Taste the Books: Review Morsels #15 Seanan McGuire, Naomi Hughes, M.E. Kerr

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. 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! So, here goes...

The Girl in the Green Silk Gown by Seanan McGuire
(Ghost Roads #2)

★★★★★

Still building on well-known urban legends and myths (see Book 1), McGuire creates a world of her own, where we never can seem to see what's heading our way. Thrust into a peculiar journey by the machinations of her nemesis Bobby Cross, Rose is forced to navigate both the human world and the Underworld, all the while giving us a unique perspective about what being a ghost (her kind of ghost) means, and how detached from the human experience you can turn over the span of 60 years - with sometimes comical, sometimes harsh consequences, but always witty and profound wisdom. And lots of heart for someone who doesn't have a beating one anymore. Distress, adventures, 3D friends and foes (and everything in between), ghost cars and ghost highways, uncharted afterlife relationships that need some peculiar working on, a heroine who needs help but not saving - what's not to love?

Full review to come. (Goodreads pre-review)

Afterimage by Naomi Hughes

★★

Rated 2.5 really.

Fast-paced and full of turns, this one would make a great adult sci-fi book set in a distant future (minus the weird-instalove part). The problem is, as a teen's adventure set in our time-frame, and in our good old reality, it doesn't hold. Both the science and the conspiracy are over the top, and there's no way that a single teen "prodigy" (not our lead) could make such a huge scientific breakthrough. The romantic plot is unsettling for at least two reasons. And while I enjoyed reading about a main character with panic disorder, I didn't buy that she would get crippled by it one moment and be able to play hero the other (though I don't know how it really feels to have a panic disorder, and I'm probably not the best judge). Kudos for being entertaining though, and for dealing with familial relationships (though they mostly got skimmed).

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 book).

Deliver Us from Evie by M.E. Kerr

★★★

Sort-of-disclaimer: I read this one in Italian. I don't know if any changes/edits have been made in translating.

This is an oldie (1994) and it shows, in what it's a pretty straightforward (and rather short) story, and it's not even narrated by the 18 y.o. queer character, but by her younger (by two years) brother Parr. Then again, it's a nicely done study of the impact that a lesbian daughter can have on a rural community, and on a loving, but clueless family. Plus the story of two brothers (and their lesbian sister of course) trying to figure out their future, and navigating their first sentimental turmoils. It reads more like a MG/YA crossover (and Parr himself sounds at least a couple of years younger than he is), but it could be a nice introduction to queer themes without too much angst. And I'm not even sure I could say it's outdated, because some schools of thought (like your classic and dismissive "it's not a sin if it's two women - it's not serious enough") are probably still alive and thriving.

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?