Readcommendations

Hello, fellow bookworms! I’ve taken a little time off the blog to deal with my brain refusing to brain, but I also had the opportunity to read some incredible books over the summer which I can’t wait to share with you. Let’s start with Starling House, Alix E. Harrow’s latest gem!

There are very few books that can ensnare you from the very first page. As I delved into its pages, I was immediately captivated by an ineffable magic, a blend of Harrow’s atmospheric style, intriguing characters, and an intricate setting.

Blurb

A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

What I loved

The Enigmatic Setting

Set in Eden, Kentucky, ‘Starling House’ navigates through a gothic tale touching upon themes like money, power, and the haunting legacy of environmental damage in middle America. But perhaps the most evocative part of the novel is the titular Starling House itself. This house isn’t just a backdrop or a setting; it’s a character. Haunted yet very much alive, it brims with monsters and memories. Harrow’s words paint it so vividly that it emerges from the pages, demanding to be felt, understood, and sympathized with.

Our Protagonist, Opal

Opal is a character with depth and layers. She’s portrayed with a prickly exterior which, when peeled back, reveals a soul laden with burdens and a past that continually weighs her down. Her inadvertent entanglement with the foreboding Starling House, and its enigmatic owner, becomes the crux of a narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

A Tale Familiar Yet Unique

While reading, I experienced an uncanny sense of déjà vu, not because it was repetitive, but because it felt like a quintessential Mining Town Folk Tale. It seemed to blend the eerie charm reminiscent of Sabrina’s first season with the bone-chilling suspense of a Stephen King novel. The undercurrents of a darker Wonderland blending with the real world add a touch of magical realism that’s both enchanting and intriguing. Harrow succeeds in intertwining both the fantastical and the mysterious, crafting a narrative that’s as much a mystery as it is a fairy tale.

Final Thoughts

Starling House stands out as a narrative triumph. It is beautifully written, hauntingly atmospheric, and rich in character development. If you’re on the lookout for a gripping read this spooky season, this should undoubtedly be on your list. Harrow has once again showcased her prowess in storytelling, and I eagerly await her next masterpiece.

Expected publication October 3, 2023

I knew nothing about “Red Dust, White Snow” by Pan Huiting going into it, but the style clicked with me right away, and I can honestly say I read it all in one go. I absolutely had to share it. It felt like watching the early days of Black Mirror, before the show went… anyway! Let’s dive in!

Blurb

Who is to say dreams are insubstantial when whole lives can be lived in their pursuit?

When an office worker receives a mysterious device promising to transport her to a parallel universe, she assumes it is just another marketing stunt. That night, she visits a fantastical place in her dreams; on waking she returns to her normal life, only to return to the same dream the following night. At first she finds the ongoing dreams bizarre, but the more time she spends in the dream world, the less she wants to wake up. Yet as her fantasy begins to encroach on her waking life, dream and reality collide with drastic consequences.

With sharp insight, wry humor and Black Mirror-esque themes, Red Dust, White Snow highlights the blurring of reality and fantasy in our increasingly virtual world.

My Thoughts

My entrance into this novel’s world was as unexpected as the protagonist’s voyage into her dream universe. From the start, I found myself wholly absorbed. The experience felt like watching the early days of “Black Mirror,” when each episode was a treasure chest of unsettling yet enthralling reflections on modernity.

Set in a Singapore (I believe) that might feel closer to home than we’d like, the book paints a vivid picture of a very near future dominated by a mega app. Through a fascinating blend of fantasy and keen observations on our increasingly digitized existence, I felt an immediate connection to the story and its themes.

The portrayal of loneliness struck me as particularly poignant. The main character’s life seems to be on an unchangeable track, a continuous loop with no exits. Her isolation at work and longing for something more were rendered with such clarity that it was hard not to empathize. Her nightly escapes to a magical mountaintop school, filled with friendships and the thrill of summoning spirits, became a place of refuge for both her and me.

What remains with me the most, though, is the ending. Without revealing too much, the emotional punch it delivered was unique and lingering. It wasn’t the sudden shock of a tragedy but a gradual realization, akin to the slow fading of a once-vibrant friendship. A chill that descends slowly but is felt long after.

Final Thoughts

“Red Dust, White Snow” is a quiet contemplation on what we seek and how we connect in the digital age. How can we be lonely when we’re constantly bombarded with social interactions? This novel is an exploration of what it means to be human in a world that’s growing more virtual every day. If you allow yourself to be drawn into its world, it might just stay with you, as it has with me, for a long time to come. It’s a book that resonates on many levels, posing questions that linger and provoke thought. It’s more than just an enjoyable read; it’s an intellectual and emotional journey that I wholeheartedly recommend.

Happy reading, fellow dreamers!

Pub Date 17 Aug 2023 from Fairlight Books

Greetings, fellow bookworms! Today, we dive headfirst into the world of John Scalzi’s latest novel, ‘Starter Villain’, an absolute riot of a read that is nothing short of a delightful rollercoaster ride into the heart of absurdity.

Inheriting a supervillain business from an enigmatic uncle is no easy feat, especially when it includes the likes of undersea volcano lairs, diligent minions, convoluted plots to seize world dominance, sentient cats, and, oh, did I mention an international network of rivals gunning for you? This is the reality that our everyman hero, Charlie, finds himself catapulted into, leading to one ridiculously enjoyable tale.

Blurb

Following the bestselling The Kaiju Preservation Society, John Scalzi returns with Starter Villain, another unique sci-fi caper set in the strangest of all worlds, present-day Earth.

Inheriting your mysterious uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.

Sure, there are the things you’d expect. The undersea volcano lairs. The minions. The plots to take over the world. The international networks of rivals who want you dead.

Much harder to get used to…are the the sentient, language-using, computer-savvy cats.

And the fact that in the overall organization, they’re management…

My Thoughts

Starter Villain story is pure, unadulterated fun! I want to say the author had as much fun writing it as I did reading it, but knowing authors, he’d probably deny that. This comes right on the heels of The Kaiju Protection Society, another Sclazi comedy where an everyman is thrust into blockbuster escapades that test and bring out the inherent hero in him.

Scalzi’s masterstroke lies in his tongue-in-cheek portrayal of villains who aren’t your typical antagonists. Instead, they bear an uncanny resemblance to the shadowy figures we suspect operate behind the scenes of today’s capitalist society. Money, in all its glory and infamy, serves as both the villain and the hero in this wild adventure. Witnessing Charlie take these characters head-on offers a satisfaction that’s hard to match.

But the star of this literary joyride? Unquestionably the superintelligent, management-level cats. The concept harkens back to fond childhood memories of the movie ‘Cats vs Dogs’, albeit with the right side on top this time. These feline characters may have just set a new standard for pets in fiction!

However, what truly elevates ‘Starter Villain’ is Scalzi’s flair for quick-witted dialogues. Charlie’s attempts at labor negotiations with dolphins are nothing short of hilarious and are a testament to Scalzi’s mastery of dialogue. This scene alone would make an excellent teaser for a potential movie adaptation.

Though I had some reservations about the denouement, the ending left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Let’s just say my cats are getting an extra portion of tuna tonight.

To wrap up, ‘Starter Villain’ by John Scalzi is an uproarious escapade that combines the ridiculous, the hilarious, and the downright absurd to deliver a story that will leave you in fits of laughter. If you’re in need of an escape from the mundane, I wholeheartedly recommend hopping on this wild ride.

Stay tuned for more bookish ramblings!

Love on your cats,
Sarah

Hey, fellow bibliophiles!

I hope this post finds you well and in the midst of a captivating read — actually, no, maybe you need me to tell you to stop scrolling and get back to your book?

Also, it’s my birthday today! Happy birthday to me! If you want to get me a gift and not pay a dime, sharing this blog would be oh-so-lovely.

I’ve recently finished “After the Forest” by Jessica Woods, a reimagining of the classic Hansel and Gretel tale that weaves in post-war German history and a touch of magic. I must admit, I had high expectations for this one — I mean, who wouldn’t be intrigued by the idea of a grown-up Hansel and Gretel grappling with their past trauma?

Blurb

After the Forest is a dark and enchanting fantasy debut from Kell Woods that explores the repercussions of a childhood filled with magic and a young woman contending with the truth of “happily ever after.”

Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour.

Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their mother and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people starving in the aftermath of a brutal war.

Greta has a secret, the witch’s grimoire, secreted away and whispering in Greta’s ear for the past two decades, and the recipe inside that makes the best gingerbread you’ve ever tasted. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat.

But in a village full of superstition, Greta and her mysteriously addictive gingerbread, not to mention the rumors about her childhood misadventures, is a source of gossip and suspicion.

And now, dark magic is returning to the woods and Greta’s magic—magic she is still trying to understand—may be the only thing that can save her. If it doesn’t kill her first.

Review

I was really excited about this one – a grown-up Hansel and Gretel trying to make it after that whole witch debacle? Sign me up! But I think this one just wasn’t for me.

The book places us in the shoes of Gretel or “Greta” (Margareta) and Hansel, Hans, the siblings who once escaped the clutches of a witch, now two decades older and grappling with the traumas of their past. Woods paints a vivid picture of their struggle, setting the story in post-war Germany, riddled with superstition and suspicion. The addition of a few Scottish characters brings a fresh cultural mix into the narrative. Felt super authentic and I was here for it.

I loved the first third of the book and was completely engrossed. Greta wrestling with the expectations placed on women back in the day was a powerful read. Her use of a stolen spellbook to bake mysteriously addictive gingerbread is a delightful blend of light magic and survival instinct, a creative twist to their childhood encounter with the witch.

However, as the narrative unfolds, the story appears to lose its way. It just felt like there were too many stories shoehorned into one—in shapeshifters, eternal curses, and characters too big for the world (Liesbeth). They didn’t seem to fit together. Mattias was a great love interest and his own story was excellent, but it felt like it had been forced into the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale when it should have been the entire focus of the story.

Further, the second half of the book felt increasingly tedious to navigate through. The unveiling of villains’ motivations stretched the bounds of plausibility, undermining the earlier grounded world-building. The addition of an evil dwarf character felt a little insensitive and unnecessary.

It felt like it was going to say a lot about women’s agency, how widows and single women, or simply too independent, are viewed with suspicion and called a witch, or are forced to degrade themselves at the hands of the powerful. But it didn’t feel like much was really said in the end, and when it came down to it, just kind of missed the mark.

So, in the end, After the Forest started off strong, but lost me in the second half. I loved Greta, and the historical detail was top-notch, but the rest of it just didn’t do it for me. If you’re down for a fairy tale with a historical twist, give it a go – just be prepared for a few bumps along the way.

See you all next week,

Sarah