Racist, abalist, and fatphobia undertones. Was considering DNFing when the “R” word was randomly dropped into casual conversation and that was the last straw. 

Too many inconsistencies and the writing didn’t blow me away. I didn’t care what was happening enough to continue. 

The Jinbot of Shantiport is a sci-fi retelling of Aladdin told from the point of view of a drone observer. I wanted to love it, but I couldn’t. 

 

This is a story about robots fighting robots. It is about political regime change and societal good. Is is adult sci-fi with characters that read like middle schoolers and a plot that is missing important elements. 

 

No character is likable. I have a hard time thinking of the main characters as adults because they continually acted like 12 year olds. The mother is horrible, nothing about her is likable. She manipulates her children and even does a bad job at that. And we never get a satisfying connection or any finality with any of them. 

 

It took me a bit to realize why exactly I wasn’t connecting with the story. Yes, we have the POV of a drone who often just dumps info and tells instead of bringing the reader into the scene. But it was more than that. There are spaces of sentences with no verbs. The verbs are just missing from sentences. Then other sentences are missing verbs and nouns. The writing itself is designed to exclude the reader, much to the disservice of the story. 

 

I think there are people who will love this book. Specifically, people who love the idea of robot battles for robot battle sake. But for me it let me down in too many areas. 

The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a new trilogy set in the same world as the Shades of Magic trilogy. If you haven’t read the first trilogy you should start there or you will not understand what is happening. There is mentions about past events, but very little detail reviewing what happened. So, you may want to do a reread of the first trilogy if it has been a while. 

 

The style is reminiscent of the first trilogy and the world is the same. So, if you didn’t like Shades of Magic there will be nothing to draw you to this world. But if you did then you will be back among your favorite characters on new adventures. 

 

As much as I enjoyed the book I am left not truly likening any of the characters. The queen quickly became a favorite as she is aromantic and asexual and found a place that fitted her needs and build a family that is not traditional, but was perfect all the same. But by the end I am left questioning her morality. And this is true of Bard as well. I am excited to see where the next books will take us. 

Starling House is a gothic fantasy story about a house and the people that come into its life. The main character, Opal, is a young adult trying to raise her brother and make ends meet in a small town. The town has never accepted her, or her brother. But all Opal cares about is getting her brother out and settled into a better life. 

 

Except she dreams of the Starling House, a house that is empty except for its mysterious heir. Her dreams combine with a children’s storybook. The author built Starling House and then mysteriously disappeared. But Opal can’t seem to resist the pull and takes a job as a housekeeper in the house that never seems to stay the same. 

 

Starling House is the perfect fall read. It is the right level of mystery and mysticism with a mild dose of romance that even I can get behind. I loved the writing and the solid characters. I was hooked from the moment that I picked up the book until the end. I’m not sure I liked the ending, but I do think it fit and was well written. The story really is more about the journey to reach the conclusion. 

 

This is a book that I see myself picking up to reread next fall.