Book Review: Bound by Kirsten Weiss

Yes, two urban fantasy’s in a row. I promise I’ve been reading other stuff too – it’s just these are so quick and the reviews are so easy.

Didn’t like this as much as She Wolf, but it was still decent. It’s the story of triplet sisters who are all witches with different skills. The story focusses on Karin, who is seen as the practical, less-magically-inclined one. Facing the impending death of her aunt and guardian, and the arrest of her sister on suspicion of murder, Karin doesn’t need to fall in love right now, but who could say no to the handsome, charismatic and DEFINITELY interested lawyer, Nick? But there’s strange things happening all around her – murders, visions, runs of bad luck – and they only get more intense when her aunt admits to binding her powers and sets Karin free to use all of her magic.

If the story sounds like it’s a little all over the place, it is. There are so many threads that it’s hard to keep track of what is relevant and some of the threads go nowhere except a very obviously pending sequel. It’s like a cliffhanger, but more boring. The sisters, Nick and Ellen (the aunt) aren’t well developed characters, but they are likable nonetheless. The magical references are pretty vague, but I’d rather that than exact spells/recipes being interwoven (no one does that well).

I honestly think Weiss would have done better to put all three books together as just a single larger novel – I’m pretty sure she wrote the whole thing and then cut it into 3, but the cuts/edits after the cuts to attempt to tie up an ending are clunky. The dialogue is nice, the writing is ok, it’s just the overall structure and story that fall a bit flat.

2/5

 

Book Review: She Wolf by Sheri Lewis Wohl

So there’s lesbians, werewolves and uhauling. All win.

This book is delightful, beautifully written fluff and I loved every minute of it. After plowing through a few non-fictions (I haven’t finished any, but I’ll get there), and the rich heaviness that was an Exaltation of Larks (stunning – hopefully I’ll remember to review it at some point) and Idaho, I felt the need for some fluff. I didn’t expect it to be so engaging (read over one night) and so well-written.

Lily is a werewolf, something she manages well (with medication) and uses in her job (hunting down supernatural creatures who don’t follow the rules). Ava is a witch, the other guy* is a necromancer with ADHD and together they are going to bring down the rogue werewolf who is macerating people in Eastern Washington. There’s two problems – this werewolf seems to be everywhere at once, and Jayne Quarle, the town’s sheriff doesn’t believe in anything supernatural, let alone werewolves.

The narrative is well done, with some nice twists and a sweet sex scene which is both believable and leaves enough to the imagination (I really don’t like reading sex when it’s written blow by blow – pun intended), and I didn’t guess the killer until the end. It was like 2am and I’d had a bit of wine though, so it may be obvious to everyone else. I like how Wohl circled round to Lily’s making (that bit at least was obvious) and I felt the love stories running through were honest.

It’s strange to read a paranormal, LGBTI romance novel and WANT everything to be believable, but I really do require that. It’s what pissed me off so much about that Marigny St book – no one would believe that romance. And before someone jumps on here and says “they moved in together after a week, that’s not believable” it totally is – look up uhauling on urban dictionary, happens more often that you’d think and I’m definitely guilty of it myself.

The story leaves plenty of room for a sequel (is Jayne slightly magic?) or a side novel (Ava and Kyle are adorable), the dialogue is well executed, the suspense is not heavy-handed, and as much as I like to say I never read Urban Fantasy if they were all written this well I’d probably read a lot more.

4/5

*Kyle. I looked it up.

Book Review: Ashes by Steven Manchester

This had the promise of being a pretty good book, but it sucked. Following their father’s death, two long estranged brothers go on a roadtrip across a few states to ‘deliver’ their father’s ashes to an unknown address. Along the way they rediscover each other and forgive each other for the trespasses of their youth (and basically blame Daddy for everything). Once they’ve driven far enough to make up, there’s a magical surprise awaiting them at the end – their mother, whom they thought long dead, is alive and kicking. AND THEY JUST LEAVE HER IN THE NURSING HOME AFTER A DAY OR TWO VISIT AND GO BACK TO THEIR MISERABLE LIVES.

Oh and they go to church. Which is the whole point of the book, it’s meant to be about finding Jesus and forgiveness and the whole thing is a metaphor for Christianity being amazing, which is probably the reason I hated it because it’s DRIPPING with organised religion way before they mention going to mass (which is just awkwardly introduced midway because the author couldn’t figure out how to say LOOK, MY GOD IS AWESOME without just shoving our faces into it. So he gave up and shoved our faces in it).

Anyway, the so-called terrible childhood is actually not as bad as it’s made out to be. Other reviewers have said this book is filled with essential, elegant and intricate truth, but it’s basically the mumbled wankery of someone who imagines what the results of an abusive childhood would look like in two middle aged and completely unremarkable men, then arranges it around his need for everyone to worship his middle class white dude god. I actually wanted to put this down so many times, because I couldn’t bring myself to pretend to care about what happens to the characters, but I am on this kick of finishing every book I start (Beauty sleeping has been read chapter by chapter, slowly and painfully). Do yourself a favour, and don’t bother picking it up when it comes out mid Feb, 2017.

1/5 stars. Actually, is zero stars a thing? 0/5.

Book review: Idaho by Emily Ruskovich

I grabbed this book from netgalley for a review, y’all can read it in a week or so when it comes out.

 

This is a shocking book. The crime it’s based on will make you suck your breath in and clench your fists. It’s brutal and cruel and tragic.

But what is most shocking is the beautiful, eloquent, quiet way the story around the crime is rendered. This book is soft-paced, it builds (rising and falling like breath), it wrenches at your heart and it fills you with a longing that you can’t quite explain.

It’s the story of May and June, sisters born 3 years apart.

It’s the story of Ann who teaches piano, loves her husband, and can never quite escape the question of blame.

It’s the story of Jenny and Elizabeth, who find an awkward but enduring friendship in an ugly place.

This is a book about women, and about those people who women love. It starts on a mountain, with Wade felling trees to allow a helicopter to reach a pregnant Jenny if need be. Years later, another winter, Wade and Jenny drive their girls to the next mountain to collect firewood and it is here the unspeakable happens (literally – Ruskovich NEVER actually replays the moment itself, just those leading up to it and immediately after. It’s as if the act itself cannot be written because it’s too horrendous). Again, years pass, and Ann finds herself in the same truck, trying to uncover the truth of her husband’s past in order to save his future.

The story jumps between years and decades, going all the way to 2025, where Ann and Jenny – now old women, almost unrecognizable even to themselves – leave the mountain at last. The nonlinear narrative form adds to the story and also helps build a sense of Wade’s increasing dementia – even as the years are announced, it’s uncertain what will be uncovered, a fight between May and June over dolls, a man lost in the snow, Jenny adding to Elizabeth’s mural – these tiny acts add to a life (or to the loss of one) and slowly uncover the overall story, which spans three generations on the prairie and the mountain. There’s a sense of menace which is slightly offset by the gorgeous, ripe prose. This is an author who understands deeply what it is to be a woman, to love and be loved in return, to despair and be despaired of. Ruskovich’s grasp of family devotion is essential to the story. Her knowledge of the landscape shines (she was raised in northern Idaho), and she graciously allows us moments of pure grace amongst the horror (“May feels tired. Happy, and tired…She begins to do what she often does just before her eyes close. She decides to forget things”).

There are a few detours I didn’t like – I felt like the one legged boy’s story was a little out of place, and the bloodhound, and Adam. Not that they don’t belong there, and they add to the narrative, but it’s strange to jump to a male perspective for those particular chapters. I would have preferred the dog to be female, Eliot’s story to be told by Ivy (or Julia). Adam’s story….well, I guess that had to be told by Adam himself, but it’s strange and jarring to have male voices in a mostly-female narrative. And not in an interesting/good way.

But all in all, probably the second best novel I’ve read all year and just stunning. It’s one that will stay with me for a long time.

4.5/5

Book Review: The Imlen Brat by Sarah Avery

oh my god.

I did it again.

In my desperate hunt for decent fantasy (on netgalley. There’s a lot of VERY decent fantasy out at the moment, but I spent the last of my teeny tiny book allowance on NK Jemisin’s The Obelisk Gate and can’t afford anything else until February. It was worth every penny, by the way, her writing is INCREDIBLE), I stumbled across the Imlen Brat, was accepted as a reader and dove in.

At first, I didn’t like it. The character is young (like 7) and while Avery has done a brilliant job of capturing the trials and obsessions of a 7 year old in a 7 year old’s voice, I own a 7 year old and reading is my main way of escaping from her. I like my fantasy point of view to come from someone older, like 15+. But I kept reading and you get introduced to the world and the ruling class and their politics in a way that’s not too in your face. And the world looks goooooood. The politics are complicated, the intrigue is… well, intriguing. There’s a foster system, there are honour killings for fucking outside one’s class, there’s an island with a castle in a maze and people have the ability to kin-curse those they are related to. And there’s a bastard child in the middle of it who will either be trained as a soldier, a pirate or an assassin.

……………and then it fucking ends.

70 pages of yes (well, 20 pages of omg, I’m really desperate for fantasy fiction, and 50 pages of omg, I’m really glad I stayed with this) and then, nothing. Fuck you, Sarah Avery, with your sample size serving of REALLY EXCELLENT writing.

Ok, it’s worth the read. If you want to know how a good author sets up a political system, read this novella – it’s a great example of showing, not telling (which is difficult with complicated worlds). It’s realistic, emotional, well told and as much as I do not like 7 year olds (especially today – she had a melt down in Target), she has nailed character action, voice and expression.

Please write the rest. For the love of all things holy, write the rest!

 

Book Review: The Girl in the City by Philip Harris (spoilers)

A while ago I read a book from Netgalley called The White City by Karolina Ramqvist. It’s about a young mother who has been abandoned by her high rolling boyfriend, and is about to lose everything when the courts repossess her house. The girl, Karin, pulls some strings and risks everything to get what she feels she deserves (a fat wad of cash). And then the story just ends. Like it just stops. It gets you really invested (I hated the first few pages, by page 25 I was HOOKED) and then it just ends on page 176. I was so fucking mad – she took the beginning of a really, REALLY good story, beautifully written and dark and energetic and dramatic and emotional, and she just cut it into a fucking novella.

You’d think after that experience, I’d  check how long books are before reading them. It’s the problem with digital readers (I’m on an old Acer Iconia while my Microsoft Pro is getting fixed) – you can’t tell how hefty a book is. I downloaded The Girl ITC and got started and it was great. Fantastic hook, non-intrusive world building, believable actions by characters, high stakes, a bomb and then……………………..fucking NOTHING. That’s the end. She’s not even the girl in the city anymore because there is no city.

Urgh.

I get that this was written as a short spin off from another book (Pennsylvania by Michael Bunker, which I’ll now have to read), and it’s my fault for picking it up when I was tired and not noticing it had “novella” written on the front, but god damn! Leah is an awesome character, and the world is gorgeous, and ‘the Girl in the Wilderness’ best come soon or I’ll die.

This is so not even a review. Both books (the White City and the Girl in the City) were excellent, read them if you want something quick and beautiful, don’t read them if you’re the type to get drawn in and fall in love with characters, because then you will feel ripped off at the sudden, devastating endings.

Book Review: The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigl

Oh this book was so fun!

It took a little getting into – it’s a bizarre world – but once I was there the story swept me up and carried me along with it! The story is based around Charlie, who works for the Ferryman Institute (started by Charon on the river Styx) and is charged with convincing freshly reaped souls to walk towards the cliched bright light. Charlie is good at his job – in 259 years, no one has refused to step through their door to the afterlife. But there will never be a door for Charlie and that’s making him a little crazy.

So someone gives him a choice. Save the girl (from herself) or remain a Ferryman.

Cue mayhem.

There’s a car chase, a series of doors, a secret mentor who may or may not be a spy, blood, guns, a room full of emptiness, and some really, really bad puns. Oh and of course, romance.

 

Now, I don’t usually read urban fantasy. I recently tried to read Balance by Janelle Stalder because I liked the idea of it, but it was so painful I gave off after a few chapters. Also, the writing wasn’t polished enough and the jumping between third and first person POV made me cranky. This is basically my issue with all urban fantasy – it’s keyboard bashing at best and heteronormative patriarchal bullshit at worst (read my previous post on Twilight). But the Ferryman Institute? It doesn’t read as urban fantasy. It reads as clever writing and a fresh take on the Charon myth. I kind of think Gigl thought “If I was a character, what would I do?” and then made a character that did all those things. Coz reading it, I wanted to do those things.

There were a few issues. I didn’t like Alice’s voice in the book (she’s very woe is me, my life is over, but it seems like a bad case of middle-class white-girl-itis to me), and I thought the romance was unnecessary and the only weak writing in there. I also thought the action scenes were TOO detailed. I don’t need to know the trajectory of every bullet, or where his hands were on the wheel of the car – nothing else in the book is a closely detailed, and I feel it’s condescending to the audience.

I love the twists, especially regarding Charlie’s boss and I LOVE the sarcasm, wit and punning that happens – I’m a sucked for a bad pun. I feel like you can tell this is a debut novel, but I’d be happy to read whatever Gigl has coming next.

 

***/5

A rant about Twilight (the movies)

This will be long and I’m a little drunk.

I’m actually horrified that Stephanie Meyer believed she was writing a book about Bella. About Bella being a strong woman who wanted what she wanted, fought for it and won. About Bella knowing who her family was, knowing what was best for her, and doing whatever she could to make her dreams come true.
I totally get that Meyer thought that’s what she was writing.

Instead, we have this character who is dictated by men.
First off, Bella leaves her ‘flaky’ mother to live with her apparently more stable Dad while mum travels with her new husband. Bella chooses the move, but it leaves the audience feeling as if Belle is someone who needs a strong, stable male in order to be happy, rather than a rootless mother.

So she heads off to Forks, gets instantly adopted by a group of friends (coz THAT happens IRL), and despite being a self-described good girl, falls for the mysterious, bad boy of the school. Who is also adored by her two girlfriends. Because bad boys are loved by high school girls everywhere.

So Bella finds out Edward is a vampire and confronts him, and he just kinda says Yeah, sure, watch me sparkle, I’m a monster. Next thing you know, he’s trying to get her to stay away from him, but really Eddie, you couldn’t just say “Hey, not a vampire, you’re crazy,” and then leave town? Like I know she smells good, but if you can leave after you’ve kissed her twice you could probably have gone straight away. Not much good for a story then.

Next Bella in brought into the family, headed by Carlisle, and everyone is happy because now all the Cullens are happily paired up. You know, because there’s no way you could actually face eternity as a single vampy.

Blah blah, Edward is sad because he thinks Bella is dead, so Meyer has her running across the globe to save him. Nice gesture right? Strong girl, risking all to save her man. And she does. But seriously, this probably would have been totally unnecessary if Ed had bothered to you know, call and check his facts. Or, not leave in the first place?

Let’s skip movie two because it makes me too mad. I won’t even start on the fact that all the ‘dangerous’ things that Bella does to make Edward appear (because he really just can’t leave her alone) are to do with men. We get it Meyer, men (other than the sparkly vampire who is only barely holding himself back from PENETRATING her with his lack-of-fangs (yeah – check the bite marks. Not protruding canines. No protruding lateral incisors. That’s a ill-equipped sucker right there)) are baaaaaad. Women are good, unless they are damaged good like Leah. Yeah, she got spurned for Em and now she’s bitter and probably barren and it’s probably because she has the wolf gene and men (even dangerous ones) don’t like to be out-masculinated. Technical term. So yes, women good. Men with self-control-that-belongs-in-the1860s also good. Other men, bad.

Sorry, I did say I’d skip movie two.

Anyway, what even happened in movie three? By that time it was 2.30 in the morning and I think I swore a lot at the screen and also paused to actually work. Yes Meyer, I work! shock horror!
Oh yeah, that’s when Victoria makes a posse. Because even worse than spurned women are widows. Irina. Victoria. They would rather die than live on without their menfolk. Does Meyer see this as strength too? Some sacrifice that needs to be made, because women couldn’t possibly just move on from a relationship (especially one with men who are not altogether good). Nope, widows need revenge.

And somewhere in there, Bella is asking Edward to fuck/suck her. In whichever order he chooses. And he says no, because he is a GENTLEMAN. This blatant disregard for women’s sexual urges goes on even after she gives into some archaic tradition and marries him – despite her being quite into the rough sex (because, you know, men have uncontrollable urges), he refuses to repeat their wedding night in case he hurts her (coz women MUST be protected from rough sex, they really don’t know what they want, and asking for/liking rough sex is just NOT OK) and he must protect her. Even from herself. Even though he married her. Just give the girl the D, Eddie. She knows what she’s in for, I promise.

At this point, we are about a third into movie 4.1. And Meyer, trying to teach girls that they really have to keep it in their pants, knocks Bella up. Yes, womenfolk everywhere, just once is enough.
This is totally true (and for those playing at home, Avalon was conceived the first time, pill and all, so y’all know the rules about contraception), and if Meyers audience was purely pre/early-teen girls who needed a reminder of no-glove no-love (OR, no marriage no love), then this would be fine. But let’s not kid ourselves about the FLOCKS of middle aged women who joined Team Eddie. And then, team Christian. (I myself am firmly on Team Lafayette). Bella WANTED sex, she finally got Edward to give in to her urges, she immediately gets knocked up and it nearly kills her. Lesson learned.

Let’s skip past the scene where Edward hears the baby’s thoughts, coz I totally teared up. I have baby-daddy issues, ok, you shoudl have seen me when Brennan told Booth she was preggo the first time – bawled like a pregnant woman denied icecream and pickles.

I’d like to take a break here and address some inconsistencies. Apologies if you’ve been keeping track on the livestreaming, most of these are repeats COZ I STILL HAVE NO ANSWERS
Why do they only shatter on death from movie 3 onwards?
If a werewolf does domestic violence is it still domestic violence?
Why do the type of wildflowers change (and multiply) every time they go up there?
If she hates cold and wet why is she lying on grass in a cloudbank?
Why do the sparkles make tinkly noises only sometimes?
Why does Bella (for the first two films) get hurt more often than she gets kissed?
Why is that song still stuck in my head?
Why don’t I have eyelash extensions?
Why doesn’t she just like ride the werewolf, rather than making him carry her in his arms? Is this a last ditch effort to show Jacob’s muscle off?
Wait, when he flips and turns into a wolf, where do his shorts go?
And is that why they never show them turning back into peoples?
When she uses him as a pillow is it like sleeping on an ice cube?
Was edward waiting for Bella when he was 9?
Isn’t that Bella’s motorbike?
WHY DOES THE TENT NOT MOVE IN THE WIND?
Why do the special effects get worse with each movie, when the budget got bigger?
Why doesn’t she just give in and love Jacob, because even though she’s said no repeatedly, he keeps pressing and everyone knows that no woman can resist muscles that just keep asking and asking and…. oh wait, she kissed him. Problem solved.
Why do they change her into an above-knee blue dress when she’s turned into a vampire, when for every other scene (including her wedding) she has arms and decolletage covered? Is that a mormon thing? Is this whole thing a mormon thing?
Why are the Brazilian vampys tan?
Wait, did he BITE the baby out?

So the last movie, they wanted all the women who have recently hooked up because you know, women HAVE TO BE IN RELATIONSHIPS TO BE SANE/PROTECTED/SEXUALLY ACTIVE/ALIVE, to bring their new (and possibly two years younger, coz look, Meyer is breaking all kinds of taboo (see, the two years is to get you used to the idea of the 17 year age gap that appears later on… with an infant.)) squeeze to the movies, so they threw in some action. But it’s ok, coz the action doesn’t actually happen. SPOILERS: It’s a vision. But it makes your heart race and you see the sacrifice. Vampys and Wolvies (wolfies?) working together! Love conquers (mostly) all. Save the baby Jacob!
But it’s ok people! Only Irina dies (because she’s widowed (kinda) and she didn’t really want to live any more anyway). And nearly everyone else is happily coupled now, (even the fucking baby) because vampires around the world came together. How sweet.
And now Bella and Edward can just fuck whenever they want, because for the next year she’s stronger than him and can hold him down.

And here’s the kicker – Meyer (and her squillions of adoring fans) think that Bella being strong is the point. And I’m all for strong women. I am one. I’m raising one. I was raised by one. I’ve been in love with more than a few. Strong women – totally NOT my complaint. But a strong character who is good and just and courageous and still COMPLETELY DOMINATED BY AND RELIANT ON every other male character (even the fucking baby wolf is necessarily to protect her at one point) is ridiculous. Her daughter is so vulnerable that she needs to be claimed AT BIRTH in a all-encompassing relationship by a man 17 (maybe 18 at that point, I wasn’t keeping track) years older than her, who stakes his ‘most sacred law’ abiding claim on her THE MINUTE HE SEES HER. Bella can’t have sex unless Ed says yes. Can’t have the type of sex she wants, because she’s too fucking fragile. Can’t have the baby she obviously adores because three men want to fight over what happens with her body. Can’t leave home even after she’s 18 without being grounded. Can’t sleep without being watched. Can’t ride a motorbike without either falling off, or it being some travesty. Can’t kiss anyone else. Can’t. Can’t. Can’t.
So.
Many.
Can’ts.

I’m so fucking sick of female characters being celebrated for being strong, yet still being held down by all this shit. I get that this is meant to be a love story. I get that there are scenes that are romantic (the first proposal is shit. even the ‘real’ one is pretty shit. And I’m an expert in shitty proposals at this point), scenes that are sexy, scenes that tug at the heartstrings because they make you think about family, or love, or friendship, or honour, or whatever the fuck makes you sleep well at night knowing you have it. But please, strong women of the world (and more-so, women who don’t think they are strong), this is not love. Patriarchy, control, slut shaming, ownership, male tradition, dominance, violence, sacrifice, blind adoration – these things are not signs of love.

I could finish this by saying Strongbow Classic Apple is love. Or the love a single girl has for her three cats is love (these things are totes true). I could also finish by saying I have no fucking idea what love is (also true) I only know what it’s not.

But I totally believe that if you want love, if you want to be strong, and secure, and vulnerable, and open, and whole, then love….Love is something you need to have for yourself.