Book Review: Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine
Posted on August 2, 2018 27 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Series: Book 4 of The Great Library
Publisher: Berkley (July 3, 2018)
Length: 448 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
It probably comes as no surprise that The Great Library and I have had our ups and downs, given the precarious changes involved when a planned trilogy gets expanded to five books. Admittedly, my enthusiasm for the series took a hit after things slowed down in Ash and Quill, when much of the plot felt like mostly filler. As the fourth book in the series though, Smoke and Iron gave me high hopes that things will pick up again, now that we’re past the “middle doldrums”, so to speak.
Again, the story picks up immediately from the end of the previous novel, so if you’re not caught up with the series yet, be aware that this review may contain spoilers ahead for the first three books. Hoping to save his friends, Jess Brightwell has assumed the identity of his twin brother in a desperate gambit to gain access to the heart of Alexandria and get close to the Archivist. Along with the girl he is in love with, Morgan, and his mentor, Christopher Wolfe, Jess is captured and imprisoned, but their other friends including Khalila, Dario, and Thomas are aboard a ship trying to figure their way out of their own troubles.
Now the Feast of Great Burning is at hand, and tensions in the city are at a boiling point as rebels position themselves to fight back against the Archivist’s rule. With thousands of years’ worth of knowledge on the line, Jess’ plan is threatening to unravel as his enemy’s forces are on high alert for any signs of trouble. Meanwhile, his friends have become embroiled in a situation with the King of Spain while grappling with their own challenges on their seaborne adventures, and Morgan, attempting an escape from the Iron Tower for the umpteenth time, has found someone she thinks might be able to help. Unfortunately though, there’s no telling whether or not he will cooperate, or even agree to hear her out.
In many ways, Smoke and Iron feels like the book that sets this series back on track. Although we’re still not quite at full steam yet, great strides have been made to build interest in the story again, setting the tone and raising the stakes. Rachel Caine also made one very important change in this book, bringing in other perspectives other than Jess’s—probably one of the best things to happen to this series. Ever since Paper and Fire, I’ve noticed how being restricted to only one POV has started to hurt story progression, and with the group all split up in this one, the need to see through the other characters’ eyes became absolutely essential. It was also high time that readers got to know characters like Khalila, Wolfe, Morgan, and others on a deeper level, as over the course of the series, their roles have become more prominent.
That said, there are still a few hiccups to be ironed out. Like many penultimate volumes, Smoke and Iron has the feel of a bridge book where characters are binding their time, with a lot of shuffling about as they are maneuvered into their final places in anticipation of the conclusion. Things were slow to take off in the first half, but to the author’s credit, the story’s atmosphere was handled deftly with the tensions never easing. She also made up for a slower start by packing the second half with tons of action, intrigue, and a good dose of heartbreak. Say what you will about these books, but no matter how shakily they start, each one always ends on a great note, making me excited for the next one.
Smoke and Iron, as it turned out, was no exception. Caine is really teasing one hell of a finale with this one, ratcheting up the pressure on our characters, while still introducing more conflict. Morgan’s powers are growing increasingly more disturbing, which doesn’t bode well at all for a future between her and Jess. It also looks as if the Brightwells, already no strangers to pain, will have another tragedy on their hands. Even this late in the game, the world of The Great Library still holds plenty of surprises so it wouldn’t do to underestimate this series. With only one more book on the horizon, I’m bracing myself for big things.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Ink and Bone (Book 1)
Review of Paper and Fire (Book 2)
Review of Ash and Quill (Book 3)
Waiting on Wednesday 08/01/18
Posted on August 1, 2018 21 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
Watcher in the Woods by Kelley Armstrong (February 5, 2019 by Minotaur Books)
Words cannot express how much I love the Rockton/Casey Duncan series and I was excited to learn there will be at least a two more books to come (at least according to Goodreads). Watcher in the Woods is the fourth book, scheduled to drop early next year, and I can’t wait to see what new mysteries Armstrong will have in store for our characters.
“In #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s latest thriller, the town of Rockton—and her fans—are in for another hair-raising adventure.
The secret town of Rockton has seen some rocky times lately; understandable considering its mix of criminals and victims fleeing society for refuge within its Yukon borders. Casey Duncan, the town’s only detective on a police force of three, has already faced murder, arson and falling in love in less than the year that she’s lived there. Yet even she didn’t think it would be possible for an outsider to find and cause trouble in the town she’s come to call home.
When a US Marshal shows up in town demanding the release of one of the residents, Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Dalton, are skeptical. And yet only hours later, the marshal is shot dead and the only visible suspects are the townspeople and her estranged sister, in town for just the weekend. It’s up to Casey to figure out who murdered the marshal, and why they would kill to keep him quiet.”
“Can’t Wait” Books of Late 2018
Posted on July 31, 2018 38 Comments
So maybe you’ve heard, but I love lists. My day-to-day life might not be as organized as I would like, but I do enjoy creating book lists and putting together reading schedules because I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to things like that. It also has the added benefit of focusing my attention to the “must-read” releases that I’m excited about. Since I’ve already put together lists for Early and Mid-2018, I’ve decided to do it once more for the final four months of the year. Without further ado, these are the Science Fiction and Fantasy titles I’m really looking forward to in the rest of 2018…or at least, after I tried to narrow down the list. What’s on your late-2018 “Must-Read” TBR? Anything you think I missed?
September
September 1 to September 10 – Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel, Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough, The Chrysalis by Brendan Deneen
September 11 to September 17 – The Land You Never Leave by Angus Watson
September 18 to September 24 – We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix, Mecha Samurai Empire by Peter Tieryas, Wildcard by Marie Lu
September 25 to September 30 – Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven, Vengeful by V.E. Schwab, The Sisters of the Winterwood by Rena Rossner
October
October 1 to October 8 – Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep, Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang, Heresy by Melissa Lenhardt, An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris, Murder on Millionaire’s Row by Erin Lindsey
October 9 to October 15 – Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M. Valente, Mage Against the Machine by Shaun Barger, No Sleep Till Doomsday by Laurence MacNaughton,
October 16 to October 22 – The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi
October 23 to October 29 – Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
October 30 to October 31 – The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
November
November 1 to November 12 – Skyward by Brandon Sanderson, Someone Like Me by M.R. Carey
November 13 to November 19 – Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch, Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
November 20 to November 26 – Willful Child: The Search for Spark by Steven Erikson, Dragonshadow by Elle Katharine White, City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender
November 27 to November 30 – The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman
December
December 1 to December 10 – The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone, Tiamat’s Wrath by James S.A. Corey, King of the Road by R.S. Belcher, Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst
Audiobook Review: The Raptor & The Wren by Chuck Wendig
Posted on July 30, 2018 17 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Raptor & The Wren by Chuck Wendig
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Book 5 of Miriam Black
Publisher: Audible Studios (July 3, 2018)
Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Emily Beresford
The Raptor and The Wren is the fifth book in the Miriam Black series, in which our eponymous protagonist returns to her roots. But instead of living like a vagrant, hopping from city to city trailing people that she knows will soon die in order rob them at their time of their deaths, Miriam is now living in Florida, in a house that used to belong to her mother, and she has taken her scam to the next level. With no shortage of death in retirement mecca, where folks expire naturally from old age or health conditions all the time, the world is her oyster. No one will miss a little breaking and entering, or a few missing valuables or bottles of prescription drugs. To some extent, Miriam has accepted her dark powers, and there’s no sense in letting a good opportunity go to waste.
And yet, a lot of things still bother her. With just a touch, Miriam can see how someone will die, and this is how she knows that her good friend Louis, whom she still loves, will murder his fiancée in just a few months’ time. The mistakes of her past have also come back to haunt her, inspiring the actions of a new copy-cat killer. Those who have the misfortune of being caught up in Miriam’s trail of destruction often end up damaged and broken, even if they manage to survive, as Lauren AKA Wren can attest. The girl we first met in Mockingbird is now a teen, struggling with her own dark side. In order to save Wren, Miriam must confront her own demons, right the wrongs of her past, and continue her journey to understand the origin of her powers.
While I still love Miriam to bits, I can’t help but feel that the series has lost some of its edge since Thunderbird. In my review of the previous book, I noted how the plot developments and characters failed to impact me as strongly, and the series as a whole has become…well, more pedestrian. Likewise, The Raptor and The Wren continues this trend, recycling old plot points and limiting the story’s potential. It probably didn’t help that this book was mostly filler. It was a fast read, but after finishing it, I was left with a nagging feeling that not a lot happened, and that none of the newer, more interesting conflicts introduced here ended up being resolved. In other words, it felt like the entire purpose of this book was to be the setup for the next one, which I believe will be the last book of the series.
Thank goodness for Miriam. She is the one bright spot in this general state of stagnation, because of the way she has grown with each book. It can’t be denied, Miriam Black has come a long way since Blackbirds, despite certain aspects of her life coming full circle. She has wrestled with the horrific nature of her powers, emerging stronger if not victorious. She has forged new relationships, learned to care about people other than herself. Some of Louis’ goodness has also rubbed off on her, teaching her the value of responsibility and the power to shape her own life through her own actions. The days of running away and never looking back are over; this new Miriam tackles her problems head on, even when the fear threatens to overwhelm. Rest assured though, all the things that have made her character so entertaining and addictive to read about have been left intact. Miriam is still the undisputed queen of the potty mouth and dirty metaphors, and we should all cherish her for it.
All in all, The Raptor and The Wren was fun to read, even though it was short and most of the plot was bridging and biding time for the final installment. The ending was pretty shocking though, I won’t lie. Poor Miriam never seems to catch a break. I’m still sitting here, thinking “Please don’t let me to be so!” but as with all of Chuck Wendig’s books, you never know what will happen next. Despite this one being an overall lackluster sequel, at least compared the earlier volumes in this series (which, in my opinion, ranks as some of the author’s best work), I’m waiting on pins and needles for finale. If the foundations built here are any indication, Vultures promises to bring an epic conclusion.
Audiobook Comments: I took a break from the audiobooks in this series after Mockingbird, but I was glad to pick this up again and see that Emily Beresford is still the voice behind Miriam Black. I’ve always felt there is a quality to her voice that makes her the perfectly suited for the main character, a certain sharpness that brings out Miriam’s devil-may-care ways and sass. I’m glad that hasn’t changed. It was a joy coming back to her superb narration.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Blackbirds (Book 1)
Review of Mockingbird (Book 2)
Review of The Cormorant (Book 3)
Review of Thunderbird (Book 4)
Audiobook Review: Orbital by Andrew Mayne
Posted on July 29, 2018 21 Comments
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Series: Book 2 of Station Breaker/Space Ops
Publisher: Tantor Audio (July 4, 2017)
Length:8 hrs and 43 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Kyle McCarley
After Station Breaker closed on such an open-ended cliffhanger (*shakes fist*) I picked up Orbital immediately afterwards to continue following the action-packed adventures of former-pilot-turned-space-ops-astronaut David Dixon.
If you thought the first book was too extreme and ridiculous with its over-the-top antics, the good news is that this sequel takes a more laid-back tone. Thankfully though, it’s no less intense. While Station Breaker was your equivalent of a summer action blockbuster, Orbital reads more like a slick spy thriller. Picking up directly from the previous novel, the story sees David back on Earth, hailed as a hero for averting a global disaster. Unfortunately, the damage caused by the media circus has been done. David is let go by his employers at the aerospace company, and even though he was exonerated of all charges, the stigma of being labeled as a terrorist at one point means that no other agencies are willing to touch him with a ten-foot pole. The chances of David being able to fly again are looking quite bleak indeed.
Then one day, David is contacted by a covert government intelligence agency through one of his new connections. As it turns out, some of the enemy technology he encountered in the last book was actually stolen or leaked from a top-secret lab originating on an orbiting science space platform. While David is no spy, his experiences with these types of clandestine operations in space make him the most qualified to infiltrate the platform and sniff out the one responsible for the theft and leaks. Finding the culprit will also hopefully lead them to discover the identity of the shadowy agent known as Silverback, a highly placed mole in the US government.
After the rollercoaster ride that was Station Breaker, the beginning of Orbital was a nice chance at a little breather. Granted, the story was a little slower to take off this time, and in a lot of ways, the way things started reminded me a lot of another Andrew Mayne sequel. In his Naturalist series, the protagonist Theo Cray becomes anathema to the academic community after his involvement in a high-profile case to help catch a serial killer. Likewise, David Dixon manages to save the world but the fallout from the highly-publicized incident immediately kills his chances at ever being hired again by a legitimate aerospace company. In both cases, the characters are forced to take on any kind of soul-sucking work they could find. But because Orbital also needed to tie up a lot loose threads left by the non-ending of the previous book, the intro section was further protracted (which is another good reason why authors should just end a book properly.)
The good news is, once the story gets going, it gets REALLY going, and after the first third, the book gets hard to put down. Most of it takes place primarily aboard the orbital space platform where David must pretend to be a fellow researcher while trying to root out the traitor without arousing suspicions. David’s not the world’s best secret agent, but he does a relatively good job blending in, poking his nose discreetly into everyone’s work while schmoozing his way into the commanders’ good graces and politely holding off advances from lusty astronauts. A lot of the interactions are entertaining as you would expect, given our protagonist’s sense of humor. There are some amazing characters in Orbital—and also some great technology. This one’s a bit heavier on the science and jargon compared to the first book, but astronautics doesn’t have to be in your wheelhouse for you to appreciate this series. All of it is fascinating stuff that should be easy to take in and digest, and my favorite parts all involve David trying to MacGyver his way out life and death situations.
For fans of mysteries set in space, it doesn’t get much better than Orbital. It’s also a very clever and funny, and yet that humor does not come at the expense of the suspense and thrills. While the book sets a different tone than its predecessor, it’s no less addictive and fast-paced. Highly recommended.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Station Breaker (Book 1)
Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Posted on July 28, 2018 32 Comments
Bookshelf Roundup is a feature I do every other 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 round up what I’ve read since the last update 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.
I returned from my road trip last week to a pile of books waiting, so this is going to be a pretty big update. Reading-wise, I’m behind (haha, what else is new?) but while most of the progress I’d made in advance has been lost, I’m working hard at getting back into the groove. As always, I’d like to thank the publishers and authors for the review copies received, and for more details and full descriptions of the books, be sure to check out the links to their Goodreads pages!
With thanks to Tor Books for the following finished copies received: Low Chicago by George R.R. Martin, the newest Wild Cards anthology; Mystic Dragon by Jason Denzel, the long-awaited sequel to Mystic, which I loved; and City of Lies by Sam Hawke, which has been getting a ton of accolades as of late, and I can’t started on it. Also thanks to the publisher’s YA imprint Tor Teen for Like Never and Always by Ann Aguirre, a mystery thriller about a teen who wakes up from an accident in her best friend’s body. This one is new to me, but I’ve enjoyed Aguirre’s books in the past so I’m curious.
Next up, a surprise arrival from across the ocean! My thanks to Jo Fletcher Book for Blood Cruise by Mats Strandberg, a horror set aboard a cruise ship on the Baltic Sea. I’d never heard of this book before, but now I really want to read it.
Another arrival from UK, Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste is the second novel in the official Minecraft series, which I’ve already reviewed here. It was really good, much better than I expected, and it made me cry! My thanks to Century Books for sending me this gorgeous hardcover.
With thanks to Orbit for these new arrivals: Annex by Rich Larson is a debut novel about two young outsiders who must find a way to defeat an alien invasion; Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri is a lush fantasy inspired by the Mughal era of India; Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw is the second novel in the Dr. Greta Helsing series, which I’m looking forward to continue; and Successor’s Promise by Trudi Canavan is the final novel in the Millennium’s Rule series. The arrival of this paperback edition is a nice reminder that I still need to finish this excellent trilogy.
With thanks to Saga Press and the kind folks at Wunderkind PR, I also received a huge tome of a novel in European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss, the sequel to last year’s charming The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter. The page-count of this one is quite intimidating, I confess, but I owe it to this wonderful series to start it as soon as possible.
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster, I also received a surprise ARC of Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith. This one’s new to me, but the quirky title and cover caught my attention right away. All I know is that this Young Adult story features giant lunar-cruise ships and cannibalistic robots, but that’s good enough for me! Straight onto the TBR it goes.
Murder on Millionaire’s Road by Erin Lindsey is another book I’m super excited about. The author contacted me earlier this month with a heads up about her new haunted mystery coming out this fall, and it has since rocketed up my most anticipated list. Big thanks to Erin and the awesome team at Jabberwocky and Minotaur Books.
Thanks also to Night Shade Books for The Final Frontier edited by Neil Clarke, a collection of stories about space exploration, colonization, and first contact. I’m not a big anthology person, but the impressive list of authors here including names like Ken Liu, Elizabeth Bear, Nancy Kress, and Seth Dicksinson and more sure makes this one very tempting.
I’d also like to thank Pyr Books for Keepers by Brenda Cooper, the follow-up to Wilders which introduced readers to a world in a future where human expansion and environmental change has shaped the face of the planet in dramatic ways. I enjoyed the first book well enough, so there’s a good chance I’ll complete the duology.
A few weeks ago, I got an email about The Book of Hidden Things by Francesco Dimitri and was completely enchanted by its description of a seductive tale of magic and wonder, friendship and betrayal. The author is also a beloved fantasy author in Italy and this is his English debut. With thanks to Titan Books for the review copy.
With thanks also to DAW Books for a finished copy of Gift of Griffins by V.M. Escalada, the sequel to Halls of Law. From the publisher I also received an ARC of Worldshaper by Edward Willett, the start of a new portal fantasy following one woman’s journey through a labyrinth of new dimensions. Really looking forward to checking it out.
In the digital pile, we’re kicking things off Lipstick Voodoo by Kristi Charish, the second book in the Kincaid Strange series. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this one! Initially I figured I had no chance getting approved as a US blogger requesting a book from a Canadian publisher, but in the end the author got in touch and I was sent a widget. Thank you Kristi and Vintage Canada!
From NetGalley, I also snagged The Mansion by Ezekiel Boone. Admittedly, I wasn’t too crazy about the ending of his Hatching trilogy, but I had fun with the series otherwise, so when I saw that his upcoming book was available for request, I just couldn’t resist. Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for approving me.
With thanks to Tor.com, I was also sent an eARC of Static Ruin by Corey J. White. It is the third book of the Voidwitch Saga, which reminds me: I should really get started on this series.
Up next, it’s a parade of audio review copies: from HarperAudio, I received Sea Witch by Sarah Henning, a YA retelling of The Little Mermaid which offers an origin story for the villain. From Penguin Random House Audio I received The Point by John Dixon, a sci-fi action thriller about a rebellious teenager who enters a top-secret training program at West Point that turns misfits into a new generation of heroes; Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn, the new Star Wars novel featuring the highly anticipated team-up between Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader; A Double Life by Flynn Berry, a psychological thriller about a hardworking doctor who is also the daughter of a notorious murder suspect, though nobody knows it; Vox by Christina Dalcher, a story of a woman and her daughter in a dystopian future where the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily; and Relic by Alan Dean Foster, a sci-fi novel about the last known surviving human being in the universe as he searches for companionship in a lonely galaxy.
Reviews
A list of my reviews posted since the last update:
Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell (4.5 of 5 stars)
Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier (4 of 5 stars)
Station Breaker by Andrew Mayne (4 of 5 stars)
Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste (4 of 5 stars)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (4 of 5 stars)
Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman (4 of 5 stars)
A People’s History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal (3.5 of 5 stars)
Roundup Highlights:
Interviews & Guest Posts
A huge thanks to the authors who stopped by The BiblioSanctum this week!
Guest Post: “Licence of Chill – James Bond and Horror” by Nick Setchfield
What I’ve Read Since the Last Update
Here’s what I’ve managed to “unstack” from the TBR since the last update. More reviews coming soon!
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: Steampunk
Posted on July 27, 2018 37 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:
“I saw huge buildings rise up faint and fair, and pass like dreams.”
~ a cover that is STEAMPUNK
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis
Humble French metallurgy is pitted against the demonic alchemy of the Dutch in The Mechanical, a steampunk alternate historical fantasy. In the 17th century of this timeline, prominent mathematician and scientist Christiaan Huygens changed the face of the world by creating an army of clockwork automatons capable of intelligent thought, but are enslaved to their masters through a series of magical geasa. This breakthrough ensured the survival of the Calvinist Dutch Empire, for very few found themselves capable of standing against a legion of these tireless and utterly obedient mechanical men called “Clakkers.”
Three hundred years later, the Dutch are the dominant power with only a small remnant of French Papists still fighting to oppose their rule. The book begins with the executions of a group of French spies, witnessed by a Clakker servitor named Jax. Across the ocean where what’s left of the French Court has been exiled to the New World, our other protagonist is spymistress Berenice, vexed that all her agents back in the Netherlands have been caught and killed. Not long after, Jax is unwittingly used to smuggle a dangerous piece of intel across the Atlantic. Thus begins an incredible tale of deadly secrets and ruthless politics, as our two characters’ fates ultimately come together in their search for what they desire most – for Jax, the sweet taste of freedom, and for Berenice, the vengeance on those who took everything from her.
Let’s take a look at the covers:
From left to right:
Orbit Books (2015) – Polish Edition (2016) – Italian Edition (2016)
Winner:
There are only three versions to choose from this week, and a clear favorite for me is the middle one (pictured here the Polish edition). I love covers with art styles or illustrations that look like they could have come straight out of an old-timey scholarly text or reference book. The level of detail on this one is also stunning.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
Audiobook Review: Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
Posted on July 26, 2018 22 Comments
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Macmillan Audio (June 12, 2018)
Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Narrator: Jaunary LaVoy
I got way more than I bargained for in Jar of Hearts. Disturbing, dark, and twisted doesn’t even begin to describe some of the things in this book; to read it is to feel your insides turn cold or your heart tighten in your chest until it hurts. Because I started this one while I was on vacation, there were even moments where I just had to set this one aside, until I felt like I was in a better frame of mind to handle it. It’s a good book—a great psychological thriller, in fact—but probably not one to read if you want to keep yourself feeling carefree and happy. Just a warning.
Jar of Hearts is a story about a trio of best friends named Georgina “Geo” Shaw, Angela Wong, and Kaiser Brody. In high school, the three of them were virtually inseparable, until one night, following a wild party at their friend’s house, Angela mysteriously disappeared. Investigators followed multiple leads, but with no trace of the popular cheerleader to be found, the case eventually went cold.
But fourteen years later, the truth of what happened that night finally comes out. The remains of Angela Wong have been discovered, buried in the woods a stone’s throw away from her best friend Geo’s old house. Found with her dismembered skeleton is a camera, containing images captured from the night the victim was last seen, and the developed pictures show a dramatically different story than the one Geo painted for the police in her statement all those years ago.
As the novel opens, the past has finally caught up with Geo. Charged for murder along with her old boyfriend Calvin James—now known to the world as the notorious Sweetbay Strangler—she enters a plea bargain to testify against her former lover in return for lesser sentence. Nevertheless, her life as a top executive in one of Seattle’s biggest pharmaceutical companies is now in shambles. Still, for Kaiser Brody, who has spent the last fourteen years agonizing over Angela’s disappearance, Geo’s downfall brings him no joy. Currently a detective on the police force, Kai initially took Geo’s betrayal hard, but a part of him still cares deeply about his old friend, leading him to keep tabs on her as she serves out her sentence. Then, news breaks out that Calvin James has escaped from prison, and days before Geo is set to be released, bodies of young women start turning up near where Angela Wong was found, killed and disposed of in a similar manner. Fearing that Calvin is out for revenge and is targeting Geo next, Kai races against the clock to decipher the killer’s cryptic messages, determined to stop him before he can strike again.
Within these pages is an intensely twisted tale of murder, betrayal, and guilt. But fortunately, there is also a chance at redemption and possibly a brighter future for our characters. The story mainly follows Geo’s perspective, bringing us back and forth between the present and the past, using flashbacks effectively to reveal—little by little—the events that altered the course of the three friends’ lives. Both timelines offer their own unexpected and deeply riveting surprises, some of which will no doubt shock and disgust some readers. It’s no exaggeration when I say this is one of the darkest thrillers I’ve ever read—and I’ve read some pretty sick and disturbing stuff. But it’s not really about the violence or the graphic content when it comes to these books, though there’s plenty of that to be found here as well. The darkness I speak of is more abstract, the kind that makes you ponder the depths of the human heart and wonder at the manner of terrible secrets and lies it can harbor. Whether it’s jealousy between best friends or physical abuse in a relationship, it seems like every good thing is tainted with something negative in this story.
As a protagonist, Geo is a fascinating study. At first, it’s difficult to imagine ever sympathizing her. After all, while she might not have committed the actual murder, she did lie to everyone. She looked Angela’s parents in the eye and told them she didn’t know what happened to their daughter. She kept going on with her life as if nothing happened, FOR FOURTEEN YEARS. Like WTF? What kind of cold, heartless monster does that? How does she even sleep at night? But after a while, Geo reveals herself to be something of a master secret keeper. Doling out details about her life in bits and pieces, we find out that even though she has been the perpetrator of some vile acts of cruelty in the past, she has been the victim in plenty of them too. Still, nobody hates her more than she hates herself right now, and every day she lives with the knowledge that nothing will ever make up for her lies. Gradually, we discover that Geo is really not an evil person, so then the question remains: why did she do such an evil thing?
The best part of this story is finding out the answer. This book really got under my skin, in the best kind of way. It held me captive with an involving plot, deliciously dark atmosphere, and wonderfully flawed and complex characters. Jar of Hearts is my first novel by Jennifer Hillier, but it certainly won’t be the last, and I’m looking forward to trying out more of her work.
Audiobook Comments: It’s January LaVoy—enough said. Whether she’s doing YA or Star Wars, I always love listening to her narrate, but she’s especially in her element when it comes to mysteries and thrillers. Her performance in Jar of Hearts is a good example, immersing the listener completely in the creepy and suspenseful atmosphere, transporting you to a whole other world.
Waiting on Wednesday 07/25/18
Posted on July 25, 2018 20 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 Triumphant by Lesley Livingston (February 12, 2019 by Razorbill)
This epic finale of The Valiant, Lesley Livingston’s YA swords and sandals trilogy, is set to drop next February. Earlier in the week, the cover was revealed and WOW I think this might be my favorite of the three! Can’t wait to read it.
“The final book in the Valiant series takes Fallon and her warrior sisters on an epic journey from the corrupt Roman Republic to the wonder of the ancient world: Alexandria, Egypt.
In the wake of their victorious fight to win back the Ludus Achillea, Fallon and her gladiatrix sisters have become the toast of the Republic. However, as a consequence of his actions during the Ludus uprising, Fallon’s love, Cai, has been stripped of his Decurion rank and cast down to serve as one of Caesar’s gladiators.
Amid fighting for Cai’s freedom, Fallon soon learns that Caesar’s enemies are plotting against him and planning to get revenge on his fearsome gladiatrices. When Caesar is murdered by these conspirators, Fallon and the girls lose any sort of protection they once had. Fallon also realizes that the foreign queen Cleopatra is now in grave danger.
Fallon rallies her war band and Cai’s friends to get Cleopatra out of the city, and the group heads to the safety of Cleo’s homeland, Alexandria, Egypt. Once there, the gladiatrices are promised a place of honor in the queen’s elite guard, but is that what any of them really want?”
Guest Post: “Licence to Chill – James Bond and Horror” by Nick Setchfield
Posted on July 24, 2018 24 Comments
The BiblioSanctum is pleased to be a stop on the blog tour for The War in the Dark by debut novelist Nick Setchfield, a genre-bending thriller with historical and speculative fiction elements set in Cold War Europe. Today we are excited to welcome the author as he shares with us a guest post about some of the places he gets his inspiration…and fans of a certain fictional British Secret Service agent are sure to enjoy his post! Released on July 17th from Titan Books, The War in the Dark is now available in bookstores everywhere. We hope you check it out, and be sure to also stop by the other blogs on the tour!
LICENCE TO CHILL – JAMES BOND AND HORROR
by Nick Setchfield
Sometimes we take inspiration from the spaces inbetween.
I’ve always been intrigued by the shadow realm where James Bond ends and the horror genre begins. It’s the intersection I wanted to explore in my first novel, The War in the Dark, a book with a mission to splice spy fiction with the occult. Like all shadow realms its borders are in flux, so any maps we make inevitably shift and twist like a spill of mercury. No reconnaissance mission can ever hope to nail down the exact edges of this treacherous territory, so leave your compass behind as we step into the deeper darkness, on Her Majesty’s most secret service…
First, some context, because in the beginning the context was crucial. My earliest memories of Ian Fleming’s Bond stories were the Pan paperbacks stacked on the tall shelves of my local Forbuoys newsagent. I knew that they were books for grown-ups, which made them all the more enticing as I stared at their covers. And what alluringly cryptic covers they were, photographic still-life compositions with a decidedly macabre edge: You Only Live Twice places a glistening, beetle-black lobster next to an unsheathed samurai knife; Dr No juxtaposes a gun with three white sticks for the blind, their handles curling like skeletal fingers; Thunderball shows a shattered underwater breathing mask, the splintered glass almost like a ruined clockface. Looking at these images now they strike me as borderline ritualistic, like ceremonial items gathered for a dark purpose.
And the company they kept in Forbuoys certainly suggested there was something stranger waiting within those pages. British horror writer Dennis Wheatley was enjoying a renaissance around this time, his vintage tales of Satanism repackaged with lurid covers for the thrill-hungry ‘70s paperback market. So the Bond novels shared the shelves with such black magic chillers as The Devil Rides Out and The Haunting of Toby Jugg and all their delicious iconography of flaming skulls and pentagrams and sacrificial daggers. There was a weird, unspoken kinship between these books. Those shelves, I’m sure, ultimately took me to The War in the Dark.
Fleming always danced with the macabre. Like his friend Roald Dahl he had the blackest of imaginations and there’s a flavour in his work that I like to describe as a scorpion-on-a-tombstone shudder (maybe that was another cover I saw, long ago…). And that sense of gilt-edged darkness nudges 007 tantalisingly close to Wheatley’s world. Fleming’s lexicon frequently borrows from the uncanny: the criminal organisation that Bond fights is called SPECTRE, after all (noun: a ghost; a phantom; an apparition). It’s a word he was particularly partial to. From Russia With Love concerns a Soviet decoding machine called the Spektor. Diamonds Are Forever takes us to a Western ghost town named Spectreville. Elsewhere the killer in The Spy Who Loved Me, whose steel-capped teeth inspired the vampiric Jaws in the movie version, is named, simply, Horror.
Bond’s underwater exploration in Thunderball is one of Fleming’s finest pieces of writing, and there’s a wonderful touch of Lovecraft to it. We enter the fuselage of a sunken plane, buried beneath the waves of the Bahamas. It holds the decomposing corpse of a crewman and, as we discover alongside Bond, it’s infested with octopuses – “dreadful, glinting, red-eyed comets that slapped themselves into dark corners and stealthily squeezed themselves into cracks and under seats.” The creatures, we’re told, with skin-crawling understatement, have “a soft movement”. It’s the kind of prose that makes you wish he’d tapped out a full-tilt horror novel on that gold-plated typewriter of his.
Two of the Bond books come tantalisingly close. Live and Let Die is the obvious one. Fleming’s second novel, it’s considerably pulpier than its predecessor, Casino Royale. In its pages Bond encounters the priestess Solitaire, who was initiated into the ways of voodoo during her childhood in Haiti. Intriguingly, she’s presented to us as legitimately psychic, her powers exploited by the novel’s villain, Mr Big. Voodoo lore permeates this mission, making it one of the more evocative Bond adventures, heavy with drums and sweat and superstition. Solitaire identifies “an ouanga, a Voodoo fetish. It’s the invocation to the Drum Witch. It’s used by the Ashanti tribe in Africa when they want to kill someone.” Elsewhere we hear of a cursed island that’s now regarded as “ju-ju”. Mr Big himself is believed to be a manifestation of Baron Samedi, the spirit of darkness and death, or at least one of his zombie servants. The movie version amps up the horror angle, making the Baron a separate character, a cackling trickster figure who’s strongly suggested to be an authentic supernatural force…
Published in 1964, less than five months before its author died, You Only Live Twice may just be Fleming’s strangest, most genuinely haunting tale. In places it reads less like an espionage story and more like a fever dream, rich with symbolism and allegory. Bond is on the trail of his nemesis, Blofeld, who has retreated to Japan to curate a Garden of Death. Seeded with poisonous plants and stocked with flesh-eating fish and lethal reptiles, it’s a literal death trap, a magnet for a suicide cult that’s sweeping the country. The Garden is an extraordinary idea, one of Fleming’s most resonant. It feels torn from fairytale or folklore, somewhere deeper and weirder than 007’s usual jet-set playground.
It’s here, in this phantasmagorical “killing bottle” of a location, that Bond faces mortality, just ahead of his creator: You only live twice, claims the quote that opens the book, once when you are born, and once when you look death in the face. It’s a liminal space between this world and the other, and as Fleming’s hero walks this landscape he edges closer than ever to the unknown, to a world of dream and nightmare.
Welcome to the shadow realm, Mr Bond. We’ve been expecting you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Setchfield is a writer and features editor for SFX, Britain’s best-selling magazine of genre entertainment in film, TV and books. A regular contributing writer to Total Film, he’s also been a movie reviewer for the BBC and a scriptwriter for ITV’s Spitting Image. The War in the Dark is his first novel. He lives in Bath.
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