The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Crossposted from Mainlining Christmas A Boy Called Christmas Matt Haig, 2015 I knew the movie based on this book was coming out this year, so I decided to give it a read first. I'm writing this review before we see the film, or even watch a trailer. Hopefully, the adaptation will decide on a tone. I need to preface this review by admitting that I have never been a fan of Roald Dahl. This book often dips into a very similar style, so if that kind of violence-for-laughs from absurdly cruel or nonsensical characters is something you enjoy, you might enjoy this book, as so many apparently have.  I enjoyed parts of this book, but the tone kept swinging between absurdist children's book, outright farce, mythic/fairytale, and actually serious adventure. Every time I started to really get interested, the story took another weird turn. It's a story about a boy who "believes in magic" and grows up to be Santa, but it's vague and inconsistent in its historical setting. A...

Whiteout (Seasons of Love, Book 1) Elyse Springer, 2017 Premise: Noah wakes up in a cabin decorated for Christmas, snowbound with a man who says he's Noah's boyfriend. But he can't remember what's true, and something feels very wrong.  First I need to say that I read this book because I was hoping to feature it for Mainlining Christmas , but I think it ended up not quite being Christmassy enough, and that itself was disappointing to me.  My larger problem with this book is that it falls neatly into two halves: one is an intriguing and fascinating mystery, the other is a somewhat bland romance. Is it a coincidence that the book goes rapidly downhill after Christmas? Maybe.  The first half of the book is unique for a romance. Noah had an accident and has temporary amnesia. On the surface, Jason does all the right things for a loving partner to do, but something's off. Noah doesn't know whether it's something Jason's currently hiding or something else hidin...

Iron Widow Xiran Jay Zhao, 2021 Premise: When Wu Zetian finally allows her family to sell her into servitude and certain death, they don't know about her plan. All she wants is vengeance for her sister, but how far will she eventually go? Wow. Big, big wow. I've been following this author on YouTube for months for her funny and insightful takes on Asian representation in media, so I reserved her book at the library when I heard about it. I was unsure during the first prologue chapter - by that time I'd heard only that the book had done very well. Then I hit Zetian's narration in chapter one and there was no turning back. This book is a rocketship: holding on is terrifying, but letting go is impossible. It somehow fulfills the marketing promise of being a blend of Pacific Rim, The Handmaid's Tale, and Chinese history and mythology while being an incredibly compelling read. Like, an if-I-wasn't-a-parent-with-a-full-time-job-I-would-have-stayed-up-all-night kind of...

Seducing the Sorcerer Lee Welch, 2021 Premise: Fenn isn't just down on his luck, he's near the end of his rope. But when he suddenly becomes the owner of a horse made of cast-off fabrics and magic, it brings him into a new life, one which includes a mysterious court magician. I wanted to love this book. I pictured this review starting with a disclaimer about looking past the hokey title and cover. However, although I absolutely loved this author's previous book, this one was extremely uneven.  The world is intriguing, but there are far more ideas introduced than are explored. For how important magic is to the story, I wish I had more of a sense of the scope of it, how the different kinds act, and how people actually perform it.  I liked a lot of moments; Finn's narration is often entertaining. However, the crux of the problem was that I couldn't completely buy the romance at the center of the book.  I don't think that a romance has to feature both perspectives,...

Firebreak Nicole Kornher-Stace, 2021 Premise: Sure, Mal has a weird obsession with one of the famous SecOps, but doesn't everyone? She's just trying to keep her head down and earn enough water to survive until she learns something she can't ignore. This book starts with the protagonist playing a video game, but unlike some books, this doesn't have any time for nostalgia or wish fulfillment. In a dystopia ruled by warring factions that evolved from corporations, resources are severely rationed or for sale at exorbitant prices, and the prevalence and importance of immersive video games (before power curfew, anyway) is clearly meant as the local "bread and circuses." The people are encouraged to idolize a small group of superpowered soldiers who fight in the constant war and have doppelgangers in the game. The plot kicks off when Mal and her friend and gaming partner Jessa are given some damning information about the origins of these soldiers. They end up hip-de...

The Will Darling Adventures ( Slippery Creatures, The Sugared Game, Subtle Blood) K.J. Charles, 2020, 2020, 2021 I've sung the praises of K.J. Charles here before, but not in proportion with how many of her books I've actually read. It's a lot. It might be all of them. It's definitely so many that I'm not 100% sure whether it's all of them.  I just love the way she balances romance with well-researched history and adventure. Her romance protagonists always face dire dangers as well as emotional struggles. This series is a romance trilogy that's also a 1920s action-spy-thriller.  Will Darling is many things, an ex-soldier, a reluctant "war hero," a man with a rather large knife he knows how to use, a man who unexpectedly came into possession of a bookshop, and bisexual. Kim Secretan is a dashing, effeminate nobleman who comes into Will's life just when he needs a friend and ally. It's clear from the start that Kim is full of secrets, though,...

The Witness for the Dead Katherine Addison, 2021 Premise: Set in the world of The Goblin Emperor . As a Witness, Thara Celehar investigates murder and deception while navigating hostility from other religious and political personnel. Did...did I just read a fantasy noir? That was really good? Be still my heart!  Don't misunderstand, this book isn't overtly stylized like a hardboiled detective novel, it doesn't read like a pastiche or parody. However... The protagonist, despite being a sort of priest with a religious calling/inborn magical ability, functions as a private investigator on behalf of those who have passed away The plot concerns several interwoven cases that involve corruption and/or scandal The protagonist has a scandal in his backstory that sets him apart socially and emotionally from others The protagonist is undermined by others in authority due to their own selfish motivations The protagonist does good things because someone ought to do them, and few others ...