Category: Book review

Book review

Unveiling The Earthly Blaze: A Review of Alice Poon’s Kung Fu Duology

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A young Chinese woman in kung fu fighting stance facing off with a dragon
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The Earthly Blaze by Alice Poon
Genre: fantasy
I read it as a(n): digital ARC
Length: 396 pp 
Her Grace’s rating: 4 stars

In The Earthly Blaze, author Alice Poon takes up immediately after the events of the first book of this duology, The Heavenly Sword. Jumping right into the thick of it, Sai’er, who is the earthly incarnation of the goddess Chang’e, and her friends struggle against the forces of Prince Zhu Di, the earthly incarnation of the evil Sky Wolf. The fighters form a sect to network and recruit new members, resist the wicked acts of Zhu Di and his government, and hone their skills in kung fu to aid them in their battles. Along the way, bonds between the group are strained and tested in ways none of them could have foreseen. Adding in betrayals and double agents makes the entire situation all the more fraught, burdening Sai’er, Sanbao, Binhong, Yinho, and the rest of the Sect with wavering morale and uncertainty about who is friend and who is foe.

I enjoyed this book even more than The Heavenly Sword. After reading that first entry, I realized that I actually had No Clue™ about kung fu/ wuxia in general beyond having watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and some Jackie Chan films, and even less about the literary genre. So I set out to learn a few things about it and lo and behold! I was rewarded by my new understanding with an even greater appreciation for the story as a whole and for the wuxia genre specifically. 

This action-packed book was rich in Chinese culture and mythology. I loved the attention to detail throughout. Everything from broad strokes such as landscape descriptions to tiny details such as decorations on a person’s clothes were included and helped to make a vibrant backdrop for the story. It made it feel like I was immersed and part of the action. Likewise, references to various deities and myths enriched the reading experience and, in a couple places, made me go off and look up a myth or character that was previously unfamiliar to me. The worldbuilding overall is excellent, and I also really loved the politics in this. They were complex, at times even labyrinthine, and provided some good insight into the social structures in real-life in earlier times. The legends, politics, and epic martial arts sequences mix together for an explosive adventure. 

I enjoyed getting to know Sai’er better. She was very much a mother figure to the Sect members and they looked up to her. She is not perfect, though, but her flaws and uncertainties make her relatable. It was fun to see how not only Sai’er grew as a person and how her celestial identity was resolved, but also how the others fulfilled their own roles, whatever those happened to be. Everything worked itself out the way it needed to, even when we lost characters along the way or wished that something had gone differently. One sign of a good story, to me, is when an author can take readers where they may not want to go but ultimately where they need to go; Poon does that exactly right.

Finally, a small point that nevertheless made a big difference. There was a recap of book 1 at the beginning! I had read and enjoyed the first book in this duology but, as with the majority of the books I read anymore, I forget most of the things about it as soon as I finish reading. The recap was greatly appreciated and was enough to jog my memory so that I could dive right into this one.

At the end of the day, this duology is a sweeping journey through a world filled with courage, destiny, and cosmic forces colliding in an epic battle of good vs. evil. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves kung fu, Chinese mythology, or just a rip-roaring, action-packed story.

Book review

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

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The spirit bares its teethThe Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew joseph White
Genre: historical fiction/fantasy
I read it as a(n): ARC
Length: 384 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In White’s version of Victorian England, some people are born with violet eyes. These people can cut through the Veil, opening a portal to the realm of the spirits of the dead. Many of these violet-eyed people, called Speakers, are women who are highly sought as brides, but since this is Victorian England, they are naturally considered too mentally feeble and physically unsuited to handle being a Speaker. That’s a whole lot of bullshit right there. Female Speakers who are deemed to be unfit, or in some other way rebel against the patriarchy, are diagnosed with Veil Sickness and sent away for treatment, similarly to actual Victorian women who dared to have a mind of her own and got sent off for a nice little lobotomy. Such is the lot of Silas Bell, a trans boy railing against a society that doesn’t see his true self and being unable to attend medical school as a result. Silas is sent to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanatorium for Girls where other wayward females are stashed away until they are “cured,” usually by forced marriage. There’s a code word for “rape” if I ever heard it. While there, Silas learns that Braxton’s has a horrific secret that the headmaster will guard at any cost.

This superlative novel speaks directly to the trauma of not being seen or valued as one’s authentic self. Even today, many of us know the rage, fear, and despair of living in a society that would see us hidden away, eliminated, and which perpetuates a very deliberate erasure of the things that hold meaning for us. White, himself a trans man, has woven a delicate web of a novel, drawing on current events and lived experience, to craft an exciting plot, complex worldbuilding, and memorable characters who readers are bound to care about deeply. Historical details such as Victorian social mores add to an already intense and vivid story.

A quick warning: there are some gory quasi-medical scenes. Maybe skim over those if you are squeamish. I’m not and felt that the gore added intensity to the plot as well as an additional layer of desperation and hopelessness that makes you want to burn everything to the fucking ground.

I recommend this with the greatest enthusiasm. Fuck the patriarchy, friends!

Weirdly, my daughter is reading White’s debut book, Hell Followed with Us, for a project in her English class. Neither of us realized we were reading the same author until we both, at the same moment, looked at each other’s books while sitting on the couch and said, “holy crap, I’m reading his other book right now!”

This review was originally published on the Historical Novels Review website, minus the swears. 

Book review

The Prince and the Coyote

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The prince and the coyoteThe Prince and the Coyote by David Bowles
Genre: historical fiction
I read it as a(n): ARC
Length: 424 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Set in 1418, pre-Columbian Mexico, a young nobleman comes of age in a time of tremendous upheaval. The Mexican national hero, Nezahualcoyotl, a dreamer and poet as well as the Crown Prince of Tetzcoco (modern Texcoco), is sent to an elite school to learn the many duties of being a royal. His world is shattered when an uprising, led in part by his illegitimate half-brother, leads to the deaths of all of Nezahualcoyotl’s family and sends Nezahualcoyotl himself into exile. Complex political strategy, military brilliance, and sheer stubborn determination to reclaim his throne keep Nezahualcoyotl going as he forges new alliances and fights for his rightful throne.

The world building in this novel was exceptional. Bowles took great pains to create a living, breathing world that appeals to modern readers. The labyrinthine politics involved in the relationships between the various city-states of Mexico at the time are fascinating. That aspect of the novel was certainly the strongest. The battle scenes, though sometimes feeling a little rushed, were exciting and detailed. Learning more about the weapons and battle tactics of this time period was intriguing and made me want to learn more. Similarly, I appreciated learning about daily life for this region and time period.

I have two minor quibbles: the book is marketed as a YA but because of the complexity of the plot, it definitely reads like an adult novel. I think a lot of younger readers would be bored with this.

Also, even though the story quickly grabbed my attention, I was almost undone by the names. While I appreciate, and usually insist upon, historical accuracy, this might be an instance where it would be acceptable to shorten some names to make this book more readable, even if that isn’t technically accurate. It would have been so much easier to read and keep straight all the characters if they were actually called Fasting Coyote or whatever the translation of their name would be. 

Overall, The Prince and the Coyote is a gripping, enjoyable epic through a period of history that the U.S. largely skips right over. Warmly recommended. 

Book review

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

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To Be Taught, If Fortunate

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Genre: SF
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Length: 4:30:00
Her Grace’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

This novella tells the story of 4 astronauts who volunteered for a decades-long mission to explore other worlds. Because of the distances, travel between planets would be done by the ship so the crew could be in suspension. They don’t explore in hopes of finding a planet to terraform. Instead, each time they wake up in orbit around a new planet, they have different bodies that are adapted to the planet’s environment. They send their research home to Earth, which changes drastically in between their sleep cycles, even though to the crew, they only left a few months ago.

So this was the first anything I ever read by Becky Chambers. I fucking loved it. One of my coworkers said that I needed to read Chambers’ debut novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I have actually had it sitting on my shelf for a few years and have gotten around to it yet. To Be Taught…was a book club selection and I’m really glad it was. It will be the impetus I needed to finally read Chambers’ other books. 

I thought that altering the humans’ bodies to fit the planet rather than the other way around was a cool idea. I would think it would be so much easier to do that than to terraform a whole planet just for 4 people. 

The worldbuilding, history, and character development were all phenomenal, especially considering that this was such a short book. I listened to the audio version which was only 4.5 hours; the print version is 153 pages. The crew were all diverse and had a distinct voice within the story. I thought it was all very nicely done.

I also loved the title. It is a quote from NASA’s Golden Record, the recordings from Earth that were sent out with the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes. Specifically, it is from the then-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim, who wrote, “We step out of our Solar System into the Universe, seeking only peace and friendship, to teach if we are called upon, to be taught if we are fortunate. We know full well that our planet and all its inhabitants are but a small part of this immense Universe that surrounds us, and it is with humility and hope that we take this step.” I can hardly even write the words down without tearing up. Look what we can do when we put aside petty irrelevancies like religion, skin color, sex, or geographic boundaries. Imagine what we could do if we eliminated all these superficial limitations and really became a true global society.

Cosmic Cliff of the Carina Nebula (JWST)

Book review

Horrid

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913zauwpqyl._sl1500_Horrid by Katrina Leno
Genre: horror
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 326 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Jane North-Robinson and her mother Ruth have to move to Ruth’s hometown in Maine after the death of Jane’s father. Jane didn’t even know there was a house in Maine for them to live in, but considering how her dad managed to lose all their money before he died, she is grateful enough that her mother inherited it, even though it meant leaving her own hometown of LA. When they arrive, though, the house is in shambles. Fixing it up takes a little time but it’s coming along and Jane is prepared to do hard work to help. What Jane isn’t prepared for is the fact that the house seems to be haunted.

This was an unfortunate case where the title describes the novel as a whole.

This book was a pretty typical haunted house type of story – old, crumbling house, ghosties, dark New England atmosphere, and a whole town who knows the deep, dark family secret that Jane’s mother won’t tell her. It was minimally creepy in parts but overall it was fairly predictable. The idea of the novel was interesting but the execution of it wasn’t the greatest. I think my biggest issue is that allllll of the characters were catastrophically underdeveloped and they all slid right into your typical YA cliches. 

I’m not sorry I read it or anything. I just had higher expectations and found it to be quite dull. That was particularly disappointing because I had high hopes based on that absolutely gorgeous cover! Yes, I judge books by their covers. This one was amazing and so I thought the story should have corresponded to that.  Alas. 

Book review

Catch-up reviews

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Romeo + JulietRomeo and Juliet by David Hewson
Genre: Historical fiction
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Richard Armitage
Length: 11:05:00
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Hewson took the Bard’s play and turned it into a narrative historical fiction. I loved the touches of actual history, such as talking about the Borgia Pope or the occasional outbreak of bubonic plague. Beginning with this story, or reading it in tandem with the play, would make it so much more fun for high school students just learning about Shakespeare. That, and let them swear all they want if they use only Shakespearean swears. 

I listened to this as an audiobook and now I would listen to Richard Armitage read the phone book if that was all that was available. 

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Genre: SF
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Mary Robinette Kowal and Will Damron
Length: 30:00:00
Her Grace’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this book but I only mostly liked it. I really enjoyed the first three-quarters or so of it. All the parts where they were figuring out the logistics of getting as many people off Earth as they could before the Hard Rain began. I liked the complexities of the politics and the more sciency aspects of the story. Once the plot jumped ahead in time, though, I lost interest. I didn’t like the characters as much then and felt that ending the novel before the time jump would have made it ambiguous and generally better.

The Invisible HourThe Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
Genre: magical realism
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 252 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Alice Hoffman does it again – a magical and lyrical story about a woman just trying to do the best she can for her child. Problem is, she gets sucked into a cult, which is not good for anyone. Her daughter takes stock of the life she leads and makes her own decisions from there. It is full of Hoffman’s typical atmosphere of magic hovering just at the edge of your vision. I loved it so much.

A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson
Genre: SF/ Star Trek DS9
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Andrew Robinson
Length: 12:28:00
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This may very well be a perfect audiobook. Andrew Robinson, who authored and narrated this, also played Garak. So having him be Garak while reading Garak’s story to us is just *chef’s kiss* to this Trekkie. 

Screenshot 2023-10-16 160640

Second Self by Una McCormack
Genre: SF/ Star Trek Picard
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 305 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Another terrific story and it happened also to feature Garak. I didn’t realize when I started reading it that he was in this one. So I accidentally had a Garak readalong of some kind. This one was a wonderful insight into Raffi’s character. I liked the dual timeline and how it resolved at the end, though McCormack went and killed one of the best characters in the book and that made me sad.  

Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier
Genre: contemporary/mystery
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 400 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Toxic horse rich person environment on full display! I burned through this book – I am an adult lady who loves horses and horse books – but even if it wasn’t about horses, the writing style made it imminently readable. I enjoyed the mystery, lowly finding out who the dead person was in the barn and who killed them. I figured that all out before the end, though whodunnit was easier to figure than whohaditduntothem. 

Mercy Rule by Tom Leveen
Genre: YA
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 436 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When I first bought this book, I had thought it was a horror since the other books my Tom Leveen I’ve read were horror. So I was a bit confused at first. But it didn’t matter because this is one of the best, most anxiety-making books I read this year. Told from multiple points of view, it is the events and wind-up to a school shooting. Every character was unique and well-crafted – they were all individual people, not one of whom was a blank or someone you could confuse with another. I liked most of them, except a couple that maybe you weren’t supposed to, and one in particular was my very favorite. Heartbreaking book, but a very necessary story to read. 

Book review · historical fiction

Daughter of Black Lake

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daughter of black lake

Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Genre: historical fiction

I read it as a(n): hardback

Length: 320 pp

Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Set in the 1st century CE, Daughter of Black Lake centers on a small village to the northwest of Londinium. The Roman invasion is in process, though the villagers don’t really seem to care much. Most see it as an opportunity to make some money by trading with a nearby outpost town. When an unhinged Druid, Fox, comes along, trying to incite the tribesmen to band together and rise against the Romans, things get dangerous. One woman, Devout, and her daughter, Hobble, find themselves in the middle of a power struggle between the Druid and the leader of the village, in part because of Hobble’s ability to See the future. Devout, though, also has secrets of her own that may destroy the peace of the village and doom Fox and the rest of the Druids’ plans to overthrow the perceived shackles of their oppressors. 

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book. It felt like a lot of not much was happening. But the characters were deeply developed and I got invested in their stories. Then Fox came along and I wanted to see what would happen with him. He was a hateful character, which was weird for me since I usually really like Druid characters. Of course, the Druid figures in other stories I’ve read were more like Merlin or Gandalf, so naturally I would like them. Fox, not so much. He was a fundy zealous dick. 

I liked Hobble a great deal. She was a healer, like her mother, and had vast knowledge for such a young girl. I cared less about her ability to see the future, especially since it was never really explained why she had the ability. Fox wanted to use her ability to help rally the tribes to the Druids’ cause and go to the aid of the Iceni queen, Boudicca, but Hobble couldn’t do that. She could see that the Romans were going to kick their asses. And historically, they did. Boudicca came damn close to winning but in the end, she didn’t. 

I really liked the writing style. It was almost dream-like. It felt similar to The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, but I didn’t care for that story and I did like Daughter of Black Lake. Maybe comparing it to The Mists of Avalon would be more accurate. At any rate, I really liked this one. It’s certainly making my favorite books of 2023 list. 

Book review

Catch-Up Post

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the impossible fortress

The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

Genre: YA / 1980s nostalgia-fest

I read it as a(n): hardback

Length: 285 pp

Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

On a quest to boost one of the Vanna White Playboys from the local convenience store, Billy, computer and gaming nerd extraordinaire, meets Mary, who kicks his ass at programming. Over the course of a few months, they bond over their desire to program a video game to enter into a contest, hoping for the chance to win the badass new computer that the first-place winner will get, which puts even Mary’s Commodore 64 to shame. And Billy discovers that, despite getting teased by his friends for Mary being overweight, Mary is awesome and he really likes her.

An homage to the 80s, this YA novel explores the friendships made in our teens, revisits the excitement we all felt when the first video games were coming out, and generally made me miss being a kid for a minute. 

 

the wife upstairs

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins 

Genre: mystery

I read it as a(n): hardback

Length: pp

Her Grace’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars

A contemporary retelling of Jane Eyre, only made into a murder mystery, with a different ending, and not one really likeable character. There wasn’t a lot of surprise to this one and although I didn’t hate it, it was a solid meh for me. 

 

the year of less

The Year of Less by Cait Flanders

Genre: nonfiction/lifestyle

I read it as a(n): paperback

Length: 189 pp

Her Grace’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A book on one woman’s year of embracing minimalism, mostly through not buying anything she doesn’t actually need. What works for one person may not be for another, but I enjoyed reading about her experiences and picking up a few new tips along the way. I will be implementing some of those tips into my own evolving minimalism practice. 

Book review · historical fiction

Bookshop Cinderella

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bookshop cinderella

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke
Genre: Victorian romance
I read it as a(n): digital galley
Length: 336 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars 


Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke is a delightful Victorian romance that will have readers of the genre swooning with its charming rags-to-riches storyline. Evie Harlow is a strong and independent woman, which is a source of consternation to her family and society in general. She took over the ownership and management of her father’s rare books store when he died and has been happily ensconced in that ever since. She has no need of male companionship beyond a dear childhood friend and can’t imagine herself in any sort of long-term relationship. It simply doesn’t fit in with her daily life. Although she occasionally longs for a happily ever after for herself, she’s mostly given up on the thought and does her best to enjoy the life she has. So you can imagine how flustered she is when she finds herself in the acquaintance of Duke Maximillian of Westbourne. Introduced mainly by a random mutual acquaintance, Max initially intends only to use Evie’s talents at research to help with a fancy dinner party he’s been put in charge of. It soon changes when Max’s young proteges mock Evie for her lack of fashion and beauty and propose a scheme to Max. Max is determined to win a bet that proves Evie can become a debutante and take the London Season by storm.

The basic cast of characters are developed well and have plenty of interesting personality quirks, which is what I think really helps move a plot forward in a romance novel. The chemistry between Evie and Max is palpable, and the author does an excellent job of developing their relationship in a way that feels natural and authentic. Evie and Max are both imminently likeable characters in their different ways, and even secondary characters feel like actual people and not placeholders needed to fill a crowd. There was a lot of slow building passion between Evie and Max, which made the anticipation a pleasant ride. 

My one real quibble is that there wasn’t much resolution with regard to the villain in the story. His motivations felt a bit contrived and the ending for his part of the story was rushed and felt incomplete. I would have liked more closure on that. I confess, I wanted to see a proper comeuppance, but instead, that part of the story just ended! Totally unsatisfied with that. 

The book is filled with banter, a few hilariously biting remarks about the aristocracy, and romantic moments that are sure to please readers. Gurhke’s writing style is engaging and immersive, readers were treated to some details about daily life among the peerage and the working classes, and the end result was everything it needed to be. It’s a quick and easy read that is perfect for anyone looking for a light romance. 

Book review · Medievalism

The Buried Giant

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The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro

Genre: fantasy

I read it as a(n): hardback

Length: 317 pp

Her Grace’s rating: 2 out of 5 stars

I…did not understand this book. I’ve got plenty of game. I can talk about the allegory of the buried giant as the letting go of or forgetting of old grudges. I get that the mist is the collective forgetting that happens when we rewrite history or lose meaningful parts of history. I can understand the symbolism (So. Much. Symbolism) of the dragon, the pilgrimage, or the boatman. I can talk about how each person in the group of Axl, Beatrice, Wistan, Gawain, and Edwin represents a different social strata and that they collectively serve as a microcosm of post-Roman Britain. 

But I still do not understand this book. What even happened in it? I wanted to love it so much. I love most things even remotely related to Arthurian legend. But there was an old couple and a warrior and a kid and they all met Sir Gawain and then there’s a dragon and some monks and the kid’s weird visions and a boat and the end. All with nothing really happening. The characters were flat. Most of them were totally blank to me. I didn’t care about their quest or the fact that they couldn’t remember. The tidbits of memory from Axl were not tempting to me. There was nothing exciting, no plot progression, nada. Just, like…ok? And? 

I think people who enjoy introspective and meditative narratives will love it. That is usually me, but not this time. I could go on for days about it and still come up with nothing much. So weird.