Book Review

Book Review: WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS by Isabel Ibañez

| Jessica Crawford

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez is adventurous historical fiction with a dollop of magical realism following Inez Olivera, a spirited young woman from Argentina, and Whitford Hayes (Whit), a disillusioned British ex-soldier who lost his way. 90% of the book is written from Inez’s POV, although several chapters have a short end cap from Whit.

In the late nineteenth century, Inez’s parents are presumed dead after going missing in the deserts of Egypt, and she is determined to discover what exactly happened. She joins her archaeologist uncle in Cairo, where she meets Whit, the man hired to help Tio Ricardo, and also to do his dirty work. Why does an archaeologist have need of someone like this? There is seedy business going on in the field, where there are those who would steal and sell priceless historical artifacts for personal profit, rather than preserve it for its significance to cultural heritage. This makes for downright dangerous business, and Inez’s tio immediately tries to send her back home to Argentina.

He tries and he fails (see the description of Inez, “a spirited young woman”). After repeating this cycle a few times, Inez successfully finds herself part of the team searching for the tomb of none other than Cleopatra. She is thrilled at the idea of assisting with such an endeavor, but her main goal is always to learn the truth of what happened to her parents.

This story is chock full of mystery, adventure, history, and magic. There is a prominent romance element as well. It was really a good deal of fun! The one thing I found irritating was that an easily avoided lack of communication was used to develop the majority of tension in the plot. Inez asks for information over and over again, and if people JUST TOLD HER THE TRUTH, so many of the things that go wrong in this story would have been avoided. This is always pretty frustrating to me as a reader!

I’m not sure why this is billed as Young Adult, as the main character is 19, and there are no particular themes that stand out to me as YA.

Also, BE FOREWARNED, it seems this is planned to be the first book in a series, because it does “end” with some pretty major cliffhangers, including one big twist,

The comparison of this story to The Mummy is apt (I couldn’t speak to Death on the Nile.) I greatly enjoyed the Egyptian setting, although couldn’t say how much of the way it was depicted here is accurate (possibly very, it seems well researched, I just don’t know much about how it felt to visit Cairo in 1844). I really liked both Inez and Whit, so the romance piece worked for me as well. This is my first time reading a work by this author, and I was not disappointed.

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Book Review: OUR HIDEOUS PROGENY by C. E. McGill

| Jessica Crawford

Likely capping off my spooky season reading, this is OUR HIDEOUS PROGENY by C. E. McGill.

But I have never been a sensible soul. I have only ever, always, been angry.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Mary and her husband are scientists with particular interests in fossils and prehistoric creatures. As a woman (and a bastard), Mary has to work twice as hard to even attempt to be acknowledged in the field. Through poor decisions on her husband’s part, they find themselves at risk of losing the respect of the scientific community, as well as in great financial debt.

That is when Mary finds the notes of her great uncle, Victor Frankenstein.

“One cannot afford principles, if one is trying not to drown.”

According to the author’s note, they first pitched this story idea to their academic advisor as, “Frankenstein, but, like, with dinosaurs?” And I enjoyed it very much! It’s Gothic, concerns itself with academics in Britain’s scientific community in the Victorian era, deals with grief as well as caring over credibility, and is full of feminist rage. Although she is married to a man, Mary also develops romantic attachments to women. And, oh, how I adored that Creature! My only complaint would be that the pacing seemed a bit off, with things dragging a bit in the middle. Overall, I loved it!

It will not have been for nothing, I wanted to cry, no matter what happens-don’t you see? Don’t you see? Because it is already worth something. It is worth something, even in the dark. Even if no one else ever loves it but me.

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Book Review: SLEWFOOT: A TALE OF BEWITCHERY by Brom

| Jessica Crawford

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom was a highly appropriate addition to my October reading.

Newly widowed in 17th century New England, Abitha attempts to keep the farm running by herself, something the members of the Puritan community she lives in are not entirely sure is what a Godly woman would do. If only they knew about the things her mother, a “cunning woman”, taught her, they would be even more horrified.

Nearby, something has awoken in the darkest of shadows. He can’t recall who, or what, he is. Is he a devil, as some would have him believe? But then why does he feel such joy using his powers for healing and nurturing?

Abitha and Slewfoot become friends who help one another find their way, even when that way includes bloody retribution.

This book, which includes several pages of the author’s own artwork, is a perfect choice for spooky season reading!

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Book Review: DEAD ELEVEN by Jimmy Juliano

| Jessica Crawford

Clifford Island is a memorial. Something tragic happened, and the people never moved on.

A grieving mother finds herself traveling to a little known island for reasons not even she can fully explain. When she goes missing, her brother travels there to try to piece together what happened. The people of Clifford Island seem stuck in the 90’s; in fact, they seem to be reenacting the same day over and over again, but no one is talking about why.

Jimmy Juliano’s debut, DEAD ELEVEN, is a decent psychological horror story. I found it a bit silly in some ways–like when a pastor says something along the lines of “I let God guide me,” the POV character thinks, “OMG, was that a threat?” simply because the author wishes to set a tense, vaguely threatening tone. This is just one example of characters drawing exceedingly random conclusions for the sake of the story.

But overall the story was original and compelling. Is the odd behavior of the islanders the problem, or is it the solution to something much, much darker?

She got to her mailbox and raised her right hand to Gloria, who, of course, was dead and tethered to her own mailbox.

Chilling, creepy, and strange (in a good way), this story wasn’t executed perfectly, but it was interesting nonetheless. It presents multiple points of view in a mixed media format. I appreciated the exploration of expressions of grief, and the threat of an ancient Evil, but could have done with less of the teenagers’ sections of the book.

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Book Review: VAMPIES OF EL NORTE by Isabel Canas

| Jessica Crawford

October days were hot, but when the sun set, autumn announced itself with a nip in the air, its smell piney and crisp with the promise of change.

I was expecting a horror novel, but this is a romance novel. Not only was I taken aback by this fact, the romance relied on my biggest pet peeve of the genre–almost all of the romantic tension was due to a lack of communication. If the characters had one simple conversation, the first entire half of this story would not have been necessary. And then once they finally have that conversation, there is another miscommunication to keep it going. The other portion of romantic tension is introduced by the fact that he and she are from different classes and parents would never approve of them being together.

The supernatural vampires account for maybe 20% of this story. Additionally, it uses the comparison of foreigners greedy to suck people dry of their land and cattle to another kind of vampire. Part of Tejas has joined the U.S., but the Anglos want more, and the Mexican government isn’t standing by its people, so the rancheros have to defend themselves against this threat.

What this novel does well is develop a strong sense of setting. The reader feels immersed in the chaparral, hears the night creatures come alive after dusk, smells the rosemary used by the curanderos in their folk healing. The author does a good job bringing 19th century Mexico to life for us. And I did really like what she did with her beastlike vampires. But beyond that, I just felt very annoyed with all of the totally avoidable romantic angst.

I enjoyed The Hacienda by this author much more, but while that was a horror novel featuring a romance, this is a romance novel featuring a horror element, and not what I thought it would be. It’s still very possible I would be willing to read more from this author, though, depending on what she brings next.

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Book Review: CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

| Jessica Crawford

I thought of how the world can be anything and how sad it is that it’s this.

This book is an R-rated Hunger Games for the social justice-minded.

The story was so unrelentingly grim that I don’t know that I could say reading it was a pleasant experience. But damn is it well-written.

”J, I want you to fight as hard as you’ve ever fought today. Everybody that isn’t me is about to try to kill you. You understand that?” “I do,” Craft said. “Well then, let’s see if this is our last day in hell.” “It is not,” Craft said.

As great as the characters of Thurwar and Staxxx were, it was the Singer and Jungle Craft’s story I found the most compelling; Dr. Patty’s story was great, too.

I can appreciate the use of footnotes in novels. Here, some of them give real life examples of some of things about the American justice and prison systems that happen in the story, lest you think they were too absurd to be based in truth.

I admit, I did not understand what happened in the last paragraph, which was frustrating, but I immediately turned to the internet and found the explanations there satisfactory.

This is a really powerful story, and one I don’t think I’ll soon forget.

He thanked God for showing him his life had not been for nothing. He did not know what it was for, but he knew it was not for nothing.

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Book Review: THE FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER by V.E. Schwab

| Jessica Crawford

Lila had plenty of blood on her hands, but as far as she knew, Alucard Emery had never ended a life. Perhaps that made him a good person. Or a bad pirate.

Would you look at that gorgeous cover?!

Set to release September 26th, The Fragile Threads of Power is the first book in a new fantasy series (Threads of Power) by Schwab set in the same universe as the deliciously enchanting Shades of Magic trilogy, with all its derring do. (Please be advised, there will be spoilers for that first trilogy below; I definitely recommend reading those before starting this book.)

Seven years after the events of A Conjuring of Light, Rhy Maresh is king with Alucard as his consort, but a rebellion to his rule has been building among the markets and pleasure gardens of Red London. Delilah Bard has been sailing around that same world, training Kell to be able to survive without the ability to call on the strong magic he once had at his bloody fingertips. White London has a new child queen dedicated to stoking the embers of magic Holland reintroduced to her dying world. And a fifteen year old tinkerer has a rare talent to not only see the threads of magic everywhere in the world, but to manipulate them.

It helped, having someone to talk to, even if that someone was more of a something and that something was technically dead.

In my opinion, this series is Schwab’s best writing to date. On the sentence-level, this story is just as wonderful as the others. I love the world of the multiple Londons, with all their magic (or lack thereof), color (or lackthereof), and adventures. The characters are top notch. My only problem with this book was the length. Schwab is an established enough author that she can get away with selling books this long-winded, but in this case that doesn’t mean it was a good idea. There was just so much extraneous set-up that, while possibly delightful, was unnecessary and slowed things down. I don’t think the inciting incident of the plot even happened until well after 100 pages.

Regardless, this was a good introduction to a new storyline in this world, and I certainly plan on reading what comes next. I’ll just hope that whatever that is comes in a more succinct, tighter package.

Much gratitude to Tor and Goodreads for the ARC!

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Book Review: THE WEAVER AND THE WITCH QUEEN by Genevieve Gornichec

| Jessica Crawford

Did “The Witch’s Heart” break you into one thousand glittering pieces and you loved every moment of your shattering? Do you crave a Viking fix now that “The Last Kingdom” TV series is over? Do you believe a woman’s worth is independent from any men with whom she is associated? Do you appreciate trans representation in your reading? Does the idea of witches battling it out physically, magically, and psychically sound exciting to you?

Well then please come on over to one of my favorite books of 2023, “The Weaver and the Witch Queen!”

With a degree in history that focused on Vikings, Gornichec is a scholar of Norse mythology and Icelandic sagas. Using her studies for inspiration, this book is her version of the origin story of the actual historical figure of Gunnhild, Mother of Kings, from tenth century Norway. It’s historical fantasy, granting the story’s seeresses actual magical powers.

The story revolves around a blood oath three young girls take to swear themselves to always look out for one another. When one of them is captured and sold to slavers years later, the other two will do whatever is in their power to rescue her. This turns out to entail ensuring the assistance of King Eirik, named successor to the king of all of Norway. Eirik has his band of formidable supporters, all loyal to their king despite the shames of his own past, because they have had the opportunity to see what kind of person he truly is.

There is romance in this story, including an enemies-to-lovers arc. But the focus is the women learning to employ their unique skill sets in the name if rescuing their sworn sister, even if it means taking on multiple kings and sorceresses who stand in their way. It didn’t hit me as hard emotionally as the author’s debut novel did, but I was rapt, and definitely laughed out loud at some of the banter.

I realize we have a few months left in the year, but I have little doubt this book will wind up on my top ten list for 2023!

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Book Review: STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND by Liz Nugent

| Jessica Crawford

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent is a dark and suspenseful story about how abuse effects everyone directly and indirectly touched by it.

Sally is a neurodivergent character, whose “quirks” are thanks to an early childhood of extremely atypical socialization. Readers will root for Sally as she puts in the work to address her social and emotional issues (although, really, why can’t people just say what they mean, and mean what they say?!)

The more compelling story, though, was revealed in chapters that alternate with Sally’s, told from the POV of a character named Peter. This looks at what happens when a child witnesses horrible abuse presented as normal and acceptable. How does that affect a person’s development? How do they integrate into the world?

The subject matter in this book is very dark. I was mostly enjoying the story, but at the end, it seems like all progress gets set back to zero, which was kind of a letdown. But overall it kept me interested (and vaguely troubled!) all the way through.

CW: abduction, forced confinement, pedophilia, abuse (sexual, physical, emotional)

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