I must say,
I would never have thought to write an apologia for Peter Pan’s Captain Hook,
let alone make him a romantic hero, but that’s exactly what Second Star to the Left is. Captain Hook is a nice, decent man with a crew that loves him, smouldering
looks and a hot body. As far as Tinker Bell is concerned, he also knows how to
use it in the bedroom. The cover of the book did not let me expect that.
The book
takes place somewhere in the seven seas, though not in the Neverland or ‘real’
world. Tinker Bell, a human-sized pixie with wings and pixie dust, is stuck
in the human world after a daring rescue of her cousin Lily from the Blackbeard.
The Queen of mermaids has promised to help, if Tink does her a favour first.
That involves stealing from Captain Hook. Tink succeeds in this by seducing him,
but no matter how far she flees, he’ll come after her. Partly because the queen
has put a curse on him and partly because he can’t get her out of her system.
Action,
romance, and sexy good times follow. Familiar names from the Peter Pan stories make
appearances too, like Peter himself. There are misunderstandings and betrayals
aplenty, near deaths and noble sacrifices, revenge and life-changing
revelations. And, since this a romance, a happily ever after—or at least for now.
This was a
well-written and fairly well-paced book, though I must confess I found it too
long. The middle part could’ve been a lot tighter (the bit about Royal Navy was
a Chekhov’s gun that never got fired, for example). But if you like the
overlooked characters of Peter Pan to have their chance in happiness, with good
bedroom scenes, this is for you.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Legends &
Lattes is the debut novel of Baldree, and what a wonderful, warm-hearted fantasy
it is. Set in a preindustrial world, but with clever gnomish inventions out of
time and place (a bit like Pratchett’s), it tells of Viv, an orc mercenary who
decides to hang up her sword and open a café in a town that has never heard of
coffee.
With the
help of a stone that’s supposed to bring her good fortune, she sets out to find
a suitable place and turn it to her liking. And everything goes well. She is
good at judging people and she finds just the talent she needs: Cal the
carpenter, Tandri the barista and Thimble the baker. All four come from species
(there’s a rich variety of them) that tend to be looked down by others (no
matter how tall Viv is) and treated only as a representative of their species,
good and bad (but usually bad).
Together
they strive to make the café a success, and in the process form a family. And
when things turn, and everything is (maybe) lost, they have what’s most important:
each other.
It’s a
pleasure to read such a life-affirming story that isn’t preachy or pointing.
Upsetting things happen, but when difficult choices need to be made, Viv doesn’t
take the easy way out. The pace is slow, but the process of building the café
and making it a success is surprisingly riveting. And I absolutely loved Viv
and her found family (Thimble especially). I hope there will be more books
about them in the future.
The Elf Tangent
is a stand-alone fantasy novel set in a world not connected with any of Buroker’s
many earlier worlds. It’s a low-tech, (almost) non-magic world where human
kingdoms occupy one part of the continent and elves another, which is about as
much as the reader learns about it.
Aldari is a
princess who is sent to the neighbouring kingdom to marry a prince there to
gain her kingdom an ally against another kingdom. She’s not entirely happy to
leave her family behind, but she knows her duty and isn’t about to rebel. She
already is a rebel of sorts to her father’s views, as she is a scholar of some
renown under a secret pen name. Only the name isn’t as secret as she thought.
The elves have a need for her special skills and so they kidnap her en route to
her wedding.
Leading the
elves is Captain Hawk, who is determined to save his people from what is essentially
a zombie infestation, elves turning into mindless killers. To do that, he needs
an access to a laboratory that caused the plague, but it’s protected by puzzles
that only Aldari can solve.
The plot is
kind of simple, but the road to the happy ending is perilous. During many
attacks and hardships, through mutual rescues and facing foes together, Aldari
and Hawk grow to care for each other. So, instead of fleeing at every chance—which would’ve been dangerous anyway—Aldari decides to help him
voluntarily.
This was
pitched as a fantasy romance, but it’s very, very light on romance. Not even at
the end are feelings brought up, and there’s nary a kiss. Romance is more a
garnish, and a way to explain why Aldari would help her kidnappers. Aldari and
Hawk are both a bit bland—the side characters are much more interesting—and they only come to life during
action scenes.
Good thing,
then, that the book is heavy on action. There’s constantly something going on,
swordfights and pirates, zombie elves or plots against Aldari and Hawk. The
pace is fast, and the events kept me reading until small hours. It’s a good
book, but if you’re looking for great emotions, this isn’t for you. Friends of
good, solid high fantasy will like it though.
The Player in New Zealand is the fourth book in Love and Wanderlust series, but it’s a
standalone and no prior knowledge of the series is needed.
Claire has
come to New Zealand to put as much distance between her and her stalker as
possible. She has a job as a bartender, which she can keep for six months and then has to switch them because
of visa rules. Tane is a former rugby player
veering on a brink of alcoholism. She’s not impressed by him, but he pulls his
act together and becomes sober. They are sort of forced together by Tane’s
sister, but realise they lust each other and make the most of the situation.
Later they decide they love each other and get married for visa reasons.
The
description above is a tad spoilery, but that’s how the book played out. There’s
a handful of scenes where Claire and Tane interact, with no emotional
engagement whatsoever that the reader is made a part of. Most of the book is
filler scenes about Claire’s daily life and New Zealand that are told not
shown, and which had no impact on the plot whatsoever. The ticking clock of
Claire having to switch jobs doesn’t add any tension to the narrative.
Nothing
important happens in front of the reader. Tane quits drinking behind the scenes
and if it’s difficult for him, it isn’t shown. Claire, whose point of view we
follow, presumably falls for him, but doesn’t bother to share it with the
reader. For example, we are told of longing phone calls when they’re apart, but
we never witness one. Since it’s a romance, the reader automatically infers love,
but the emotional payload for reading to the end isn’t there.
I liked Tane
and I would’ve wanted to be there for his journey to sobriety, only I wasn’t
allowed to, but I didn’t really get Claire at all. She constantly reacted oddly
to everything, and I kept wondering if she read situations wrong or if I did.
Her trauma for being stalked for years wasn’t dealt with, only the stalker. And
since I wasn’t told why Claire and Tane liked each other, I couldn’t really see
them as a couple either.
I like my
romances light, so this was fine. But I like the emphasis to be on the romance
and the couple. And I’d like to feel at least something by the time we get to
the I dos.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
V. E.
Schwab has an ability to write wonderfully atmospheric fiction, no matter the
genre or the age level the book is aimed at. Gallant is not an exception. It’s middle
grade horror that’s exactly scary enough to spook younger readers and perfect
for adults like me who don’t like to be too frightened.
Olivia is
an orphan girl of fourteen in England around 1930s. She’s mute, unable to form the
smallest sound, without friends in the orphanage where she’s lived since she
was baby, and able to see ghouls. She knows nothing of her parents, but she has
her mother’s diary where she warns her daughter to stay away Gallant.
Her life
changes when her family contacts her, and without any inquiries, the orphanage
sends her to live with them instead. She ends up in Gallant, a manor in
northern England. But it turns out she isn’t welcome there after all.
Gallant has
a secret which slowly unfolds to the reader. We follow Olivia as she tries to
make sense of it, unable to properly communicate with the people in the house.
She learns that her parents have been part of the secret too, and they’ve left
her a legacy unlike the rest of her family. When it’s time to face the foe, it’s
her duty to do it.
This was
well-written, easy to read fantasy horror that kept me in its grips from start
to finish. Olivia was a great protagonist: tough, stubborn, and not easily scared.
Her muteness didn’t bother her as much it bothered other people, and she had a
way to express herself by drawing. It wasn’t solely a gimmick either, but it
could’ve played a greater role in the plot. The ending wasn’t a perfect
happily-ever-after of MG fantasy, but it was satisfying. All in all, a great
book for readers of all ages.
Mickey7 is
sci-fi set on a beachhead colony sent to terraform a planet somewhere in the
universe in far future. It’s a dangerous project and for that they need someone
to take all the almost-certain-death jobs that robots can’t do. Enter Mickey
Barnes.
Mickey is an
expendable. To escape debtors on the planet where he lives, he agrees to have
his memories uploaded and his body scanned to make copies of it—and to die when necessary, usually in a painful and gruesome
fashion. As the number after his name implies, he’s done this several times
already.
It never
gets easier to die.
A routine
mission goes awry and unable to rescue him, Mickey7’s pilot leaves him to die.
By the time Mickey7 manages to return to the base, they’ve already revived a
new copy, Mickey8. The problem is, there can be only one. But instead of
fighting to the death to see which version gets to live, they decide to keep
the double a secret and stay both alive.
Immediately,
they run into problems. The food is rationed, and they have to share it between
them. One of them is injured and the other isn’t, which leads to some baffled
encounters. And which of them gets to spend time with their girlfriend?
In a colony
of a couple of hundred people, secrets never stay hidden for long. But Mickey7
has another one in his sleeve. He knows that the planet has sentient beings. Because
he didn’t make it back to the base on his own.
This was a
fun book. The plot was simple and not terribly high stakes. Most of the book was
filled with Mickey7’s running commentary on everything: his previous life, the
colonies that have failed before, and all his deaths.
What the
book is about in the end is identity. Are you still the same person if you’re
the seventh copy of your original self? Who has the greater right to your life,
you or your future copies? And are you still human?
Not all
questions are given definitive answers, but it’s well-written enough to keep
the reader entertained. Mickey7 comes to a conclusion that satisfies him, and
that leaves the reader in a good place too.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Max Gladstone’s
latest, Last Exit, is a blend of (pre)apocalyptic sci-fi, magical realism with
a horror twist, and a road movie. It shouldn’t really work, but it comes together
well enough.
The plot is
straight-forward. A group of people who have met in college and banded together
to find alternative worlds, gather one more time to find the one they left
behind. But the semi-intelligent rot that bleeds into the worlds, destroying
them, doesn’t want her to be found. It’s a constant battle all the way to the
crossroads at the heart of the alts, which is the onlyplace where they can find her. Sal is the
veritable MacGuffin, always a little out of reach, and never as important for
the plot as the characters make her to be.
The idea of
alternative worlds isn’t unique, but the rot destroying them makes it more
interesting, as does the idea that they can be accessed either with magic or
mathematic irregularities, depending on which member of the group you believe. The
alts were surprisingly boring though, and while the book gives an explanation to
why they’re all so similar, I whish more would’ve been done with them.
But the
weakness of the book is its characters. I couldn’t connect with any of them. I followed
them down the road, but I was never with them on the journey. I never felt
their emotions, fears or pain, because the character experiencing them was
never the point of view one. They told very little of themselves and at the end
of the book I had learned nothing new.
A road
movie is never about the road, it’s about the people on a transformative journey.
All the elements were there: four people who used to know everything about each
other, good and bad, have grown apart and into different persons in ten years
they haven’t seen each other. An epic journey is a chance for them to put the
past into a rest so that they can continue with the lives they’ve built for
themselves.
The characters
plunge into endless reminiscing of the time they met and how the band came to
be. Surprisingly little time is spent on remembering their time exploring the
alts. The crucial event that led Sal to be lost is brushed away with a quick
description that includes torture and fighting people to death. I would’ve
thought a trauma like that would merit a larger role in their healing process,
but instead they talk about the racism of the college they went to—arguably important, but meaningless for the plot,
even with its diverse cast—and the state of (present
day) America that they live in.
The token
outsider that’s supposed to push the characters out of their remembered
patterns only managed to enforce them. The climax was clearly meant to happen because
of her, but in the end she was pushed aside and played no crucial role.
All in all,
the plot could basically have been the same without Jane and the fantasy
elements for how little they meant for the characters. They went through their
journey and the world was different at the other end—or
at least it felt renewed for them, which is the best anyone can hope. If I’d felt
them transform with the world, the book would probably have made a greater
impact. Now it’s just something I’ve read. I dithered between three and four stars, but the long stretches that left me bored made me give it three stars in the end.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Only a Monster is the debut of Vanessa Len. It’s YA urban fantasy set in
modern London about Joan, sixteen, who is spending summer with her maternal
grandmother while volunteering at a manor house turned a museum. She has a huge
crush on Nick, a fellow volunteer, but on the day of their first date something
odd happens and she loses a whole day in a blink of an eye.
From her
grandmother she learns that it’s because her family are monsters, people who
can time travel by stealing time from humans. But before Joan can learn
anything more, like how to do that and why they exist, the hero of the title
butchers her entire family and some other monsters too. (It all happens within
the first couple of chapters so it’s not much of a spoiler.)
The only
survivors are Joan and Aaron from an enemy family of Joan’s, and she gets a
crash-course on being a monster from him, like how the monsters are grouped
into families with special abilities, and about safe places
for all time travellers that seemed to exist outside time and be undetected by
humans, though it wasn’t properly explained.
Since they
can travel through time, Joan insists they go back and prevent the deaths from
happening, but apparently that isn’t possible. She doesn’t believe Aaron, and
sets out to do the impossible.
This was a
good book. The idea of monsters was intriguing, though the world could have been explained a lot better. The story flowed in a brisk pace, and while it was highly illogical
and at times felt like the author didn’t have a grasp on different timelines
and people jumping in from whenever, it wasn’t anything I got stuck with. The
narrative was a bit repetitive, some facts were told over and again, while
some important plot points seemed to spring from nowhere. Joan was both
utterly clueless and seemed to possess information she couldn’t possibly have,
as if the author had forgotten that Joan was the narrator and not omniscient.
I did have
issues with Joan who was irritating and too stupid to live. We get many hints of
a mystery about her dead mother and a recurring nightmare for example, but her character
and backstory remained annoyingly vague.
Why wasn’t Joan even a little curious
about her family’s special skills? Why was she half-Malaysian, if that had no
impact on her life as human or a monster? Couldn’t her unique skill have come
from that side, for example? The monster families seemed fairly inbred, so it
would’ve made sense, yet the father had been conveniently cleaned away from the
story. And if her grandmother knew about her special skill, why had she kept the
monsters a secret from her? The explanation about her being a half human wasn’t
convincing. I think the story would’ve been stronger if Joan hadn’t been going
into it blindly.
The side
characters remained vague. I didn’t feel Nick as the love-interest, as Joan’s
crush on him had happened before the book began and I only got to witness who
he was now. Aaron would’ve had an interesting story that would’ve brought depth to the plot had it been woven into it for Joan’s purposes (couldn’t the prisoner have been the reason he was cast out from his family, for example?) But Joan
isn’t even a little curious about him and his role remains that of a reluctant teacher. The pivotal character springs out of nowhere. I can only
hope that he has a greater role in the upcoming books, because he was
ill-served in this one.
The ending
was satisfying and nothing I saw coming, despite the title of the book. It left
Joan in a good place, if this remains the sole book in the planned trilogy, but
the open questions and especially Aaron are reason enough to continue with the
series.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
