Audiobook Review: Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Once More With Feeling
Author: Elissa Sussman
Narrator: Jaime Lamchick
Publisher: Dell
Publication date: May 30, 2023
Print length: 416 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 12 minutes
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Library
Rating:

Then. Katee Rose is living the dream as America’s number one pop star, caught in a whirlwind of sold-out concerts, screaming fans, and constant tabloid coverage. Everyone wants to know everything about her and her boyfriend, Ryan LaNeve, the hottest member of adored boy band CrushZone. Katee loves to perform but hates the impossible demands of stardom. Maybe that’s why she finds herself in the arms of another CrushZone member, Cal Kirby. Quiet, serious Cal, who’s always been a good friend to Katee, is suddenly Cal with the smoldering eyes and very good hands. One unforgettable night is all it takes to blow up Katee’s relationship with Ryan, her career, her whole life…

Now. Kathleen Rosenberg is okay with her ordinary existence, and leaving her pop star image in the past. That is, until Cal Kirby shows up with the opportunity of her dreams–a starring role in the Broadway show he’s directing and a chance to perform the way she’s always wanted. The two haven’t spoken since the joint destruction of their careers, and each of them blames the other, making their reunion a tense battle of wits and egos. Katee reluctantly agrees to the musical, as long as she keeps her guard up around Cal. But rehearsals are long, those eyes still smolder, and those hands are still very good. Despite everything, Katee can’t deny the chemistry between them. Is it ever a good idea to reignite old flames? Especially if you’ve been burned in the past?

A former pop star finds herself back in the spotlight–along with an old flame from her past–in this “friends to lovers” meets “enemies to lovers” romance from the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask, the sensational Tik Tok romance!

Kathleen Rosenberg has spent a decade living in the shadow of regret. Once the biggest pop star in the world — Katee Rose — her career and popularity were burned to the ground after a cheating scandal, when seemingly overnight she went from hugely loved to terribly despised. Her contracts were cancelled, her reputation was destroyed, and since then, she’s lived off her royalties and stayed out of the spotlight, with only her best friend Harriet and her cat Fish for company.

When Harriet’s newly written musical seems destined for Broadway — a huge breakthrough for her own career — Kathleen seems about to achieve her long-awaited moment to shine. The lead role was written for her, after all. But the show’s director and choreographer is Cal Kirby, her summer camp crush and a contributing factor in her career implosion all those years ago. To live out her dream and finally get a shot at Broadway, Kathleen will have to find a way to work with Cal, even as old resentments (and much warmer feelings) start to bubble to the surface.

Once More With Feeling is told through a dual timeline, with a primary focus in the “now” sections, as the Broadway show is developed, rehearsed, and prepared for its premiere. There are also “then” chapters woven throughout, which follows Kathleen, Harriet, and Cal’s first meeting at a summer camp for theater kids, to Katee Rose’s stardom, the rise of boy band CrushZone (which includes both Cal and Katee’s boyfriend Ryan), and then the scandal that ruined it all. We don’t truly find out what happened “then” until close to the end of the book, but there are plenty of clues, and having seen the aftermath through “now” Kathleen’s experiences, it’s clear there’s a trainwreck coming from early on.

The storytelling and dialogue is snappy and propulsive. Even when Kathleen is wallowing with edibles and ice cream, she’s interesting to be around, and I enjoyed both the “then” and “now” sequences. As a Broadway fan myself, I really got caught up in the show prep and all its tensions (and seriously, I wish that Riveted was a real show — I’d love to at least hear the soundtrack!)

Adult Kathleen still has Katee’s propensity for terrible decision-making when it comes to her personal life, and some poor choices threaten to torpedo both her life-long friendship with Harriet and her chemistry with Cal, not to mention sinking her best (and perhaps only) chance at a new stage in her failed career.

Although I enjoyed the book, I had some quibbles with the plotting as a whole. My main complaint is that the timeline takes quite a bit of effort to figure out (which perhaps is made worse by listening to the audio version — it takes much longer for things to unfold that way). It really isn’t clear early on what happened when. How long after summer camp did Katee become a pop star? How long did that last? How long ago was the scandal? When did Katee’s career fall apart? How many years has it been since? Eventually, I pieced enough together — my assumption is that after camp (age 14), Katee got a break and was cast in a teen variety show, then from there launched her solo career and became a breakout star; then at about age 25, things fell apart, and ten years later, Kathleen gets her shot at Broadway. But I wish the book had just told us this, rather than making readers guess.

A few other minor complaints: Kathleen’s camp nemesis shows up at a few key points in the Broadway casting and rehearsal process, and I expected there to be some major confrontation or crisis involving this person — but no, that element just fades away. Also, as mentioned, Kathleen really makes some poor decisions, and we can see the fall-out coming from miles away. As the ultra-processed/managed/autotuned popstar, it’s maybe understandable that she’s not able to control her own relationships and actions, but as a 30-something adult, there’s much less of a rationale for why she makes certain choices.

If you’re reading all this and thinking Britney and Justin… well, yes, I can only assume that the comparison is entirely intentional. Not everything in Katee/Kathleen’s story directly mirrors the early years of Britney Spears, but it’s clear that Katee is meant to be that level of pop star. It’s both entertaining and sad to see a young woman getting — theoretically — what she’s always wanted, and yet end up a prisoner of her own success.

The romance in Once More With Feeling is an important plot element, but not the only one. I appreciated the balance between the romantic storyline and the plot threads focusing on Kathleen as a person with frustrated dreams and deep, unresolved hurt stemming from public humiliation and abandonment.

The audiobook, narrated by Jaime Lamchick, is quite fun, with the narrator providing great personas for the characters. Her voice changes for teen Katee vs adult Kathleen, and I think it’s a sign of the narrator’s talent that we can identify that this is the same person, just at different stages of her life.

Overall, I enjoyed Once More With Feeling, and recommend it for theater kids, fans of popstars and boy bands, and anyone who appreciates a good comeback story!

28Oct2023

Book Review: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children, #9) by Seanan McGuire

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
Series: Wayward Children, #9
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: January 9, 2024
Length: 160 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher

Dinosaurs and portals, and a girl who can find both in the latest book in the Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning series.

Antsy is the latest student to pass through the doors at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children.

When her fellow students realize that Antsy’s talent for finding absolutely anything may extend to doors, she’s forced to flee in the company of a small group of friends, looking for a way back to the Shop Where the Lost Things Go to be sure that Vineta and Hudson are keeping their promise.

Along the way, temptations are dangled, decisions are reinforced, and a departure to a world populated by dinosaurs brings untold dangers and one or two other surprises!

A story that reminds us that finding what you want doesn’t always mean finding what you need.

What can you say about the 9th book in a series? Other than that’s it’s terrific, of course! The book opens with a paragraph that beautifully sums up the overarching plot of the series:

Children of the doors know about being mislaid. They are well-acquainted with stepping through an opening or following a passage that should lead from here to there, and finding themselves someplace entirely else, someplace entirely new. It is possibly their only truly unifying experience, the one thing they have so completely in common that there’s no need to even question it: once upon a time, they took an impossible step, opened an impossible portal, and ended up in a terribly, horribly possible place.

As the newest Wayward Children book, Mislaid in Parts Half-Known keeps the overarching storylines of the series moving forward while introducing some new twists, rules, and situations for the characters to deal with. Some of the installments in the series have more of a stand-alone feel, although they’re all connected, but this is not one of those. Mislaid is absolutely a sequel, mainly in regard to book #8 and its main character Antsy, but it also continues the stories of several other characters, and it’s helpful (I’d even say critical) to be familiar with them.

The previous book, Lost in the Moment and Found, focused on a young girl named Antsy, who runs away from a dangerous situation in her home and finds herself in the world of a store that’s actually a nexus point between worlds. Antsy’s new home in the store is mostly delightful — she’s safe, after all, and has the opportunity to visit countless new worlds through the portal doors that appear and disappear. But, as she discovers by the end of the book, there’s a price to be paid, and the book ends with Antsy returning, quite changed, to her home world and finding her way to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.

In Mislaid in Parts Half-Known, Antsy is settling in at the school, but doesn’t actually quite fit. She’s actually much younger than the other students, and their portal worlds are all so different that she can’t seem to connect with many of them. When a particularly dangerous student threatens Antsy’s safety, she and a handful of others escape through another door and begin a new quest.

Readers of the prior books in the series will be familiar with Antsy’s companions — Sumi, Kade, Christopher, Cora and a few newer faces too. As they flee, they’re also searching for possibilities. Most of the students yearn to return “home” — that is, to their lost worlds beyond the doors — and Antsy has the unique ability to find any door. So if they can actually go home, should they?

There are some interesting discussions about what it means to be sure about a choice, and how they’ll know when or if they’re ready, as well as conversations about whether someone truly still belongs in the place they consider home. These introspective bits are lovely, as the various characters get a chance to shine and express themselves, even in the midst of fleeing from dangerous goblins and dinosaurs.

Yes, dinosaurs. The cover doesn’t lie! The group does visit a primeval world populated by dinosaurs, and it’s amazing. I’m not going into further detail — read it and find out!

The challenge I had with this book, as hinted at earlier, is keeping track of the characters. Yes, I’ve read the entire series so far, but since they’re released at a rate of one per year, it’s been a few years since I’ve thought about some of these characters. Thank goodness there are wikis out there! I definitely had to go look up some backstories. At some point, rereading the whole series from the beginning might be a good idea!

If you’ve been curious about the Wayward Children series, I would recommend against starting with this book. It won’t make any sense! It’s such a great series, though, that I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of Every Heart a Doorway — I bet you’ll want to keep going!

I really enjoyed Mislaid in Parts Half-Known. It ends with certain characters spinning off into new directions, and leaves much still to be discovered in the wider world of the school. I can’t wait to find out where Wayward Children goes next.

26Oct2023

Audiobook Review: Me by Elton John

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Me
Author: Elton John
Narrators: Elton John & Taron Egerton
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Publication date: October 15, 2019
Print length: 374 pages
Audio length: 12 hours, 28 minutes
Genre: Memoir
Source: Purchased
Rating:

In his only official autobiography, music icon Elton John writes about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the film Rocketman.

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour of America, facing an astonished audience in his tight silver hotpants, bare legs and a T-shirt with ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across it in sequins. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again.

His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.

In Me Elton also writes about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father.

In some ways, I feel like Elton John has been in the background of most of my life. I remember listening to Good-bye, Yellow Brick Road, Philadelphia Freedom, Crocodile Rock, and more throughout my younger days. And who can forget the media fascination with his costumes and those huge glasses?

Still, I never particularly knew much about Elton John’s life, other than the glimpses provided in celebrity news over the years — first the glamour of his huge star status and all the rich and famous people in his social circle; later, the more grown-up version who sang at Princess Diana’s funeral and raised money for important causes.

Now, having read Me, I finally feel like I know more, and I’m so glad that I do. In his memoir, Elton is honest, funny, and frank. He’s not out to make himself look good or to put on a false front — he writes about his career triumphs, but also about his addictions, his fears, and his problems across the years. As a whole, Me is a look at a remarkable talent, his origins, his growth, and his impact.

As the book follows Elton’s life, mostly (but not always) chronologically, we learn about his childhood, his early interest in music and the major musical influences that inspired him, the struggle to make music into a viable career, and then the absolutely fortuitous circumstance that led to his partnership with Bernie Taupin. Together, the two wrote hit after hit, catapulting Elton into a level of superstardom that’s never really faded.

The memoir details the exhilarating elements of sudden fame — traveling by chartered plane, the parties, the limitless spending, the sex and cocaine — but also clearly shows how out of control his life became, until finally rehab and sobriety were the only options left. We’re also treated to his romance with his husband, after years of shallow relationships, and their road to parenthood.

Me isn’t all drama and tragedy by any means — there are some very, very funny stories in there, including being ultra-catty with Rod Stewart, as well as bittersweet memories of a strong friendship with John Lennon, and then the devastation of his loss. Elton speaks lovingly of his close friendship (and musical appreciation for) Freddie Mercury, and is practically reverential toward some of his musical heroes, such as Aretha Franklin and Leon Russell.

Elton is frank when it comes to showing himself at his worst — the drugs, the extravagance, the flings — but actually quite respectful toward those he’s had falling-outs with. When friendships or professional relationships disappoint, he describes what happens, but by no means engages in pettiness or tries to tear other people down.

The audiobook is mainly narrated by actor Taron Egerton, who plays Elton John in the movie Rocketman (which I haven’t seen yet, but absolutely want to), and Elton John himself narrates the opening and closing chapters. While it’s fun to hear Elton’s voice in these chapters, it’s actually much easier to listen to the rest of the book with Taron Egerton narrating, as his diction and speaking style is much crisper and easier to take in.

If you’re at all interested in Elton John’s life and career, then I highly recommend checking out his memoir. It’s warm, open, and above all, very entertaining. I found myself really moved in parts, and laughing out loud in others. Overall, Me gave me insight into a fascinating person, someone’s whose image I was familiar with, but whose life I knew next to nothing about. A terrific listening experience.

25Oct2023

Book Review: 10 Things That Never Happened (Material World, #1) by Alexis Hall

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: 10 Things That Never Happened
Series: Material World, #2
Author: Alexis Hall
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: October 17, 2023
Length: 432 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Fake amnesia. Real feelings? Real problems.

Sam Becker loves―or, okay, likes―his job. Sure, managing a bed and bath retailer isn’t exactly glamorous, but it’s good work and he gets on well with the band of misfits who keep the store running. He could see himself being content here for the long haul. Too bad, then, that the owner is an infuriating git.

Jonathan Forest should never have hired Sam. It was a sentimental decision, and Jonathan didn’t get where he is by following his heart. Determined to set things right, Jonathan orders Sam down to London for a difficult talk…only for a panicking Sam to trip, bump his head, and maybe accidentally imply he doesn’t remember anything?

Faking amnesia seemed like a good idea when Sam was afraid he was getting sacked, but now he has to deal with the reality of Jonathan’s guilt―as well as the unsettling fact that his surly boss might have a softer side to him. There’s an unexpected freedom in getting a second shot at a first impression…but as Sam and Jonathan grow closer, can Sam really bring himself to tell the truth, or will their future be built entirely on one impulsive lie?

Alexis Hall excels at FUNNY, and 10 Things proves it! I really enjoyed Boyfriend Material and Husband Material, and at the top of the reasons why is the quirky, hilarious voice the author gives the POV characters. 10 Things is not a direct sequel, but it inhabits an adjacent world (the Jonathan character here appears briefly as a wedding guest in one of the other books). No prior familiarity is needed — 10 Things is a quick, light read that’s very easy to get into.

Sam manages a branch of Splashes & Snuggles (and is the first to tell you what a horrible name that is) — a successful big-box retailer of bathroom and bedroom furnishings and supplies. One running gag is that Sam never fails to mention the full name of any product he refers to — a blanket is never just a blanket, but a Brentfords Super Ultra Soft Flannel Fleece. It’s kind of annoying and also totally hilarious when repeated enough times.

Sam’s management style leaves something to be desired, frankly. He’s exceptionally nice, which means he lets his employees take lots of time off, keeps on staff a walking disaster who regularly spills coffee on the most expensive display items, and (horrors!) routinely fails to upsell protection plans. When boss Jonathan (nicknamed by the staff His Royal Dickishness) summons him to the head office to discuss sales numbers and receive a sales coaching session, it’s a sign of impending doom.

After some awkward and unpleasant interactions, Jonathan fires Sam and makes it clear he intends to fire all of Sam’s team as well… but Sam, feeling intimidated, backs into a Nexa by MERLYN 8mm Sliding Door Enclosure (i.e., a shower) and ends up with a concussion. The concussion is accompanied by some initial confusion, so when Jonathan assumes it’s amnesia, Sam (making a really bad choice) decides to go along with it.

Granted, Sam has good intentions. By faking amnesia, he can pretend that he doesn’t remember being fired, and what kind of person would fire someone who just sustained a head injury in his own store? Sam has no one to take care of him, so naturally, Jonathan takes him back to his own home — a huge but sterile place — to give Sam time to recover. And as you’d expect, Sam gets to work on slowly but surely breaking through Jonathan’s icy demeanor.

To be clear, 10 Things is the grumpiest/sunshine-iest of grumpy/sunshine romances. Jonathan is presented as cold, mean, and uncaring (he didn’t get that nickname for no reason), and Sam really is a ball of sunshine. Sam is warm, funny, guided much more by kindness than by sense, and sets out to improve the lives of everyone around him, including (somewhat accidentally) inserting himself into Jonathan’s strained family relationships and forcing some Christmas cheer into Jonathan’s world.

The writing is super fun, including just wonderfully odd phrasing that made me laugh every time.

“Actually” — Anjad could hear a factual inaccuracy at eight hundred paces in a high wind — “that’s a misconception.”

“Is not.” Tiff is still pretty young, and she still goes to the is not/is too school of debate.

“Now how’d things go with Forest?”

“Badly.”

“Thanks. Very clarificationy.”

And if I was less pissed off at him than I am then I’d spend more time than I do reflecting on how much it must have sucked for him to live like that for, well, pretty much his whole life as far as I can tell. But I’m not less pissed off than I am, I’m exactly as pissed off as I am, so I mostly just feel sorry for myself.

“Besides, did you really think I go to sleep in a suit, so my pillows know who’s in charge?”

Right now, Bruno Mars is singing about how I’m amazing just the way I am, which is very sweet of him.

The plot itself is a little lightweight. I’m not sure I really understood the Sam/Jonathan relationship at its core — we’re shown how the two connect and how Sam gets past Jonathan’s iron exterior, but I’m not convinced that I believe it. It’s still very entertaining, but I never quite felt like I was reading about anything remotely real.

There’s backstory to both of their lives and current situations, and while we learn more about Jonathan’s upbringing early on, the reasons for Sam’s work and living arrangements aren’t explained until the very end of the book (95% according to my Kindle). That felt frustrating — it would have been helpful to understand Sam’s life from the start, rather than only knowing him through his actions as the story unfolds.

Still, despite the plot straining at times to make the case for why this couple should get together, it’s still a cute and very fun read. Did I buy Sam and Jonathan as a romantic pairing? Not really… but the overall story is so silly and the push/pull between the characters so entertaining that I had a really good time just going with the flow.

21Oct2023

Book Review: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Fourth Wing
Series: The Empyrean, #1
Author: Rebecca Yarros
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: May 2, 2023
Length: 528 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Enter the brutal and elite world of a war college for dragon riders from USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die

Unpopular opinion time: I liked Fourth Wing, but didn’t love it. Based on the hype, as well as its dominance of the bestseller lists, I guess I just expected… more.

In Fourth Wing, Violet Sorrengail is the youngest daughter of the feared General Sorrengail, who heads the Basgiath War College and also directly oversaw the execution of the members of a failed rebellion six years earlier. Violet’s older brother and sister both ended up as dragon riders, like their mother, but Violet — petite and with painful joints prone to injury — seemed destined to join the Scribe Quadrant, like her father. In fact, Violet longed to become a scribe, but after her father’s death, her mother had other plans for her.

Forced into the Rider Quadrant. Violet undergoes challenge after challenge, where failure means not merely disqualification from rider status, but death. Ultimately, as our heroine, it’s not surprising that she overcomes the odds, stays alive, and finds a way to triumph. Her journey from frail misfit to powerful rider and wielder of magic is a story of perseverance, strong allies, determination, and intelligence.

Meanwhile, Violet almost immediately becomes embroiled in a sort-of love triangle. She’s thrown together with her childhood best friend Dain, who cares for her but doesn’t seem to fully see her — but then there’s Xaden, the dangerous, fiercely attractive son of an executed rebel leader. Xaden is Violet’s wingleader, and Violet thinks he wants her dead. Or does he?

First, what I enjoyed about Fourth Wing:

DRAGONS: The dragons here are awesome. The rider candidates must be chosen by a dragon. Those not chosen to bond often end up dead. The dragons themselves are terrific characters, and (trying carefully not to give anything away), the dragons that feature in Violet’s story are particularly spectacular.
The overarching plot: Once the dragons enter the picture, the plot itself picks up and becomes engrossing. The challenges, Violet’s journey, the struggles, the dangers — all of it escalates and intensifies in the latter half of the book.
The hints at a larger story to tell: We only learn about the history of Navarre through what Violet sees and knows. What we do find out seems like it could be fascinating, but clearly there are secrets that she isn’t privy to.

My overall enjoyment of Fourth Wing was broken up by elements that either annoyed or distracted me.

Spoilers ahead!

My quibbles:

Info-dumping: Early on, to keep her mind off the life-threatening danger of her first challenge, Violet recites the history and geography of Navarre** in her head. It’s a strange way for readers to learn the basics, and in fact, felt too transparently like the author was saying, oh hey, I know y’all need to understand the backstory here, so I’m going to shoehorn it in while Violet’s in mortal danger.
World-building: Related to the point above, the world building is incomplete and unsatisfying. We get spoon-fed bits and pieces of information about the rebellion, about border skirmishes, about the continual threat to Navarre (and hence the need for an army of dragon riders), but it’s all a little loose and ill-defined.
Love triangle: Ugh. Need I explain this one? Fortunately, the triangular bit is resolved fairly easily, but the push-pull between the gorgeous bad boy and the (also gorgeous, but in a more expected way) boy next door feels very been there, done that. Is there any question at all about who wins in this equation? Not for a second.

Plus a few other issues that bothered me:

Is this YA? What even is this book? It’s on the adult fiction bestseller lists and is marketed as adult fiction. But honestly, it reads very heavily as YA. Other than the fact that the characters are in their 20s and that there are explicit sex scenes, this could be a variant on typical YA tropes: A magical school/college, the underdog discovering great powers, magical creatures, powerful adults forcing younger people to potentially fight to the death…

I found the writing good during action sequences, but then certain phrases and word choices pulled me straight out of the story — simply too modern to fit in a fantasy world:

Even the diagonal scar that bisects his left eyebrow and marks the top corner of his cheek only makes him hotter.

Sometime in the last year, Dain Aetos went from attractive and cute to gorgeous.

With a name like Sorrengail, I bet you were the first to volunteer this year.” “I was more like volun-told.”

And especially:

“I know, right?”

I think my biggest issue with Fourth Wing is the life-or-death stakes facing students in the Riders Quadrant. Every step of their journey — including their literal first steps, across a narrow parapet to gain access to the quadrant — has a strong risk of death involved. The stakes are explained as a winnowing process: Someone who lacks the physical skill and strength to survive the college is unlikely to be chosen by a dragon or to survive the intensity of riding, wielding channeled magical powers, and aerial combat.

Part of this winnowing includes the risk of death at the hands of fellow students: These people fight to hurt, to maim, and at times, to kill. And it’s all allowed, with few exceptions. Cross the parapet, or fall to your death. Win at sparring, or potentially have your neck snapped. Make it up the vertical obstacle course, or (again) fall to your death. As a certain other fantasy book puts it, you win or you die.

And I kept asking myself: Why? This is a county in a constant state of war. Why allow this waste of resources? If someone washes out as a rider, why is death the only option? After all, the college also includes training for healers, scribes, and infantry. Wouldn’t it make more sense to demote people to a different path rather than have so many of the country’s youth simply end up dead?

Quibbles aside, I did find myself — somewhat unwillingly — pulled into the story and unable to put this book down. After an uneven start, Fourth Wing hooked me by about the 30% mark, and of course, dragons make it all so much better.

The YA-but-with-sex nature of the storytelling and the success-or-death stakes continued to bother me throughout, but once I stopped paying attention to these annoyances and just went with the plot, it really flowed. I enjoyed the character development, the battle scenes, and especially, Violet and the interplay with dragons.

The book has an extremely open-ended ending — it just stops, and nothing is tied up. As the first in a series, I suppose that’s not too surprising, but I still wasn’t expecting it when I turned to the next page after a cliff-hanger chapter ending and saw that I was done. Fortunately, the next book in the series, Iron Flame, will be released in early November — and according to Goodreads, there are expected to be five books in all.

Hopefully, the next book(s) will expand on the world-building and add more structure and information to what we already know. I may have had mixed feeling about Fourth Wing, but I certainly want to see what happens next! As of now, I’m definitely planning to read Iron Flame as soon as I can get my hands on a copy.

*Iron Flame: Release date November 7, 2023*

**Reading note: I read Fourth Wing in Kindle format. There’s a map of Basgiath provided at the start, which is somewhat helpful. BUT, when I visited a bookstore this week after finishing the book and happened to pick up a hardcover edition (because PRETTY), I saw that the end papers include a map of Navarre and its surrounding areas. That would have been so helpful to have before reading the book!! Why isn’t it included in the Kindle edition? Here’s an image (via Amazon) of the inside cover of Fourth Wing — haven’t found an officially available PDF of the map online yet, although plenty of fan sites and Etsy sellers have copies available.

20Oct2023

Book Review: The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Bell in the Fog
Author: Lev AC Rosen
Publisher: Forge Books
Publication date: October 10, 2023
Length: 261 pages
Genre: Historical fiction/mystery
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

The Bell in the Fog , a dazzling historical mystery by Lev AC Rosen, asks―once you have finally found a family, how far would you go to prove yourself to them?

San Francisco, 1952. Detective Evander “Andy” Mills has started a new life for himself as a private detective―but his business hasn’t exactly taken off. It turns out that word spreads fast when you have a bad reputation, and no one in the queer community trusts him enough to ask an ex-cop for help.

When James, an old flame from the war who had mysteriously disappeared, arrives in his offices above the Ruby, Andy wants to kick him out. But the job seems to be a simple case of blackmail, and Andy’s debts are piling up. He agrees to investigate, despite everything it stirs up.

The case will take him back to the shadowy, closeted world of the Navy, and then out into the gay bars of the city, where the past rises up to meet him, like the swell of the ocean under a warship. Missing people, violent strangers, and scandalous photos that could destroy lives are a whirlpool around him, and Andy better make sense of it all before someone pulls him under for good.

Last year’s Lavender House was an unexpected delight — a taught, page-turning mystery set in the bad old days of 1950s San Francisco, a time especially dangerous for a closeted gay cop whose life is almost destroyed after he’s brutally outed.

In The Bell in the Fog, we continue the story of Andy Mills, now an ex-cop working as a private investigator from his office and apartment located above Ruby’s, a gay nightclub whose owner decides to give Andy a home and a chance at a fresh start. Andy is trying to pay his way and establish himself as a detective, but it’s hard to earn the trust of the wary gay community, which has every reason to mistrust and fear the police.

When Andy’s ex-lover from his Navy days shows up in his office, his life gets even more complicated, as unwelcome memories and feelings bubble up from his past. James is now a naval officer up for promotion, but he’s being blackmailed by a casual lover and has everything to lose. Reluctantly, Andy accepts the case, and is soon immersed in the search for a missing person, the blackmail photos, and the person pulling the strings.

Author Lev AC Rosen once again expertly manages to tell a compelling, intricate mystery story while also painting a picture of a particular time and place in history. Through Andy’s experiences, we see the sharply dangerous life of the underground gay community as well as the joys and love of found family. The mystery itself is well-constructed, with danger, plenty of red herrings, and plot twists galore.

The range of people that Andy interacts with presents yet another view into the time period, as we get to know drag performers, closeted lovers, wannabe stars, and various allies and enemies. Andy himself is a wonderful character, carrying the weight of past persecution and guilt, looking to rebuild a life, and figuring out where he fits in in his new chosen community. I loved seeing the through-lines and connections to Lavender House, and enjoyed Andy’s ongoing soul-searching and journey toward strength and self-acceptance.

Overall, The Bell in the Fog is a terrific mystery as well as a moving portrait of gay life in the 1950s. It’s a page-turner with heart — highly recommended! I hope there will be much more to come in this series.

12Oct2023

Audiobook Review: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Starter Villain
Author: John Scalzi
Narrator: Wil Wheaton
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: September 29, 2023
Print length: 264 pages
Audio length: 8 hours 5 minutes
Genre: Science fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.

Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.

First things first: Don’t be fooled by the cover. There are no cats wearing suits in this novel.

However, there are cats, and they are important, and they are amazing. Also, the author dedicates the novel to his own cats… so there you have it: Starter Villain is decidedly pro-cat. And it’s awesome.

In Starter Villain, Charlie Fitzer has been laid off from his journalism job, works as a substitute teacher, lives in a house he co-owns with his half-siblings (who all want to sell it), and hangs out with his cat Hera. He dreams of buying the local pub and making a go of it, but considering his lack of money or collateral, the chances of securing a small business loan are nil.

When Charlie’s long-estranged uncle Jake dies, it’s newsworthy, in that Jake was a multimillionaire who made his fortune in the exciting world of parking garage ownership. But it’s merely a blip for Charlie, who hasn’t seen his uncle since he was five years old.

Charlie’s life takes a turn for the weird and interesting when he’s left a bequest from Jake, conditional on Charlie standing up to represent the family at Jake’s funeral. As Jake’s only living relative, and with a potential reward to look forward to, Charlie agrees. And then the funeral is filled up by thugs and flower arrangements with very angry and/or obscene messages attached, and Charlie starts to realize that his uncle’s life might have entailed a bit more than just those parking garages.

So yes, as the synopsis explains, it turns out that Uncle Jake was a supervillain, and as his heir, Charlie is now expected to fill his villainous shoes. (And yes, there is a volcano lair, which Charlie is super excited about).

With high stakes technology, evil overlords, and dolphins seeking fair representation, it’s an understatement to say that Starter Villain goes in unexpected directions. It’s fast, silly, and full of surprises (not to mention lots of cats), and is totally fun from start to finish.

“… I’m here on an island in the Caribbean, being told I need to talk to the dolphins in the middle of a labor action about some whales that might have torpedoes, armed by a secret society of villains who want access to a storeroom full of objects probably looted from the victims of the friggin’ Nazis and who are maybe willing to blow up my volcano lair to get it.”

I always love Scalzi’s books, and it’s clear the author himself is having a great time. Starter Villain does not take itself seriously for even a moment, and the result is peak sci-fi entertainment.

“Request delivery of the second target package on my mark.” Gratas looked at me and smiled. “Here it comes, Charlie,” he said.

“Request confirmed and denied,” the voice on the other end of the line said.

“Excuse me?” Gratas looked confused.

“Request confirmed and denied,” the voice repeated.

“You’re denying my request.”

“Confirm, we’re denying it.”

“You can’t deny it.”

“Your denial of our denial is confirmed and denied,” the voice said.

The audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton — he does such an amazing job with Scalzi’s books that even when I read them in print, I hear Wheaton’s voice in my head. He’s expressive and hilarious — and you have to admire a narrator who can pull off assassins, tech bros, and foul-mouthed dolphins quite so well.

Starter Villain was one of the books I was most looking forward to this year, and I’m happy to say that it absolutely lived up to expectations. This audiobook was a much-needed ray of sunshine this week. I loved it!

11Oct2023

Book Review: Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop
Author: Jenny Colgan
Publisher: Avon
Publication date: October 10, 2023
Print length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Your most delightful holiday read: the sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller The Christmas Bookshop, from beloved Scottish author Jenny Colgan.

Christmas comes early–far too early–to McCredie’s little Old Town bookshop in Edinburgh. It’s summer, but an American production company has decided that McCredie’s is the perfect location to film a very cheesy Christmas movie. After all, who can resist the charmingly narrow historic street with its Victorian grey stone buildings and warmly lit shop windows?

Carmen Hogan, the bookshop’s manager, is amused and a bit horrified by the goings-on, but the money the studio is paying is too good to pass up. She uses the little windfall from filming to create new displays and fend off a buyout offer from an obnoxious millionaire who wants to turn McCredie’s into a souvenir shop selling kilts made in China and plastic Nessies. Still reeling slightly from a breakup, Carmen’s not particularly looking forward to the holidays. But just as snow begins to fall and the lights of Christmas blink on, all sorts of lovely new possibilities present themselves…for McCredie’s bookstore, and for Carmen herself.

Jenny Colgan’s books are always a ray of sunshine, and this new book is no exception. While Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop is a follow-up to the 2021 novel The Christmas Bookshop, it can definitely be read on its own and enjoyed fully.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop is set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and centers around a musty old bookshop and its one and only staffperson, Carmen Hogan. Carmen ostensibly works for Mr. McCredie, the shop’s long-time owner, but he’d rather hide out way back in the stacks and read one of the thousands of rare and unusual books he has stashed away back there. Meanwhile, the shop’s finances are precarious, and a local businessman who specialized in tacky souvenirs is hoping to take over. Carmen has to find a way to keep out the Nessie keychains, save the shop, and convince Mr. McCredie to part with his favorite old books.

On top of the bookshop business, Carmen is also dealing with the bossy older sister she’s been crashing with for the past year (and who’d like her house back, thank you very much), as well as the heartbreak of having her boyfriend apparently not want to sleep with her and then depart for a science expedition on the other side of the globe. Between her housing woes, sisterly spats, and romance sorrows, Carmen needs at least her work to go well, but it’s not looking too promising.

Obviously, even from just looking at the cover, it’s clear that this book is going to have a happy ending. What kind of Christmas book would it be otherwise? Still, it’s the fun of getting there that makes this a Jenny Colgan book. There’s quirky dialogue, precocious children, unusual local folks, a terrific setting, and all the Christmas cheer you could possibly hope for.

As I mentioned, this book works perfectly well as a stand-alone. Yes, if you’d read The Christmas Bookshop, you’d already be familiar with Carmen, her family, her boyfriend, and the basic situation… but honestly, you can also just dive right in to this new book without feeling lost.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop is sweet, funny, and warm-hearted. It makes for a nice reading break in the midst of more serious or darker reads… and definitely makes me yearn for a visit to Edinburgh, which the author describes in loving detail.

7Oct2023

Book Review: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch
Author: Melinda Taub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication date: October 3, 2023
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.

In this exuberant reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story from her own perspective. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves; Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.

But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat, and Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would you expect from a demon? And if you think Mr. Darcy was uptight about dancing etiquette, wait till you see how he reacts to witchcraft. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that when you’re a witch, promises have power . . .

Full of enchantment, intrigue, danger, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.

Who knew that we needed a witchy retelling of Pride and Prejudice? Just when I thought I’d had my fill of P&P retellings, along comes The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch to prove me wrong.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter must be a witch.

In her Scandalous Confessions, Lydia tells us what was really going on behind the scenes at Meryton, Brighton, and beyond. Lydia is a talented young witch, so inseparable from her beloved cat as a child that she eventually turned Kitty into her familiar — and Lydia’s magic was powerful enough to have the entire Bennet family believe that they had this additional daughter all along.

Lydia is bright and gifted, but with a flair for mischief. Fortunately, her aunt also is a witch, and teaches her spellcraft — a good thing, since Lydia never does seem to have the patience to develop the more expected skills of needlework or musical performance.

The arrival of the regiment in Meryton is a source of great fun and romance for the local girls, but Lydia’s life get significantly more complicated with the introduction of Wickham. Here, Wickham is a demon who inhabits the body of a formerly human man, and is the son of a major magical force who wants to “eat” the power of Lydia and other witches. But Lydia doesn’t give up easily, and she’s willing to fight to protect her beloved Kitty.

Narrated by Lydia as she writes an accounting of her adventures, this book is fast-paced, funny, and very clever. Lydia’s story follows the plot beats of P&P, but as told from Lydia’s perspective, there’s more going on behind the scenes than we might imagine. There’s adventure, danger, and plenty of spells, but also balls, garden clubs, and lots of flirtation with handsome and/or fortune-seeking soldiers.

The author weaves together the familiar storylines (plus a bit of Sanditon too) with a plot involving witchcraft, magical forces, cruel hexes, and clever twists. Lydia herself is such a fun character, and I loved seeing Kitty’s story unfold as well. Lizzy doesn’t appear in many scenes, but she’s always a presence from a distance, especially as Darcy gets caught up in the Wickham crisis and has problems with Georgianna to solve as well.

Remember, always, not to judge people too hastily, for everyone is living out a story of their own, and you only get to read the pages you appear on.

Smart, funny, and well plotted, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a perfect October read. Highly recommended!

6Oct2023

Audiobook Review: The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Wake-Up Call
Author: Beth O’Leary
Narrators: Jessie Cave, Lino Facioli
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: September 26, 2022
Print length: 368 pages
Audio length: 10 hours, 17 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley (eARC); audiobook purchased via Audible
Rating:

Two hotel receptionists–and arch-rivals–find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way.

It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.

The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel–and their jobs.

As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?

Beth O’Leary books have become must-reads for me over the past few years, and after last year’s The No-Show — an absolute 5-star read — I couldn’t wait to try her newest. The Wake-Up Call doesn’t quite hit the emotional highs (and depths) of the previous book, but it’s still a sweet, funny, enjoyable love story.

Izzy and Lucas have spent a year hating each other, which is inconvenient, seeing as they’re coworkers. They work together at the charming, iconic Forest Manor Hotel, a lovely place that’s seen better days. A ceiling collapse right before the holiday season leaves the hotel gasping its last breaths, and its well-meaning owners have little hope of saving the place once the new year rolls around.

Meanwhile, Izzy and Lucas spend their time bickering, shooting eye daggers at each other, and being as irritating as they possibly can. Once the hotel’s dire straits become clear, they’re forced to work together to try to find a miracle… and little by little, they’re also forced to admit that maybe all that burning hatred is really more like smoldering attraction and feelings of insecurity.

The plot is a little on the thin side — I mean, it’s quite obvious that Izzy and Lucas will get together. It’s also obvious that the root cause of their hatred — a disastrous fight at the previous year’s Christmas party — was caused by a major misunderstanding. It takes them pretty much the whole book to figure this out, and meanwhile, they squabble, flirt, sabotage, and second-guess one another… and stay busy reprimanding themselves for catching feelings for the enemy.

The Wake-Up Call is lots of fun, despite the predictability of the overarching plot. The secret sauce here is how great Izzy and Lucas each are, how well their characters are shown over the course of the book, and how cute/funny/silly some of their escapades are.

In terms of the audiobook, however, it was a struggle for me at first. I just did not get on with the narrators right away. Particularly for Lucas’s chapters, I had a hard time understanding just what he was saying (the character is Brazilian, and the accent as Lucas made some of his dialogue and inner thoughts really challenging). I almost gave up on the audio, in fact, but ultimately ended up glad I stuck with it — after a while, I got used to the narrators’ voices and intonations, and managed to get into the rhythm and feel by the end.

Beth O’Leary’s books are always full of quirky, offbeat characters and situations, and The Wake-Up Call is another treat. While there are some more serious plot elements about family loss, grief, and mourning, the overall tone is cute and full of humor, and the chemistry between Izzy and Lucas simply sparkles.

The Wake-Up Call is a great pick for when you’re looking for something light and cheerful, and would also make a terrific choice when the winter holidays roll around.

Smiles guaranteed! Don’t miss it.