Review: The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

Title: The Clockmaker's Daughter
Author: Kate Morton
Genre: historical
Series: N/A
Pages: 608
Published: expected September 2018
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 4.25/5

My real name, no one remembers.
The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe's life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist's sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Told by multiple voices across time, The Clockmaker's Daughter is a story of murder, mystery and thievery, of art, love and loss. And flowing through its pages like a river, is the voice of a woman who stands outside time, whose name has been forgotten by history, but who has watched it all unfold: Birdie Bell, the clockmaker's daughter.

Kate Morton has long been a favorite, even amongst my top authors. As I have said before, her novels are masterpieces of narrative fiction.  They are intricate and executed with aplomb. I know an author is highly-prized to me when my reaction to their work is anything less than five-stars because it feels like both a surprise and just intrinsically wrong, somehow. But I have to admit that while The Clockmaker's Daughter contains nearly all the classic Morton hallmarks of a great read, this particular set of interwoven stories didn't resonate with me as much as almost all of her previous novels did. I still fell into her intricate style of storytelling eventually, but it wasn't as complete of an immersion; for once, this is a Morton that could stand to use a bit of editing down. In a six hundred page book, especially one so dependent on the slow reveal of authorial sleight of hand, the underdeveloped aspects of the story stand out in retrospect.

The tale of Birdie and Leonard and Elodie and Tip and all the others connected to the manor at Birchwood is by no means a "bad" book -- Morton isn't even capable of that with her weakest effort to date, 2015's The Lake House -- but the beginning of this lags, one of the POVs is rather dull and underdeveloped each time it's visited, and the addition of the supernatural elements detracted from the novel's other various strongpoints. Dense and slow-moving as is the author's usual style, the plot to The Clockmaker's Daughter takes a long time to engage the reader and even Kate's undeniable and present talents for atmosphere and mystery can't entirely compensate for it.

The cast is a myriad of characters with tangential connections to one another across time and distance. Their slowly revealed relationships make the pages spent interesting for the most part; Morton's quite adept at uncovering the hidden facets of people, this time those related to the mysterious photograph whose discovery incited all the ensuing revelations. Leonard is the exception to the rule; his chapters have emotional resonance but his voice is dull and the events he narrated aren't the most pivotal. Despite his relevance to both plot and other characters, he is a charisma void on the page. The supernatural additions of <spoiler>the 'Night of the Following' (maybe??) and even Birdie herself, charming as she was</spoiler> didn't work and also felt unnecessary. One could have been excised completely and the other could have featured in a more mundane sense. They felt like a rare misfire from an experienced author.

The Clockmaker's Daughter is the author's sixth to be so centered on dual timelines across history and connected to a mysterious house/manor/castle and each is unique gothic tale of secrets, family, and how the past lives on in the present.Though not the complete Morton experience possible and not without a few missteps in its hundreds of pages and several rotating POVs, The Clockmaker's Daughter is still a solidly good novel and with well-rendered characters, an enveloping atmosphere, a intriguing set of mysteries, and creative plotting tying it all together. It's a decent idea of what this author is capable of doing even if it left me craving a reread for the more polished The Distant Hours and The House at Riverton.

Blog Tour Review: Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi

Title: Star-Touched Stories
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Genre: fantasy
Series: The Star-Touched Queen #2.5
Pages: 304
Published: August 7 2018
Source: ARC via publishers for review
Rating: 4/5

Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Death and Night

He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes.

Poison and Gold

Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love.

Rose and Sword

There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth? 

These three short stories, set in the same magical and dangerous world as the author's full-length novels The Star-Touched Queen and its successor A Court of Wishes, are another window into the fertile imagination of Roshani Chokshi. Each is replete with the vibrant imagery and vivid writing that readers have come to appreciate in Chokshi’s verbose style. The writing itself can approach purple prose at times, but without ever crossing over; this is a flowery book full of ornate writing and Chokshi has the talent to pull it off with aplomb.

Though all the additions to Star-Touched Stories are creative, well-written and plotted, it is the first,‘Death and Night’, that is the best, and the sole one rated at a full five stars. All three make for a solid selection but Chokshi's clever, and often darkly humorous or just plain silly, look at the courtship between the god of death and goddess of night is the standout. A familiar story, and a prequel for the first novel, played out in fresh hands and with fresh eyes, there's inventiveness from start to finish as Chokshi weaves her unlikely but impossible to resist love story. It doesn't follow the expected path or fall into overdone tropes; watching Amar and Maya is still genuinely fun and seeing them meet is satisfying.

The second, 'Poison and Gold', is another strong offering; one a bit shorter but focused on flawed and yet likeable characters, relatable despite their less-than-mundane situations and abilities. The writing itself remains a standout throughout the pages, but Aasha's struggle to control her gift, control her fate is vividly rendered and easily empathized. 'Rose and Sword' is a another good short story, but even with the talents of varied Roshani Chokshi, felt a bit shortchanged in comparison to the sweeping romance of the first and the heartfelt emotion of the second. It was too short, too rushed of an ending. The unexpected glimmers of humor, usually unexpected, were another highlight of the entire collection.

An anthology that further explores the world that Maya introduced us to and Gauri further expanded on her own adventures, Star-Touched Stories is a glimpse at smaller lives within a large world. Key figures are shown and feature into the plots, but even the newcomers and side characters make an impression. The author's vivid storytelling, which is often so descriptive it verges on tangible, is ably suited to short-form as well as full-length novels. It was fun to revisit such a fantastical and unique world, even for a short time.

Review: Hullmetal Girls

Title: Hullmetal Girls
Author: Emily Skrutskie
Genre: science fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 320
Published: 2018
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2.5/5

Aisha Un-Haad would do anything for her family. When her brother contracts a plague, she knows her janitor's salary isn't enough to fund his treatment. So she volunteers to become a Scela, a mechanically enhanced soldier sworn to protect and serve the governing body of the Fleet, the collective of starships they call home. If Aisha can survive the harrowing modifications and earn an elite place in the Scela ranks, she may be able to save her brother.

Key Tanaka awakens in a Scela body with only hazy memories of her life before. She knows she's from the privileged end of the Fleet, but she has no recollection of why she chose to give up a life of luxury to become a hulking cyborg soldier. If she can make it through the training, she might have a shot at recovering her missing past.

In a unit of new recruits vying for top placement, Aisha's and Key's paths collide, and the two must learn to work together--a tall order for girls from opposite ends of the Fleet. But a rebellion is stirring, pitting those who yearn for independence from the Fleet against a government struggling to maintain unity.

With violence brewing and dark secrets surfacing, Aisha and Key find themselves questioning their loyalties. They will have to put aside their differences, though, if they want to keep humanity from tearing itself apart.

While I remain a big fan of this author and her apparently boundless and horrific imagination (that's a compliment, trust me) I found Hullmetal Girls to be maybe 2.5 stars out of 5 if I am being lenient. Maybe. I have to admit that I am disappointed by the lackluster effort that is her third novel. I expect big things from the mind behind The Abyss Surrounds Us and while this book has more than a few good ideas and a few clever science fiction angles, the messy execution of them makes it hard to stick around, much less immerse myself in Key and Aisha's POVs. 

This is a standalone so I understand the author didn't have the time of say her earlier duology to frame and fill her imagined world/starships, but there are many questions left about how the districts work; some subplots are woven into the gaps of the information but overall it's a patchy framework from which to hang a story. The setup of this space-dystopia is also unfailingly familiar to anyone whose read even just the Hunger Games. Skrutskie is usually brimming with originality and flair -- and while the second talent is on display with things like the Scela system, the "rich and poor numbered district' left much to be desired.

The worldbuilding is sink or swim when it comes to the hard scifi (and then comes the body horror, be prepared), but without enough information provided and the POVs felt indistinguishable. There is a definite uptick after about 65% in -- the story makes up somewhat for lost time by the end but it's not enough to entirely compensate. It takes a long time for basic details of Key and Aisha's life to be understood -- how the Scela work, what their function is within the ships, what the General Body means and how it ties into the story. It's clumsily rendered and often too late; I finished the novel because I was intrigued in one of the plots, but not due to any attachment to the characters themselves.

A swing and a miss for Skrutskie's third at bat, but I'll definitely be checking out her fourth.

 

Two Minute Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Title: The Kiss Quotient
Author: Helen Hoang
Genre: romance
Series: N/A
Pages: 336
Published: June 5 2018
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 5/5

A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

Wow -- a strong debut and a thoroughly wonderful surprise. This was just absolutely fun and one I didn't want to end though I gobbled it up in two great marathons of utter concentration. Nothing could divert me from Stella and Michael's slow-but-also-not courtship. From the start, it's authentic and engaging and focused on several often ignored perspectives with both sensitivity and care.  

The Kiss Quotient is romance done really well -- it's warm, funny, and the plot is driven by more than just superficial conflict. It's an impressive effort for a debut because the story hardly misses a step. The author may be new but she knows her way around a trope; how to use them, invert them (reverse Pretty Woman!) and how to create sexual tension.

The Kiss Quotient makes for a memorable and heartwarming read; one full of well-drawn characters in an engaging love story that brings the feels and the shipping. A promising debut and easily a full five-star read. It's just plain fun to read. This is one that will be visited again in the near future when I need a guaranteed winner.

Two Minute Review: Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

Title: Only Human
Author: Sylvain Neuvel
Genre: science fiction
Series: Themis Files #3
Pages: 352
Published: May 2018
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3/5

We always thought the biggest threat to humanity would come from the outside.

We were wrong.

As the human race picks up the pieces of destruction left behind, a new world order emerges. New alliances are formed. Old divisions are strengthened. And, with a power struggle fuelled by the threat of mutually assured destruction, nothing is certain.

At a time when the world's nations should have been coming together, they have never been more divided.

With the human race teetering on the brink of total war, Rose, Vincent and Eva must choose sides. But doing the right thing might mean making the ultimate sacrifice. 

Hmmm... I hate to damn with fain praise but this is a very lukewarm three stars. This is one novel that needed to sit and sink in before I was entirely sure how I felt about it. It's obvious that Sylvain Neuvel never does what you think he is going to -- or even what he might possibly do. He heads in entirely new directions with each successive novel, but I can't say that it worked very well for me in this last of his humans-meet-aliens trilogy. The first novel was an unparalleled success but neither of the followups matched that original level of imagination meets execution.

For a finale, specially for a series like this -- one that has been so creative and unpredictable... this was kind of underwhelming, I am not going to lie. This series started out so strongly and then.. kinda petered out more and more with both sequels. They each weren't bad taken on their own merit, but both Waking Gods a year ago and Only Human now definitely didn't have the vision and creativity of Sleeping Giants.

What I Haven't Been Reading: New DNFs

I've had a good run lately, but there are always a few.

Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald

While I did actually finish this looong book, I have so little so say upon finishing that it doesn't even really deserve a two-minute review post of its own.

The Black Witch by Laurie Feather -- hard pass after all the details have come out and her unrepentant stance since then.

The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger -- so long, so boring, so unoriginal.

Calling My Name by Liara Tamani -- personally my issues here but I didn't like the writing or the treatment of religion.

Brooding YA Hero by Carrie Ann DiRisio -- there's a reason that this makes for a good twitter account and not a good long-exposure. It's best suited to short burst of amusement; wears thin easily and quickly.

Two Minute Review: Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge

Title: Fly By Night
Author: Frances Hardinge
Genre: fantasy
Series: Fly By Night #1
Pages: 448
Published: 2006; March 14 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5

Twelve-year-old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.

Enter Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man who seems to love words nearly as much as Mosca herself. Soon Mosca and Clent are living a life of deceit and danger -- discovering secret societies, following shady characters onto floating coffeehouses, and entangling themselves with crazed dukes and double-crossing racketeers. It would be exactly the kind of tale Mosca has always longed to take part in, until she learns that her one true love -- words -- may be the death of her.

Mosca Mye burned down her uncle's mill when leaving town in the dead of night. While carrying a large, angry goose. With a man she doesn't know, who is on the run from the law, who she also set free to aid in her own escape from the drudgery of her homelife. It doesn't get much better from there for Mosca, Saracen (the goose), or Eponymous Clent (the escaped spy), but it does get highly entertaining. Fly By Night is a middle grade/early young adult novel but there is so much going on -- subtle hints, allusions, references, jokes, wordplay - that will make it readily appeal to readers of all ages and kinds.

Fly By Night is a dense and clever read; this is an author with a unique grasp on language and verbiage. In this world where books are illegal and dangerous to have, Hardinge takes pains to illustrate how that would affect a society and uses her urchin main character to subvert expectations. Granted, this version of Fahrenheit 451 runs a bit silly but it's consistently smart. The twists in the plot, the depth of the world, the dimensions of all the characters (even the villains!) all add up to create a viable, visual story. This is a good read but it does overextend itself somewhat. At almost four hundred fifty pages total, the inevitable lag in pacing is noticeable but also not wholly detrimental.

Clever, fun, detailed, Fly By Night has creativity and fun to spare.

Two Minute Review: The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett

Title: The Space Between the Stars
Author: Anne Corlett
Genre: science fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 368
Published: June 13 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2/5

In a breathtakingly vivid and emotionally gripping debut novel, one woman must confront the emptiness in the universe—and in her own heart—when a devastating virus reduces most of humanity to dust and memories.

All Jamie Allenby ever wanted was space. Even though she wasn’t forced to emigrate from Earth, she willingly left the overpopulated, claustrophobic planet. And when a long relationship devolved into silence and suffocating sadness, she found work on a frontier world on the edges of civilization. Then the virus hit...

Now Jamie finds herself dreadfully alone, with all that’s left of the dead. Until a garbled message from Earth gives her hope that someone from her past might still be alive.

Soon Jamie finds other survivors, and their ragtag group will travel through the vast reaches of space, drawn to the promise of a new beginning on Earth. But their dream will pit them against those desperately clinging to the old ways. And Jamie’s own journey home will help her close the distance between who she has become and who she is meant to be... 

Two stars, according to the official scale of Goodreads, means "it was okay." That's.... pretty much how I feel about The Space Between the Stars and that's being pretty generous. 

Despite an impressive summary and good start this novel quickly emerges as exceedingly average when it wasn't being preachingly pedantic. There are some good bones and good ideas in Anne Corlett's odd science fiction tale, but they do tend to get lost in the morass and the dull nature of the narration. The main character is hard to invest in or to even generally care about; I don't need to like a character but I do need to be interested in their story. That was not the case with Jamie. She's whiny and spoiled; instead of rooting for her it's more likely to go the opposite way.

The main thing The Space Between the Stars has going for it is the plot's framework. It's an interesting plot and though Corlett doesn't do all she could with the premise, there are a few decent plot reveals and resolutions. It's not enough to compensate for the utter lack of character charisma but it does make the novel at least palatable enough to finish.

Review: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

Title: Waking Gods
Author: Sylvain Neuvel
Genre: science fiction
Series: Themis Files #2
Pages: 320
Published: April 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5

In the gripping sequel to Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel’s innovative series about human-alien contact takes another giant step forward.

As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force.

Now humankind faces a nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth . . . and maybe even the stars.  

I seem to be in the minority but I enjoyed Waking Gods less than Sleeping Giants. I really loved the first novel from Sylvain Neuvel; I could hardly even believe that this whirl of science and space and aliens was a debut novel. The dossier style, the ambitious plotting, the unnamed central figure operating from the shadows and from center stage.. it just worked so very well. A uniquely fun and forebodingly good experience. The twists and turns of the plot, the way the characters complicated and entwined lives coalesced.. it built so well into a great story. The ending? THE ENDING. Flabbergastingly good. But perhaps that was just a bit much for Waking Gods to live up to a year later.

There is still some seriously clever stuff going on here in Neuvel's sophomore effort, and also some very fun stuff -- Neuvel is a very creative and original talent when it comes to subverting and fullfilling science fiction tropes -- but the heart of it, the emotional investment I had with Kara, Vincent, Our Friend, Rose --- had nowhere to land here in Waking Gods. The inclusion of some new characters was a strong start but they lacked the definition really needed to invest and never got the screen time to become more dynamic. Even the familiar characters from before that appear had an emotional disconnect the second time around.

But I seem to be the baaa baaa black sheep for this anticipated sequel. I liked Waking Gods. It was.. good. I was entertained and appreciated the twists of the plot. But I didn’t love it. I didn’t have the emotional connection to the story or to the characters within it. I though it a bit.. rushed and over-complicated, with clarity issues in the writing. I appreciated the good points enough to continue and finish, but overall was mildly disappointed. Even the character deaths left me unemotional. However, this ending is impossible to ignore or forget, as was the gamechanger ending of Sleeping Giants. Though Neuvel's most recent effort was not a perfect read, it cannot be denied that the man is a master at ending his books with a memorable bang.

Blog Tour Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: general fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 400
Published: June 13 2017
Source: ARC via publisher for review
Rating: 5/5

From Taylor Jenkins Reid comes an unforgettable and sweeping novel about one classic film actress’s relentless rise to the top—the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine.

Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Filled with emotional insight and written with Reid’s signature talent, this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it takes—to face the truth.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented author and also an ambitious one. For her fifth and newest book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the creative writer behind contemporary classics like Maybe in Another Life and One True Loves tries an all new style of storytelling and it works spectacularly. This book is unlike any of her previous works, but it may very well be her best novel yet. A sprawling, layered, intricate look at a very complicated and charismatic woman, Evelyn Hugo and its eponymous main character are both memorable and utterly unique.

With the charisma and beauty of an old Hollywood starlet but the cunning and shrewdness of a Fortune 500 CEO, Evelyn Hugo is the kind of character that refuses to yield the spotlight. She is the star even before she makes it in the movie business. Evelyn is perpetually the epicenter of the story; she is the thread the ties the main plot of her many husbands with that of the younger journalist Monique. Obviously partially inspired by the live and loves of Elizabeth Taylor, with perhaps just a splash of Marilyn's aesthetic, her life is compelling and utterly readable from the first chapter. Her voice and presence are strong and immediately distinct; this is a woman you remember. This is a woman that absolutely refuses to be forgotten or to forgo her ambitions. She may not be a "nice" person but she is driven, smart, and a survivor.

Unwinding and revealing the real person behind the calculated Evelyn persona is a task that takes care and time, both of which Reid provides. There's more to Evelyn's convoluted story than the tabloid fodder produced from her various loves and losses; Reid keenly understands the relationship between star and fans -- which Evelyn also understands and uses to her professional advantage, even if it costs her a personal loss. She is a multifaceted person; full of both virtues and vices. She comes across as a very real, very present person. Monique, her counterpart and foil, provides some modern balance and also facilitates the novel's plot framework. Her tell-all interviews with the reclusive actress directly propel the plot.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an impressive change of pace for an established author. It's entertaining and original; it begs for a reread once the final page has been finished. For an author that continually finds new ways to explore love and emotion, this is her most creative novel yet. Highly recommended.

 

Review Take Two: Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Title: Geekerella
Author: Ashley Poston
Genre: contemporary, retelling
Series: N/A
Pages: 320
Published: April 4 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 5/5

Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.

Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad's old costume), Elle's determined to win unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons before he was famous. Now they re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he's ever wanted, but the Starfieldfandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

There are a few words that come to mind about Geekerella: "delightful" is one of the first that spring to mind. "Fun" is another. "Reread worthy" is definitely part of the conversation. Charming, nerdy, charismatic, inclusive, and romantic are all also applicable labels for this fun mashup of ideas. Ashley Poston's contemporary YA retelling of Cinderella contains all the hallmarks of the fairy take that we've come to love but combines them with unique, modern adaptations. Geekerella is the best of both worlds. Nerdy and entertaining; it's a celebration of fandom and love and diverse nerdlove and makes for the perfect escapism read.

There was a grin on my face the entire time I was reading Geekerella. From the vegan food truck that is the Pumpkin to ExcelsiCon ball, I loved the various ways the author interpreted a timeless take for the modern age. The miscommunication trope between Darien and Elle adds a new layer to their relationship without being cliche, and allows for the two teens know each other for longer than a dance before falling (believably) in love. One of the failings of Disney is that their heroines' story often revolves around the introduction and keeping of a love interest -- that is not true for Elle. Her life is imperfect and full of struggle, but it is also rich with the memory of her father and her own stalwart interest in Starfield.

I was prepared for how much I would ship the relationship between fanfic writer Elle and secret-nerd Darien, but I was not prepared for how much I would love Ashley Poston's writing itself. While it wasn't one of the things I've heard touted for this awesome title, I'd often find myself rereading certain sections because they were perfectly worded and expressed emotion I myself understood, regarding fandom or relationships or even family. It's also unexpectedly funny -- Elle's humor and wit are paired right alongside her more soulful moments. I adored her awkward ass.

Whited out because kinda spoilery.... even though it's a Cinderella retelling aka we all know where this is going:

"I want his gaze, the way he looks at me -- like I'm the last star in the night sky and the first one at dusk -- branded on my heart."

"Somehow, in this impossible universe, his lips find mine."

"And he kisses me again. It isn't the kind of kiss to end a universe of possibilities. It's the exact opposite. It's the kind of kiss that creates them."

From nerdery to romantic love, Poston can write and write with flair.

Pop culture and classic fairy tale make for an oddly perfect combination. Maybe Ashley Poston is magic? Geekerella has the odd moment or two where it can stumble in its execution (Sage's relationship with Calliope was way out of left field, much as I like that the lesbian best friend got her HEA) but that can hardly detract from the overall awesomeness that this novel brings to bear. A creative mix of fandom nerdery and Cinderella, Geekerella stands out. With its super charming and funny narrative style, the A+ ship it's easy to recommend this contemporary.

Review: The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares

Title: The Whole Thing Together
Author: Ann Brashares
Genre: contemporary
Series: N/A
Pages: 304
Published: April 25 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2/5

Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.

Sasha’s dad was once married to Ray’s mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families—and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.

The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control…or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love.

A breakdown of this story in two seconds: A large, modern family of half siblings and stepsiblings share a house and their divorced, bitter parents - awkwardness and worse ensues. Told over the course of a pivotal summer for the youngest nonrelated kids Ray and Sasha, The Whole Thing Together is the convoluted story of how of the Stone-Thomases and the Riggs-Thomas family relate and recognize one another. Despite plenty of fodder for emotion and pathos there was more drama than substance to this novel. There was very little memorable about it -- except for the sadly notable fact that this modern family is interracially mixed.

Brashares has written several novels before, and before her style was brisk, engaging, fresh and occasionally bittersweet. With her newest effort, little remains the same; the emotions and characters are clumsily-drawn. Despite a strong first two opening chapters, the momentum and interest stall early on. The Whole Thing Together clocks in at supposedly 304 pages. I say "supposedly" because the very many characters in this contemporary novel had a way of making those three hundred pages feel rather more like five hundred. Tiresome characters are paired with pedestrian plotlines that eventually intersect with a cheap plot points; for the last 2/3 of the novel it's a struggle to stay involved or care about the revolving cast of narrators.

Also Ray's weird fantasies and thoughts about Sasha, and vice versa, though his are far more squicky ("She was the kind of pretty only someone as deep as him understood. [...] He continued to think it anyway, as though her loveliness was something he'd invented.")* , are not cool and totally ruin any family-feels the book tries to create between camps. I get they are not biologically related to one other, but they share siblings. It's weird... and also disappointing. Which is basically how I would sum up The Whole Thing Together anyway.

*quote from an ARC and subject to change

Review: Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman

Title: Girl Out of Water
Author: Laura Silverman
Genre: contemporary
Series: N/A
Pages: 320
Published: May 2 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 4.5/5

Anise Sawyer plans to spend every minute of summer with her friends: surfing, chowing down on fish tacos drizzled with wasabi balsamic vinegar, and throwing bonfires that blaze until dawn. But when a serious car wreck leaves her aunt, a single mother of three, with two broken legs, it forces Anise to say goodbye for the first time to Santa Cruz, the waves, her friends, and even a kindling romance, and fly with her dad to Nebraska for the entire summer. Living in Nebraska isn’t easy. Anise spends her days caring for her three younger cousins in the childhood home of her runaway mom, a wild figure who’s been flickering in and out of her life since birth, appearing for weeks at a time and then disappearing again for months, or even years, without a word.

Complicating matters is Lincoln, a one-armed, charismatic skater who pushes Anise to trade her surfboard for a skateboard. As Anise draws closer to Lincoln and takes on the full burden and joy of her cousins, she loses touch with her friends back home – leading her to one terrifying question: will she turn out just like her mom and spend her life leaving behind the ones she loves.

Some books are perfect for summer reading. Girl out of Water is definitely one of these; a breezy but heartfelt YA contemporary about growing up and moving on. It's entertaining but sincere and inclusive in equal measure. Bolstered by a great voice and personality in the main character of Anise and an engaging romance involving a black, one-armed badass skateboarder, Laura Silverman's debut novel is fun but also capable of really bringing the feels.

Surfer-girl Anise's story picks up right at the beginning of summer before she and her friends disperse into different directions - some bound for college, or off to serve in the military, or to endure one final year of high school. Her feelings of displacement and confusion about her future are not only about college but about the evolving nature of friendships and belonging, especially when her final summer and friend traditions are usurped by family emergencies and..... landlocked Nebraska.

Besides growing up, family is a big theme for Girl out of Water and its characters. Anise is haunted by her mother - a woman who flits in and out of her life but leaves the most impression when she is leaving. Lincoln, her swoon-worthy love interest who isn't defined by his disability or his race, also wrestles with family issues. The two bond and bicker over similarities and obvious differences; they have great chemistry and their banter is charming and fun. Anise has to grow a bit when it comes to her relationship; she comes from a place of privilege that must be acknowledged a couple times in the novel.

Anise's family, especially her cousins, and Lincoln himself are more defined and well-developed than her friends back in California, or anyone connected to Lincoln's character. I liked the inclusive nature to the group of friends and family but because they only appear as bookends to Anise's central plot, it can feel hollow (which is why it's also so easy to forget Anise had a love interest before Lincoln showed up). Anise and Lincoln steal the show and carry the novel, which is why I have so little issues upon finishing Girl out of Water. The ending may be a bit open-ended for readers who prefer finality, but Anise and Lincoln's futures look bright. As does the future of Laura Silverman, since her debut was refreshingly authentic.

Review: The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

Title: The Pearl Thief
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Genre: historical fiction, mystery
Series: Code Name Verity #.5
Pages: 336
Published: May 2 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.25/5

Before Verity . . . there was Julie.

When fifteen-year-old Julia Beaufort-Stuart wakes up in the hospital, she knows the lazy summer break she’d imagined won’t be exactly like she anticipated. And once she returns to her grandfather’s estate, a bit banged up but alive, she begins to realize that her injury might not have been an accident. One of her family’s employees is missing, and he disappeared on the very same day she landed in the hospital.

Desperate to figure out what happened, she befriends Euan McEwen, the Scots Traveller boy who found her when she was injured, and his standoffish sister Ellen. As Julie grows closer to this family, she experiences some of the prejudices they’ve grown used to firsthand, a stark contrast to her own upbringing, and finds herself exploring thrilling new experiences that have nothing to do with a missing-person investigation.

Her memory of that day returns to her in pieces, and when a body is discovered, her new friends are caught in the crosshairs of long-held biases about Travellers. Julie must get to the bottom of the mystery in order to keep them from being framed for the crime.

In the prequel to Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, this exhilarating coming-of-age story returns to a beloved character just before she learned to fly.

Lady Julia Lindsay MacKenzie Wallace Beaufort Stuart is a memorable character. Anyone who has read Elizabeth Wein's heartbreaking Code Name Verity from a few years back will likely never forget Queenie and  "Fly the plane!" and her bravery in the face of inhuman evil. Now Elizabeth Wein has returned to Julie's story, but in a small-town plot set years before WWII and in her favorite home of Scotland. Though this new prequel is centered on a familiar face, it's a far different kind of story than the one in CNV or even Rose Under Fire. The Pearl Thief's scope is narrower; it fits more in the mystery/thriller genre than straight historical fiction and though it's character-driven for a large part of the novel, none of them capture the dynamism of Julie herself.

I liked The Pearl Thief enough to finish reading but there's no denying it largely lacks the emotional punch of Wein's other novels, especially the one also featuring Julie as a POV narrator. (This also succeeds in part purely because of leftover affection for those previous books.) This is the story of her coming of age in a lot of ways - emotionally, sexually, and socially. You can see early flashes of the woman she'll become when she partners with Maddie here; her fight for her Traveller friends and her drive to do what's right are as much a part of her at 16 as they are later on. With Ellen's challenging and Euan's support she grows and changes and challenges her own ideas. I truly loved Julie -- and seeing her become herself is one of the best parts of reading The Pearl Thief. Also: canonically bi Julie! Yes!

As much as I appreciate the expansion of Julie's character and history, part of the issue here is that the eventual outcomes for key people are already known (the risk of a prequel, tbh) which makes it hard to become emotionally invest AGAIN in the same character (fun to see a young, silly Jamie, though!). I can't wholly commit and invest in Julie's happiness and hope when I've read CNV and RUF already. Another issue is that the side characters that share focus don't get developed and defined to the same level as Julie. I liked Ellen and her total refusal to be easy-going or friendly, but Euan has little presence and no personality. The inclusion of Mary Kinnaird, a character with Treacher Collins syndrome is a first for me, though I liked less her status as a minor antagonist. The various romantic entanglements are not my favorite (I am all for Julie's kissing boys and girls but ffs don't kiss boys and girls who are SIBLINGS.) but appreciated the diversity.

Because the book is rather slow-moving when it comes to pacing and setting up the mystery, the reveal of the actual pearl thief villain feels way too drawn-out. By the time it's shown on page, it lacks impact because there are very little other options for the story to go. Aside from those issues, I loved that the novel took pains to touch and address prejudice, abuse of power, and discrimination. The setting is vivid and detailed - Wein is an author adept at setting the stage. I just wished the secondary cast had the definition of Julie or that the central mystery plot was more engaging.

Review: The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence by Alyssa Palombo

Title: The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence
Author: Alyssa Palombo
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 320
Published: expected April 25 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 5/5

A girl as beautiful as Simonetta Cattaneo never wants for marriage proposals in 15th Century Italy, but she jumps at the chance to marry Marco Vespucci. Marco is young, handsome and well-educated. Not to mention he is one of the powerful Medici family’s favored circle.

Even before her marriage with Marco is set, Simonetta is swept up into Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici’s glittering circle of politicians, poets, artists, and philosophers. The men of Florence―most notably the rakish Giuliano de’ Medici―become enthralled with her beauty. That she is educated and an ardent reader of poetry makes her more desirable and fashionable still. But it is her acquaintance with a young painter, Sandro Botticelli, which strikes her heart most. Botticelli immediately invites Simonetta, newly proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Florence, to pose for him. As Simonetta learns to navigate her marriage, her place in Florentine society, and the politics of beauty and desire, she and Botticelli develop a passionate intimacy, one that leads to her immortalization in his masterpiece, The Birth of Venus.

The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence is a fantastic historical fiction rendition of the rich life of one of Florence's most celebrated women, the educated and vibrant young woman who inspired one of the Renaissance's most renowned artists. Simonetta Cattaneo (later Vespucci) left her mark not only on art and history, but also on the men and women in her life, from the powerful to the poor. Though she is remembered for her early and tragic death as much as for her influence as an artistic muse, in Alyssa Palombo's second novel Simonetta comes vibrantly to life.

Alyssa Palombo's novel retells the daily life and loves of Simonetta through her years in Florence, inventing and substantiating where history is unclear or when necessary to connect the various dots. The careful approach the author took to interpreting the known parts of Simonetta's history with her own inventions to facilitate the plot in The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence is both smart and helps create an authentic representation. Her version of Simonetta is a believable product of her times and still understandable and relateable; confined by strictures of society and marriage, Simonetta never ceases demanding respect and her due. With the small amount of choice left to her before and after her wedding, Palombo's slow building of the star-crossed relationship between Boticelli and Simonetta feels like a small window of freedom, rather than a sin.

Though Simonetta is a well-drawn, three-dimensional and the main character, she shares the stage in The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence. The city of Florence itself looms large over the story and the characters. Its history and politics, its atmosphere  - all of that is omnipresent and unique and almost tangible. Palombo describes her Italian city-state with detail and a talent for visual imagery; a city on the rise with the ideas of rebirth and art and faith is easy to envision under her pen. The powerful Medici family, ever-associated with Florence and its art, are also key players in many of the dramatic moments of Simonetta's personal life. Both Lorenzo and Giuliano are historically linked to her, as is their associate Sandro Botticelli. The romance between Sandro and Simonetta is emotionally rich and devastating. 

This novel was so good it made me immediately go buy the author's debut about Vivaldi, The Violinist of Venice. With her keen eye for detail, fantastic historical characters, obvious knowledge and research about the time and place and people concerned, Alyssa Palombo is able to faithfully recreate and invigorate the life of a fascinating woman. The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence is evocative and entertaining in equal parts; sure to please fans of other Italian-centric historical fiction writers like Sarah Dunant and Marina Fiorato.

Two Minute Review: Duels and Deceptions by Cindy Anstey

Title: Duels and Deceptions
Author: Cindy Anstey
Genre: historical fiction
Series: N/A
Pages: 368
Published: April 11 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 2.5/5

Miss Lydia Whitfield, heiress to the family fortune, has her future entirely planned out. She will run the family estate until she marries the man of her late father's choosing, and then she will spend the rest of her days as a devoted wife. Confident in those arrangements, Lydia has tasked her young law clerk, Mr. Robert Newton, to begin drawing up the marriage contracts. Everything is going according to plan.

Until Lydia—and Robert along with her—is kidnapped. Someone is after her fortune and won't hesitate to destroy her reputation to get it. With Robert's help, Lydia strives to keep her family's good name intact and expose whoever is behind the devious plot. But as their investigation delves deeper and their affections for each other grow, Lydia starts to wonder whether her carefully planned future is in fact what she truly wants…

A Regency novel centered around a teenage romance, Duels and Deceptions is a cute if somewhat shallow historical young adult read. Much like the author's previous novel from Swoon Reads, Love, Lies and Spies, the plot follows two moderately well-developed characters as their stories intersect and then entwine in escapades both wild and mundane. Though there's nothing egregiously off about Duels and Deceptions, it just fails to make an original impression. It's not a bad story, or that Lydia and Robert are boring characters -- the fault lies in the alternatively predictable or outlandish progression of the book's plot and in the flat nature of the world around the two central players.

Lydia and Robert each have their strengths and weaknesses --  as love interests for one another and as characters in their own right, but the best thing Duels and Deceptions has going for it is their genuine chemistry and the banter that springs up between them. Even when the plot veered its most outlandish or predictable, the two of them remained engaging and interesting. The same cannot be said for the secondary characters involved in their lives, but much of the novel is about the romance between the two main characters anyway. If the plot had felt more substantial or had been less generic in its fruition or the secondary characters more lifelike, I think Duels and Deceptions could have been a 3-3.5 star book. But, as it is, this was a 2.5-star read and probably my last attempt from this author.

Series Review: The Abyss Surrounds Us by Emily Skrutskie

Titles: The Abyss Surrounds Us and The Edge of the Abyss

Author: Emily Skrutskie

Genre: science fiction

Pages: 273 & 296

Published: Feb 8 2016 & April 18 2017

Source: purchased & ARC from NetGalley

Ratings: 4/5

For Cassandra Leung, bossing around sea monsters is just the family business. She’s been a Reckoner trainer-in-training ever since she could walk, raising the genetically-engineered beasts to defend ships as they cross the pirate-infested NeoPacific. But when the pirate queen Santa Elena swoops in on Cas’s first solo mission and snatches her from the bloodstained decks, Cas’s dream of being a full-time trainer seems dead in the water.

There’s no time to mourn. Waiting for her on the pirate ship is an unhatched Reckoner pup. Santa Elena wants to take back the seas with a monster of her own, and she needs a proper trainer to do it. She orders Cas to raise the pup, make sure he imprints on her ship, and, when the time comes, teach him to fight for the pirates. If Cas fails, her blood will be the next to paint the sea.

But Cas has fought pirates her entire life. And she's not about to stop.

With just these two monster-centric books, new author Emily Skrutskie has already made quite an impression. Though her novels are rather on the short side for science fiction at less than three hundred pages each, both contain so much plot and action and character development that not a page feels wasted or more needed. With its ambitious, clever imagination, complex and morally-grey characters, and the detailed world-building needed to back up a world balanced by seamonster fights, Skrutskie's ecologically-impaired version of the future is dynamic and original while still being a high-stakes and action-packed read.

Sea monsters and pirates and the battles between comprise the bulk of the series' action, plotting, and attention across the two books in this series. Through the main character of Cas, a headstrong teen girl first on the legit side of the monster vs pirates lines that define her world, and later on the lawless side, the book uses a first-person viewpoint to explore both sides of the central conflict. Cas's role over the course of both books is pivotal and evolves along the way, from the Reckoner trainer initially introduced in The Abyss Surrounds Us to the crewmember of the Minnow in The Edge of the Abyss. It's not an easy transition to handle and remain believable: from hostage to outsider to pirate, but Skrutskie's characterization has depth and takes the time to make Cas' changes feel organic for the character.

It's not only martial conflict that plagues Cas over the course of this duology. She has to contend with a barrage of emotional damage in a relatively short amount of time: distance from her family, living among a hostile crew, training a "little shit" of a Reckoner in stressful environs, a Captain who likes to play deadly mind games, and a love interest that may or may not betray her depending on the given day of the week. The romance between Cas and Swift is long-gestating and complicated. The seeds of their attraction are authentic and planted in the first novel, but thanks to a severe imbalance in power between the two, it is never cemented. By the events of the the second book, the girls are on more even terms but their relationship is now troubled by the actions of Swift in the past, her future as a pirate, and by Cas's own actions. 

Outside of the characters and character interactions, the world-building of The Abyss Surrounds Us as a series remains a high point. There's cool tech invented for the world's necessities and in-depth thought given to crafting the eco-systems of the NeoPacific. Skrutskie's premise and imagination are strong and she uses scientific principles to create additional suspense and tension. The plotting reflects the author's knowledge, and while both books are mostly well-developed, they can also fall prey to tropes and conveniences on occasion. This is particularly noticeable in book two when Santa Elena needs other pirates to recognize the danger of a Hellbeast and hark! ONE APPEARS JUST THEN and attacking CIVILIANS! The series may go for the easy answer from time to time to tie plotlines or characters together, but its the exception rather than the rule.

The Abyss Surrounds Us was an excellent introduction to the world of Cas, Swift, Santa Elena and the Reckoners; short but impactful, and very memorable. The Edge of the Abyss continued those good traits and then builds a new, relevant plot to end the duology. The effortlessly diverse cast is worth noting and commending as well. This post-apocalyptic tale has f/f relationships, women of color in positions of power, Cas herself is of an unspecified Asian descent, aaaand The main human villain is a mediocre white failed businessman. Very much recommended.

Two Minute Review: Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren

Title: Prisoner of Ice and Snow
Author: Ruth Lauren
Genre: fantasy
Series: N/A
Pages: 288
Published: expected April 4 2017
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 3.75/5

When Valor is arrested, she couldn’t be happier. Demidova’s prison for criminal children is exactly where she wants to be. Valor’s sister Sasha is already serving a life sentence for stealing from the royal family and Valor is going to help her escape . . . from the inside.

Never mind that no one has escaped in three hundred years. Valor has a plan and resources most could only dream about. But she didn't count on having to outsmart both the guards and her fellow prisoners. If Valor’s plan is to succeed, she’ll need to make unlikely allies. And if the plan fails, she and Sasha could end up with fates worse than prison.

This fresh and exciting middle-grade debut effortlessly melds an unforgettable protagonist, a breathless plot, and stunning world-building—and is impossible to put down.

Did you like Pixar's Brave and Merida, especially? Or the Anna and Elsa show aka Disney's Frozen? Well the stubbornness and archery angle of the first meets the impenetrable, enduring-even-the-depths-of-winter sister-bond of the second in Ruth Lauren's Prisoner of Ice and Snow. It's a fun, inviting story; Lauren mixes some great tropes into her writing and uses those tropes in fresh new ways. Prison Break-esque plotting and complex women are the norm for this fast-moving middle grade fantasy and are used to create an entertaining story and memorable characters.

The world is interesting and has potential; there's a vaguely Russian/Baltic feel to Valor's home country and surrounding states, but there's not much real worldbuilding done. The focus here is on Valor, her sister Sasha, and then their various allies and opponents. Though there is some atmosphere and tension to be found in the 280-odd pages, Prisoner of Ice and Snow is undeniably a more character-driven MG novel. The story is directly propelled by Valor and her refusal to give up on escape. She is the anchor of the story and it's easy to invest and care about her. A strong plot and better characters make up Ruth Lauren's debut more than worth a read.