I haven’t done any of my usual big reviews yet this spring, but I’ve done some smaller ones. I’ve rounded them up into one post below.
Title: A Perilous Perspective
Author: Anna Lee Huber
Series: Lady Darby Mysteries #10
I would like to thank Anna Lee Huber, Berkley, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this installment of Lady Darby! It’s so nice to see her happy and in love with Gage and motherhood. I adored the scenes with Emma as well as related to them, since I have a five-month-old niece. The mystery was intriguing, and only a couple of times did my mind wander briefly during the middle of the novel (which is excellent considering my short attention span). I didn’t guess the culprit until precisely when Huber wanted me to. My only criticism is the number of characters; I had a very hard time keeping track of who was who and who was related to whom and how. Otherwise, no complaints! I can’t wait to see what’s going on with Gage’s dad in next year’s installment. I’m also eagerly anticipating the next Verity Kent this fall, and, hopefully, fingers crossed, a gothic myth book this summer!
Title: House of Sky and Breath
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Crescent City #2
*reads*
This series is good, all the characters have grown on me, and I’m understanding the lore better, but it’s not ACOTAR.
*begins reading chapter 78*
Wouldn’t it be cool if Bryce went to… But Maas wouldn’t do that, they’re two different series… She’s crossed streams before, but it was just a brief cameo really…
*continues reading*
What a tease, Maas is making it sound like a possibility.
*goes still*
Is that…?
*heart pounds*
Don’t tease me.
*devours remaining pages*
*screams*
DAMN TO HADES WHOEVER FIRST DECIDED CLIFFHANGERS WERE LEGAL
*Rereads chapter 78*
5 stars for chapter 78 alone
WHEN IS THE NEXT BOOOOOOK?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
*eye twitches madly as she begins stalking Maas online*
Title: Fire of the Frost
Author: Darynda Jones, Jeffe Kennedy, Grace Draven, Amanda Bouchet
Series: n/a
I read only A Wynter Fyre, the Darynda Jones novella, and the rating is for that alone. I could have done without the pages and pages of explicit sex almost at the very beginning (waste of pages) and the triplets could have been cut altogether, they served zero purpose. My only other complaint was that it wasn’t a full-length novel! The story needed room to breathe. It felt like the Eternals movie did to me–a shit ton of intriguing story and fascinating mythology crammed into way too small a space. I didn’t see the twist coming until precisely when Jones wanted me to. Present was Jones’s skill in dialogue and character charisma. The ogre family was a delight! I’m impressed she pulled this out of her butt in three days.
Title: The Last House on Needless Street
Author: Catriona Ward
Series: n/a
What a bizarre fuckin story…. I applaud its balls and uniqueness, though. A murder mystery from the POV of a victim with dissociative identity disorder. That had to have been a headache to write. I still have questions, but I understand enough to feel I have closure. Tons of respect for Ward’s efforts, but I don’t care for my reads to be quite this bizarre. I felt a little insane myself when I was done.
Title: Last Duke Standing
Author: Julia London
Series: A Royal Match #1
I would like to thank Julia London, HQN Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book at first, but it seemed to fall apart toward the end. I adored Justine, William, Lila, even Amelia, which surprised the heck out of me, and I loved watching Justine and William banter and fall in love. But once Lila entered the story and started introducing Justine to dickbags on purpose, the plot seemed to get a bit out of hand. It got more and more frustrating that Justine, William, and Lila all had the same goal but were working against each other when they should have been working together. Then that big bad secret of William’s seemed tacked on at the end like an afterthought, and Beck and his family were almost more endearing and interesting than the actual protags, and the overall execution of the story wound up being a little messy. Regardless, I liked the book, loved the characters, and found it quite entertaining.
Title: Minnesota Mysteries: A History of Unexplained Wonders, Eccentric Characters, Preposterous Claims and Baffling Occurrences in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes
Author: Ben Welter
Series: n/a
Not what I wanted it to be based on the epic title. I thought it’d be like an episode of Mysteries of the Abandoned or the UnXplained or the like, diving into bizarre mysteries in an effort to give them explanations, whether or not they have actual answers. No, this is just a collection of old newspaper articles the author found interesting or amusing in the course of writing a “yesterday’s news” blog, and most of them take place in the Cities, being from the Tribune; the rest of the state is ignored. I found bits of it interesting or funny, but some of it I skipped–the Mr. Sly chapter could have been a LOT shorter. Very disappointed, and won’t be buying Mayhem or Moxie.
Title: The Lighthouse Witches
Author: C. J. Cooke
Series: n/a
Oh. My. God. I ADORED this book, and I did not expect to. I tried to listen to it a month or so ago, but stopped because the bouncing around in time and POV disoriented me and I quickly lost track of what was going on. But I still wanted to read it, so I waited until a time when my mind was quieter and I was able to pay closer attention. I’m so glad I gave it a second shot.
It’s not perfect. Firstly, I didn’t care for all the bouncing around in time and POV. I realize it’s kinda necessary plot-wise, to build suspense if nothing else, but I just generally don’t care for books that do a bunch of head-hopping, especially with a deep mystery involved, because it’s just that much harder to keep track of information and clues, rule out misinformation, etc., and it can so easily become disorienting if not done well, as evidenced above. It’s one thing for a book to alternate between two characters in two linear timelines; it’s another to have several different characters jumping backwards and forwards with no consistency and telling the same story from seemingly random points. My sympathies for the editor who had to make sense of that timeline.
Secondly, I hated how the chapters were structured. LOATHED it. I didn’t read a physical copy, rather listened to the audiobook, but it seemed they started over numbering the chapters every time the POV switched–which was often. Who in god’s name thought that was a good idea? It not only added to the disorientation, but aside from page numbers, how are people supposed to reference scenes? “I thought it was cool when X happened. When was it? Um, it was in Luna’s POV. Chapter one. Luna’s eighth chapter one. Or was it her ninth chapter one? Wait, no, it was one of Liv’s chapter ones. Ugh, never mind, let me find the page.” And if you’re listening to an audiobook that doesn’t have page numbers? Use time stamps? Could be other readers won’t find it that aggravating, but I think it’s completely idiotic. “Yes, the timeline in the book is going to jump back and forth from past to present, and different periods in the past to boot. Also, I was thinking about repeating chapter numbers with every jump. That wouldn’t make it more confusing, would it? What do you mean it’s antithetical to the point of numbering the chapters?”
Another thing that bothered me about the chapters from a writing standpoint is that they often ended abruptly, like in the middle of a conversation or thought process. So many times I’d be listening and there’d be a long pause, and I’d wonder if the app had glitched and stopped itself or automatically paused because I was getting a phone call or something–and then the next chapter would start. The long pause was just the transition from one chapter to another, and I hadn’t realized it because the last thing I’d heard hadn’t sounded “final,” if you know what I mean. I’m inclined to blame the author, but responsibility may partially lie with the narrators; they didn’t always use a tone of finality when reading the last line of a chapter.
The third issue that comes to mind is Brody. I’m actually tempted to say Sapphire’s POV altogether was unnecessary, but without studying the story more I can’t say that with confidence. I can say I’m pretty sure Brody didn’t need to exist. He contributed nothing whatsoever, unless you count my desire to shoot him, and his comments toward the end in present day weren’t explained, or if they were I missed it. Sure, he was ultimately the catalyst that caused Sapphire’s time jump, but I feel like there could have been another reason Rowan went crazy on Sapphire without having to introduce another character.
Those are the biggest issues off the top of my head. I could probably argue story points if I thought about it more–For example, how did the witches relate to the time travel hole again? How did they understand it and know it would avenge them? Or why did Clover act so strangely when first found, why did she seem to want to hurt Luna? Also, why was it implied that everyone on the island were going to form a mob and hunt down Present Luna and Clover, but then the danger kinda fizzled out and everything was fine?–but I don’t care to scrutinize it further. Despite any flaws, I really liked this book. The different narrators helped me keep track of the POVs and whose head we were in. I found all the co-leads sympathetic, and I’m so, so glad everyone was more or less happy in the end. I’m very curious to check out Cooke’s other work and will keep an eye out for her next novel.
