I recently read a science fiction duology from the gifted mind of Adrian Tchaikovsky, and I’m here to share some thoughts!
The Expert System’s Brother Length: 167 pages Published: 2018 Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
After an unfortunate accident, Handry is forced to wander a world he doesn’t understand, searching for meaning. He soon discovers that the life he thought he knew is far stranger than he could even possibly imagine.
Can an unlikely saviour provide the answers to the questions he barely comprehends?
In the first book, we meet Handry, a young man who lives in the village of Aro, where people work together, live in harmony, and follow the guidance of the Lawgiver. But those who don’t act as expected and who blow their chances to make amends are cast out through a process called Severance — and once severed, they don’t typically survive long.
When Handry is accidentally partially Severed, he’s forced out into the wilderness, where he learns startling truths about the origins of his world’s scattered villages.
This powerful story demonstrates how history becomes myth after enough time goes by, and how technology itself can take on the role of gods and ghosts for those who have no other context for its wonders.
Fascinating, start to finish!
The Expert System’s Champion Length: 194 pages Published: 2021 Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
It’s been ten years since Handry was wrenched away from his family and friends, forced to wander a world he no longer understood. But with the help of the Ancients, he has cobbled together a life, of sorts, for himself and his fellow outcasts.
Wandering from village to village, welcoming the folk that the townships abandon, fighting the monsters the villagers cannot—or dare not—his ever-growing band of misfits has become the stuff of legend, a story told by parents to keep unruly children in line.
But there is something new and dangerous in the world, and the beasts of the land are acting against their nature, destroying the towns they once left in peace.
And for the first time in memory, the Ancients have no wisdom to offer…
In this second novella, we’re taken back in history in interludes that provide a different view on the origins of humanity on this hostile planet. Meanwhile, Handry is now the leader of a group of outcasts, and what they encounter tests them physically and mentally.
The System Expert’s Champion introduces new elements to the setting introduced in the first novella, and adds in certain developments that verge on horror (pretty icky!). It’s all fascinating, though, and expands our understanding of both the past and future of human life on this planet.
Read together, these two novellas make an utterly immersive and compelling experience! The world is complex, alien, and dangerous, and while it takes a while to understand what’s happened to the people there and why their lives are the way they are, the answers that do emerge add up to an amazing payoff.
I’m trying to avoid saying too much about the plot or the reasons behind what happens — this is all best experienced fresh and without much information in advance.
What I can say is that Adrian Tchaikovsky is a gifted, creative writer and creator of worlds, and these two novellas are absolutely worth checking out.
Title: Lion’s Legacy Author: L. C. Rosen Series: Tennessee Russo, #1 Publisher: Union Square Co. Publication date: May 2, 2023 Length: 304 pages Genre: Young adult Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Seventeen-year-old Tennessee Russo’s life is imploding. His boyfriend has been cheating on him, and all his friends know about it. Worse, they expect him to just accept his ex’s new relationship and make nice. So when his father, a famous archaeologist and reality show celebrity whom he hasn’t seen in two years, shows up unexpectedly and offers to take him on an adventure, Tennessee only has a few choices: 1. Stay, mope, regret it forever. 2. Go, try to reconcile with Dad, become his sidekick again. 3. Go, but make it his adventure, and Dad will be the sidekick. The object of his father’s latest quest, the Rings of the Sacred Band of Thebes, is too enticing to say no to. Finding artifacts related to the troop of ancient Greek soldiers, composed of one-hundred-and-fifty gay couples, means navigating ruins, deciphering ancient mysteries, and maybe meeting a cute boy.
But will his dad let Tennessee do the right thing with the rings if they find them? And what is the right thing? Who does queer history belong to?
Against the backdrop of a sunlit Greek landscape, author L. C. Rosen masterfully weaves together adventure, romance, and magic in a celebration of the power of claiming your queer legacy.
If you read the synopsis above and thought “gay teen Indiana Jones”… you wouldn’t be far off! Lion’s Legacy is full of daring adventures, death-defying traps, and mind-boggling puzzles… all wrapped up in a story about finding community and reclaiming queer history.
Tennessee Russo (who goes by Ten) is the 17-year-old son of a high-profile reality TV star and archaeologist. Each season of the show focuses on Ten’s dad going off on a danger-filled quest to retrieve an ancient artifact. For two of the show’s most successful seasons, Ten accompanied his dad as his sidekick and cameraman, but he walked away from his dad and the show after a heated argument over the fate of the recovered relics.
Now, after a two-year absence, Ten’s dad is back to entice him into one more adventure, but Ten’s really not sure that he trusts his dad or wants to spend time with him. However, the timing is great — after getting cheated on and then dumped by his boyfriend, he’s ready to get away and get immersed in a new quest, and his dad couldn’t have picked a better one: They’re going off in search of the Sacred Band of Thebes.
Legend has it that this band of warriors was composed of 150 pairs of bonded/married gay lovers, who pledged themselves to one another in a sacred ceremony. Some say that the rings the pairs wore — the sacred bands — were more than just symbolic, and that they imparted magical strength and fighting abilities to the men who wore them. Of course, the naysayers say that the warriors were committed as a platonic band of brothers — no gay subtext here! — but Ten is convinced that the Sacred Band of Thebes represents a crucial piece of queer history, and he’s determined to bring it to light.
Author L. C. Rosen (who also writes as Lev AC Rosen, and is the author of such fantastic books as Depth and Lavender House) creates an adventure tale with heart in Lion’s Legacy. The quest itself is lots of fun, full of deadly arrows, rickety plane rides, narrow cliffs, and spurting bursts of fire (plus a very cute local boy to act as translator). But what really makes this book stand out is the emphasis on reclaiming queer history, and how that shared history creates community and connection. The messaging is positive and lovely, and I really enjoyed how deeply Ten thinks about these things and expresses what it all means to him.
There’s also serious consideration given to issues around artifacts and where they belong — whether treasure hunters like Ten’s dad are committing thievery by finding these relics and selling them to the highest bidder… or whether such pieces should go to high-paying museums because they’re the ones most likely to keep them both safeguarded and available to the public, rather than hidden away in someone’s storage room forever. Through Ten, we’re shown the different sides of the issues, and also through Ten, are shown how someone committed to doing the right thing can also come up with creative and meaningful solutions.
Overall, Lion’s Legacy is a terrific adventure story with strong messages and very positive queer representation, and would make a great and very welcome addition to any young adult library shelf. This book is apparently the first in a series, and I look forward to seeing where Ten’s adventures take him next.
Title: The Matchmaker’s Gift Author: Lynda Cohen Loigman Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Publication date: September 20, 2022 Length: 320 pages Genre: Contemporary/historical fiction Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
From Lynda Cohen Loigman, the bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters, comes a heartwarming story of two extraordinary women from two different eras who defy expectations to utilize their unique gift of seeing soulmates in the most unexpected places in The Matchmaker’s Gift.
Is finding true love a calling or a curse?
Even as a child in 1910, Sara Glikman knows her gift: she is a maker of matches and a seeker of soulmates. But among the pushcart-crowded streets of New York’s Lower East Side, Sara’s vocation is dominated by devout older men—men who see a talented female matchmaker as a dangerous threat to their traditions and livelihood. After making matches in secret for more than a decade, Sara must fight to take her rightful place among her peers, and to demand the recognition she deserves.
Two generations later, Sara’s granddaughter, Abby, is a successful Manhattan divorce attorney, representing the city’s wealthiest clients. When her beloved Grandma Sara dies, Abby inherits her collection of handwritten journals recording the details of Sara’s matches. But among the faded volumes, Abby finds more questions than answers. Why did Abby’s grandmother leave this library to her and what did she hope Abby would discover within its pages? Why does the work Abby once found so compelling suddenly feel inconsequential and flawed? Is Abby willing to sacrifice the career she’s worked so hard for in order to keep her grandmother’s mysterious promise to a stranger? And is there really such a thing as love at first sight?
I’m not always a fan of dual timelines in historical fiction, but in the case of The Matchmaker’s Gift, this approach absolutely works.
In one timeline, we follow the story of Sara Glickman, a woman who emigrates to the United States in 1910 with her family, settling on New York’s Lower East Side. Sara realizes at age 10 that she has an unusual gift — she can “see” when two people are a match. First, she helps her sister find her bashert (soulmate, destined true love, the one that’s meant to be), and soon after, realizes she can see these connections for others as well.
The shadchanim (matchmakers) of the New York Jewish community are outraged — a young, unmarried girl has no business meddling in their business and potentially stealing their customers and their income. Sara swears to her father that she’ll give up matchmaking, but she’s unable to entirely ignore her calling and the good that she brings about.
In the other timeline (in the 1990s), we meet Sara’s granddaughter Abby, an associate in a prestigious divorce law firm who grew up scarred by her own parents’ divorce and is determined to make sure other women have the support her own mother lacked. When Abby learns of her beloved grandmother’s death, she’s grief-stricken — but she’s also inspired by Sara’s journals, which provide meticulous records of all the matches Sara made over the years. She’s also a little freaked out, though, when she starts seeing the same sort of connections that her grandmother once saw.
There’s so much to love about The Matchmaker’s Gift. In Sara’s part of the story, not only do we get to know what a strong and dedicated person she is, but we also get a beautifully written depiction of life in the Jewish community of the Lower East Side in the early 20th century. The characters, the environment, the traditions — all are brought lovingly to life.
Abby’s storyline, while more modern and perhaps less picturesque, still vibrates with a sense of New York in that time period. Abby interacts with characters from various walks of life through her work and through unexpected connections that come about after her grandmother’s passing, and it’s fascinating to see all the various ways that these people intersect and overlap.
I was particularly moved when Abby discovers that Sara came back to her matchmaking vocation in the postwar years of the late 1940s, when rabbis came to her to ask her help with making sure the Jewish people could survive after the devastation of the Holocaust. Sara saw it as her mission to bring together refugees and survivors, and it’s so powerful to read about. In fact, I wish this section of the story was explored in more detail — it’s not central to the plot, more something that’s filled in as a piece of Sara’s history, but it’s really beautiful.
Also very powerful is the information that later on in her life, Sara’s gift occasionally led her to see damaged connections, allowing her recognize an abusive marriage and help the woman escape and start over. Again, I might have liked to see more of this element of Sara’s gift, but the fact that’s it’s included at all made a big impression.
On a funny note, reading this book made me think of the Netflix series Jewish Matchmaking, and in the author’s notes, she mentions having consulted with Aleeza Ben Shalom — who is the host of the Netflix series!
Overall, I found The Matchmaker’s Gift to be very readable, engaging, and touching. Highly recommended!
Hosted by The Classics Club blog, the Classics Club Spin is a reading adventure where participants come up with a list of classics they’d like to read, number them 1 to 20, and then read the book that corresponds to the “spin” number that comes up. This will be my 6th time participating — although for the Classics Club, it’s spin #34!
Here are the dates and guidelines from the host blog:
On Sunday 18th, June, we’ll post a number from 1 through 20. The challenge is to read whatever book falls under that number on your Spin List by the 6th August, 2023.
We’ll check in here on Sunday the 6th August to see who made it the whole way and finished their spin book!
What’s Next?
Go to your blog.
Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.
Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Sunday, 18th June.
We’ll announce a number from 1-20.
Read that book by 6th August.
I love doing these spins! I rarely do reading challenges, but I’m happy to make an exception for the Classics Club Spin. It’s such a great way to get me to read classics that I’ve always meant to get to, and the randomness of it all makes it feel extra fun. Once again, I’m mostly sticking with the same list as before, minus the books I’ve already read, but also swapping out a couple I’m less interested in for other classics on my master list.
And now for the good stuff…
Here’s my list of 20 classics for the next Classics Club Spin:
Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne DuMaurier
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Peony by Pearl Buck
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Passing by Nella Larsen
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Wish me luck! I’ll post again on Sunday once the spin results are announced!
Title: Ten Thousand Stitches Series: Regency Faerie Tales #2 Author: Olivia Atwater Publisher: Orbit Publication date: July 19, 2022 Length: 250 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Library
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Regency housemaid Euphemia Reeves has acquired a faerie godfather. Unfortunately, he has no idea what he’s doing.
Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. There’s only one problem; Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke’s heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favourite jacket.
Effie has heard rumours about what happens to those who accept help from faeries, but life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now, she has one hundred days – and ten thousand stitches – to make Mr Ashbrooke fall in love and propose. . . if Lord Blackthorn doesn’t wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie’s greatest obstacle might well prove to be Lord Blackthorn’s overwhelmingly good intentions.
From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a whimsical fantasy romance with a Cinderella twist. Pick up TEN THOUSAND STITCHES, and dive into another enchanting faerie tale set in Olivia Atwater’s charming, magical version of Regency England!
In Ten Thousand Stitches, we meet hardworking housemaid Euphemia Reeves, who toils day and night to do the bidding of the awful Lady Culver. The work is never-ending and exhausting, and whenever a servant leaves (or is fired), the others simply must pick up the slack. Effie is tired, and she’s angry too — she and her friends below stairs are, at best, viewed as part of the furniture. When Lady Culver learns that a rival now has French maids, she decrees that her own maids must be French too, and promptly gives them all new names. Effie is furious — the servants count for so little that even their names are not their own.
But when Effie meets Benedict, the younger brother of Lord Culver, her world shifts sharply. He initially mistakes her for a lady, and wows her with his brief attention and kindness. Of course, later as she’s serving at a fancy ball, he looks right past her and doesn’t recognize her at all. Effie is sure that this is the man she loves, and she feels in her heart that if only she were a lady, he’d love her too.
Enter Lord Blackthorn. The kind-hearted faerie has become enamored with the idea of English virtue, and has been told that the way to attain English virtue is by helping the helpless and punishing the wicked. Who could be more helpless than downtrodden Effie? Lord Blackthorn offers her a glamour by which she’ll look and sound like a lady, and soon she finds herself moving in polite society, gaining the attention of the upper crust and getting closer and closer to Benedict’s heart.
But the more Effie sees, the more she questions her goals and desires. It also turns out that there’s a hint of magic in her fine sewing — when she sews, she imbues her stitches with her emotions… and given how angry she’s been, soon there’s a plague of anger amongst the servants.
In the world of Ten Thousand Stitches, anger is a good thing, because it leads to action. In fact, what we have here is a labor movement! Thanks to the anger Effie inadvertently spreads, the workers of the household reach the boiling point and then some, and ultimately demand action. It’s quite fun to see organized labor in a fantasy story!
The faerie tale elements work well, and while the outcome is expected, it’s quite a lark to see how we get there. Effie is a terrific main character, and I appreciate the author’s spotlight on class divisions in the world of fairy tale romances. As the author points out in her notes at the end, fairy tales with downtrodden main characters often reveal that the heroine is really a princess or lady in hiding — Cinderella herself is high-born, forced into servitude by cruelty and bad luck. But why are low-born servants treated as invisible and deemed unworthy? Why can’t a housemaid deserve her own happily ever after?
I really enjoyed Ten Thousand Stitches. It’s a bit lighter than Half a Soul, but offers some truly satisfying comeuppance for the nasty folks and great endings for the good guys. It was fun to get a glimpse of a couple of characters from Half a Soul — the books are companion pieces set in the same world, rather than connected stories, so it’s not necessary to read them in a particular order.
For anyone looking for some light fantasy entertainment — with a social conscience — the books of the Regency Faerie Tales are great choices!
I also ended up reading The Latch Key, a novella set in the world of the Regency Faerie Tales that takes place after the events of Half a Soul. This novella provides a backstory for Elias, and is worth checking out. (As far as I can see, The Latch Key is only available by signing up for the author’s newsletter, here.)
My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.
Life.
On the mend…
Four COVID cases later, my entire household is starting to feel better. I felt close to normal on Friday, then went back downhill on Saturday and Sunday… but I know it’s a slow process, and I’m trying to be patient, get lots of rest, and drink as much tea as possible! I’d planned to go back to my regular work schedule as of today (Monday) — remotely, of course — but that’s looking kind of iffy at this point.
In cuteness news…
We have a new house guest!
Meet Benji! (Formally known as Benji Bean, in case you’re ever looking to be introduced). My son and his girlfriend adopted Benji about a week and a half ago, right as we all started getting sick… so instead of moving back to her place as planned, Benji is staying here until everyone is healthy and ready to be out in the world again.
Look at that adorableness! I’m not hating it.
What did I read during the last week?
One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris: Read the previous week, but just posted a review, here.
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon: Positive contemporary romance with a strong emphasis on women’s friendship. My review is here.
The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley: Amazing road trip adventure! My review is here.
Wolfsong (Green Creek, #1) by TJ Klune: There are no words for how much I loved this book. I think I’ll be under its spell for quite a while. My review is here.
Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales, #2): Another fun faerie story. Review to follow.
Pop culture & TV:
Has anyone watched With Love on Prime Video? Somehow it escaped my notice until now, but it’s such a fun, heartwarming series. There are now two seasons (eleven episodes total), focusing on the members of a large Mexican-American family and their ups and downs. It’s funny, romantic, and totally engaging. I hope there’s more to come! (Although I also hope they ditch the love triangle that’s been dragging on… so annoying!)
Fresh Catch:
One new physical review books, plus once again I succumbed to the temptation of adding to my (overwhelmingly huge) Kindle library:
Puzzle of the week:
Really pretty one this week, and it went very quickly too!
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman: My book group’s pick for June. Just getting started.
Now playing via audiobook:
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren: The library happened to have a copy available for download right when I was ready for something new. Looking forward to it!
Ongoing reads:
My longer-term reading commitments:
With a new group classic read starting next week, I’ll have two ongoing reads to keep me busy:
Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon: Over at Outlander Book Club, we’re doing a group read of BEES, reading and discussing two chapters per week. Coming up this week: Chapters 134 and 135 (of 155).
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: We’re starting our group read next week, two chapters per week. Sounds like it will be great!
Title: The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise Author: Colleen Oakley Narrator: Hillary Huber Publisher: Berkley Publication date: March 28, 2023 Print length: 337 pages Audiobook length: 9 hours 59 minutes Genre: Contemporary fiction Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.
One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her. Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle, and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon. Bottom line — Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.
The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting that they leave town immediately?
Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.
If you’re hankering for a road trip adventure with two amazing women, look no further! The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise is funny, sassy, and a total joy ride.
Tanner is aimless and mad at the world. Louise is fed up with people who think they know what’s best for her. Tanner thinks Mrs. Wilt is a weird old lady who lives in a boring house, and Louise thinks Tanner is amazingly useless — who can play video games that many hours a day?
But when circumstances force them to flee in the night (although Tanner doesn’t really know why), the two team up and go on the lam. Their goal? Avoid getting caught, and make it to California before Louise’s past potentially catches up to her and people she cares about. And as the two tear up the miles (in Louise’s vintage Jaguar!), they start to find common ground, and maybe even common purpose.
This book is such a delight! Tanner and Louise are both sharp, tough characters who’ve had their share of disappointments. Put them together, and their initial annoyance and irritation eventually turns into grudging respect, even amusement and eventually real friendship and affection.
Their hijinks on the road are often silly, sometimes risky, but always a ton of fun. The author keeps us guessing — just when we think we’ve figured it all out, some new twist gets thrown in and changes everything.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Hillary Huber, and it was oodles of fun. The narrator gives Louise and Tanner such distinct voices, and I loved their banter so much. In my opinion, audio is the way to go!
This book is just such a delight, and by the end, I was absolutely in love with the characters — especially Louise, who is much more of a kickass hero than you might expect of an 84-year-old woman with a broken hip! The plot is fast-paced, the writing is light and humorous, and the characters are totally charming to spend time with.
Title: Wolfsong Series: Green Creek Author: TJ Klune Publisher: Tor Books Publication date: July 4, 2023 (originally published 2016) Length: 528 pages Genre: Fantasy Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
The Bennett family has a secret. They’re not just a family, they’re a pack. Wolfsong is Ox Matheson’s story.
Oxnard Matheson was twelve when his father taught him very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was sixteen when the energetic Bennett family moved in next door, harboring a secret that would change him forever. The Bennetts are shapeshifters. They can transform into wolves at will. Drawn to their magic, loyalty, and enduring friendships, Ox feels a gulf between this extraordinary new world and the quiet life he’s known, but he finds an ally in Joe, the youngest Bennett boy.
Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his heart. Violence flared, tragedy split the pack, and Joe left town, leaving Ox behind. Three years later, the boy is back. Except now he’s a man – charming, handsome, but haunted – and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.
The beloved fantasy romance sensation by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, about love, loyalty, betrayal, and family.
The Green Creek Series is for adult readers.
Have you ever finished a book and not wanted to start anything else, because you wanted to stay in that fictional world just a while longer?
That’s me and Wolfsong.
While powering through this 500+ page book, dying to see what was next and what was still to come, part of me just didn’t want to finish… because then what? This world, these characters… I think they’ve ruined me for other fiction. At least for now.
First, some basics about the book: We meet the main character, Ox Matheson, at age twelve, and spend quite a bit of time with him as he struggles through his adolescent and teen years, so for the first 30% or so of this book, you might assume this is a coming-of-age YA fantasy. It’s not. Helpfully, the synopsis states that this series is for adult readers. Later in the book, there are two very explicit adult sex scenes, and there are several graphic, gory scenes of violence that are not for young readers. Neither of these aspects are gratuitous in the slightest, but readers should be aware that the statement about adult content is accurate.
Wolfsong was originally published in 2016, and is the first in a 4-book series, now being reissued by Tor Books with beautiful new hardcover editions. After TJ Klune’s bestselling breakthrough with The House in the Cerulean Sea, there’s renewed interest in his earlier works, and I’m so grateful that the Green Creek books will get wider attention now. Wolfsong releases in July and book 2, Ravensong, in August. Books 3 and 4, Heartsong and Brothersong, will be released in 2024.
Where to even begin to describe the beauty and wonder of Wolfsong?
Ox is twelve when his father leaves him and his mother, and the father’s parting shots — that Ox is stupid and will never amount to anything — leave their mark. Ox is a loner, living in a small house in the woods in the tiny town of Green Creek, Oregon. His mother is loving and works hard to create a home for Ox, and he finds connection at the auto shop where his father used to work, where the owner Gordo agrees that he can help out, and where Ox finds a home of sorts with Gordo and his crew.
When Ox is sixteen, his life is upended while walking home along the dirt road one day, when a small boy bursts from the woods and changes everything. Talking a mile a minute, the 10-year-old “tornado”, as Ox thinks of him, clambers up Ox’s large back and brings him home to his family in the old, formerly abandoned house down the lane.
As young Joe Bennett exclaims to his parents and brothers:
You gotta smell him and then tell me why it’s all candy canes and pinecones and epic and awesome
Ox is introduced to the magnificent Bennett family, who welcome him with open arms and with a love and affection that he doesn’t quite understand. It’s only later that Ox discovers that the Bennett family is also the Bennett pack — a deeply-rooted, powerful, respected family of werewolves whose territory is Green Creek. Father Thomas is the Alpha, and although Ox doesn’t know why, Thomas sees something in Ox. (I mean, we readers get that Ox is wonderful and loving and “epic and awesome”, but Ox has a hard time believing it about himself).
The entire family loves Ox, but for Joe, Ox is a guardian and friend and brother and place of safety. Over the years, Ox and Joe both grow up, and Ox comes to learn much more about the secrets of Joe’s past and and what his own role is in protecting and nurturing Joe.
There’s so much more to the story, and it just has to be experienced. TJ Klune’s writing is powerful, funny, emotional — often all within the same page or chapter. I noted in my Kindle highlights that at 30% I was laughing hysterically over a particularly awkward, cringey, funny courtship scene… only to be sobbing and feeling like my heart had been ripped out at the 40% mark.
Truly bad things happen, and the writing is so visceral that I could feel Ox’s anger, pain, helplessness, and grief. The storytelling makes the reader FEEL everything, and the highs and lows can be breathtaking and painful.
As is probably obvious, I loved this book so much. The dynamic between Ox and Joe changes over the years, and it’s fascinating to see how their relationship changes at the different phases of their lives.
There was never anyone else for me. Because even if you couldn’t hear me when I called for you, the howl in my heart was always meant for you.
Another element I loved is the pack as a whole, the love and bond between the pack members, the mind to mind connection (PackLoveBrotherSon), the casual physical connection (these wolves always touch and sleep in heaps together, even in human form), and the absolute trust and devotion they share. The bonds are complex and become tangled, but no matter what, they’re also quite beautiful.
Wolfsong is a long, complicated book with love at its core. There is deep pain but also moments of wonder and joy, and the writing is evocative and profoundly affecting. I will be thinking about Wolfsong for a long time to come, and have a feeling that this is a book I’ll continue to pull off my shelf and leaf through for the simple pleasure of revisiting favorite passages and scenes.
My intention had been to wait for the new editions of each book in the series to be released before reading them… but since the original editions are already out there and available, I’m really not sure that I can stand to hold off. I love the world of Green Creek so much, and feel the next book in the series calling (howling?) for me.
If you love Jasmine Guillory, Abby Jimenez and Talia Hibbert, you’ll LOVE Farrah Rochon!
What happens when three women discover, thanks to the live tweeting of a disastrous date, that they’ve all been duped by the same man? They become friends of course!
Samiah Brooks never thought she would be ‘that’ girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah – along with his two other ‘girlfriends’, London and Taylor – have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status…
For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?
This book (and the trilogy as a whole) had been highly recommended to me, and I finally had a chance to dive in this week… and found it just the positive, friendship-centric romance that I needed.
In The Boyfriend Project, discovering a boyfriend is a cheater and a scammer is a blessing in disguise, as it brings together Samiah, Taylor, and London, three amazing women who have had terrible luck in finding worthy romantic partners. They’re each talented, smart, caring individuals, but somehow, the dating market in Austin seems to lead them nowhere.
After their confrontation with the cheater goes viral, the three connect and bond, and decide to devote the next six months to their own personal goals without the distraction of looking for a man. For Samiah, who has the starring role in this book, it means carving time out of her already busy life to focus on the app she’s dreamed of launching, although she already works around the clock at her demanding but fulfilling tech job.
Complications arise when she meets her company’s newest hire, Daniel, who’s clearly smitten with Samiah. What she doesn’t know — but we readers do — is that Daniel isn’t who he appears to be. Through chapters told from Daniel’s perspective, we learn that he’s a federal agent working undercover to bust a money laundering scheme running through Samiah’s company. He knows better than to get involved while on a case… but there’s no denying the connection the two feel, or their amazing chemisty.
The Boyfriend Project works well as a romance, but it’s also a terrific celebration of women’s friendship and the power it provides. I loved the way Samiah, Taylor, and London come together after their discovery of how they’d all been catfished — no cattiness or blaming, but instant support, empathy, and a shared sense of humor and encouragement. Taylor and London are supporting characters in this book, but I know that they each get their own starring roles in the other books in the trilogy, and I’m so looking forward to spending time with each of them.
I could quibble with a few elements of the book (and, okay, I will), but really these are essentially minor issues:
A little too much time spent on the tech details — I suppose it lends authenticity to Samiah’s work, but I didn’t need quite so much of the specifics.
Ditto for the details of the money laundering scheme. I’m not sure it all made sense, and maybe it’s meant to give substance to Daniel’s work, but this part of the story felt like a detour from the romantic plot (and mood), and I just wasn’t interested in the crime story aspects.
The sex scenes are graphic (per my steam factor ratings), which I can abide even though it’s not my preferred approach… but some of the writing in these scenes was just too cringey.
None of these quibbles stopped me from enjoying the book as a whole, and I still look forward to continuing the series.
Overall, The Boyfriend Project does a great job of keeping friendship at the forefront, even while focusing on the romance and the ups and downs involved with Samiah and Daniels’ story.
Title: One Summer in Savannah Author: Terah Shelton Harris Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Publication date: July 4, 2023 Length: 464 pages Genre: Contemporary fiction Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
A compelling debut that glows with bittersweet heart and touching emotion, deeply interrogating questions of family, redemption, and unconditional love in the sweltering summer heat of Savannah, as two people discover what it means to truly forgive.
It’s been eight years since Sara Lancaster left her home in Savannah, Georgia. Eight years since her daughter, Alana, came into this world, following a terrifying sexual assault that left deep emotional wounds Sara would do anything to forget. But when Sara’s father falls ill, she’s forced to return home and face the ghosts of her past.
While caring for her father and running his bookstore, Sara is desperate to protect her curious, outgoing, genius daughter from the Wylers, the family of the man who assaulted her. Sara thinks she can succeed—her attacker is in prison, his identical twin brother, Jacob, left town years ago, and their mother are all unaware Alana exists. But she soon learns that Jacob has also just returned to Savannah to piece together the fragments of his once-great family. And when their two worlds collide—with the type of force Sara explores in her poetry and Jacob in his astrophysics—they are drawn together in unexpected ways.
One Summer in Savannah is a difficult book to describe. It’s the story of Sara, a woman in her mid-20s who swore she’d neve return to her home town of Savannah. At age 18, she was raped and then vilified at the trial that convicted the rapist, the gifted son of a very powerful old-money family. Upon discovering that she was pregnant, Sara fled to a state that doesn’t allow rapists parental rights and kept her daughter’s existence a secret from the Wyler family. Eight years later, when Sara’s father is ill and has limited time left, she reluctantly returns, still intending to keep Alana hidden from the Wylers.
Meanwhile, Jacob — identical twin to Daniel, the rapist — also returns to Savannah. Daniel is dying of leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant, and although Jacob cut his entire family out of his life after the trial, he can’t deny his brother the help he desperately needs.
As Sara and Jacob encounter one another, she recognizes his kindness and his own painful past, and allows him to begin tutoring Alana, a genius who needs the inspiration and guidance that Jacob can provide. Sara and Jacob each navigate their own paths toward healing, seeking ways to move forward after pain and loss.
I have to be honest — at 30%, I was about ready to put the book down. The writing style did not especially work for me — very stilted in places, and then overly reliant on imagery and metaphor in others. Beyond that, there were plot elements that seemed jarring or unlikely, such as:
Sara’s father has spoken only in poetry since her childhood. I mean, ONLY in poetry. He conducts conversations by reciting lines of poetry that are relevant to the situation, and those who are close to him seem to be able to understand and parse his meaning.
There’s also the fact that the main character ends up falling in love with the identical twin of the man who raped her. Jacob is a lovely, wonderful person — but the relationship never truly felt believable.
Everyone in the book is super special. Sara becomes a poet; Jacob is an astrophysicist; Daniel, we are told, was destined for great things (his mother insists that he would have cured cancer, if not for that awful girl who told lies about him and ruined his life); and Alana is a genius who solves unsolvable math equations and taught herself three languages by the age of eight. It’s all a bit much.
Another complaint — there are plot points that are referred to, but not shown. For example, Jacob helps Sara’s father write a letter to Sara which has a huge emotional impact on her, but we don’t see the letter. Another example — Daniel gives a TV interview in which he owns up to what he’s done, but we only hear about it in passing, rather than getting to glimpse what he said.
Meanwhile, Daniel and his mother Birdie remain fairly terrible until close the end, when they both get a sort of redemption, but I’m not sure we saw enough to feel that they actually earned it.
Themes of redemption and forgiveness are dominant throughout the story, and some scenes are moving — but overall, this book just didn’t work well for me. Too many discordant notes, too many details that felt false, and a writing style that keeps the characters at a distance for much of the story.
Bookshelf Fantasies 