Book Review

Thoughts on FATHOMFOLK

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are about the same as always. The weather is drunk, but that’s normal for February in Texas. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of the month. You know what that means. Book review time! I decided to go with some fantasy this time because I love mythological water creatures. The book is literally called Fathomfolk, so you can see why I went with it. It’s by Eliza Chan and was published yesterday (the 27th) by Orbit Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

Fathomfolk follows three main characters: Mira, Nami, and Cordelia. They each find themselves in Tiankawi (one by birth, one by exile, and the other by seeking sanctuary), a half submerged city where the tensions between humans and fathomfolk are reaching a boiling point. Two of them are trying to fix things using vastly different tactics, and the other just wants to manipulate things to best serve herself. Can there ever be peace between humans and folk? Can it be achieved through laws or must violence lead the way?

The plot and moral of the story. As you can probably guess, this is a super political book that tries to address racism and immigration issues and equal rights and all of that. There are a lot of big ideas here, but the execution is not great. The entire moral of the story ends up feeling like “if everyone is the same, things will be fine.” That’s kind of icky, but it’s not my book, so I have no control over it. I thought I was overthinking it, so I looked at some other reviews and… I’m not alone. To be fair, I don’t believe that’s supposed to be the message just based on stuff leading up to the end, but that’s definitely the way it comes off. There’s supposed to be a second book, so hopefully it clears things up. If that’s supposed to be the meaning or whatever, cool. Own it. But based on just this book, it doesn’t match with the events of the story, so it feels gross.

The characters are all either really flat or they don’t show any growth by the end. Mira is the stereotypical rule follower. If she works her way up the ranks, she can fix things from the inside! But she can’t. She’s the token folk in the human police force basically. And Nami is the easily swayed rebel that gets mixed up with terrorists. By the end, she knows the dude’s a mass murderer and she still turns a blind eye just so she can make out with him. It’s ridiculous. And Cordelia never changes. The extras are all exactly what they’re supposed to be. Kai is the flawless, self-sacrificing husband (to Mira) and brother (to Nami). Everyone kind of sucks, so there’s no one to root for here.

The writing is meh. I think a really big problem with this book is that the pacing is awful. Everything is much too slow. Even the stuff that’s supposed to be action packed is a slog. But the worldbuilding is nice. That’s something, I guess.

Ultimately, Fathomfolk wasn’t for me. Like I said, there’s supposed to be a second book, so maybe it gets better. I’ll probably forget it exists by that time, though, which means I won’t read the sequel.

starstarstar outlinestar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. I started at 3, but the more I think about it, I just don’t like the book. I think 2 stars because it tries to tackle big issues is fair. But there are definitely better books that do a better job out there.

Thoughts on CLOVER HENDRY’S DAY OFF

~ shawnaborman ~ 4 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are usual. It’s the last Wednesday of the month, though. Where did January go? Anyway, that means it’s book review time! This month, I stepped back into that weird literary/women’s fiction genre. I just call it slice of life, but apparently that’s wrong. I don’t know why they have to make it complicated. Whatever. I went with Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey. It was released yesterday (the 30th) from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Clover Hendry’s Day Off follows (you guessed it!) Clover Hendry as she finally says screw everything and takes a day to do as she pleases. Skipping work and pampering herself and causing trouble wherever she ends up. Why not? All she has done her entire life is say yes to people and take everything on herself. She’s never taken a break or stopped to breathe. But that all changes right now. Will the world implode around her if she’s just a little bit selfish? It’s time to find out.

Before we go into the review, there will be spoilers. I try to stay vague most of the time, but once in a while, specific things need to be mentioned. Feel free to skip ahead to the picture that says “the end.” If this is on your TBR list, you’ve been warned.

The plot is super cute until it isn’t. As someone who imagines the worst and people pleases and all that, I immediately liked Clover. I appreciated her breakdown. But what started out as fun and relatable, quickly devolved into a petty slog. Yes, slack off work for an art show and good meal. No, don’t dump a random kid in an art installation when his parent is there, but not paying attention. Yes, stick up for your gay friend when someone is being a bigot, but when your friend says stop, you stop. Definitely don’t steal a statue from a house your bestie is watching because you’ll just be getting her in trouble. Some of the stuff made no sense. And then there was the whole rape revenge thing that was supposedly the trigger for this whole breakdown. It felt trite and completely unnecessary. Clover had plenty of reasons to go off the rails. Tossing in the rapist dude just felt like overkill. And then when revenge is had, it’s brushed off like nothing happened in favor of more family drama. There’s just too much going on and not enough room for everything to feel natural. For such a short book, it’s like they tried to jam every possible plotline into it and it becomes a checklist instead of a story. Shitty boss, check. Distant children (bonus for twins), check. Narcissistic mother, check. Etc.

Honestly, the only character we really get to know is Clover. She starts out great, then becomes annoying, and finally mellows out a bit. But everyone else are just cardboard cutouts and that’s sad. It’s part of the reason I usually avoid literary type fiction. It’s not uncommon for books like that to focus on one character and just leave the others as stereotypes. It’s fine, but meh.

The writing is actually really enjoyable. Before the plot became a slog, I was seriously considering giving this 4 stars because it was fun and it was a smooth, quick read. It was a fitting style for the story.

Ultimately, Clover Hendry’s Day Off starts out great and then fizzles out. But I did enjoy the writing enough that if I run across other books by Beth Morrey, I’d give them a chance.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It’s fun enough, but there are better stories like this out there. If it sounds like your thing, try it. If it’s not your typical genre, try something else first.

Thoughts on ON THE PLUS SIDE

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? How were the holidays? Things here were pretty quiet. Dad made a roast beast, asparagus, and smoked mac and cheese. Be jealous. We watched tv. It was nice. But I’m not here to brag about food. It’s the last Wednesday of the month (year!), so that means it’s book review time! I decided to try a little romance this month, something outside my comfort zone. On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe was released from St. Martin’s Griffin yesterday (the 26th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

On the Plus Side follows Everly as she struggles to find herself and to start living instead of existing. When the crew from her favorite reality TV show arrive at her job looking for her, Everly gets thrown right out of her comfort zone in order to help her become her best self. She loves it at first, but after seeing how real reality TV is (or isn’t), she begins to doubt one of her favorite things in the world. But is she strong enough to stand up for herself? And, of course, it wouldn’t be romance without a dude or two tossed in.

The plot. There’s a crappy love triangle and you know right away who the endgame is because one dude is a douche and the other is literally perfect. The whole reality TV aspect is about a show that helps fat people realize they are allowed to exist and be comfortable with themselves and that they are beautiful/fierce/handsome/all of that. There’s family drama and trauma and all the usual things needed to make a nice little book. My biggest issue with the plot is that it’s supposed to be so body positive, but both the potential love interests are muscular gods, which is fine but annoying. There’s a spot where the perfect dude doesn’t want to take off his shirt because he doesn’t have a six pack, which is supposed to be a big sensitive moment, but I guess I’m not sensitive because it was just stupid to me. But overall, the plot was cute enough. Oh, and there are a couple of fairly graphic scenes. That’s fine for me. I just wasn’t expecting them. It was like “oh, hey there, mini pr0n.” So, if you pick up this book and don’t like on-the-page sex, be prepared.

As far as the characters go, Everly is very dramatic and acts like no one has ever felt these feelings before. No one could possibly understand. Anyone who says anything nice to her doesn’t actually mean it. I tried very hard to care about her, but couldn’t really manage it. The rest of the characters were cookie cutter stereotypes that did no growing or changing. Logan is perfect from the get go. It’s not even clear why he’s in love with Everly. Book magic, I guess. The villain is an unrepentant bitch. Everyone else is just there to make Everly look good. So, while the plot was fine, I wasn’t a fan of the characters.

The writing was decent. It made for a pretty quick read. Nothing spectacular. No quotes stood out. But it was smooth and didn’t try to be something it wasn’t. It was just a quick, cute read.

Ultimately, On the Plus Side was just kind of meh. I didn’t hate it, but it’s nothing I’ll ever think about again. I gave it a shot and now I know it’s a thing that exists. That’s about it.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy romances with cookie cutter characters and a cute but standard plot, check it out. If not, you’re not missing anything.

Thoughts on GODLY HEATHENS

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Did you have a good Thanksgiving (or Thursday)? We had a nice one. The neighbor and his family came over as well as the minion and one of his spawn. It was good. Yummy food! But it’s the last Wednesday of the month, so we’re here to ramble about a book. I decided to request a YA fantasy type thing to try something a little different. Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon was released yesterday (the 28th) from Wednesday Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. So, let’s do the thing.

Godly Heathens follows Gem, a trans teen in small town Georgia, as they struggle with mental issues and trying to find their place in the world. Throw in the discovery that they’re the reincarnation of one of the most powerful gods from another world and a downright villain, and life gets pretty complicated. Other reincarnated gods want to make Gem suffer for past transgressions. Meanwhile, Gem just wants to live their current life.

This book has content warnings. I have yet to find a book with content warnings that I actually enjoyed, so I had little hope for it when I saw them. I get what they’re for, but I don’t believe they’re necessary 99% of the time. They either give something major away or they draw unnecessary attention to things that are super minor in the book. It’s annoying. That’s just my opinion. But they also seem to be most prevalent in books that try too hard. And this book definitely tries too hard to be… relevant, I guess. And edgy. So freakin’ edgy. It borders on hilarious at first, then it just becomes sad.

The plot is neat, but far from original. Teenagers as reincarnated gods from another world. It’s fun enough. But it’s super slow and the big bad shows up halfway through, but they turn out to be nothing special in this world. And we’ve got this whole build up to a show down between specific characters only to have a complete rando show up like 5 chapters from the end that they all have to fight together. I feel cheated. It is definitely not a satisfying ending. Granted, there’s supposed to be another book, but at least wrap up the story arc of this book first. But no. We get a bullshit ending that does absolutely nothing.

I had high hopes for the characters here, because I’m all for villain stories and diverse casts, but I was disappointed again. Sure, Gem and the Shade might’ve been villains in their own world, but here, they’re just whiny little bitches. All of the characters are. And none of them grow or change by the end of the book. There’s nothing to root for because they aren’t actually doing anything. Yes, teenagers are generally dicks, but they grow and learn things quickly. They try on personalities like outfits, changing pretty much daily. But not these characters. They’re just asshats. It’s boring.

The writing is meh. Like I said, it tries too hard to be edgy and all that crap. It ends up making the book a slog to read.

Ultimately, Godly Heathens was a huge let down. I probably won’t bother with the next book unless it falls into my lap. It was a waste of time and not in the good way.

starstarstar outlinestar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One and a half, really. It got published and some people will like it. But I think there are better books to spend your money on.

Thoughts on MURDER UNCORKED

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this gloomy Wednesday? I’m a little sad because I found out Sakurai Atsushi (the singer from Buck-Tick) died about a week ago, but otherwise things are fine. Anyway, no time to mope. It’s the last Wednesday of October! That means it’s review time. I stuck with the cozy mystery genre for this month, mostly because I was too lazy to look for anything else. Murder Uncorked is the first novel (though there is a short story prequel) in a new series by Maddie Day and was released from Kensington Books yesterday (the 24th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it.

Murder Uncorked follows Cece Barton as she moves to be closer to family and tries to settle in a small California wine country town. She’s kind of a suspect when a guy she’s been arguing with via email about business matters ends up dead. She’s only met him once, but she feels the need to clear her name. Toss in every cozy mystery stereotype (enthusiastic supporter of shenanigans, inept and exasperated detective, mysterious love interest, etc.) and you’ve got yourself a story.

If I’m being honest, the plot is super thin here. The obvious killer is the killer. There’s no real hiding it. The bank robbery thing that’s thrown in there to muddy things up is extremely awkward and not set up at all. It comes out of left field and just feels random and unnecessary. It made me cringe. Besides that, the plot is pretty standard and not all that entertaining.

Also, the pacing is rough. This is most obvious in the dialogue with the completely random and jarring changes of topic. All of these characters blurt things out like it’s a natural thing, and in real life, a few conversations might go that way, but not in books. The dialogue needs to flow naturally and convey information in a smooth manner. Just like the rest of the book should. But everything here is choppy and annoying and jars me out of the story.

The characters were all flat and did nothing to break free of their stereotypes. The attempted growth between Cece and her daughter is the most interesting thing in the book and it’s just emotional blackmail. I mean, seriously. Cece calls up her basically estranged grown ass daughter and is all like “I almost got killed because I keep putting myself in stupid situations. Feel bad for me and love me again.” And the daughter falls for it. There’s no actual growth despite what the story says. You can’t just put emotional blackmail in a book and call it character development. It’s gross. And none of the other characters are any better.

I have nothing nice to say about the writing either. A lot of the problems came from the poor quality of the writing. I don’t know if this book was just rushed to publication or what, but it really needed more edits.

Ultimately, Murder Uncorked was not worth reading. I know Maddie Day has another series, but I have zero desire to check it out. Hopefully it’s better than this one.

starstarstar outlinestar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One and a half, really. One because it got published so someone likes it and a half because I finished reading it. But unless you’re a fan of the author, I don’t recommend wasting your time with it.

Thoughts on MURDER IN AN ITALIAN VILLAGE

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? The end of September has arrived and it’s still in the 90s here. I’m sure we’ll get an autumn eventually, but not yet. Anyway, the last Wednesday of the month means it’s book review time! I decided to try something set abroad, but still well within my comfort zone (a cozy mystery). Murder in an Italian Village by Michael Falco was released on the 26th from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

Murder in an Italian Village follows Bria Bartolucci as she struggles to fulfill her late husband’s dream, be a good mother, acclimate to a new home, and find herself in the process. Her new B&B is set to open in a couple of weeks when someone shows up dead in one of her guest rooms. She can’t let that ruin her opening, so of course she has to solve the murder! Throw in a couple of love interests, a family and bestie who encourage all of her antics, and police officers who actively seek her help and you’ve got yourself a typical cozy mystery.

The plot is pretty typical, but the way it unfolds is disappointing. Every time something happens or they make a big discovery, there’s a conversation about how it all makes sense, but it never makes sense. Bria or Luca make some wild guess that isn’t led up to in the story at all and it’s like the reader is supposed to go aha! but it’s just something that was pulled out of thin air. Like, why? Put it in the plot. Don’t just make it a random declaration. It’s not bad per se, but it’s definitely not a satisfying way for the story to move forward.

The writing. This is something I usually just mention in passing, but I was so distracted by the writing that I have to talk about it. The detail in this book is absolutely ridiculous. I get that authors do a lot of research and we want to include it all, but don’t. It’s not necessary and it makes for a slog of a read. I know nothing about the road system in Italy, so telling me stuff like “Bria took Viale Pasitea to Via G. Marconi and then hopped onto Strada Statale 163 toward Spiaggia di Tordigliano” etc. doesn’t help me at all. And anyone who lives in that area would know how to get from point A to point B, so you’re not really helping them either. It’s just padding and not very interesting padding at that. There’s a lot of that in this book. Also, there’s an entire chapter devoted to describing outfits. I’m all for clothing descriptions, but not an entire chapter’s worth. And only one thing relevant to the plot is mentioned in that chapter, so if you haven’t figured out who the killer is by that point, it becomes blatantly obvious who it is.

I liked the characters for the most part. Everyone is constantly screaming or shrieking, which I think is just poorly chosen wording, but other than that they seem cool. I wanted more from Giovanni. Marco was far too angelic (no kid is that good). Loved Bravo (the dog). Bria, Luca, Rosalie, and Nunzi were all pretty interesting. I thought some of Bria’s outbursts were out of character, like when she flat out accuses Daniela of murder and keeps repeating it. Nothing about that scene felt natural. Otherwise, the characters were the best part of this book.

Ultimately, I found Murder in an Italian Village a little too dense with useless trivia and a bit too thin when it came to actual plot. It was okay and if another one comes out, I’ll grab it if I see it. I won’t go looking for it, though.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It was fine. If you want to learn a crap ton about Positano, Italy thinly disguised as a cozy mystery, try it.

Thoughts on THE SUNSET YEARS OF AGNES SHARP

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing on this lovely Wednesday? It’s the last Wednesday of August, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I opted for a cozyish mystery. The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann was released on the 29th by Soho Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp follows Agnes (duh) and her housemates as they try to solve a series of murders while keeping the police from looking too closely at the death of their friend. Sunset Hall is a place where elderly people go to have companionship without pity in their declining years. Their eclectic backgrounds make for an interesting group of sleuths. Throw a newbie and a grandson into the mix and things can get dramatic. Can Agnes and her friends solve the murders? Iffy memories and stiff joints don’t help, but they’re determined.

The plot started off strong. It’s pretty standard stuff: multiple murders, inept police, nosy people. There are even two sets of twins to confuse things. It’s also fairly predictable, which is fine. But as the story progresses, it becomes choppy and jarring. I understand the why, but it doesn’t make it any easier to read. The beginning flows nice and is pretty linear, but the end jumps around and timelines overlap and it’s just not cleanly done, so it gets confusing. It all comes together in the end. I just feel like the ride could’ve been smoother.

The POV changed a lot without warning. I’m sure usually a fan of jumping characters mid-chapter, but it was handled pretty well in this book. There were a couple of times where I knew the POV had changed, but I wasn’t sure whose it was until a paragraph or so in. That was annoying. But I enjoyed getting closer to the characters (including Hettie the tortoise), so a little confusion here and there was okay.

I loved the characters. Most of them have backgrounds like police detective (Agnes) or military (Marshall) or some kind of spy (Edwina) or possible gangster (Bernadette) or whatever. They may be old, but if you’re a criminal, they aren’t the right senior citizens to mess with. They’re well written and mostly fleshed out. And they have very distinct personalities, so they’re fun to read about. The only one I was hoping for more out of was the baddie. It’s really hard to flesh out a character like that without spoiling things, though.

The writing was nice. It was a pretty quick read that I had no trouble picking back up after I put it down for the day. I had no trouble putting it down either. Take from that what you will.

Ultimately, I thought The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp was fun. It’s probably not something I’ll remember a year from now, but I enjoyed it while reading it.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. If you’re into murder mysteries and like older characters, check it out. If not, give it a miss.

Thoughts on SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely, toasty day? I ended up with two books to review this month because this one decided to release a week early, so it’s impromptu book review time! It’s a craft book. I don’t know why I chose a craft book, but I did. Mostly because it’s been a while since I read one, I guess. Anyway, Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody was released on July 18th (Dad’s birthday! Happy belated birthday, old man!) from Ten Speed Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel expands on Blake Snyder’s screenwriting guide (Save the Cat!) and tweaks it to make it more easily applicable to YA novels. Along with the expected beat sheets, the author also includes guides to what she calls the ten Save the Cat! story genres. There’s also a chapter dedicated to writing a series and one about creating loglines and synopses when you’re preparing for publication/the agent hunt/whatever you decide to use them for.

The original Save the Cat! is pretty much the only craft book that I remember with fondness. Most I’m either meh about or hate with a passion. This particular craft book is better than most of the ones I’ve read, but I couldn’t get into it when the genres came up (and they’re most of the book). First, the good. I liked the beat sheet. It explains where events usually go and how plotlines merge and diverge and how to make your own beat sheet either before writing, during it, or between drafts. Plus, you can tweak it as needed if your story feels off. It’s a great tool. I also liked that the author discusses how to apply everything to a series and a synopsis. That was all actually very helpful.

My biggest problem with this book was the breakdown of genres. Instead of using traditional genres (fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), the author tries to categorize stories by their essence (rites of passage, buddy love, etc.). That’s cool. I like the idea. But there’s far too much overlap for these genres to be distinct from each other. How do I know? Because a lot of the same books are used as examples in multiple genres. It’s confusing. The author says that’s okay and that many people will disagree as to what books go into which genre, like it’s not a big deal. It’s fine for debates. But she also says each genre needs to include certain things. If my book crosses multiple genres, how do I know what to include? It’s confusing. Especially for newbie writers who might think a craft book is writing law and don’t realize they can break the rules. It’s just too messy for my liking.

The other problem I have with the book is definitely a me thing. I don’t like it when writers use their own work as examples in craft books. It just feels like they’re trying to get me to buy their stuff and they never delve as deeply into their own stuff, like they don’t want to give away spoilers. Meanwhile, they’ve just spoiled every other book they used as examples. This author does it sparingly until the chapter on series which is all about one of her series in the example. It’s annoying to me, but I know most readers don’t care.

As far as the writing goes, it’s a craft book. Starts out a little preachy, but that fades away pretty quickly. Otherwise, it’s long and very repetitive as most craft books are.

Ultimately, I found some useful things in Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel. It was one of the better craft books I’ve read. Apparently there’s also one about writing novels in general, so I might look that one up.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Craft books are either pretty good (4), meh(2), or bad (0) to me. This one leaned toward pretty good. If you’re writing a YA novel and you’re stuck, it’s worth having around.

Thoughts on DEAD ELEVEN

~ shawnaborman ~ 4 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this bright and hot Wednesday? Things here are about the same as usual. Luckily, we’re not here to discuss the monotony of life. It’s the last Wednesday of June, so it’s book review time! This month, I decided that something on the horror side of things would be nice, so I requested a copy of Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano. It was released yesterday (the 27th) by Dutton (an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Dead Eleven follows Harper on his search to find his missing sister, Willow. She struck out on a mission of her own, but disappeared from a mysterious island where everyone seems to be stuck in the past, 1994 to be exact, and Harper is determined to find out what happened to her. But he discovers far more than he bargained for in this creepy little place.

The book opens with a note to the reader, which honestly… I almost skipped it. I rarely read stuff like that because it’s usually useless, but I stopped and figured I should at least make sure it wasn’t important. It’s actually part of the book and not something tacked on by the author or the publisher at the last minute, but still. Skip it. I wish I had. It basically just tells you right up front that the ending is going to be vague and unsatisfactory. I didn’t want to keep reading. Vague endings are not my favorite thing, so that little note made me dread going on. Luckily, things weren’t left as open as this implied, but certain things were definitely not wrapped up at all.

Let’s talk structure. This book is set up as a collection of data and anecdotes, so it’s a little strange to get into, but I mostly liked it. There’s one part from the viewpoint of Jennifer Larson-Quint which comes super late in the book and from nowhere. And it ends up being kind of important. She should’ve been introduced earlier and built up a bit. The random appearance felt like an afterthought. But the rest of the data was collected in an interesting way and the layout of everything else felt natural.

Pacing! This book dragged so much and was so very repetitive. It was just far too slow until the last quarter of the book, then things picked up. But combine that with characters who were mostly unlikable and it makes for a tough read. Then, the monster is kind of disappointing. I almost felt like it would’ve been better not to see the actual monster at all. The “dead things” were cool and creepy, but the thing behind them was best left to the imagination, especially since nothing was really done to defeat it. I’m sorry, but I was far more creeped out by what I had conjured in my head than I was by what was described on the page. It was a let down.

As far as the writing goes, it ranged from really good to sleep-inducing slow depending on the sections. Rita only had a couple of sections from her perspective, but they were the slowest. The rest of the viewpoints were okay. The opening (after the note) was weird and worked really well to create interest. I’m not sure I would’ve kept reading if it weren’t for that scene.

Ultimately, I was disappointed by Dead Eleven. I was hoping for ’90’s nostalgia mixed with creepy horror, but there wasn’t really anything nostalgic about it and the horror was meh at best.

starstar outlinestar outlinestar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it one star. I started at three stars, but the more I think about it, the more I find wrong with it. I can’t even find a reason to recommend it to others. It just wasn’t very good to me.

Thoughts on CHLORINE

~ shawnaborman ~ 1 Comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? It’s (finally) the last Wednesday of March, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to request something a little different. More traditional fiction with horror and magical realism elements sprinkled in. At least that’s what the description suggests. Sounded interesting, so I gave it a shot. Chlorine by Jade Song was released yesterday (the 28th) from William Morrow (an imprint of HarperCollins). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for granting me access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it.

Chlorine follows Ren Yu as she navigates high school, cultural differences, falling for a girl, and growing up in general. Combine all of that with an obsessive love of mermaids and being the top female swimmer on the swim team, and things get weird. She starts out looking for her place in the world and when she finally finds it, she’ll stop at nothing to achieve her goal. No matter the pain she causes herself or others.

I actually want to start with the characters this time. None of them are remotely likeable, which is interesting. Ren, who is extremely unhappy and manipulative, is telling us her story, so we’re seeing everyone through her eyes. The only character who comes close to being redeemable is Cathy, but even she is portrayed as weak and untrustworthy unless she’s doing exactly what Ren wants. Coach is either one step away from being a child molester or he’s a father figure depending on her mood. Her mother is a saint unless she’s interfering in Ren’s life. And Ren herself is above all the human drama despite being the cause of most of it. I actually enjoyed the self-centered nature of the character development. It felt honest, especially as Ren sank further away from reality.

Ren is definitely a drama llama.

The plot was cluttered. A lot happens in this short book, so there isn’t much room for most of it to be explored. There’s a sexual assault and it ends up being nothing more than a passing mention in order to explain the summer Ren blew off swimming. As if burnout isn’t excuse enough to take a break and waver from the perfect child routine. There were a few places where major incidents were glanced over in favor of smaller things. Yes, it’s probably just how Ren prioritizes things, but if you’re going to cover heavy topics, the whole “oh, that’s just the character’s way” shtick feels like a cheap trick for not dealing with things.

As far as the genres go, this book isn’t really what it’s marketed as. The description gives off horror mixed with magical realism vibes. The horror is there in the sense that body horror is a thing and a slow descent into mental illness can be horrific. But the magical realism doesn’t come into play until the last chapter and then it’s too little too late. This book is straight up fiction about mental illness and how Ren’s delusions led to a romanticized ending. I’m okay with that. I still would have read it if the description had been more accurate and I probably would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if I weren’t looking for the genre elements that barely existed. It feels like the marketers are trying to force the book to be something it isn’t instead of letting it be what it is.

The writing was raw and open, but nothing special. There were moments where it was amazing, but mostly it was mediocre and occasionally could have used some trimming. I didn’t feel compelled to keep reading when I had reached my quota for the day, but I didn’t dread picking it back up the next day either.

Ultimately, I liked Chlorine for what it was, but not for what they claimed it to be. I don’t regret reading it. I don’t want my time back. But I don’t want other people going into it with the hope that it’s something magical when it isn’t.

starstarstarstar outlinestar outline

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Despite my issues with it, I do feel like it’s a worthwhile read and a good look into the selfish side of growing up and how seemingly innocent obsessions can spiral out of control. Just be aware that it’s probably not what you’re expecting.