First, y'all should click over to see the larger version of the cover so you can see our heroine Susan's face. It is the most non-swoony face I have eFirst, y'all should click over to see the larger version of the cover so you can see our heroine Susan's face. It is the most non-swoony face I have ever, ever seen on a romance novel cover, and that is so true to her character, I love it. Even the arms are folded! Susan Lazarus is not fucking around.
This is the second book in the Lilywhite Boys series, which follows two con men and thieves in late Victorian London. This series is actually connected to Charles's prior series, Sins of the Cities, as Susan is the adoptive daughter of Justin Lazarus, the former spiritualist (and scammer) turned enquiry agent. Now it's about twenty years later, and Susan herself has taken up the family business, making a name for herself by being tough as nails, and very, very good at her job. Her former lover is one of the Lilywhite boys himself, Templeton Lane (formerly James Vane, confirming this also takes place in the same universe as her first series, Society of Gentleman). They were sort of childhood sweethearts, but their relationship ended with a terrible break between them that left Templeton on a boat to do hard labor in Australia, and with Susan as an enemy.
Years later, they are on opposite sides of the law. Templeton is nearly killed when a jewel theft goes wrong. He finds the body of the owner when he breaks in, and he in turn is found standing over the body of the owner, at which point he makes a run for it. Having clearly been framed and not wanting to drag his only two friends (and criminal associates) down with him, the only person he knows who might possibly believe him innocent of the murders (the valet was killed, too) and also might be able to help clear his name, is one Susan Lazarus.
This is a second chance romance, with elements of enemies to lovers near the beginning, so it's a twofer. Also, it's a murder mystery! And historical fiction. And it's very well written. And the way that Susan and Templeton come back together is so very good. They're both such emotionally complex people with such different personalities, but their chemistry feels effortless, and their conflicts and struggles poignant. Susan is a badass, and Templeton is some sort of gentle bear/puppy combo with criminal tendencies mostly to do with thieving. As both puppies and bears are known for stealing shit that doesn't belong to them (mostly to eat), I feel my comparison is apt.
I really can't emphasize enough how much it upsets me that y'all still aren't reading K.J. Charles as much as she deserves. She deserves to be a bestselling author with awards threatening to collapse her shelves. I think I'm finally going to have to do a deep dive and finish out the books in her back catalogue I haven't gotten to yet, because I don't know when she's publishing her next book and it's making me anxious.
Merged review:
First, y'all should click over to see the larger version of the cover so you can see our heroine Susan's face. It is the most non-swoony face I have ever, ever seen on a romance novel cover, and that is so true to her character, I love it. Even the arms are folded! Susan Lazarus is not fucking around.
This is the second book in the Lilywhite Boys series, which follows two con men and thieves in late Victorian London. This series is actually connected to Charles's prior series, Sins of the Cities, as Susan is the adoptive daughter of Justin Lazarus, the former spiritualist (and scammer) turned enquiry agent. Now it's about twenty years later, and Susan herself has taken up the family business, making a name for herself by being tough as nails, and very, very good at her job. Her former lover is one of the Lilywhite boys himself, Templeton Lane (formerly James Vane, confirming this also takes place in the same universe as her first series, Society of Gentleman). They were sort of childhood sweethearts, but their relationship ended with a terrible break between them that left Templeton on a boat to do hard labor in Australia, and with Susan as an enemy.
Years later, they are on opposite sides of the law. Templeton is nearly killed when a jewel theft goes wrong. He finds the body of the owner when he breaks in, and he in turn is found standing over the body of the owner, at which point he makes a run for it. Having clearly been framed and not wanting to drag his only two friends (and criminal associates) down with him, the only person he knows who might possibly believe him innocent of the murders (the valet was killed, too) and also might be able to help clear his name, is one Susan Lazarus.
This is a second chance romance, with elements of enemies to lovers near the beginning, so it's a twofer. Also, it's a murder mystery! And historical fiction. And it's very well written. And the way that Susan and Templeton come back together is so very good. They're both such emotionally complex people with such different personalities, but their chemistry feels effortless, and their conflicts and struggles poignant. Susan is a badass, and Templeton is some sort of gentle bear/puppy combo with criminal tendencies mostly to do with thieving. As both puppies and bears are known for stealing shit that doesn't belong to them (mostly to eat), I feel my comparison is apt.
I really can't emphasize enough how much it upsets me that y'all still aren't reading K.J. Charles as much as she deserves. She deserves to be a bestselling author with awards threatening to collapse her shelves. I think I'm finally going to have to do a deep dive and finish out the books in her back catalogue I haven't gotten to yet, because I don't know when she's publishing her next book and it's making me anxious....more
This honestly might be five stars on re-read, but I've been handing out five star ratings like they're candy, and I've come off my book high now. ThisThis honestly might be five stars on re-read, but I've been handing out five star ratings like they're candy, and I've come off my book high now. This is a strong 4.5 stars for now.
Firstly, this is a retelling of The Prisoner of Zenda, a Ruritanian Romance/Adventure/Swashbuckler from the late 1800s, written by Anthony Hope. I've never read the original, but before diving into this I did read the detailed summary of the book and I'm really glad I did that, because it was fun seeing what Charles changed and tweaked, although our narrator, Jasper Detchard, also informs us of the big things that the original "got wrong" (in this book, the original is played off as a memoir of the "player-king" Rudolf Rassendyll, a distant cousin of the king of Ruritania who is called upon to impersonate said king).
You can tell that Charles just had an incredibly amount of fun, not only with reworking a book that she obviously has great affection for (and criticism of), but also writing a different kind of romance, one where the heroes are morally grey at best, villains at worst, and who don't hold to monogamy. There are plots and swashbuckling and schemes ahoy in this book, and it was an incredible amount of fun to read. It's a relatively short book, but she really packs a whole bunch in here. There is not a dull moment to be found.
Highly recommend! Just know you're not getting a traditional romance, but more of an adventure story and you'll have a grand old time.
Merged review:
This honestly might be five stars on re-read, but I've been handing out five star ratings like they're candy, and I've come off my book high now. This is a strong 4.5 stars for now.
Firstly, this is a retelling of The Prisoner of Zenda, a Ruritanian Romance/Adventure/Swashbuckler from the late 1800s, written by Anthony Hope. I've never read the original, but before diving into this I did read the detailed summary of the book and I'm really glad I did that, because it was fun seeing what Charles changed and tweaked, although our narrator, Jasper Detchard, also informs us of the big things that the original "got wrong" (in this book, the original is played off as a memoir of the "player-king" Rudolf Rassendyll, a distant cousin of the king of Ruritania who is called upon to impersonate said king).
You can tell that Charles just had an incredibly amount of fun, not only with reworking a book that she obviously has great affection for (and criticism of), but also writing a different kind of romance, one where the heroes are morally grey at best, villains at worst, and who don't hold to monogamy. There are plots and swashbuckling and schemes ahoy in this book, and it was an incredible amount of fun to read. It's a relatively short book, but she really packs a whole bunch in here. There is not a dull moment to be found.
Highly recommend! Just know you're not getting a traditional romance, but more of an adventure story and you'll have a grand old time....more
This was a bit rough, but charming in its roughness. It's my favorite of Sebastian's Regency Imposters books. At the beginning of the book especially This was a bit rough, but charming in its roughness. It's my favorite of Sebastian's Regency Imposters books. At the beginning of the book especially when the lovers are in the "enemies" phase of "enemies to lovers," the banter and the narration both are very biting and witty, but in a gentle, non-threatening way for my emotions.
Amelia is our heroine, and I will admit it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize she was in both prior books in the series. She has retreated to the countryside to a life of solitude with her former governess. She has decided it is ultimately futile to try and participate in a society that doesn't want her, at the expense of her identity. The mental and emotional toll trying to fit in was too high. This is where our hero, Sydney, finds her. Through a series of tragic, flukish circumstances, he has found himself the owner of an estate, the ancestral lands of his friend, the Duke. It is to these lands that Amelia has fled, renting a cottage near the edge of the grounds. She has no idea he owns the land when they meet. And they have a truly delightful antagonism between them at first, which melts gradually into companionship, and then love.
The secondary characters are also quite lovely. There's a blind duke, an illegitimate daughter, dogs, the aforementioned governess (who is asexual, though they didn't have the words for it). Our hero and heroine are both bisexual. And the Duke is quite gay. I think this book pulls off LGBTQIA people living in Regency England in maybe a slightly more believable fashion than the first one did. I also liked that Sydney was a Quaker, and the way his family was used was something I haven't seen in a romance before.
This book also fixed the complaints I had with the first two books in the series. I thought the first book skipped my favorite part of romance, which is the characters getting to know each other. I don't think it's fun to read about characters who just fall in love instantly (other people feel similarly to me, which is why "instalove" is a much-despised trope). Here, you see them get to know each other, and it's great. My complaint with the second book is that it wasn't long enough, developed enough. It felt like she just skipped from place to place in that book to get it over and done with. She skipped the fun transitions, the scenes of characters actually doing and experiencing things. This book was the longest book I've read from her in some time, and no transitions were skipped. We're with them every step of the way that we should be.
Anyway, all this to say, A Delicate Deception was a fine closer to this series, but I really am very excited for her to finally continue the Seducing the Sedgwicks series in a couple of months, and the next book has an actual good cover! I almost fell over from shock when I saw it.
Merged review:
This was a bit rough, but charming in its roughness. It's my favorite of Sebastian's Regency Imposters books. At the beginning of the book especially when the lovers are in the "enemies" phase of "enemies to lovers," the banter and the narration both are very biting and witty, but in a gentle, non-threatening way for my emotions.
Amelia is our heroine, and I will admit it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize she was in both prior books in the series. She has retreated to the countryside to a life of solitude with her former governess. She has decided it is ultimately futile to try and participate in a society that doesn't want her, at the expense of her identity. The mental and emotional toll trying to fit in was too high. This is where our hero, Sydney, finds her. Through a series of tragic, flukish circumstances, he has found himself the owner of an estate, the ancestral lands of his friend, the Duke. It is to these lands that Amelia has fled, renting a cottage near the edge of the grounds. She has no idea he owns the land when they meet. And they have a truly delightful antagonism between them at first, which melts gradually into companionship, and then love.
The secondary characters are also quite lovely. There's a blind duke, an illegitimate daughter, dogs, the aforementioned governess (who is asexual, though they didn't have the words for it). Our hero and heroine are both bisexual. And the Duke is quite gay. I think this book pulls off LGBTQIA people living in Regency England in maybe a slightly more believable fashion than the first one did. I also liked that Sydney was a Quaker, and the way his family was used was something I haven't seen in a romance before.
This book also fixed the complaints I had with the first two books in the series. I thought the first book skipped my favorite part of romance, which is the characters getting to know each other. I don't think it's fun to read about characters who just fall in love instantly (other people feel similarly to me, which is why "instalove" is a much-despised trope). Here, you see them get to know each other, and it's great. My complaint with the second book is that it wasn't long enough, developed enough. It felt like she just skipped from place to place in that book to get it over and done with. She skipped the fun transitions, the scenes of characters actually doing and experiencing things. This book was the longest book I've read from her in some time, and no transitions were skipped. We're with them every step of the way that we should be.
Anyway, all this to say, A Delicate Deception was a fine closer to this series, but I really am very excited for her to finally continue the Seducing the Sedgwicks series in a couple of months, and the next book has an actual good cover! I almost fell over from shock when I saw it....more
On the one hand, I wish I would have read this sooner, because it’s great. On the other, I wish I would have saved it, because the sequel seems to be On the one hand, I wish I would have read this sooner, because it’s great. On the other, I wish I would have saved it, because the sequel seems to be postponed indefinitely for some ground-up retooling, and I would prefer to have it as soon as possible. I found the worldbuilding here to be one of the more intriguing urban fantasy set-ups I’ve read, especially when you factor in that a large part of it uses the consequences of WWI in such a thoughtful way, with the War, and the War Beneath. You can definitely read this on its own as a standalone, but I hope K.J. Charles does continue the series eventually.
So the premise here is that disgraced former soldier Saul Lazenby is unable to find decent work, except with a crackpot named Major Peabody who is convinced magic exists, and who possesses a fierce ambition to make some sort of important discovery. In the course of his “work” for Peabody, Saul keeps running across the mysterious Randolph Glyde, who refuses to divulge his true occupation and purposes, and accuses Saul of being up to no good. As their run-ins continue, it becomes apparent something else is going on, and the two men get past their antagonism in a rather sexy way (also, a sweet way, as they are both lonely and craving human contact after the trauma of the war).
As stated before, I loved the worldbuilding here, and I also ended up loving the main characters, although the secondary ones weren’t as fleshed out here as hers usually are. I suspect part of that is that they are mean to be further developed in later books. I also didn’t know, and it’s worth knowing before going in, that this is set in the same world as her previous book, The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. You can read this one on its own, but I suspect I should still have read them the other way round, as that one takes place about twenty years previous.
Merged review:
On the one hand, I wish I would have read this sooner, because it’s great. On the other, I wish I would have saved it, because the sequel seems to be postponed indefinitely for some ground-up retooling, and I would prefer to have it as soon as possible. I found the worldbuilding here to be one of the more intriguing urban fantasy set-ups I’ve read, especially when you factor in that a large part of it uses the consequences of WWI in such a thoughtful way, with the War, and the War Beneath. You can definitely read this on its own as a standalone, but I hope K.J. Charles does continue the series eventually.
So the premise here is that disgraced former soldier Saul Lazenby is unable to find decent work, except with a crackpot named Major Peabody who is convinced magic exists, and who possesses a fierce ambition to make some sort of important discovery. In the course of his “work” for Peabody, Saul keeps running across the mysterious Randolph Glyde, who refuses to divulge his true occupation and purposes, and accuses Saul of being up to no good. As their run-ins continue, it becomes apparent something else is going on, and the two men get past their antagonism in a rather sexy way (also, a sweet way, as they are both lonely and craving human contact after the trauma of the war).
As stated before, I loved the worldbuilding here, and I also ended up loving the main characters, although the secondary ones weren’t as fleshed out here as hers usually are. I suspect part of that is that they are mean to be further developed in later books. I also didn’t know, and it’s worth knowing before going in, that this is set in the same world as her previous book, The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. You can read this one on its own, but I suspect I should still have read them the other way round, as that one takes place about twenty years previous....more
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
I'm so glad I took a chance on this one and requesteThanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
I'm so glad I took a chance on this one and requested the ARC. It was so much fun! It avoided literally everything that usually makes me avoid reading biographies: the tedious linear structure, the grandiloquence and navel-gazing that comes with writing about a much-lauded (or controversial) figure (and the author trying to "earn it"), and to be honest, the dull bits. Q: A Voyage Around the Queen is not a standard biography, so despite my having called it one, make sure your expectations are set properly. We don't get any primary sources from the Queen herself, we don't get much behind the scenes input of decisions of state or politics of any kind. What we DO get is a series of primary sources from everyone but Lilibet herself, and not necessarily the people you would expect.
This isn't so much a book about Queen Elizabeth II, but a book about how she affected the world around her throughout the 70+ years of her rule (and some before that as well). Here are two examples of what you will get with this book: 1) There is an entire chapter of people's dreams about the Queen, which Brown seems to have sourced from a multitude of places (my favorite was the writer Kingsley Amis's); and 2) There is a chapter devoted to the thwarted ambitions of a woman who desperately wanted to be one of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting (which I did not know was still a thing!!). We see her diaries as a young girl, and that she's still obsessing about it as an elderly woman. The chapter on the Coronation was a real treat, from the noble who attended out of spite while holding a 103+ degree fever, to a ten-year old Paul McCartney, who won an essay contest about the Queen's impending reign.
The best thing about this format is that he gets so many opinions and stories from so many different places that the reader can form their own picture and opinions of the Queen. I do not give a fig about the monarchy or the royal family, but this was a really good read. Will definitely be checking out more books from this author.
And I didn't even get around to talking about the extensive corgi lineages!...more
Really liked this! You can barely tell that this was her first book. It was pretty short, and for the most part that was fine, but there were parts whReally liked this! You can barely tell that this was her first book. It was pretty short, and for the most part that was fine, but there were parts where she sums up conversations instead of showing them, where I wanted her to actually show them. There's a significant story that Crane tells Stephen about how he got his tattoos, and we don't get to hear it at all! She also glossed over their initial bonding and friendship.
But other than that, this was actually great. It's equal parts fantasy, horror, and romance, and the plot actually was as intriguing as the romance. A lot of times plot just annoys me in romance novels because it feels like filler and is uninteresting, but here it was genuinely scary and exciting and cool, and Charles does a great job using the events of the plot to illuminate her characters.
Who are Lucien Vaudrey (Lord Crane, newly minted Earl, newly back in England after a twenty year exile to China) and Stephen Day (a practitioner of magic, whose father was ruined by Crane's family years before). The two are brought together when it becomes clear that someone has targeted Crane by magical means, and his life is in danger. Being from Shanghai, where shamans and magic are common, he and his manservant Merrick immediately seek the local services of a magician. Day ends up helping him reluctantly, first assuming that Crane is as horrible a person as his departed father and brother. What seems at first to be a straightforward single act of vengeance on Crane's family turns into a magical mystery, and both of them are soon in extreme danger as they try to unravel it.
Also, Crane is a terrible flirt and makes it very clear that he would appreciate a romp in the sack with the small but incredibly fierce magician (there was a reason his father exiled him to China, and that reason was incorrigible gayness). The sexytimes weren't quite up to my taste (and she gets way better at those as her career goes on), but I really liked the chemistry between the characters, and appreciated that because this is a series, the two aren't in love by the end of the book. They barely know one another, presumably that will happen in the rest of the series.
Definitely recommend though, and I'm excited to finish the series out, though I probably won't get around to it until later in the year.
Read Harder Challenge 2019: A self-published book.
Merged review:
Really liked this! You can barely tell that this was her first book. It was pretty short, and for the most part that was fine, but there were parts where she sums up conversations instead of showing them, where I wanted her to actually show them. There's a significant story that Crane tells Stephen about how he got his tattoos, and we don't get to hear it at all! She also glossed over their initial bonding and friendship.
But other than that, this was actually great. It's equal parts fantasy, horror, and romance, and the plot actually was as intriguing as the romance. A lot of times plot just annoys me in romance novels because it feels like filler and is uninteresting, but here it was genuinely scary and exciting and cool, and Charles does a great job using the events of the plot to illuminate her characters.
Who are Lucien Vaudrey (Lord Crane, newly minted Earl, newly back in England after a twenty year exile to China) and Stephen Day (a practitioner of magic, whose father was ruined by Crane's family years before). The two are brought together when it becomes clear that someone has targeted Crane by magical means, and his life is in danger. Being from Shanghai, where shamans and magic are common, he and his manservant Merrick immediately seek the local services of a magician. Day ends up helping him reluctantly, first assuming that Crane is as horrible a person as his departed father and brother. What seems at first to be a straightforward single act of vengeance on Crane's family turns into a magical mystery, and both of them are soon in extreme danger as they try to unravel it.
Also, Crane is a terrible flirt and makes it very clear that he would appreciate a romp in the sack with the small but incredibly fierce magician (there was a reason his father exiled him to China, and that reason was incorrigible gayness). The sexytimes weren't quite up to my taste (and she gets way better at those as her career goes on), but I really liked the chemistry between the characters, and appreciated that because this is a series, the two aren't in love by the end of the book. They barely know one another, presumably that will happen in the rest of the series.
Definitely recommend though, and I'm excited to finish the series out, though I probably won't get around to it until later in the year.
Read Harder Challenge 2019: A self-published book....more
As I've written about The Hobbit before, and because other people definitely have as well, and much better than I have, this review will be mostly aboAs I've written about The Hobbit before, and because other people definitely have as well, and much better than I have, this review will be mostly about the new audiobook productions of Tolkien's works, which are narrated by Andy Serkis, of Gollum fame. So far I have only listened to this lovely production of The Hobbit, but I have the full trilogy and The Silmarillion also ready to go for whenever I am feeling like a re-read. And chances are, now that I know how fun it is to listen to Tolkien's stories by audiobook*, that will come sooner that it would have before. So thanks, CBR BINGO!
*I've never done it before in all twenty-five plus years of being a Lord of the Rings fan, who used to read the trilogy yearly for a good stretch there. This now seems like a very obvious mistake on my part.
To sum up, THEY ARE AMAZING.
Basically—for The Hobbit at least, which was a story invented for Tolkien to read to his young children at bedtime**—this story was made to be read aloud to you. And you should definitely let that coziness influence your decisions, here.
**Famously, The Hobbit was published largely because Stanley Unwin let his ten year old son, Rayner, read the book and give it a review.
Andy Serkis, who is at heart a character actor, is the perfect choice for reading this series aloud, and he should absolutely do more audiobooks if offered the chance. There are lots of really good audiobook narrators out there, but very few who are able to inhabit characters like Serkis can. He also has a very real feel for the rhythm of the story, and often enhances the text by slowing down, speeding up, or emphasizing in all the right parts. And of course, he IS Gollum, so Chapter Five, "Riddles in the Dark" has this really fun metatextual quality to it that is sort of indescribable.
It's very fun to see Serkis sort of create his own Middle Earth in the way that he borrows speech patterns from some obvious places (his Thorin sounds eerily like Richard Armitage) and then creates his own in other places (his Gandalf does not really sound like Ian McKellen's, but is no less fun). He can, it goes without saying, do all the accents. And oh man, he goes for it with the singing. And there are a LOT of songs in here, way more than you remember.
These audiobooks are a full on experience, and I cannot tell you how happy I am that I finally started listening to them. I'm going to have a hard time in the future picking up physical copies when I know this is available to listen to instead.
Update 8/14/24: I have made honey cake. Thanks, Beorn! (I said in a status update that every time I read this I want to make Beorn’s honey cakes and I never do.) Guess what it was fucking delicious.
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CBR BINGO: Rings (this BINGO card was basically taunting me to start another re-read)...more
My favorite of the Magpie books. I was surprised by this! The premise turned me off a little, which is why it took me so long to pick up. I'm not realMy favorite of the Magpie books. I was surprised by this! The premise turned me off a little, which is why it took me so long to pick up. I'm not really a fan of "redeeming the bad guy" stories, but of course Charles pulls it off. And, as it turns out, Jonah wasn't really a bad guy for what he did in the original trilogy. He was being coerced, very strongly.
Our narrator isn't Jonah Pastern, though, it's ex-policeman Ben Spenser, who was left behind by his lover Jonah to face jail time and months of hard labor for "gross indecency." Ben's life was completely ruined after Jonah swept out of it one morning. He lost his friends, his family, his job, and his health, and can no longer find decent work. He wants to find Jonah and exact his revenge (which is the most gentle form of revenge, wanting him to be punished for his crimes, and he can't even do that in the end because he's too good of a guy).
For once with these Magpie-world books, the romance is the star of the show and the world and the magic takes a backseat, which I very much appreciated. Jonah and Ben's relationship is very compelling and sweet, and in the end, satisfying. I did think it a bit hand-wavy how it ended, because it would never have ended that way in real life, but this isn't real life, and I'm glad these characters got their happy ending.
Merged review:
My favorite of the Magpie books. I was surprised by this! The premise turned me off a little, which is why it took me so long to pick up. I'm not really a fan of "redeeming the bad guy" stories, but of course Charles pulls it off. And, as it turns out, Jonah wasn't really a bad guy for what he did in the original trilogy. He was being coerced, very strongly.
Our narrator isn't Jonah Pastern, though, it's ex-policeman Ben Spenser, who was left behind by his lover Jonah to face jail time and months of hard labor for "gross indecency." Ben's life was completely ruined after Jonah swept out of it one morning. He lost his friends, his family, his job, and his health, and can no longer find decent work. He wants to find Jonah and exact his revenge (which is the most gentle form of revenge, wanting him to be punished for his crimes, and he can't even do that in the end because he's too good of a guy).
For once with these Magpie-world books, the romance is the star of the show and the world and the magic takes a backseat, which I very much appreciated. Jonah and Ben's relationship is very compelling and sweet, and in the end, satisfying. I did think it a bit hand-wavy how it ended, because it would never have ended that way in real life, but this isn't real life, and I'm glad these characters got their happy ending....more
I read this because Paula loved it, and we traded book recs (I had her read Thursday Murder Club). I really liked this book a lot. It does the main thI read this because Paula loved it, and we traded book recs (I had her read Thursday Murder Club). I really liked this book a lot. It does the main thing I want from my books, and that's get me emotionally involved. It wasn't perfect for me, though, mainly because of the ending (see spoilers below). But this is definitely worth reading, and if you like historical fiction centering female friendship, you will probably like this a lot.
I will say, don't trust the blurb, it gives expectations the book isn't interested in fulfilling. I was reading the book a certain way the whole time, largely because of the blurb, and was thus very angry and surprised by how things turned out*. No expectations are best!
*Seriously do not click this spoiler tag unless you want to be spoiled all to hell. (view spoiler)[This is the kind of book that will kill a main character just as they have achieved happiness, and it made me furious. I was reading this book as a wacky ode to female friendship in a time of trauma and hardship, plus science! And buddy comedy shenanigans. There are elements of all of those things, but as Paula pointed out to me, Enid is not a co-protagonist or there to just be friends with Margery, the MC. She is a co-antagonist, working in parallel to her opposite, the POW with PTSD who is stalking them. This sort of reframed the whole book for me.
I did not appreciate being fooled into thinking this was one type of story, when it was another altogether, hence the four stars instead of five. (hide spoiler)]
I do recommend checking out this hidden gem. I'd never even heard of it before Paula told me to read it because she loved it so much. ...more
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
Okay, so, this book was not AT ALL what I was Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
Okay, so, this book was not AT ALL what I was expecting going in, based on the blurb. If you are expecting emotional good times and characters to identify with ala Murderbot, stop expecting that.
Our main character, Uncharles, goes on a sort of picaresque philosophical journey of What Does It Mean to Be Alive, with each section of the book being an ode/homage to a different classic (mostly sff) author: Agatha Christie, Franz Kafka, George Orwell, Luis Borges, and Dante Alighieri. Each section of the book has a different feel, and I liked some a lot more than others. The first section, Christie (spelled KR15-T bc robots) plays like a farce, as our main character murders his master but has no memory of it, and his programming and that of the other robots turns the whole situation into one of ridiculous proportions as they attempt to follow commands that make no sense.
Oh, and by the way, this is a world in which humans are vanishingly rare, as they seem to have turned over all their thinking, duties, and tasks to robots, and then as far as I can tell, disappeared.
All in all, Adrian Tchaikovsky continues to be weird and creative and I will continue reading his strange books as long as he keeps writing them, but I do prefer to have an emotional attachment to the characters I'm reading about, and because Uncharles is not yet a Real Boy for most of this novel, I had a really hard time with that and kept wanting to be reading something else.
Note: The audiobook is read by the author, and his voice is bAnAnAs. He does such a great job, he should just narrate all of his audiobooks from now on.
A zany adventure mystery, with Osman's signature humor. Might have more thoughts later, might not.A zany adventure mystery, with Osman's signature humor. Might have more thoughts later, might not....more
This would have gotten a higher rating without the hated "I'm going to break up with you for your own good but really it's for my own good because I'mThis would have gotten a higher rating without the hated "I'm going to break up with you for your own good but really it's for my own good because I'm a selfish idiot who confuses self-sacrifice with goodness" trope. Anyway, up until that bit, this was great. And then after they made up it was good too. I'm just salty about it.
I highly enjoy Mimi Matthew's brand of historical romance, always full of historical detail and lovely character moments. It's also endearing to my little asexual heart because they get lusty feelings and moon over each other often with great angst and lots of feeeeelings but then I don't have to sit through a poorly written sex scene that more often than not can be done without. The focus is truly just on these two people getting to know each other and shore up each other's weak spots.
Will be reading the rest of the series ASAP....more
I enjoyed this but I wasn't in the mood for a bittersweet ending. Also I'm perturbed I didn't notice the MC is unnamed.I enjoyed this but I wasn't in the mood for a bittersweet ending. Also I'm perturbed I didn't notice the MC is unnamed....more
I would have liked a full novel of this! But I get why she made it a novella. Still, with more space and development room for the characters, this couI would have liked a full novel of this! But I get why she made it a novella. Still, with more space and development room for the characters, this could have been a five star read for me. ...more
This wasn't my favorite of Mimi Matthews' books, but I still think it's worth reading. (And worth noting that she was writing this book, where the maiThis wasn't my favorite of Mimi Matthews' books, but I still think it's worth reading. (And worth noting that she was writing this book, where the main character is still in mourning for her father, fresh off the death of her own father in real life.) Just know going in it's a bit more rough going than her other books have been (for me, at least, obviously). It could also just be that the MCs here, Anne and Hart, weren't my favorite! Anyway, it doesn't matter. I still love this author and her books.
So this book, as mentioned above, follows the Lady Anne Deveril, who for the last six and a half years has been in official mourning for her father, because her mother can't seem to move on and won't let Anne move on, either. They are still wearing black long after they should have been (the author based this behavior on Queen Victoria's response to the death of Prince Albert, who has only been dead six months as of the time in this book), and they are seen as social eccentrics, not least because her mother has dived headfirst into spiritualism, constantly attempting to commune with the dead. Her father's death also put her budding romance with Hart on the backburner, and a hurtful confrontation (for both of them) ensued. They have been at odds ever since (the lion's share of the antagonism coming from Anne).
Now, of course, they are coming back together.
I don't think this book will stick with me for very long, despite it being about grief in many ways, and that is usually something that I'm drawn to in books. But the focus wasn't really on the grief, it was on repairing the (frustrating) relationship between Hart and Anne. The first half of this book I wanted to shake these people, especially Anne, almost constantly.
Hoping for a strong finish this fall for Stella's book. ...more
This wasn't as clever as I wanted it to be, and I think it wasted the premise a bit, but overall I had a fun time 30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4 Book 4/30
This wasn't as clever as I wanted it to be, and I think it wasted the premise a bit, but overall I had a fun time reading it, and I finished it in a day, so clearly I can't have that many complaints.
The main plot features Annie Adams learning that she has just been made an inheritor of her great-aunt Frances's will, a woman she's never met, and traveling to the small town of Castle Knoll to meet with her aunt and a lawyer. The thing about Frances is that since she received a particularly ominous fortune at the age of sixteen, she has been convinced that she will be murdered, and spent most of her life preparing either to try and counter the murder, or provide her heirs with enough information to bring her killer to justice. She also spent a great deal of time investigating the disappearance of her friend Emily when they were seventeen.
Both of these things become relevant when Frances is found murdered before Annie can even meet her, and suddenly she's in competition with Frances's great-nephew by marriage to solve her murder. Whoever solves her murder inherits her substantial fortune, and they have files of clues to do it with, clues Frances has been collecting for sixty plus years.
For the first half of the book, Annie was way too passive, and that is the main reason for my 3.5 star rating. She didn't actually start detecting until the last half. Before that, information just came to her. Some of this can be written off by the fact that she was concentrating on learning the town and its residents, something the other guy didn't need to do because he lived there. She's also distracted by a journal from Frances's teenage years which seems to hold vital information. The thing that makes this all workable is that we also do not know these people or this town. But I still think the author could have overcome this in some other way so that her MC was more pro-active sooner.
The mystery itself was suitably twisty, and the cozy atmosphere of the town worked nicely with how secretly shady all its residents were.
I think I will be reading on in the series. There was a moment in here that I thought was just lovely* that really was the reason I upped my rating to four stars, and which made me think this author's writing can get even better. I probably won't be buying them, though; it will be library all the way.
*(view spoiler)[Annie thinks about how all the shithead teenagers in Frances's life/diary all had a chance to grow up and become better people, but Emily (who was a piece of work) never did. It got me all teary! (hide spoiler)]
Still fun, but I missed the personal element the last book had. The mystery in this one was mostly dull for me because it had no stakes for our four mStill fun, but I missed the personal element the last book had. The mystery in this one was mostly dull for me because it had no stakes for our four main characters.
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