Taste the Books: Review Morsels #30 Katherine Webber, Ilsa J. Bick, Mira Grant

Intro

Hello beauties!

Welcome again to my own brand of mini reviews! I never thought I'd do minis, until I recapped a few of my long reviews in some digest post in 2014, and then guest-posted some shorties for a blogging event in 2015. And Karen from For What It's Worth started praising my short recs/recaps 😊. Just to be clear,  I'm NOT taking a break from writing long reviews - no such luck LOL (though for anthologies, shorter books or books that I didn't enjoy/I don't have enough to say about, I decided to stick to minis). But while I'm making up my mind about a new book I've read, I might as well give you the short version 😉. Just be warned - this feature will be VERY random!

Note: all the mini blurbs (in italics) are of my own creation.

The Revelry by Katherine Webber (ARC Review)

★★★

The friendship between two 16 y.o. girls is put to the test after they sneak into a mysterious party in the woods called The Revelry, and something sinister starts creeping into the life of one of them, causing it to unravel while her friend seems to thrive.

***

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Walker Books for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

Magical realism meets teen issues in a compulsively readable story with a twist I didn't see coming. The complicated friendship between Bitsy and Amy rang true enough to me, though I wish there was more depth and history to it, and though I'm still not convinced that both sides of the argument bore the same weight - while I do think that Amy was too often self-absorbed and oblivious to Bitsy's plights long before the Revelry came along. (Speaking of which, could the latter's parents be more clueless about...everything?). Also, some of the fights the girls had felt a bit petty - but I was pretty much friendless in my school years, so maybe they will resonate more with people with a different history (or with actual teens). 
I appreciated the story's centering on friendship/coming of age instead of romance, and I found the magical realism and contemporary aspects to be well-balanced, but I would have liked the book more if it had been a tad darker and the magic system had been clearer - are the woods evil? and in that case, why would they do a good person's bidding? or are they neutral, but somehow influenced by what the folks of Ember Grove project on them? All in all though, The Revelry was a captivating read, and I'm sure fans of lighter (and bloodless) horror* in a contemporary setting will love it.
*(Please note: there are still potential triggers like spiders, fire and drowning).

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later).

Ashes trilogy by Ilsa J. Bick

(Ashes | Shadows | Monsters)

 

★★

After an EMP that either changes young people into living zombies or enhances their senses, a teen girl with terminal brain cancer, a little girl with an attitude and a troubled young soldier band together and try to survive, only to stumble upon horrors that go beyond the flesh-eating monsters.

***

(Individual ratings: Ashes -> ★★★★ | Shadows -> ★★ | Monsters -> ★★)

Ilsa J. Bick wrote one of my all-time favourite series (the Dark Passages duology), so no one was more shocked than me when I throw the towel on Book 2 at the three-quarters mark - though I did look for spoilers about Book 3 and I read its last pages, which is only understandable, after following the story for so long.

The fact is, Ashes has got all the Bick trademarks that made me fall in love with Dark Passages or that I didn't mind for it to have - damaged but spunky female leads (heck, both series' heroines even have a "bad" head), unusual little girls, a large amount of POVs, an even larger amount of gore, unflinching horror, cliffhanger chapter endings before a narrator switch, and strong writing to boot - except in this case the recipe ultimately didn't work for me. It may be that the series employs a few tropes that I dislike (like the kind of cult-like organisation where women - surprise! - are reduced to incubators, strong girls becoming week in the knees around guys they're not supposed to like, and weird "love" geometries, though not in the classic sense). It may be that there are TOO MANY CHARACTERS, and most of the male or adult POVs/stories bored me after a while, while I cared for everyone in the DP duology. It may be that the plot is convoluted in places, or makes some wild jumps. Whatever, reading became a chore, and I decided to call it a day. I did like Book 1 (despite the aforementioned tropes), but at least that one was only from the heroine's perspective.

I'm so bummed. But maybe this one will work better for you if horror is your primary jam. I still have faith in Bick anyway - Dark Passages is SPECTACULAR, so she probably learned a trick of two after writing Ashes.

(BTW, I probably shouldn't have rated Monsters, since I only read the ending - but Goodreads reviews confirm it follows the same pattern as Shadows, so I'm sure I couldn't have liked it better).

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later, and of course I don't plan to reread this series).

Alien: Echo by Mira Grant

★★★

Two twin sisters with a family secret, brought by their xenobiologist parents to a planet full of deadly fauna and flora, find themselves on the run after a tragic incident (along with the love interest of one of them) and have to fight an even deadlier alien monster from outer space.

***

Sort-of-disclaimer: I've never seen a single Alien movie - I can only tolerate my horror on paper, especially if there are, basically, giant bugs involved 😅 - so I don't know how much of this story is canon (though of course the author got guidelines to do licensed work), but my friend Carrie helped me get my bearings 🙂.

I love McGuire/Grant, and I love YA, and I love sci-fi/horror - but I guess even your favourite ingredients may not necessarily belong together or produce a masterpiece.
I was surprised by how juvenile this book sounded, despite the amount of horror/carnage and fight-for-your-life scenes (mind you - THOSE were very well done. No surprise here, given the author's track record). Olivia (the main character) is as resourceful and brave as they come, and she could have made for an interesting perspective (also as a budding xenobiologist), had she not spent half the time kissing her maybe-girlfriend or fantasising about it, even with deadlier-than-deadly monsters on her tail and ahead and some HUGE stuff to process (no spoilers). Kora (Olivia's love interest) vacillates between being tough and interesting on her own and making poor choices that should alienate Olivia, and yet..."Oh, but she's beautiful" 🙄 (to be fair, she apologises later - BUT). Viola (Olivia's twin) is basically reduced to a pawn in the grand scheme of things (though she makes for some dark comedy if that's your jam). The family secret doesn't make sense, and I can't comprehend how it even managed to remain a secret for so long - not to mention WHY. The side characters are either inconsequential or infuriating. The ending is...eh...a bit too vague, even for me. Lastly, I couldn't wrap my head around the lazy editing (I've never seen so many word reiterations, even in the same paragraph, in a single book).
BUT! If you like alien worlds with lots of potentially intriguing wildlife (if not dwelt upon enough), pulse-pounding action (if frequently punctuated by kisses), top-notch horror and resourceful badass girls, this one will entertain you, at the very least.

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later).

So, have you read/are you planning to read any of the above? And if you have, what do you think of them? Do you post mini reviews? Do you like to read them?