Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this historical fiction noir set in Mexico from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This be the eighth book have read by the author and me eighth five star read.  Her writing floats me boat.  I have said before that what I find amazing about all of the author's books is that they feel so different from each other. I don't even read blurbs for her books anymore. 

I don't really read noir so should have disliked this book but as always her writing is evocative and I was completely engrossed by this story.  Of particular interest in this novel were the historical elements about Mexico that were (sadly) new to me including the Dirty War, suppression of rock music, and romance comic books.  The two main characters are rather unlikeable and yet I was rooting for them anyway.  Seriously I loved the writing.  The only slightly negative thing was that the ending was perfect from a plot standpoint but I still wanted to know what happened to the characters next.

I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia and want more of her books.  Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! For those of ye who are new to me log, a word: though this log’s focus is on sci-fi, fantasy, and young adult, this Captain does have broader reading tastes. Occasionally I will share some novels that I enjoyed that are off the charts (a non sci-fi, fantasy, or young adult novel), as it were. I have been on a reading spree of genres I don’t normally feature. Today I bring ye a memoir by Jenny Lawson.

Jenny Lawson is a women who writes memoirs and personal essays about her unusual life and the mental and physical illnesses she lives with every day. She is absurd, funny, relatable, and real. This be the third book by her and I read it in one night. I loved her chapters on the six times she lost her shoes and her responses to truisms and her strange fights with her husband of 20 years. There were some chapters that didn’t work that dealt with condom shoes for her dog or shark tank ideas that deal with body humor and sex. I also follow her blog so I am used to her style now. But I found lots to laugh about and lots to sympathize with and lots of underlying truth to how hard it is being human.

The most resonate chapter to me, however, was “An Open Letter to My Insurance Company” which hit so hard with how much it captured the feel of me own struggle. I wish this letter could be broadcast to everyone, especially those who make money from our broken medical system. Being a preemie has impacted my health for all of my life. However, as I age, the complications of being born early have begun to give me long-term health issues. Preventative health care has to be fought for and insurance has just gotten worse over time. And I am privileged to be a preemie that is alive and can continue to fight with the help of my support system. But I know that the system priorities keeping people alive as opposed to improving quality of life. It is a disgrace. This chapter both hurt my heart and made me feel relief that someone could express what I cannot truly put into words.

I may be broken but I will continue to live in the best possible way for as long as I have. Jenny’s books make me make feel like I do not struggle alone. Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this reissue of an awesome vampire book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Here I take a second look at a previously enjoyed novel from me younger days and give me crew me second reflections, as it were, upon visitin’ it again . . .

This be the book that started it all - me love affair with Silvia Moreno-Garcia.  I found out about this delight from Matey Sarah @ brainfluff's awesome review which said:

"I don’t know how Moreno-Garcia manages to worm her characters right into my inscape – I suspect she is a witch, whose books weave an enchantment. But I have yet to read anything of hers where I haven’t passionately cared about her world and the people in it. As for what happens to Atl and Domingo – you’ll have to read the book to find out. Even if you’re sick of reading vampire books, even if you’ve never read a vampire book, pick this one up and give it a go. It is every bit as beautiful and dark as that amazing cover."

Of course with that line I was hooked and got a copy from me local library.  I loved it so much that I went to buy me own copy only to find it was out of print.  I was disgruntled and I couldn't understand why.  But the writing was so good that I proceeded to read her backlog and all her new releases.  I have read 8 books so far and all of them were five star reads.

So when I hear this vampire novel was getting a new issue from Tor Nightfire I was thrilled.  ARRRRR!!!!!  It's about time.  This novel is rich and dark and has exquisite world-building.  This be an alternate history where in 1967 humans discover that not only are vampires real but they have been evolving over time.  In the much later future, a young man named Domingo meets a vampire named Atl and is pulled into a world of chaos, danger, and vampire politics.

Rereading this was just as thrilling as the first time.  Moreno-Garcia has this amazing ability to weave complex and compelling characters, intense plot, and a world that is so dense and heavy with the pressure of time.  I knew what was going to happen and still read this in one sitting staying up late into the night avidly turning pages.  This might be me favorite and not just because it was first.  If ye haven't read her work before, get this one because "Even if you’re sick of reading vampire books, even if you’ve never read a vampire book, pick this one up and give it a go. It is every bit as beautiful and dark as that amazing cover."  Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this historical fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

I have never read anything by this author before.  This be the story of Thomas Thresher, a layabout second son from a rich banking family in London.  He has problems including finally being forced to work at the family business, an arranged marriage, and the fact that leaves are spouting out of his body.  Of course weird Peculiarities like evil fog and women giving birth to rabbits are happening to other folk.  But those people are poor.  The rich believe that magic doesn't really exist.  The leaves on Thomas suggest otherwise.  Does the bank have something to do with these Peculiarities?  Thomas has to find out.

I really enjoyed the world set up by the author.  It takes place in 1899 and deals with the idea that magic is popping up in the major cities in unusual ways.  The idea of what these Peculiarities are and how they manifest that was the highlight of the book for me.  I also enjoyed the changes the author made in terms of how he incorporates the alternate history.

The downside of this book was that I never really enjoyed the main character.  Thomas was rather insufferable and has very little agency.  Even though he improves in the book, his upper class viewpoints and self-centeredness did grate.  The anti-Semitism in the book was revolting even while Thomas changes his mind about the Jewish love interest.   I know why the anti-Semitism was there but I didn't like it.  There was also an attempted rape scene that was icky.

I don't have regrets about reading this but it is by no means a favorite.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Tachyon!

Ahoy there me mateys!  Here be a reviews of a book I thought I would love but ended up abandoning.  This has great reviews from others in the crew but this Captain cut it loose to sink to the watery depths.

I was intrigued by this book because it features Navajo (Diné) mythology by an own voices author.  It was Matey Paul's enthusiastic five-star review that moved the author's books higher on the list.  I listened to three quarters of this book in audio and have to say that I didn't like it much.  I thought the main characters were fine but that the plot was very poorly written.  I felt that I wasn't getting a very good understanding of the Diné elements, partially because of the blazing fast pace and partially because they seemed so lightly explored.  The resolution of the characters' problems were too easy and/or unbelievable.  The bad guys were one dimensional.  I didn't understand the hype at all.  Then I went on a search to read more about the Diné culture only to find that Rebecca Roanhorse used the myths of a tribe that she doesn't belong to (she be Ohkay Owingeh) and that many of the Diné find the book distasteful.  It seemed to be a weird choice for the Rick Riordan imprint to choose a non-Diné to showcase this culture.  Native American tribes are not interchangeable.  I also didn't enjoy Roanhorse's own explanations for her choosing to write this story.  Given me own distaste for how bad I found the writing, I am not sure I want to read any more of this author's work.  Here is one link to opinions about Roanhorse writing this novel.

Ahoy there me mateys! Here be a reviews of a book I thought I would love but ended up abandoning. This has great reviews from others in the crew but this Captain cut it loose to sink to the watery depths.

I really enjoyed Turton's the 7 1/2 deaths of evelyn hardcastle.  I thought I would love this because it is historical fiction set in 1634 and deals with a murder mystery on the high seas.  Should float me boat.  Nay, sunk like a stone.  One issue was that the writing felt too modern for the time period in both dialogue and in how the characters acted.  Life on the ship was boring!  I mean seriously it takes a lot for me to not care about a sea setting.  All the similes got on me nerves.  The narrator of this audiobook also did not help.  The production had strange voice choices and odd speech pacing.  I made it about a quarter of the way though before the boredom and historical inaccuracies made me abandon this one.  Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This book is apparently a prequel to sea of rust that shows how the end of the world began (though it can be read as a standalone).  I thought this was set in a different world.  That said, I really did enjoy this novel.  I loved Pounce the nannybot tiger trying to figure out his purpose in life now that the humans and the robots are at war.  Is his concern for the boy Ezra an effect of his programming or his natural inclination?

The highlight of this book was the introduction to Pounce and the lead up to the beginning of the war.  I loved getting the story from Pounce's point of view.  I loved his relationships with the other robots.  I loved his relationship with Ezra and how Pounce deals with the harsh new truths of the world.  I loved Pounce's inner turmoil and questioning identify and purpose.

The big downside for me was that I was not as enamored with almost the entire journey through the suburbs.  There were some unprobeable coincidences. There were light references to current politics which I wish had been avoided.  Also the book seemed too fast paced with not enough real exploration of the enemy or the consequences of Pounce's actions.  The ending was also silly.

I do not regret this one but did like the other book better.  Arrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

I expected to like this book a lot more than I did based on the premise of a man, Wallace, not understanding he is dead until the reaper comes to collect him.  I really enjoyed both the set up and the epilogue of this book.  The epilogue in particular made me teary.  That said, I found this book to have a slow pace and I really did not get enough depth about any of the characters outside of Wallace.  I thought the romance developed too quickly.  I did not like how Wallace's journey ended and I hated both the Alan and Nancy subplots.  I did however love the tea shop, how the teas matched the taster, the dog, and the grandfather.  Basically this story felt too easy overall with not enough nuance or development.  It also had a lot of repetitive dialogue.  I can see how this would work for other readers even if this is not one I would reread or buy for others.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This novel's delightful premise of a woman trying to regain her soul by giving Hell the souls of seven other violin prodigies (one to go!) is what snagged me attention.  Well that and the awesome cover.  The writing style in this book was lovely.  It got me to care about violin concertos and food descriptions even though both of those things are not important in me everyday life.  Add in aliens, AIs, transgendered issues, curses, and donuts.  It makes for an odd mix that found enjoyable.

The three main characters are 1) Shizuka Satomi, the Queen of Hell, who needs her seventh violin student; 2) Katrina Nguyen, a transgendered violinist; and Lan Tran, a star ship captain on the run from the Empire.  While I enjoyed the main characters, I really loved the secondary characters.  In particular, I loved the housekeeper and the aunt at the donut shop.

The subject matter of the novel is extremely dark at times even though the book ends on a hopeful note.  I really enjoyed the set up for the novel though as the story progressed, I ended up less and less enamored of the plot.  I felt that the Katrina storyline stalled overall and too many side stories were involved.  It felt like a little too much with not enough character or plot development.  And while I loved some of the sci-fi elements, I wasn't sure if they ended up being necessary other than to make a happy ending.

An odd book for sure.  I am going to be interested in seeing other reviews for this one.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Ahoy there me mateys!  When I read the book, finder, I didn't know that this was the first book in a series.  It was a five star read and I adored Fergus Ferguson so much that I had to follow his next adventure.  Now book two had a completely different tack and feel but I still loved it even with its more serious undertones.  Sadly, book three didn't really work for me though I cannot tell if it's because of me personal preferences or the book itself.

This book lacked the emotional impact of the previous two.  Part of this was because Fergus has to track down various pieces of an alien artifact and how he tracks them down was a sort of rinse and repeat plot.  Fergus also has repetitive reflections on his past and his mental state, that while understandable, weren't very interesting to me.  Then there were side characters who were supposed to help Fergus on his mission but felt thrown in as convenient plot devices and not used as legitimate members of a team.  And add in the ending which just made no sense to me.  Once the alien artifacts were all gathered, the resolution stalled and was lackluster.

But here's the thing, I still love Fergus.  The book did have some lovely moments where I was cheering him on.  I do love the side characters even if I didn't love how they were used.  I actually kinda liked the cult subplot.  The Agent entertained me as usual.  Despite that ending, I still want to know what happens to Fergus next.  I will give the next book a chance and hope that it reverts back to the joy of the first two books.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank ye kindly DAW books!