Did not make it past first round SPSFC4. 

Did not make it past first round of SPSFC4.

Did not proceed from initial round in SPSFC4

At halfway through the novel, I did not see evidence of Latine representation, which is the specific Indie Ink 2024-25 award I was reviewing this novel for (Latine Representation by a Latine Author). 

Given other novels I needed to judge for SPSFC4 finals and Indie Ink, I had to drop this one, but the world building is interesting! 

Read this as part of my judging for Indie Ink 2024-2025 awards cycle for the Writing the Future We Need category of Latine Representation by a Latine Author. Please note that the below review does not reflect my scoring of the novel for this award, or otherwise have impact on the way I judged the novel for the competition. 

This is a debut novel by writer Mary Rajotte, where we follow the story and struggles of Valeria, our elder teenage MC. Valeria is struggling with the loss of her Mexican American father in her childhood, and struggling with her own identity and growing witch powers. Valeria's mother is the leader of her Canadian witch community, and the novel begins with Valeria struggling with being called to stand by her mother's side in a position of power/leadership while she struggles with her powers and abilities. 

From the beginning of the novel, Valeria and her community are persecuted and hunted down by Los Cazadores, or The Hunters, an enemy sect of individuals powerful in their own right due to their own magical powers where they can see through the eyes of their coyote familiars, and use them to hunt down Valeria and her witch community across North America. Valeria and her family and community are part of a witch sect who can turn into owls, a magic passed down to them from one of Valeria's ancestors who sacrificed herself to imbue them with ongoing powers for hundreds of years. 

The conflict with Los Cazadores goes back to the time of Valeria's ancestor, although a peace had been brokered. Somehow, Los Cazadores follow Valeria from her home near Toronto all the way to Los Angeles, where she connects with her cousin and other parts of their owl coven, leading the reader to believe Los Cazadores must have some sort of inside information or way of knowing how to predict the movements of the owl coven to which Valeria belongs, and her father belonged before her. 

The build of all of this is done pretty well, particularly for a debut novel writer. Unfortunately, for me, a lot of what comes after/Rajotte is trying to build with the novel becomes pretty quickly confusing and disjointed. Further, it was really distracting and difficult for me personally to see past the constant errors in Spanish that the author makes. This could have been easily resolved with a sensitivity reader or two, given this is one of the author's identities, but this does not mean that she speaks Spanish. 

Due to the plot becoming wobbly and disjointed, as well as just a lot of tightening up that should happen with characters, I think this novel would have been well-served by some solid edits/revisions in order to be a more compelling story, and tighter novel. 

I really liked the sound of this novel, and the premise sounded really intriguing. Unfortunately, this one was not one I really enjoyed, and I struggled a bit even with the lens from which I was attempting to read the novel, regardless of some of the copy/line and content editing I feel like it could benefit from. 

Secondary characters are inequitably developed, with only a couple of them feeling like more "real" characters. Additionally, a lot of the foreshadowing (and internal monologue, among other aspects of the writing) became very repetitive, with zero clue to the reader as to what they should be picking up on - the part that was obvious was just that something was up, but there were not any clues for the reader for the ultimate reveal, which makes for a much less interesting/exciting reveal. 

Interesting start to the BRZRKR series by Reeves and Kindt. I'll be looking forward to reading more and diving into this story further! 

Thanks first and foremost to NetGalley and Kathleen at Penguin Random for pre-approving me to read and review this eARC.

Ten Incarnations of Rebellion's publication date is next week, and I'm thrilled to share my perspective on this novel, as I have read and thoroughly enjoyed other works of Patel's.

This novel is an alternative version of historical events wherein India does not gain independence until the 1960s, and much of the history we know today about that era in Indian history is erased and/or re-written. Patel asked what might have happened if India had remained under British rule for a couple extra decades - how may that have shaped the India we know today, and the India of yesteryear. Patel explores themes of family, grief, revenge, justice, revolution, love, queerness, gender ideals and roles, and much more in Ten Incarnations. These themes are explored in depth, often from varied perspectives. This worked incredibly well, as did the unexpected folks along the way whose minds were shifted by Kalki and her crew, or by the way they saw the British treating Indians on a daily basis. 

While none of the reveals were surprising for me, this could be a really fun engagement for many readers, as the bread crumbs Patel leaves aren't overly obvious, I don't think. (I blame having a spicy brain with pattern recognition always on 1000)

There wasn't quite as much depth to some of the characters as I'd have liked, particularly given this novel is primarily character-driven. I didn't feel as connected to the characters, their aims, their dreams, their arcs, as I'd have liked to have been, but not every novel is a perfect fit for every reader. 

Nonetheless, this novel is a solid imagining and revisiting of historical events that took place, revolution and rebellion, and themes of resistance and oppression, including in some ways that continue to impact India and the rest of the subcontinent. 

The lower ranking doesn't reflect the impact that this novel has and can have, but simply how well it worked for me. This novel is slower-paced than I prefer, and is a bit more politically dense than I'd prefer, lowering the intrigue factor for me significantly. Regardless, I'll continue to read from Patel, and look forward to hearing how others feel about this novel! 

I read this novel as part of SPSFC4 semi finals round of judging. 

Note that the below review and associated star ranking here on StoryGraph does not necessarily reflect my judging or score for SPSFC4 semi finals. 

Saint Elspeth by Wick Welker is a dystopian SF novel set in a not-so-distant future where a species of aliens descend upon earth, unleashing nuclear war and far fewer humans on the planet. While the alien species don't directly attack humans, our penchant for hoarding resources, wealth, and munitions leads to a quick escalation of the human experience on the planet. For some time, folks live in bunkers, and eventually re-emerge. Our novel takes place approximately 20 years after humans re-emerge from their doomsday communal bunkers, where these heretofore never truly seen by human beings alien beings communicate that they're dying, need the help of the humans who decimated each other due to their arrival, in order to protect earth and humanity, or what's left of it, from an additional alien race who are aggressors, wiping out sentient species across the galaxy. 

In the author's note, Welker notes being inspired by Weir's Project Hail Mary, and Cixin's The Dark Forest. While I've not yet read the latter, the inspiration from the former and the ways in which humanity is forced to try to reconcile our communication style with beings who process information and communicate in ways vastly different than us is clear. 

I'm not the biggest fan of dystopian novels, as I feel that they highlight the worst in humanity, and when it comes to SF, I prefer to engage with stories that are more uplifting and include themes and tropes of found family, what is sometimes referred to as "cozy SF", etc. That said, I did quite enjoy this novel, and found the main characters compelling, relatable, and real. Our MC, Doctor Elspeth, has been running a community hospital in Neo San Francisco for the two decades since emerging from bunkers. She is worn down, tired, and who our alien species chooses to communicate their needs with. Some of the other characters are just as lovely, quirky, etc. Some of the character growth was really lovely to see, and some loose ends weren't tied up perhaps the way I would have most preferred, but in all, this is a very solid novel, and I may end up reading more from Welker! 

Read this novel as part of judging for semi-finals for SPSFC4. Please note that the below review reflects my personal score for the novel, and does not necessarily reflect how I scored the novel for the semi-finals round of SPSFC4 competition. 

What a relatable and loveable cast of characters! I didn't really know what to expect with this one going into it and enjoyed it a LOT more than I thought. Generally, I'm not the biggest fan of romance, but Hess may have changed my mind a little with SF romance/is asking me to challenge that assumption. There was so much tenderness between characters in budding romances and relationships, such real reflections on humanity, our faults, and that we can be loved for who we are fully by the right person/people. Big fan! 

I have heard from some other readers who read other works of Hess' that the overlap of characters in really different situations was a bit jarring, so something to consider if you've been following along with Hess' works longer than I have. 

Fun, fast-paced little Scalzi novel. I loved the idea that old folks are being sent out into space once they feel like their lives on Earth are over/they're ready for a "fresh start," as it were. Lo and behold, things aren't quite what they expected once they arrive in space to serve in the CDF (Colonial Defense Forces). I'll be intrigued to continue reading this series, and read this one in about two sittings. 

Fast-paced, not overly developed characters, but there's plenty there.