Book Review: Red Sparrow

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading this, I seriously don’t know if I can watch the movie, despite my major love for J Law. I just don’t know how the movie will be able to translate the steely demeanor of Dominika, her relationship with the American CIA agents, the trauma of her training, not to mention the scenes that were fraught with, “Is this it?”

I read the book after reading a not-so-great review of the movie, which stated that the book was much better (when isn’t it, really?) and my library happened to have the digital version available. 3 days later, it was finished, and I’m so ready for the next installment.

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Book Review: The Body Library

The Body Library by Jeff Noon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the events in A Man of Shadows, John Nyqvist, private eye, finds himself if Storyville–a place where the story is everything.

And I mean EVERYTHING. (You’ll see what I mean about 2 chapters in…)

Like the first Nyquist book, what sounds like a straightforward “crime that must be solved” story, is something completely different, but not. Drawing from great literary works, pulp detective stories, and even Norse mythology, Noon pulls the reader into a world that is lush, confusing, and an ode to the written word.

It does take about half of the book to get to the meat of the story, but the language is so beautiful, you won’t mind the meandering road you travel until you get there.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley.com for an honest and unbiased review.

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Book Review: A Man of Shadows

A Man of Shadows by Jeff Noon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I stumbled upon Jeff Noon’s Vurt at a local library when I was living in Houston. Intrigued by the cyberpunk world, I read it, and its second, Pollen.

I wasn’t super impressed.

So, I didn’t bother with the 3rd book, Automated Alice, and promptly forgot about Jeff Noon and his books.

Then, I got a book from my “wish list” on Netgalley.com, called The Body Library, and I immediately started reading it. Something told me that this was a second, so I did some digging, and yep, it’s the second of the “John Nyquist” books by Jeff Noon.

Long story longer, I bought this one, and tried to power through it quickly so I could get to the other. Worth it.

A Man of Shadows carries Noon’s signature weirdness when it comes to world building: Dayzone–where it’s never night, Nocturna–where it’s never day, and the ever-encroaching Dusk–which according to the stories, is full of monsters, demons, and mist. The year is 1959, and the time? Depends on who you ask and which timeline they’re following, because there’s a ton of them. Experts are predicting a time crash, people are getting time sick, and amidst it all, there’s a serial killer on the loose, named Quicksilver, who somehow murders without being seen.

Confused yet?

It takes a while for the story to get going, and ends up being a sci-fi-crime noir-dystopian-fantasy unlike anything I’ve read. The main guy, Nyquist, is a broken PI, and his character isn’t fully-fleshed out, but you get more of a sense of why is is who he is towards the end.

So read this for the trippy world-building and the twisty-turny mystery, not the rich and storied people in it.

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Review: The Hookah Girl

The Hookah Girl: And Other True Stories by Marguerite Dabaie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This graphic novel by Palestinian-American author, Marguerite Dabaie is deceptively simple, but gives readers a realistic, light-hearted, honest, and real glimpse into the lives of Middle-Eastern families. Dabaie doesn’t pull any punches when she refers to prejudices that those of Middle-Eastern descent, even while poking fun at her own cultures’ quirks. Part-textbook (for the information) part-art installment, I highly recommend this for anyone looking for an insight into a different culture.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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Book Review: Battledoor: The Golden Slate

Battledoors: The Golden Slate by Brian Wilkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know that I am truly a sucker for books about books, books that are “love notes” to books, and so on. This is no exception! Battledore: The Golden Slate, is the first book of the series, and it ends in a cliffhanger that definitely made me say, “GAH!”

Unlike Wilkenson’s other book that I’ve reviewed, Paramnesia, the character development is strong from the beginning of the book, and he doesn’t rely on pop culture references to describe characters or situations. Owen, one of the “main” main characters, stumbles upon a “Battledoor” and corresponding hornbooks in an old bookstore that he and his friends have stumbled across in their quest to escape a sociopath of a bully. (The Battledoor is described as an old type of book and I will forgive Wilkenson for his fake definition of it, lol.)

The Battledoor is activated and thus begins a “Choose Your Own Adventure Book” involving Owen, his friends, and the bullies that drove them to the bookstore in the first place. As someone who grew up reading the Choose books, this was definitely a nostalgic treat. However, the updated storyline, the positively evil villain (named Vellum, how perfect is that?) and a world that is amazing and awful at the same time draws in the reader and keeps the action going until the completely unsatisifying cliffhanger of an ending that will make even reluctant readers clamoring for the next installment.

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Book Review: Spoonbenders

I swear, I’ll have an actual post soon!

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one of those surprising gems that I found while pursuing the “available now” lists on my local library’s online offerings.

Part family “dramedy,” part sci-fi, part mob story, part love story, this tells the story of an fairly dysfunctional family with some amazing gifts, and how they use them to save the world.

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Book Review: The Bouncer

The Bouncer by David Gordon
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I had very high hopes for this book–it seemed like it was going to be a genre-bending, crime-thriller, with a wise-cracking bouncer as the charasmatic anti-hero.

While it *was* those things, there were so many different plot lines that the author was trying to keep afloat, they all seemed very shallow and lacking in depth. The same goes for the characters, I had a difficult time connecting with or even caring about any of them due to the flatness of their descriptions. Additionally, the writing style was very short and choppy–and while this can be used as an excellent stylistic element to add drama to the story, reading an entire book like this was difficult.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

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Book Review: Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a brutal world, set 500 years after the Martials conquered the Scholars. Scholars are forced to live in squalor, unallowed to read, craft weapons, or gather. Laia’s family was in the resistance, but after they were killed, she and her brother lived with their grandparents. Elias was born to the Empire, one of the best cadets in the graduating class, but he’s not happy with his lot in life.

When a series of events bring them together, the Empire will burn…

(Cheesy!!!!)

Okay, real talk, the world building was strong–supposedly it was based on the Roman empire. The character development, however, was lacking in the beginning, and once the action started amping up (right before the announcement of the Trials) the action filled the spaces where character development would be. I did enjoy the development and character arc of Laia, however, I just wish it hadn’t taken so long for her to get a spine.

Fast read, looking forward to the next one.

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Book Review: Paramnesia

Paramnesia: The Deadish Chronicles, Book #1 by Brian Wilkinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Paramnesia provides a new and interesting twist on the urban fantasy genre, while introducing readers to a strong and fearless female protagonist, Nora, who discovers that she can see the dead after she and her boyfriend (who just happens to be one of the dead people she now sees…not a spoiler, it’s in the description) get into a tussle with a Revenant.

I have to admit, at the beginning, I was having a hard time getting into the story. There were several pop culture references which were somewhat outdated. Example: Nora, refers to herself as a “…Buffy, not a Cordelia…” which for me, a 45 year old “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” nerd, total got, but the target audience, may not. Most of the pop culture references arose during the first several chapters, and once the action got going, those dropped off and the storyline was more action-driven, rather than trying to character and setting-build.

So, Nora deals with her parents and BFF-Vee, who seems to be the best person on Earth, thinking she’s loony, a dead-“ex”-bf (ex, because, well, he’s dead) that she’s still pining for, her new friends in the “Deadish society” and a Revenant (who is working for forces that are much more deadly than the Revenant itself) all while understanding her new normal. Once we get to that part, the characters are more relatable, the action quicker and more action-y, and I’ll admit, I did shed some tears during a few places at the end–so it made me feel some feels. I was actually bummed when it came to an end, and if it wasn’t for the choppy beginning, this would probably be a 4-star review.

Disclaimer: I received this from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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Book Review: Once a Gypsy

Once a Gypsy by Danica Winters
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think I kept forgetting that this was a “supernatural romance” so it shouldn’t have been surprising that the two characters from different worlds (hey, cliche much?) fell in love almost immediately. From what I know of Pavee culture, the book portrayed that accurately, and the addition of the Forshaw was culturally appropriate, I just felt like there was a lack of “world building” and everything just happened too quickly for me to truly appreciate the story. I don’t think I’ll read the next book–from what I can tell Helena and what’s his face fight the whole time–damn you culture clashes!!!–and I just don’t feel like it.

Easy and quick read to pass the time, but I didn’t get super invested in the characters.

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