Review: Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished this late at night in bed and did not want to get out of bed to write my review. So I let it sit and roll around in my head and I think I can get out what I took away from it. There are some spoilers in this review.

First, to see where exactly I stood on the matter of Lan's behavior, I read a few reviews, positive and negative. These were both pretty great reviews, and I guess I find myself right in the middle of them! The positive one I read after I finished, and I think it says a lot about how I felt about the book so I'm just linking to it instead of trying to rewrite all that in my own words.

I had skimmed the negative one before going into the book (sometimes I like to read negative reviews before I read something just to get a feel for what I want to look for), and was waiting the entire time for Lan to be the horrible person that this reviewer read. The moments that were brought up in the review are definitely pretty bad ones for Lan - she's selfish and stuck-up, and demanding that Bao apologize to her for being rude to her after she shattered his heart is pretty damn rude itself. I get it. I did not like these parts of Lan's character, so in that respect I completely agree with the reviewer! But I think that, while that reviewer couldn't get over their dislike for Lan for how she treated Bao after he was cursed, I think I had a different interpretation of Lan's behavior. Hear me out.

Bao had built Lan up in his mind to be perfect. He put her on a pedestal. This never ever turns out well for anyone, especially for the person put on said pedestal. When Bao confessed his role in the duplicity to her and then offered her his heart at the same time, she proved herself only human by lashing out at him and saying the most hurtful things she could. I understood this compulsion, and I did not hate Lan for it. But Bao could not reconcile what had happened with the woman he had built in his mind, and he was so shattered by it that he ran away. Also understandable. I felt horrible for both of them.

Once Lan finds Bao after he's been cursed, she is still thinking only of redeeming herself because she doesn't want the guilt. Bao points this out, she dismisses it, but it's obviously right there in the forefront of her mind. We also need to consider that Lan was brought up wealthy, spoiled, and prepared to marry into another wealthy family and never have to worry about anything ever again. As a young child she was adventurous and excitable because of her grandmother, but her grandmother had died and Lan had put aside that part of her to become a wife. So she was still in "proper lady mode" when she set out with Bao. Her rudeness to him is a direct result of her upbringing, because he is being rude to her (well within his rights after her behavior, of course), and she feels affronted. But if you keep going and keep following Lan, you see that she does still have the trickster adventurous side that her grandmother nurtured. Lan picks up parts of that personality she laid aside, and realizes how much she has hurt Bao, and really how much Bao means to her. How much he has meant to her.

Lan still has her bratty moments. At one point after a major upset, she's mad at Bao for not thanking her enough for saving his life. I think that, while we're watching the two of them actually fall in love, the author is reminding us that no one is perfect. I found myself slipping into the pedestal-placing myself while reading, because Lan had started to change her behavior and her thinking. Having these little moments of imperfection and rudeness brought me back to earth, and to the fact that Lan is not perfect. Neither is Bao. And at the end, when he finally sees her as she is, he realizes that even though he found out she's not perfect, he wouldn't want that perfect Lan anyway. They are both human, imperfect, and in love. I thought it was pretty damn beautiful.

So in sum, loved the story, loved the characters, loved the development, and want to read more in this world. I see there are two books before this one, so I hope that I can get around to reading them someday. I'd like to read about Empress Jade and Xifeng, who were brought up (and one met) in this book, but there wasn't a ton of information about them. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author.

Thank you to Bookish First and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I received a free copy, but my opinions are my own.

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Review: A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I seriously blew through the last third of this book at 1am and was dying for more. I did not like how this book ended, but can't wait to read book 2!

Eva has some good character development - at the beginning of the book she's pretty much resigned to the fact that her sister is going to murder her, and by the end she wants to fight for life and the Queendom and boy does she ever. Isa was hard to deal with - there were moments where I thought she'd crack and have some sisterly feelings for Eva again, but then her hard shell would close around her and she essentially made herself irredeemable. I'm hopeful for book 2 that there will be a way to end the Rival Heir system, because I really want Isa and Eva to have a happy ending together as sisters. Although if the author chooses not to go that way, I think that would be fine too.

Baccha was interesting and I didn't quite understand his love for/loyalty to Eva. And I wasn't so keen on Aketo either, just because he's so perfect. Falun's presence by about the midpoint, once Baccha and Aketo show up, becomes just as Eva's attendant and he's no longer an important presence in her life. I thought that was a shame, because he showed some real promise in the beginning as an important character.

Thank you to Bookish First and the publisher for the review copy of this book. My opinions are my own. And I'll be looking out for book 2!

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Review: War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow.
Wow.
Wow.

I feel like the star fairy here, I want to give all the stars for this book.

Having been, up until this book, completely ignorant of the fact that there was a Nigerian civil war in the 1960s, I don't feel qualified to address the commentary this book is absolutely steeped in. I will, however, say that I *get* it. Even not knowing a damn thing about the war, I completely *get* what the author was arguing, what he was condemning, and what he was honoring.

The story was engrossing. I read 400+ pages in the span of two and a half days. I was surprised and not surprised yesterday when I looked down at the page number I was reading and realized I'd just read 200 pages. I was sucked in immediately by Onyii and Ify, by the attack on their compound, and by everything they suffered in the years after. The relationship between them and everything that worked to tear them apart, it was exciting and horrible and absolutely devastating. The idea that maybe everything they went through later could have been avoided if Onyii had made a different decision as a child, or maybe it would have been just as bad but in a different way... There are so many ways the story could have gone, and I'm blown away by the direction it did take.

Everyone do yourselves a favor and read this book. If you love science fiction, if you love a gripping story, if you love fantastic writing, then go read this book.

Thank you to Bookish First and the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

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Review: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The first "chapter" of this was so promising, interesting, and confusing, that I was really excited to get the book. The very first letter from Blue to Red was surprising, a mystery, I wanted to know what happened next. Unfortunately, it was not the book I expected, and I just really did not understand what the heck was happening here. I'm sure there's a lot of praise to be had for these two writers, but it will not be coming from me. The letters were so damn flowery, I couldn't get a single sense of place out of any of it, the characters were essentially blank slates, and nothing made any sense.

I guess this kind of sci-fi is just not for me.

Thanks to Bookish First and the publisher for the free review copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

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Review: The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've typed and erased and typed and erased and I just can't express how good this book was besides that it was soooooooo GOOOOOOOOOOOD. And since it's a debut, I'm doubly surprised and in love! Also, that cover - fierce Aster!

There's so much to unpack with the nature of trauma, reactions to it, and the differences between the two girls who actually experienced being prostitutes and the three who were about to but escaped before it happened. Aster shrinks back from men, and Clementine is drawn immediately to one. Violet is cold and closed-off because she feels that's what she needs to be to survive. Take care of yourself first, is her motto. I really enjoyed watching her character progression as she got further away from the Welcome House. I wish we could have seen a little more into her head too.

A couple characters fell flat (I felt like by the end Clementine was just kind of shrinking back into a tropey maiden in distress, and Tansy and Mallow seemed, admittedly, a bit superfluous after a while), and the ending happened to quickly after everything we've been through. So those were the downsides for me. But everything else was really really good. Like, the raveners are the only ones who can use magic, and it's all evil and used to torture people (or track people). They are mortals who eventually lose their souls because the work is so evil. And then there are the different types of "ghosts," some that are harmless and others that will rip you to shreds. And the setting itself - we're talking Wild Wild West saloon stuff, and even the cover gives off that vibe. I got very entrenched in the environment, hearing the voices in my head, seeing what was happening. The whole thing was very visual for me, very cinematic. I wasn't just reading it, I was experiencing a lot of it with the characters.

I wish we had gotten a little closure on one of the characters, but since I see that it's book #1 of a series, I guess book #2 is going on my TBR list.

Thank you to Bookish First and the publisher for a free ARC for review purposes. My opinions are my own.

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Review: The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie

The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe by Ally Condie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had to read a few other reviews to really get a handle on why I can't give this book four stars. I liked it, it was a fast read, and the main character was very well-developed (for the most part). Then I realized - it's the rest of it that didn't add up. Poe was really the only thing that was fully fleshed out (besides the ship). The worldbuilding was vague, not much was known, and not much was discovered. The raiders/drifters have their own society somewhere, but there's absolutely no information about it. Even the Outpost didn't make much sense. And I really wish there had been more about the Palingenesis at the end. I wanted to see what that group was about, I wanted to know about them. Basically, I wanted *more.*

Poe is deeply flawed, but still a character I found myself liking (or at least rooting for). I wish I'd been able to learn more about the others, especially Tam and Brig. Naomi's motivations fell completely flat and I just couldn't really believe how her character development went off the rails at the end.

There's a lot to like here - an interesting story, fast-paced and easy to read. I breezed through it in a few hours, so I definitely liked it. But there's also a lot missing, which really is why I can only give this book three stars.

Thank you to Bookish First for an advanced reader copy of this book for my review.

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Review: The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta

The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a review copy of this book from Bookish First.

This one came up on Bookish First a few weeks ago, and I hadn't been planning on entering the drawing, but after reading the first couple of chapters I was hooked. It was an exciting day when I found out I'd been picked, and even more exciting when it showed up in my mailbox. One thing I don't normally comment on is cover art and printing style, but both are things I really appreciated with this book. The cover is bright, font is clean, it's eye-catching and intriguing, and it represents the book perfectly. Inside, the beginning page of each chapter sits inside what looks to be a birdcage, and every page after has a border on the side with the page number (instead of the numbers being at the bottom, they are to the right or left of the text). Every part has a dark divider page with a title. When you look at the closed book from the side, you can see every divider page. I liked the stylistic details of the printing, and having something like this in my hands was extremely satisfying.

Now that we're done with that, let's talk about the story. There is a lot going on in this book - murder, intrigue, plotting, magic, love, and betrayal. All of these can add up to a drab boring cliched tropey story, but here they all worked in sync. Teodora is a strega, she has magic - but she doesn't know much about it. She knows she can transform people into objects, but doesn't know how it works or how to do anything else. She meets a mysterious stranger, Cielo, who can change their gender at will, and longs to know more. When it becomes necessary for her to become a man - not just dress like one, but BE one - she asks Cielo to teach her. Learning how to use her magic is one of the integral plot points, because as she continues on her journey she is constantly having to adjust how she uses it. I don't want to give really any spoilers, since this was so good, so I'll just say that she gains many new abilities, and not in the best ways either.

The intrigue and mystery comes in when Teo gets to the capital city, after her father is almost murdered. She finds out that the heads of the four other Families (who each "rule" an area of the country) were also poisoned like her father, only they all died. Everyone presumes her own father is dead, and that she is her brother, Luca. Teo needs to keep pretending to be Luca in her new boyish body, while uncovering the secrets of the other sons (now heads), and figuring out a way to kill the Capo, who united and now rules the country, and who murdered the heads of four of the Five Families. She also needs to keep learning how to use her magic, and also falls in love with Cielo. She finds that the capital city isn't what it seems, especially when it comes to magic. Cielo's own search for their mother complicates matters even further. Teo is strong, smart, and cunning, but can also be foolish. There is also a traitor in their midst, and she needs to ferret out who it is while still going forward with her plan.

I loved the writing style, the plot twists that got me - I've had a hard time lately with books that have so many twists that they are either ridiculous or completely obvious, and these were pretty solid ones that I didn't always see coming. The characters grow and change and learn. Teo herself goes through a huge transformation, and not just from male to female. And I also loved how she and Cielo loved each other no matter whether they were both women, both men, or one of each. I'm not genderfluid and don't proclaim to truly understand what genderfluid people experience, but I thought it was an interesting perspective to read about people loving each other for who they are and not their gender. There are definitely some interesting gender concepts explored in this book.

Highly recommended to anyone who loves fantasy, especially gender-bending fantasy. I don't see that this is the first in a series, although I can't say that I'm disappointed for a stand-alone. I'm too depressed lately by having to wait and wait for a story to truly *end*. While I loved the world, and wanted to read more of it, especially about the strega, and Teo and Cielo's journey, I am perfectly satisfied by the ending and think it was done very well.

Looking forward to reading more books by this author in the future!

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Review: Everybody Always by Bob Goff

Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Bookish First for review purposes.]

I've read through some reviews of Bob Goff's first book, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World, but since I haven't actually read that book I semi-dismissed them. There was some commentary that I remember about how Love Does is pretty much a "Look at me and what I did" bragfest. After reading Everybody, Always, yes I can see that he does do the humblebrag a lot. It's not quite humble, though, since even though he's always bringing it back to Jesus, it's still a "look what I did" kind of thing (and holy crow is this guy rich and he lets us know it). I get what he's doing with it - Jesus works with us and through us and yes we can all do amazing things just by loving others. But I can see where people are coming from when they say it feels like he just spends a couple hundred pages bragging about his accomplishments.

That aside, I really did enjoy this book. It gets repetitive - love everyone, love your enemies, love the difficult people, etc. Jesus loves us, we should love everyone, yadda yadda. But I think that the repetitiveness reinforces how it's something we all need to practice. And practice. And practice. Because we're never going to be perfect, but at least we can practice.

This guy sounds like he has an amazing life. Yeah, I'm a bit envious of all the traveling he's done, everything he's done for others, and even how much he's managed to grow throughout. I rolled my eyes a few times at the mention of buying houses, motorcycles, and planes on a whim. But he interjects so much humor at such random moments that it made up for it. And underneath the wealth, I could see a man who is far from perfect, but wants to be like Jesus, and wants everyone else to be like Him too.

If you can get past the "Look at me" feeling of the book, this is highly recommended for anyone struggling with how to love others, especially those you don't want to love. The last few chapters were a story in themselves, which I found remarkable. I am hoping to pass this book along to the people I love and hope they can get something good out of it as well.

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