Ahoy there me mateys!  I am in one of those weird reading periods where I am having trouble finding something to fit my mood.  I was scrolling through Audible Plus when I found a novel called "Dead Bolt."  That was a silly name so I randomly clicked on it.  It follows Mel Turner, a contractor, who restores historic homes in San Francisco and finds out she can see ghosts.  Can she solve the murders and still get the projects done in time?  I wanted to find out.

I enjoy other people's home renovation projects - especially the historical ones.  I am a nerd for rediscovered fireplaces and original lighting fixtures.

Mel is getting a reputation on working on haunted houses.  She is also getting more comfortable with her ghostly encounters.  Her skills bring her to a new possible project - a haunted B&B.  The owners want to keep the ghosts.  The catch?  To win the contract, Mel must stay the night in the house.  But there is competition and whoever stays the longest wins.  Mel thinks she is ready to handle this house and its child ghost.  Of course someone is murdered that night.

This was the best yet.  I loved the silly competition.  I loved that marbles are creepy.  I loved how the sale of the house was contingent on the owner's living there and all the consequences of that.  I even love the police captain.

Both the mystery of the ghosts and the modern day murder were easily solvable to me but again I had a fabulous time with this one.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I am in one of those weird reading periods where I am having trouble finding something to fit my mood.  I was scrolling through Audible Plus when I found a novel called "Dead Bolt."  That was a silly name so I randomly clicked on it.  It follows Mel Turner, a contractor, who restores historic homes in San Francisco and finds out she can see ghosts.  Can she solve the murders and still get the projects done in time?  I wanted to find out.

I enjoy other people's home renovation projects - especially the historical ones.  I am a nerd for rediscovered fireplaces and original lighting fixtures.

Mel is hired to restore a Queen Anne Victorian.  There are two small problems - the owners won't leave the house during the renovation and yet the wife thinks the house is haunted and is terrified.  Mel has a discussion with a local shop keeper who then ends up dead.  Of course, Mel is a suspect and she needs to clear her name and get ghosts out of the house.

I liked that Mel uses research to solve her problems.  Sources include the local historical society, a local ghost hunter, and sometimes the ghosts themselves.  Again the killer was not the point for me.  Instead it was the relationships with Mel and details about the house itself.

I really began to love Mel.  She is funny, a bit impulsive, stubborn, and caring.  One of my favorite aspects are her quirky outfits designed by her friend Stephen, an aspiring Opera costume designer.  I love that Mel is a woman in a man's field and that she isn't afraid to get dirty and pitch in.  I enjoy her ability to talk to anyone.  And I too love a good search in junk and antique shops.  Arrrr! 

Ahoy there me mateys!  I am in one of those weird reading periods where I am having trouble finding something to fit my mood.  I was scrolling through Audible Plus when I found a novel called "Dead Bolt."  That was a silly name so I randomly clicked on it.  It follows Mel Turner, a contractor, who restores historic homes in San Francisco and finds out she can see ghosts.  Can she solve the murders and still get the projects done in time?  I wanted to find out.

I enjoy other people's home renovation projects - especially the historical ones.  I am a nerd for rediscovered fireplaces and original lighting fixtures.

In this first book, Mel agrees to work on an older fading rockstar's renovation project.  Unknown to Mel, said rockstar throws a drunken DIY party where the guests get to help tear down walls etc.  Power tools and alcohol?  Yikes.  A partier ends up seriously injured and dies.  Mel comes into the house to find disarray and the dead man's ghost.

For once, a main character does what I would do when confronted with a ghost - thinks she is hallucinating and freaks out.  This is even worse when the dead man follows her around and talks to her.  Mel is alarmed and doesn't know what to do.  Watching her learn about and handle her new talent is part of what I like about the series.

The other thing I like is the cozy aspect.  There is an adopted stray dog.  Mel is divorced and yet still deals with her step-son from that marriage.  She lives with her dad and his old friend Stan.  She has good friends who help her but also keep her grounded.  Watching all these interactions are sweet and often funny.  Even the light romance aspect isn't too bad.

The conclusion to who-dun-it was fine.  The house renovations and discussions about San Francisco were entertaining.  The narrator Xe Sands does a good job.  I was so entertained that I immediately got the next book. Arrr!

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

The stunning cover and premise led me to this book.  In Tokyo there is a magic pawnshop that cannot be found.  Some people enter a popular ramen restaurant only to find themselves transported to the pawnshop.  In this pawnshop, you can't pawn belongings but regrets.

I read this book expecting to read about the people visiting the pawnshop, giving up their regrets, and how that impacted their lives.  I also expected to get more about the owners of the pawnshop, what living in the pawnshop was like, and what they did with the regrets they collected.  But instead there was a romance with a love triangle and a mystery of a missing father.

The highlights of the book for me were the descriptions of places in the pawnshop world.  There was an ink world inside a scroll, living paper cranes holding pieces of history in a museum, and a town that build the night sky out of dreams and wishes.  Travel could happen by jumping in a puddle.  All of these places were evocative.  That said, the characters don't spend any time truly exploring them.  They run from place to place.  Also the inner workings of the pawnshop world seemed to have no real internal logic, rules, or world building.

I also think that a lot of whether the book is liked or not will come down to how the reader feels about the romance.  I personally found it off-putting.  There is insta-lust, the love triangle, and lots of lack of communication and lying.  Once the romance is introduced, it takes the focus of the plot and the mystery.  It is a shame because I found the beginning of the story to be so engaging.  Also there isn't a whole lot of character development so emotional resonance is practically non-existent.

At the 65% mark, I finally admitted to myself that I was really struggling to continue.  So I took a break to read other reviews to give myself a push to finish.  I was entertained and confused when three different reviewers gave different descriptions and meanings to the ending.  How could it be that confusing?  So I skipped ahead a did something I never do - read the ending.  And I was confused too.  What I did understand seemed angsty and immature.  So I abandoned ship at that point and still wish someone could explain the ending to me satisfactorily.  Arrrrr! 

Ahoy there me mateys!  I usually love Okorafor's work so I was extremely surprised at how hard it was to finish this duology.  I got both books from the publisher back in 2023.  I managed to read and enjoy about half of Shadow Speaker before I stalled.  I tried multiple times to finish part one and just couldn't get back into the story.  That brings us to 2025.  I decided to get copies of the audiobooks and try again.  Dele Ogundiran's narration was excellent and helped me finish the series but I ended up being lukewarm about the duology after completing it.

Part One deals with Ejii Ugabe whose father is killed when she is 9 due to his backward politics.  He wants the world to harken to "traditional" values where men dominate and women are second-class citizens and magic of all types is forbidden.  The problem is that the Great Change brought magic into the world and magic doesn't seem to be going anywhere.  Later Ejii is 15 and has developed shadow speaker abilities.  Ejii goes on an adventure to figure out her powers and gets drawn into helping avert war.

Part Two deals with Dikéogu Obidimkpa.  He and Ejii became friends in part one.  Several years have passed and Dikéogu has to deal with his rainmaker powers.  The first section of the book explains the his history of the past several years.  The current problem is that the former slave seems to be losing his mind.  The temporary peace is about to end and magic users are being slaughtered.  Dikéogu decides to fight back.

One of the major problems I had with this duology was connecting to the characters.  I often liked them but more often had a hard time sympathizing with them.  Both Ejii and Dikéogu can be extremely violent and hurt a lot of people.  I get when it is self-defense but lots of times, the two of them just lose control.  There did not seem to be enough self-awareness psychologically.  Of course they were just struggling to survive.  I also thought the romantic relationship between Ejii and Dikéogu was awful.  I wish they just would have stayed best friends.

Perhaps some of this comes down to world building in general.  Niger in 2074 is not very nice.  There are tribal disputes, gender disparages, prejudice about magic users, child slavery, and immense poverty.  These elements have also existed as long as humans have but reading about them in this duology set far into the future was unsettling.  Also the magic did not make sense a lot of the time.  Meditation seemed to be important but a lot of it seemed intuitive with no real rules.  This magic exists in other Okorafor books but only bothered me in this one.  Then there were the interconnected universes.  I am still unclear about how they worked or really related to each other.

I did like some aspects of these books.  I loved the personalities of the camels and the bird friends.  I liked the developments between Dikéogu and Arif.  I really appreciated Ajii's mother.  I liked Dikéogu's brief happy relationship though I was sad it ended for the plot romance with Ajii.  I appreciated Dikéogu getting to fight the slavers and save children.  I always appreciate strong willed women in Okorafor's stories.

Unfortunately I felt underwhelmed and ultimately confused at the conclusion of the duology.  I am glad to have finally completed it though.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I usually love Okorafor's work so I was extremely surprised at how hard it was to finish this duology.  I got both books from the publisher back in 2023.  I managed to read and enjoy about half of Shadow Speaker before I stalled.  I tried multiple times to finish part one and just couldn't get back into the story.  That brings us to 2025.  I decided to get copies of the audiobooks and try again.  Dele Ogundiran's narration was excellent and helped me finish the series but I ended up being lukewarm about the duology after completing it.

Part One deals with Ejii Ugabe whose father is killed when she is 9 due to his backward politics.  He wants the world to harken to "traditional" values where men dominate and women are second-class citizens and magic of all types is forbidden.  The problem is that the Great Change brought magic into the world and magic doesn't seem to be going anywhere.  Later Ejii is 15 and has developed shadow speaker abilities.  Ejii goes on an adventure to figure out her powers and gets drawn into helping avert war.

Part Two deals with Dikéogu Obidimkpa.  He and Ejii became friends in part one.  Several years have passed and Dikéogu has to deal with his rainmaker powers.  The first section of the book explains the his history of the past several years.  The current problem is that the former slave seems to be losing his mind.  The temporary peace is about to end and magic users are being slaughtered.  Dikéogu decides to fight back.

One of the major problems I had with this duology was connecting to the characters.  I often liked them but more often had a hard time sympathizing with them.  Both Ejii and Dikéogu can be extremely violent and hurt a lot of people.  I get when it is self-defense but lots of times, the two of them just lose control.  There did not seem to be enough self-awareness psychologically.  Of course they were just struggling to survive.  I also thought the romantic relationship between Ejii and Dikéogu was awful.  I wish they just would have stayed best friends.

Perhaps some of this comes down to world building in general.  Niger in 2074 is not very nice.  There are tribal disputes, gender disparages, prejudice about magic users, child slavery, and immense poverty.  These elements have also existed as long as humans have but reading about them in this duology set far into the future was unsettling.  Also the magic did not make sense a lot of the time.  Meditation seemed to be important but a lot of it seemed intuitive with no real rules.  This magic exists in other Okorafor books but only bothered me in this one.  Then there were the interconnected universes.  I am still unclear about how they worked or really related to each other.

I did like some aspects of these books.  I loved the personalities of the camels and the bird friends.  I liked the developments between Dikéogu and Arif.  I really appreciated Ajii's mother.  I liked Dikéogu's brief happy relationship though I was sad it ended for the plot romance with Ajii.  I appreciated Dikéogu getting to fight the slavers and save children.  I always appreciate strong willed women in Okorafor's stories.

Unfortunately I felt underwhelmed and ultimately confused at the conclusion of the duology.  I am glad to have finally completed it though.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  This sci-fi read was a random pick from the local library because I liked the title and the cover.  The premise is that on the Moon a cranky old man named Millennium Harrison trips (literally) over a secret bunker that has leaking radiation.  Shenanigans ensue.

This was a very uneven read but there was a lot to like here.  I loved Harrison who just wants to be left alone and occasionally talk to the few people he likes.  He is extremely self-sufficient, caring under his gruff exterior, and intelligent.  I also enjoy an older protagonist and at 80 years old Mil fits the bill.  The reason for his name and fame were silly and fun.  He is the oxygen farmer of the title.

The set-up about Harrison's job and how the Moon is run was lovely.  I liked reading about the oxygen farming and how the technology is shifting.  I enjoyed hearing about the history of the developing the Moon and how the next push is Mars.  Then there is the family drama.  Mil is estranged from his daughter who just happens to be the head of the Space Program.  Mil's discovery leads to his granddaughter being in hot water.  Watching those relationships play out were entertaining and somewhat poignant.  Mil (and his attitude) were the highlight for me.

The two biggest issues of the book come down to the second half.  All of the politics on Earth and the plot that takes place there were not very interesting to me.  Part of this is that I felt like I was reading about the Cold War 2.0 where all Russians are evil and humans have learned absolutely nothing from past conflicts.  There is also a capitalism is evil plot that wasn't particularly thought out.  I also didn't really like how the radiation problem was being dealt with in general.

But the absolute biggest disappointment was the ending. 

***MINOR SPOILER***   Mil is put into a deep sleep and when he wakes up he is TOLD how all the politics and conflicts were fixed.  How boring is that?  The main character isn't even really involved in the entire resolution!

 

I am not sad that I read this book but I do feel like it could have been immensely improved.  If 1950s cold war type stories or movies like Armageddon float yer boat then this may work better for ye.  If not, I am not sure I can recommend it in general.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I say this every time I finish one of these novellas but I seriously could read dozens of books set in the various worlds.  This is the 10th book in the series and is the backstory of Nadya from book 3.  This can be read as a standalone though I suggest reading the series in order to get the full impact.

Nadya is born in Russia to a mother who doesn't want her and is raised in an orphanage.  She is missing an arm due to a birth defect but doesn't feel a loss for something she never had.  She is adopted by an American couple who want her to fit in and be a testament to their good parenting skills.  Nadya is not happy with being forced to wear a prosthetic.  Then a day comes where she falls into the pond and goes through a Door to Belyrreka.

This story is bittersweet.  Reading about her life in America was painful and made my heart ache..  However, I loved watching Nadya thrive in Belyrreka.  The world itself is a fascinating land of water.  There are giant talking turtles, massive frogs that eat anything that can fit into their mouths, and giant fishing vessels that sail on and under the water.  I did want more about life on top of the rivers and in the sky but it was mostly a story about Nadya living her best life in Belyrreka.  I was immersed (Arrr!) in watching her grow up in a place perfectly suited to her.  Even though the ending was anticipated, it still stung and made me immensely unhappy for Nadya.

I think this is one of the stronger entries in the series and recommend it wholeheartedly.  Arrrr!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.