CBR16 Book 66: "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros

Page count: 561 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

CBR16 Bingo: Smash (romantasy - I want it on record that I hate this term, by the way)

Since this has been a huge success and had lots of attention on the TikToks and the like, I'm not even sure if I need to give much of a plot summary, but here goes:

All her life, Violet Sorrengail has wanted to become a Scribe, like her father. However, her mother, a commanding general of the army of Navarre (the fictional country this is set in) will not accept that any child of hers become anything but a dragon rider. Violet's older sister is a dragon rider, Violet's older brother was a dragon rider (until he tragically died), and so Violet also has to join the most insanely dangerous quadrant of the Basgiath war college, even though she's only had about six months since her mother ordered her to change her mind, and she's disabled to boot, so weaker and much more breakable than most of the ruthless candidates surrounding her. 

Violet survives the perilous first task (apparently more than sixty people died before even getting into the college - is that really a good way to run a school?) and now has to stay alive in a literally lethally competitive environment. The lucky first years who survive, may be lucky enough to bond with a dragon and be granted exciting magical powers as a result. Violet has to use all her cunning and guile to survive among her more vicious peers, and there are a lot of people who want her dead, including the imposing Xaden Riorson, son of the man her mother personally executed after a failed rebellion. He and a number of other young family members of rebels are at the school because enrolling (and most likely being killed) was the only option given to them to ensure their survival. 

Violet does make friends, and surprising everyone, survives long enough to get a chance at bonding a dragon. Once that ordeal is over (and she's once again nearly killed), it becomes impossible for her to avoid Xaden any longer, since their dragons are mated, and that means that if something happens to either of them, the other one dies because of the bond bestowed by their dragons. So that's fun. Of course, Xaden might hate her mum, but he is undeniably very hot. Despite having every reason for wanting her dead and having lots of opportunities to get her killed, Xaden instead seems amused by Violet, even sparring with her and challenging her - it's all very confusing.

There is danger facing the borders of Navarre, and fewer dragon riders every year to deal with it. It becomes clear during Violet's first year at Basgiath that the country's leadership are hiding things and downplaying the seriousness of the attacks on border villages. Will Violet survive her first year at war college only to find herself thrust into an actual war?

For quite a while, I was usure about reading Fourth Wing because of all the hype on TikTok. Colleen Hoover is beloved on BookTok, and what little I tried of one of her books quickly made it clear that those books are not for me. So I was a bit sceptical. Then my friend Ashley read it last year and made this fun video about the experience. Generally, if Ashley likes a book, I will too (there are exceptions, but they are usually hard sci-fi or horror books).

While I don't think Rebecca Yarros and her dragon romantasy has gotten lots of readers hooked, even the ones who don't tend to read speculative fiction, I don't think she's anywhere near Twilight-levels of popularity and obsession. Because I myself was deeply hooked on the Twilight saga back in the day, and you still can't entirely convince me that the pages of those books weren't laced with crack, removing all critical faculties of the reader and making them impossible to put down. 

Did Fourth Wing hook me as powerfully? No, but I can absolutely see why it's become so popular. I also see why it's been widely criticised, because there are aspects of the world building that just do not make a lick of sense. Violet is a better heroine than Bella Swan, mainly because she has some agency, and the plot doesn't just happen to her. But she's also clearly extra super speshul and manages things no one seems to have done before - for why? Who knows? The plot requires it to be that way. Of course there is a love triangle, because these books seem to always have to have one. There's Violet, our plucky heroine, there's Dain, her childhood best friend, who has pretty thoroughly friend-zoned her their entire life, but now seems convinced (despite repeated proof of the opposite) that Violet is too fragile and weak to survive to become a dragon rider, and keeps wanting to smuggle her into the Scribe's quarter. No points for guessing who candidate number three is - if there is a dark, brooding, probably dangerous dude, who your entire surviving family has warned you to stay away from, that's clearly going to be the one guy who's bones you really want to jump. Xaden also gets major points for never underestimating Violet, and instead of coddling her, encourages her to get better, stronger and sneakier. 

While Twilight is YA and Stephanie Meyer is a Mormon who's all about no hanky-panky before marriage  (and let's not forget, if you do have sex, you'll get immediately pregnant with a lifeforce-sucking parasite and literally die giving birth to it), Fourth Wing is aimed at a somewhat older audience, and by the time Violet makes up her mind about which third of the love triangle she prefers (I'm sure you couldn't possibly guess who she picks), there are some pretty graphic sex scenes. Encindiary, one might say. As someone who read a whole lot of smut as a teenager, I don't see a problem with YA readers reading these (or Sarah J Maas or a bunch of other books that seem to be shelved in the YA sections of bookstores despite dealing with much heavier themes). But some people might be shocked, so fair warning. 

As well as having a central premise that just does not make sense Seriously, why kill off most of your promising young people - some of them before they've even made it INTO the school? If your country is fighting a decades-long war, you are going to want as many able-bodied fighters as possible. So only the best can become dragon riders? Fair enough, but why do pretty much all challenges have to be succeed or die? Why not have the ones who fail challenges moved to one of the other three sections of the war college, possibly to start at the bottom, but at least given a chance to be a valuable member of the fighting force. It's quite clear that once the first-years bond with a dragon and start trying to ride on them, a whole bunch of them die anyway. Why kill off  the majority of them before they get to that point and natural selection apparently kicks in? It's maddening, people!

This is my real life bookclub's pick for November, and I'm very much looking forward to the discussion. I hope a whole bunch of people show up, and I suspect there will be many spirited opinions. I'm also glad I waited long enough to read this that third and final book in the series is just around the corner. It's being released in January, so I think I'll wait for December to read book 2 (which I have heard is extremely slow-going in the first half, but gets better towards the end). I'm also glad I liked it because my friend Des took my book to a convention and got it signed and personalised by Rebecca Yarros, so it would suck if I hated it. 

Judging a book by its cover: Despite this book only coming out in 2023, it already seems to have a huge amount of alternate covers, most of them in black and gold. While the hardback is golden with black patterns, I prefer my paperback in matte black, with the pattern in gold and white. Much prettier. 

Crossposted on Cannonballl Read

CBR16 Book 65: "The Mimicking of Known Successes" by Malka Older

Page count: 169 pages

Rating: 3 stars

CBR16 Bingo: Earth Day (while this novella is set off-Earth, a lot of the plot involves conservation efforts to try to reintroduce healthy biodiversity on Earth)

Mossa is investigating the mysterious disappearance, most likely a suicide, on one of the human colonies on Jupiter. Mossa discovers that the missing man worked at the colony's university, where conveniently for her and her further investigation, Mossa's ex-girlfriend is a scholar working with others to try to recreate the ecosystems of Earth before it collapsed.

Pleiti is surprised to see Mossa, but flattered that she wants assistance. Mossa presents as very likely neuro divergent, very focused and usually rather unconcerned about the feelings and reactions of those around her. She's a dedicated and experienced investigator, but digging into the case with the help of Pleiti just keeps making things more confusing, and strange. Will Mossa be able to solve the puzzling case, and might she have a new chance with Pleiti, after breaking it off with her so many years ago?

I think there was too much sci-fi here, and not enough of the mystery to grab me. Mossa and Pleiti were fine as characters, but I was never really invested in the case they were working together on, nor did I really care about the world-building, although the colonies on Jupiter sounded pretty neat. I didn't hate this story, but considering it's a novella of less than 200 pages, it shouldn't have taken me three days to finish. I just didn't feel compelled to keep reading, because the story and characters were merely OK. To others, this might be a great read, but I really wasn't feeling it. At least it allowed me to complete my Earth Day square on the bingo card, which means I have actually completed the whole card, and the bonus square. Before I thought of this novella, which I have owned in e-book for a while now, I was probably just going to skip this square altogether. So I don't regret reading it, I just don't think I'll revisit it, or remember the plot too well a couple of months from now.

Judging a book by its cover: While the book itself left me merely whelmed, I really like the cover. The reds and oranges of the background, the tiny sci-fi details in the background and only a silhouette to give an impression of what the characters look like. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 64: "Obsidio" by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Page count: 615 pages

Audio book length: 13 hrs 1 min

Rating: 5 stars

CBR16 Sweet Books: Binge

CBR16 Bingo: Celestial (set in space. I'm sure the characters observe lots of stars on their epic journeys through space)

Spoiler warning: this is the third and final book in the Illuminae Files. A lot of stuff happened in the previous two novels, and it will be impossible to review this book without referring to some significant plot points. Additionally, I don't see how this book would be a satisfying reading experience taken out of context. So if you aren't up to date, and have finished Illuminae and Gemina, skip this review until you can return unspoiled. Or you know, read it and get minor plot spoilers. It's your life, you do you.

'

Previously in these books. The evil BeiTech corporation attacked an illegal mining colony on a small ice planet called Kerenza. They also deployed some scary biological weapons with disastrous results. Only very few of the refugees who originally escaped Kerenza in various rescue ships are still alive, now doing their best to stay alive on the Hypatia. They were trying to get to the wormhole at Heimdall station, but BeiTech's evil goons arrived before them and did their best to wipe out everyone there as well, trying to cover the tracks of their evil actions. Now the Heimdall space station is no more, the wormhole is useless and the survivors from Heimdall station need to join forces to survive. Luckily, the leader of the BeiTech assassination squad had a pretty cool spaceship that they now have access to, but it wasn't really designed to hold and transport several thousand passengers.

'

Our intrepid YA heroes include Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik, not to mention Nik's genius cousin Ella. Despite all the amazing feats these young people have managed to perform, a lot of the older crew members now distrust and underestimate them, which leads to conflict and frustration. They discover that there are still people alive on Kerenza and that BeiTech hasn't been able to mine enough fuel to leave the place yet, but the clock is ticking, and despite the reluctant mining crew's many attempts at sabotage and delay, soon the evil corporate overlords will have what they need to leave for good, and whatever survivors are still on Kerenza will be disposed of.

On Kerenza, we are introduced to two new young rebels to cheer for, even though Rhys is working as an engineer for BeiTech and is now forced to work with the mercenary soldiers on the planet itself. He is shocked to reunite with his old girlfriend, Asha, who also happens to be Kady Grant's cousin. After a very passionate love affair a few years back, where both of them made some questionable decisions and got involved with some unsavoury people, Asha and Rhys were forced apart. Rhys was enrolled in a military academy, and Asha was sent to live with her relatives on Kerenza. While actually a pharmacy trainee, she now works as a nurse and pathologist at the only med centre left on Kerenza, and she is also a member of the resistance trying to sabotage BeiTech's remaining operations as much as possible. She can't believe that the man she loved is now part of the evil organization who is oppressing her friends and neighbours, but obviously, there is more to the story that she knows - and it will surprise no one that Rhys isn't actually a villain.

So we have the desperate people trying to stay alive on Kerenza, and the harried survivors returning through space from Heimdall station, on a ship that may not have enough resources to get everyone safely there in time. It's clear that these brave young people have to outsmart BeiTech once and for all, and to do that, they also need to make sure that all the atrocities are documented. So in this book, we finally find out how a lot of the material we've been reading for the past two books was assembled, and we discover the identity of the snarky young tech who has been narrating all of the video files throughout.

This is the first of the books I read partially in audiobook, after recommendations from among others, my friend cheerbrarian (she also has a podcast). I don't know if I would have liked the audiobooks from the start, knowing how many different types of text are collected in the novels, but having read the other two in paperback, having this as an audiobook for when I was out and about was great. I have also gotten the audios of the previous two and can see myself using them when I want to reread in the future.

This YA series is unlike anything I've ever read before and it made me feel pretty much all the feels at some point or another. I've been scared, grossed out, I have laughed and cried. Despite all of these events clearly being told after the fact at a tribunal for the head of BeiTech industries, so it's obvious that our band of heroes will be OK in the end, I was still on the edge of my seat and scared that one or more of them wouldn't make it. It's also important to note that while our protagonists survive, these books have death counts in the multiple thousands. So many innocent (and not so innocent) people die, in all sorts of horrible and/or tragic ways, and yet you feel elated and happy at the conclusion of the trilogy, because a little core of found family is safe and well, despite everything. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 63: "A Taste of Gold and Iron" by Alexandra Rowland

Page count: 510 pages

Audio book length: 18 hrs 20 mins

Rating: 5 stars

CBR16 Bingo: Golden Gold in the title and gold as a pivotal part of the plot. Also pretty much all of the central characters are solid gold.

Kadou is the younger brother of the sultan of Arasht and is delighted that she's just given birth to a healthy baby, putting him further down the line of succession. Unfortunately, the baby's father, a powerful ambassador at court, believes Kadou to be jealous and a threat to both his baby niece and his sister. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately, because he confides in some of his bodyguards, who massive overreact when they believe his life is later threatened by said ambassador at a hunt. It ends with two of Kadou's bodyguards killed and his sister furious with him.

Kadou has to plead with the sultan to let him stay at court. Kadou is in serious disgrace and hates that he has disappointed his sister. He is also fighting guilt, anxiety and depression after the deaths he feels partially responsible for causing. To keep her brother out of trouble, he is given a new personal bodyguard, the very proper and exacting Evemer, who Kadou is convinced despises him. Nevertheless, Evemer takes his duties very seriously, and accompanies Kadou to dangerous parts of the city, even though he clearly disapproves of the prince's drunken binges and trying to pick fights. After a memorable occasion when the two are ambushed in an alley, and Kadou ends up being the one to save the life of his bodyguard, Evemer's opinion of his charge changes.

To get back into his sister's good graces, Kadou has promised to get to the bottom of a series of thefts that may also be connected to a ring of counterfeiters. Once he and Evemer start to investigate, it's clear that there may be a number of city officials involved in the case, not to mention the self-same ambassador who fathered the sultan's heir and is trying to ingratiate himself further at court. Kadou needs to try to figure out how the thefts and counterfeit coins are connected, why someone is trying to destabilize Arasht's economy and possibly threaten the security of his sister's reign, all the while trying really hard not to fall in love with his taciturn bodyguard.

This book has been on my TBR since it came out and now that I've finished it, I'm really annoyed that it took me so long to finally read it. I listened to about three quarters of it in audiobook, really well narrated by Casey Jones, but got impatient to see how it would end, so ended up reading the rest on my e-reader (then I went back and listened to some of the really romantic bits again, because I really liked how Jones voiced both Kadou and Evemer and wanted to hear their dialogue read to me). 

Far too often, when publishers compare a book to others that have been previously published, the books in question far too often seem to have been selected as some sort of mad lib "book x meets book y", but in this case, I didn't feel lied to about this book being similar to The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. Both books are set in elaborate court settings with a reluctant royal just trying their best to do a good job, despite all sorts of personal insecurities holding them back. 

In this case, the book is set in a historical fantasy world inspired by the Ottoman Empire. The eldest child becomes sultan, whether they are male or female, and Kadou's sister is a great secondary character. She is clearly tries to be a fair and just ruler, as well as a loving sister, and sometimes those two roles are difficult to reconcile, especially after Kadou goes and gets himself involved in an embarrassing squabble with a foreign ambassador, with people getting killed in the process. I really liked that children are clearly "belong" only to the mother, who can decide whether they want to grant 'the body-father' any rights to the child at all. The ambassador who fathered the new princess and keeps trying to get all possessive, is repeatedly told that he merely provided his genetic material and that any raising of the child will be done by the sultan herself, and any male members of her family (like Kadou). This is not just the case with the rulers of the country, all men are merely body-fathers, unless the mothers choose to make them more permanent parts of their children's lives.

This is also a very diverse world, where several members of the court are non-binary, with the prounouns çe (che) and çem (chem). Kadou clearly prefers men, but is accepting of the fact that if he has to marry a woman to secure a strategic alliance that would benefit the country, he will do so. The royal family's bodyguards, or khayhalar, are seen more like extended family members than servants, and most of them are extremely well educted and go on to hold important offices in the country's bureaucracy as their careers progress. So Kadou really feels the loss of two of his khayhalar deeply, made all the worse because he is sure he contributed to their deaths. If he hadn't been overly anxious and confided in some of his khayhalar about his sister's ambassador lover, they wouldn't have overreacted when they believed him threatened, and no one would have died. 

Kadou is also suffering from strong anxiety, but believes this to be a personal weakness and that he is a coward. He occasionally suffers from panic attacks, but only one of his khayhalar know about them and has figured out how to calm him down. Evemer, who initially believes Kadou to be "careless, flighty and negligent", not to mention completely unable to take care of himself. So he is rather shocked when Kadou knocks him out with one punch after he patronizingly offers to teach the prince to fight. He's forced to entirely reevaluate his opinion once they are attacked and instead of running away while Evemer does his job and fights the assailants, Kadou, who hadn't been lying about how much self-defence he had been taught, instead stays in the alley and skilfully murders the lot of them remarkably quickly and efficiently. 

In a lot of books, I find excessive mutual pining very frustrating and keep wanting said couple to just get over themselves already. In this book, the growing attraction between Kadou and Evemer is very well done, and the reason neither of them confess their feelings or act on them is clearly explained by their difference in social standing. Kadou believes himself to be a coward, a failure and a disappointment and is far too aware that while it's a very honourable position, Evemer is still his servant. A servant whose duty it is to sacrifice themselves for their charges if necessary. Equally, once Evemer realises that his initial impressions of Kadou were wrong, he believes himself far too lowly to ever be a worthy partner for a prince.

What seems to be a fairly minor investigation into the theft of some documents, turns out to become something a lot more dangerous, not just for Kadou and Evemer, but for the sultan and her baby as well. They come to learn that someone may have turned some of the khayhalar into traitors, and the court is no longer a safe place. There is a wonderful extended sequence where the sultan, her baby girl, Kadou and some of his trusted retainers all hide out with Evemer's mother, who doesn't blink an eye at having to house such exalted company.

I absolutely loved this, and because I waited this long to read it, there is now a sequel novella, as well as another adventure novel by Rowland set in the same universe as this one. So excited to read more. 

Judging a book by its cover: Isn't this cover just the most gorgeous thing? I often don't like covers portraying characters, but this pretty much captures my mental images of Kadou and Evemer perfectly. The hair jewellry, the gorgeous embroidery of the outfits, the background. Kadou holding the coin while Evemer gazes adoringly at him. *heart eyes* In contrast, the UK edition I have, is rather dull. Just a navy cover with some flowers on it. 

Crossposted of Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 62: "A Sorceress Comes to Call" by T. Kingfisher

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

CBR16 Bingo: Dun Dun (From pretty much the first chapter, where Cordelia is "made obedient" there is a creeping sense of dread all the way through this novel)

Cordelia knows her mother isn't like other mothers. Other mothers can't take over your limbs and puppet you, or force you to stay still and motionless for hours or days on end. Other mothers permit doors that can be closed in the house and let their daughters have friends. Other mothers don't have a magical horse who spies on the daughter when they are out on rides. Cordelia's mother wants her to marry a rich man, and to launch her daughter properly into society, Cordelia's mother needs a rich husband who can provide her with the lifestyle she requires, and then conveniently disappear. 

Cordelia's mother, Evangeline, has found a suitable candidate, a middle-aged country squire who she now just needs to charm sufficiently for him to propose marriage to her. She can't enchant him, because all magical spells are dissolved once the wedding takes place (it involves water, wine, salt and holy ground). Fortunately for her (certainly not anyone else), Evangeline is beautiful and enticing and more than manipulative even without using magic. What she had not taken account of when plotting, was suspicious relatives. 

The squire's spinster sister, Hester, recognises Doom (as she without fail refers to Evangeline) the second she arrives on their doorstep, and she has no intention of letting her brother fall into her clutches. Hester is initially unsure whether Cordelia is her mother's creature and will take Doom's side, but after observing some of their interactions and speaking to the servants (Cordelia sometimes goes to sleep hidden in a wardrobe), she concludes that the girl will also need to be rescued from her ambitious and merciless mother.

I see lots of people saying that this is a dark fantasy set in the Regency era, but I really didn't see a lot of traces of a specific time period in the story. It could just as easily be set in some generic historical fantasy past. I have only read two books by T. Kingfisher previously, but even What Moves the Dead, which had me uncomfortable throughout, really kept me turning pages just to see what would happen next. Nettle & Bone was one of my favourite books of 2023. It also features a sinister threat and a sense of dread throughout, but in A Sorceress Comes to Call, the feeling of discomfort and unease begins in the very first chapter and doesn't really let up until the very end, because Cordelia's mother really is that unpleasant and so clearly extremely dangerous, and you really don't want her to cause harm to anyone, let alone the protagonists, Cordelia and Hester.

It should also be mentioned that this has some elements reminiscent of the fairy tale of The Goose Girl, but not enough that it feels right to call this a fairy tale retelling. The horse Falada certainly plays a very different role in this book than in the original fairy story. 

Cordelia has never known kindness or affection, and having seen her mother do terrible things in the past, she knows the Squire and Hester are in danger, but she's afraid to talk to anyone. She knows that the tale of her mother's magical powers will most likely not be believed, and she fears she will be seen as her mother's accomplice. Luckily, Hester is an observant and clever woman, who takes Cordelia under her wing and listens to her, even when what she says appears preposterous. In an attempt to slow down Doom's seduction attempts somewhat, Hester invites a number of close family friends for a house party, to ensure that the Squire is never entirely alone with the scheming sorceress. 

Cordelia and Hester are both such likeable protagonists. By letting the readers share the POV of Cordelia, Doom's traumatised young daughter, Kingfisher is able to show first-hand just how terrifying her mother really is. Giving Hester, a wise middle-aged woman the other POV gives the readers hope that there may be some way to thwart Doom's plans and hopefully give Cordelia a safer future. 

Hester loves her brother but is by no means blind to his weaknesses. She knows that if she doesn't act quickly, Doom will have charmed herself into marriage with her brother, and after that, it's unlikely that either Hester or her brother will live for very long. Hester also regrets some of the choices of her past, which means she gave up on love and marriage of her own, and now she is older and has a bad knee and feels she would only be a burden to a potential husband. Thankfully, someone disagrees with this (there is a minor romantic subplot that I found very sweet). 

I don't think Kingfisher's full on horror books are for me, because her suspense books are frankly more than unnerving enough. Luckily, I have a large back catalogue to choose from, and likely many good reading experiences in my future.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 61: "System Collapse" by Martha Wells

Page count: 256 pages

Rating: 4 stars

CBR16 Bingo: Rage (The Murderbot Diaries are all the rage all over the bookish internet, in addition, there's a lot of rage-inducing behaviour from the evil corporation in the book)

Spoiler warning! This is book 7 in the series, and absolutely not the place to start reading. This book will not make as much sense if it's your first encounter with Murderbot. You should have read at least All Systems Red, Artificial Condition and the previous novel, Network Effect to have the requisite backstory for this book. It's actually impossible for me to review this without mentioning what happened in Network Effect.

Murderbot is not OK. Murderbot cannot entirely trust its own instincts and reflexes anymore. That makes it very difficult for Murderbot to do its job, which is to provide security for its crew, who are currently working together with the crew of the Perihelion (better known as ART to its friends) to protect the rights of the colonists already living on planet they discovered in the last book. Unfortunately, the Barish-Estranza corporation wants the planet and its resources and has sent additional ships and SecUnits to try to persuade the colonists to sign contracts for "rescue and protection", which would in effect mean they would be signing away their lives to Barish-Estranza, being stuck labouring for them for the rest of their natural lives to pay for said "rescue and protection".

The fact that there are multiple groups of colonists living on the planet, spread out in different factions, further complicates the job of our intrepid good guys. Murderbot has to accompany some of its and ARTs crews to a remote location on the planet to inform a separate faction of colonists about the sinister motives of the Barish-Estranza representatives, who seem like they come offering safety, relocation and transportation to a new home. Because of [redacted] Murderbot is worried it might lose control, but in the end, it turns out that Murderbot's previous work to disconnect itself from its Control Module, not to mention its tremendous knowledge of entertainment and media is what might sway the colonists away from the tempting, but duplicitous offers of the Barish-Estranza corporation. 

None of the instalments of the Murderbot Diaries are bad, but after all the action and emotional developments of Network Effect this book felt a lot more like a filler episode before more significant plot hopefully happens in future stories. It was nice to see Murderbot's people and ARTs crew interacting and getting along, and I was especially impressed with the solution our ragtag crew came up with to thwart the nefarious corporation. I had a good time reading this, but I doubt it's one I'm going to be re-reading a lot.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 60: "The Beast Takes a Bride" by Julie Anne Long

Page count: 384 pages

Rating: 3.75 stars

Disclaimer: This was an ARC from NetGalley. It hasn't affected my opinions in any way

Spoiler warning - this review will contain some discussion of plot points I found difficult, so you may want to skip some parts of it until you've read the book

Alexandra Bellamy has been taking care of her father and her siblings since her mother died. She has no dowry to speak of and knows her father has massive gambling debts. So when her father announces that the impressive and formidable war hero, Colonel Magnus Brightwall, will not only clear his debts, but pay an additional five thousand pounds for her hand in marriage, she doesn't really have any choice but to accept the offer. Unfortunately, only hours after the ceremony, Magnus witnesses something that makes him convinced his wife has betrayed him, and instead of taking Alexandra with him on his diplomatic posting to Spain, he leaves her in his townhouse in London, with barely any communication between them. 

Their reunion five years later takes place in Newgate prison, where Alexandra has unfortunately found herself imprisoned after being involved in hijinks involving her impulsive cousin, an angry duke and possibly a stolen carriage. Magnus shows up to fetch her, but instead of taking her to the house she's lived in alone for the past five years, he takes her to The Grand Palace of the Thames, where they will stay while he's preparing to sell the townhouse. There are already all sort of rumours swirling because of Magnus and Alexandra's long separation, and now, with this new scandal, Magnus is worried about his reputation. So he's made a plan (without at any point consulting his wife about her thoughts on the matter). 

So Alexandra is basically told that they will appear together in public for enough social events to convince the public that their marriage is strong and loving and clearly gossiping about them is wrong and uncouth. Then Magnus will sell the townhouse, and ship Alexandra off to America, where as long as she agrees to this scheme, she will have a house of her own and a generous allowance. If she says no, he'll cut her off entirely, and she'll be forced to live with one of her siblings, entirely dependent on their charity.

One of my friends put this book down halfway because she was so annoyed at Magnus and the completely outrageous way he treats Alexandra in the beginning, because of his pride and insecurities. She needed me to finish the book and convince me that it was worth finishing and reassure her that she wasn't going to have a rage aneurysm because of Magnus' continued mistreatment of his lovely wife. I question the opinions of readers who feel that Magnus' early behaviour is entirely within reason, and he's correct in treating Alexandra the way he does. I'm a member of Julie Anne Long's fan group on Facebook, and amusingly, on release day (this Tuesday), someone posted a very well-written AITA from Magnus' point of view. Unsurprisingly, most people agreed that he was an A. 

So what was it that kept me from throwing this book across the room (metaphorically, I would never risk my beloved e-readers in such a way) in a fit of rage? It is to Julie Anne Long's credit that she manages to write so well that even when I want to thump him, I also have some sympathy with Magnus. Because get to see what both Alexandra and Magnus are experiencing and thinking, the reader is first of all very aware of the remorse that Alexandra feels about her impulsive actions that led to her being immediately estranged from her husband, but also how conflicted Magnus feels. My main gripe with the story is that while the reader gets insight into his insecurities and tormented thoughts about his wife and his marriage, he never really shares them with his wife. 

PLOT SPOILERS IN THE NEXT BIT:

While the man we meet in the present day of the novel is the impressive Colonel Magnus Brightwell, known for his heroic actions during the Napoleonic war (he even nearly died saving the Duke of Valkirk's life on the battlefield), for most of his life, Magnus has been unwanted and tolerated on sufferance. He was found on the doorstep of a Yorkshire manor house and spent his early life working the worst possible jobs of the household to earn his keep. Because of his rough appearance, he was given the nickname "Beast" early on, and it seems to have stuck with him. No one showed him any affection or kindness, so when he eventually learned to shoot, and won a marksman competition as a teenager, he spent the prize money buying himself a comission to the army, where he rose in the ranks and earned respect and acclaim he'd always dreamed of. So the dude has a chip on his shoulder, and a whole host of insecurities, fair enough.

However, for far too much of the book, Magnus (despite claiming to have been in love with her since the first time he saw her) doesn't seem to see Alexandra as a person, a woman with wants and needs and dreams of her own. He was taken in not only by her beauty, but her kindness, charm and unfailing loyalty to her family, but because he was so convinced of his own worthlessness and couldn't possible imagine her actually accepting his suit if she was given any sort of choic, he manipulated the situation so she literally had no choice but to accept him. If she refused him, her family would be destitute. He didn't care about what her life had been like before he literally bought himself a pretty wife. Having not really had any conversations of note with said wife before they married, Magnus had no idea that she had comforted herself with a deeply innocent and chaste infatuation with her brother's tutors for some months before she ever even met Magnus. Both parties were extremely aware that they would never be together, and the romance was never going to end in marriage between a poor scholar and a viscount's daughter. 

Alexandra broke it off as soon as she agreed to marry Magnus, but a few hours after the wedding, she sees her former suitor at the garden gate (where they used to meet and chat - never anything more than that) and he kisses her goodbye. The thing that so upsets Magnus is seeing that for a brief moment, Alexandra doesn't fight back, but lets herself enjoy her first kiss. His sense of betrayal at seeing her chastely say farewell to someone who had offered her solace for a few months is deeply misguided. Not even when Alexandra is entirely honest about the situation, and apologises for her misstep and for having hurt Magnus, is he able to listen to her or understand her. He goes off in a snit to be a diplomat in Spain, leaving his wife to languish alone and rejected in his town house in London. She's the one who has to contend with the rumours and malicious whispers about why they aren't living together, and she has to keep herself and her behaviour above reproach in respect of his precious reputation. The one night she throws caution to the wind and does something ill-advised with her cousin, she ends up arrested. Even when Magnus realises how judgmental he's been, he never actually apologises for his actions and his harsh and cold treatment of Alexandra. Where he could have had an open and honest conversation with his wife, and owned up to being a judgy asshole, he instead manipulates the situation once more, to make it possible for her to "choose him" this time around. Which she does. 

Magnus doesn't think he could ever get a beautiful and accomplished woman like Alexandra by honest means, and since all his life he has had to strategise and scheme to reach his goals, he does the same to get himself a wife. He just never seems to properly acknowledge that this was wrong and that Alexandra deserved so much better. Not better than him, because he is clearly not a bad person, just a proud and prickly one, but she deserved respect, an actual choice and a proper and grovelling apology for having had those choices taken away from her, and then being super harshly judged for saying goodbye to a part of her past and innocently responding to being kissed. She didn't even initiate the kiss, she just allowed it to happen and didn't forcefully push away the young man who kissed her. She never denied what she did, and she was deeply and honestly apologetic immediately after the fact, knowing that what she did was unfortunate and clearly hurtful to Magnus. The fact that he in return never apologises properly to her for his mistreatment of her, both five years ago and early on in the present, left a sour taste in my mouth that keeps me from giving this book a full four stars. 

Pride is clearly a major theme in the story. At one point, Alexandra mentions that she's reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (I was going to get all snippy about how it was published "by a lady" - but this book seems to be set five years after the end of the Napoleonic wars, at which point Ms. Austen had been dead for a few years, and the true identity of the author would have been revealed, so snippiness retracted). I suppose the reader is supposed to draw parallells between Mr. Darcy and Magnus, but while Mr. Darcy initially delivers one of the worst proposals in literary history, he then takes great strides to change, broaden his horizons and makes efforts to be less proud and imperious before he proposes to Elizabeth once more. Magnus just buys himself a wife and seems upset when it is revealed that she had a past and lived a (very innocent) life before she ever met him. 

END SPOILERS

One of the things I enjoy about The Palace of Rogues series is that it's a bit like a long running TV show. Instead of a "mystery of the week", we get a "romance of the week", which introduces new characters and plot beats for a while, but we also get to spend time with recurring characters we've come to know and love. I've seen some reviews complain that they thought the hijinks of the supporting characters took up too much space and detracted from the main romance, but I disagree. If it hadn't been for the delightful other guests at the Grand Palace on the Thames, not to mention ditzy housemaid Dot and handsome footman Ben Pike's slowly developing feelings for one another, I would have rated the book even lower. This is the first time I've rated a book 3.75 stars, and my annoyance at never getting a proper grovelling scene from Magnus is balanced out by several laugh out loud moments involving other residents at the boarding house, not to mention the delightful sequence where Mr. Delacorte takes our protagonists and Dot to a late-night donkey race. 

The previous book in the series, My Season of Scandal, is my favourite Julie Anne Long book since my all-time favourite, most beloved What I Did for a Duke. The previous one before that, To Tame a Wild Rogue, was also delightful and a five-star read for me (if a lower five-star than My Season of Scandal). They can't all be winners. I'm still very happy I was granted an ARC of this (thank you, Netgalley!) and am happy that the series is clearly continuing for a while yet. 

Judging a book by its cover: I have mentioned before that I find a lot of the covers of this series just plain bad. Thankfully, this is one of the better ones. I feel the cover artist could have made more of an effort not to make Magnus' trousers look like blue jeans, but I guess we can't have everything. Alexandra looks pretty much as described in the book, and the shade of lilac she's wearing is lovely. 

Rating the Palace of Rogues series

1. My Season of Scandal - 5 stars

2. To Tame a Wild Rogue - 5 stars

3. After Dark with the Duke - 4 stars

4. Lady Derring Takes a Lover - 4 stars

5. The Beast Takes A Bride - 3.75 stars

6. You Were Made to Be Mine - 3.5 stars

7. Angel in a Devil's Arms - 3.5 stars

8. I'm Only Wicked with You - 3 stars

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 59: "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup" by John Carreyrou

Page count: 352 pages

Audio book length: 11 hrs 37 minutes

Rating: 4 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo: From a genre you've never read (true crime)

CBR16 Bingo: Fiasco (Theranos was a massive fraud and a fiasco)

I've owned this book since 2020 and am pretty sure I picked it up in an e-book sale because of the many Cannonball reviews I've read about it over the years. Not being particularly interested in the tech world or medical science, and certainly, not someone who reads a lot of business news, I didn't really hear about this case as it was unfolding, and I'm aware that there have been podcasts, a documentary and a mini-series starring Amanda Seyfried about the scandal, but this book was pretty much forgotten in my e-book collection until the Nowhere Books bingo required me to find a book from a genre I've never read.

Readers of my reviews will know that I have certain genres I prefer - romance, fantasy, YA, the occasional mystery or sci-fi novel. If I read nonfiction, it's usually historical biographies, celebrity autobiographies or something I need to read for work. Nevertheless, I like to challenge myself, so over the years I've read a LOT of different books in so many different genres. It was genuinely a challenge to come up with one I hadn't already tried. My husband suggested I look up subgenres of nonfiction, as it was clear that was where I'd find something that might fit the bill. When True Crime came up, I realised that would work. I know that lots of people find True Crime fascinating, but I just don't really see the appeal in exploring grisly murder cases or other horrific crimes. This book, which I remembered that I had on my shelf didn't seem to involve any murders, so it would probably not traumatise me too much. 

John Carreyrou is the journalist who wrote the Wall Street Journal articles which began to expose Elizabeth Holmes as a fraud and brought attention to the very shady business practices of her tech company Theranos. He later developed his thorough research into this book, where he details how Miss Holmes, a young and charming Stanford dropout managed to bamboozle the tech and business world for years, promising her company could deliver quick, accurate and almost pain-free blood tests with devices so small and portable they would be possible for the public to have in their homes. At one point, Theranos was valued at 10 billion dollars, without ever having actually managed to produce the testing machines or blood testing results they were promising.

Holmes was beautiful and persuasive, and clearly excellent at fundraising for her company. Along with her boyfriend, Sunny Balwani, who was COO of Theranos, they managed to perpetrate their fraud for so long by intimidating and threatening their employees, firing anyone who spoke up about their suspicions of underhanded dealings, and because very few of their investors actually understood the science behind what they were trying to do. Holmes was featured in a number of highly flattering articles, and the board of directors of Theranos at various points included several senators, former secretaries of state (including Henry Kissinger), a former secretary of defence, an admiral, and a general - all seduced by Holmes' promising tale of deception. 

Once Carreyrou started investigating the case, he had a hard time finding people willing to talk to him, since Holmes and Balwani made all their employees sign iron-clad NDAs and were fiercely litigious towards anyone they thought might be a threat to their company. However, Carreyrou were able to publish several critical articles, which again led to investigations into Theranos' business practices and inspections of their laboratories. The results were disastrous for the company, proving that not only were the test results their labs produced extremely unreliable and could endanger patients because of it, but they were mostly using equipment from other producers to get their results since none of the proprietary machines made by Theranos worked at all. They had not only misled their investors, they had put countless patients' lives in danger with their inaccurate blood tests. 

It was a fascinating story, and I will probably check out the HBO documentary and the mini-series at some point as well. Now, having read this, I can't really think of any genres I haven't tried at least once.

Judging a book by its cover: Some editions of this book feature a gloved hand holding up a tiny vial of blood, but my edition, and most that I've seen, have this fully black cover with the bold red title. Not exactly the most exciting, but the contents of the book more than might up for it.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 58: "Much Ado About Nada" by Uzma Jalaluddin

Page count: 320 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Retelling (modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion)

CBR16 Bingo: Bollywood (set in Canada with desi protagonists)

The absolutely last place Nada Syed wants to be is the big annual Muslim convention in downtown Toronto. She is nearly 30 years old, single and lives at home with her parents and two brothers. If she goes to the convention, there is a high chance that she'll run into her old mentor, formerly her mother's best friend. She might also run into her mentor's son, her former business partner, who promised to help her launch an advice app, but stole her ideas and launched a rival app of his own shortly before the official release, making Nada's app a dud. 

Now Nada's friend Haleema is getting married, and her fiancée Zayn's parents run the convention. Haleema obviously wants to introduce her future husband to her maid of honour. What no one knows, because Nada has made very sure not to tell anyone, is that while she's never met him, she knows of him from his brother Baz, who will also be at the convention. Nada hasn't seen Baz for six years, and they have a long and complicated past between them, some of it romantic. When they finally do meet again, Baz treats her like a stranger, which she can understand, but it still hurts. During the days of the convention, their paths keep crossing, and with each new meeting, Nada can't help but wonder what would have happened if she's given them a proper chance all those years ago, instead of breaking both Baz' and her own heart.

Jalaluddin's first novel, Ayesha at Last, was a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in Canada. Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On, had a lot of elements from You've Got Mail. In this novel, Jalaluddin takes inspiration from Persuasion, and even includes some direct references to the characters and some quotes. It, therefore, shouldn't come as a surprise to the reader that Nada and Baz have a past, and that there are unresolved issues between them, as well as regret and longing colouring their current interactions. 

Nada and Baz first met when they were eleven, at Sunday school. Baz was the new boy and Nada became his relentless bully, trying to gain popularity and fit in. It's pretty bold of the author to show such a negative side of Nada as early as chapter two. By the time Nada and Baz meet again, she has realised how badly she acted and apologises to Baz, who forgives her. They become friends, and later, when they are students together, romantic feelings spring up between them. But they are young and inexperienced, and Nada's parents disapprove of their relationship, so they have to date in secret. Having to lie to everyone she knows and keeping Baz secret from her friends and family is difficult, and in the end, Nada's insecurities and doubt lead to them breaking up.

While Nada's parents indirectly contribute to Nada and Baz's breakup, they are not portrayed as bad people. They care a lot about their three children, who all have challenges in different ways. Nada's elder brother got divorced and has joint custody of twin girls, but still lives in a small apartment in his parents' house. Nada is worried that he is depressed and unable to move on with his life. She takes him to a dating event during the convention to help him meet new women, and maybe get a new chance at love. Nada's younger brother has a rare genetic disease that makes him wheelchair-bound, but despite his parents' protectiveness, he clearly has ambitions and plans for the future that don't involve living at home forever.

The need to change and move forward with one's life is a major theme in the book. Nada and her brothers all need to make some changes and take steps to better their futures. Nada realises that she also has to deal with her former professional failure, and after many years of being depressed and dejected, she is finally getting new ideas and possible plans for new and useful apps to develop. 

Normally I'm not a big fan of second chance romances, but as with the novel it's homaging, this was really sweet. I also liked the subplot with Baz and Zayn's Muslim boyband, and their adoring audience throwing extra hijabs on the stage to show their enthusiasm. While I wouldn't say Jalaluddin has achieved pre-order status yet, she is absolutely someone whose books I would probably pay full price for, since I've now read and really liked three of her novels. I'm already looking forward to seeing what she will do next.                                                      

Judging a book by its cover: All of Jalaluddin's covers have fairly different designs, yet each of them also features a woman with a hijab, so there's certainly no doubt that she writes about Muslims. Of the three books I've read, I think I prefer Hana Khan Carries On to this one, but they are all nice. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 57: "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov

Page count: 448 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Nowhere Books Bingo: Banned books (Wasn't published until 27 years after Bulgakov's death, and only then in a censored version. )

CBR16 Bingo: Cult (cult classic, and there's the whole Devil and his entourage as a central plot point - that's pretty cultish, right?)

I can't remember exactly how long The Master and Margarita has been on my TBR list, but it's certainly more than twenty years. A quick glance on Goodreads shows me that 15 of my friends have rated it four or five stars, with several naming it one of their favourite books. So why has it taken it so long for me to read it? Some of my reticence comes from having tried to read translated Russian novels in the past, and in on one memorable occasion, nearly losing my will to read anything at all (Anna Karenina, I am absolutely looking at you). So the idea of tackling another Russian classic wasn't always that appealing. Knowing that so many people whose opinions I respect and trust rate it so highly, also makes me nervous - what if I don't like it and they'll be disappointed in me?

I made an attempt to read my mother's Norwegian translation of the novel for the first couple of chapters, but because the copy she had was translated in the 1970s, the language was heavy and archaic enough that I struggled. So instead I read the 50th Anniversary edition, translated into English by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volkhonsky. Once the language flowed more smoothly, reading became a lot less like unpleasant homework. As readers of my reviews know, I mostly read genre fiction like romance, fantasy and science fiction, where the plots are light-hearted and the books are very easily digestible. That is not the case with this book, written in the 1930s and up until the author's death in 1940, and finally published in 1996. It's an allegorical political satire, written in a very different time and culture, and getting into it felt like a bit of a slog.

I feel like I'm letting down all of my bookish friends and acquaintances when I confess that the first part of the novel mostly either bored and/or confused me. So much of it is absurdist and strange, and there is a long series of, to me, mostly interchangeable men with long Russian names either dying or ending up in an asylum, as a result of their encounters with Woland (the Devil). Nor was I particularly interested in the sections that involved Herod and Yeshua.

The novel finally got interesting to me in the second part, where the reader finally gets to meet the eponymous Margarita, and discovers the lengths she will go to to be reunited with her beloved, the Master. This section seemed more like a dark fairytale for the most part, and while it also had some odd twists and turns, I was mostly enjoying what I read. I can also faithfully say that at no point could I predict where the story was going to go next, and certainly not the way it was going to end. 

If the entirety of this book had only been the main story of part two (which involved Margarita and her beloved), I think I would have liked the novel a lot more. 20th-century history was never an area that particularly interested me, and while I know some of the atrocities committed in the Soviet Union under Stalin, I am in no way well-versed enough in the background of this novel to get the many layers of satire that the author has created. I found all the digs at literary intellectuals and various officials tedious. 

I don't regret finally reading the book, even though the first part was very hard going. However, I think I can also conclude that great Russian literature is not for me. I have tried several authors now, and if this, which so many of my bookish friends rate five stars, only for about half the novel, entertained me, it may be time to accept that I'm just not cut out for the Russian greats. I can see why it has been a controversial novel since its publication, not just for the political critique, but for prominently featuring the devil and witchcraft as part of the plot. 

Judging a book by its cover: There are 1229 (!) different editions of this listed on Goodreads, so obviously there are also a huge amount of different covers available. Most of them seem to have a black cat somewhere on the cover (Behemoth is a very striking character, who can blame them?). My e-book edition seems to have the black cat in upper corner and the face of a young woman (obviously Margarita) in the lower one. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 56: "Three Reasons to Run" by Jackie Lau

Page count: 241 pages

Rating: 3.5 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Free Space

Disclaimer: This was an ARC from the author, it has not affected my review in any way. 

Leo Mok (younger brother of Max, from Four Weddings to Fall in Love) is late for his cousin Carl's wedding because he got a speeding ticket. He's not exactly thrilled to be going, since he's had a crush on the bride since he first saw her at a family gathering two years ago. He's about to leave his car when the bride comes running out of the church and nearly crashes into him. She implores him to help her get out of there, and Leo wouldn't hesitate to help a woman in distress, even if he wasn't infatuated with her. He takes her to buy ice cream and helps her fetch her things from her apartment before anyone comes home. 

Yvonne Siu is a people pleaser and has always tried to be the perfect daughter and later girlfriend. She could never understand why her older sister was always in conflict with her parents and eventually rebelled and cut all contact with them. She's been in a relationship with Carl for five years, and while she hasn't really felt appreciated or satisfied for a long time, she invested a lot of time and effort into the relationship. She even forgives Carl for cheating on her. However, as she is walking up the aisle, she just can't make herself marry him. She flees and is deeply grateful to Leo for helping her escape the awkward scene of her wedding. 

Even if Leo hadn't been present in the parking lot as Yvonne came storming out of the church, she would have had an escape available. Shortly before the ceremony, Yvonne spoke to Leo's mother, who could tell she was having doubts and gave Yvonne her car keys just in case. Once Yvonne clears out her things from the apartment she shares with her now ex-fiancée, Leo's parents offer to let her stay with them at their house until she can find a place of her own. So Yvonne ends up crashing temporarily in Leo's old bedroom. 

While Leo tries to keep his distance, he is completely unable to say no every time Yvonne asks for help, or to hang out, and later, because she's never really had a satisfying sexual experience, to "show her a good time". Leo knows that he shouldn't want his cousin's ex, and Yvonne has a lot of work she needs to do before she's certain she's ready for anything new. Can there ever be anything more between them than friendship and casual sex?

Jackie Lau has written quite a few novels where the couple's HEA (happily ever after) doesn't involve becoming parents. When they reconnect after she runs from her wedding, Yvonne discovers that her sister is heavily pregnant. Once her nephew is born, Yvonne is happy to spend time with the baby, but it also confirms to her that she doesn't actually want children of her own. Running away from her own wedding shakes up Yvonne's life drastically, and she's left with a lot of time to think and reconsider her wants and priorities for her future. It becomes very clear to her that being a mother is not part of that future. 

Her thoughts on motherhood are not the only things that Yvonne needs to consider. Having been a "good girl" her entire life, trying to be the perfect daughter who never caused any trouble, and later the perfect girlfriend and fiancée, it's only after leaving her Carl that she realises how unhappy she was. Seeing her sister, entirely estranged from their parents, so happy with her partner and seeing Leo's parents, many years married, also in a healthy, functioning relationship, she comes to understand how toxic the situation she grew up in was, and how controlling and demanding her father was. Her ex wasn't emotionally abusive, like her dad, but he did take her for granted and never seemed interested in or cared about what Yvonne liked, wanted or needed.

Leo is quiet and rather taciturn and doesn't think he's in any way good enough for Yvonne. He's also so smitten that despite knowing it's a bad idea, he still takes every chance to spend more time with her. He takes care of her favourite plan, he will happily hang out with her, or go for a meal with her, and he ends up going on her honeymoon with her. Agreeing to casual sex so she finally discovers what a satisfying sex life is like? He isn't going to say no to that. He has to come to terms with the fact that while his life might seem quiet and boring next to those of his siblings, he's a kind, helpful and very thoughtful person, and wanting what is best for the person you love isn't a bad quality in a partner.

While I liked this, it wasn't one of my favourite of Lau's books. She doesn't write bad books, but this one felt 'just fine' instead of 'really great' if that makes sense? Your mileage may vary. 

Judging a book by its cover: Maybe not the most exciting of covers, but the wedding bouquet is very pretty and the flowers and the pastel colours give a good indication of the book's content (a wedding will be involved, it's unlikely to be a very angsty read). 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR16 Book 55: "Touch Not the Cat" by Mary Stewart

Page count: 400 pages

Rating: 3 stars

Nowhere Book Bingo: From the decade I was born (1970s)

Smart Bitches Book Bingo: Published in 2000 or earlier (first published 1976)

CBR16 Bingo: Vintage (published 48 years ago)

Briony Ashley is working in Portugal when she recieves word that her father has died, in what appears to be a hit-and-run accident. Her father didn't die instantly, but had time to ramble some strange and slightly mysterious things, among them a warning that Briony needs to be careful. She goes home to what is now her cottage, bordering Ashley Court, the large and expensive estate her father could really only keep by renting out parts of it to wealthy Americans, and letting the National Trust conduct guided tours in other parts of it. Briony is rather relieved that the estate will no longer be her responsibility, and doesn't begrudge her male cousins the inheritance at all. However, she is a bit taken aback when she discovers that several valuable artifacts have been removed from the house. Have they been stolen?

It seems to be an occasional family trait in the Ashley family, going back generations, that some of them have the "sight", that grants them premonitons, and sometimes the ability to telepathically communicate with other family members. Briony has been using this gift since she was a child, able to transmit words and emotions to another, who by now she just calls 'lover' in her mind. She doesn't know the actual identity of her secret telepathic friend, but since the "sight" only seems to be shared by other Ashleys, this 'lover' is most likely one of her three male cousins. Since Briony in time also becomes convinced that one or several of these cousins were responsible for her father's untimely death, the whole telepathic soulmate that she's never actually confirmed the identity of, but who may be a close blood relation gets a bit squicky. 

I've only read one other Mary Stewart mystery, and Madam, Will You Talk? was a lot more batshit than this. In the previous novel, in between chain-smoking from waking up to literally being in bed in the evening, the heroine thought the love interest might be a murderer stalking her through Europe. Here the potential love interest's true identity isn't revealed until about two thirds of the way through, but it's strongly implied that said person may also be a murderer, and even overlooking that, he's one of Briony's cousins. 

There was a much more convoluted plot in the previous book I read, here a lot of the plot is quite slow, and while I see what the author was trying to do with the little snippets of a story from the late 19th Century included at the end of each chapter, I don't think it worked very well and felt rather unneccessary on the whole. Because I bought a whole load of Mary Stewart mysteries in an e-book sale a while back, I'm sure I'll be reading more of them eventually. At the moment, however, I finished this book mainly because it fit into three different bingo challenges. 

Judging a book by its cover: This book came out in the 1970s and consequently has had a number of covers, some of them more baffling and crazy than the next. The cover of my edition is a fairly boring one, with a grave in the foreground and some houses from an English village in the background. Nothing here screams romantic mystery with mild paranormal elements. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 54: "Take the Lead" by Alexis Daria

Page count: 368 pages

Audiobook length: 11 hrs 10 mins

Rating: 3.5 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Reality TV

CBR16 Bingo: Disco (so much dancing in this book)

Gina Morales has been a dancer for four seasons of the popular reality dancing show The Dance Off, but she's never even made it to the finals. She dreams of stardom but doesn't like the behind-the-scenes machinations on the show. She may be a beautiful Latina woman, but refuses to be roped into any kind of 'Showmance'. She wants to be taken seriously as a dancer and choreographer.  Now her producer has told her that if she doesn't make it to the finals this year, her contract won't be renewed. She's hoping her dance partner this season will be an athlete or Olympic medallist or something, yet finds herself paired with a large and seemingly taciturn reality star.

Stone Nielson has been 'the strong, silent one' on his family's survivalist reality show in Alaska for far more years than he's comfortable with, and now the producers have decided that it would be great cross-promotion for him to take part in The Dance Off. The money he'll be paid, even if he doesn't make it very long will help pay for his mother's hospital bills. However, he doesn't have any dance experience and Los Angeles is vastly different from the quiet Alaskan home life he's used to. He wants to be a good partner to Gina but struggles with keeping things professional, considering how hot he finds her. 

Gina keeps resisting her producers' suggestions of a 'Showmance' with Stone and has strict rules for herself about getting involved with her dance partners, but as the rehearsal sessions get more intense and the attraction between them becomes undeniable, it becomes harder and harder for her not to fall for the large, kind, considerate and sexy Stone.

This book was a good fit for two different bingo challenges I'm doing this summer. I listened to it on audio and narrator Seraphina Valentine did a good job. The book was a bit slow to start, and I was never all that interested in all the behind-the-scenes intrigue of the reality shows, but Gina and Stone were likeable protagonists. I also think that in the latter half of the book, the story dragged a bit as Gina kept having misgivings about the relationship and I kept rolling my eyes and thinking 'Get on with it!'

Take the Lead was Alexis Daria's debut novel, originally published back in 2017. The audio version I listened to is a reworked version from 2023, where some of the content has been edited and I think some things have been added to improve the story. Having never read the original, I can't say how different it is now.

Judging a book by its cover: The original book has a wild-haired woman and a shirtless dude with very implausible abs on the cover. While the female model might look a bit like the way Gina is described, the guy looks absolutely NOTHING like Stone. So the new cover is a lot more appropriate, as at least it has a big, blond, bearded guy dancing with a pretty Latina woman. Based on the description of Gina's dance outfits throughout, the red dress the woman is wearing is far too modest, but I guess you can't get everything. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 53: "Slow Dance" by Rainbow Rowell

Page count: 496 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Plants or flowers on the cover

Cary and Shiloh were best friends in high school. They saw each other every day, told each other everything, and were utterly inseparable. Everyone thought they were in love and would end up together, but by graduation, they're still just friends. Both come from unstable family environments and dream of getting out of Omaha. Shiloh is going to college to become an actress and Cary has joined the Navy. Once Cary finishes boot camp, he is certain what he wants and needs to do. He shows up at Shiloh's college and they spend 48 hours together, finally acting on their long-repressed feelings for one another. But neither of them is old or mature enough to say what they actually want and need. Shiloh knows Cary has dreamed of seeing the world and getting away from Omaha his whole life, she's not going to stop him from going. Cary has waited and longed for years, but since Shiloh seems perfectly happy to send him on his way, he assumes he misinterpreted her affections.

The two of them don't speak again for fourteen years. Shiloh gets married, has two kids, gets divorced. Cary works diligently in the Navy, slowly advancing in rank. They both get the occasional update about the other's life from their friend Mikey, who was also their best friend (but never like THAT). When Mikey marries for the second time in 2006, both Cary and Shiloh are hoping the other will be there, without wanting to admit to themselves why it's so vital for them to reunite. Shiloh is late for the ceremony, but shows up for the reception, and despite Cary being one of the groomsmen, he and Shiloh pretty much ignore everyone else the whole time, just talking, and eventually slow dancing the evening away. 

Meeting at the wedding may mean another chance for them, but neither Cary nor Shiloh are the unencumbered teenagers they once were. Shiloh is a divorced mother with two young children who lives in her childhood home with her mother, she has a manipulative ex-husband and a job she enjoys. Cary is only back in Omaha on leave for a few days, desperately trying to sort out the finances of his elderly mother and still working for the Navy. He's going to be on a ship in the Pacific for months. They finally manage to talk about their brief, passionate weekend so long ago, and the misunderstandings that led to their heartbreak and disappointment and having no contact for so long. They promise to keep in touch from now on, and Shiloh agrees to help out if something happens to Cary's mother.

This time, when Cary leaves, it's not a total goodbye. He and Shiloh send texts and e-mails and Shiloh steps in and helps when Cary's mother has a fall and needs to be taken to the hospital. Six months of e-mails, letters and care packages later, Cary is sure what he needs to do. But is it too late, has he misinterpreted things again? Can he convince Shiloh that while they squandered more than a decade of their pasts, there is still hope for their future?

I started reading this pretty immediately after finishing Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews. On the surface, the contrast between the two stories could hardly have been greater. One is an action-packed paranormal story full of magical critters and dark gods, while the other is a slow-burn contemporary novel full of wistfulness and regrets. However, both stories are about adults who have been through a lot of disappointment and hardship in their lives and are just doing their best to get by. There is a hope of reconciliation and new beginnings in each of them. 

Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite authors. After writing the Simon Snow trilogy and for a few different Marvel comics titles, this is her first novel for adults in a decade. Alternating between the characters' present in 2006 and their past, in the 1990s, when Rowell herself was in high school, this story is absolutely not for teens. Shiloh and Cary are in their early thirties and have both lived a life, much of it away from each other, yet never really forgetting about the other. 

For a lot of this book, I felt frustrated about how many misunderstandings and how much of the story was complicated by a failure of the characters to communicate clearly. Rowell has said that of her previous novels, this one is probably a tonal sibling to Eleanor & Park, and that is a good comparison. Neither Cary nor Shiloh had happy, stable home lives growing up. They have messy family situations and life seems to throw a lot of obstacles in their path to a possible happy ending. Rowell also makes it very clear that teenagers are rarely the best at expressing themselves or knowing exactly what they want and need in any given situation. 

While the plot in 2006 progresses in chronological order, the flashbacks to the past keep jumping back to various points in Shiloh and Cary's friendship. The POV changes between Shiloh and Cary and the reader is privy to their thoughts and hopes and therefore the mutual pining for so long throughout the book. It's a very romantic story, for all that it is slow and wistful and the characters have a lot of baggage to work through before daring to take the plunge and love again. 

Both Shiloh and Cary are damaged people, who find it hard to trust. It's one of the reasons they found closeness in their teenage years, and why they still can't let go of the hope of the other, even after fourteen years apart. There's quite a bit of pain and angst before our characters finally get their happy ending, but it feels so worth it once they do. When I got the chance to buy a signed hardback copy while visiting the US, I happily took it, even though I'd already pre-ordered the book to my e-reader months before. Considering how dreadful the exchange rate is for Norwegians at the moment, that should tell you something of my love and dedication to Ms. Rowell. 

Judging a book by its cover: I really don't like the green of the cover (which is slightly lighter on the actual book than in this picture). It feels sort of putrid. The crushed, slightly wiled corsage on the cover seems very appropriate though, considering the story within. It can symbolise a number of things. 

Crossposted on Cannonball Read

CBR16 Book 52: "Sanctuary" by Ilona Andrews

Page count: 152 pages

Rating: 4.5 stars

Nowhere Bingo: Takes place during a holiday/holiday season (this is set around Christmas/a bunch of pagan midwinter rites)

362 days of the year, Roman, Black Volhv of Atlanta, dutifully serves Chernobog, the god of Destruction, Darkness, and Death. He just wants a few days of peace, to enjoy his stew, eggnog, and cookies, but it is not to be. One of the infernal paranormal critters that loves him has cleaned out both his eggnog and cookie stash and to make matters worse, there's an injured teenager on his property, begging him for sanctuary. The youth, protectively clutching a puppy, promises his sister will come for him soon, and though he really doesn't want any trouble, Roman isn't about to let the defenseless young man and his pup be harmed. 

It doesn't take long before Roman has to deal with elite mercenaries, combat mages, and mysterious priests, all very determined to stop at nothing to get their hands on the kid. Roman rolls out his unwelcome mat and shows his visitors that while it may be the holidays, he's not some helpless recluse in the woods. The Black Volhv possesses a lot of power, and he's going to need it to keep the trespassers from his door.

Roman, dark priest of Chernobog was first introduced to fans of Ilona Andrews in Magic Slays, but only appeared briefly. He was a much more prominent character in Gunmetal Magic,  a spin-off book from the Kate Daniels series. Popular from the start, he ended up appearing in a number of the later books in the series, along with his large and opinionated family. While appearing rather gloomy at times, Roman often acted as a comic relief character and seemed to never take anything too seriously. Here, the authors (Ilona Andrews is the pen name of a husband and wife duo) show us that Roman is in fact a very serious and depressed individual, whose life is not especially easy, since Chernobog is a demanding god to serve, and despite his mother's nagging, maintaining any sort of romantic relationship when you're often taken away to the pagan underworld to serve a dark deity is unlikely to work out long-term. 

One of the things I really like about Ilona Andrews' books in the Kate Daniels universe is just how much folklore and mythology they explore and occasionally reinterpret. When it comes to Roman and his sprawling magical family, Slavic mythology is the main one that is explored. As with many religions and mythologies, light and dark isn't necessarily synonymous with good and evil. Balance is the name of the game, and you cannot have one without the other. In the Slavic pantheon, Belobog is the god of Light and Creation, and his twin brother Chernobog is the god of Destruction, Darkness, and Death. Chernobog is married to Morena, the goddess of Winter and Death. Neither of these deities is evil, as everything that lives needs to eventually die and decay, or there will be chaos. In Slavic paganism, the world is separated into three (a lot like in Norse mythology). There is Prav, where the light gods (like Belobog) reside, Yav (the world of humans) and Nav (the world of the dark gods, where Chernobog and Morena reside - and keep the Chaos which is outside Nav from invading and destroying all of creation). 

In his previous appearances, it has become clear that while he's not exactly thrilled about his vocation, Roman serves his dark god because he takes his duties seriously. In this novella, we find out more about how exactly he came to be the Dark Volvh and some of what that actually entails. Humour helps him cope with his calling. Roman is not evil, nor is his god, and he's not about to let an innocent young man be taken against his will by bloodthirsty mercenaries. However, he's been a soldier, and he is willing to take lives if that is the only way to keep his property and those he protects safe. As with a lot of other Ilona Andrews stories, there is adventure, humour, action and some impressive violence in this story.

This novella started in weekly instalments on Ilona Andrews' blog. Once they decided to publish it, they took down the story and it has gone through edits, and the finished story includes an epilogue, where it becomes clear why this is part 1 of The Roman Chronicles (note the plural). It looks like the authors, gracious as they are, are considering expanding the Kate Daniels universe with more stories about one of our favourite supporting characters. Roman's adventures clearly aren't over, and there are new characters (including a likely love interest) introduced over the course of this story. There are quite a lot of other stories that the authors have stated they need to write before we are likely to get more Roman, but since I love everything they have published so far, it's not like the wait is too onerous. 

Judging a book by its cover: Here is yet another example that Ilona Andrews only ever has good cover art when they self-publish. This cover is simple, yet really cool and very atmospheric. Absolutely perfect for the story it illustrates. Why do traditional publishers keep getting it so wrong?

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.