An okay read, but fell a little flat for me.

The premise for this novel was intriguing, something different and new. Rarely are there pieces of modern historical fiction that cover musicians in this vein. The story was presented a bit differently than I expected, giving a good insight into the relationship between Katherine "Kay" Swift and George Gershwin, but only truly following Kay in terms of her relationships with her husband, James, and George. There was a lot of focus on James's familial background in the beginning that overshadowed Kay's own past. There wasn't a focus on Kay and her own full life beyond her emotional conflict once she and George meet. Instead, it was merely a story of how she felt about each man and her attempt to determine how to live her life in terms of them. Because of this, the story didn't feel quite full. She became less of a powerful character, despite her obvious talent and musical genius. I needed the tale to be more fully about her, rather than how other men defined her. The fact that the story then ends without following out Kay's life makes this even more blatant and, for me, took something away from the integrity of the tale.

The historical accuracy of the novel feels true to form, and the events and characters were presented in a way that fits to the information available. It is clear through the story and the author's note that there was a lot of care taken to try and make the novel as accurate as possible. Because of this, there are definitely moments where it can take on a bit of a more stiff, educational tone, but the information given is honed to moments that feel important. I found myself intermittently grasped by the plot and did want to finish the book out, but will admit that the pacing wasn't consistent for me and I did have a hard time finding myself truly invested in the story. There are certainly readers out there who will find greater enjoyment in the work than I did, as I do think that there are valuable pieces of story and writing present throughout the book.

The writing is good and flows fairly well, but can come off a bit pretentious. The author is a clear academic and this comes out in word choice and sentence structure. This may make the book slightly more inaccessible for some readers and might have played a part in why I was not able to fully emotionally connect to the story and characters. Something about the tone made the story feel a bit more sterile than I would have liked. There are also a lot of places where names are dropped simply to drop them, not really involving these characters in the scenes in any way other than having been there and potentially adding to the celebrity of Gershwin. I would have rather they were kept only to those characters who truly played a part.

The best part of the novel was the atmosphere of the era. There was good attention to the opulence afforded the upper crust, with a nod to the fact that the Great Depression occurred mid-tale. There was great discussion of the style of New York and the contrasting style developing on the West Coast. There was a lot of inclusion of new inventions and technology of the age and these were sprinkled in to the narrative in a fairly subtle way. The description of clothing and style were also well done and helped to round out the encapsulation. The setting was extremely well established and I enjoyed the inclusion of different facets of society, discussing Tammany Hall, Harlem, the Broadway set, and so much more. The attention to these pieces really brought a lot of color to the narrative and helped to give it a lot of grounding.

All in all, this was an okay read for me. As stated, there are those who would be a better audience. I don't regret my read...I just wish it had pulled me in a little harder.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. * 

Dark, creepy, and an abandoned ghost town. A perfect premise to suck me right on in. I dove into The Lost Village at night after the rest of my family had gone to sleep. That might have been a poor decision. Well...bad for my nerves, great for the book. I read this almost entirely in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. It was highly intriguing and I was also afraid that if I did put it down without resolution it would result in some plot-inspired nightmares.

Told in a dual narrative style, the creep factor is set up right away with the establishment of the situation that led to the discovery of the abandoned mining town in the Swedish wilds. The timeline then moves back and forth between a documentary film crew in the present and the town in the months and days leading up to the disappearance of the townspeople. I loved this approach and found it fun to get little tidbits back and forth, but I did feel like I could have used more of the past and a more detailed exploration of the town and its dynamics in the final days. The bones of the story were there, but I just wanted a harder examination. The events in the present day were fantastic and the story in these parts was full of tension, jump scare moments, and that wonderful creep factor.

I loved the setting and found it incredibly atmospheric. The town came across wonderfully dark and the use of the nighttime and inclement as the primary setting for a lot of the present day action was a very effective tool for ratcheting up the tension. The effects of time and the explanation of the disintegration of the buildings felt realistic and tangible. The descriptions of the old buildings presented a great juxtaposition of sweet little town and haunted house feel. Giving the village a Stepford feel was also a lovely touch.

I enjoyed the characters, but did feel that a few of them could have used a little more development. The protagonist and her history were examined fairly well, but I would have loved to have a little more about her relationships with the other crew members. I also would have enjoyed a deeper investigation into the backgrounds of the other crew members and some of the original townspeople.

The pacing was perfect. I was propelled through the plot and completely hooked by the narrative. I couldn't read fast enough and putting it down was NOT an option. I needed to know what was going to happen and I needed to know what happened to Silvertjarn! I loved the narrative and really enjoyed my overall experience. There were a couple of instances where the logic didn't quite work, but for the most part the pieces of the story fell into place very well. The ending was pretty solid and wrapped up both story lines pretty nicely.

A good, quick, and creepy read with an incredibly fun setting.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

 This book WELL exceeded my expectations. I had my doubts, but the hype train totally delivered.

Firekeeper's Daughter will be in my top reads of 2021 for sure. This was a fantastic book. The writing is fabulous and mixes cultural language with English in such a great way. There is such attention to detail and such a lyrical way that things are delivered without being flowery in the writing. The protagonist is PERFECTION. I loved Daunis. She is strong, determined, and smart and she cares deeply about her community. Her backstory is believable and her circumstances understandable. The focus on plant life and science was so much fun and I loved how much of a science geek Daunis was. It made me so happy.

The plot moved at a fantastic pace, pushing me forward and making me hunger for more. I didn't want to stop reading! The tension was just right...it didn't feel quite like an intense thriller, but the intrigue was still fantastic. The twists and turns were subtle in their approach and then hit hard. There were a few bits here and there that I figured out, but overall it was an incredible rollercoaster of a ride. The story is complex and multifaceted, yet it is presented in a way that is completely accessible and a smooth read. I was sucked right in.

I loved how atmospheric the story was, bringing together cultures and describing things in a way that had me learning so much about indigenous life. The ability to subtly, yet powerfully introduce history, racism, and prejudice into the plot was well-executed and I think there is a lot to learn from the narrative. The creation of community spirit was fantastic and I loved having so much of the culture presented in different ways. The connection to the land and to spirit was so beautifully delivered, it was a great and powerful demonstration of Anishinaabe life.

The side characters were very well crafted. There was a lot of community created in the characters and I loved that there were characters built in all age groups to really make the entire narrative feel fully inclusive of Daunis's experience. Boulley definitely captured teenage spirit in her characters and ran the gamut on personality types.

This is a beautiful, haunting, powerful, and impactful read. I adored it and highly recommend it. 

 4.25 stars. This is an intense and complicated high fantasy. It normally takes me about 4 days to get through a 350 page novel. This is about twice that size, so I figured it would take me about a week. Nope. It took me THREE WEEKS to read. There is just so much jam packed in this book. TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Political intrigue and power-grabbing are not usually intriguing to me in a read, but HOLY CRAP this one sucked me in. There is a lot at play and it is woven together fantastically. So many balls in the air in this narrative, but not a single one drops. It is masterfully crafted.

Expect to be really pulled in and held captive. You will need to move slowly and focus. This is not a breezy read. Hence the reason my read was so long. It is necessary to pay attention to detail and there is a lot of intricate world building. But boy is it magnificent. I love the world that has been created.

The protagonist is a strong and smart female who keeps track of her own scheming SOOOOO much better than I could ever manage. Honestly, EVERYONE in this book has something up their sleeve and it is freaking awesome. There is so much backstabbing and alliances for the sake of achieving something nefarious. Darkness and deception are around every corner and from every angle.

The magic system is super cool and I LOVED the transporting/underworld type scenes. It felt like existing in a mist or a dreamlike state and just added to the complexity in a fantastic way. There was so much darkness and intricate workings at play. I will admit that it was hard to keep up with what was going on now and then, but when it all fell into place it was amazing. This will definitely be one of those books where I read it again to really understand everything going on. And I'm totally cool with that. This world and its characters are fun, intriguing, and just morally gray enough to totally have me hooked.

I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series.


* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

A good followup/wrapup to the Fable duology. The great writing continues and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. I love the world and it's darkness, the pirate nature of things, and everyone conniving to win.

Fable is a great character and I love the strength that she has continued to develop. Her relationship with West does result in some internal conflict for her that I feel she works through quite well in this book, though I do wish that we had more of West's background. I'm not going to lie...more books from the backstories of several of these characters would be awesome.

The "bad guy" in this one is fantastic. I love the greed and the absolute determination of these characters to squash their rivals and take on everything. It's just such a brutal all-or-none situation that raises the stakes and makes these characters nicely dark and sometimes an even more intriguing morally gray. The plotting and scheming from every side, the attempts to use Fable in many situations as a pawn, the cutthroat interaction of the traders...ah...it's all just fantastic.

There is less seafaring action in this novel than in Fable, as it focuses more on political intrigue and strategy, but I still freaking loved it. It was admittedly a little less tense and had less in the action department than the first novel, but it still held it's own.

I craved more of the side characters and really wish that there was more exposition that looked at the crew of the Marigold. I feel like those characters had so much potential and I wanted to know more about them. They were left standing around like cardboard cut-outs for most of the narrative and that stung.

The ending. It was a mixed bag. And endings are always the hardest for me. I enjoyed the narrative and its exploration of the world, but I do wish that there had been more from the final scenes. Without being spoilery, I feel like Fable's understanding is not as quick or strong as it should be and that was somewhat frustrating. For as smart as she is, it feels like she totally misses the obvious. Because of this, the ending did lose a little bit of luster for me. However, I really loved the way everything wrapped up and that loose ends were pretty well managed.

I will say again...I would LOVE to see more of this world, with backstories for West, Saint, Koy, and the ENTIRE CREW of the Marigold. Adrienne Young...I am NOT above begging. I need more of this world.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. * 

 

This book was so cute. The perfect balance of obstacles and overcoming. The writing captures the voice of teenage Janna so well, including her imperfections and misunderstandings. The narrative starts off with a fairly jarring picture of description of Janna's interaction with "the monster" and sets things moving with a good amount of tension right off the bat. The story then moves at a comfortable pace, but Janna's struggles and interactions with others continue to build the pressure she faces and the many instances of prejudice and mistreatment she faces.

Janna is a strong character with great integrity and I very much appreciated that in her. For her to be able to hold up her own beliefs and stick with them even in the face of a father who doesn't agree with them was incredibly inspiring. I'm glad that she had support from the rest of her family, but it still spoke so strongly to me that she was able to be that comfortable in her convictions.

This is a great presentation of the many ways that prejudice slips in to teenage life. Teenagers can obviously be cruel...I think most of us who have survived adolescence would agree with that statement...but the things Janna faces are things that I personally would have never considered. To have her be so blatantly disrespected just hurt my soul. The ADULT teacher refusing to learn the correct term and insisting that she needed to use the word "hajib" instead of the correct "hijab" because she can't pronounce it seriously irritated me, yet I know that there are people out there who do this.

I loved the characters in this book all around. I definitely want more from some of the supporting characters, so I am glad that there is a sequel being released. Janna's friends and family have great personalities that come through incredibly clear and I love the way they interact.

There were some pieces of the plot that I felt were a little loosely addressed and I wish more attention had been given to them. I can't really explain those issues without spoilers. However, I think the crux of the plot was delivered in a bit more of a telling than showing way in the climax and this was a bit of a disappointment. It did nearly cause me to lower my rating by a star because things were going so well for the remainder of the book that I just felt let down. The rest of the plot, including the ending wrap-up, was really well handled.

There was a LOT of Muslim culture presented in the narrative and I loved how that was delivered. It wasn't forced, but instead flowed naturally into Janna's activities and thoughts. This was very well done and I enjoyed learning more about the culture in a way that didn't seem judgmental or in-your-face. It was educational without being intimidating. There were some issues with consistency on Janna's part in a specific scene in the book that I wish was handled better. It sounds as if I am in the majority with this as Islamic readers have also voiced concern with the blase attitude Janna takes during a scene in gym class. Beyond that instance, I think there was a lot of positive that was presented and I think it is a good read for those unfamiliar with Islam to grow in their knowledge and understanding of the culture and religious beliefs.

This is a fantastic YA read and I highly recommend it. I love S.K. Ali's writing and I will ABSOLUTELY be reading more of her work in the future.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

 

4.5 stars. This is a great YA contemporary that takes on the topics of self-awareness, identity, bullying, racism, bigotry, homophobia...I'm pretty sure you could add another handful of items here. This is a hard-hitting novel presented in a comfortable way.

I had a hard time settling into this narrative at first. The main character (Felix) is very accessible, but the writing style rubbed me the wrong way for a bit. I'm not exactly sure what the issue was, but the voice just felt a bit grating for parts of the novel. Also, I don't necessarily consider myself a prude, but the use of profanity felt excessive as did the references to substance use in teens. I'm not naive enough to assume that these things are not realistic, it just seemed to be too in your face and pulled me out of the narrative a bit. However, this really was a minor issue overall and I was able to move past it for the most part.

The pacing for the book is a little slow, but it worked and allowed me to really get to know Felix and his thoughts and feelings. Understanding the questioning of identity is something unfamiliar to me, so this was a good exposure to the experiences of others different from me and really had me thinking about the possibilities of identity and how it affects individuals in their day to day lives. I think I am a product of my age and this book was eye opening, but would have definitely been even more impactful had I read this as a teenager. I could identify with the pieces about trying to find out where you belong, and understanding and becoming comfortable with expressing more intimate emotions. Basically, all that to say that this is a great coming-of-age story that would be helpful in the hands of young adult readers.

The diversity of the characters is done incredibly well and I appreciated the ability to really consider Felix's peer group as a mixed whole. This was nicely realistic and also allowed the narrative to address several different points of view, evaluating common prejudices and tearing them down.

This is a difficult story to read from an emotional standpoint, but it is well worth the pain. It is beautiful and moving, but also just heart-wrenching. It's a good lesson in the golden rule...treat others in the way you would like to be treated. Kacen Callendar gives the reader a lot to learn here and I am glad that I was able to experience it.