Review: La Belle Sauvage

La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this made me remember how much I loved Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy. And now I can't wait to keep reading this prequel trilogy! Lyra is only a baby in this book, but readers are introduced to all the other major players in the original series. You don't need to have read the original series to start this one, but this will make you want to read them.

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Review: The Trust

The Trust by Ronald H. Balson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I can't believe all the positive reviews for this--it had me shaking my head a few pages in because the main character spends two pages telling his life history to his wife. In dialogue. Whaaaat???? Who does that? Why all the telling? Why couldn't it have been done within his own head or something or with an all-knowing narrator? It seemed so unrealistic and just poor storytelling. I kept checking to make sure the quotation marks were still there.

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Review: The Leavers

The Leavers by Lisa Ko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gorgeous listen and a nightmare of a tale of deportation and China. This book will give you the feels. And the disgusts. And makes me want to memorize phone numbers.

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Review: Fever

Fever by Deon Meyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Apolalyptic read about the rebuilding phase of the world after 95% of the population dies from a fever. This was more hopeful than most books--Nico's father focuses on gathering peaceful people to begin a community and improve their lives. Plenty of strife, of course, as raiders are plentiful, and power-hungry people attempt to steal supplies.

Decent read, but, ugh, so long! South African setting.

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Review: Border Angels

Border Angels by Anthony Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brutal little police detective novel about the horrible land around the Northern Ireland/Ireland border. Lawlessness abounds, and an illegal brother full of Eastern European women exists, and not much is being done for the trafficked women. When a rich man commits suicide after opening accounts in a prostitute's name, the investigation is more about the money than helping the poor women. I enjoyed the compact tightness of the way this was written--I'll read the next one in the series.

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Review: The Dark Horse

The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've loved the Longmire books up to this one, but, so far, this is the weakest in the series. Longer than the others, unnecessarily, because the Sheriff spent a lot of time wandering in the desert on a horse! I'll still keep reading the series though--Walt is worth it.

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Review: The Tethered Mage

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So close to be an awesome fantasy--just needed 50-100 pages edited out in the middle to keep it interesting. I'm afraid that other readers would give up in the middle. Lots of political intrigue that I enjoyed, and I loved the idea of Zaira being tied to her falcon, Lady Amalia. True fantasy fans, go ahead and read this--I think you'll enjoy the world building.

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Review: DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Ireland

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Ireland by DK Publishing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DK really does hire the best graphic designers in the business. This is a beautiful travel guide--the photographs are perfect (Fodor should take note) and the illustrations are amazingly clear and precise. DK is a British company, so the text is written as if most travelers are coming from England.

I wish they included the current cost of tickets into the touristy places--other guidebooks do that and I appreciate it so that I can plan what I can afford to do.

I wouldn't use this guide for hotels--most of the ones listed are expensive. Rick Steves wins on that front.

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Review: The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A throwback to the old Hitchcock thrillers--this one made me say, "Oh, shit!" at one point at the end of the novel. Slow going at first--the main character is depressed, addicted to drugs and alcohol, and suffering from extreme agoraphobia. She won't leave her house, and it seems like she prefers not to shower either. She gets her kicks from helping people in an online forum (she was a child psychologist before she was sick) and using her camera to spy on all her neighbors. She is THAT woman in the window--watching everyone creepily and freaking the neighbors out.

If you've read a lot of suspense thrillers with unreliable narrators, you'll guess some of the twists and turns of the book, but hopefully there will be at least one twist that gets you. I'm glad Fox bought the movie rights--this will make a great one! It's a classic thriller movie retold for modern times.

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Review: A June of Ordinary Murders

A June of Ordinary Murders by Conor Brady
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great mix historical fiction (1880s Dublin) and the newness of police detective work. Sgt. Swallow has a great relationship with Dr. Lafeyre, the medical examiner, so it was fun to read about how they were trying out "new" detective techniques together. Lots of Irish corruption, thanks to the British authorities and unrest in the country during this time period, and I loved reading about familiar streets, pubs, and landmarks in the city.

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Review: A June of Ordinary Murders

A June of Ordinary Murders by Conor Brady
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great mix historical fiction (1880s Dublin) and the newness of police detective work. Sgt. Swallow has a great relationship with Dr. Lafeyre, the medical examiner, so it was fun to read about how they were trying out "new" detective techniques together. Lots of Irish corruption, thanks to the British authorities and unrest in the country during this time period, and I loved reading about familiar streets, pubs, and landmarks in the city.

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Review: Artemis

Artemis by Andy Weir
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had so much potential, but the main character is more like a 15 year old boy than a 26 year old woman. I didn't think the main character's voice was authentic, which ruined the whole thing. Also, the action was written like a PG-13 movie script--lots of one-liner quips that were supposed to be funny but makes readers like me roll my eyes.

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Review: Turtles All the Way Down

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Listening to a John Green novel feels like coming home to me, because I recognize his style. And I still enjoy it! Whip-smart young teens in this one, too, but Aza is struggling with obsessive thoughts and crippling anxiety. Those parts were difficult to listen to, which is the whole point, and it was interesting to get into the mind of someone like that. Loved the characterization and the dialogue--he's an expert. What kept this from being 5 stars was the mystery--I won't give any spoilers, but it never really seemed integrated or believable. I almost wanted it to be a magical realism moment instead.

I bet the police are thrilled that people will keep trying to get into the Indy sewers now. But, hey, I LOVED the Indy setting.

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Review: Sing, Unburied, Sing

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I stopped at 30% of the ARC on my Kindle. Beautiful and literary writing, but I just can't read a book about hopeless country people, meth, and bad parenting right now.

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Review: Dark Chapter

Dark Chapter by Winnie M. Li
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Vivian is used to traveling on her own--she's an Taiwanese-American living in London and studied abroad in Ireland years ago. When she's invited back to Northern Ireland to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the end of the Troubles, she thinks nothing of going for a hike by herself outside of Belfast. But a stupid and doped up 15-year-old Traveler decides she wants to have sex with him. With horrific and graphic detail, Vivian puts up with a lot of shit after her assault, but works with the Northern Ireland legal system to testify against her attacker, and, if there is such a thing as a happy ending to a crappy event, this book has it.

Obviously this book hit home to me, since I travel abroad alone a lot. I've never been one to hike on my own, but I've wandered down Belfast streets after midnight by myself plenty of times. The chapters from the point-of-view of the rapist were well researched--I felt like I understood (ugh) why he turned out the way he did. IQ and family. Ugh. But the way Vivian is treated by the doctors, nurses, and treatment centers after the attack is sad. We have to come up with a better way to treat assaulted people.

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Review: Frommer's Ireland 2017

Frommer's Ireland 2017 by Jack Jewers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Liked the star feature of hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Perfect to review and add places to go/stay in my own Google Maps.

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Review: Rabbit Cake

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hilarious and adorable audiobook about a sweet, smart kid who is thrust into a horrible situation. She's trying to make sense of her mother's recent death, her father's distance, and her sister's craziness, while focusing on her volunteer job at the zoo. Animals make more sense than her family!

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Review: The City of Brass

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesome fantasy that could have been published YA! Review to come in SLJ AB4T.

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Review: Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome

Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Crystal King
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I stopped on disk 4 of the audiobook--it just wasn't working for me. It was okay, but I like to listen to audiobooks that make driving fun.

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