Familiar Fear

 

Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) by Katherine Arden

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I love middle grade/juvenile horror books, and I'm always on the hunt for good and scary ones. This came up on a list, and I was thrilled that my library had the audiobooks. Now comes the sad part. While I liked this book, I was disappointed. It wasn't quite scary enough for my tastes. I have read one of Katherine Arden's adult fantasy novels The Bear and the Nightingale, so I know she can write genuinely scary books. This was stopped short of living up to the promise of freaking animated Scarecrows. There a couple of eerie scenes that had the potential. However, it didn't do it for me. Having said that, the story was interesting. I also liked the theme of a young person working through grieving a deceased parent. My father died when I was about thirty, and I know how hard that hit me. People really don't know what to say or how to act when you lose a loved one. I imagine it's even worse for a child. Ollie's solution is to withdraw from life so as not to deal with how others treat her in the aftermath of her mother's death.

I really loved the bond and moments between Ollie and her dad, and the flashbacks to them as a family. To me, that was the real heart of the story. I also liked the friendship of situation that springs up between Ollie, Brian and Coco. They really helped to support each other, and their different strengths made them stronger together. That kind of friendship has the potential to last forever. I think that I would have rated this much higher if the balance was better between the character interactions and quiet moment within the books, and the horror elements. I do have to say the storyline is interesting and I have been waiting to read a book that integrates scarecrow folklore into a story. The diary entries from the past were atmospheric and did have a spooky feel. So while I was disappointed on the scare factor front, the emotional resonance, character development and interactions definitely impressed me. I'll definitely continue this series.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars

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The Ten Plagues of Egypt

 

The King of Plagues (Joe Ledger #3) by Jonathan Maberry

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

Wow, this is such a good series. I love how fast-paced these books are. Despite the extremely fast pace, there's also character development and exploration. Joe left the DMS after tragic circumstances he couldn't deal with. I honestly don't blame him. I don't understand how his adrenal glands don't just shut down because these books are non-stop and they take place in what I would consider real time. He was just drifting, but Mr. Church needs him back. The world needs him. It seems as though the bad guys just keep getting worse. Now there's a matermind who is enacting the ten plagues of Egypt. Joe and Team Echo needs to find them and shut them down, because a lot of people are going to die otherwise.

These books take place on a time clock, and the reader feels the tension as the hours and minutes count down. The stakes get higher with each book. It's surprising that the culprits are so willing to murder so many people, and when you find out why, it's always compelling. Lots of surprises and some really cool new characters get introduced. There are also some really mind-blowing twists that I didn't see coming. I did predict one huge revelation, but it was closer to the end of the book. I love seeing old favorite characters pop up as well. There's always a lot of risk and these books have quite a body count. If you have fears of contagion and bioterrorism, this book will trigger you for sure.

I won't be a broken record, but man this series is a must read for me. Pick up a Joe Ledger book if you want a book that will keep your pulse pounding.

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Mad Scientists

 

The Dragon Factory (Joe Ledger #2) by Jonathan Maberry

My Review: 5 out of 5 stars.

My Review on Goodreads

I absolutely love this series. These books go hard from page 1 to the end. Joe Ledger is such an interesting character, in my opinion. He's got layers: the aggressive killer, the thinking detective, the loving man who cares about his friends, family and lover. He's not just a roided up tough guy who takes out the bad guys. I mean, Joe is not a guy you want to go up against. He's lethal. But that's not all he is.

It's not just Joe for me. I like the world of this book, I mean, not the evil people harming others, but the concept of Joe's team with the Department of Military Sciences. It's extremely larger than life. The villains are like James Bond level villains bent on world domination. There are some plot points that would just seem to over the top and silly that generally if you heard about it, you'd roll your eyes. But it totally works in the book.

There's plenty of bad guy point of view, and I think that is a good idea. Because of the fact that the villains are so over the top, it helps to get into their head and see them as characters. Having said that, I really despised what the villain stood for and they were so gross. I don't want to spoil anything, but I think I'm okay saying there are multiple villains. The other villains were super extra. Like I said, James Bond but with a Millennial twist.

Hard to believe things could get more dire since Patient Zero, but Maberry managed it. It was quite a ride. There is so much emotional trauma in this book, it's hard to read about, quite frankly. However, it's also unputdownable. That's the dilemma. I really love this series.

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The Drifter (Peter Ash #1) by Nick Petrie

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I think this one would be good for fans of Jack Reacher, but who love a slightly more tortured hero. Peter came home from the war with severe PTSD. He cannot stand being inside for longer periods of time because it activates his anxiety. As a result, he's become what the title implies. Peter has gotten really good at subsisting off the land and living outdoors. However, when his commander and friend dies, he has to go home and see that his widow and children are cared for. He finds a case with $500,000 in case and a bunch of explosives under the porch he is fixing for her, and ends up taking on some nasty bad guys who want their explosives back.

I liked this book. What started out as a simple premise builds into something more complex. But there is still a simplicity about the story. It goes back to Peter's relationship with his deceased friend and the loyalty he has to him. Also the bond that forms between his widow and children and Peter. And there's a huge dog that spends a good portion of the book badly in need of a bath. The book has some really good humorous moments, excellent action, some very effective emotionally moments, all within a tightly plotted book. The ending is not unpredictable, which is another thing I liked about this book. The author has a heart for veterans, and that comes out in an organic, non-preachy way. It's surprisingly non-sentimental, with some casual and shocking moments of brutality, despite the themes of friendship and family, trauma and loss. If you find yourself rooting for tough characters who protect the vulnerable against really nasty foes, you'll probably like this book. I loved how although he's gone, Jimmy, Peter's friend, is such an important character, and his legacy is so prominent to this story. Dinah, Jimmy's widow, is a cool customer. She's smart, calm, ladylike, and surprisingly badass. Again, the character work in this book is so good.

I thought the narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life. It was an engrossing listen. I'll keep reading this series.

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The Final Countdown

 

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

Another book I forgot to add to my reading list and to rate. I read this one in the late summer and it was fantastic. It's everything that I loved about the series, but the intensity was ramped up to 100. Everything that is introduced, teased about and built up is resolved or addressed to my satisfaction. Percy really learns who he is and what he's capable of. The conflict between him and the ongoing big bad is wonderfully resolved, and there is some insight into a character who has had a major arc throughout the series. Sadly, beloved characters die, which is very hard to read. But it brings home the cost of war. The action sequences are epic, vivid and dramatic but the book also has some equally successful character interactions that reveal just as much about the story. I also want to add how much fun it was to see New York City through the viewpoint of an epic battle between demigods and Titans.

Jesse Bernstein always does an excellent job narrating these audiobooks. He capably manages both the hilarious and deeply sad moments.

I wish I had been able to write the review back when I read it, because I could have written a more expansive review to give the book justice. However, I can definitely say that I have loved reading the Percy Jackson series. I'm excited to read the related series, and also the Kane Chronicles.

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Once Upon a Time

 

The Grimm Legacy (The Grimm Legacy Book #1) by Patty Shulman

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I totally read this series out of order, and I finally went back to read this, which is the first book. My library had it on audiobook, so that was very helpful. I have been wanting to read this for a long time because I love fairy tales, and I really enjoy fairytale retellings. The idea of a place that archives items from fairy tales was really exciting. I have to say the book lived up to its promise.

In the story, Elizabeth is recommended to be a clerk at the New York Circulating Repository by her teacher. She has no idea what to expect, and is surprised that the objects in the Grimm Legacy part of the enormous repository are real and are related to the fairy tales she grew up reading. In fact, some people check them out to use them. That's just the beginning of the story.

This book an interesting turn and had some things I wasn't expecting. I loved how diverse the cast was and how well the author fleshed out the characters and their motivations. Research has proved how impactful it is for kids to see characters that look like them and share their culture in books and media. Speaking for myself as a black woman whose favorite place on earth was the library growing up (and admittedly still is), I know I would have been thrilled to see myself in one of the characters in this book.

I'm always surprised at how evil bad guys can be in middle grade books. I mean, they will harm kids and do terrible things to them. As an adult, I do have a soft spot for kids and it bothers me a lot when kids are harmed. I wonder how it impacts children when they read books with that subject matter? That is not to say that this book is graphic or description or has really disturbing content. At the same time, I still was shocked that a grown person would do some of the things to kids that villains in this book.

I loved Shulman's imagination in how she used some of the fairy tale objects. With my emotional connection to fairy tales, I really connected to the content. I enjoyed the audiobook and I was sad when it ended. I really would like to see more adventure in the New York Circulating Repository, particularly in the Grimm Legacy and the Poe Estate.

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Deep Impact by James Rollins

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I read this for the Action/Adventure Aficionados group read this month, and I was fairly excited about it. That didn't last very long once I started it. The beginning is really awful in my opinion. I don't know if it's the narrator, but the characters seemed so thin and I was left to wonder why we were even looking at these people. Like who are they? I really hate when a book introduces characters with no relevance and then we never see them again. So that didn't set me up for high expectations.

As the story progresses, it does get better. I was willing to keep reading because I don't like to DNF books. When Jack is introduced, I wasn't initially that interested in him. As the story unfolded, I became a little more invested in his story. I understood the damage he carried. Ultimately, I did appreciate him as a lead, but he'd never be near the top of my list of favorite action heroes. I couldn't help thinking that, as an astronaut, he should have have more of a scientific mind. I realize that he was coming at it from a perspective as a Navy pilot, but I thought you did have to know a lot of science and mathematic principles to go into space. Feel free to post your thoughts if you know differently. Also, I don't know, but I thought the whole part with him and Lisa being past lovers was kind of unnecessary or maybe it was just how it was handled. It feel really awkward, especially when it was clear that Jack was really into Karen. Lisa felt like a throwaway character, in my opinion. I think I had a more immediate connection to Karen, probably because I liked the way her mind worked and I loved her friendship with Miyuki. Karen was smart, brave, quick thinking, kind and tough. I did like Jack and Karen as a couple though. I wish Miyuki had a bigger part. I loved Charlie. He was one of my favorite characters. I was disappointed that the doggie, Elvis wasn't in the story more. I freaking hated David. He was such an *&!@#%! Having said that, he wasn't all that memorable as a villain other than being a piece of crap.

Although thus far, my thoughts have been fairly negative, there were parts of the book where I did get pretty excited. The ending was quite effective, and some of the plot twists were very exciting. I checked and this was his third book. I can definitely tell, because there is a huge difference in the quality of writing from this book to Sandstorm. The characters feel flat and fairly lackluster. I am glad to see that this is something he has improved upon. I did think the adventure/action scenes were well-written, overall. I love how integral to the plot the science was as well. As I said earlier, the ending was really cool and I didn't predict or expect it at all.

I've always had a fascination with the deepest parts of the ocean, and I loved those parts of the story. The book has some great imagery of the deep sea. Honestly, I would have loved more underwater scenes. However, there was some great moments where characters interacted with deep sea life, and I am glad that Rollins used those varied possibilities.

Despite some disappointment I had with this story, I think it would be a good movie, with some good actors who can bring more life to the characters than they had in the book.

This was not a bad book, but I was disappointed with it overall. My biggest problem was the poorly developed characters. If that was better, I am sure I would have rated it higher. I wasn't that keen on the narrator either. He was just okay.

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Rollercoaster Ride, With Zombies

Patient Zero (Joe Ledger #1) by Jonathan Maberry

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

 Reread completed in October to November 2021 on Audiobook

I have been listening to these on audiobook, narrated by the excellent Ray Porter, and I decided to go back to and listen to the first book in the series, because I wanted to experience it audibly. I loved listening to it. Honestly, the audiobook upgrades this to a five star. I really love this series.

I love how over the top it is. I love the characterization. I love the action. I love the science mixed with the James Bond type villains. I especially love how highstakes the plots are, and how there's very little slowdown of the story. Yet, the writing still allows for character development and emotional resonance. I would love to see these as a tv series one day!

I could go on and on about things, but I'll keep it simple. I'm really glad I took the time to reread/listen to this one. I think I might go ahead and listen to Extinction Machine since it's been a minute. Jonathan Maberry really knows what this action reader craves, because when I pick up a Joe Ledger book, it keeps me on my toes and I know I'm in for a wild ride.

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Setting the Stage

 

Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

Yikes. I read this and I never added it to my currently reading shelf. I think I read this in the winter, Februaryish. I found this really slow. I think it's more an expansive introduction to the characters in Geralt's life, such as Yennefer and Ciri. It's very talky. While I like dialogue and character development, I was jarred by how different it was from The Last Wish. I haven't watched the tv show yet, but I imagine it's nice to have this introduction into the world.

I'm not a big fan of political maneuverings in my readings, and that's a huge part of this book. Also it's sort of a coming of age as a big focus of the book is Ciri. Ciri's story is tragic, yet she is giving a second family of sorts, and an adoptive father figure in Geralt.

I don't know if it was just me, but I felt like Geralt wasn't in this one as much. That's a big part of why I was disappointed. I also missed the folklore bits. There's more stuff about magic systems and the religious practices, and of course, the political maneuvering. I missed the monster hunting and fighting a lot.

I am still excited about this series and will definitely keep buying and reading the books, but sadly, I found this one a little dry.

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The House that Whispers

 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

I actually got an ARC for this before it came out, but I didn't get a chance to read it. My life a year ago was hectic to the extreme, with very little time for reading. I kept trying to get the audiobook, but I never got around to listening to it. But I realized that was really a blessing because this was the right time to read this wonderful book.

Going in, I had no idea what was going on and what to expect, and I will endeavor to write a review that allows anyone who reads it to have the same advantage. Therefore, I will have to be exceedingly careful in my gushing.

I have to highly recommend getting the audiobook. The narrator was fantastic. I have a feeling she speaks Spanish fluently because her accents were excellent and authentic. I enjoyed her pitch, and the manner in which she was able to deftly switch to different characters, male and female. When a narrator understands the immersive capabilities they bring to product, it enhances the reading experience significantly. The narrator is Frankie Corzo, and I give her kudos.

What really strikes me about this book is the lush, opulent, oh so entrancing descriptive imagery of Moreno-Garcia. This book was a feast for my senses. It was beautiful and strange, but also there were parts that were unnerving or just plain disgusting. I was fully engaged by the narrative. I was seduced by this book. There were times I was afraid to keep listening, but I couldn't turn it off at the same time. In my opinion, the book is very well written in that it is not at all predictable. And each time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I found myself surprised at where the story went.

Noemi is hard to describe in a few words. I suppose it's easiest to just say that she is a delightfully complex and fully fleshed out character. The beginning of the book she seems spoiled and shallow, but there is something about her that immediately made me realize I cannot underestimate her or easily categorize her. She has an inner resilience and steel that makes her unbreakable. But like good composite steel, she is strong enough to resist the forces that work on her to tear her down. Despite that, there's an inner darkness and turmoil that she had to fight to see her way through this narrative. She acknowledges that dark side of her psyche but doesn't give into to it. I like that her character subverts the gothic story heroine. It's good, because that house, it hides hungry secrets.

I also appreciated Francis quite a bit. He is a character that subverts archetypes and stereotypes in a brilliant way.

Oh there's one aspect of the book that I really loved, but I can't talk about it because I don't want to spoil anyone reading this book. It's just perfect for me.

This book was thrilling and some parts are just so freaking weird and skin crawling. It really drives home how disgusting racism really is. It's hard to say to much about that, because it's so important to the story, but suffice it to say that the book takes a very sharp examination into colonialism, eugenics and white supremacy in a well-integrated and thoughtful way.

There's so much to love about this book. I cherished the last lines of it, and I had this joy when I finished it, which revitalizes my bibliophilic juices. When you read a fantastic book, it just energizes you and makes you clamor for more. For me, Mexican Gothic is one of those books.

*Just as a side note, I absolutely adore this cover..so much!

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