Audiobook Challenge 2020: 1st Quarter Update
Posted on April 2, 2020 26 Comments
April is upon us, and that means it’s time for the first quarter update on what I’ve been listening to for the last three months and how I’m currently doing on the Audiobook Challenge. Here’s a quick refresher on the challenge details this year:
Challenge Details
- Runs January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020. You can join at anytime.
- The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2020 than you did in 2019.
- Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
- ANY genres count.
- Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
- You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
- If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweeting about the challenge.
- Updates plus a giveaway will be posted twice during the year. First update in June 30, 2020 and last update in December 15, 2020.
Levels
- Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
- Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
- Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
- Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
- Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
- My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+
- Marathoner (Look Ma No Hands) 50+
- The 100 Club (Audiobook Elite) 100+
I’m off to a good start in 2020, having wrapped up this quarter with 17 audiobooks under my belt. I’ll definitely hit Marathoner at this rate, but unless I push myself much harder, I doubt I’ll make The 100 Club. I think they should have created a level in between, but right now my personal goal is 75 for the year!
Waiting on Wednesday 04/01/20
Posted on April 1, 2020 28 Comments
Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that first originated at Breaking the Spine but has since linked up with “Can’t Wait Wednesday” at Wishful Endings now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
The Burning God by R.F. Kuang (November 17, 2020 by Harper Voyager)
Even though I didn’t like second book as much as the first book, I’m still very excited for this third and final volume to The Poppy War trilogy to find out how it all ends!
“The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.
After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.
Despite her losses, Rin hasn’t given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much—the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges—and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.
Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners. As her power and influence grows, though, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix’s intoxicating voice urging her to burn the world and everything in it?”
Audiobook Review: Follow Me by Kathleen Barber
Posted on March 31, 2020 23 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (February 25, 2020)
Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrators: Corey Brill, Erin Moon, Emily Tremaine
We’ve all heard the horror stories about social media—tales of people being doxxed, harassed online, and being cyberstalked. While Follow Me by Kathleen Barber may tread a fine line between real life and sensationalistic drama, its premise still makes for a gripping psychological thriller and a cautionary tale against putting too much of your life on the internet. Indeed, implausible as the novel’s plot may seem at times, its themes are all too real.
Meet protagonist Audrey Miller, a social media influencer and Instagram addict who boasts more than a million followers on her popular account. When the book opens, she has just landed a prestigious new job at a Smithsonian art gallery in Washington DC, fulfilling a lifelong dream of working in a museum, the only reason why she would even contemplate leaving her beloved New York City. As luck would have it though, Audrey already has a couple of close contacts in the area, including Cat, a longtime friend who can help her get set up, as well as Nick, an old college ex who always knows how to have a good time. To Audrey, it seems like everything has been coming together for her lately, and as always, she can’t wait to share all the details of her big move on Instagram.
Unfortunately, what Audrey doesn’t know is that one of her followers has been obsessed with her for a long time, and that her move to his hometown has just reaffirmed his sick fantasy that the two of them are meant to be together. Emboldened, he begins to take more extreme steps to try and get her attention, finding out where she lives, who she likes to hang out with, and the places she likes to go. Shy and reserved Cat, who has known Audrey for a long time, has never understood the big fuss around social media, but is concerned about her friend’s nonchalant attitude about sharing personal details online. Given the cavalier way Audrey posts about her life, practically anyone could be her mysterious stalker.
Like many psychological thrillers I’ve read lately, Follow Me has its over-the-top and unrealistic moments, but it nevertheless kept me hooked and turning the pages. Granted, I don’t mind suspending my disbelief in return for fast-paced entertainment which this novel delivers in abundance, doing what every good thriller does by keeping the reader guessing. Case in point, the character list is quite deliberately stacked with potential suspects ranging from the delinquent son of Audrey’s landlord, the handsy creep at her place of work, or even the possessive ex-boyfriend. In classic mystery tradition, the novel teases the truth for as long as possible and won’t reveal the stalker’s identity until the very end.
Because of this though, nothing in the story really unfolds organically as you can feel the author’s hand in everything that happens, fastidiously maneuvering each and every character or plot point into position so that they would play out exactly the way she wants. You’ll have the protagonist responding in absurd ways that go against logic or common sense, for example, such as refusing to move out of her apartment even with all the problems she’s been having with the place, or the fact she continues to post personal details online despite threats to her safety. The story is also mainly told through Audrey and Cat’s perspectives, though a third belonging to the mysterious stalker will sometimes be interjected into the narrative, so there’s a fair bit of the “unreliable narrator” at play here too.
And if you’re reading this review and thinking, “Wow, Audrey sounds like a real dope,” well…you’re not wrong. While her natural charm may come through occasionally, time and time again our protagonist proves beyond a reasonable doubt that she is a complete imbecile. Ironically though, this does sometimes make her naivete or her utter lack of self-awareness believable, not to mention her behaviors often come across as satirical, poking fun at the stereotypical social media obsessives who are addicted to the attention. Still, whatever can be said about Audrey, characters-you-love-to-hate seem to be a thing with psychological thrillers, and she fits the role well.
In sum, Follow Me is not perfect, but it’s still a fun read that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The main issue is that, while its themes are inspired by very real threats associated with social media and the internet, too much of what happens in the story feel too contrived and farfetched. That being said, there’s never a dull moment with this book, giving the plot a chilling and edgy quality that never lets up.
Audiobook Comments: The audiobook is narrated by Erin Moon, Emily Tremaine, and Corey Brill, each taking on one of the three main POV character parts. I thought Aubrey’s voice was airy and bubbly while Cat’s was more reserved and toned down, highly appropriate for their characters, and the mysterious stalker was sufficiently creepy. A great listen.
Audiobook Review: Voodoo Shanghai by Kristi Charish
Posted on March 30, 2020 15 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Voodoo Shanghai by Kristi Charish
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 3 of Kincaid Strange
Publisher: Audible Studios (March 3, 2020)
Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Susannah Jones
So I was already in quite a shock when I heard that Voodoo Shanghai was going to be the final installment in the Kincaid Strange series, but it wasn’t until I reached the end of the book that I learned the meaning of true pain. What a cruel cliffhanger! My guess is that Kristi Charish originally had a lot more planned before the publisher pulled the plug, which is a shame because this might have been the best one yet.
Building upon the events from the previous books, Voodoo Shanghai returns to the extraordinary life of paranormal practitioner Kincaid Strange, who has once more been tapped by the Seattle PD to help out on a mysterious case. In a recent murder investigation that has all the police baffled, a young woman has been found dead by the same MO as all the victims of a notorious serial killer named Martin Dane. The only problem? Dane himself has been dead for three weeks. If he’s still committing murder, it means he’s doing it from beyond the grave, which spells bad news for the city indeed—not to mention it throws a wrench into everything Kincaid thought she knew about ghosts and how they operate.
But soon after traveling out to see the crime scene for herself, Kincaid realizes with chagrin that she had been hoodwinked. Exploiting the soft spot she still has for her cop ex-boyfriend Aaron, the vindictive chief of police had managed to manipulate her into the working with the FBI on the Martin Dane case, knowing full well they would ask her to bind a ghost—and that is a line our protagonist has vowed never to cross. Still, against her better judgment, Kincaid finds herself intrigued by the many bizarre details of the investigation and agrees to hang around and lend a hand on other matters, if only to satisfy her own professional curiosity. After all, it’s not every day a voodoo practitioner gets to work with a bona fide witch or help crack the mystery of a swampful of missing ghosts.
Like I said, it’s a real pity that things have to end with Voodoo Shanghai, because it’s hands down my favorite Kincaid Strange novel. It’s also, I think, the darkest. The character’s quirky interactions with ghosts as well as the series’ overall entertainment factor sometimes make it easy to forget that Kincaid is constantly surrounded by death. However, it is not so with this third book, where death (or the threat of it) is always at the forefront. Even the main premise itself is disturbing, as Kincaid is first called out to help the unresponsive ghost of the young woman who was brutally murdered by Martin Dane. Named the White Picket Fence killer for the way he targeted his victims from middle-class suburban families, Dane was a real sick fuck in life, and being dead has done nothing to change that. In fact, as Kincaid soon learns, being a ghost has only made him an even more terrifying opponent.
Then, of course, there’s the matter of ghost binding. I believe the author has touched upon this concept before in previous books, but here it is explored in much greater detail, highlighting its barbaric uses and the way it robs a ghost of all freedom. It’s something our protagonist has refused to ever do on principle, even when it results in no small amount of workplace conflict as well as costs to her future career prospects. Expanding upon this storyline, though, has allowed Charish to work in a whole lot of additional world-building elements as well as background information regarding Kincaid’s personal life and her connection with magic and the Otherside. Again, it saddens me that this is the final book when we’re just now starting to learn more about the character’s history and what makes her tick. Plus, given all the introduced concepts and revelations, it feels like the doors have been flung wide open to allow all sorts of new ideas, but instead, we now have to say goodbye.
It’s frustrating to say the least, not only because this is a fantastic series which I wish didn’t have to end, but also because of the abrupt ending Voodoo Shanghai leaves us with. Still, while I believe it’s important to inform others that things end on a cliffhanger, I hope that won’t turn anyone off from checking out these books. They’re definitely worth reading for the entertainment, the adventure and the thrills—and that goes double for you urban fantasy fans. All in all, this series has been a fun and exciting journey full of new experiences and surprises, and maybe, just maybe, one day Kincaid Strange will ride again. Hey, I can always hope! What’s not in question though, is Kristi Charish’s talents for storytelling, world-building and character development, which are always top-notch, and I’ll be on board for whatever project she writes next.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of The Voodoo Killings (Book 1)
Review of Lipstick Voodoo (Book 2)
YA Weekend: Girls with Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young
Posted on March 29, 2020 12 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Girls with Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Suspense
Series: Book 2 of Girls with Sharp Sticks
Publisher: Simon Pulse (March 17, 2020)
Length: 400 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Having immensely enjoyed Girls with Sharp Sticks, I looked forward to its sequel with much excitement, which is why I’m happy to say it did not disappoint. However, as the second installment in the series, it has lost some of its novelty, perhaps explaining why I did not like it as much as the previous one. In light of some of the bombshell secrets revealed at the end of the first book, it’s also no surprise this one did not feel as mysterious or intense.
Speaking of which, this would be a good time for a warning: if you haven’t finished Girls with Sharp Sticks, please note this review may contain spoilers for the first book especially the ending, since Girls with Razor Hearts picks up immediately where it leaves off. After uncovering the truth about the Innovations Academy and themselves, our protagonist Mena and her friends have escaped their guardians and have decided to use their newfound freedom to expose the corporation and their anonymous donors behind their former school. Still, they have to be careful. Too much money has already been invested for Innovations to ignore what the girls have done, and sooner or later, the headmaster will be coming after them.
Following a tip, Mena tracks down the location of a powerful investor who might be able to help them, attending the local high school to gather more information. To her dismay though, the more she learns about the real world, the more she realizes that women here don’t really have it any better than she did within the walls of Innovation Academy. The system is hugely biased towards men and boys, who create an environment of fear and oppression for the girls even at Ridgeview Prep where Mena has enrolled. Despite the injustice, she must fight hard to contain her outrage in order to carry out her mission, as any trouble could alert those looking for her and her friends to their whereabouts. Luckily, the girls may have more allies in the outside world than they think, though Mena will need to learn fast in order to know whom to trust.
To highlight what this book does well, one only needs to go back to Girls with Sharp Sticks and note the way author Suzanne Young portrayed these incredible characters and their female friendships. Like its predecessor, Girls with Razor Hearts contains plenty of amazing examples of Mena and her friends helping and supporting one another, which is something we don’t get to see nearly enough of in YA today where instances of girls tearing down other girls are sadly all too common. Mena was also a joy to follow, especially now that we are given some insight into independent spirit and nature, and as to why she might be that way. In short, without going into too much detail, our protagonist was meant to be the “Rebel.” Ironically, I think the explanation removes some of the “authenticity” that had initially made the characters’ personalities so endearing, though to be fair, the girls have also made great strides individually and started developing their own unexpected traits.
Still, compared to the first book, it’s hard not to see this sequel was lighter on story. Girls with Sharp Sticks relied heavily on its air of mystery to maintain suspense and interest, and at the end of it came the big reveal that cleared it all up. So what’s left for our characters to do? This book followed a logical progression as to their next step, but it also seemed somewhat inadequate and not enough to carry a full book. This resulted in more filler, as well as a novel which felt like a bridge book as a whole. My feelings were further confirmed by the abrupt ending that we got, not to mention the messages in this sequel felt more heavy-handed and not as smoothly integrated when compared to book one. And as much as I adored Mena, I also wished her friends could have contributed more evenly to the story, as a couple of them appeared to have benched and didn’t get as much development. Even now I have trouble recalling all their names, and I finished this novel not too long ago.
In sum, while Girls with Razor Hearts was a good book, it fell a bit short of my expectations which were admittedly quite high, considering my love for the original. That said, Mena and her friends’ accomplishments in this sequel were definitely not in vain, and I think Suzanne Young has paved a solid path for the third book, which will hopefully bring back more excitement and suspense.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Girls with Sharp Sticks (Book 1)
Bookshelf Roundup 03/28/20: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on March 28, 2020 35 Comments
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every weekend which fills the role of several blog memes, like Stacking the Shelves where I talk about the new books I’ve added to my library or received for review, as well as It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where I summarize what I’ve finished reading in the last week and what I’m planning to read soon. Mostly it also serves as a recap post, so sometimes I’ll throw in stuff like reading challenge progress reports, book lists, and other random bookish thoughts or announcements.
Received for Review
My thanks to the publishers and authors for the following review copies received, and be sure to click the links to their Goodreads pages for more details and full descriptions!
A big thanks to Tor Books for a couple of exciting finished copies this week. First, A Broken Queen by Sarah Kozloff is the third book in The Nine Realms series which is still proceeding full steam ahead with its rigorous release schedule, for which I’m grateful. I need to know what happens next! As well, I received this gorgeous hardcover of The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer, which I’m looking forward to dive into.
With thanks also to the incredible team at Tachyon Publications for an ARC of The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg, which is part of the author’s Birdverse series. I am not familiar with it, but it sounds interesting.
Up next is a book I’m really excited about! Earlier this month I featured The Mirror Man by Jane Gilmartin in a Waiting on Wednesday post, and the author got in touch after seeing it to offer me an ARC! Believe me, I couldn’t say YES fast enough. Thanks so much, Jane!
Also thank you to Del Rey for sending along a finished copy of Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie. The release of this one totally snuck up on me, as it doesn’t appear to have gotten much buzz which is surprising because it sounds pretty good. I’m going to try and make some time in my schedule next month to check it out.
And finally, with thanks to Saga Press for this surprise arrival of Vagabond by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu. This is another one I’d like to read if I can somehow figure out a way to fit it into my spring TBR. Even though we’re all holed up at home these days, I have even less time to read because I’m still working from home while taking care of the kiddos. The schools have put out some new curriculum since they’ll be out for four more weeks, and I need to make sure my daughter stays on top of her studies.
On to the digital pile! So I loosened my self-imposed NetGalley restrictions this week and picked up three new titles. First, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab is one I’ve been looking forward to, so I pretty much grabbed it as soon as I saw it uploaded, with thanks to Tor. While I was browsing my auto-approvals section (which in retrospect was unwise, walking straight into temptation), I also took the opportunity to snag two more titles, Bone Chase by Weston Ochse with thanks to Saga Press and Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford with thanks to Tor.com. Both books were featured on past Waiting on Wednesdays and are highly anticipated!
Reviews
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James (5 of 5 stars)
The Return by Rachel Harrison (4 of 5 stars)
Twilight of the Gods by Scott Oden (4 of 5 stars)
Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole (3.5 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
This Week’s Reads
Have you heard of or read any of the books featured this week? What caught your eye? Any new discoveries? I hope you found something interesting for a future read! Let me know what you plan on checking out. Until next time, see you next Roundup!
Friday Face-Off: Freebie
Posted on March 27, 2020 22 Comments
Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme created by Books by Proxy! Each Friday, we will pit cover against cover while also taking the opportunity to showcase gorgeous artwork and feature some of our favorite book covers. If you want to join the fun, simply choose a book each Friday that fits that week’s predetermined theme, post and compare two or more different covers available for that book, then name your favorite. A list of future weeks’ themes are available at Lynn’s Book Blog.
This week’s theme is:
A FREEBIE!
Choose one of your favorite titles and compare the covers
Mogsy’s Pick:
Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence
I loved this book, and it pleased me to find that it had so many great covers. Suffice to say I was glad it was not the last we’d heard of Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire when this Prince of Fools came out, and of course I also really enjoyed the character of Prince Jalan, a self-confessed liar, cheat, and rakish playboy who believes courage is overrated. But for all his foibles, it’s hard to resist his charms. Let’s see if we can say the same for any of the covers this week, as we take a look at them now:
From left to right:
Ace (2014) – Harper Voyager (2014)
Italian Edition (2016) – Czech Edition (2016) – Persian Edition (2018)
Latvian Edition (2015) – Polish Edition (2017) – French Edition (2017)
Winner:
Several stood out for me this week, so it was hard to pick just a single winner. But again and again, one kept pulling my attention to it, and that was the Italian edition. I do tend to like photo-realistic style covers, and there’s something about the character’s pose and expression that drew me to it.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Book Review: Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole
Posted on March 26, 2020 18 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1/Stand Alone
Publisher: Angry Robot (March 10, 2020)
Length: 317 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Sixteenth Watch was my first book by Myke Cole since Control Point, and it’s clear his storytelling and writing skills have come a long way since. Still, I had some mixed feelings for this one for reasons more to do with unfulfilled expectations, but other than that, I thought the book was an entertaining tale of militaristic action in space, a slightly different take on your usual mil sci-fi.
The novel opens with a stunner. As a violent skirmish suddenly breaks out between the Americans and Chinese in lunar space, nearly sparking an all-out war between the two nations, Captain Jane Oliver of the U.S. Coast Guard watches in horror as her husband’s ship is torn to pieces. Months later, having come to terms with his death and her grief, Oliver knows she is approaching the end of her career because of her age, and quite frankly is looking forward to retiring in peace. However, her superiors have different plans for her. As the tensions between the US and China continue to mount over Helium-3 mining rights on the moon, the Navy and the Marines are trying to edge the Coast Guard out of the military operations on the border between the two territories. In order to convince the politicians and the public to take them seriously, the Guard wants Jane Oliver to head up an initiative to train a group of officers to win a popular reality competition show called Boarding Action against teams from the other branches of the military. In return, Oliver would be promoted and be allowed to retire on the moon to be with her daughter.
As such, the bulk of the book is focused on this training, as well as dealing with the resulting pushback from their rivals. With dismay, Oliver realizes that low morale and confidence among her team are also causing much of their performance issues. Simply running practice drills will not help in this case, she realizes, and to really get them to push themselves, she’ll need to take some pretty big steps—and big risks.
It’s a fantastic premise, to be sure. That said, I’m just not sure how well it worked in its execution. With such a playing up of the Boarding Action show, as well as the rivalry between the Coast Guard and the other competitors, not to mention all the attention and page-time dedicated to their training, you would think we’d be getting more follow through on that front. But in fact, the plot doesn’t really steer us in that direction at all, and the lack of story consistency and coherence this resulted in annoyed me a little, if I’m to be honest. And while we’re on the topic, I was also not entirely sold on the ending. It certainly didn’t feel like it followed logically from earlier events, and on top of that, it didn’t provide satisfactory closure—and I don’t mean that in the cliffhanger sense, but rather in a way that’s more like a thought left unfinished.
As I said though, I still thought Sixteenth Watch was a good read, and it was the little things I liked, such as the fact that Myke Cole’s background and experiences in the military is evident in the knowledge he brings to his work. An officer in the US Coast Guard Reserve, the author shows his love for the USCG by portraying them and their operations with a high degree of authenticity and accuracy. I also liked the character of Jane Oliver, for not only is it uncommon to see a female middle-aged protagonist head up a military sci-fi novel, she was also written to be believable and relatable. Then, there was the action. All those training maneuvers and battle sequences went a long way in making up for the stalling and meandering in the plot, keeping my interest high even as the pacing sometimes floundered.
Still, for the most part, the pros outweighed the cons. Readers should not expect too much in terms of depth, though I suspect this won’t be a dealbreaker for the majority, given the main goal of the novel to provide action-driven entertainment. With the storytelling and world-building being on the lighter side, the characters were the ones that truly stood out, like Oliver, her executive officer Wen Ho, and the members of the Coast Guard team. In the end, those strengths were enough to keep me turning the pages. While not perfect, Sixteenth Watch was a fun read which I thought succeeded in what it set out to do.
Waiting on Wednesday 03/25/20
Posted on March 25, 2020 11 Comments
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that first originated at Breaking the Spine but has since linked up with “Can’t Wait Wednesday” at Wishful Endings now that the original creator is unable to host it anymore. Either way, this fun feature is a chance to showcase the upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!
Mogsy’s Pick
The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski (October 27, 2020 by Orbit Books)
Originally published in 2002 in its original Polish, The Tower of Fools has since been translated into many other languages but finally the official English edition with translation by David French (who also translated several of the author’s Witcher books) will be out later this fall. I’m a huge fan of the Witcher series, and that’s made me curious to check out Sapkowski writing about a whole new world with new characters in the Hussite Trilogy.
“Andrzej Sapkowski, winner of the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, created an international phenomenon with his New York Times bestselling Witcher series. Now, he introduces readers to a new world, and a new hero–a young magician and healer on an epic journey across a war-torn land.
When a thoughtless indiscretion finds Reinmar of Bielau caught in the crosshairs of powerful noble family, he is forced to flee his home.
But once he passes beyond the city walls, he finds that there are dangers ahead as well as behind. Pursued by dark forces both human and mystic, it’ll take all his wits, his skill in healing, and his knowledge of magic to survive.”
Book Review: The Return by Rachel Harrison
Posted on March 24, 2020 23 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Berkley
Length: 304 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
To be honest, when I first started The Return, I had my doubts the story was going to be as creepy as its blurb touted. The tone of the intro was just bizarre, beginning by glossing over the disappearance of a woman, and then upon her return, treating the reactions of her three so-called best friends with just as much flippancy. When the four of them next traipsed off to a girls’ weekend at some goofy themed resort in the Catskills, I wondered if I’d mistakenly wandered into some chick lit comedy when I’d expected a horror.
Well, suffice to say, the lightness didn’t last long. As the story progressed, its tone grew increasingly darker and more disturbing…and by the end of it, I sure wasn’t laughing anymore.
When The Return opens, our protagonist Elise is the only one unconcerned when she hears that her friend Julie is missing. Even when her other two besties, Mae and Molly, are devastated and a funeral is held a year after the disappearance, Elise is convinced that Julie is still alive and will one day come back. Then one day, out of the blue, it actually happens. Julie shows up on her own porch, with no memory at all of the time she went missing. Her friends, however, are just happy that she’s returned.
In order to reconnect, Mae arranges for the four of them to spend a long weekend at a swanky new hotel that just opened in the mountains, called the Red Honey Inn. For the exorbitant cost, Elise is unimpressed by the gaudiness of its themed rooms and frigid halls, though she’s excited to be spending time with Mae and Molly again, and they’re all hoping Julie will open up about what happened. Their friend has been acting very strangely since her reappearance, like the fact she used to be a strict vegetarian but now she can’t seem get enough of meat—the rarer the better. She’s also not looking too well these days: skin dried, lips cracked, hair and teeth falling out—a far cry from the healthy, vibrant and beautiful woman that Elise remembers.
Not daring to push Julie too hard for the sake of their friendship, the other three all try to ignore her new eccentricities—and some of them are downright freaky—chalking them up to possible trauma. But as the weekend wears on amidst the growing tensions and the increasing dread, it’s clear they’re dealing with something much worse…and not at all natural.
I think the best way to describe The Return is to view it as a novel of two parts—the first half which covers Julie’s disappearance and reappearance, as well as the women’s arrival at the Red Honey Inn; and the second half, where everything starts going terribly, shockingly, and sickeningly wrong for all our characters. Needless to say, as a horror fan I was not so satisfied with all the dithering we had to put up with to get to the good parts, but I absolutely loved where this story eventually led us. Packed with thriller elements and a nice strong dose of body horror, I wouldn’t go into this unless you’ve got a strong stomach and a good tolerance for what I thought were some pretty twisted and flat-out gross scenes and ideas.
Interspersed with the main storyline is also a fair bit of drama—a lot of it related to the women’s friendships and their romantic lives, like jealousy, scandals, backstabbing…you name it, it’s all there. Admittedly, none of it really paints our protagonist or her companions in the best light, though I did enjoy how it added interest to the story and fleshed out the characters.
That said, I think the writing held this one back from being all that it could be. The Return being Rachel Harrison’s debut, I expected a few hiccups, and there were definitely moments where her prose struck me as trying too hard. A story’s mood and atmosphere can’t really be forced, and a few of the book’s more awkward moments or Elise’s overwrought monologuing gave proof to some of that. Still, where it counts, the author delivered. The horror sequences were all very well done and fantastically described, so if what you want is a chilling read, this book will certainly not disappoint you.
All in all, this horror fan found plenty to like about The Return. Considering how I started the book feeling quite skeptical, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it in the end. While not perfect, it’s nonetheless a solid debut that has me excited to read what Rachel Harrison will write next.
The BiblioSanctum 