I was so prepared to call this quirky and tryhard, but it’s actually charming. I love the conversations about being afraid of how the world is going (look, we’re in a worldwide pandemic right now) but fighting to see the beauty in it. Of course, I also enjoyed the conversations about the different methods of art, controlled and poised and explosive and combative, etc. Payne is really rough around the edges, but she added a fun layer to the plainness.

I’m glad Jane’s PTSD and anxiety after the incident are treated realistically, and I liked her mom’s development. The “evil adults” who wanna ruin all artistic expressions trope felt a bit cliché here, but it works, I guess. The Janes are all flat archetypes, but that also works I suppose. The book feels like a conversation-piece to me more so than a character or plot-driven story, but I liked it.

 So much back-stabbing and fighting. What’s right and wrong gets muddy for Hana too. Still, I liked this series overall. Zombies and samurai make a surprisingly good pairing. 

 Still good. But I’m finding Kenichi way too gullible. 

 

I enjoyed reading Never Looking Back with its New York setting and fun characters. Now, I’m not familiar with most Greek mythology, so any parallels and references were lost to me. Some of the dialogue is the slightest bit corny, but it’s definitely New Yorker slang. I think it just sounds more natural when you hear it, y’know. Just curious, y’all New Yorkers, still saying homeboy? 

Anyway, the story touches on a lot of things, but it didn’t feel clunky to me. Prince’s music and the evil (and beauty) of humans are both recurring themes. I thought it was an interesting, though strange, choice to keep capitalizing Black in place of African-American/black-American. I get it though because black can be a colloquial nickname for the ethnicity. 

The narrative acknowledges hope and resilience can be a very powerful thing, especially as it relates to Puerto Rico as Eury feels untethered from her island. She’s seen the destruction and rebuilding that needs to take place, and she’s tired of people questioning why she and others haven’t done anything about it. I also, LOVE the conversations about balancing faith, therapy, and medication. Those could be a good trio, if you’re open to it. 

When it comes to characters, I like when they aren’t just black and white. For example, Melaina was catty and #TooMuch but not evil. She had a bit more depth than just the jealous mean girl. Orpheus/Pheus was bland, just a charming dude with a voice of silk, until he started trying to protect Eury. One of my favorite characters was Pheus’s worldly and spiritual dad. He wasn’t the usual, hot Latin-dude stereotype, so I thought he was refreshing. His and Pheus’ father-son connection was heartwarming. “Be safe. Don’t be stupid.” 

Every moment of the Ato conflict was great. I was questioning Ato’s existence and other things too. The second half of the story definitely amps up the supernatural. Now, there is an uncomfortable scene where a man has intent to sexually-harass and/or assault a character, but the majority of this book wasn’t dark. The story’s actually fast-paced, which is something I personally like. 

Overall, the ending was fitting and ultimately subverted my expectations. I’m interested in reading more from this author. 

3.5