Author: Meg

BOOK REVIEW: The Unquiet Heart, by Kaite Welsh

- Meg

BOOK REVIEW: The Unquiet Heart, by Kaite WelshTitle: The Unquiet Heart by Kaite Welsh
Series: Sarah Gilchrist #2
Published by Pegasus Books
Published: February 21st 2019
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

Kaite Welsh's thrilling THE UNQUIET HEART is the second in the gothic Sarah Gilchrist series, following a medical student turned detective in Victorian Edinburgh.

Sarah Gilchrist has no intention of marrying her dull fiancé Miles, the man her family hope will restore her reputation and put an end to her dreams of becoming a doctor, but when he is arrested for a murder she is sure he didn't commit she finds herself his reluctant ally. Beneath the genteel façade of upper class Edinburgh lurks blackmail, adultery, poison and madness and Sarah must return to Edinburgh's slums, back alleys and asylums as she discovers the dark past about a family where no one is what they seem, even Miles himself. It also brings her back into the orbit of her mercurial professor, Gregory Merchiston - he sees Sarah as his protegee, but can he stave off his demons long enough to teach her the skills that will save her life?

 I read the first Sarah Gilchrist book last year? The year before? And I fell in love with it. Sarah Gilchrist is a medical student at the University of Edinburgh, and in this second installment of the series, Sarah is trying not to marry her fiance Miles. In the midst of the drama surrounding her upcoming wedding, Miles is arrested for a murder Sarah is sure he didn’t commit, and she becomes his ally in trying to clear his name while maintaining the delicate balance of her own reputation.

I love Sarah’s voice. She’s a strong-willed individual who finds it difficult to balance what she wants in her life while trying to balance what’s expected of hers by others. She knows she’ll never be able to live up to those expectations, and her professor Gregory Merchiston encourages Sarah to find her own way. Welsh weaves in traditional mystery tropes with historical fiction and feminism, and the writing and the story is fresh, engaging, and wonderful. I also loved the weaving in of what happened in the first book without it feeling like an info dump, because there were some details I had forgotten or was glad to be reminded about. The hint of romance near the end is swoon-worthy, because who doesn’t love a quietly-pining, broody someone?

If you’re interested in feminist historical fiction with strong characters with a setting that feels like you’re completely immersed, definitely check out this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pegasus Books for the digital advance copy! All opinions are my own.

Waiting on Wednesday, SFF edition!

- Meg

Oof, the last time I did a post like this was back in October! Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine (though it seems as though it’s been a while since she updated that particular blog, so if you know of the current host, if there is one, please let me know) that highlights upcoming releases that we’re impatiently waiting for. This week I’m highlighting some new/upcoming fantasy books that I can’t wait to read!

GIDEON THE NINTH – TAMSYN MUIR

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth “unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.” Rebecca Roanhorse calls it the “Gothic space fantasy” she didn’t know she needed. Um. GIVE IT TO ME. September is TOO FAR AWAY. It releases September 10, 2019!

AN ILLUSION OF THIEVES – CATE GLASS

Being a sorcerer is a death sentence. But “when a plot to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil war is uncovered, only Romy knows how to stop it. To do so, she’ll have to rely on newfound allies—a swordmaster, a silversmith, and her own thieving brother. And they’ll need the very thing that could condemn them all: magic.” Magic and politics and an amazing cover? Yesss. I actually preordered this one, and I’m going to read it soon! It released May 21, 2019.

THE GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW – SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA

The “Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore” and it’s set in the Jazz Age? Give me those fairy tales, and give me them set in the Jazz Age because I think it’s a perfect setting for some “modern” fairy tales. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Gods of Jade and Shadow comes out July 23, 2019.

SEVEN BLADES IN BLACK – SAM SYKES

I’ve followed Sam for a long time on Twitter and I think he’s hilarious, and I still haven’t read any of his books. I bought The City Stained Red forever ago, but something about Seven Blades in Black is calling to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for stories told by people after the fact and I like somewhat unreliable narrators. She was “betrayed by those she trusted most, her magic torn from her and awaiting execution, Sal the Cacophony has one last tale to tell before they take her head. All she has left is her name, her story and the weapon she used to carved both.” It came out April 9, 2019!

THE HARP OF KINGS – JULIET MARILLIER

I read Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest ages ago as part of my “must read all the fairy tale retellings” (and now that I’m thinking about it, I’m due for a reread of some of those books), and I remember really falling in love with the world she created. When I saw that she was coming out with a new series about a WARRIOR BARD who needs to find and retrieve a “precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone mysteriously missing” AND “if the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the people could revolt. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom.” As soon as I read that, I WAS LIKE SIGN ME UP.

Are any of these on your radar? What are you looking forward to reading in the upcoming months?

BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow – E.K. Johnston

- Meg
BOOK REVIEW: Star Wars: Queen’s Shadow – E.K. JohnstonTitle: Star Wars: Queen's Shadow by E.K. Johnston
Published by Disney Lucasfilm Press
Published: March 5th 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 345
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

The end of her reign is just the beginning...

When Padmé Amidala steps down from her position as Queen of Naboo, she is ready to set aside her title and return to life outside of the spotlight. But to her surprise, the new queen asks Padmé to continue serving their people—this time in the Galactic Senate. Padmé is unsure about the new role but cannot turn down the request, especially since, thanks to her dearest friend—and decoy—Sabé, she can be in two places at once. So while Padmé plunges into politics, Sabé sets off on a mission dear to Padmé's heart.

On the glistening capital planet Coruscant, Padmé's new Senate colleagues regard her with curiosity—and with suspicion for her role in ousting the previous chancellor. Posing as a merchant on Tatooine, Sabé has fewer resources than she thought and fewer options than she needs.

Together with Padmé's loyal handmaidens, Padmé and Sabé must navigate treacherous politics, adapt to constantly changing landscapes, and forge a new identity beyond the queen's shadow.

I’ve fought evil, and it was easy: I shot it. It’s apathy I can’t stand.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out twenty years ago this month. That blows my mind, because I still remember when the promotional material started appearing everywhere and then finally seeing the movie and falling head over heels in love with Queen Amidala/Padmé Naberrie. I loved her character, her gowns, her handmaidens, and the way she was able to navigate her day to day life disguised as a handmaiden while her decoy Sabé assumed the persona of Queen Amidala.

Back then, I wanted to know more about Padmé, where she came from, and who she was behind the scenes. Over the years, there were a few things that were sprinkled into the Star Wars novels but not enough to fully satiate what I was wanting to see. Then comes E.K. Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow and it’s everything I’ve wanted for twenty years. And I only want more.

Queen’s Shadow is a quiet Star Wars novel, going behind the scenes and to the front lines of Padmé’s reign as queen and her time as senator. We’re able to see the connections between Episode I to Episode III from her perspective in a quietly tense, masterful way. You won’t see big battles on planets or in space, but you will get to see the heart and soul behind one of Star Wars’ most interesting characters. We also get to know Padmé’s handmaidens, and I was especially happy to see Sabé in this book.

I can’t really describe how I felt while reading this book, except that it was a good feeling and full of nostalgia. I was twelve when Episode I came out, and I was obsessed with Padmé’s costuming and character. I doodled her everywhere, I bought the dolls so I could marvel at the costumes in person and display them on my shelves (I still have them, too!). All I wanted was more of her from the movies and the extended universe, and it wasn’t until twenty years later that this wish was fulfilled. Queen’s Shadow is easily one of my favorite Star Wars novels of all time.

BOOK TAG: The TBR Book Tag

- Meg

I found this TBR book tag on Rae’s blog, Thrifty Bibliophile, and decided to do it! I’m partially a mood reader who likes the structure of a TBR when I can’t think of anything else to read. It’s a little reminder that I set parameters for myself and I actually do have something new to read!

HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF YOUR TBR LIST?

I keep a stack near my bed of immediate reads like ARCS, review copies, and maybe a small paper list for a monthly TBR, but otherwise I use Goodreads!

If you aren’t following me on Goodreads yet, let’s be friends!

 

IS YOUR TBR MOSTLY PRINT OR E-BOOK?

Ha, it’s mostly print, but I have been taking advantage of too many e-book sales.

 

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHICH BOOK FROM YOUR TBR TO READ NEXT?

I’m a little bit of a mood reader and a little bit of a planner. If I have reviews due soon, I’ll likely pick up the ARC/review copy so I can cross that off my list. A lot of the times I’ll just pick up a book I’ve just got or I’ve been meaning to read and go from there.

 

A BOOK THAT HAS BEEN ON YOUR TBR THE LONGEST:

According to Goodreads, it’s Peter York’s The Blue Riband: The Piccadilly Line, which is part of a series of Penguin books celebrating the London Underground. I never got around to buying them while I was over there, and I’ve not thought about them since. Hmm. Maybe this means I need to do another clean up of my Goodreads shelves…

 

A BOOK THAT YOU RECENTLY ADDED TO YOUR TBR LIST:

I added a lot to my Goodreads want to read shelf on Saturday, but Tochi Onyebuchi’s War Girls is one that I can’t wait to read!

 

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR STRICTLY BECAUSE OF ITS BEAUTIFUL COVER:

I saw Colette the film and I don’t know if I’ll ever really get around to reading this, but I love the cover.

 

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT YOU NEVER PLAN ON ACTUALLY READING:

Every Single Second, by Tricia Springstubb. So I’m deleting it right now.

 

AN UNPUBLISHED BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT YOU’RE EXCITED FOR:

TAMSYN MUIR’S GIDEON THE NINTH!!!!!

 

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT BASICALLY EVERYONE HAS READ BUT YOU:

V.E. Schwab’s Vengeful…

 

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR EVERYONE RECOMMENDS YOU:

Probably Jasper Fforde’s stuff. I read The Eyre Affair many years ago, but never got around to reading anything else of his.

 

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR YOU’RE VERY EXCITED TO READ:

Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree.

THE NUMBER OF BOOKS ON YOUR GOODREADS TBR SHELF:

846. I did a cleanout last summer and obviously added more. I might go back and do some rearranging this summer and continue to do it every year!

 

I TAG…

Whoever wants to do this tag!

BOOK REVIEW: The Light Brigade, by Kameron Hurley

- Meg

BOOK REVIEW: The Light Brigade, by Kameron HurleyTitle: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Published by Saga Press
Published: March 19th 2019
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 356
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Goodreads

From the Hugo Award­­–winning author of The Stars Are Legion comes a brand-new science fiction thriller about a futuristic war during which soldiers are broken down into light in order to get them to the front lines on Mars.

They said the war would turn us into light. I wanted to be counted among the heroes who gave us this better world.

The Light Brigade: it’s what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back…different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief—no matter what actually happens during combat.

Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on.

Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it’s hard to tell the difference.

A worthy successor to classic stories like Downbelow Station, Starship Troopers, and The Forever War, The Light Brigade is award-winning author Kameron Hurley’s gritty time-bending take on the future of war.

 When Kameron Hurley’s The Stars are Legion came out in 2017, I devoured it and recommended it to everyone who ever asked me for a recommendation. I since then have bought everything Hurley has written (a lot of it is still on the TBR) and preordered The Light Brigade as soon as I could.

Dietz is a non-citizen in a corporate-driven future in which citizenship is highly valued. When her home city is destroyed by a separatist Mars, Dietz signs up to join the military in order to have her revenge. Dietz discovers that the military has designed their own tech for travel — it involves breaking oneself down into particles of light and beaming from one zone to another. Of course the process isn’t perfect, and results in a lot of body horror and what it means to be contained in a physical body. Sometimes military sci-fi seems inaccessible to me because I’m not entirely too familiar with weapons and a whole lot of military protocol, but Hurley makes it easy, and that’s a difficult job to do. I felt like I could imagine myself being in Dietz’s place the whole time, struggling through her decisions and actions and rejoicing when she found shreds of hope.

The Light Brigade is everything I hoped for and more. It seriously exceeded my expectations and has already landed on my top ten reads of the year. Hurley harkens back to classic military sci-fi flavors while making it simultaneously, terrifically modern. Hurley doesn’t hold back on her examinations of capitalism, what would happen if corporations went beyond “being human” in the eyes of the law, war, sanity, time; and Hurley does this with so much passion and emotion that made it difficult to put the book down. I had to keep reading because I wanted to see where she’d take this.

It’s a sharp, dazzling sci-fi masterpiece that deserves a place on your shelf. It’s a little bit Haldeman, a little bit PKD, and a little bit Heinlein, but Hurley takes it to the next level. So pick it up, and The Stars Are Legion if you haven’t read that yet either.