Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating at time of review: 3.97 Stars Content Rating: R (profanity, violence, gore, sexual content) Trigger Warnings: Violence, blood, abuse, war. As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead. Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago. Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind. When the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion—and Nena’s rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago—is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh. And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn. (goodreads.com) I’m not someone who is usually drawn to the horror genre, but every once in a while I’ll come across a book that piques my interest. Though there are definitely horror elements to this book, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a horror story. It’s really more of a historical romance that happens to have scary vampires and even scarier colonialism. Since I’m not a regular scary story reader, there were parts that gave me the creeps, but I think someone who regularly reads horror would probably find this book tame for that genre. There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about this book. Personally, I don’t care for sexual scenes in my books, but the majority of that content was “off-screen” in this book anyway, with just a few easily skimmable parts with vague descriptions. So that wasn’t terrible. Apart from that, the only thing I didn’t really care for was how the ending was tied up so neatly. Not that I didn’t appreciate a happy ending, but it was maybe a little too perfect. The characters in this story were fantastic, I was fully invested in chapters from both Nena and Néstor’s perspectives and rooting for both of them, even though they were fighting each other at times. I loved the way their relationship developed and that they were reunited after such a long time. The background characters, for the most part, felt real and well rounded, not just cardboard cutouts for the main characters to bounce ideas off of. The only people who did not seem like real people were the invading Americans, and since they were set up to be some of the monsters of the story, that made sense. The vampires were not the cape wearing, castle owning sort. So, if you are looking for suave seductive vampires with cunning plots, this is not the book for you. These vampires are described like wild animals and act like it too. There is nothing romantic about them as they attack random animals and melt out of their skin from time to time. Very gross. Since English is my first language and I have forgotten most of the Spanish I learned in high school, I was frequently looking up words. There are many terms in the story that are spoken in Spanish exclusively and a few phrases as well. Even if I hadn’t looked them up, the context that these words are used in still lets you know what’s going on, but if you, like me, have to know every detail of what is being said and you don’t speak Spanish, it might be helpful to have a translator app nearby while reading. This is a really random note to throw into this review, but this is my blog and I make the rules, so I’m going to throw it in anyway: my first experience learning about Mexico and the surrounding area during the 1800’s was from reading the Josefina American Girl books. Because of this, much of my mental image for the setting is based on the illustrations for the Josefina books. In a way, it almost made this book feel weirdly nostalgic, which added to my enjoyment. So, if Josefina was your favorite American Girl growing up (she’s in my top three favorites) and you like gory vampires, then this may be the perfect book for you! I’ve been in a reading slump most of the summer and now into the fall (partially because I’ve been focusing on my writing, partially because of work, and partially because the internet is way too distracting). It has been taking me forever to get through books, even when they’re really good. There’s one book I’ve been slowly reading since the beginning of June and it’s late September now. However, with Vampires of El Norte, I could have read it in one sitting if stupid things like life hadn’t gotten in the way. This is a good read for the upcoming spooky season, even though the book is set in the spring. The atmosphere feels almost autumnal, especially with the cold nights spent sitting close together watching in trepidation to see if a vampire will show up. If you like historical romances and don’t mind a bit of sexual content and strong language and a lot of violence then I recommend giving this book a try! I’m off to go hide my cows from the vampires! I’ll see you in the next review! Thanks for reading! Image sources: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4590322-meet-josefina https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/63892214
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Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 4.1 Stars Content Rating: R (for sexual scenes and language) Trigger Warnings: Dead parent, mentions of murder, brief mentions of child abuse, emotionally manipulative ex-boyfriend. Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead. When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father. For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it. Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is. Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories. (goodreads.com) I was astounded to find that I’ve actually read a book by this author before! Ashley Poston also wrote Geekerella, which is a fun, nerdy YA book that I wholeheartedly enjoyed back in 2018. I didn’t find this out until after I read this book, which was kind of nice because that means the book is good even without predetermined positive feelings for the author! Before we get into the review, let’s get this out of the way: Yes, this book had sexual scenes and sexual jokes. The jokes were sprinkled throughout, but not alarmingly abundant (just enough to let you know that this book is for grown ups). I was actually pleasantly surprised that the actual *spicy* scenes in the book were not as numerous as I thought they’d be. There were really only two major ones that I can recall and one of them was sort of fade-to-black. There was no important information in these scenes so they could just be skimmed through. Okay, that aside, I really did enjoy this novel! It went much deeper into exploring grief than I was expecting from a fluffy romance. It talked about family struggles, healing, honoring those who have passed, and enjoying life. Way more than I signed up for when I was told this was a fun romance about a ghost and an author, but I was okay with that. Speaking of ghosts… you may be wondering how this book can possibly have a happy ending if one of the main characters is dead. Well, I’m certainly not going to tell you. That would be a big ole spoiler. Just take my word for it, things work out. As far as the characters go, I liked ‘em all. Well, except for the ones the reader isn’t supposed to like. Florence, the MC, is a bit jaded, but still knows how to joke around. Her family is fun and felt realistic to me. The only character that I didn’t find particularly believable was Ben, the male lead. Don’t get me wrong, he was a likable character and I enjoyed reading about him. But something about him just did not feel realistic. He was honestly too good to be true. I’m not complaining about it, since this is a romance novel and I guess that’s kind of the point (I haven’t read enough adult romance novels to know if other male love interests are as “perfect” as Ben, and in all the YA romance novels I generally hate the boy characters). Like I said, I thought his character was great, just maybe a smidge too perfect. He almost didn’t feel human. But I guess he was a ghost, so that works out. The setting of a small town was lovely. The story takes place in spring, but since I’m more than ready for autumn, I imagined it to be during the fall, which was kind of fun. All together very cozy regardless of what season you read it in. Florence’s interactions with the ghosts of the town were generally sweet, or at least interesting. I almost wish the book had covered more of her being able to speak to ghosts. However, it was also really cool because it kept mentioning how Florence, with the help of a ghost, had solved a murder when she was a kid. It almost felt like this story was showing you what happens to the protagonist of a YA paranormal murder mystery book after she grows up. I don’t know that I’d recommend this book to everyone (particularly if you’re already struggling with grief or if you don’t like romance), but I read it very quickly and enjoyed it quite a bit more than I was expecting. Thanks for reading, I’m off to wander through a graveyard (for real, does anyone want to go walking through a cemetery with me?). Until next time! Cover image source: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58885776-the-dead-romantics Personal Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: 3.53 Stars Content Rating: R (mostly for violence and language, but some non-graphic sexual content is present as well) Trigger Warnings: Violence, lots of blood, assault, manipulation. There’s only one way out Belle Morte. One of five houses where vampires reside as celebrities and humans are paid to be their living donors. While others came here seeking fortune, I came in search of my sister who walked into Belle Morte five months ago . . . and never walked back out. Now that I’m here, the secrets about this world have proven to be much bigger than I ever anticipated. And lurking around every corner are shocking insinuations of what happened to my sister. There’s only one person who might have the answers I need, and the undeniable pull I feel toward him is terrifying: Edmond Dantès―a vampire, and my mortal enemy. The harder I try to resist him, the further I fall under his spell. And in one instant my life is irrevocably changed. My past becomes prologue and my fate becomes sealed behind these doors. Belle Morte has spoken. And it may never let me go. (goodreads.com) As always, a moment of appreciation for a pretty cover. I’m not quite sure how it relates to the story, other than the general elegant vampire vibes, but it’s a lovely cover nonetheless. When I first heard of this book, I was excited about it. I’m always hopeful for new vampire books. I never really got into the Twilight/Vampire Diaries/Vampire Academy type books, but I love the idea of vampires and the different plots that can come from immortal, super-powered individuals who struggle with morals. So, I get excited when I see new YA vampire fiction. Then I saw that this was a Wattpad book… and my excitement dimmed. Unfair though it may be, I am generally apprehensive about books written on Wattpad. If you don’t know, that particular free writing website has spawned works such as The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles and After by Anna Todd. And no hate to anyone who enjoys those books, but let’s be honest… well, I can’t be honest without making a generalized assumption. Let’s just say that they are not my cup of tea. Neither are many of the stories that can be found on Wattpad, though the genres cover everything you could possibly want. Still, I thought I’d give it a go, because, well, vampires. The first few chapters irritated me because I felt like I’d literally just opened Wattpad in my browser and had clicked on the first vampire story I saw. Of course, the grammar and formatting were miles better and by probably the third chapter I was sucked into the story. Because that’s what Wattpad stories are good at, they might be the most ludicrous, poorly written thing you’ve ever read, but something about them does a great job of keeping the reader entertained. Or, at least, this reader. Okay, I’ll stop talking about how Wattpad-ish it is now. It’s published by them, we get it. Moving on. The actual story itself was pretty interesting for the first half of the book. The main character, Renie, is searching for her sister and the vampires seem to know where she’s gone, but no one is giving any information up. There are spooky clues that Renie keeps finding and dubious alliances that she’s forming. Things are mysterious and the reader is hoping along with Renie that her sister is okay. It’s a complete mystery as to what happened to her sister for the first half of the book. Then we find out what happened to her and the mystery element goes away. I won’t tell you what happened to the sister, but I will say that the revelation comes much earlier in the book than I was expecting and from there onward the book loses some of its appeal. There are still mysteries to be solved, but no one puts much effort into figuring things out until it is revealed to them. Plotwise, this book is kind of meh. I wish it had been more difficult for Renie to find her sister, June. It didn’t particularly feel earned when she figured it out and since that was the main plotline, it kind of just dropped from there. But, I suppose, people don’t read books like this for the plot. And that’s totally fine. After all, I read it and even with the flat plot, I still found it entertaining. This book is not a mystery with a supernatural element, it is a vampire romance with a dash of mystery. And it does a pretty good job at being that. Personally, I didn’t really care for the romance of Belle Morte. It was very insta-lovey and not in a way that was explained. It’s one thing if the two leads see each other, feel irrationally drawn to each other and then it turns out, gee whiz! There was some sort of soulmate magic all along. But it irritates the heck (pardon my language) out of me when both characters feel a magnetic pull toward one another and even though they barely know each other they fall desperately in love and then there is no explanation why they felt so drawn to each other. Apart from that, the story went out of its way on multiple occasions to point out how old Edmond is compared to Renie and how he’s lived through wars and trauma and heartbreak and how she’s… gone to highschool. Which, to be fair, happens in almost all vampire books. But this one kept pointing it out and Renie had a moment where she was completely freaked out and somewhat disgusted by their age difference. Then she got over it after a nap because Edmond was just so darn pretty. I’ve read and enjoyed other books where one of the characters is immortal and the other is not and it hasn’t bothered me, but Edmond seemed like such a grandpa. He was bad at technology and kept talking about how cushy things are in the present. It had a very “when I was your age we had to walk uphill both ways” feel to it. One thing I did enjoy was the amount of extravagant parties the character attended. Completely unhelpful to the plot, totally unnecessary, but really fun to read about. I just enjoy the dancing and the many irrelevant details about what dresses and tuxes everyone wore in the book. That’s one thing I love about some YA books is the amount of fancy dresses. It’s probably because I grew up on a healthy diet of Barbie movies. Overall, I liked this book and I will read the next one when it comes out, but it was a bit disappointing. Oh well, I’ll keep looking for a vampire book that I enjoy and if I can’t find one then I might just write one. We’ll see how things shake out. Thanks for reading! I’m off to raid the wardrobes of Belle Morte and throw a fancy ball of my own. Until next time! Cover image: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57917080-belle-morte Personal Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads rating at time of review: Content Rating: R (for violence and suggestive scenes) Trigger Warnings: Murder, assault, an almost rape/murder, funeral for a teenager, kidnapping, prostitution. Cassandra Caravello is one of Renaissance Venice’s lucky elite: with elegant gowns, sparkling jewels, her own lady’s maid, and a wealthy fiancé, she has everything a girl could desire. Yet ever since her parents’ death, Cassandra has felt trapped, alone in a city of water, where the dark and labyrinthine canals whisper of escape. When Cass stumbles upon a murdered woman—practically in her own backyard—she’s drawn into a dangerous world of courtesans, killers, and secret societies. Soon, she finds herself falling for Falco, a mysterious artist with a mischievous grin... and a spectacular skill for trouble. Can Cassandra find the murderer, before he finds her? And will she stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for Falco? (goodreads.com) A book about Venice? In the Renaissance? With a spooky murder mystery? Don’t mind if I do, hand it over! Originally, I thought this book was going to have fantasy elements to it, because it was shelved in the young adult fantasy section of the library. However, after reading the first book in this series, I can find no blatant use of magic. There may have been something vaguely alluded to because it seemed like the main character had “premonitions” of some sort, but none of those came true so I’m not sure what exactly was going on there. I’d say that this first book is mainly mystery/romance. My favorite thing about this book was the immersion into Venice. C’mon, you know me. You knew that was going to be what I liked best. When I was reading it, I felt like I was there, like I could run away to Italy in a book. After I finished reading, I almost didn’t want to pick up another book because I knew it wouldn’t be set in Venice and I wouldn’t be learning more clues to solve the mystery. My least favorite thing was, unsurprisingly, how much sexual stuff was going on. C’mon, you know me. You knew that was going to be what I liked least. It just felt like an unnecessary amount of talking about prostitution, affairs, secret trysts, etc. There was only one scene that described anything happening in detail and it wasn’t terribly graphic (and it was easily skimmed through) and it was really not needed for the plot of the story or for the development of the main character. Or if it was, I’m sure it could have just been mentioned briefly, rather than described at all. To my great irritation, books about Venice are like books about vampires. Both are intriguing topics that I find fun to read about, but both are always swamped in steamy, sensual writing that I don’t care for. Maybe there just needs to be more children’s books about Venice. And vampires, come to think of it. Maybe even both together, but not like that Doctor Who episode (fun fact, I’ve only seen three or four episodes of Doctor Who, picked out for me by my friends and they decided that one of those episodes should be “Blink” because I guess they wanted me to have nightmares or something *glares good naturedly at friends* but one friend also showed me “The Vampires of Venice” which was great, but not exactly what I have in mind for more stories about vampires and Venice). Enough of my rambling about what I want for the future of Venetian and Vampirian (is that a word?) literature. Moving on with the review! Let’s talk about characters, shall we?
Cassandra is the main character and she is a pretty standard 2012 YA book heroine in some ways but also different in other ways. For one thing, she seems to have quite a strong “not like other girls” streak and one character literally tells her that she is not like other girls. I’m sure that line killed back in good ole twenty-twelve, but it’s been a decade since then and the phrase induces more cringe than anything. Regardless, Cass was also different from standard 2012 heroines because, despite being “not like other girls”, she also had a couple of awesome gal-pals who she could confide in and she wasn’t a complete snob or running around wearing trousers because she’s just “too tough for dresses”. Not that there is anything wrong with wearing pants, sometimes pants just don’t make sense in the context of Renaissance Venice for a young noblewoman. Anyway, Cass isn’t the worst MC that I’ve ever read, but she definitely had her annoying moments. Then we have Falco. The artistic bad boy who worships science instead of God. Wowza, what a rebel (although, honestly, at that time in history being an atheist out loud was pretty darn dangerous). He’s also the main love interest for the book, even though Cass is betrothed to another guy named Luca. I won’t say too much about Luca for fear of spoilers, but I will say that I got kind of an icky vibe from Falco for the whole book. Something about him just seems wack, even though I’m pretty sure he’s supposed to be a good guy. I wasn’t a fan of him and his constant peer pressure of Cass. And the two of them rarely have a conversation that isn’t an argument. If they aren’t arguing then they are smooching. How they had time to decide that they loved each other, we will never know. One character that I really liked but who wasn’t in the book very much was Sienna, the lady’s maid to Cass. Sienna started off somewhat distant from the main characters and I didn’t think she’d be involved in the whole murder mystery at all. Again, I don't want to say too much, but she does become a bigger part of the story later on and her arc is continued in what I’ve read of the sequel, though Cass is still the MC. There were plenty of other interesting side characters as well, but there were almost too many and I sort of lost track of them. I would suggest keeping somewhat of a list of names mentioned. It might make the big “who-dun-did-it” reveal at the end more satisfying. Just because of the setting, I want to finish this book series, but the end of the first book doesn’t leave all of the ends tied up, so the suspense will also keep me reading until the end of the trilogy. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves mysteries, Venice, or the Italian Renaissance, but doesn’t mind some violence and spice (although most regular spice readers wouldn’t even consider it spice, they’d probably think of it more as just a tad zesty, but it was spicy for me). It really is a read that sucks you in and keeps your attention, so if you do check it out, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading, I’d better be finding a gondola to take me to a masquerade ball. Alla prossima! Image sources: Cover: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9999795-venom Gifs from giphy.com Personal Rating: 2.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.78 Stars Content Rating: R (for violence and sexual themes) Trigger Warnings: Rape (not described in graphic detail), violence, mentions of suicide, stalking, alcohol and drug use Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a leggings-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements. When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath. (goodreads.com) You know, now that I’m a grown-up and I work in a library where other grown-ups are asking for advice on what grown-up books to read, I’ve been trying to read some books written for adults. I mean, I can’t exactly recommend grown-up books to people without having read any. So I do my best, but I just don’t think I’m cut out for it. At least not thrillers and mysteries. Certainly not romance. This book held my interest; I really wanted to know what was happening with the murders and if Chloe was going to accomplish the murder she had planned or not. This book has such a gripping premise and I think the story maintains that grip throughout the book. It’s a weird feeling to be rooting for the characters to solve a murder, while also rooting for one of them to murder someone else. I mean, obviously murder is bad and we should never cheer it on… but this is a fictitious story and the guy she intends to kill kinda deserves it. I’m not saying, I’m just saying. I thought the story was well paced and pretty much everything eventually led back to the main plot. Since I’m a person who enjoys mundane things, I almost wish that we would have seen more of Chloe hanging out with her college friends doing silly college stuff, or more of Andre (another character in the psychopath program) and his friend group. But, I know that normal stuff would have clogged up the story with unnecessary details and there were enough scenes of ordinary college life that I still felt mostly satisfied. So, if this was such a well written murder mystery with an interesting plot and good pacing, why the low rating? It’s totally a personal thing. That’s the hard part of reviewing books. I can know that something is objectively well written, but still not enjoy parts of it because of personal preference. So the reasons I didn’t fully like this book may not be deterrents for other readers, but since I’m the one in charge of this blog I get to decide the rules. And the rules say that I can give a book any rating I want. The reasons this book wasn’t for me:
So, if you asked me if I liked this book, I’d have to say yes and no. Yes, I liked the premise, the plot, and the setting, but no I wasn’t a fan of the parts listed above. After this and The Bones of Ruin, I think I need to read a sweet wholesome story with loveable characters and no dead bodies. Or, at least, very limited dead bodies. However, the problem with wonderful, wholesome stories is that they make for very boring reviews. But I’m sure we’ll manage. Okay, now onto the spoiler section, aka the rant about Charles section. Yeah, the title of this post pretty much sums it up. My TikTok username is @corgisfield if you feel inclined to check out the rather granny-ish content I post. Enjoy! Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Gooreads Rating: 4.15 Stars Content Rating: R (for violence and language) In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth. (goodreads.com) I first heard about this book while I was watching one of Book Roast’s reading wrap up videos and while adult Sci-Fi is not a genre I usually read, the premise and short length of this book appealed to me. And then I happened to see it while I was shelving at the library so I figured it would be fun to at least try it and see if it was anything I’d be interested in. As it turns out, it isn’t really something that I would normally enjoy, but, for some reason, I couldn’t put this novella down. It turned out to be way scarier than I was expecting, though part of the problem might have been that I was reading it at night. I’m also easily scared by space survival stories. Can that be a genre? Is it a genre? You know the kind of story I’m talking about. Like, humans in space—usually explorers or scientists—and then something dire happens that leaves them stranded somewhere or facing a horrifying unknown as well as the fact that they are impossibly far from civilization. You know that kinda story? Does that have a name? I’m calling it space survival. Anyway, I’m not usually a fan of that kind of story because they freak me out too much. I did not like Lost in Space and other similar movies/shows. I prefer space stories with a hint of magic and super unrealistic-ness to them, like The Lunar Chronicles or Star Wars. I don’t like feeling as if the space adventure could actually happen because space, while awesome, is creepy as heck. Moving on! Given my dislike for space survival stories, I did not think that I would like All Systems Red once I realized that it was that sort of story. However, I was proven wrong and, apart from hiding under my blanket and clutching my teddy bear close, I wasn’t even that scared! A popular complaint that I’ve seen about this book is regarding the ending. Now, I’ll try not to say too much, but it does feel like it’s missing something. It sort of jumps from the middle of an action scene where everyone is in danger to the resolution and epilogue without even stopping to take a breath. And I sort of understand why, but it also makes it feel like a few pages have been removed from the book. I’m hoping that some of the missing information will be cleared up in the next books in the series if I choose to read them. As far as characters go, Murderbot and Dr. Mensah were the only ones who you got to know and Dr. Mensah was still not the most fleshed out. But, this series is the Murderbot Diaries and at the beginning of the book Murderbot didn’t particularly care about the human characters, so it makes sense that we would really only get to know about our dear Murderbot. I do hope that in the rest of the series there are other recurring characters who we get to know better. I don’t want Murderbot to be lonely! Another thing that I wish there had been more of was world building. Of course, it’s hard to fit much world building into 144 pages, but I still would have liked to know a bit more about this futuristic world. Is Earth still around? Do people still live there? Do people live on other planets? In space stations? What’s up with the planet that this first book takes place on anyway? I feel like there were some mysteries left unsolved there. At first I was confused about what exactly Murderbot is, but thankfully the book does a good job of revealing that and it doesn’t take too long to grasp. That’s about it for my thoughts on All Systems Red. I enjoyed parts of it, other parts left me with a sense of dread and foreboding, but on the whole I liked it and if I’m ever in the mood to travel back to that corner of space I’ll pick up the sequel. Even though I don’t particularly like Lost in Space, if you did you might also like this book. Or if you want to relate to a socially awkward main character who isn’t sure of who they are, then this book is great for that too. Thanks for reading! If you’ll excuse me, I need to go make sure that my security robot isn’t going to kill me. Toodles! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32758901-all-systems-red Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.78 Stars Content Rating: Light R (for language, violence, and suggestive content) Trigger Warnings: Domestic Abuse, Mental Health The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say. (goodreads.com) Originally, I picked up this book because I wanted to read a book by a Latino or Hispanic author for National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th through October 15th). I found this one listed on one of my local libraries websites and thought it sounded like a good spooky season read also, since there is a ghostly element to it. And then my wonderful coworkers/friends *waves to wonderful coworkers/friends* alerted me to a Hocus Pocus themed read-a-thon going on in October. The read-a-thon, based around the 1993 movie, involves three teams (Sanderson Sisters, Undead, and Trick-or-Treaters) and different prompts for each team. I am on team Sanderson Sisters and one of the reading prompts for this team is to read a book about sisters. So, Tigers, Not Daughters is killing three reading goals with one stone and it turned out to be an excellent book to boot! Though it features an angry ghost, I wouldn’t exactly call this book a horror story. Paranormal maybe, but not really horrifying. So, if you are looking for a book to scare you, then this might not be the one for you. Honestly, the ghost wasn’t in it as much as I thought she would be. This was really more of a family drama kind of story. Which was a little disappointing since I was sort of looking for a good scare, but also a bit of a relief since I can’t actually handle scary stuff very well. I would describe this book as Little Women, but with more swears, more sexual references, lots more violence, and with more hateable male characters. Speaking of the male characters… there seemed to be a running theme of the men in this story being unhelpful, which is actually kind of interesting. Now, I’ve been out of high school for a few years now and haven’t really intensely analyzed any literature since then, but every once in a while I’ll come across a book that I wish I could have read while in a literature class so that we could get into the nitty gritty details and the literary devices and such. This was a book like that for me. I want to talk to someone about the continuing theme of unhelpful men. Even the nice boy character wasn’t much help. Throughout the story you see instances of the sisters turning to these men and boys for help or the boys/men trying to help unsolicited and when they get involved things almost always get worse or, at least, they don’t get any better. I loved going from being annoyed with the boy characters because of their tendency to make things go south (even when they meant well) to cheering for the girls when they do things on their own. I was also interested in the motif of laughter. (I’m eighty percent sure I used the word “motif” correctly, but like I said, it’s been a long while since high school so bear with me.) I mean, there was even a freaking hyena that showed up throughout the story. Sometimes when spookish happenings were about to occur the sisters could hear the ghost’s laughter. There was one point where two characters got into a fight and one of the sisters couldn’t stop laughing even though it wasn’t funny. There was a point when something horrible and embarrassing happened to another sister at school and everyone, including some unhelpful boys, laughed even though some of them felt bad for her. I no longer possess the skills to pick apart what that could mean, and I’m glad I don’t have to write a paper about it, but I found it really interesting. Okay, that’s enough analytical mumbo-jumbo from me. Let’s rate some characters! Ana - unattainable, much spook, doin’ a protecc. Jessica - The second oldest Torres sister, just working her crummy part time job, making most of the money for their family, keeping things afloat after the tragedy in their family. Makes a lot of bad decisions when it comes to men and sometimes I just wanted to shake her, but she was amazing nonetheless. Iridian - I started out liking her the best because she’s a writer, but as the story went on I kind of disconnected from her a bit. I still liked her character and how multi-dimensional she was, but it became more and more difficult for me to read the chapters from her perspective. Rosa - A saint. A warrior. A detective. Picked pretty much the only helpful boy in the story to hold her hand. The youngest, and possibly wisest sister. 1,000,000 out of 10. Rafe - I feel kind of bad for him… but like not a lot. He’s pretty much the worst. Also, I feel like the only reason I feel bad for him is because of his intense grief, but he also uses that grief to manipulate people so… like, I don’t actually feel bad for him at all. I won’t give away spoilers, but I’m not sure I liked how the book ended for him. Also, what the heck was up with that bracelet? I feel like that was important. John - Poop. Negative 1,000,000 out of 10. I also wish we’d gotten to see more of what happened to him because I’m curious. Peter - A nice boy. Kinda dumb. Unhelpful, but sweet. He’s trying anyway. Bit of a creep at times, but way better than John. Peter’s friends - Also very unhelpful, also creepy, don’t have a ton of redemptive qualities, but they weren’t the worst. Fairly neutral, actually. If this were a Greek play I’d say that these boys were the chorus. They’re typically present for the happenings of the story, but apart from their Mega-Unhelpfulness at the beginning, they don’t sway the plot all that much. That one priest guy - Not helpful. What was with the ants? Supposedly got in a fight with Rafe at some point?? Would have liked to see that. Alright, you’ve probably had enough of my random ramblings about these characters and literary devices that I sort of remember so I’ll wrap this review up now. Basically, what you need to know is that this was an excellent book with some mature themes and the plot and characters have much more to offer than a surface level scary story. It is probably one of my favorite ghost books I’ve ever read and it didn’t leave me with that aching heart feeling that other ghost books tend to leave me with. Okay. I’m pretty sure that’s all you need to know. Thank you for reading, I hope you had a good time and if you’re interested in this book I hope you check it out! I’d better get going because it would seem there is a hyena in my yard. Toodles! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52776262-tigers-not-daughters Personal Rating: 3.75 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.57 Stars Content Rating: PG-13 TW: possible sexual assault trigger warning (nothing graphic, but dang it there are some creepy dudes in this and several very uncomfortable moments) Phoebe Lane is a lightning rod for monsters. She and her mom are forced to flee flesh-eating plants, radioactive ants, and blobs from outer space. They survive thanks to Phoebe’s dad—an invisible titan, whose giant eyes warn them where the next monster attack will take place. All Phoebe wants is to stop running from motel to motel and start living a monster-free life in New York or Paris. But when her mom mysteriously vanishes, Phoebe is left to fend for herself in small-town Pennybrooke. That's when Phoebe starts to transform… (goodreads.com) When I first picked up this book, part of me was convinced that the whole summary was actually metaphorical in some way or poetic or something. I did not want it to be, but I was sure it was going to end up being a contemporary book that featured a teenage girl who was “quirky” and enjoyed old monster movies and compared the bad things in her life to those monster movies. This was not that. I’m not sure exactly what about the synopsis made me think it would be a contemporary book, but I’m certainly glad it wasn’t. Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower was a wild ride full of monsters, nasty men, and a fun heroine. Also, a huge man in the sky who was really gross and I’m not really sure what to think of him as a plot device. Basically, this book takes place in a world where all of those old monster movies that everyone references in other movies and TV shows. You know the ones, they’re typically black and white, featuring very outdated special effects and even more outdated treatment of women. Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, King Kong, The Blob, The Fly, The Monkey’s Paw, Them!, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, etc. In the world of this book all of those movies and more take place around the same couple of decades, mid-twentieth-century. Of course, everything is changed just a smidge, probably because of copyright but typically the references are still clear. Phoebe, the main character, is the daughter of the woman who King Kong captured and brought to the top of the Empire State Building, except in this book it’s Emperor Ook, who climbed the Chrysler Building. I don’t want to explain the whole plot to you, but basically, Phoebe and her mom run from town to town, dodging the monster (or Shiver) attacks. They are warned which towns are about to be attacked by “Daddy”, a giant, all seeing, pervy man in the sky who is Phoebe’s father. Yeah… Anyway, I don’t want to spoil too much. Apart from the fact that nearly every man in this book was a disgusting creep, I really enjoyed this book. I would guess that a large portion of my enjoyment came from the fact that I really like the old monster movies that this book references and also because I like to watch those movies with one of my closest friends (*waves* hi friend!). I think reading the book brings back many good memories of the two of us laughing at cheesy special effects and eating junk food together. Would I have enjoyed this book as much if I didn’t know the references and have good memories attached to them? I don’t know. When looking at other reviews for this book it seemed that people who didn’t get the references didn’t like the book as much. One of the other things that I found fun about this book was the fact that it was presented like a movie. The first few pages were reminiscent of title cards and opening credits. There was also a whole chapter of this book which was a musical montage, which I didn’t realize you could do in a book, but I absolutely loved it! I think the musical montage probably would have fallen flat if I didn’t know the song, but since I did (and most people wilI) I think it was effective. Reading this book was a cinematic experience. A few other things I liked:
Some of the things I didn’t like:
So, while I personally found Attack of the 50 Foot Wallflower to be an excellent read, I can see how some readers wouldn’t like it. If you do want to read it then I suggest a monster movie marathon beforehand. I’ll bring the popcorn! Thanks for reading! I’d best get going now, it would seem there is a giant blob encasing my house. Time to break out the fire extinguisher and get some ice. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36373447-attack-of-the-50-foot-wallflower Personal Rating: 2.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.73 Stars Content Rating: PG-13 The face on the milk carton looks like an ordinary little girl: hair in tight pigtails, a dress with a narrow white collar, a three-year-old who was kidnapped more than twelve years ago from a shopping mall in New Jersey. As fifteen-year-old Janie Johnson stares at the milk carton, she feels overcome with shock. She knows that little girl is she. But how could it be true? Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, until she begins to piece together clues that don't make sense. Why are there no pictures of Janie before she was four? Her parents have always said they didn't have a camera. Now that explanation sounds feeble. Something is terribly wrong, and Janie is afraid to find out what happened more than twelve years ago. (goodreads.com) Sometimes I wonder why I keep reading books by Caroline B. Cooney. As you may recall, I read and reviewed her book Driver’s Ed and I wasn’t really a fan. I’ve also read her book, Twenty Pageants Later, which I liked but not enough to review, and another one of her books, The Stranger, which was a peculiar book. After reading The Stranger, I decided that Ms. Cooney’s books weren’t really worth my time and I decided not to read any more of them. I was through with them! Finito! But… then I found a beat up, ratty old copy of The Face on the Milk Carton and I had a friend who’d read it and said it was good and I knew that the copy would be recycled and torn up if no one took it and, and, and… I took it home and read it. To be fair, it really held my interest and I was hooked enough that I couldn’t put it down because I really wanted to find out what happened. However, I can’t say that I was on the edge of my seat. I was expecting this to be a bit more thrilling than it was. Sadly, while the premise was fantastic and the course the plot eventually took was interesting, it was so angsty! I’m fine with a little angst, normally, but throughout the whole book Janie was just so emotional. Okay, okay, she has good reason to be, but when the whole book is just chapters and chapters of teenagers and their feelings, it gets old fast. The angst is the main reason I swore off Caroline B. Cooney in the first place. All of the books I’ve read by her are filled with super dramatic teenagers. Much of the time the drama is well deserved when you think about the things these kids are dealing with, but I am just not the kind of person who wants to read about a character agonizing over every detail of something bad that happened. I do enough of that in my own life, thank you, I don’t really want to read about made up people doing it as well. Like I said, the plot was interesting enough when Janie wasn’t bawling and her boyfriend (whose name I have forgotten—maybe it was Rake?) wasn’t complaining that she wouldn’t sleep with him. There are six books in this series and I read two of them, which is more than enough to know I don’t really want to continue. Also, if some of the angstiness had been left out of both books then they could have easily been one book. I would have much, much preferred it that way, actually and it wouldn’t have interrupted the flow of the story at all. It might have toned down some of the drama, but I would have been a-okay with that. The characters weren’t great either. As I mentioned previously, Janie is crying half the time and feeling like she wants to cry the other half. I can relate to that, but geesh! It is not fun to read about. I believe I also mentioned that her boyfriend is an idiot. Rake or Rafe or Ron or whatever his name was, is nice much of the time, but there are several instances where it seems like he is only helping Janie because he thinks once they clear up all the mystery then she’ll sleep with him. Like, dude, I think she has waaaaaaaay bigger issues to deal with at the moment. Leave her alone, you poop. I honestly don’t remember much about any of the other characters and what I can remember, I can’t tell you because it’s a bit of a spoiler. And that’s really all I have to say about the book. I don’t know if I’ll ever read another book by Caroline B. Cooney. I keep finding really old beat up copies of her books. I found Twenty Pageants Later at a used book sale and I found The Stranger in a bag full of worn out old paperbacks with the cover barely hanging on and now The Face on the Milk Carton in some books that were donated to one of the libraries I work at. If I find another one I’ll let you know, because, for some reason, I can’t resist reading them. Until the next book! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19469.The_Face_on_the_Milk_Carton |
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