Three mini-reviews of three very different books: a paranormal novella, a contemporary romance, and the debut novel from Hank Green.
Rating refresher! Categories are based on whether or not we recommend them to fellow readers - DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read it Eventually, Read it Soon.
Diamond Fire, by Ilona Andrews (Out November 6th!)
Suzanne says: Read it Soon
Preorder: Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble
For fans of Ilona Andrews's Hidden Legacy series, picking up this novella is an obvious good choice. The story follows Catalina Baylor, the younger sister of Nevada (previous heroine) and the Baylor with the power to make people love her. This is a fascinating magical power, especially because Catalina has had to suppress it for her entire life.
Catalina is planning Nevada's wedding to Connor "Mad" Rogan, which means she's dealing with not only the caterers and florist and so on, but also Rogan's massive Spanish family. Being from Spain, they're all staying at Rogan's mom's mansion and it's like a backstabbing soap opera. There's a mystery, multiple subplots, and a bedazzled stuff unicorn.
If you haven't read the first three books, this might not be as much of a hit for you, but fans of the series will adore it. It was like magical candy and I cannot wait for Catalina to get a full novel. Sounds like that's coming soon, though!
Suzanne received a copy of this book via Edelweiss from the publisher for review.
I Wanna Text You Up, by Teagan Hunter
Suzanne says: Read it Eventually
This was brain candy on a day when I needed it. I grabbed it simply because of the title and it didn't disappoint. The book follows two college students, a privileged young woman who's looking for a new roommate after her BFF moves in with the love of her life (the first book in the series) and the other, a far less-privileged baseball player who just messed up his hand in a "scuffle" and needs a cheaper place to live since he can't work as much anymore. Oh, and he dated her best friend for six months last year.
This book has some issues, like the fact that the heroine has "Beats and Breakfast" every morning and rap is sort of a prop for her as the whitest girl ever. But these issues are more cultural/societal than book-specific, if you get my meaning. There were a couple of moments that gave me pause, but for the most part, it was genuinely funny and I liked both the hero and the heroine. As you might guess, there's a lot of texting, which makes the book go quickly. The heroine calls the hero on his BS every time, and they don't hook up until about 80% of the way through the book, so if you like UST and humor, this is a nice way to spend a few hours.
Suzanne borrowed this audiobook from her public library via Hoopla.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, by Hank Green
Suzanne Says: Read it Soon
Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble
I've had some bad luck with John Green's books in the past, particularly because they tend to follow a white teenager frustrated about being in the friend zone or who has dated too many of the same girl. I have no time for that in my life. BUT Hank is not John and I heard in an interview that An Absolutely Remarkable Thing was about the intersection of digital personas with your real life, identity, and reality in a digital age. It is! Plus with aliens. Or not aliens? And puzzles.
The heroine is emotionally closed off, which means that she refuses to call her girlfriend, whom she lives with, anything other than her roommate. You should know that this is not a romance. They break up when the heroine systematically destroys her personal life in her quest for relevance.
Yet, for all this, the message of the book is a positive one. Bad things happen, sure, but the message is that we shouldn't let fear guide us toward hate, a message that the heroine never stops sharing, even when she's attacked in public (by the anti-alien people).
Overall, this was an interesting read and the heroine is bisexual, so there's quite a bit about being queer and how to portray that queerness in public. I'd love to hear what you think.
Suzanne purchased this book.
