Review: The Shining Girls

4 stars. I've spent a lot of time reading about this book, and reading other reviews, because reactions seem to be a bit all over the place. It happens when a book gets a lot of hype, and transcends genre (the sci-fi lovers want more sci fi, the literary lovers want less violence, etc etc etc), or if it's simply marketed incorrectly. In fact I'm even having a difficult time measuring my own reaction to this admittedly fantastic book - trying to figure out what I expected versus what I wanted versus what the book was trying to achieve.

My instinct is to say that I loved it. It captured me. It kept my attention. I rooted for the characters. I basked in the historical details - I learned so much about Chicago. I enjoyed the writing. I admired the premise. I appreciated the wry and witty humor that helped lift such a dark, violent story. I read this in a busy bar on a Friday evening and couldn't be distracted. The sci-fi lover in me didn't worry about explanations, or easy answers. I didn't mind the violence or find it gratuitous or without purpose. I respected the exploration of the trauma and tragedy and being female.

So I think I'd recommend it. It's incredibly entertaining. I can't wait to watch the adaptation (they better not fuck it up!). But please, for the love of god or the sky or the earth or my heart or whatever it is you'd like to invoke in this moment - read the TWs, and maybe even skip entirely the chapter about Kirby's attack. I damn near had a panic attack before bed one night. I fucking skimmed the whole thing and was still hyperventilating, holding back sobs. It's a brutal dog scene and even though I knew what to look out for it really got me. Really got me.

Moving on before I start crying, my only other complaint would be that it ended too soon!! I would've loved a longer epilogue after the climax. I'm desperate to find out where these characters ended up! I'm not a sucker for this sort of thing usually, but I am Team Dan 100%. He's super, super cute and heroic.

I dunno. I don't want to think about this too hard, although it's probably too late for that. Sometimes a book is just entertaining, and that's enough. It didn't change my life or anything, but I enjoyed it. That's it, the end, 4 stars, bye.

The Shining Girls on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Girls Who Lie (Forbidden Iceland #2)

5 stars!! This is shaping up to be a great small town mystery series. Better than the first, Girls Who Lie is a perfect combo of psychological thriller + crime novel and I loved learning more about Elma - she's so easy to root for. Made me miss Iceland a lot. It's the best. Would be a really interesting, challenging place to live.

The mystery in this is actually a bit similar to the first, with more of a Megan Abbott twist. After a single mother goes missing, everyone assumes that she has killed herself following years of depression, alcoholism and neglectful parenting. And then her body is found - turns out she's been brutally murdered - and the police department's investigation unravels a super tangled knot of false accusations, mistaken identities, and painful family relationships.

It doesn't sound super exciting when I put it that way, but this is a real page turner and the plot kept me guessing all the way through. I made a couple of assumptions that were all totally wrong, and I absolutely love it when that happens. Sure all the tropes are there, but they're familiar in a good way and the employment of them is charming - even the will they-won't they, which didn't distract at all from the main thread of the mystery. Even the twisted mother archetype, which has been explored from a lot of angles by now.

All I can say is that I recommend this series and I can't wait for the next one. And I really, really want an Icelandic hot dog. With the works.

Girls Who Lie on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Ariadne

3 stars. I'm all over the place - I'm sure I enjoyed this book, and I big time appreciate the effort and the importance of twisting and retelling myths to reflect more inclusive perspectives. But I couldn't help but think almost immediately after starting Ariadne that this is a Madeline Miller wannabe, or a publisher's bid to capitalize on the success of her books.

Don't mistake me: this story is successful in its own right. The author is a tremendous writer, and I would compare her rich, flowery language to Miller's as a complete compliment. But Miller's stories have a point to them (beyond retelling with a twist) that felt missing here. While a story like this could only be inevitably bleak, any takeaways weren't crunchy or interesting enough for me. Women suffer at the hands of men. We know this and experience this and feel this in our souls every day. So I wouldn't agree with marketing this is a "feminist retelling." Her voice, as it is presented, isn't enough.

All that being said, this is a lush, captivating read. Great for fans of the myths or those who aren't as familiar. The descriptions of Crete, Athens, the Underworld, Naxos... the gods and goddesses are brought to life in really fun ways. I loved the focus on sisterhood - in all its beautiful, complicated, chaotic, painful glory. I loved that both Ariadne and Phaedra were intelligent and made independent choices despite truly having almost none, back then. The depiction of each of them as capable of both good and messy gave everything a refreshing flavor as it was meant to and may have been the point. Each of them had very different experiences and relationships with motherhood, another element reminiscent of Miller.

I liked it enough to try again with this author. There's nothing bad about it, it just didn't quite get there, for me. TWs for animal death, btw... not something I'd normally include but it's vivid enough here that I sort of have to. Also, I didn't realize how much season 2 of True Blood pulls from the lore, lol. Marianne was totally on that island at some point.

Ariadne on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Creak on the Stairs (Forbidden Iceland #1)

4 stars. You know what? I really liked this! I can totally see why the reviews are very middle of the road for this debut, but for a debut, I have to give it another star for simply being unpredictable. While I guessed a few of the twists, I didn't feel certain about the identity of the murderer until the reveal. And I absolutely loved the brisk pace, the tight dialogue, and the shallow characterization (not all of us want to read Tana French all the time).

The Creak on the Stairs features a couple of true crime tropes: a cop who returns to her small town after suffering a tragedy in her personal life; the small town; don't forget about secrets!; also flashbacks, a few alternative perspectives, and the very slight smell of UST between partners. When a woman's body is discovered at the sight of an isolated lighthouse, Elma has to use her big city skills to navigate solving this horrendous crime, unweaving a decade's old web of lies and wrestling with her identity as a former resident.

It's very dramatic, very noir, very crime-y: basically a police procedural. But the writing is quite clear and fast-paced, and the short chapters keep things moving. I especially loved the Icelandic details... the descriptions of the setting (which is basically a character here), the names, the cultural elements that drove both character and plot. Iceland is truly like another planet, and happens to be one of my very favorite places on this one - so I'm as biased as I am charmed - but I think this will appeal to fans of crime fiction everywhere.

I will definitely be reading the next in this series.

The Creak on the Stairs on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: The Golden Wolf (The Golden Wolf Saga #3)

5 stars. This is officially one of my favorite trilogies of all time. I'm definitely, you know, into Vikings (and I've come at them from a couple different angles), but you wouldn't have to be to enjoy this intense, captivating story. These characters read as so real and layered and warm and earnest they feel like family. The women, especially, are wonderfully distinct from one another - mysterious and complex and intelligent and flawed as the women I've known in real life. (And the men... well, you know, are men lol.)

This is one of those stories that includes the big - the battles, the betrayals, the epic journeys - and the small - everyday chores, concerns, homely details. Don't go into it expecting a fight scene in every chapter; it's so much fuller and richer than that. You can definitely expect relationships to thicken and thin as time goes by, and a lot of time has gone by since Ragnvald became half-drowned. I think we all knew where this story was headed, but that makes it no less heartbreaking.

I have to say this might be my least favorite of the three, only because I hate goodbyes, and I never quite felt fully accustomed to new characters like Freydis and Einar. I almost felt more affection for Harald, who is so powerfully constant... and constantly powerful. Even Svanhild, though, who was my favorite character in the series, felt a little wrong here... stubborn in the wrong ways, I think. But I completely trust in the author's choices and admire the way she concluded these people's stories so much.

Oh man... I just love her writing so much. I hope she's working on a Part 2 or an equally immersive work of historical fiction. These books provided true escapes during truly hard times and I can't believe they're finished.

The Golden Wolf on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: All the Old Knives

4 stars. This was fun! A perfect pageturner with nice, short chapters and a satisfying spy thriller edge. I've never read anything by this author, but it caught my eye after seeing the trailer for the adaptation. If you love bottle episodes, ex-lover angst, a super zoomed-in version of politics (kind of like an episode of Homeland ... obviously the world is very big and complicated and full of diverse players but somehow the whole damn thing rests on Carrie's shoulders), and predictable twists, you'll enjoy it.

Oh okay so this is about two spies, who happened to have a relationship once upon a time long ago in Vienna. But a super tragic and deadly terrorist attack pulls them apart - professionally and personally. Years and years later, they meet up in California to put the matter to rest once and for all.

Yeah, yeah. So I found it predictable. One of our main characters, Henry, is really.. truly... honestly... not a very good spy, bless his heart. I was reading the room from miles and miles away. I appreciated the effort, though, and the narrative requirement to make him a little... dumbish. It didn't actually make the story any less exciting, because I couldn't wait to get... there. You know, there. And it was awesome, and I absolutely loved the ending.

I saw a headline recently shouting that we love heist movies because they are basically competency porn. I wonder how we feel about spy novels - competency porn with a patriotic twist? Who knows, but I'm in the mood for more.

All the Old Knives on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Only Human (Themis Files #3)

4 stars. Full of surprises! I think I originally thought this series was going to have a sort of fun, light, superficial, popcorn sci-fi flavor, and while it's pretty casual in tone, thematically it's quite heavy and dark. The big questions: are we alone in the universe? What if we are not? Are darkly answered in ways that made me think. (At one point I remember thinking - was this published pre-2016 or after? Boom. 2018. That explains a lot, TBH.)

After the devastating destruction in Waking Gods, Vincent (I loved, by the way, how snarky Vincent became by the end - Kara really rubbed off on him. I know the love triangle existed narratively for the purpose of his legs being broken/transformed, but that whole thing still felt... so weird to me), Eva, Dr. Rose, and Eugene land on the planet from which their beloved Themis originated. And they can't return home. But don't worry! Politics exist fucking everywhere! There's plenty of intrigue and culture to explore.

Meanwhile, humans have made a real mess of things (shock), and it all goes from bad to worse when our heroes are finally able to return after nine years. Suddenly it's country versus country, robot versus robot, human versus human with alien DNA. Jokes aside, this depiction of humanity's worst instincts - it's innate racism and willful ignorance - was really sobering, but not surprising. Like I said, this is a post-2016 world, and I'm a millennial. I think I know how things would go.

As a trilogy, The Themis Files is completely successful. Each book is fast-paced and creative, with compelling characters and epic twists. I can't emphasize enough how, whether due to the constrictions of the format or intentional choice, the story is simply not weighed down. Time moves quickly, characters move on and evolve, situations and circumstances shift without too much attention paid to the details. I loved this aspect. It felt fresh and springy and I felt swept along for the ride, in a great way.

But I will say I was hoping for a few things to happen that didn't. Primarily, the return of our nameless friend. I fucking loved him, and his presence was missed. If you have a device that can bring back the dead, why not use it on him?! Man, he was the best. He anchored the story down in ways I really appreciated. Plus, he was funny. I was hoping - really, truly hoping - right down to the very last page that his grey text would appear out of nowhere. I would've cheered. Sigh. Oh well. Can't have them all.

ANYWAY. I am so, so, so excited that I was able to close out another series. And it was such a fantastic one! Highly, highly recommend these books for the beach, or for a plane ride, or for anyone who just wants to slip into exciting sci-fi for a while. TEAM THEMIS!!

Only Human on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Waking Gods (Themis Files #2)

4 stars. I'm trying so, so super hard to stick to my goal of finishing series/catching up on things and look! Doing it! Loving it! Honestly I don't know how well I'll be able to recall this book, because shit has really hit the fan recently in terms of life stuff, but I have to say, it was such a relief to read about alien robots every time I picked it up. Part of me wonders if I’ll remember it even more vividly because of that. Either way, I can't wait to read the final one and find out what happens.

Waking Gods picks up where Sleeping Giants left off and then immediately broadens its scope to ... well, global. Universal. Robots similar to Themis appear all over the planet and, well, they don't exactly come in peace. Dr. Rose Franklin, robot pilots Kara and Vincent, our unnamed friend, a few other familiar faces plus some refreshing new ones work together to try to save the world facing incredible stakes and unexpected threats.

I will say this - these books are totally unafraid to really go there. The death and destruction in this book occurs on an insanely widespread scale. And also a personal one. I don't think it's a spoiler when I say that not everyone survives this particular battle for humanity (what like there's only one?). It's good stuff.

A couple of questions: the solution that ended up "defeating" the robots was... well, what the fuck was that? Still not exactly sure where that came from, but it was obviously a kind of clumsy way of setting up the cliffhanger at the end of the book. Also, bringing back Ryan was a little unnecessary. Also, I get that this is kind of a pitfall, or maybe an expected hurdle for readers to jump over when it comes to epistolary novels, but wow some of these characters are really long-winded LOL. It's cool. It's an easy book to skim.

Okay I have a massive headache, so I'm out of here, but I really recommend this series for fans of science fiction. It's an interesting spin on a classic story told in a unique, compelling format.

Waking Gods on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Nine Perfect Strangers

4 stars. The basics: told in multiple POVs, Nine Perfect Strangers follows nine folks - of various backgrounds, ages, professions and idiosyncrasies - when they check into a health spa for a 10-day retreat. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, but the spa's leader, Masha, is a bit mysterious and odd. Things get weird when she reveals that they will all be subjected to a new method of transformational therapy - a "new protocol" ... one that could potentially do more harm than good.

This is going to sound kind of harsh, and I don't mean it to: the characters in this book are really messy. And I don't mean messy as in a trait, I mean messily-written. All of them are all over the place. Frances gave me actual whiplash. Characters can be complex, multifaceted, hypocritical, confused, hormonal - they can have conflicting motivations. But these particular characters lacked strong cores. I truly didn't understand any of them, and frankly wasn't quite sure why some of them even existed... looking at you, Lars!

But, importantly, I rooted for them all the same. Nine Perfect Strangers earns a lot of points for premise, short chapters, old-fashioned charm, and some truly spectacular moments. It's compelling and fun and worth a read IMO. The way Moriarty ties in weight loss - so often it's practically a theme - is brilliant (if not a little too much like being inside my own head all day every day). She's razor sharp about that sort of thing, and also very witty. I like that she explores the concept of "health" and self-improvement through each perspective; our reliance on technology; our varying ideas of perfection; our traumas; our inability to process trauma; our inability to communicate and connect honestly with others...

Anyway, this is a particular type of book for a particular type of reader. It's superficial at times but also carries a lot of emotional depth (please check TWs). It’s entertaining and a fast read. I enjoyed it and will definitely check out the adaptation. Absolutely loved the ending. Honestly every star was earned during one particularly perfect use of corporate speak. I gasped.

Nine Perfect Strangers on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads

Review: Dark Histories: Season Four

5 stars. So awesome. Entertaining, varied, full of the detail-rich writing I'm looking for. I'm such a fan. Favorites: The Chocolate Cream Killer, Alexander Pearce, and the one about Nandor Fodor and the poltergeist. Just like the show's tagline says: the facts are stranger than fiction. The Cardiff Giant was also an extremely hilarious one - I looked it up... pictures exist, and they are fantastic. I hope Ben publishes more of these, in the meantime, I'm lucky to have the podcast.

Dark Histories: Season Four on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads