Category Archives: reviews

Review: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas is a gothic horror delight. Set in the time after the Mexican war for independence, we follow Beatriz as she moves into in her new husband’s pulque-producing hacienda. She is the second wife of the Rodolfo, who’s previous wife died under mysterious circumstances. Everyone seems to have a different story about how his first wife died. The war was hard on Beatriz and her family, but she sees this marriage as a way to change her and her family’s fortunes. It also follows Andres, a local priest who was raised on the Hacienda but for unknown reasons has been banished. Beatriz finds the house to be fine, if neglected at first, but increasingly sinister as the novel progresses. She finds Rodolfo’s sister, an unexpected addition to the property, to be unsettling at best and actively working to undermine her at worst. She must call on the help of Andres and solve the mystery of the house before she becomes another one of its victims.

I enjoyed the setting of this immensely. I know a little bit about Mexico’s history and I loved the idea and the execution of a story with the foreboding home, mysterious husband, a first wife, etc. set in this period of post-war turmoil. This is set in a period of Mexican history where there were a lot of different factions and uncertainties, which was perfect for setting up the characters. It gave the typical elements of gothic horror another layer where we were also looking at the horrors of colonialism. Cañas is a Mexican-American author and says in an author’s note that she picked this time period and wrote these characters in part to fill a gap that she had found in this genre. She had never read stories about women like her. In that same author’s note, she also recommends history readings, in case you are further interested in the time period. I very much appreciate that.

This was really good and if you like gothic horror/romance elements, then I recommend this! Another great find at my local library!

Review: Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (read by Emily Woo Zeller)

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I did not mean to start another series. But, I reached the top of the waiting list at my local library as I was finishing The Starless Sea and I don’t always remember what something is or why I put myself on the wait-list when it comes time to check things out. So, here we are.

Shiori’anma is a princess, the only princess, in the kingdom of Kiata and she does not want to get married. She wants to hang out with her bros and live her life. But, of course, that isn’t what she gets. Following a disastrous failure of a betrothal ceremony, Shiori ends up without an engagement and having to sew an apology tapestry under the watchful eye of her stepmother, Raikama. This turns out to be extra bad news because Shiori is hiding magic in a kingdom that has forbidden magic and Raikama has a secret; she is a sorceress. When Shiori discovers her stepmother’s secret, Raikama banishes her and transforms her six brothers into cranes. Shiori wakes on the other side of the kingdom unable to use her voice, with no money and no identity. She must find a way to survive, reunite with her brothers and return to the capital before something even more terrible than the King losing his heirs can happen. Shiori, of course, finds help along the way.

This was a fun read. I enjoyed Shiori’s arc and the supporting cast of characters are also very fun. There were some unexpected twists that I really enjoyed. I’m interested in what happens next so I’ve added myself to the wait list of the second book. If you like a mix of fairy tale elements, women coming into their power and kicking ass, and slow burn romance, this is for you.

Quick Review: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (read by Dominic Hoffman with Dion Graham, Bahni Turpin, Fiona Hardingham, Allan Corduner, and Jorjeana Marie)

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Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a grad student who studies video games. In between semesters, he takes some time to immerse himself in another thing he enjoys, reading books. Every day, he goes to the campus library, has a wander, picks up some books, and heads back to his room to read. One day he finds an unusual book that doesn’t seem to have an author or any of the usual things you find in a book, like a title page that has publisher information on it. It intrigues him, so he checks it out. He starts reading it immediately, but he is caught up short when he finds himself in the story. He is in the story. A section of the book is about him as a child. This sends Zachary into a tailspin and into full research mode. He has to find out who wrote the book and where it came from. His investigation takes him on an adventure with mysterious masquerades, secret societies, dangerous assassins, thieves, and, eventually, A Starless Sea. This vague description does not do this book justice. But I don’t want to tell you anything else because the book is an adventure you absolutely deserve to go on.

This book was recommended by my friend Cristin and I borrowed the audiobook from my local library. It was so good. It has a story within a story within a story structure and as you spiral down through the stories you meet so many interesting characters with flaws and goals that just made me want to keep reading. I loved Zachary. I loved Dorian, an enigmatic older man who tells Zachary a story and sets him on a path that takes him deep into a secret world. I loved Katrina Hawkins (her parts of the book read by Bahni Turpin, one of my favorite audiobook narrators), Zachary’s friend and chronicler of what happens in the real world after Zachary goes on his adventure. I was touched multiple times by the interactions between the characters and, I’m not going to lie, I definitely cried.

If you like books about stories, stories within stories, or magical realism, I recommend this book. If you like adventures with mystery and romance, I recommend this book. It was a truly good time. The audiobook in particular is fun. The book’s story-within-a-story-within-a-story structure lends itself to multiple different styles of narration and Random House Audio didn’t skimp on that. Dominic Hoffman reads Zachary’s story line. Dion Graham reads Sweet Sorrows, Bahni Turpin reads the excerpts of the secret diary of Katrina Hawkins, Fiona Hardingham reads the Ballad of Simon and Eleanor, Allan Corduner reads Fortunes and Fables, and Jorjeana Marie reads Another place, another time. I really liked that each new story was treated as its own stand alone entity. It really added to the whole production.

Review: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (read by the author)

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I vaguely knew who Jennette McCurdy was thanks to years of stocking magazine’s working for B&N. I knew she was on some Nickelodeon show but I was passed the Nickelodeon phrase in my life. I have nothing but good things about her memoir but the more I learned about her life, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it. I decided to to listen to the audio book. I find listening to memoirs more enjoyable. Listening to her story was rage inducing. I knew that her mother was abusive from the press tour and as an adult who knows the signs of abuse I could see it but Jennette as a child who obviously in love her mother, did not see it that way. She didn’t know any better because for her this was just how things were. Knowing what we now know went on behind the scenes of Nickelodeon shows at the time, I couldn’t help to be angry. All the adults in her life and not a single one of them stepped in to help her. She spiraled out of control but because she was making a lot of people money, they just let her spiral. Infuriating I am happy that she is now in a better place and can see what her mother did and was and find support that she needs to be healthy. To step away from acting, even though it was never what she wanted to do in the first place, takes a strong person. It may not have been we career of choice but it made her a lot of money and leaving acting meant leaving a lot of money on the table. I do appreciate Jennette’s matter of fact way of telling her story. She doesn’t try to paint rosy pictures of her childhood, eating disorders or alcoholism. She talked about all of it in plain terms. She didn’t apologize for how she coped with things or try to excuse her behavior nor did she ever our right made her mom the villain. She told her story Told her truth and has moved on Very healthy of her.

Quick Review: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas (read by Jose Nateras and Krysta Gonzales)

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This is another one from my local public library and it was suggested by a friend. Set in the 1840s, Nena, a daughter of a rancher, must fight to help save her family’s ranch from both encroaching Anglos but also from other more sinister threats. Something is hunting the vaqueros, other ranch workers, and the cattle. Something that leaves them either with a terrible sickness that looks like death or leaves them dry husks.

Néstor is Nena’s childhood best friend. Following an encounter with the mysterious monsters one night, he believes Nena is dead and he flees the ranch, ashamed that he could not save her.

When the United States invades Mexico, Nena’s father and the other ranchers come together to send young men to fight as auxiliary support for Mexico. Nena, who has been learning to be a curandero, volunteers to go with the men to help with the wounded. Her father agrees under one condition, that she agree to get married to a man of his choosing once they return.

Néstor returns at the request of his uncle to join the auxiliary cavalry. Nena and Néstor are reunited after a near decade apart and at the worst possible time. Can they survive the war? Can they survive the monsters? Can they forgive the past? And what about Nena’s promise to her father?

I loved the cowboys and monsters of this. The vampires were the scary kind and not the sexy kind. Nena and Néstor were both likable characters and there interactions were fun. The novel was reasonably fast-paced and it painted a picture of 1840s from a perspective I haven’t got to read, that of the Mexicans coming into contact with white Americans as Texas became a republic and then a state. Nateras and Gonzales did an excellent job switching off narrating chapters from either Néstor’s or Nena’s perspective. I would definitely recommend this one!

Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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**Contains some minor spoilers**

The internet has been going crazy over the whole Man vs. Bear debate. However, there was another debate that came out of the other debate. A TikToker asked Black Women “who would you rather be left alone in a conference room? A white man or a white woman. ” I didn’t even have to read the comments to know what they answer would be. Let’s face it, white women have a history of not being very good allies to our sisters of color. Just look at the last two presidential elections. If you are still shocked by black women’s answer to above question then, read Yellowface because it is a description as to why. June went to Yale with Athena Liu. Athena comes from money and is beautiful and gets her first writing deal before they graduate. She is also Chinese American. June on the other hand struggles to find her voice and has to tutor privilege high schoolers to pay the bills. Meanwhile, Athena has had nothing but success since they graduated. She has released multiple best sellers and now a netflix deal. June’s one book barely sold and her editor and agent ignore her calls. Athena and June go out to celebrate Athena’s Netflix deal then end up going to Athena’s apartment. They get more drunk and make pancakes, which Athena chokes on and dies. Before she dies, Athena shows June her finished manuscript. No one else has seen it or even knows what it’s about. Athena was very secretive about her process or what she was writing about. June takes the manuscript and is instantly drawn to it. As good as it is, it is a first draft so June decides to make some changes to it and then sends it off to submission as her own work. She convinces herself that Athena wouldn’t want it published as it was and she did so much work on it that it’s her book too.

She publishes book under her a new name Juniper Song. Her first and real name. She is finally gets all the acclaim and fame that she always craved and felt she deserved. She is convinced that her lack of success wasn’t because she wasn’t talented but because she was a minority. These days, everyone is looking for diversity after all. She is one of those people that would say with a straight face that she can’t be racist because she had a black friend or in this case an Asian face. Since the story is told in the first person, we get her thoughts in their uncensored glory. How she dislikes Chinese food and afraid to go to Chinatown without her mace. How she was also jealous of Athena and never really liked her. Of course, she is found out but instead of coming clean she just digs in deeper. And for a while she gets away with it because people want to believe white women and since she was making a lot of people a lot of money they kept protecting her. That was until she uses a old prompt of Athena’s and scandal all over again. At this point she is much in her victim era that she has convinced herself that she has done nothing wrong and she’s being bullied. Very much like a certain Author of kids wizard’s and her transphobic comments but I digress.

I got to tell you, as a white woman myself, I had moments reading this where I thought “not all White woman are like this” or “I’m not like this” because I really don’t want think of myself like this but honestly that’s exactly what June would say about herself. She identified as liberal and a democrat. She liked to point out how she started a scholarship in Athena’s name in the same sentence as she denigrated the Black Lives Movement. Any criticism of her was nothing but jealous, SJW looking to score points on the internet despite that fact that they were right. She did steal Athena’s work and passed it off as her own, It really made me think more retrospectively about my own relationships and yeah it’s uncomfortable but need to be down. I don’t truly think I am anyway as bad as June but I do recognize I have my own work to do to be a better ally. I do hope that other white readers do the same too. I did enjoyed the ending because even though June got caught, it was left open to how she could and most likely make a comeback because who doesn’t love a redemption story. Especially for a young white woman.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (read by James Cameron Stewart)

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This was suggested by a friend in my knitting group and dove right in without doing any other investigating. I had the idea that it was like if Groundhog Day was a murder mystery. I should have done a little more looking into the story because it took me longer to get into it than it might otherwise have.

Yes, it is like Groundhog Day and a murder mystery. The main character has 8 opportunities to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, but the catch is he has to start every day in a new body. Of course, that’s not the only hiccup. There are others trying to solve the mystery, too. And whoever solves it, gets to escape.

I thought the mystery was fun and the setting of it was neat. I like the Jeeves and Wooster useless aristocracy vibe. I would definitely recommend it, but just know you might need to make it past the first day before you get really into the story.

Review: Love, Theoretically and Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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I read these two books back to back and since even though they are not technically related to each other I am assuming they take place in the same universe. I know that Love, Theortically and the first book in Ali Hazelwood’s first STEM Romance The Love Hypothesis because Olive and Adam do make a quick cameo. Love, Theoretically follows Elise, a adjunct professor barely getting by. She is interviewing for a tenure track position at MIT but 1 problem. Jack is a physicist professor on the hiring committee and he hates her. It doesn’t help that he thinks she is dating his younger brother. Adjuct professors do not make a lot of money and to help pay the bills she is paid to fake date men. One being Jack’s brother. Not that Jack knows that. I liked this book. Elsie is a great main character that really grows throughout the book. With the help of Jack, Elise finally starts to decide who she wants to be instead of what everyone else wants her to be. I know a little bit about the academia world thanks to Kate and well it sucks. I really sucks. The haves and have nots is such a stark contrast when it comes to professors and the power that mentors have over their mentees. I definitely had a lot of rage moments.

Love on the Brain is the only book in the STEM romance books that doesn’t take place in a University. Bee is a neuroscientist who works for the NIH but gets a chance to lead a project at NASA. The problem is as it always is, her co-lead Levi hates her from their grad school days. When she gets to NASA, her equipment isn’t there. She doesn’t have access to email or even her office. Politics of course is the blame. NASA doesn’t want to share credit. This puts Bee in a bad position because NIH wants results and ready to pull her at any moment. She has to trust Levi will get NASA on board. Despite their shaky start they work well together. And fall in love and all that jazz. Of the three books so far, this is probably my least favorite. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. I did but I didn’t really connect with Levi and Bee as I have with the other couples. That being said I would probably would reread all three books again because they are the perfect escapism.

Review: Pageboy by Elliot Page (read by the author)

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Elliot Page gave us a gift by sharing this memoir about his life and his struggle to come to terms with who he is. The story chronicles aspects of his career but mostly focuses on his struggles with his own body and his understanding of himself. I’ve seen many of Page’s films and I’ve watched some of Umbrella Academy; I would say I’m a fan, but I don’t really know very much about him apart from knowing that he is trans.

The prose of this memoir was conversational and personal. The story is sometimes painful; make sure you have tissues around if you’re someone who is prone to tears. But it is also uplifting and funny in places. I’m not really a memoir reader, but I’m glad I read this. Seeing someone else be apologetically themselves and hearing about how hard it was to do something that seems so basic is a real balm in the world where we often only see outcomes and never see struggles. When you’re going through something hard or you’re working through something, it can sometimes feel that the work of digging through the muck isn’t worth it. The stories in this memoir are a reminder that it is worth it to understand and make peace with things. I am immensely glad that I read it.

This is another book that I got from my local library.

Review: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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This was a fun book about court intrigue and magic. Luiza is a maid in a poor aristocratic families home. Her parents are dead and her only family is her Aunt who is the mistress to a very powerful man. Luiza has a secrets. Not only can she preform little miracles she is also Jewish. Both a dangerous things in Catholic Spain. Things start to change for Luiza when her mistress notices her magic and gets involved in a plan to earn the favor of Antonio Perez and the King of Spain himself. She just has to survive. Make sure that her miracles are seen as coming from God and that no one finds out about her Jewish blood. She meets Santangel, an immortal being to her Aunt’s lover who is to teach her to control her powers.

I do love Leigh Bardugo’s writing. Luiza is strong as I believe anyone has to be in her position. Constantly having to make herself smaller to go unnoticed but also never forgetting who she is. Santangel at first is weary as anyone would be who has lived as long as he has as a slave basically. He has to obey but the more he gets to know Luiza more of his humanity starts to return. It has became a worn trope that the protagonist must enter a dangerous contest to that threatens their life but if they win they get a prize but what can you do. Either than that, I really like this book and I’m okay that it’s a standalone novel. Not every story need to be told over multiple books.