Be careful what you wish for . . .

Book Review:  City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Alone from a young age, Nahri quickly learned that she was

different from others.  Cairo is the only home she's ever known but she doesn't quite look Egyptian.  She can pick up any language she's introduced to, but she's never heard anyone speak the language she considers her own.  She has a natural talent for healing, helped by her mysterious ability to sense illness.  She uses her skills to swindle her way through life on the streets, dreaming of the day she can set aside enough money to attend school and learn how to be a proper physician.  She never believed in magic -- until the day she accidentally summoned an ancient djinn warrior while performing an exorcism.

Dara is the ancient djinn warrior summoned by Nahri.  He's annoyed.  He's even more annoyed when he realizes that he was summoned by a half-djinn girl with no knowledge of her heritage.  And that her improvised ritual not only summoned him, but also drew the attention of the ifrit -- seriously nasty beings.  He knows that he must get her to the magical city of Daevabad, as soon as possible.  She will be safe there.  He may not be.  There was a war among the djinn centuries ago and he was on the losing side.

In Daevabad, second-son Ali finds himself torn between his family and his beliefs.  Ali believes that all citizens of Daevabad should enjoy equal rights.  His father, King Ghassan, disagrees.  While there is plenty of disdain towards members of other clans, the one group despised by all are the shafits -- those of mixed human and djinn blood.  Because of their magical potential, they are not allowed to leave the city -- but because of their mixed blood heritage, they are not allowed to do more than scrape by.  Education and positions of influence, are not for them.  The city is simmering with tension.  

LOVED this book!  Incredible world-building -- the Daeva's history spans continents, thousands of years, and reflects a variety of cultural influences.  Rich, believable setting.  Interesting characters who are flawed enough to feel real.  Magic -- lovely, strange, terrifying magic.  Beautiful writing.  

Looking forward to the sequel, Kingdom of Copper, set to be published November of 2018.  I want to discover more about Nahri and how she came to be on her own in Cairo, with no memory of family.  I want to see what happens next with Ali.  I want to know more about Dara as well, although I was really disliking him at the end of this book -- I suspect he may be the most tragic figure in the story -- or the most despicable.

This book club has been going strong for 500 years

Book Review:  Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan.

Art School graduate and former web designer Clay Jannon finds his next job at Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore.  It's an unusual bookstore.  There's not much business, especially during the late shift.  Most of the customers who come in don't buy books at all -- they borrow a series of volumes that contain nothing but numbers.  Jannon's curiosity gets the best of him and he recruits a few friends to investigate.  They discover a secret society that's been around for 500 years.

While this book has received several good reviews, my review is much more ambivalent.  I loved the premise -- a bookstore acting as a front for a secret society.  I loved the strangeness of the bookstore itself.  There are interesting moments and Sloan writes humor incredibly well.  The book glows in the dark, which is super cool. 

Aside of the trip to New York however, there wasn't much urgency to the story.  There's a lot of convenience involved -- Clay happens to have friends with the needed resources to solve this mystery.  Money is not a concern, nor is access to resources.  Even finding long-lost items happens relatively easily.  And, I have to admit, the final reveal was a disappointment for me.

It's never too late to do some good

Book Review:  The Secret, Book, & Scone Society by Ellery Adams.

Miracle Springs, North Carolina is a small but special place.  Tourists come here for the hot springs and the unique shops.  Nora Pennington owns Miracle Books and is renowned for her bibliotherapy -- her ability to match people with the books they need to ease their anguish.  Hester Winthrop is the owner of Gingerbread House -- her specialty is comfort scones -- she has an innate sense of which ingredients to use to evoke each customer's most special memories.  Estella Sadler owns the Magnolia Salon and Spa -- she can see and bring out the beauty in each woman.  June Dixon works at the Miracle Springs Thermal Pools -- she inspires trust.

A visiting businessman brings Nora, Hester, Estelle, and June together.  Neil Parrish, a partner in the new housing development in town, has regrets about his role in the project.  He confided this to June and then to Nora.  Hester sensed his overwhelming feeling of guilt when he came into her shop.  They are each called in to speak with the sheriff after Neil is found dead on the railroad tracks, hit by a train.  The sheriff is quick to rule it suicide but Nora and the other women know differently -- they know that he wanted to undo whatever he had done.  Certain that Neil was murdered and that the sheriff is involved in the cover-up, the women decide to investigate on their own.

I read this book in one sitting.  It's clear from the beginning that Nora, Hester, Estelle, and June are guided not only by an inherent sense of justice, but by atonement as well.  Still haunted by their own pasts, they can identify all too well with someone who recognizes that he's taken the wrong path and seeks a better one.  I loved the growth of friendship among these strong, self-reliant women who've held others at a distance for far too long. 

I also loved that each chapter begins with a literary quote and that literary references are sprinkled throughout the story -- before she was a bibliotherapist, Nora was a librarian (and an excellent one at that).  Miracle Books is a fictional bookstore I'd love to visit!  An old train station, filled not only with books but also with eclectic shelf "enhancers", it's described so charmingly that I can picture myself browsing its shelves and hanging out in one of its comfy chairs.  And although I'm not partial to either coffee or scones, this book had me considering both.

I have to admit, the mystery was a bit difficult for me to unravel, but I'm okay with that.  Most of the bad guys were fairly obvious; I simply had a tough time figuring out the crime behind everything.  If I had any quibble with the story, it's that the women agree early on that in order to trust one another in the risks to come, they need to tell one another their stories -- but then they jump right into the risks and take their time sharing their stories.  Maybe the unspoken understanding was that they would each share their stories when they were ready?  

Looking forward to the continuation of their stories!