whatsheread's reviews
2221 reviews

When looking for a science fiction novel that doesn't take itself seriously, several options exist. But I'd argue that no one does non-serious science fiction better than John Scalzi. His latest novel, WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE, epitomizes that particular genre. Everything from the subject to the characters to the resolution is an exercise in not taking anything seriously. It's what I've come to expect from Mr. Scalzi, yet I believe he outdid himself this time. 

WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE opens just after the Moon turns into cheese. People are only beginning to realize something is different, but don't know what it is yet. What follows are short chapters that read like vignettes as the lunar cycle progresses. Each chapter follows a different character so that we see a variety of reactions to the news and its consequences. Governments bluster, markets react, scientists scramble, the general population marvels, and the billionaires play. 

Mr. Scalzi plays fast and loose with science in this novel, something he unabashedly admits in his Author's Note. Not that this should surprise you because Moon and cheese, but his fluidity in that area allows him to focus less on the action and more on the reactions. The cover-ups and explanations are as ridiculous as you expect, but nothing that feels disingenuous. In fact, despite the lack of concrete science explaining anything, Mr. Scalzi capitalizes on our gradual adjustment to crazy headlines to make WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE feel like the least improbable thing you will read all year. 

Given the constant barrage of headlines that read like they came from The Onion rather than respected news providers, WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE is the perfect remedy. It seemingly mimics the lunacy of current headlines by reminding you that a situation can always get worse. The format lends itself nicely to any reading session, whether for a quick chapter or a more leisurely period. Lest you think the story is entirely superficial, it does have a few philosophical moments that require some introspection. That aside, Mr. Scalzi's headline one-upmanship does its job of helping you forget about real-world issues for a few hours, and WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE is a goofy but endearing palate/brain cleanser that hits all the right notes. 

TO STEAL FROM THIEVES is M. K. Lobb's third published book, and I am here for all of it. It is an ambitious novel, not only in what the characters experience but in who they are. Ms. Lobb takes familiar tropes and skews them ever so slightly. In doing so, she creates two characters who seem familiar at a surface level but are so different underneath as to be new and fresh. The heist, the characters, the chemistry, the magic - each element of the story is stellar in its own right. Together, they combine to make an explosive story that lingers in your memory. 

There is maturity to the writing that makes the novel feel more like a new adult or adult novel rather than a young adult one. Zaria and Kane may be young, but they are so very old in experience, loss, and jadedness. You feel the tiredness of their souls through the pages, and it becomes very easy to forget that these two are still in their teens. Ms. Lobb reminds you of their true ages from time to time, but such reminders serve to drive home the sense of heartache you, as the reader, feel at everything they have and must still endure. 

Zaria and Kane are the perfect foils, and Ms. Lobb pits them against each other with skill. The chemistry between them smolders quietly but steadily, exploding out in one scene that had me mentally standing in applause, before dying back down to hide underneath the surface once more. This heightens the tension of the entire novel, which is saying something since the story already has built-in tension from the planned heist and the threat that hangs over Kane regarding the heist's success.

Ms. Lobb excels at highlighting the duality of any society, and in TO STEAL FROM THIEVES does so with a clarity that is disturbing in its honesty. From the slums of Devil's Acre to the gated luxury of Hyde Park, Ms. Lobb presents one of the most vivid portraits of the poor in Victorian England I've ever read. Life in the slum was one of abject misery and hopelessness, made worse by the fact that the upper class lived only a few blocks away. Zaria's struggles to adjust to the dichotomy of the two areas, so close in geography but so far apart in every other aspect that matters, and no wonder. Her reaction is not just a point of empathy between the character and the reader; it also feels like a pointed nod to the ever-increasing disparity between the haves and the have-nots in modern society. This is just one of the many ways in which TO STEAL FROM THIEVES is historically accurate and yet very much in tune with the lived experiences of today's reader. 

TO STEAL FROM THIEVES ended way too quickly for me, and yet I wouldn't have it end any other way. I love a story where the idea of good and bad doesn't exist, and by the time you turn the last page, there is nothing but moral greyness over every aspect of the story. The ending is something of a cliffhanger, but it doesn't leave you in shock so much as in despair - at what could have been and what is. All you can do now is cheer Ms. Lobb on as she works to finish the second book as quickly as possible. Thankfully, Zaria and Kane and their shared and individual stories are going to stick with me for a long time to come and should hold me until that second book hits its release date.

The third book in The Dispatcher series, TRAVEL BY BULLET, is better than the second book but still not as good as the first book. This time around, Zachary Quinto seems to be enjoying himself a little more. His performance is still a monotone, but it felt more intentional. I would say he was more deadpan than bored. That slight difference is enough to improve the listening experience. It also helps that the story flows better as well. TRAVEL BY BULLET is still simplistic given its novella status, but the style and pacing are more what we are used to from John Scalzi. While TRAVEL BY BULLET goes a long way to redeem the series, I am still glad I don't have any more of these short audiobooks. The entire series is a one-and-done for me. 

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS is Grady Hendrix's best novel so far. This is for several reasons. Sure, setting the story in a Pre-Roe and still segregated South helps with his messaging. There is just enough distance to comfortably declare that what happens is the past and things are better now. Yet, there is plenty of uncertainty today around women's rights, especially medical. This uncertainty creates a frisson of discomfort while reading. 

To that, he layers on the fantastical elements of the story. He uses characters, one generation removed from enslavement and their strong belief system in Hoodooism, to build an atmosphere where it is difficult to separate fantasy and fiction, real and magic. Nothing of what the girls experience is implausible. If anything, you can logically explain every "otherworldly" scene in the book. But that setting, summer in the Deep South, living in an old plantation, a Mammy-like figure who is just as likely to smack you as help you but who firmly believes in magic, it all converges into a film that blurs the finest of details and makes the impossible possible.

If that weren't enough, Mr. Hendrix uses the real-life historical horrors of being unmarried and pregnant in the early seventies. While it is easy to say you understand the pressures women faced to remain "pure" and the depths to which society kept girls and women ignorant of simple biology. It is another thing entirely to see it happen over and over again, and that is just what Mr. Hendrix does. 

It doesn't matter the age or the fact that the girl might have a serious boyfriend. Every girl is in that home because their family cannot bear the consequences of having an unwed pregnant daughter. It doesn't matter how a girl gets pregnant in WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS. There is no such thing as rape. Every girl got pregnant simply because they were wicked or bad or promiscuous or troubled or slutty. The levels of disgust you feel from Mr. Hendrix's words are beyond expectations. 

Yet, for all those layers upon layers of the story he weaves into WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS, Mr. Hendrix's true magic lays in the mirror he holds up to the hypocrisy of a patriarchal, Christian, and righteous society. The only allies the girls have are each other and the one or two individuals they meet who do not conform to the patriarchal and Christian parts of that society. The girls face anger, disgust, condescension, fear, and a shit-ton of mansplaining almost every minute of every day, and therein lies the true horror of the story. It is not in the supernatural and scary parts of the story. It is in the fact that girls really did experience that smugness of religious "purity" and that we are one small step away from having to endure it all again. 

I could go on to say how I loved how Mr. Hendrix played around with the narrator, sliding seamlessly from one point of view to another as the main character drifted into and around the action. I could say that the feelings Mr. Hendrix brings to the story are so vivid and so extreme that my stomach gets upset just thinking about certain scenes (SO. MUCH. ANGER. Deserved but still.)  In the end, what makes WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS so impressive a story is that you could take away the witch stuff and it would still be a horror story. Because men have always been more vicious and crueler than any mythical beast, and they do so with smiles on their faces and benevolence in their hearts.  

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS was, for me, a novel that devoured me as much as I devoured it. The story took me in and spat me out, emotionally drained and terrified. Terrified of the past and what women went through simply to give birth, let alone if you were a teen mom-to-be. Petrified of a future that sees those sentiments, the ignorance, and the lack of agency arise again. Powerful. Masterful. WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS is a must-read for all. 

I made it to book 50 in the In Death series! That is just so many books for one series, I can't quite wrap my mind around it. For her fiftieth book, J. D. Robb presents us with one of the most repugnant killers Eve encounters. I can't think of a takedown that is more satisfying than watching Eve get her perp this time around. The reasons for the murders, the method of killing used, and general attitudes and expectations left me creeped out and raging mad. This isn't a sociopath but rather someone who feels the world owes them. The sense of entitlement is worse than a sociopath's need to kill IMO. GOLDEN IN DEATH is one book that had me actively cheering Eve on through her investigation because I was so incensed by so many of the characters we meet this time around. The fact that Ms. Robb can still make you feel that way after fifty books speaks volumes regarding her writing!

THE WHISPERING NIGHT, the Luminaries series finale, by Susan Dennard is a book I eagerly awaited, for good reason. The mystery, the will-they-or-won't-they aspect of Jay and Winnie's relationship, and the world of Hemlock Falls are all compelling reasons. Thankfully, Ms. Dennard does not disappoint her readers. 

While I devoured every page and enjoyed myself doing so, that is not to say THE WHISPERING NIGHT is not without its issues. For one, the story wanders all over the place. Quite literally, Winnie runs from one end of town to the other and back again. Plus, Ms. Dennard introduces what turns out to be a major character that changes the direction of Winnie's research, and this character never sat right with me. Her addition feels too last-minute, even if we first meet her within the first few chapters. It's a major twist the story didn't need and another thread for Winnie to track. 

As for Winnie, apparently she is the only one in Hemlock Falls who can discover all the clues, piece together the puzzle, and save the day. There is a literal manhunt for her at one point in the story, yet not a single adult latches on to the idea that there is a bigger problem in their world than one girl. Even the few adults who go out of their way to help Winnie end up dropping the ball or fail to see what Winnie sees. I get that this is because it is YA, but do all of the adults have to be so damn incompetent? 

My other niggling issue is the fact that Jay always, and I mean ALWAYS, asks Winnie for permission to kiss her. Even after they declare their feelings for each other, he still asks. It is odd and awkward. Winnie is odd and awkward, and we love her for that. But asking your partner if you can kiss them after having spent hours making out irks me. I'm all for obtaining permission, and I like seeing that in romance novels. It's just I've seen permission executed in other novels in ways that are far more conducive to romantic interludes and less cumbersome, and the permission became less explicit the longer the couples were together. 

All in all, I did love THE WHISPERING NIGHT. The ending was not at all what I expected, and Ms. Dennard leaves room for future books if she wants. I feel there is so much of Winnie's world we don't know or understand that the possibilities for more stories set either in Hemlock Falls or the larger world of witches and nightmares are endless.  

I am a huge John Scalzi fan, and I find his novels tend to make for great audiobooks. I listened to the first book in The Dispatcher series and loved it. Everything from the story to the narrator was great. Unfortunately, the second book in the series, MURDER BY OTHER MEANS, was not so great. 

The problem lies not with the story or the characters but with the narrator. Zachary Quinto sounds like he did not want to be there that day, which shows in his performance. His tone is flat. He inflects no emotion into his voice at all. He barely differentiates between male and female voices, and there is no difference between male characters. Worst of all, he takes Mr. Scalzi's trademark sarcasm and renders it moot. 

Because his narration is so monotone, the story has no drive. It is as if the events in the novella are occurring around the main character and not to him. Even though every word counts for story and character development in short stories, Mr. Quinto's narration lulls you into a stupor so that you find you missed entire paragraphs and have to rewind. Either that or the main character is supposed to be an emotionless automaton. 

As it was less than four hours of my time, and I listened to MURDER BY OTHER MEANS while doing household chores like I always do, I can't say it was time wasted. I can only hope that for the third book, Mr. Quinto was in a better mood when he recorded his performance. 

To date, Marisha Pessl's stories are dark, odd, and fascinating. Her latest, DARKLY, is all of that taken up ten notches. With its mystery within a mystery and use of "found" original documents, Ms. Pessl takes you on a journey that is at times dangerous and insane if you stop to think about what is happening. Yet, DARKLY is every bit as addicting as Louisana Veda's games. 

DARKLY is the epitome of a story that makes you question everything you think you know. Its ending is open and leaves several questions unanswered. Despite that frustration, you soon realize it is the perfect ending to the novel. As the story itself plays with the idea of reality, and the character around whom the entire story revolves is as much an enigma as anything you will find, the open ending and unanswered questions are a continuation of that theme. 

DARKLY takes the idea that we can never really know someone and uses it to the extreme. To that mix, Ms. Pessl tosses in a seemingly deserted island with one way off or on, adds a dash of a derelict factory, stirs in the gloomiest of weather, and layers on a mysterious internship. She tops it all with a seriously disturbing game within a game. The result is the perfect gothic mystery. 

As I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of Alyson Noël's Stealing Infinity series, I was eager to get started on CHASING ETERNITY. I had no idea where the story was going or how it was going to end. And when you are talking about time travel, anything is possible. 

Except, I didn't love CHASING ETERNITY. I enjoyed it immensely...right up until the end. The conclusion Ms. Noël uses is lackluster at best and frustrating at its worst. The whole thing feels as if Ms. Noël couldn't come up with a way to satisfactorily conclude her story and so chose the path of least resistance. It's disappointing. 

To make matters worse, there were several times throughout this book when I struggled to ignore the elephant in the room, so to speak. Yes, it seems weird to find certain situations ridiculous when the entire series is all about a group of teenagers who travel through time to steal priceless art and jewelry, but still. There is only so much disbelief I can suspend, and I started feeling uncomfortable around the first chapter when the main character meets a historical figure and said historical figure acts like everything is perfectly normal. When the main character learns the same magic as said historical figure but in a few hours rather than years, I was done. 

All this to say CHASING ETERNITY is a disappointment. The Stealing Infinity series to this point was so much fun, crazy but in a good way. I always got the feeling that even Ms. Noël knew how insane her story was and that knowledge made it all okay to like, as if she also embraced the madness without taking any of it too seriously. Until she decided to change that and makes CHASING ETERNITY entirely too serious without eliminating any of the madness. With an ending that feels like a copout more than a well-developed resolution, it makes me change my opinion about the entire series. 

As the second book of Thea Guanzon's The Hurricane Wars series, I was prepared to be either blown away or completely disappointed with A MONSOON RISING. Instead, I got a book I really, really enjoyed with an ending that made me gasp aloud but throughout which there were enough issues to prevent my mind from being blown. 

Don't get me wrong. I finished A MONSOON RISING giddy with the promise of a spectacular finale. I loved the spice, the action, and the further adventures of Alaric and Talasyn together and apart. I devoured the book as quickly as I could without dropping everything altogether. It's just that Alaric and Talasyn spend as much time mooning about and worrying about the future or each other as they do in action. 

I get their angsty thoughts. They are young and have little to no firsthand political experience. Plus, they both suffer from childhood trauma. Their brooding makes sense and is entirely appropriate. It's just that it takes up so much of the story. When there is action, whether it is in the form of training or as basic as traveling, A MONSOON RISING is unputdownable. When you are once again having to endure either character's obsession over the other or worrying about the future, it is less so.

A MONSOON RISING is a great book and deserving of all the praise. It just gets a little slow at times for my taste. I will still gladly read anything Ms. Guanzon writes because these first two novels are stellar. Plus, the ending is a game-changer that left me reeling. I can't think of a series that excites me more than The Hurricane War and a series finale I am anticipating the most.