The cover of The Matzah Ball. Why yes, I am looking forward to the movie (rights were optioned in Feb 2022!) The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer is a Hanukkah romance. Basically, take the tropes of any Hallmark Christmas movie and make it Hanukkah. If you've seen any of those movies, you'll love the little nods to those plot beats. The main character, Rachel, is the daughter of a famous rabbi, but she has a secret--she writes Christmas romance novels. Living with her Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, she must constantly measure how much energy she's willing to spend and how much recovery time each action will cost. Her bubble of normalcy is burst when her pre-teen summer camp rival, Jacob, comes to town to throw a ritzy Matzah Ball on the eighth night of Hanukkah. Not only that, but her publisher wants her to pivot from Christmas romance to Hanukkah romance, and she needs a ticket to the sold-out Matzah Ball to get in the spirit. Jacob, still healing from his mother's death, needs Rachel's famous father to make his Matzah Ball feel like an authentic, and celebrity-scale party. However, seeing Rachel sparks old feelings and he goes about courting her all wrong. In the end, he needs his party to be a success to keep his business afloat.
This story was adorable. We read it for Diversity and Inclusion Book Club at work, and it was a perfect choice. Easy reading, festive for December, Jewish author and characters, disabled author and main character, and no sex--perfect for a work-based book club. I loved the nods to tropes; for example, instead of running into a "Santa" type figure who propels the plot in a secret way, like Christmas movies always have, she runs into an Orthodox Jewish man, who also helps move the plot forward by letting Rachel know about the Matzah Ball by leaving his newspaper behind. There's also a very sweet Grandmother with a Holocaust story unlike I'd ever heard. (And yet someone in book club had heard a very similar survival story. What are the odds?) On the downside, it was quite long--400 pages. We almost didn't choose this book because of it's length. Some of Jacob's choices were also so cringey. What adult thinks his ideas would be good ideas to woo a woman? The two of them just needed to talk. You'll enjoy this book if you're looking for a no-sex romance, a Hanukkah setting, or a rivals-to-lovers story. You may not enjoy this book if you want sex in the book or if you are going to be frustrated by the many holiday romance tropes. Side note: my library didn't have an ebook copy of The Matzah Ball, but when I requested it, they bought it! Shout out to the library! Have you read The Matzah Ball or any other non-Christmas holiday romances? Let's discuss in the comments!
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The cover of Iron Widow, which is a pretty badass cover Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is a secondary world fantasy and start of a series, though the rest of the series isn't out yet. The book has won a lot of best of fiction awards and hit best sellers lists. Iron Widow follows Zetian, a scifi version of Wu Zetian, the only female Chinese Empress in her own right. In this world, giant magical mecha-suits piloted by a male-female pair fight off attacking alien-esque mecha-suit-material bug things. The male pilots often drain the female pilots of their energy until they die. One pilot did that to Zetian's sister and now Zetian is out for revenge.
This book required quite a bit of world set up for me to get it, but once things clicked, I was in. I wanted Zetian to enact her revenge and boy oh boy, I was not disappointed. Even knowing that, I didn't predict most of this book, which is great because with all the research I've done about plotting I don't get surprised often anymore. My list of downsides is really short for this one. Neither of the love interests made me root for them a ton until the end. One was a little too self-hating (ala Edward Cullen) and one was a little too entitled/clingy (ala Edward Cullen). You see the issue. But they both became better toward the end of the novel, which I suppose is the point of character growth. This book is for you if you liked the vibe of the Cinder series by Marissa Meyer, the magic is present but there's so much more happening situation in the Green Bone saga by Fonda Lee, and the sister out for revenge plot of The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh. It's not for you if reading about the loss of a sister or romantic partner isn't for you, or if the mention of rape (not of an on-page character) isn't for you either. Have you read Iron Widow? Are you excited for the sequel Heavenly Tyrant in 2023? Let's discuss in the comments! Pipetting hand cramps are real. Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash Have you ever read a book that depicts someone with your job, or at least in your field, and the author gets it totally and completely wrong? That happened to me recently. I work in biotech, specifically we make proteins (for example antibodies) to treat disease. I picked up a book about a scientist who was studying a protein to treat a disease and I was excited. With a pub date this year, the book led me to expect the science would be up to date.
It wasn't even close. The science in this scifi was more than a decade out of date. I was so thrown off because the other tech was clearly modern (with kids having iPads, hashtags and social media, etc.). The plot was entirely based on the scientist having to do their work the very very old fashioned way. Needless to say, I struggled to enjoy the book. When I got to the end, I thought perhaps the author had never spoken to anyone about the science. However, the acknowledgement section was full of names--mostly doctors. I don't expect MDs to know HOW antibodies are produced industrially, but I do expect them to know that antibodies CAN be produced industrially. In the end, I suspect the author never spoke to anyone who actually works in biotech today. Or if she did, maybe she didn't want to change her entire plot. But wait, you say, why didn't an editor intervene? This book was self-published and likely didn't employ the kind of editor who would take it upon themselves to fact check the science. Especially given the author talked to doctors, any line or copy editor wouldn't even think about changing that sort of thing. So, what did I learn from this reading experience that I can apply to writing? If you're writing outside your familiarity zone, be it a job or another aspect of a person, be sure to speak with people who have the most direct experience with that thing. At the very least, Google recent headlines in that space. Technology, especially biotech, computer/software, and AI, have all exploded forward in the last decade. Even if you're familiar with something, reach out to an expert. Especially before pinning your entire plot on that thing! Have you ever seen your job or a similar career in a book? Did the author nail it, or totally miss the mark? Let's discuss in the comments! This past week I finished You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo. I first came across Cat's work because of their website full of resources, tips, and classes for SFF writers. They have a ton of short stories published and You Sexy Thing is not their first novel, although it is the start of a new series. It's about a found family of space mercenaries, recently retired, who run a restaurant on a space station. But when the station is blown up, they steal a sentient ship to survive, and the ship has mixed feelings about that.
This book certainly has its sense of humor front and center naming the ship You Sexy Thing. It was a fun adventure with pirates and cooking and the concept of a living thing being a space ship was really interesting to me. I flew right through the book. On the downside, because of how many characters were on on the team, I mixed them up very frequently. Small complaint though, since I knew who the most important crew members were to the plot, and the book focused on them well. It's for you if you like things in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or other space epics, but have wondered what characters aside from the ones saving the universe are up to. It's not for you if you don't like aliens or space ship sci-fi. Have you read You Sexy Thing? What did you think about the big reveal at the end? Let's discuss in the comments! The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey is a speculative domestic thriller that's very literary in style. It follows Dr. Evelyn Caldwell, a scientist who has developed a successful cloning program to make adult clones, mainly for body doubles of diplomats. However, her ex-husband stole her tech and used it to clone her, and her clone is a docile, domestic version that he has chosen to replace her with. But that built-in docility fails when the clone kills him, then turns to Evelyn for help. If she refuses, everyone will find out her work was not only stolen but is dangerous and her research will be ruined. If she helps, then she's complicit in a murder--and so much more.
I really liked this book. It wasn't as hard on the sci-fi as it could have been, but it still got all the points across. I really loved the way the clone blended seamlessly into a more classic domestic thriller plotline. The twists were also delightful! On the downside, the ending wasn't as good as the rest of the book. I really wanted either a wrapping up or a sense of foreboding or something conclusive, but it felt to me as if the author just hit a point and was like "okay it's long enough," and sent it off. Overall, it's a great read if you like domestic thrillers. It reminded me of The Girl on the Train (minus the whole unreliable narrator aspect). It's also a good one for anyone interested in clones and scientific ethics. It's not for you if you are not comfortable reading about domestic violence (partner or parent). Have you read The Echo Wife? Would you help your clone cover up a murder? Let's discuss in the comments! I have committed one of the common sins of a book club: I didn’t finish (DNF) the book. However, rather than forgetting to or being too busy, I purposefully set the book down and said no more of that. The reason is both complex and simple. The simple way of putting it: the book sucked. But no one comes to this blog to hear me say that and move on. I learn nothing from disliking a book. However, we can all learn from WHY I disliked a book.
I’ll start by saying that this book had an uphill climb from go. The book club is for Diversity and Inclusion at work, and the books are supposed to help us see from more perspectives than just our own. The author of the book in question is 1. a white straight man, which is not the point of diversity and inclusion book club, 2. an author this group has read before (in fact, the book immediately before this choice), and 3. a man who wrote from a Mexican-American gay man’s perspective and several Native perspectives in these two books—none of which overlap with his perspective (yes I checked thoroughly). And no, it wasn’t just that the characters happened to be from those marginalized groups, both books were about that marginalization in a major way. So yeah, this book was going to have to be amazing for me to get very far. Lesson: if your book is about how being marginalized impacts the main POV character(s), then you should be part of that marginalized group. Now let’s take a look at the writing. It was over 400 pages. The first 115 pages were in one time period following quite a few characters. So many in fact that I mixed them up. There was also head hopping. And no, it wasn’t supposed to be an omniscient POV. So I was already struggling, and at the ¼ mark was lost as to the main character and their want. And then there was a 100+ year time jump. Jesus, okay, all new characters. Barely had a handle on that then boom, back to 100+ years ago. I remembered so few of the characters that at this point I gave up hope. Lesson: having too many characters is confusing. Lesson: A random time jump that then begins a back-and-forth pattern in following those two time periods has to be earlier or it throws off readers. Lesson: Head hopping will only add to any confusion already present; if you’re going omniscient go all the way or it will be a mess. Let’s not ignore the racist stereotypes/word choices throughout the novel. I actually cringed when, in a Native woman’s POV, the author wrote about how she viewed her community. I don’t think anyone would have used those words to describe themselves. Yikes. Lesson: If you’re not sure if what you just wrote is racist, imagine a stranger describing YOU that way. Also, pay an authenticity reader. And also, see Lesson 1. By about page 150, I closed the book and didn’t open it again. So glad I rented it from my local library and didn’t give the author any of my money for the displeasure of slogging through part of the novel. And no, by page 150 it still didn’t demonstrate what any of the characters actually wanted, and so I consider it to have no plot. Lesson: unless you're writing literary fiction, your book needs to show who your main character is (or are) and what they want (even if that changes!) as early as possible. Have you ever failed to finish a book club book? Did you admit it at the meeting or pretend you'd finished? Let's discuss in the comments! The gorgeous cover of Black Sun Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a 400+ page adult secondary world fantasy inspired by pre-Columbian cultures, especially those in Mexico and the Southwestern US. Black Sun a reference to solar eclipses, which bookend the novel and have significant magical power and effects on the characters. There are three POVs. Serapio, a blind man/avatar for the crow god, wishes to travel to Tova and avenge a fifty year old massacre of the Crow clan by killing all the priests, especially the Sun Priest. Xiala is the captain of the ship taking him there, but her crew doesn’t trust her due to her being a woman and having special power over the sea. Naranpa, newly risen Sun Priest, just wants the city of Tova to be more equitable, but the system she leads doesn’t like her style or poor background and threatens mutiny.
There was so much to like here. I read this thing fast, despite it being a pretty sizable novel. I love Roanhorse’s style, which isn’t a surprise since I liked two books of hers before. Looks like I’m a fan for life! The characters were well built and had unique voices and problems, and the worldbuilding was cool. I got excited whenever I recognized something (like the round houses in the Maw; I’ve seen some ruins of roundhouses at Bandolier National Park). But it was also great to see the fully fantasy elements as well. This was such a cool ride from start to finish. On the downside, this ended with cliffhangers all around, setting up a sequel and didn’t give me any closure! This was purposeful, of course, but the sequel is going to be a while. This is a book for you if you enjoyed Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning, Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, slow burn romance, and dark prophesies. This book may not be for you if you can’t handle nonbinary pronouns or if you want to read stand-alone novels or already completed series. Have you read Black Sun? What did you think of that ending? Let’s discuss in the comments! The covers of the Green Bone Saga books. Love how they go together so nicely! This past week I finished reading Jade Legacy, the third installment of Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga. I reviewed the first book earlier this summer, but felt the series as a whole deserves some time. The saga is a trilogy made up of Jade City (2017), Jade War (2019), and Jade Legacy (2010). Jade City won the World Fantasy Award in 2018, and finaled for several other major awards. The series as a whole is a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2022. You get the picture: the series is popular and critically acclaimed. Unfortunately, the TV adaptation planned by Peacock was cancelled and is being shopped again, hopefully to a subscription service that I actually have.
The second two books in the saga continue to follow Shae, Hilo, Anden, and the rest of the Kaul family's inner circle as they battle with The Mountain clan for power over Kekon. Jade War focuses on a few years directly following Jade City, but Jade Legacy covers about twenty years worth of time. Both Jade War and Jade Legacy are THICK books, but they have excellent pacing and move well, just like the first. The scope of the story problems keeps getting bigger and driving toward a thrilling ending. Do I have strong feelings about who lives and who dies by the end? Yes. And that's exactly how I know the author nailed the series. My complaint about Jade Legacy is that it feels more like little vignettes than a tied together novel until the very end. However, I still enjoyed the read and that's such a minor complaint to have in a series like this. If you enjoyed Jade City, absolutely finish the series. It's for lovers of secondary worlds, Godfather-esque gang/mob conflicts, and if you liked Avatar/Korra, you'll be into this. It's not for you if you don't like long books, and don't want your MCs to be a little morally gray. Next week I'll post about my experience at the in-person Futurescapes at Snowbird workshop! I know I gush about covers a lot, but this one is really enticing. It's half the reason I chose to read this book. Heartbreak Incorporated by Alex de Campi is an adult urban fantasy romance featuring Evie, a struggling freelance journalist in NYC who stumbles into a new temp job as a receptionist for an investigative firm associated with a big law firm. The boss is Misha, an overly hot and mysterious guy who seduces clients’ spouses to give the client a cleaner way to not break prenups but still file for divorce. The fantasy element comes later in the book, and I won’t spoil it for you exactly, but you’ll see it coming, don’t worry.
I really liked the concept of the book. A detective that breaks people up for a living? Juicy! (Too bad that’s not the main focus, though.) The first half of the book really had me. I got invested in the characters, even if Evie made some really bad decisions. (You want to break an ironclad NDA, girl? No!) On the downside, the fantasy element brought it later kind of lost me. The first half of the book was so normal and so set in the real world that the introduction of fantasy was really jarring. There was also a ten page sex scene in the middle of the book, which was much more graphic and awkward to read on my commute than most other sex scenes I’ve happened across. I also was able to predict the rest of the plot elements from that fantasy element introduction onward, maybe because I’m so familiar with urban fantasy tropes, maybe because it was very reminiscent of Twilight. (This is not shade.) This book is for you if you love urban fantasy, especially those with heavy romance elements. It’s not a classic vampire situation, so it’s for you even if you’re over vampires/werewolves. It’s also for you if you like the concept of a detective breaking people up, just don’t expect that to be the focus. It’s not for you if you are over normal-girl-falls-in-love-with-immortal-being stories, if you don’t want an extremely detailed/lengthy sex scene, or if you are looking for a more detective-focused story. Have you read Heartbreak Incorporated? What did you think of Evie and Misha? Let’s discuss in the comments. Wilbur posing with HOM by James Moore. Photo by Kate Ota 2022 HOM by James Moore is a YA Christian fantasy novella (172 pages in paperback). The main character, Hom, was raised in a lab to cultivate his powers—he is visited by angels and demons and can teleport to Hell. However, when demons attack the facility, he learns he’s not the only teen with powers. He teams up with the ragtag group to escape, but when they learn the truth of what the demons are planning, they must make a tough choice—their own freedom, or saving the world.
James is part of the Judging More Than Just the Cover Book Club Podcast, and I was even a critique partner for many parts of this book. I also know it started as a storyboard type outline for a videogame. And it certainly feels like a videogame, with big boss fights, specified powers, and unique uniforms. I also liked Frieda, Hom’s pseudo-mom figure, the interesting settings, and the morally-gray scientist. The novella went by super quickly, as novellas tend to do. There was a lot more action than emotion, which is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on your mood. I know indie books are sometimes bashed for typos, but the ones here are few and far between, so worry not. This book is for you if you like Christian fantasy (i.e. angels, demons, and biblical God on the page), if you are in the mood for videogames but don’t want to actually play it yourself, or if you’re looking for a quick paced, high action read. It’s not for you if you aren’t into biblical content in fantasy, if you’re looking for deep emotion, or if violence in a novel is not your cup of tea. Have you read HOM yet? I know James would love your support! Be sure to review indie books, it helps the authors get more readers. |
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