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!

Magic can be beneficial but there's always a cost

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursala Le Guin.  Sparrowhawk had great magical talent but his reckless pride led him to tamper with magic beyond his training and he loosed a terrible shadow upon the world.  The tragic consequences of his actions sober him.  He applies himself to his studies and grows into a wise mage resolved to capture the shadow and send it back to whence it came.

LOVED this book.  A wonderfully told coming of age story.  A believable story of transformation.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursala Le Guin.   Believed to be the reincarnation of the last high priestess, a young girl is taken from her family and consecrated to the service of the Nameless Ones.  She is isolated and taught the dark rituals she is expected to lead.  Ged (Sparrowhawk) comes to the tombs in search of the lost Ring of Erreth-Akbe.  Arha (Tenar) discovers him and traps him, outraged by his sacrilege.  Her anger gives way to curiosity, however, and she begins to question everything she has been taught.

More horrifying than Ged’s coming-of-age story.  While Ged (Sparrowhawk) brought something terrible into the world, Tenar is ripped from her family when she is only 6 years old and indoctrinated into an evil cult.  And yet, despite this, she is still able to question what she has been taught and choose her path.

The Farthest Shore by Ursala Le Guin.  Magic is fading quickly from the lands of Earthsea and no one knows why.  Songs are being forgotten and people are going mad.  Archmage Ged (Sparrowhawk) chooses a young prince to accompany him as he searches for the cause.

Le Guin adds more detail to her wonderfully developed world of Earthsea.  She continues to introduce interesting characters.  That said, I struggled a bit with this story.  The Big Bad annoyed me — I think I expected someone Bigger and Badder.  And I didn’t quite get some of the motivations.  I didn’t like the ending — not that it should have ended differently, I just didn’t want it to end the way it did.

Tehanu by Ursala Le Guin.   Le Guin revisits the character Tenar, perhaps the only character more haunted than Ged.  It’s been years since she left the Tombs with Ged; she’s now a widow.  She takes in a severely injured child and names her Therru.  And Ged returns.  Immediately following the events of The Farthest Shore, the dragon Kalessin brings him to Gont, unconscious and near death.  Tenar nurses him back to health . . . but not to his former power.  That is gone.

This was an interesting departure for the series.  Ged has no power; his sense of self is shattered.  And he, Tenar, and Therru are targeted by another Big Bad who has ample magic.  The danger feels more threatening this time around.

Weekend getaway to a remote cabin in the woods? Maybe not.

Book Review:  in a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware

Although she once considered Clare her best friend, it's been ten years since Nora has had any contact with her.  So, she's conflicted when she receives an invite to Clare's hen party weekend.  Her curiosity outweighs her misgivings -- she accepts the invite.  And wakes up in the hospital afterwards with little memory of what happened on the last night, a night that left at least one person dead -- a night that made Nora a suspect in a murder investigation.

Ware uses flashbacks to effectively create a compelling mystery with a menacing tone.  Beyond the initial "why was she racing through the woods?", "who died?", and "what happened?", I have to admit, the biggest mystery for me was why anyone chose to remain Clare's friend once she revealed her toxicity.  That said, Nora's not the only one at the party who's seen Clare's dark side and chose to attend anyway.  Clare has the kind of magnetism that draws people in, despite themselves.

I needed the big secret spelled out for me -- the one that caused Nora to suddenly switch schools at age 16 and cut off ties with most of her schoolmates.  Things slow down a bit after that reveal, mainly because the reader now knows who the likely murderer is.  The rest is just details.  There is suspense (and frustration) in wondering if Nora will figure it out before it's too late.

Aside of a couple of questionable scenes (if you're already spooked, and you find the kitchen door open in the middle of the night, wouldn't you check the whole house before going back to bed?), this novel was plotted for maximum impact. Although the characters didn't really grab me, in a dark, dark wood is well-written with a deliciously spooky setting (a glass house, off the beaten track, in the middle of the woods, with no cellphone reception). 

Someone knows who she is, where she is, and what she did

Book Review:  Betrayed by Karen Olson

Nicole Jones aka Tina Adler aka Susan McQueen aka Helene LeBlanc is back.  FBI agents are waiting for her at the Cape Cod bike shop where’s she’s been working for the past few months, going by the name Helen White and living off of the grid.  She’s asked about a laptop that contains incriminating data about a hit on mobster Tony DeMarco.  She’s released but isn’t surprised to find FBI agent Zeke Chapman waiting for her at the house she’s sitting for the summer.  She and Zeke have a long history — he knows who she really is and why she’s been on the run all these years.  He offers her a way to clean the slate once and for all.

While I normally enjoy this series, this installment drove me nuts.  I’m jumping right to the parts that really bugged me.  Spoilers follow.

Zeke expects Tina to run, so he plants a GPS in the laptop — which she easily finds and removes.  They are both expert hackers well aware of each other’s talents and tendencies — Zeke didn’t think he needed to plant more than one and Tina didn’t think to look for more than one???  And she disconnected the GPS he installed on page 59.  She finds the second GPS tracker on page 94 and disables it before leaving the motel.  So, how does Zeke find her on page 96?  She leaves the motel in a rush, unsure of her destination, and ends up at a Starbucks — where Zeke is already conveniently hiding in the shadows.  What???

Zeke also conveniently ends up near the country club later.  This isn’t as much of a stretch — Tina expects him to be there and goes looking for him.  She doesn’t find him at the club but she sees Tony DeMarco’s henchmen — and they see her.  Tina makes a run for it, sprinting for almost four blocks before she looks over her shoulder and tumbles to the sidewalk — and the hand reaching down to pull her up is conveniently Zeke’s.  Seriously???  She just happened to stumble within his reach?

And the bad guys — the hackers framing Tina and Zeke.  Complaint One:  If Amelie is the expert hacker this book makes her out to be, why did she and Ian ever need Tina for the bank job all those years ago?  Complaint Two:  How does everyone know that Tina and Ian had sex when he found her on Block Island?  What did the guy do, post it as a status update on FB?  Complaint Three:  Was the sloppy code part of Daniel’s cover or just a convenient plot detail to clue Tina in that there were two hackers?  Complaint Four:  I’m not a techie person, so I never went into this series expecting that I’d understand any hacking details BUT Amelie appears to be some sort of super villain — the hacking described here almost seems like ESP is involved.

Those are my major gripes.  Despite them, I enjoy the series, and will probably re-read it from the beginning someday before the next book comes out.  And given the cliffhanger ending, I’m sure there will be a next book.

Curious about the first two books in the series?  Here are my mini-reviews of them:

Hidden by Karen Olson.   Nicole Jones abandoned her old name and her old life years before the book begins.  She’s been enjoying a quiet life on Block Island, living off of the grid.  When someone from her past finds her, she realizes that she will have to leave and find another place to hide.

What I liked best about this story was Nicole’s reinvention of herself from the girl she used to be.  I like the Nicole who gives bike tours and taught herself to paint beautiful landscapes.  Her past self, which is revealed as the story progresses, is less interesting.  The mystery is so-so.

Shadowed by Karen Olson.   Sequel to Hidden.  Nicole is now Susan McQueen and she’s living on an island in Quebec, Canada.  She’s trying to recreate the life she had on Block Island, living a quiet life, working as an artist.  She’s still off the grid but this time around she has not given up her computer.  The lure of the online chatrooms and the temptation to reach out to an old accomplice proves to be her undoing this time.  Someone else has been lurking in the chatrooms, and they know her well enough to find her, even though she’s using a different name.

Some things are too easy, some things are too hard, but it’s still a light, enjoyable read.  Someday I will have to re-read the first book to see if something that happens in this one matches up.  Someday.