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books, murder mystery, Reviews

Deep and Deadly: Murder on the Scottish Coast (Inspector Torquil McKinnon 7) by Keith Moray

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Stars: 3.5 out of 5

I must admit upfront that I wasn’t aware that this was book 7 in an ongoing series when I picked up this book, and I haven’t read any of the previous instalments. This, however, isn’t that big of a deal. The story can be read as a standalone, since all the characters get sufficiently well-done introductions. There are references to events that, I suppose, happen in previous books, but they are fleeting and don’t confuse the reader.  

With that out of the way, let’s dive into the book itself. 

I loved the setting! I lived in Edinburgh for a year when I was in college, and visited the Scottish highlands and the Isle of Skye. It’s beautiful and rugged terrain that feels unchanged from the previous centuries. The scenery is breathtaking, and the weather is capricious to say the least. I was looking to recapture that sense of wonder I had when I was there in person, and the book has that in spades.

I also loved all the characters. They feel real, multidimensional people, with their own flaws and quirks, but ultimately pretty relatable. However, I must admit that the newspaper editor got on my nerves a few times. He seems like the person who just shrugs off all bad experiences and never learns his lessons from them. I mean, that’s a good quality to have for a news reporter, but it must be hard to be his friend or girlfriend.

You could feel the history between all the characters, and their relationships felt organic. In fact, that whole island community where everyone knows everybody else’s business is very well done. It was a pleasure to get to know the residents of West Uist. 

My issue is that there are too many red herrings and extraneous plots that don’t bring much to the story. The story is about Mungo and his crusade against the inhabitants of the island for real or perceived sins. What did the Irish actor and his cronies even add to the narrative? Also, what was Mungo’s motive for trying to poison them? They had nothing to do with what had happened to his family, so they shouldn’t even have been on his hit list. The book is short as it is, so adding this storyline took page count that could have been spent on diving more into the lives of the various people on Mungo’s list. As it stands, a lot of them are mentioned in passing, but not developed enough for us to care. 

And speaking of Mungo himself. He is the reason I didn’t rate this book higher. In fact, I think he is the weakest link in this story. He is a very unconvincing main villain. He comes across as the typical delusional mustache-twirling kind, along with the mandatory monologue about his plans and reasons for doing what he is doing. Honestly, that monologue had me rolling my eyes and skimming ahead.

But all in all, this was a very enjoyable murder mystery book set in the Scottish island setting that I loved to revisit. I might even go back and read the other books in the series.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Post-Apocalyptic, Reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

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Stars: 3 out of 5

This is a difficult book to rate or review. I really liked parts of it, but other parts left me indifferent to mildly irritated.

I liked the melancholy vibe of the book, and that’s best translated in the chapters detailing Arthur’s life as well as what happened to all the people whose lives he touched. It was interesting to see how they spent their last days before the world as we know it ended… and what those who were lucky enough to survive made of themselves in the new world that rose from the ashes.

I admit that I was less attached to the characters from the Traveling Symphony. Where people from Arthur’s time seemed pretty well developed, the members of the Symphony didn’t have much depth past their names and functions. I mean, I can’t even remember who was who, apart from Kirsten and Arthur, and I just finished the book. So to me, those chapters dragged, and I found myself loose interest more often then not and putting the book aside.

My biggest problem is that I don’t get the point of the whole Prophet subplot. Even with the spoiler discovery of the Prophet’s identity, his existence in this book doesn’t particularly make sense. He is way too milquetoast to be an antagonist in this book, and the way this whole situation ended is rather… anticlimactic. There was this whole buildup to this confrontation between the Symphony and the Prophet that didn’t happen in the end.

All in all, it was a decent story about loss and grief, and lost dreams, and how different people cope with surviving the end of the world, but to me, it was lacking a secret ingredient that would have made it perfect.

books, Fantasy, Reviews, Urban fantasy

Dead Witch on a Bridge by Gretchen Galway

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Stars: 3.5 out of 5

Though I wasn’t particularly fond of the protagonist initially, she grew on me by the end of the book. This is a pretty cosy urban fantasy story about witches, wellsprings, fae, and murder. Yes, there is murder(s), but there are no gory descriptions, so it’s all pretty PG-13.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read, though I found Alma to be very gullible and rather clueless for the better part of this book. You would think that with her horrible upbringing, she would be less trusting of people. And speaking of upbringing, dear old dad doesn’t win any awards there. But when your only parent is a known thief who only cares about himself, I would think you would develop a healthy distrust of other people, seeing how even your dad probably lied to you and betrayed you over and over again in the past.

I did like that Alma stopped wallowing in her self-pity and actually started developing her magical abilities as the story progressed, and that she finally decided what kind of witch she wants to be. Which is one that doesn’t need the approval of the Protectorate to feel important and worthy.

The central mystery wasn’t particularly complicated, and I admit that I knew right around the memorial service scene who the villain of the story was, but it was still pretty entertaining. And the dog survives until the end, so that’s an added bonus!

I had a pleasant time reading this book, but I don’t know if I am invested enough to continue with the series.

books, Fantasy, Reviews

The Soul of Chaos (Litanies of the Lost Star 1) by Gregory Wunderlin

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DNF at 30%

It’s not a bad book, but I just couldn’t get into it. The worldbuilding is almost non-existent, and I didn’t mesh with the characters.

I don’t mind being thrown into a story off the deep end and having to figure out the world and the rules… as long as the author provides that information eventually. But 30% of the way in, I still don’t know how magic works in this world. Or what those ancient cities Rurik and his crew dig up mean in the grand scheme of things. Or how it relates to his sister’s chapters and the attempted coup that’s happening there. Who are the Voidtouched? Where do they come from? What is that ancient city and the magic ring Rurik puts on? No clue.

I don’t even know the political system of this world. Up until the ambush, I was convinced that Solara was the marshall for the Iskarion family. Or why the only heir to the family had to flee her home in order to save them all.

It’s hard to follow a story when you don’t know the stakes. And you can’t determine the stakes if you don’t know how this world is organized. Are the runes and portals a normal occurrence in this world? Is Rurik’s ring something special that grants him extraordinary abilities? What are shapers and what do they do? No clue, because I don’t know how magic works in this world.

I also wasn’t particularly interested in either of the two POVs – Rurik and his sister, whose name I can’t even recall anymore. I could have sat through confusing worldbuilding if I was invested in the characters, but I wasn’t.

The writing is also rather stilted, especially when it comes to dialogue. I caught myself rolling my eyes a few times at how unnatural the dialogue sounded, but I decided to quit when I found myself skimming through fight scenes. If even that wasn’t enough to keep me engaged, it was a lost cause.

PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Horror, Reviews

Reunion by Christopher Farnsworth

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Stars: 4.5 out of 5.

This is one darn good book! It’s a bit of a cross between Stephen King’s It and a superhero story, as the protagonists are children that had to fight an unimaginable evil in their high school year. That experience changed them in ways that, even twenty years later, still weigh on them. But those are not ordinary children. All four have superpowers. One has a photographic memory and absolute recall, and also phenomenal powers of deduction. One is a genius inventor with an almost computer-like brainpower. One is half Fair Fold prince who is stronger, faster, and more ruthless than any adult. And finally, one is a literal magician.

It was interesting to get to know these children and their adult versions. I loved that the chapters were split between THEN and NOW, so we got to gradually uncover both what happened during that fateful night of New Year’s Evil during their high school year and what is happening in the present when they are all called back into Middleton for the 20-year reunion. We are gradually introduced to each of the four protagonists and shown what makes them special, but we also discover what drew them together and allowed them to defeat Colchester the first time.

I must admit that the NOW chapters were rather depressing, especially when showing their lives before they came back for the Reunion, because all of them, except for Alana, maybe, seemed to have lived in a holding pattern. They had so many dreams and goals before New Year’s Evil, and they just let those turn into ash. It’s especially apparent for Eric who lost his real magic and spent 20 years being a stage magician in Las Vegas, and drinking himself into an early grave.

So while returning to Middleton isn’t something none of them wanted, that return allows them to finally kill the past once and for all. To resolve issues that were left hanging. To defeat the evil that was left to linger and fester because of cowardice. And by doing that, they can let go of that past and finally start living the lives they were destined to have. That’s a powerful message right there.

My only complaint is that the Followers are a very stupid bunch for an evil death cult. I know that humans can be cruel, petty, and selfish, but come on, are you telling me that so many people went along with literally bringing about the end of the world and expected to survive it? Or even gain anything from it? And not kids. Normal adult people who should know better.

But that’s just a small gripe. If you want a good character-driven book and you loved It, then I suggest you go and get Reunion. You won’t regret it.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Ghost Story, Reviews

The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird by Louisa Morgan

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Stars: 2.5 out of 5

This book started with a bang, and I really liked the character of Beatrice and her genuine desire to help people. She is a compelling character and easy to like. Though I must admit that I couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief that dropping acid a couple of times would somehow unlock her latent ability to see other people’s ghosts. However, I was willing to let that slide because I liked Bea, and I wanted to see where this story would go. I wanted to see Bea conquer her ghosts and come triumphant on the other end of her ordeal.

I also loved the island and the nuns who run the ferry. Mother Maggie was a pleasure to read about, and I would have loved to hear more about her life and her very pale and washed-out ghosts. Unfortunately, we don’t get nearly enough of her in this story.

The descriptions of island life are also very calming. I wouldn’t have minded living in Bea’s cottage with the cows and the views of the tumultuous sea. So I was fully engaged with the story and read the first 50% of the book in one sitting. Then Anne arrived at the island, and the book went downhill from there.

See, the story shifted from being about Bea to being about Anne and her abusive and controlling husband. Bea was relegated to a side character who was there to build up Anne’s confidence and be a receptive ear for Anne to tell us her story. It would have worked hadn’t Anne been such a meh character. I understand what the author tried to do here – the battered wife who carries all the guilt about being in this situation in the first place and thinks it’s her fault. However, this is written a bit on the nose here. Her husband is a caricature of an abusive and controlling psychopath. He is so over-the-top evil that I couldn’t take him seriously as a character or as a threat to Bea and Anne. There are better books written about this topic. Heck, even Stephen King wrote a book about a battered wife who ran away from her abusive cop husband and managed to build a new life for herself, and that book was more compelling than Anne’s story.

So after the focus shifted to Anne, I slowly lost interest in the book. In fact, I put it down for a few weeks and only came back to it because I don’t like DNFing books unless I absolutely don’t jell with them. But I skimmed till the end more than I read, hitting the major plot points. And even then I can tell that the ending is very overwritten. It should have stopped several chapters before it did. In fact, it should have stopped after James left the island the second time. Everything else could have been summarized in a brief epilogue. 

As it stands, this book had a lot of promise but ended up a disappointment for me, but I am willing to give it 2.5 stars because in the beginning I really thought I would love it.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Horror, Reviews

The Atrocity Engine (Custodians of the Cosmos 1) by Tim Waggoner

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Stars: 2 out of 5

I was ready to love this book. On a side note, love that cover! That’s what drew me to the book in the first place. 

The idea behind this series is very intriguing – the world is basically dying (albeit slowly) because there is a giant black hole in the center of the universe called the Geir that is devouring it. Our protagonists work for the Maintenance whose sole purpose is to slow down the destruction of the known universe and delay the inevitable collapse. Our antagonist is an aspiring member of the Multitude, whose purpose is the exact opposite – precipitate the end of the universe and inflict as much death and destruction as possible in the process.

The premise is excellent, and I was all onboard to enjoy a thrilling ride… but I was sorely disappointed. 

There are several issues, but the biggest one is the lack of worldbuilding, or the inconsistency thereof. The author mentions that the Maintenance has existed since at least the Roman empire and that they know everything it’s possible to know about Corruption and entropic energy… Yet they miss some pretty big clues during this book. 

Their agents are supposed to be trained in fighting the Corruption and the corrupted people, yet in all the fights we see, they freeze or behave like this is their first time on the job. The most glaring example is when 4 Interventionists just froze and let their enemies swat them with a car like flies. These people are supposed to be professionals, so why is it that the only two people who know what they are doing are our protagonists? Also, whose stupid idea was it not to arm the agents that are the first in the field? Yes, they their role is to observe and call for backup, but they have a right to defend themselves while backup is getting there. 

But my biggest issue were the characters. They are very one-dimentional. The bad guys are so bad they are almost caricatures of themselves. I mean Rachel takes the cake of psycho bitch who loves making her victims suffer. But she is also not very bright… I would even say stupid. All her actions show a lack of planning and an inability to predict the consequences even two steps in advance.

And Neal and Gina… well, we have the grizzled veteran and the special snowflake. Neither of them are interesting or relatable. 

Neal knows everything better than anyone else at Maintenance, and is always proven right. Constantly goes against the authority of his superior, but somehow never gets even a slap on the hands for it. Then why is he still at the bottom of that ladder?  If he is so great, shouldn’t he be running the joint by now?

Gina comes across as naive to the point of stupidity. Oh, you only now start to wonder if your family is maybe pursuing their personal gain instead of the goals Maintenance has? What, you never noticed that none of the other Maintenance workers lived in mansions and drove expensive cars and wore luxury clothes? You never once stop to consider why your family thinks that is normal when the very core of Maintenance is to live modestly and only take what you need? Yeah, I didn’t connect with her at all, and her POVs were a chore to read through.

The plot itself is full of contrivances and conveniences that drive it to where the author wants it to go instead of letting it evolve naturally as a consequence of the actions characters take. I’m guessing that’s why the villain comes across as brain-dead and making such stupid decisions.

All in all, this was a complete disappointment for me, and I will not be continuing with this series. This was also my first book by this author, and now I’m not even sure if I want to give him another try.

PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Ghost Story, Reviews, Urban fantasy

Ghost Detective (Myron Vale Investigations 1) by Scott William

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Stars: 4 out of 5

This was a surprisingly good book, though not what I expected when I started reading it. I mean, it’s classified as a mystery book, and even though yes, we have a private detective investigating a possible murder, the book isn’t really about that.

This book is about human connections and ties that bound. About love and hate, and everything in between that can spark between two people and can often transcend death. It’s about how we often hurt the people we love, or stay in a toxic relationship because we still love the person hurting us.

I was actually surprised at how much I liked Myron Vale, our protagonist. If you think about it, his life is a bit of a nightmare. He can see ghosts… all of them… all the time. Not only can he see them, but he can also hear them, and smell them, but he can’t touch them. But more importantly, he can’t tell the difference between the dead and the living. To him, they all feel real. The only way for him to differentiate the living from the dead is to touch them. And touching strangers is kind of frowned upon in our society.

I could understand the depth of despair he descends into after the shooting when he realizes that his not being able to differentiate between the living and the ghosts means he can’t do his job as a police detective anymore. When he can’t tell which treat is real and which is just a ghost, he can’t react quickly and efficiently. Worse, he can put his partner in danger.

I wasn’t particularly fond of Billie, but the more I learned about their relationship, the better I understood her as well. Theirs is the perfect example of a love that has turned toxic, but neither is willing to end the torment. In a way, I’m glad about her decision in the end.

The murder mystery case that Myron is paid to investigate in this book isn’t really all that interesting or mysterious, but it was never the emphasis of this book, just a vehicle for the story.

I do have some questions though. Like why did the priest want Myron to drop the case? Why did he imply that if he followed through with it, some entities in the ghost world might consider him a threat and might even eliminate him? This is never brought up again. Maybe this will become important in the following books in the series, and I think I will check out book 2.

books, Horror, Reviews

Haunted Ground: The Ghosts of Laskin’s Farm by Cailyn Lloyd

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Stars: 2.5 out of 5

I had such great hopes for this book! It started strong, and I thought that finally, this would be a decent ghost story. One where supernatural elements would help the protagonist against the very real threat that the cartel poses.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. 

The setup is perfect – an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere seemingly frozen in time. Fully furnished and provisioned, like the family just stepped out for a minute and never came back home. All their possessions still there. A desperate protagonist who is willing to put up with the creepiness of the situation in exchange for a safe haven from the evil that is hunting her. I loved the beginning of this book with Kat finding the house and setting up, but unfortunately, the story went downhill from there.

The biggest problem is Kat herself. I hate protagonists who are too stupid to live, but survive against all odds (and common sense) because of plot armor, and Kat is a perfect example of such a protagonist. 

So she is on the run from the cartel. She thinks her best bet is to go to ground and disappear off the radar for a while. That makes perfect sense. If I were her, I would leave the state first, and go as far as I could before I found a hole to hide in instead of staying in the vicinity, but okay, to each its own. She finds this abandoned farmhouse by looking through satellite images and Google Maps. Okay, that works too. But then she starts remodeling the place and improving it once she gets there – clears out the backyard, dumps the trash from the house outside, etc, and it never crosses her mind that all those changes will be visible to satellites? Google updates its maps regularly. So a cleared-out backyard in an abandoned farm would stick out like a sore thumb. Does she think that the people looking for her are too stupid to use Google Maps?

Also, if you are trying to hide and keep a low profile, settling near a small town where almost everyone knows each other and the presence of a stranger will be noted is not a very good idea. Biking to said town several times a week for supplies is also rather stupid. People remember a stranger on a bike buying provisions twice a week. At least spread your shopping between several small towns. Go to different ones each week, etc.

My other issue is that I didn’t particularly like how women were portrayed in this book. Other than Kat, who is portrayed as this good person who slipped and make some mistakes, but is turning her life around now, everyone else is bitchy and condescending. Natalie is judgemental and self-serving, oh, and seems to hate rich men for no particular reason. And Gina… don’t even start me on Gina. Power-hungry but insecure she-bitch. I mean, I thought we were done with these cliched representations by now. All the women in Kat’s life are horrible, apart from her cell-mate who is conveniently absent from the story. All the men around her are also horrible, apart from her love interest who is too nice to be true. 

Finally, why did we even mention ghosts in this story? They play no part in it. Everything that happened is a geological phenomenon. Take the ghosts out of the book, and nothing changes. I came for a haunted house book, not for whatever this turned out to be. 

Also, the plume affects literally everyone apart from Kat herself? She is the only one who can keep her wits about her and not succumb to paranoia, violence,e and stupidity? Yeah, I don’t believe that. 

books, Fantasy, Reviews

Dead Country (The Craft Wars 1) by Max Gladstone

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Stars: 3 out of 5

I love the world of the Craft that the author so carefully crafted (pun totally intended). However, I didn’t love this book as much as I loved the previous ones in the series. 

It took me a while to figure out why. This book has all the right ingredients: a compelling protagonist (and I love Tara), a mystery that threatens something she cares about, so the personal stakes are front and center, and another facet of this complex world carefully painted and shown to the readers. I should have loved this as much as I loved the previous books! But instead, this book left me mildly irritated while I was reading it, and a bit dissatisfied when I finished.

The biggest reason is that, as much as I like Tara Abenati, she shines when given good secondary characters to bounce her ideas off of. Even though the previous book was mostly about Kai, Tara’s brief appearances were memorable. Or her interactions with Abelar, Shale, and Selene in Alt Columb. Characters make good stories, and good characters make excellent ones.

Unfortunately, secondary characters are sorely lacking in this book. And by that I mean the relationship that is front and center in this story – the one between Tara and Dawn. I was actually looking forward to seeing how Tara in the role of a mentor for once. To see how she would approach this responsibility and what kind of teacher she would choose to be. And the answer is – a rather boring one. 

Yes, I understand that the theory of the Craft is important to the story, but I think the lectures are a bit overdone here. It bogs down the story and kills the momentum. I mean, there is literally nothing going on in this book between the first attack of the Raiders on Tara’s village and the last stand during which the Father is kidnapped. And that’s about a third of the book. I admit that my attention started to wander in that section, and I had to put the book away for a bit and read something more exciting before I came back to it.

It would have been okay if Dawn was a more fleshed-out character. As it stands, we don’t know anything about her apart from the fact that she wandered onto this farm with her father, and was not treated well after he died. We don’t know about her dreams, her fears, or what she is like when she isn’t trying very hard to be the best student Tara could want. Try as I may, I can’t picture her in my head. She is not a person, but a concept. I don’t feel a connection to her like I felt for other characters in previous books. 

And without that connection, everything that happens in the end of the book, and it supposed to have the impact of a gut punch… feels flat. 

Same with Tara’s home village. I know I was supposed to grow to care for it by the end of the book and understand why Tara would fight so hard to save it, but I was mostly irritated with everyone instead, including Tara. And since I didn’t care for the stakes, I wasn’t fully invested either.

Don’t get me wrong, this is still a solid entry in the Craft series and it advances the story. It’s just not the strongest entry to date.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.