All posts by skyebjenner

Underbridge by Peter S. Beagle

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
naked-city

Title: Underbridge
Author: Peter S. Beagle
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Mental health, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 20th September 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: The months passed, and the weather turned relatively mild and notably dry.

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Synopsis

Richardson just wants tenure, or, at the very least, a stable job. But his discovery of the Troll Underbridge might just change everything…

Thoughts

As someone who is halfway through her PhD and just entering the world of academics… I can completely understand Richardsons’ incredible need to just… crack. Right down the centre. With absolutely no finesse. Alright, I don’t actually want to crack, and I definitely wouldn’t do what he did… but we’ve all had our moments of instability, and I found Beagle’s take on this in this short story incredibly entertaining and intriguing.

We’re all a little scared of the things that go bump in the night. The creatures which hide under the bed in the dark. The ghouls which hide under our bridges and in the dark, hideaway places. Which makes the troll under the bridge a perfect feature for an urban fantasy short story. After all, they’re a fixture in fairy tales and fit that idea of the things that scare us – although, they don’t seem to show up as commonly in the stories… probably because they’re just not quite sexy…

For me, this short story highlighted the question “how far will you go?” For Richardson, I think the answer was kind of too far. But it still begs the question – how far would I go to achieve my goals? To get a steady job… I think that there may be a little of Richardsons’ darkness in all of us when we truly want something…

 <- Picking Up the Pieces ReviewPriced to Sell Review ->
Image source: Patricia Briggs

Fan Fictions by Gabrielle Zevin

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for love is hell book cover

Title: Fan Fictions
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
In: Love is Hell ( Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfield, Justine Larbalestier, Gabrielle Zevin & Laurie Faria Stolarz)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Mental health, Paranormal romance, Young adult
Dates read: 19th September 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novella
Publisher: Harper Teen
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: Honestly, I’m worried about you.

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Synopsis

Paige is invisible. And ordinary. Someone who nobody notices. Until Aaron. But now she’s not sure if he’s real or just a figment of her imagination…

Thoughts

At one point or another, we all feel like we’ve been overlooked in high school. Or at least, everyone that I know feels that way… but this story took that feeling to a whole new level. And kind of a whiney one. I really liked the concept, and loved the writing (hence the four-star rating), but I seriously had to take a star off for Paige’s down right insanity…

Although I’m a complete bibliophile, and tend to have some insane dreams about what I’m reading… I’ve never taken on the persona of a book that I’m reading. Never felt those lines begin to blur as I take on a reality that is far more enjoyable than my own. Probably a good thing, considering I read a lot of stories with some incredibly messed up protagonists. But I have had moments when I’ve wished that more of my life could be like that in the stories I read.

From the title of this story, I wasn’t really expecting this kind of tale. I was expecting something with a character who actually writes fan fictions. But, in hindsight, I suppose that taking on the storyline that you’re reading is exactly what fan fictionists (is that even a word?) are actually striving for. After all, they’re generally writing a fan fiction so that they can immerse themselves into a world that someone else has created, and they’re just not really ready to leave… and what avid reader hasn’t felt that way?

 <- Thinner Than Water ReviewLove Struck Review ->
Image source: Harper Collins Publishers

The Unwanted Women of Surrey by Kaaron Warren

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for queen victoria's book of spells ellen datlow book cover

Title: The Unwanted Women of Surrey
Author: Kaaron Warren
In: Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5:  4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Death, Feminism, Gaslamp, Historical fiction
Dates read: 19th September 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: We went walking early in the evening.

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Synopsis

In a house of unwanted women, the Grey Ladies have decided to make their presence known. But these unwanted wives don’t really know what the cost is going to be… will it be too late when they find out the truth?

Thoughts

This is kind of a strong story. It intertwines death, feminism and the choices we make in life. And it truly asks the question: what is right and what is wrong? Where are the shades of grey? Or in the case of this story, where are the shades of the Grey Ladies? After all, they haunt through this story in an eerily familiar way with each flick of a page.

The mix of a tale about women attempting to find their power and place in the world. the five women in this story are all unwanted by their husbands for one reason or another. In some circumstances, I think that this unwantedness is completely understandable (there was a potential murderer among them). But in others it is just kind of tragic. At the beginning of the story, all of these women are kind of just gliding through life with no real aims or decisions as to where they want to go in the world. By the end, that has changed and there is a sense of purpose and desire in all of their actions.

The use of the cholera outbreak and a mass murder gave this tale an entirely haunting feeling. And one that made you feel a little less comfortable with the decisions that are being made by the unwanted women of surrey. Yet, it also provides a great placement in history as this was a moment that actually happened. And houses provided for married, yet unwanted women was also quite a common occurrence within this time period. The fantastic blend of historical fact, and the fantastical nature of the Grey Ladies completely swept me away.

 <- Smithfield ReviewCharged Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Haven by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for monstress 3 haven book cover

Title: Haven
Author: Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda
Series: Monstress #3
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Graphic novels, Steampunk
Dates read: 19th September 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Graphic novel
Publisher: image
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: If we’re here, it’s because family protects family.

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Synopsis

Maika Halfwolf has begun to unlock the mysteries of her past – but the challenges of the present are only growing. In this third volume of MONSTRESS, collecting issues 13-18, Maika’s journey takes her to the neutral city of Pontus, where she hopes to find temporary refuge from her pursuers. Unfortunately, Pontus may not be as safe as Maika and her allies had hoped.

s the impending war between humans and Arcanics creeps ever closer, and powerful players fight for the chance to control her future, Maika finds she must work with Zinn, the Monstrum that lives inside her, in order to ensure their mutual survival. But even that alliance might not be enough to prepare Maika for the horrors to come.

Thoughts

I’ve been putting off reading the next instalment in The Monstress series until it would complete a little more of one of my reading challenges… and when it finally came up on that week in my challenge… well, I completely devoured this. It probably helped that I was having a kind of dark week, and the darkness in the illustrations and storyline of this graphic novel hit the spot perfectly… now I just have to save up the money for the next book in the series…

I’m not someone who reads a lot of graphic novels… actually I’ve really only become interested in the genre in the last eighteen months… but for me, this is everything I never knew I wanted in a graphic novel. A fantastic combination of east and west… with a very healthy dose of mythology and steampunk thrown into the mix. But, mostly, I’ve loved how as this series has progressed, the story has gotten darker and darker, more complex and intensely twisty.

What started as an easy story about Maika Halfwolf has by this point become an incredibly complex tale of politics, war and the gods. There are a few points throughout which I lost a bit of track of who was who, but it was incredibly easy to quickly pick up the thread of the storyline again. After all, Liu and Takeda have done an amazing job of telling the story.

Although I enjoy this story, it is the stunning beauty and power of the illustrations which truly drew me in. There is an intensity and power to the panels which I haven’t seen in many illustrations, one that will leave goose bumps up your arms as you flick through the pages. And quite possibly linger in your dreams when you lay your head down at night.

 <- The Blood ReviewThe Chosen Review ->
Image source: image Comics

A Reversal of Fortune by Holly Black

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for coyote road book cover

Title: A Reversal of Fortune
Author: Holly Black
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Family, Food, Tricksters
Dates read: 19th September 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Maybe without a soul she wouldn’t even care that Boo was dead.

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Synopsis

Nikki is just trying to have a good summer with her dog Boo. But when an accident causes her summer to take a tragic turn, she realises that she might just have to make a deal with the devil.

Thoughts

Eating competitions fascinate me. They’re weird, random and something that I couldn’t fathom doing myself… mostly because I already feel way too sick whenever I overeat even slightly. When I found out that actually being sick is a huge taboo and has its own name (a reversal of fortune), I was drawn completely into the tale. It had me laughing out loud, smiling, and chuckling at the ways in which Holly Black was able to take a fairly typical trickster tale and turn it on its head.

Being that this short story is in a collection of trickster tales, I figured that it was quite likely for Nikki to outsmart the devil. But using a food eating competition to do so. And quite a disgusting one at that… it was a little too humorous and fun for me to put the story down. A good reminder as to why I love Holly Black’s writing so much… she always has just the right amount of sass and surprise to leave me with a large smile on my face.

After finishing this story, I both wanted to go and eat my weight in sour worms… and never eat them again. There were some fairly strong emotions inspired by Nikki’s face off with the devil. But mostly what I loved was the fact that she did all of this for her dog. She faced up to the loss of her soul, because her dog is her soul. Or at least, that’s how I read it… and it’s something that I think I too would do. I can’t imagine not having my beautiful big dog by my side everyday…

 <- The Constable of Abal ReviewGod Clown Review ->
Image source: Amazon

War Bride by Rick Wilber

Book Review, ,
Overview
Image result for alien sex book cover

Title: War Bride
Author: Rick Wilber
In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Science fiction
Dates read: 16th September 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: ROC
Year: 1990
5th sentence, 74th page: James stands, his head nearly touching the light fixture in the apartment’s living area.

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Synopsis

James is about to leave the planet with a mysterious Pashi. But what are the costs? Is it something that he truly wants to do?

Thoughts

This story was a little familiar. Although it took the author’s little spiel about why he wrote this story to really drive home just why it was so. It was reminiscent of the Allied Forces leaving Vietnam after the war. Both leaving lovers behind, and, in some cases, trying to bring them home with them. Something that I can’t quite fathom. But by placing an American at the centre of the story, it made it much easier to understand.

Not only was this a great reversal of roles in that an American was part of the weaker group, but it was also a great gender reversal. James is the “war bride”, not some poor, unwilling female. I liked that it twisted and turned everything on its head, but still kept enough familiarity that you kind of spent most of this story scratching your head in confusion.

The vague descriptions of the alien race helped to enhance the feeling of “otherness” which was inherent in this story. It made you imagine something that wasn’t quite human, but you couldn’t quite picture her fully. Just as a vague shadowy figure who is ripping James away from everything that he knows and loves. Possibly to save him, but it also stops him from being able to ever return to a world that was important to him…what I imagine many of the “war brides” of the Vietnam War went through themselves.

 <- Her Furry Face ReviewHow’s the Night Life on Cissalda? Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Sixty-Six Seconds by Craig Schaefer

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for urban enemies book cover

Title: Sixty-Six Seconds
Author: Craig Schaefer
Series: Daniel Faust Companion
In: Urban Enemies (Joseph Nassise)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Paranormal fantasy, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 16th September 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: At all?

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Synopsis

What happens when two warring factions meet up? Nothing good. A blood bath is likely to be in the next sixty-six seconds…

Thoughts

I liked how all of the moments in this story were measured in short bursts of time. Almost as though each moment was actually worth sixty-six seconds and it was only in those short periods of time which the tale could be told. Breaking up the time and storyline in this way created an incredibly fast paced and intense short story. One that had me racing along with it every step of the way.

This was quite a graphic story of death and bloodshed. And a heck of a lot of assassination. I didn’t quite understand many of the backstory of this tale, but I know that I liked the goriness of it. And want to read more. There is nothing like a grey hero to spice up a storyline… and a lot of murky motives to make it seriously impossible to put down.

The revealing of motives at the end of this tale was somewhat surprising. Although I didn’t really think to question why the lead was hunting people, I just assumed that it was part of a greater organisation. Revealing the actual reasons of why and the conspiracy behind it… it made me intrigued as to the rest of the story. There is nothing like a good conspiracy to draw me into a new series…

 <- Nigsu Ga Tesgu ReviewKiss Review ->
Image source: Simon & Schuster

Hell-Heaven by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for unaccustomed earth book cover

Title: Hell-Heaven
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Family, Migration, Race
Dates read: 16th September 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: My parents and I had lived in Central Square for three years prior to that day; before that, we lived in Berlin, where I was born and where my father had finished his training in microbiology before accepting a position as a researcher at Mass General, and before Berlin my mother and father had lived in India, where they were strangers to each other, and where their marriage had been arranged.

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Synopsis

She’s stuck between two worlds – the past of her parents and the present of America. A fun uncle and his new wife might completely change everything. And help her to find a way to accept her place in the world…

Thoughts

Arranged marriages are something that I don’t understand and have never had first hand knowledge of. Which means that any story which features this are going to be completely fascinating. After all, I read because I want to understand the world and things around me better… so this story was completely fascinating. Impossible to put down and made me feel like I could understand the world around me a little better…

I don’t think it matters what culture and society you come from, family is still an incredibly important driving force. As a woman, the relationship between mother and daughter is an especially poignant relationship that forms everything I’ve become. This was beautifully reflected in this short story – the entire tale revolved around a mother and daughter. The uncle figures presence provides a vessel through which this occurs, but the central tale is still about the mother and the daughter.

Short stories which come full circle are always kind of enjoyable. There is something that is succinct and neatly tied up because of it. This is the perfect example of such a tale – it starts with a strange man coming into their lives and becoming part of the family, and ends with the woman he bought into their lives thanking them for being a family. It’s not entirely neat, but it is quite sweet and makes you realise that your actions from years ago can still come back. That sometimes what we thought we wanted isn’t actually what we needed, and our acceptance of others will always turn out for the best.

 <- Unaccustomed Earth ReviewA Choice of Accommodations Review ->
Image source: Bloomsbury

How to Date a Superhero by Jean Johnson

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of paranormal romance book cover

Title: How to Date a Superhero
Author: Jean Johnson
In: The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal romance, Superheroes
Dates read: 16th September 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: That was the frustrating thing about her gift; she only ever saw in glimpses and snatches, incomplete pieces.

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Synopsis

Farsight has had a crush on her partner, Steelhand for what seems like forever. But, he just won’t return her affections. So when she has a vision of what could happen between them, things are about to get a little awkward…

Thoughts

For all of my love of paranormal, people with superpowers and the many superhero movies, I’ve never actually read a story which features a superhero couple. Or at least, none that I remember. And I only have one superhero book on my entire bookshelf. Which is saying something… is this a niche that I need to expand on?

This story didn’t actually have a couple getting together. It had all of the lead up, it had the premonition of it happening… but it didn’t actually happen. Which was different, and unique. I kind of liked it though. It really took the idea of leaving a short story open ended and emphasised this. After all, they are planning on getting together, but there is still the little matter of the villains to contend with…

After reading this short story, I just wanted to delve into the world of superheroes. For me, this story wasn’t so much about romance, but about the genre of people running around in tights. Which is why, as soon as I finished it, I pulled out a copy of Smallville and put it in my DVD player… if I can’t immediately find a superhero book, I may as well watch a superhero show…

 <- Taking Hold ReviewDaniel Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Curse of the Black Swan by Alyssa Day

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for enthralled lora leigh book cover

Title: The Curse of the Black Swan
Author: Alyssa Day
Series: League of the Black Swan #1.5
In: Enthralled (Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, Meljean Brook & Lucy Monroe)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Magic, Paranormal romance, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 16th September 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novella
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: He caressed her exactly where she needed and wanted him to, and she cried out from the sensation.

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Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Day introduces the League of the Black Swan…and the dangerous game one woman plays when her family’s curse dooms her to kill the man she loves.

Thoughts

I haven’t picked up any of my Alyssa Day stories for quite a while. And reading this novella made me question why I haven’t done so… there is just something so intensely enjoyable and sweet about her stories. There’s always just enough darkness in them to stop them from being candy sweet… but not enough to make them dark and twisty like some of my other romances.

The prologue to this story was a fantastic trip to the world of fairy tales. It was dreamy and slightly ethereal. Tragic and completely engaging all at the same time. It drew me in immediately, especially with the knowledge that although this tragedy was a fantastic read, it wasn’t going to be the focus of the story. The jump forwards in time was completely expected and made far more intriguing by the fact that there is a history of a curse which is about to haunt the romance you are diving into.

Prejudice is always a big theme in many of the urban fantasy stories that I read. After all, it’s easy to highlight such an issue when you’re dealing with abstract, supernatural beings, rather than the social and cultural minorities who actually experience this. Day does this beautifully through the use of Sean and his fire demon heritage. Not only does it provide him with a great, if not slightly bitter, background, but it also supplies him with a reason to be unsure and uncomfortable with his budding attraction to Brynn.

The use of swans in this story as a curse made me seriously think about the Swan Princess… my sister’s favourite movie as a child. Which is probably why I loved this novella so much… it was a fantastic paranormal and adult version of a beloved childhood classic. Or at least, similar enough that it triggered my happy little nostalgia button.

 <- The Devil’s Due ReviewSalvage Review ->
Image source: Amazon