are likely what will disappoint some readers; we're never given any kind of explanation as to why Katrell's powers suddenly change, or whether she was always able to bring a person back to life and just didn't know until she was desperate enough to try. Personally I would have preferred a bit more explanation in this, but it may not bother others.
The only criticisms I have concern the pacing for the first part of the novel, which seems to meander just slightly, and the fact that Katrell is warned about her powers by Will's deceased grandmother in one of the first chapters. At this point Katrell can only bring a shade back for about ten minutes. Will's grandmother waits until the very end of these ten minutes to tell Katrell not to do any more summoning, and won't explain why. Lewis does poke fun at this a bit in the end by having Will say her grandmother could have given a better warning, but it was a bit late, so the scene mostly came across as a contrived way to build suspense.
Bad Witch Burning isn't perfect, but I enjoyed it and it even made me cry at the end. I look forward to what comes next from Jessica Lewis.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley....more
The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist has some interesting spins on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, such as Celeste (the Beauty) sacrificing The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist has some interesting spins on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale, such as Celeste (the Beauty) sacrificing herself to a marriage she doesn't want in order to save her family, instead of sacrificing herself to the Beast, as well as making her a naturalist/scientist. I did enjoy these takes on the plot beats of the original fairytale. I also liked Celeste well enough as a main character, although I'm not sure she had much of an arc, as such. I felt she was more or less the same character in the end as she was in the beginning of the novel.
The biggest issue is that the pacing is very off. We don't meet the Beast until close to the 50% mark. The first half is spent on Celeste's life and the circumstances that lead her to being desperate enough to run away. I'm not opposed to this idea, but we simply spend too much time in it, and as a consequence the story dragged quite a lot. The better choice may have been to shorten this and have Celeste act sooner.
Langley's choice not to introduce the Beast until nearly halfway in also harmed the progression of Celeste's relationship with her. Their progression from distrust to trust, to friendship, to love wasn't as clear cut as I would have liked, and in the end I'm not entirely certain I believed the love between them. Quite literally, Celeste initially spends more time on-page with a barn owl in the castle than she does with the Beast.
At times it felt like Langley suffered from the issue of not really knowing what to have Celeste do in the castle, and instead chose to focus more on scenes with Celeste and the Beast. However then the issue became that there simply wasn't enough time to develop that relationship as it should have been developed.
(view spoiler)[Also, if I didn't know this was the first in a possible series, I would have been very put off by the fact that Celeste doesn't seem to spend much time thinking about her family in the last chapter. They still believe she's dead and here she is, going off on an adventure with her wife, and she doesn't even think about them once. No remorse? No guilt? Maybe this will be handled in the sequel, but it should have had a mention here, in my opinion. (hide spoiler)]
The strongest parts of the novel were the technical writing aspects of it -- Langley has a lovely writing style that's easy to read, and I was able to envision her world easily. Her characters were also strong, and I appreciated that she didn't go the Gaston route with Celeste's fiance Etienne. If the issues of pacing were fixed, I would have enjoyed this novel much more. I may still read the sequel (I'm thinking it'll be a Little Mermaid retelling, given some dialogue in the end).
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received a copy of this from the publisher via NetGalley....more
This should have been right up my alley. Some light Beauty and the Beast elements in an interesting fantasy world? I should have loved this.DNF at 22%
This should have been right up my alley. Some light Beauty and the Beast elements in an interesting fantasy world? I should have loved this.
The issue started right off the bat with the world-building. There's a lot of information thrown at the reader in the first few chapters, which isn't explained well and left me deeply confused. The basic idea of it is intriguing, but the way Miller went about presenting her world made a muddle of it.
The biggest issue I had was with Lorena. The book is told from her perspective, in first person, and it's almost as if the book was written in third person for all that we see Lorena's thought processes or emotions. She barely even reacts to things. At one point, another character tells Lorena to kill her, and there's no in-text reaction from Lorena, either outwardly or inwardly. This is made far more apparent when she meets three side characters who frankly outshine her in every way. I could have read a novel about those three characters. I could not continue reading a novel about Lorena, who came across more as a placeholder for the reader than a character in her own right.
So, it's a no from me, unfortunately.
I received an early copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This will be a hard one to review, because I think some of my dislike of The Hollow Places will come down to personal preference. I've not read the orThis will be a hard one to review, because I think some of my dislike of The Hollow Places will come down to personal preference. I've not read the original story The Hollow Places builds on, but much like The Willows, I think The Hollow Places would have worked better as a short story. Simply put, there's not a whole lot here. It feels a little too flimsy to keep the story going for 300+ pages. There's a lot of repetition in the set up of scenes and how they progress, and for a few chapters in the middle it feels like Kingfisher is trying to find a way to pad the story.
The characters also conveniently don't put together things they've seen or heard to figure out what's going on, when it's incredibly obvious. I can understand that maybe Kingfisher was going for a "they were so scared they couldn't think straight" type of deal. But after a while, it became more like, "I'm making them not put these pieces together because it serves the story better." (view spoiler)[Also, how did the bunkers get built? And why did the people not build, like, underground tunnels to connect the bunkers? If the creatures can't get into the bunkers or underground, why not just build underground tunnels? I feel like I may have missed something on that front, because it's such an obvious solution that I can't believe it isn't brought up in the novel.
Also, why did no one think "If we can get through this hole to this other world, then something from that other world could also pass into ours?" at any point? There's only a fear of the human protagonists going back through the hole and not that anything could come through from the other side. (hide spoiler)]
As for what comes down to personal preference, well, I've found that I just don't find cosmic horror that scary. To me, it's only logical and rational that there are beings out in the universe that are beyond human comprehension, and that some of them are actively hostile to humans or don't care about us at all. This doesn't bother me in the least.
I also apparently don't find trees that scary, even if they somehow move around by themselves. The atmosphere didn't really get to me. It even has a scene of one of my personal nightmares--being in water and not being able to see what's around you, underneath said water, and when it could be coming for your ankles--and I could only shrug.
And then there's Simon. He's Kara's friend in her new home, and very, very gay. Kingfisher reminds us of his gayness every chance she gets. Not only that, Kara brings up his gayness every chance she gets, and how he's "totally not her type" and how "nothing will ever happen between them because, again, GAY."
[Simon:] "First we're going to fix the drywall patch. Then we're going to tie you to the bed." "... Kinky." "Yes, but you're not my type, hon."
The overly sexualized, sassy, well dressed gay friend is a stereotype for a reason. Kingfisher says she based Simon off real gay people she's known, so I'm trying not to be too harsh about it because there are gay people who act like this, but in nearly every single scene Simon is in, he makes some kind of gay sex joke or reference. This may come down to me being asexual and not really liking those types of jokes, though. There's also the argument to be made that it's one thing for a real person to be comfortable acting like this, but it's another for a writer to make their character act like a stereotype. There's just not much depth to Simon, and he doesn't really seem to add much of anything to the story except to patch up the hole in Kara's wall.
Kara also makes sarcastic jokes whenever something scary happens, and after a while, it kills the horror of the situation. I understand that Kingfisher was going for "using humor to defuse the terror of the situation" but it was overused to the point that I was like, "Well, if the characters aren't taking it that seriously, why should I?" This is also where the repetition of scenes comes in: Something scary happens, Kara or Simon would make a joke about it to defuse the situation, and go about their business.
The reason I rated this two stars is for the ending. I won't spoil it, but I really, really liked what Kingfisher did with the museum and its inhabitants in the end. Outside of the unseen creatures, there were a few truly horrifying moments. But otherwise, The Hollow Places was a miss for me.
Read more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received my copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
Across the Green Grass Fields is the sixth installment of McGuire's Wayward Children series, touted as being a jumping off point for readers new to thAcross the Green Grass Fields is the sixth installment of McGuire's Wayward Children series, touted as being a jumping off point for readers new to the series. I think perhaps this is why I felt so underwhelmed by it in the end -- the novel follows the same basic set up as many of the others, where a child has a difficult time at home, then comes across a door and enters another world that seems perfect for them, only to wind up being sent back to their original world. As someone who has read the entire series, it just felt like taking a step back in how the stories have progressed from the first novel which introduced us to that set up.
Usually I find McGuire's imagination and creativity enviable, but here it fell flat for me. Maybe it's because I never went through a horse phase as a kid -- I think the closest I came was watching The Saddle Club on TV and maybe reading a few of the books -- but McGuire's worldbuilding was thin here. Regan spends most of her time hidden away by her centaur family, which is full of characters that are likable, but that causes the world to feel small. There's a bit of worldbuilding at the end but it's rushed, as is the third act of the novel. Regan doesn't get to explore the Hooflands, so it doesn't feel lived in.
I do however like that there was representation of intersex people in this novel. This is still one of my favorite series and I'll read whatever McGuire writes for it. Across the Green Grass Fields just isn't my favorite of the series, unfortunately.
**spoiler alert** I almost gave up on What Big Teeth about 30% of the way in. The beginning was confusing, as it made me think I had missed a detail o**spoiler alert** I almost gave up on What Big Teeth about 30% of the way in. The beginning was confusing, as it made me think I had missed a detail or an explanation of something that needed an explanation, when I hadn't. Half of Eleanor's mother's body is covered in polyps, and she spends all her time in water. This is actually never explained and it's never said why her mother is obviously part-fish. Eleanor seems to have gotten some traits from the fish part of her mother, such as webbed skin between her thumbs and enjoying being in the water, but it's never followed through. More to the point, Eleanor keeps wondering why she's so different from the rest of her family and why she never became a wolf, and it's like... girl, you obviously took after your mother. What is there not to get?
I suppose Szabo wanted to give her readers some credit and assume they were smart enough to put the pieces together themselves, but this doesn't really work. Honestly, the character of the mother could have been cut out entirely and the novel wouldn't have lost anything; her characterization is thin and she has no effect on the plot.
That was a big theme in What Big Teeth, actually: Eleanor never puts the pieces together until well after the reader has. The book is slowly paced and I've read that it's more suited to older readers who have the patience to wait for answers, but I think that Eleanor's inability to put the obvious together would cause older readers to get frustrated quickly. It's very obvious what's going on, but Eleanor doesn't catch on right away, and when she does, she intentionally ignores it so the plot can continue.
Another big theme was introducing things and then just not following through on them. Eleanor's maternal grandmother can force people to do things through verbal commands, such as "Go to your room and stay there". This works on everyone, even Eleanor, but not her older sister Luma. Just like their mother's half-fish background, this is never explained. I suppose some readers will be fine with this, but I personally wasn't.
There's also a reveal at the end that Eleanor is a reincarnation of her paternal grandparent's first child who died young, but that was in no way foreshadowed at all through the novel. There was more support for her being a reincarnation of her maternal grandmother's children than there was for that.
The ending was pretty strong, to the point where I wondered if it was written as a short story first and then Szabo just built a novel around it. I will say it was a relatively fast read because the writing wasn't overly purple-y; it was actually a little sparse, for a Gothic horror.
I might come back for another novel by Szabo, as maybe the weak points here were just because she's a debut author. I'm sad to say What Big Teeth was a miss for me, though.
See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews! I received an ARC of this novel through Edelweiss in exchange for a review....more
Starts off strong, but the middle loses its footing and doesn't seem sure of how to achieve a court intrigue plotline. At times the middle portion of Starts off strong, but the middle loses its footing and doesn't seem sure of how to achieve a court intrigue plotline. At times the middle portion of the book felt like it was simply filler material until it could get to the third act.
The ending is tight, and I appreciated the inclusion of a Black queer woman, and the further canonization of LeFou as being a gay man. (I also appreciated that it's made explicit that Gaston was abusive/a bully towards LeFou as well.)
However, Belle and the Prince (here called Lio) are only in Paris for a brief few days before returning to their own castle to try to get ahead of the danger. Belle also spends a lot of time inside the castle, so the danger never felt very present or very much like a threat. This is mostly solved in the third act where the danger comes to the castle and Belle actually has to deal with it head on, but it was a little late after the meandering second act.
Still, it's nice to see that Disney is willing to age up their canon, with Bastille Day being an on-the-page event, and even some of the characters cursing. Though I did find it funny that, while violence and cursing are okay, the book is mostly scrubbed of any intimacy past kissing and has only one real subtle nod to sex. (Not that I think we need to read about Disney characters having on-page sex scenes, but the contrast between a dude getting beheaded and the chaste kisses Belle and Lio share was a little off-kilter.)...more
(I was given an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.)
A tight, intricately plotted book with a fully realized world (I was given an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.)
A tight, intricately plotted book with a fully realized world and compelling characters. BLACK SUN should be considered a masterclass in fantasy writing and take a space next to the greats of the genre....more
In The Project, Courtney Summers takes on cults and how people fall into them, to varying degrees of minimal success.
This will probably be my least fIn The Project, Courtney Summers takes on cults and how people fall into them, to varying degrees of minimal success.
This will probably be my least favorite Courtney Summers book. While I found her technical writing style to be as good as ever, her character work is surprisingly not her strongest, especially when it comes to the main character, Lo. Bev's story was far more believable than Lo's, and we only get bits and pieces of it interspersed throughout the novel.
Considering how against The Unity Project Lo is, her slide into becoming entangled with the cult is unconvincing. She offers up very little fight even in the beginning. I do understand that Summers wanted to show that Lo is in over her head, which is why she frankly fails at being a journalist on her first outing, but there were several instances where I found her to be almost unbelievably gullible and just not very bright. (view spoiler)[On her very first meeting with Lev, she accepts and drinks a glass of water made for her by someone else in the cult. Maybe I'm just a suspicious person, but I found it hard to swallow that Lo, who is so suspicious of the Project, would drink something given to her by one of the members without stopping to be like, "Wait, could this be drugged?" (hide spoiler)]
I also didn't find Lev to be that compelling a cult leader or character. (view spoiler)[At least, I didn't find him compelling enough that both Bev and Lo fall into lust with him and have sex with him. Which is also never brought up as a kind of, "Uh, hey, isn't it kind of creepy that this dude in his late 30s is sleeping with an eighteen year old girl and then a nineteen year old girl?" thing. It happens and then no one, not even Bev and Lo, bring it up, internally or otherwise. (hide spoiler)] To be fair, though, it's probably incredibly hard to write those kinds of characters convincingly.
I think Courtney Summers just bit off more than she could chew in The Project, which is a shame, as she's a skilled and experienced writer. But sometimes, even if you give it your best shot, the story just gets away from an author, and that's what happened here.
I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews!...more
Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft is an interesting mix of two genres, Gothic and fantasy romance, that Saft doesn't quite manage to blend well.
SaDown Comes the Night by Allison Saft is an interesting mix of two genres, Gothic and fantasy romance, that Saft doesn't quite manage to blend well.
Saft has all the pieces of a good story here, but the way they're brought together doesn't make sense after a while. I don't often say this but Down Comes the Night has too much going on to just be a stand-alone novel, and that's thanks to the fantasy elements. There are things that happen that are easily solved in order to keep the plot going in the direction Saft needs it to go. (view spoiler)[The biggest offender is near the end, when Hal has been imprisoned and Wren and her commanding officer/first love go to save him. There are only three guards in front of his cell, and they're all "inexperienced" according to Saft. Why would you put inexperienced guards on a notorious war criminal's cell? You put your best on that post. Predictably, Wren and her commanding officer are able to intimidate the officers away, and they literally walk out of the prison with Hal. (hide spoiler)] Everything worked too conveniently according to what Saft needed to happen, even when logic dictates that it shouldn't have. I spent too much of this novel going, "This shouldn't have worked, and I can literally think of several reasons why."
The timeline of the novel is literally two weeks, maybe three, and in that time I'm meant to believe that Wren and Hal are able to not only put aside their differences to be civil with each other, but fall in love? I couldn't buy it, unfortunately. I can see what Saft was trying to do with Wren's character, making her a compassionate, emotional girl who can connect with people, and I do appreciate that. There just wasn't enough time for me to believe that her relationship with Hal progressed the way that it did.
Added to that, the villain's plot doesn't stand up under scrutiny. The villain is an interesting character on their own, but ultimately their storyline had too many holes in it I couldn't ignore, and too many instances of characters acting a certain way so that Saft could get the villain to do what she needed him to do. The worldbuilding, which influences the villain's plot, also doesn't hold up once you think about it for too long.
Maybe if Saft hadn't tried to do so much in one novel, it would be better. But the constant convenience of everything going whatever way Saft needs it to in that moment in order to get to the next checkpoint on the plot became too much to ignore, and ultimately, does the story a severe disservice.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews!...more
VERY disappointed. Everyone's holding the Idiot Ball in order to progress the plot, and I have no patience for it.VERY disappointed. Everyone's holding the Idiot Ball in order to progress the plot, and I have no patience for it....more
