B.C. Johnson: "Deadgirl: Gravedust" (ARC Review)

Title: Deadgirl: Gravedust [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Deadgirl (5th of 5 books, but there's also a novella about a side character that is chronologically book 2.5 in the series - though best read after book 3 if you want to avoid a spoiler about its ending)
Author: B.C. Johnson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy
Year: 2024
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Imaginative plot. Excellent pacing. Emotional kaleidoscope. Flawed yet lovable characters who manage to feel realistic in the middle of mayhem.
Cons: Darker than the previous installments. A certain twist brings some issues with it.
WARNING! Horror, gore and heartbreak (both for the characters and the readers). Guns, knifes/swords, rats, fires/burns, vampirism (on people and animals, the latter off-page), eye and leg injury, near-drowning, suicide (off-page). Lots of language.
Will appeal to: Those who love peculiar undead protagonists. Those who enjoy a mix of cinematic action and strong feelings. Those who like brave, resourceful teens who don't pose as heroes, but are set on saving the world whatever the price (and manage to love a lot in the process).

Blurb: For Lucy and her friends, the end is here. The deals they've made have fallen apart, and their enemies prepare a final attack on everything Team Deadgirl holds dear. An army of monsters out of a nightmare arrives on their doorstep, but Lucy, Morgan, Zack, and Daphne are scattered, unprepared, and alone. When an old villain turns out not to be as dead as they appeared - which is sort of Lucy's thing - the team again faces the one girl they were never able to defeat. And she isn't just seeking revenge against Lucy. She's after something far worse. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. And the author being B.C. Johnson, you all know I've been campaigning for his first Deadgirl book with all my might since 2013, when I read the original version. Also, B.C. Johnson and me have stayed in touch, if sporadically, for the whole time. I'm not what you would call a friend of his though, only a fan of his work. And an unbiased one. As usual, this review is the love child of my penchant for quirky, uniquely worded books and B.C. Johnson's ability to deliver them.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

How do you review the last book in a saga you've been invested in for almost twelve years? How do you find the words to say goodbye to a world and a cast that you aren't, will never be ready to let go, and yet (you agree, you see the point) went out with a spectacular, incredibly satisfying bang? First thing first - Deadgirl: Gravedust is what every series ending should be: high-octane, twist-serving, and emotionally destroying, but in a good way. (Wait, is there a good way? You bet there is). In this last installment, Johnson puts every idea, mood, plot thread, side character (alive and dead) that have ever been incorporated into the story to fruition, which is an impressive feat in itself, and shows how he's been playing the long game all along, though the first Deadgirl was just a standalone novel with sequel(s) potential when it was published (well, the author had ideas for those sequels, but I don't know how structured at the time - what I know is, he changed a bunch of them during his writing journey. And yet...). Gravedust is a colossal showdown (not only because it could be a legit superhero blockbuster, only with teens), and it's a chorus line's last bow after a terrific performance, because all of this has been as much about Lucy - the girl who stubbornly refused to die on her first date - as it has been about all her friends and family and allies, in more ways than one. Whether a character in this book is alive or dead, just bruised or badly injured in the end - and regardless of their lives still being a work in progress, because of course they are, and clear-cut endings are a lie - we get closure about them, or as much closure as we can. And it's funny, and it's sad, and it's beautiful. [...]

Seanan McGuire: "Tidal Creatures" (ARC Review)

Title: Tidal Creatures [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Alchemical Journeys (3rd of 5 books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural
Year: 2024
Age: 16+ (the book is geared towards adults, but can be read by mature teens)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Fascinating concept. Rich mythology. Characters who transcend the page.
Cons: Complex. On the other hand, the murder-mystery part isn't hard to figure out, once you have the necessary information.
WARNING! Some gruesome deaths/imagery (people melting included).
Will appeal to: Those who loved Book 1 in the series and were less keen on Book 2. Those who need more Roger and Dodger. Those who enjoy a creative, exciting twist on gods incarnate and the heart of creation. 

Blurb: All across the world, people look up at the moon and dream of gods. Gods of knowledge and wisdom, gods of tides and longevity. Over time, some of these moon gods incarnated into the human world alongside the other manifest natural concepts. Their job is to cross the sky above the Impossible City - the heart of all creation - to keep it connected to reality. And someone is killing them. There are so many of them that it's easy for a few disappearances to slip through the cracks. But they aren't limitless. In the name of the moon, the lunar divinities must uncover the roots of the plot and thwart the true goal of those behind these attacks - control of the Impossible City itself. (Amazon)

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

NEW HEIGHTS

Let's get it out of the way: if you adored Middlegame but felt that Seasonal Fears was a bit of a letdown, you only need to read Tidal Creatures to fall in love with the series all over again. And no, not only because this time Roger and Dodger play a huge part in it (though it does help 😉 😍). For one, the amount of exposition is just right - there's a lot to take in, that's for sure, and some of the concepts are tackled more than once, but you never feel like you're hammered over the head with them when it happens. Every time the god-incarnate situation, the alchemical procedures or the Impossible City (a.k.a. the center of creation) are discussed, the reader is given a new piece of information, or sees a familiar event from a new angle (or from a new character's eyes), so that in the end everything is an essential tassel to the book's mosaic, the same way as the Lunar gods need to come together to become the Moon that shines over the City itself. But this is just one of the reasons why this book restored my faith in the series... [...]

Kelly Link: "The Book of Love" (ARC Review)

Title: The Book of Love [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Kelly Link [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Supernatural, Thriller/Mystery
Year: 2024
Age: 16+ (the protagonists are 18 and 17, and on the whole it's more of a NA book than a YA one...The dealbreaker here are the pretty graphic sex scenes, definitely more appropriate for an older audience, but I'm hesitant to call this an "adult" book because of the characters' age)
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Imaginative, inclusive, delightfully quirky. Populated by flawed, yet endearing characters who feel very real. Written in an apparently effortless, yet magical (and sometimes funny) prose.
Cons: Long (though never boring) - if you prefer your books to be on the shorter side. Contains brief but frequent bouts of (graphic) sex - if you'd rather read clean books.
WARNING! Some horror/gore. Death of a parent. Grief. Racism. Sexual content.
Will appeal to: Those who like a dark yet magical, cheeky yet tender small-town fantasy with coming-of-age themes.

Blurb: Laura, Daniel and Mo disappeared without trace a year ago. They have long been presumed dead. Which they were. But now they are not. And it is up to the resurrected teenagers to discover what happened to them. Revived by Mr Anabin - the man they knew as their high school music teacher - they are offered a chance to return to the mortal realm. But first they must solve the mystery of their death and learn to use the magic they now possess. And only two of them may stay. What they do not realise is their return has upset a delicate balance that has held - just - for centuries. (Amazon)

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

I CONTAIN MULTITUDES

Every book whose synopsis promises dead/undead protagonists is guaranteed to have my attention - though I don't necessarily read all of them. But The Book of Love turned out to be much more than the story of three deceased teens who come back to life. For one, it encompasses a number of genres - building on its afterlife premise, it soon turns into a mystery, a supernatural fantasy with a magical-realism feel, and a strong coming-of-age narrative, while even incorporating a tongue-in-cheek, yet fond homage to romance novels. It's both dreamy and brutal, tender and acerbic, with messy characters you can't help but love and who feel like flesh and blood even when they're...something else. It's a love letter to music and writing. It touches upon/explores all kinds to familial bonds/relationships, even the strained ones (divorced/absent parents, sibling rivalries, your friends' friends whom you don't necessarily like). It's got queer and POC rep done right (also, "trans women are women" 👍), and it addresses racism in different forms (I particularly appreciated the discourse about publishing as a Black author in the typically white romance panorama. The book is set in 2014, but I'm afraid part of that still stands). At the end of the day, if this novel does incorporate a few familiar tropes (some of them slightly Buffy-adjacent), it spins them into an imaginative story that's much bigger than the sum of its parts. [...]

B.C. Johnson: "Deadgirl: Daybreak" (ARC Review)

Title: Deadgirl: Daybreak [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Deadgirl (4th of 5 books, but there's also a novella about a side character that is chronologically book 2.5 in the series - though best read after book 3 if you want to avoid a spoiler about its ending)
Author: B.C. Johnson [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Contemporary
Year: 2024
Age: 14+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Imaginative plot. Unique, mind-blowing afterlife concept/visuals. Flawed yet lovable characters who manage to feel realistic in the middle of mayhem.
Cons: Very dark in places (though tempered with funny dialogue/inner monologue). More of a slow-burn than the previous installments. Features some questionable characters' choices.
WARNING! Horror, gore and heartbreak (both for the characters and the readers). Underage drinking. A couple of nudity/underage sex scenes (though not graphic/detailed, mostly happening offscreen). An instance of infidelity. An animal sacrifice. Lots of language.
Will appeal to: Those who love afterlife scenarios. Those who enjoy a mix of laughter and tears, action and strong feelings. Those who like brave, resourceful teens who don't pose as heroes.

Blurb: The final year of high school approaches, and Lucy is ready to break. Too many of her friends have died. Too many monsters have taken their bite. And now Lucy must face her greatest challenge of all: the end of everything she knows. With high school disappearing and the world before her, Lucy must make her choice on what's to come. But with the rise of an old enemy who's been stalking her for three years - and a rapidly dwindling supply of allies - can Lucy even make it to graduation? And more importantly, does she want to? (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I received this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review. And the author being B.C. Johnson, you all know I've been campaigning for his first Deadgirl book with all my might since 2013, when I read the original version. Also, B.C. Johnson and me have stayed in touch, if sporadically, for the whole time. I'm not what you would call a friend of his though, only a fan of his work. And an unbiased one. As usual, this review is the love child of my penchant for quirky, uniquely worded books and B.C. Johnson's ability to deliver them.

THE LONG GAME

Seven years have passed since the last Deadgirl installment (or six, if you count the Daphne novella in 2018...not like one year makes a huge difference), but B.C. Johnson hasn't lost his touch. It's funny, because Daybreak is a bit of a slow burn compared to the other books in the series, especially since the first 100 pages include lots of domestic scenes (if a funeral can be considered "domestic", but you know what I mean) and the main plot seems to revolve around the protagonists' alliance with a certain faction, which isn't my favourite thing to read about. But all this turns out to be a necessary premise to the most exciting (and heartbreaking...and heartwarming - usually, with Johnson, the two go hand in hand) part of the story. Which is why, upon turning the last page, I went back and reread the whole thing, and enjoyed the hell out of it. It doesn't hurt that the afterlife where Lucy has been spending lots of her time since becoming a (still very human) phantom is everything I - the afterlife junk - crave for in a story and more. The Grey is imaginative, visually stunning, almost videogame-like at times, teeming with danger yet interspersed with pockets of love (literally) and beauty. Plus, hands down home to the best scenes in the book - and the most poignant. [...]

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovic: "You're Breaking My Heart" (ARC Review)

Title: You're Breaking My Heart [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovic [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist, Urban Fantasy/Portal Fantasy, Multiverse
Year: 2024
Age: 12+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Wild, imaginative, at times poetical journey into a teen's grief and sense of guilt. Ode to family and friendship.
Cons: A little confusing at times. Might pose some problems to readers who need all the answers.
WARNING! Death by gun/school shooting (off-page). Near-drowning.
Will appeal to: Those who like a snarky, yet vulnerable lead. Those who enjoy coming-of-age stories with grief as a catalyst set on a fantastic backdrop.

Blurb: Harriet Adu knows that her brother's death is her fault. I mean, it's not actually her fault, but it still kinda is, isn't it? She would do anything to live in a world where she could take back what she said that morning. Then a strange girl shows up at Harriet's high school – a girl who loves the same weird books Harriet does, who doesn't vibe with anyone at school the same way Harriet does – and that different world suddenly seems possible. The girl speaks of a place underneath the subways of New York, where people like them can go and find a home. A place away from the world of high school, grief, cool people, and depression. A place where one may be able to bend the lines of reality and get a second chance at being a better person. Will Harriet open the door? (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on Edelweiss. Thanks to Levine Querido (Chronicle Books) for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

MAKING WEAVES

First off - I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Not only it successfully merges different genres (coming of age, magical realism, portal fantasy, multiverse) by way of regular narrative and experimental devices (see the late chapter that reads like a sitcom, not to mention the switch from 3rd person to 1st person in Ch.11), but it manages to tell a heartfelt, insightful story about grief and regret and facing your demons.

Harriet is a self-deprecating, acerbic Black teen living in New York, who's gradually distanced herself from her older brother Tunde, their cousin Nikka and their friend Luke, until Tunde dies in a school shooting on the very day she ended one of their arguments with "I wish you were dead". Nine months after, now enrolled in the same school Nikka attends and suffering from serious Tragic New Girl syndrome, almost-15 Harriet still blames herself for her brother's death, and would do anything to take those words back. Rhuday-Perkovic looks compassionately (yet humorously) at family and school conflicts, as well as internal ones, only to move the latter on the backdrop of a fever-dream scenario (think Alice in Wonderland, but with a deeper, more cohesive and more straightforward meaning) that promises confort if you're willing to pay a price, and that ultimately forces Harriet to make a choice. [...]

Michael Karolewski: "The Prophet's Debt" (ARC Review)

Title: The Prophet's Debt [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Valcara Incorporated (2nd of 6 books)
Author: Michael Karolewski [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Urban Fantasy
Year: 2023
Age: 18+
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Creative spin on the afterlife. Good blend of fast-paced and introspective. Flawed yet relatable lead.
Cons: More complex and a tad less exciting than Book 1 (probably since the afterlife setting plays a smaller role). Sees the main character suffer a setback in terms of self-destructive habits. Ends on a cliffhanger.
WARNING! Imprisonment and torture of a kid. Attempted suicide. Death by fire. Stabbing. Animal death. Bug horror. Brainwashing. Alcohol and drug abuse. 
Will appeal to: Those who're looking for a fresh take on the afterlife. Those who can root for an antihero on an erratic redemption path.

Blurb: Rose Ryder may have prevented an apocalypse, but her work is far from over. After hearing her friend Jade call out for help from beyond the grave, Rose will stop at nothing to find her soul. Her quest brings her back to Valcara, where she learns her heroism on Earth has attracted the scorn of powerful Valcarans. However, she finds an unlikely ally in the corrupt soul who previously exploited her: Anita Munroe. Back on Earth, Rose encounters treacherous factions in her covert mission to expose interdimensional collusion. A paranormal support group led by a suspected murderer. A sinister magic company that conceals corporate sins with shiny marketing tricks. And most troubling for Rose, the unexpected return of a villain from her past. At every turn, Valcaran interference bleeds through, revealing startling connections between the mortal world and the afterlife. Contending with betrayal and renewed fears of cosmic devastation, Rose realizes that rescuing Jade's soul from damnation may require dooming her own...and the world she gave up heaven to save. (Goodreads)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I received a review copy from the author after joining his mailing list and volunteering to read this book. This didn't influence my review in any way.

RICH TAPESTRY

I stand by my word about the Valcara Incorporated series: it's a very imaginative (if a bit disheartening 😂) spin on the afterlife, with strong imagery and an interesting protagonist to boot. To be precise, in this second installment, the narrative is split between Rose (former office drone and unacknowledged world saviour) and Dan (paranormal investigator and inexperienced mind-hopper), whose paths skirt each other and loosely dance around the same people and/or situations, until they come together and a certain reveal takes place (honestly, I didn't see that one coming). Dan brings a different perspective to the table - one that straddles the line between the magical and the mundane instead of the one between life and afterlife - and comes with his own (double) baggage, which makes for an intriguing backstory. The plot is complex and rich, with on one hand Dan's investigation into a little girl's disappearance (which will open a whole can of worms), on the other Rose's attempt to save her friend Jade's soul by infiltrating a paranormal support group and a "paranormal professionals" organization, thus playing double agent for different factions, all while making a startling discovery about the state of her own soul (another twist that I didn't see coming). Oh, and did I mention that, in the meantime, someone is still causing monsters from the Void to bleed out of portals and onto Earth? [...]

Michael Karolewski: "The Soul Sector"

Title: The Soul Sector [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Valcara Incorporated (1st of 6 books)
Author: Michael Karolewski [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Urban Fantasy
Year: 2021 (reissued 2023)
Age: 18+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Creative spin on the afterlife. Good blend of fast-paced and introspective. Flawed yet relatable lead with a solid redemption arc.
Cons: Might feel a bit too long if you don't click with the main lead, since a good chunk of the novel deals with her backstory, everyday life and moral swings. Ends on a cliffhanger. Gay characters get proper attention and sympathy, yet they seem doomed to feel guilty.
WARNING! Alcoholism/alcoholic parents. Attempted suicide. Drug addiction/overdose (off page). Casual homophobia/slut shaming (countered). Road accidents. Violence, blood and gore. Spiders. A couple of brief/not overly graphic sex scenes (in case you're not comfortable with those).
Will appeal to: Those who're looking for a fresh take on the afterlife/apocalypse. Those who can root for an antihero on a redemption path. Those who enjoy a Good Place vibe, only with corruption and mayhem.

Blurb: Rose Ryder never believed in the afterlife. Until she ended up there. When she finds herself in Valcara, a dystopian purgatory where souls are bought and sold, she is focused on only one thing - reuniting with her deceased younger sister. But Rose quickly learns her premature arrival violates Fate’s design. After a Valcaran company recruits Rose as their secret weapon, she becomes entangled in an industry that straddles the realms of the living and the dead. At the mercy of a divine corporation she doesn’t fully trust, Rose is sent back to Earth to meddle in mortal affairs. As she uncovers corruption on a cosmic scale, she realizes greed and deception extend beyond the grave. She wishes to free herself from the job, but her Valcaran employers hold the ultimate bargaining chip - if Rose refuses to cooperate, they will send her sister’s soul to Hell. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: this book was up for grabs on NetGalley (in the Read Now section). Thanks to Michael Karolewski for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

CORPORATE SOUL

This book fell through the cracks for me when it first came out, so I'm glad the author decided to revamp it and put it on NetGalley to build some series awareness, since Book 2 is due in a few days! (on October 31st, to be precise).

Anything with an afterlife setting or dealing with the subject never fails to pique my interest, but it's not an automatic win for me. Exactly because I love the genre, I'm very picky about it - and I'm pleased to say, The Soul Sector hit a lot of right notes for me. For one, it brings a fresh concept to the table (as far as I know - what I can say is that I've never come across a similar one before): Purgatory (here called Valcara) as a very Earth-like stock market trading in souls instead of shares, often with a complete disregard of morality issues. In addition to serving as a clearinghouse for Heaven and Hell, Valcara is also a world between worlds, where - besides Earthlings - a number of non-human creatures (well, souls) end up as well, while waiting for (more like, earning) their forever placement. Lots of colourful characters populate this imaginative setting, that nevertheless is only the tip of the iceberg, since Karolewski hints at a much larger universe - not to mention, he's got no less than six books planned for the series. At any rate, Valcara  is only partially the backdrop for this installment's events: the story has one foot firmly planted on Earth, and no, that doesn't make it (half) boring (not only because there's a generous amount of interdimensional chaos in the end 😂. Not saying more because...SPOILERS). [...]

Michael James: "The Elevator at the Brink of Infinity" (ARC review)

Title: The Elevator at the Brink of Infinity [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Hotel (3rd of 3 books)
Author: Michael James [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Multiverse
Year: 2022
Age: 16+
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Entertaining twist on the portal fantasy/multiverse genre and the accidental heroes + found family tropes. Humorous and adrenalinic, but also poignant.
Cons: A few unexplained occurrences. The humour might not be everyone's cup of tea.
WARNING! Gore and violence. A (peculiar) sex encounter is implied, but not described.
Will appeal to: Those who like a crazy story that never lets up about a bunch of improbable heroes.

Blurb: Vain and her friends have been scattered across the universe.
A new threat has risen to take over the Hotel.
The Elevator opens its doors for the final adventure. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I specifically requested an ecopy from the author. This didn't influence my review in any way.

STEP UP

In Book 1 of The Hotel, Vain and Roman were on the run from the titular building's emissaries - a collective of clones called the Wyatts - after being kept prisoners there and exploited of their life energy to replenish the seemingly endless Well (but wait, there was more to it). While trying to dodge the Wyatts, they met Emma (who was just coming into her powers) and reconnected with a few old friends. In Book 2, an incident forced the gang back into the Hotel in search of a healer, and they found themselves thrust into a deadly battle centering around the same Well where their energy used to be channelled. Now our heroes (or those who made it) are scattered: some have landed in a parallel, but slightly twisted (and past) reality; some are stranded in a dangerous alternate universe; some are stuck at the Hotel, which is taking its revenge under a new, even crueler management. I enjoyed the first and the third narrative threads the most - the parallel reality offers a lot in terms of character development/backstory, while at the Hotel things get even more insane than usual and require for our heroes to use their heads along with their powers, with interesting results. Comic relief and high stakes/poignant moments are more balanced than in the previous installments, and especially toward the end, there's a previously unmatched level of intensity that hinges on our characters' feelings, growth and relationships more than it does on their powers and the peril they're in, which is a nice change from the action romp of Book 2 (despite its being highly entertaining). [...]

Seanan McGuire: "Seasonal Fears"

Title: Seasonal Fears [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Alchemical Journeys (2nd of 5 books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural
Year: 2022
Age: 16+ (the characters are in the teen age range, but the series as a whole is geared to mature teens/adults for content and complexity)
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Fascinating concept (with a twist). Rich mythology. Characters you can root for.
Cons: Far too much exposition (counterintuitively though, the magic system takes a while to sink in). Some anticlimactic moments. A continuity error.
WARNING! Blood and gore. Violence. Suicide idealisation.
Will appeal to: Those who love a (bloody) twist on the soul-mates trope. 

Blurb: The king of winter and the queen of summer are dead. The fight for their crowns begins!
Melanie has a destiny, though it isn’t the one everyone assumes it to be. She’s delicate; she’s fragile; she’s dying. Now, truly, is the winter of her soul.
Harry doesn’t want to believe in destiny, because that means accepting the loss of the one person who gives his life meaning, who brings summer to his world. So, when a new road is laid out in front of them - a road that will lead through untold dangers toward a possible lifetime together - walking down it seems to be the only option.
But others are following behind, with violence in their hearts.
It looks like Destiny has a plan for them, after all… (Amazon)

Review: As much as I loved Middlegame, this sidequel (not a real sequel, just a story set in the same universe, though it follows the events recounted in the first book and brings us up to speed with its protagonists) missed the mark for me somehow. I would still have rated it 4 stars, if not for a continuity error - more of that below. Brace for the long-ass review...
(P.S.: don't you love it when a book cover finally matches your blog aesthetic? 😅 OK, it's my second McGuire that does that, the first being Dying with Her Cheer Pants On...).

MELTING POT

Seasonal Fears apparently leaves the alchemical world of Middlegame behind in order to embrace a classic supernatural/urban fantasy premise: while in the first book entities like Language and Math got alchemically embodied in artificially assembled hosts (in order for the alchemist to attain world domination...but it turned out that the hosts had different plans), in this case the seasons - namely, Winter and Summer, the most powerful ones - become manifest as well, but naturally, and by inhabiting human vessels. The trick is, every time the Winter and Summer crowns get to change hands, there are multiple viable candidates, who have to engage in a deadly competition (to be precise, they're already dead at that point - only animated by the tendril of their season that lives inside every one of them - and if they fail to secure the crown, their connection to it is severed, causing them to wither and die for good). Now, you might ask, how does this book belong in a series called Alchemical Journeys? THAT I won't tell you, because it's one of the reveals (though it comes pretty early in the story), but rest assured, it does. Leave it to McGuire to build a world where (pseudo)science and magic meet and thrive, providing a twist on familiar tropes and ultimately spinning a (mainly) original tale. [...]

Max Gladstone: "Last Exit"

Title: Last Exit [on Amazon | on Amazon UK | on Goodreads] (Note: I got my copy from the UK-based publisher Titan Books, so I'm using the UK cover and I'm linking to Amazon UK along with Amazon.com; but I decided to use the US blurb because it follows the story more accurately. The US version was published by Tor Books in March; the UK version came out this month)
Series: None
Author: Max Gladstone [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Multiverse, Urban Fantasy (more precisely, Portal Fantasy)
Year: 2022
Age: 16+
Stars: 5/5
Pros: Engrossing, visionary yet painfully rooted in reality, with excellent characterisation and writing to boot.
Cons: There's a lot to absorb for a single story, both plot- and writing-wise: it takes a patient and disciplined reader not to get lost.
WARNING! Blood and gore. Bug horror. Suicidal thoughts.
Will appeal to: Those who want to get lost in a brutal, yet poetical work of fiction.

Blurb: Ten years ago, Zelda led a band of merry adventurers whose knacks let them travel to alternate realities and battle the black rot that threatened to unmake each world. Zelda was the warrior; Ish could locate people anywhere; Ramon always knew what path to take; Sarah could turn catastrophe aside. Keeping them all connected: Sal, Zelda’s lover and the group's heart. Until their final, failed mission, when Sal was lost. When they all fell apart. Ten years on, Ish, Ramon, and Sarah are happy and successful. Zelda is alone, always traveling, destroying rot throughout the US. When it boils through the crack in the Liberty Bell, the rot gives Zelda proof that Sal is alive, trapped somewhere in the alts. Zelda’s getting the band back together - plus Sal’s young cousin June, who has a knack none of them have ever seen before. As relationships rekindle, the friends begin to believe they can find Sal and heal all the worlds. It’s not going to be easy, but they’ve faced worse before. But things have changed, out there in the alts. And in everyone's hearts. (Amazon)

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

ABOVE AND BEYOND

When I first stumbled upon Last Exit, I thought it had all the marks of a book that I would love, but ultimately, it exceeded my expectations. I'm a sucker for alternate realities and a ragtag, apparently doomed band of adventurers trying to save the world against all odds. I did get the crazy worlds and their in-between, the dysfunctional found family, the road trip rife with danger and mystery (ha! the characters do have an exchange about the usage of the word "rife", and apparently, it stuck with me). But nothing, not even the excerpt I read before turning in my request, prepared me for the characters' being so much more than the literal driving force (because you know, road trip) of the story, the made-up worlds' allowing for a sharp social commentary, and the writing's being nothing short of evocative (poetical at times), despite the horrors our heroes endure. [...]

Walter Goodwater: "The Liar of Red Valley" (ARC Review)

Title: The Liar of Red Valley  [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Walter Goodwater [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Fantasy, Contemporary with a Twist
Year: 2021
Age: 14+ (I shelved it as Adult because of the main character's age, but it can be read by teens)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Original blend of classic fantasy and magical realism, with a small dose of social commentary. Plenty of action, twists and turns (often shocking ones). Brave, resourceful lead.
Cons: While being nice/relatable, the characters (and their relationships) could have used more depth.
WARNING! Blood, gore and monsters. An instance of police brutality.
Will appeal to: Those who are looking for a supernatural story with a classic feel, yet off the beaten path.

Blurb: In Red Valley, California, you follow the rules if you want to stay alive. But they won’t be enough to protect Sadie now that she’s become the Liar, the keeper of the town’s many secrets. Friendships are hard-won here, and it isn’t safe to make enemies. And though the Liar has power - power to remake the world, with just a little blood - what Sadie really needs is answers: Why is the town’s sheriff after her? What does the King want from her? And what is the real purpose of the Liar of Red Valley? (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Solaris/Rebellion Publishing for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

HER-STORY IN THE MAKING

The first thing I look for in my books is, go figure, an "offbeat" element - so I supposed that, with a story where the heroine can "remake the world, with just a little blood", I couldn't go wrong. But TLORV turned out to be even more peculiar - and decidedly more surprising - than I anticipated. I was ready for a healthy dose of reality warping, with outrageous but entertaining results...wow, I had no idea.

After her mother's sudden death, Sadie takes over her role as the Liar...too bad she doesn't have a clue how her power is supposed to work. Now, you might wonder why, if Sadie was destined to succeed her mother, she's been kept in the dark about the tricks of her trade - except there's an excellent reason, which also makes for the last and most stunning twist in a book that's got plenty of them. Tension escalates while Sadie uncovers to what extent her mother has been manipulating reality (there's actually a brilliant crescendo about her lies and the way they impact Sadie's present situation) and learns to use her power, plus tries to stay one step ahead of the monsters and humans who are after something her mother left her. That's where most of this book's strength lies for me - in the way the pace increases and the stakes get higher and higher, but even more in the way the twists/reveals gradually redesign our (and Sadie's) perception of what's real, until they pull the rug from under our feet. [...]

Seanan McGuire: "Dying with Her Cheer Pants On"

Title: Dying with Her Cheer Pants On  [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None...so far
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural, Urban Fantasy
Year: 2020
Age: 14+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Inventive twist on the cheerleader + teens-save-the-world tropes. Nice blend of humorous and poignant. Some excellent characterisation. 
Cons: Not all the leads are equally developed. Due to the stories being written in the span of a few years, there are some continuity errors/inconsistencies. The change in tone from story to story might not work for everyone.
WARNING! Blood and gore.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy a humorous approach to horror. Those who like the Chosen One(s) trope. In short, those who dig a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of vibe.

Blurb: Cheerleaders are seriously injured and even killed at a higher rate than other high school sports. The Fighting Pumpkins take that injury rate as a challenge. Students of Johnson’s Crossing High School, they answer to a higher calling than the pyramid and the basket toss, pursuing the pep rally that is rising up against mysteries and monsters, kicking gods with the pointed toes of professional athletes chasing a collegiate career. Meet Jude, half-vampire squad leader; Laurie, who can compel anyone to do as she asks; Heather, occasionally recreationally dead; Marti, strong enough to provide a foundation for any stunt; Colleen, who knows the rule book so well she may as well have written it; and Steph, who may or may not be the goddess of the harvest. The rest of the squad is ready to support them, and braced for the chaos of the big game, which may have a big body count. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: This collection started off as as seven individual short stories published in different anthologies over the span of ten years, to which the author ultimately added three brand new ones when they became their own book in 2020. Please note: the physical release is out of stock (you can only buy ridiculously priced second-hand copies on Amazon), but of course the ebook version is still available. Please also note - I did my research and peppered my review with cheerleading-related puns 😉. Finally, lo and behold...after 8 year and 10 months, I finally got to feature a book that matches my blog aestethic! 💃 😂

SINGLE-BASED DOUBLE CUPIE [1]

It's no secret that I pretty much love (or, at worst, like) everything Seanan McGuire writes. This collection is a litte different from her usual production, in that the stories it incorporates are more humorous/over the top than average - though, as the author herself states in prefacing one of them,

The more time I spend with the Fighting Pumpkins, who are in some ways the comedy relief of my ongoing universes, the more I come to understand how tragic they really are, and how many terrible things are lurking in the corners of their lives.

In short, the Fighting Pumpkins are a cheerleader squad - or, it turns out, a whole legacy of them - tasked with battling monsters and restoring the world's balance both via some superpower-fueled kick-assing and the actual, fine art of cheerleading. It's true that - regardless of the consequences and the body count - these stories (except for Turn the Year Around, easily my favourite) have a somehow lighter, more absurdist feel than I usually dig in my books, but the fact is, McGuire can get away with anything. Her characters are solid and sympathetic (which doesn't necessarily mean likeable, but you never fail to understand what makes them tick and to feel for them nevertheless), her imaginations knows no bound but is disciplined enough to build worlds you can buy into, and her writing is masterful (because yeah, the patches of telling-not-showing in her Wayward Children series are intentional, and they fit that kind of stories). So it comes as no surprise that, even when tackling the cheerleader trope and placing it in a universe where they can have a pep rally context with their alien counterpart, McGuire would pull it off (though the moments when she gets more serious/deep/philosophical are still my favourite, and oh, there are a few, and they will break your heart a little). So, yeah - DWHCPO is, ultimately, a book with two souls from an author who's strong enough to support (and juggle) both of them. [...]

Seanan McGuire: "Indexing" (Series Review)

Titles: Indexing  [on Amazon | on Goodreads] & Reflections [on Amazon | on Goodreads]

Series: Indexing

Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]

Genres: Metafiction, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural

Year: 2013-2016

Age: 16+

Stars: 5/5

Pros: Inventive, exciting, trope-subverting and -abiding at the same time. Heart-warming and funny around a dark core.

Cons: Not every story is tightly connected to the others, but it's likely that they weren't written with a book in mind at first (and they do provide a sense of unity nevertheless). While both books are self-contained, there are a few loose thread (mainly one) that were clearly supposed to be picked up in a sequel or more, except none was released.

WARNING! Horror and gore.

Will appeal to: Metafiction and retelling enthusiasts. Also people who don't usually like retellings, but enjoy a creative spin on (dark) fable archetypes.

Blurb for Indexing: For most people, the story of their lives is just that: the accumulation of time, encounters, and actions into a cohesive whole. But for an unfortunate few, that day-to-day existence is affected - perhaps infected is a better word - by memetic incursion: where fairy tale narratives become reality, often with disastrous results. That's where the ATI Management Bureau steps in, an organization tasked with protecting the world from fairy tales, even while most of their agents are struggling to keep their own fantastic archetypes from taking over their lives. When you're dealing with storybook narratives in the real world, it doesn't matter if you're Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or the Wicked Queen: no one gets a happily ever after.. (Amazon excerpt)

Blurb for Reflections: The struggle against not-so-charming storybook narratives isn’t the only complicating factor in Henrietta “Henry” Marchen’s life. As part of the ATI Management Bureau team protecting the world from fairy tales gone awry, she’s juggling her unwanted new status as a Snow White, dealing with a potentially dangerous Pied Piper, and wrangling a most troublesome wicked stepsister - along with a budding relationship with Jeff, her teammate. But when a twisted, vicious Cinderella breaks out of prison and wreaks havoc, things go from disenchanted to deadly. And once Henry realizes someone is trying to use her to destroy the world, her story becomes far from over - and this one might not have a happily ever after. (Amazon excerpt) 

Review: As a rule, I don't do series review. I'm a firm believer in the fact that each and every book has its own unique personality. I've only done that a few times for different reasons, and in this case, my reason is that the last installment is five years old already and there aren't new books scheduled (which is a real bummer). Please note: these books were initially released in episodes as Kindle Serials. I'm not even sure that the author had a "proper" book planned at the time, which would explain the lack of an overall narrative arc, at least for (part of) Book 1.

Michael James: "The Hotel at the End of Time"

Title: The Hotel at the End of Time [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: The Hotel (1st of 3 books)
Author: Michael James [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Supernatural
Year: 2021
Age: 16+
Stars: 3.5/5
Pros: Entertaining twist on the portal fantasy/multiverse genre and the accidental heroes + found family tropes. Humorous and adrenalinic.
Cons: The purpose of the Hotel is unclear. The characters could use more growth/development. One of them comes into their powers unbelievably fast.
WARNING! Gore and violence.
Will appeal to: Those who like a crazy story that never lets up about a bunch of improbable heroes.

Blurb: Vain is the only person to ever escape from the Hotel at the end of time. On her way out, she took their prized possession: a Padlock that grants immortality. They will do anything to get it back. The forces of the Hotel are aligned against her: mundane items turned into weapons; a group of multi-dimensional felons collectively named The Wyatts; and their leader, Trick, a mild-to-medium psychopath with a fondness for impractical jokes. Everything changes when Vain meets Emma, a timid grad student with impossible and terrifying powers. Together, they are propelled into an adventure that will see them battle the Wyatts, blow up several objects of significant value, and quite by accident, discover a way to stop the Hotel. (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: this title was up for grabs on NetGalley (in the Read Now section). Thanks to the author for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

BLOODY FUNNY

First thing first: this book was great fun. Please remember that while you make your way through my list of nitpickings 😉. Fun is a valid reason to read a book, even when you think it's a little unpolished (but still remarkable for an indie. I've read traditionally published books far more in need of a good editor. Like, there was an instance of "it's" for "its" in here, but as I said, non-indie books have their share of issues...).

Secondly: the blurb is a little misleading. Vain isn't "the only person to ever escape from the Hotel at the end of time". And she and Emma aren't the only main characters in the story - Vain fled the Hotel with Roman, a male friend who's bonded to her in a peculiar way (nothing that you've seen before, to the best of my knowledge).

I don't have a problem with quiet books, but I must admit I'm a sucker for a fast-paced story, especially if it involves multiple universes (at least as a premise) and people with powers clashing with other people with powers, or trying to get away from them. The Hotel is a place with access to a number of different versions of our reality, where people with special abilities have their memories wiped and then get bonded together in order to pour energy into a bottomless well. Two years prior to the book's start, Vain and Roman were able to escape (with a little help, that is) bringing a magical artifact with them, and they've been on the run ever since. Enter Emma, a quiet student who's on the Hotel's radar, and things get ever more hectic...except Vain and Roman have a chance against the Hotel now that Emma is in the picture. What ensues (but also precedes their encounter) is a series of crazy and funny - yet often deliciously bloody - incidents, involving a series of identical Hotel minions who aren't clones, a Hotel second-in-command named Trick for a good reason, temperament clashes, old frenemies, and new, terrifying powers. Did I tell you this book was great fun? [...]

Seanan McGuire: "Angel of the Overpass" (ARC Review)

Title: Angel of the Overpass [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Ghost Roads (3rd of ?? books)
Author: Seanan McGuire [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Afterlife, Urban Fantasy
Year: 2021
Age: 14+ (but I shelved it as Adult because the lead, though technically 16, has been around for decades as a ghost)
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Engaging character voice. Creative spin(s) on a few classic urban legends. Humour, depth and heart.
Cons: A bit meandering. Recaps too much of the previous installments while dropping a bomb from a related series in our laps.
WARNING! There's a road accident (with kids involved) sporting some potentially disturbing imagery, and an instance of homophobia. 
Will appeal to: Urban legend fans. Readers with a penchant for dead characters who know how to come alive on the page.

Blurb: Rose Marshall died when she was sixteen years old and on her way to her high school prom. She hasn’t been resting easy since then - Bobby Cross, the man who killed her, got away clean after running her off the road, and she’s not the kind of girl who can let something like that slide. She’s been looking for a way to stop him since before they put her body in the ground. But things have changed in the twilight world where the spirits of the restless dead continue their “lives.” The crossroads have been destroyed, and Bobby’s protections are gone. For the first time, it might be possible for Rose to defeat him. Not alone, though. She’ll need every friend she’s managed to make and every favor she’s managed to add to her account if she wants to stand a chance…and this may be her last chance to be avenged, since what is Bobby Cross without the crossroads? Everything Rose knows is about to change. (Amazon)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley and Edelweiss, and got approved for it on both sites. Thanks to DAW Books for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

THE LONG AND THRILLING ROAD

I love this series with all my heart and soul, and there's plenty to love about it - from its engaging main character and her backstory to its rich mythology. I have to be honest though: this time I ran into a few bumps in the road (or, well, in the Ghost Roads 😁), and even if I cherished the time I spent in Rose's world and the ending went above and beyond my expectations, I'm not going to pretend those bumps never happened. Anyhow, let's start with the reasons why this book was almost a five-star read:

• McGuire has a strong hold on the protagonist (well, all her characters really - practically none of them is short of tridimensional and complex), and I never tire of staying in Rose's head. Everyone who's familiar with my blog knows how much I love my dead/undead book people, but Rose is a special case - a 16 y.o. girl pushing 90 in ghost age, which makes for the most interesting character ambivalence/development (mind you, it's not like she sounds 16 and 80+ at the same time - she sounds like "an ageless being with a grown woman's/creature's wisdom and sass, and a girl's heart underneath", as I said in my review for the first installment. I stand by my words). And yes...I said "character development", because all the best dead/undead book people grow, despite their predicament. Just when I was thinking that Rose might have no more (un)life left in her, McGuire pulled an awesome twist, and now...everything's going to stay the same, except everything changed. If the powers-that-be are listening, I DEMAND more Rose adventures (because I know the author, for her part, would be nothing but happy to provide them).
• This world is to die for - no pun intended. It's got "ghost cars, highways turned goddesses, itinerant or multilayered diners" (from my review of the second installment) and much more...all kinds of urban legends you can think of, and even a few you can't, because McGuire either put a spin on them or created them from scratch. This book in particular weaves a bunch of new details into the geography of the dead, and gives us both new perspectives about characters we already know and new characters to get acquainted with...some of which decidedly unusual.
• For a ghost world, things get real enough. See Rose and Gary's relationship. I admire a writer who doesn't shy from real, whatever the cost.
• The writing. Duh. [...]