This was a tough book to read. Melbourne teen Karuna lives under the iron control of her mother, a first-generation Filipino-Australian who was abandoned by her Caucasian husband. You know that Karuna gets pregnant despite her mother’s best efforts and has a baby, because the book is narrated by Karuna and addressed to that baby (great framing device, by the way); however, you don’t know how events progress to that point, so you must read on to find out. As Karuna’s pregnancy progresses, her mother responds by exerting more and more control, until she is literally locking Karuna in their flat while she is away. On the one hand this is a touching tale of an immigrant mother’s struggle to do her best by her second-generation daughter, and her daughter’s fight to make her mother recognize her own agency; on the other hand this is also a story of toxic emotional abuse and generational pain, with the background of the sexism and racism directed at darker-skinned people in Australian society. The characters do make peace with one another eventually, but it is a hard and painful fight to get there.
Category: quick reaction
More than a Little Warped, by Annette Marie and Rob Jacobsen
Novella, #3.5 in the Warped sub-series of Annette Marie’s Guild Codex. This one covers what was going on in the magical police division during the climactic battle at the end of the Spellbound and Demonized sub-series. It’s a credit to Marie and Jacobsen that they keep things tense and interesting; from the other books, you know where Agents Kit and Lienna end up, but you don’t know how they get there. A lot of the plot of this novella depends on the reader knowing what’s going on from the Spellbound series, so definitely don’t read this if you’ve only read Warped sub-series alone. I really liked Kit’s interaction with Captain Blythe and Lienna here; you don’t often get to see Blythe in action and it was as just cool as one would have hoped. Lots of good zingers from Kit as usual, and most of the plot threads get wrapped up neatly, though of course there’s still unresolved stuff at the end.
The Dawnhounds, by Sascha Stronach
One of those books so wondrously weird that you really don’t know how you got there or what is even going on, but which is written with such intensity and lush detail that you can’t stop reading it. The action opens on a boat, manned by a skeleton crew and carrying a cargo crawling with infectious poisons, with references to wars long past (but with conflicts still simmering) and mysterious weapons. Then we alternate between the viewpoints of Jyn (former street rat, current disgraced constable, disgraced because of her attraction to women) and Sen (former soldier, current sergeant, world-weary but still trying to do the decent thing) as they patrol their city, in which people live in breathing cellulose houses which consume their inhabitants’ waste matter for food. There’s a mysterious religion in which priests dress up as their sacred crane (delightfully, Jyn and Sen call them “bin chickens” under their breaths; clearly the Aussie nickname extends to Stronach’s native New Zealand as well) and seem intent on gaining power. About halfway through the book we learn that there’s a very magical element going on as well, very much tied to the outsider status that is thrust upon characters who don’t fit into the mainstream. There’s a lot going on in the background that Stronach doesn’t bother to explain: what, besides a lust for power, is driving the bin chicken religion? Why do they want to infect everyone with spores? What are they trying to accomplish? How are they related to the god-like deities who grant powers to a chosen wounded few? The reader has no idea, but the writing in the book rockets along so beautifully, the emotions of the outcast characters so strong and the descriptive prose lush and vivid, that you barely have time to wonder what happened before it’s all over and you’re left blinking, wondering what the heck you just read. Stronach is a Maori author so maybe I need to read up on Maori mythology to get a handle on things. First in a series, apparently, though honestly I don’t know how much I’ll retain by the time I pick up the next.
Delivering Evil for Experts, by Annette Marie, read by Cris Dukehart
This book overlaps Damned Souls and a Sangria by a good amount, which eases the tension level somewhat. As a reader my experience was mostly “ah ok, that’s what Robin was doing when she was offscreen,” which made the book less tense in general even though the danger level remained high. Loved that we got to see growth not just in Robin and Zylas, but in the secondary characters as well. As a series finale, excellent resolution for both the characters and the plot, with an adorable extra chapter at the end.
The Shuddering City, by Sharon Shinn
This standalone book is full of characters keeping secrets from each other, so as a reader you start off a bit in the dark as well. It’s one of those sci-fi books where the science is so far in the past that it might as well come off as fantasy. The city in question is Corcannon, which is experiencing earthquakes of increasing frequency and intensity; as the seemingly unrelated characters pursue their separate goals, you slowly get the feeling that some kind of creepy “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” vibe is going on in the background. I found the ending a bit deus ex machina, but Shinn makes it work, and her character work is stellar as usual.
Damned Souls and a Sangria, by Annette Marie, read by Cris Dukehart
Triumphant and satisfying conclusion to the adventures of Tori the human bartender, who finds family and friends in the mythic world. One of my favorite things about this series is that although stakes get higher and more tense throughout, as is standard in urban fantasy (see: Dresden Files, October Daye), main character Tori doesn’t really level up along with it, except emotionally. She doesn’t ever become magical like her friends, though they do occasionally provide her with cool toys; instead (and this is going to sound trite but I promise it works) she learns over and over again that her real strength is her faith in herself and in her friends. (A ridiculous number of whom are incredibly hot. I’m just saying.) Anyway, this series was a really fun ride and so well done, and I’m really happy with the ending to Tori’s part.
Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn
For some reason I thought going into this book (sequel to the excellent Legendborn) that it would be the second of a duology, and that everything would be wrapped up with a tidy bow at the end. Haha, joke’s on me. In true YA form, this one winds our poor teenage protagonists into a fever pitch of angst and then drops a giant emo bomb before ending on yet another massive reveal that changes everything. Overall, I thought this book was a fun read; I like how the characters unhesitatingly call each other out for bad behavior, and how the themes of slavery and racism remain front and center of both the plot and the magic structure. That said, I found the plot a bit less focused than the first book; a lot of new elements were introduced that I may not remember by the time the next book comes out, and even though protagonist Bree retains all her sass and fire, she still comes off as very passive in this installment.
Rogue Ghosts & Other Miscreants, by Annette Marie and Rob Jacobsen, read by Iggy Toma
Book 3 of the “Warped” sub-series of Marie’s Guild Codex, this installment features some character growth from rookie agent Kit Morris, helped along by his long-suffering partner and a surprise guest from the main series. Kit’s narration is priceless as usual, full of hilarious one-liners, and Toma hits the perfect irreverent tone for the narration. Pretty good tie-in back to the main series at the end of the book, as well.
Angelica, by Sharon Shinn
Shinn’s Samaria series has always had a sort of unspoken communication with the reader: savvy sci-fi readers quickly catch on that “Jovah” is an AI satellite tasked with protecting the population on the planet, said population including genetically-engineered winged “angels” able to soar into the sky and sing coded communications to Jovah asking for anything from weather intercessions to dropped deliveries of medication. But in this installment, mysterious aliens arrive on Samaria dealing random destruction and death, and the populace (not knowing what the reader knows) has no idea how to deal with the problem. Shinn takes advantage of the reader’s knowledge of sci-fi space wars without having to explain anything, letting us enjoy the characters’ journey towards understanding, while juggling love and politics as well. One thing I haven’t been gushing over enough in this series is the description of how perfect it feels to sing harmonies and accompaniments with other wonderful singers and different types of voices; it’s really beautifully described and makes me wish that I could be singing with the characters.
Lost Talismans and a Tequila, by Annette Marie, read by Cris Dukehart and Teddy Hamilton
At this point in Marie’s urban fantasy series (book 7 of the Spellbound series, but 15th? in the main storyline), we’ve reached the point where there’s no point in explaining anything and you’d probably better read the preceding 14 or so books first. I will just say that since the events of this book overlap with the previous one (from another character’s viewpoint), some of the urgency is muted; you know that most of the characters survive and therefore you’re not really stressed for them. That said, very impressed by Marie’s worldbuilding and plotting as she brings together elements introduced several books ago. I was a little put off by Teddy Hamilton’s reading; he did a perfectly good job but he wasn’t Dukehart and didn’t use her voice for the character. I found myself lingering over the ways they said words differently, and was relieved every time she took over the narration again.