en-US Thu, 15 May 2025 05:05:02 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9427412430 Thu, 15 May 2025 05:05:02 -0700 /review/show/7570907972 S.J. is currently reading Hopes and Fears How Vain by Andrew Wareham
]]> ReadStatus9427406926 Thu, 15 May 2025 05:02:45 -0700 /review/show/7568071388 S.J. finished reading Nothing New on the Land by Andrew Wareham
]]> ReadStatus9423350050 Wed, 14 May 2025 03:21:52 -0700 /review/show/7568071388 S.J. is currently reading Nothing New on the Land by Andrew Wareham
]]> ReadStatus9421821432 Tue, 13 May 2025 16:38:42 -0700 /review/show/7567016462 S.J. is currently reading Fire and Water by Amanda Kayhart
]]> Review7565345260 Tue, 13 May 2025 03:56:01 -0700 /review/show/7565345260 S.J. gave 4 stars to Idolfire (Hardcover) by Grace Curtis
This is a story about two young women very unhappy with their current lives and deciding to go looking for something else to make everything better. Kirby and Aleya are from very different stations in life, but when they are thrown together in an encounter full of action and trauma, they end up forming a fast friendship as they endure lots of hardship and some danger during their joint quest.

This was an ambitious book. After all, anyone who decides to write a character who regularly breaks the Fourth Wall by using second-person POV (you) isn’t aiming to write a generic crowd-pleaser. While I found Kirby’s name jarring as it sounded far too modern for this alternate world which is still adjusting to the fall of the Nivelan empire, both main characters are written with sensitivity and depth. I thoroughly enjoyed their deepening friendship that eventually turns into a love affair and could absolutely believe in it.

Curtis writes well � her characters are nuanced with strengths and weaknesses and despite at times being stubborn to the point of being plain annoying, I never stopped wanting Aleya and Kirby to prevail. Though this book is touted as being a sapphic road quest, there is another character, who starts off being thoroughly unpleasant. But ends up accompanying the two women on their journey and is very much altered by the experience � though there isn’t anything remotely cosy about this transformation. Curtis writes with a gritty edge that keeps her stories unpredictable. Often the surprises that come our way keep the plot fresh and intriguing � but they aren’t always wholly successful.

I got the sense that Curtis had one ending planned and then added the final scene because she’d become so invested in her characters, she wanted that additional opportunity for them. Not only did I think it was unnecessary � I felt it blunted the impact of the previous Epilogue, which I’d really enjoyed. Nonetheless, Curtis is an adventurous, capable author who provides something different and if you enjoy reading something that generally falls slightly outside the usual SFF fare, then give her a go. The ebook arc copy of Idolfire was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest opinion of the book.
8/10 ]]> ReadStatus9416556951 Mon, 12 May 2025 10:38:22 -0700 /review/show/7556000155 S.J. finished reading A Wizard’s Flame by Hankthemoose
]]> Review7562882423 Mon, 12 May 2025 07:22:50 -0700 /review/show/7562882423 S.J. gave 5 stars to The Dream Hotel (Hardcover) by Laila Lalami
Lalami manages to depict Sara’s journey and her initial run-in with the Customs Officer very convincingly. Then, as she is pulled from the queue for further investigation and finally for incarceration at the retention centre � my stomach twisted.

For this dystopian sci fi tale to work, I needed to be completely on Sara’s side. And I was � having infant twins at home waiting for her return made her continuing imprisonment all the more heartbreaking. Lalami’s description of life within the Centre and the speed at which she needs to acclimatise is gripping and fully pulled me into the story.

I found this a very uncomfortable read � to the extent that there were times when I had to break off and read a chunk of something else before plunging back into it. Lalami’s account of someone who lands on the wrong side of an algorithm designed to monitor people and imprison them before they have an opportunity to commit a future crime is chillingly believable. The tedium and pettiness of the rules are wearing and inhumane. Despite repeatedly being told that they are not prisoners and still have rights � the women detainees are treated as if they are criminals. Sara’s disbelief and growing frustration as the initial twenty-one days she is supposed to be detained stretches ever longer is something I keenly felt.

As the plot develops, we learn that there is another reason why Sara has been detained. Suffering from crippling insomnia after the twins� birth, she has uploaded a sleep app. Something she is now bitterly regretting� I don’t want to say more, because of the risk of Spoilers � but the glimpses we see of the outside world are also scarily plausible. All in all, this is a cautionary tale of how we should be watching carefully at the direction governments and commerce are moving towards in an effort to make everyday life safer and more profitable. The reason why it hasn’t garnered a ten is that the ending seemed a little flat. That said � I’ve found myself thinking about this one a lot since I completed it and highly recommend it if you want to read a thought-provoking critique of some of officialdom’s current mindset. While I obtained an arc of The Dream Hotel from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10 ]]> ReadStatus9415302131 Mon, 12 May 2025 03:11:11 -0700 /review/show/7559427295 S.J. finished reading Battle Bard: Bards of the Broken Empire by Robyn Wideman
]]> ReadStatus9410925329 Sat, 10 May 2025 21:37:53 -0700 /review/show/7559427295 S.J. is currently reading Battle Bard: Bards of the Broken Empire by Robyn Wideman
]]> Review7558535016 Sat, 10 May 2025 14:02:54 -0700 /review/show/7558535016 S.J. gave 5 stars to The River Has Roots (Hardcover) by Amal El-Mohtar
This novella isn’t a long read and the story isn’t complicated. In fact, I quickly worked out pretty much the direction the narrative would take. Up to a point, that is�

To be clear, while the prose is exquisite and the descriptions lyrical and vivid � I’m not a fan of such writing, unless it is put to use in the depiction of the characters and backdrop. I loathe stories where it’s all about the style at the expense of the substance � it’s the main reason why years ago, I stomped off in a huge huff from the literary genre to make my reading nest within SFF. El-Mohtar manages to ensure her poetical prose is the tool and not the master of this beautifully crafted tale, where the tension comes from knowledge of the roots of such stories � and wondering exactly how this is all going to end.

This is a classical fairytale, where two sisters � one dark and one fair � have a gift bordering on the magical when singing together, which they use to serenade the willows in their family’s care. The Hawthorns pollard their trees to make a variety of useful objects, so their continued income and welfare heavily rely on the health of the trees on their land. And they have a reputation for having the best trees in Thistleford � a reputation that comes to bite them, when a jealous neighbour wants a piece of what they have� While both sisters are extremely close and love each other dearly, there is growing tension between them. Esther is increasingly drawn to the fae and her developing feelings for Rin � Ysabel wants nothing to do with the dangerous allure of Arcadia and instead, turns to the human community in and around Thistleford. Yet twice every day, they come together to sing to the trees and know in their hearts that each will always be there for the other.

The mechanism of how the magic works isn’t highly explained � I’m relaxed about that, so long as the details given sort of make sense, which they do. There are those who study the grammar by which magic can be accessed, there are some who can appreciate it on an instinctive level, such as Esther. Not that she knows sufficient to always keep her safe. I loved the character of Agnes Crow and I’d love to see a story with her as the main protagonist because she is so very cool. Any niggles? I got a tad exasperated with the illustrations. Any kind of graphic doesn’t play nicely with my Kindle and while I’m sure it all looks stunning in a print edition, the illustrations did mess up the formatting and generally get in the way of the story.

Other than that minor annoyance, I found this to be a beautiful story and I loved that it celebrated the relationship between sisters, without descending into sentimentality. Highly recommended for fans of Fantasy that draw on classical fairytale stories. While I obtained an arc of The River Has Roots from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10 ]]>