elisa

January

This month I finished: 6 e-books from the Toronto Public Library

(Light spoilers ahead!)

The Maid by Nita Prose

Synopsis: Molly Gray is a maid for a New York City hotel who doesn't understand social cues and takes her job very seriously. One day at work she enters the room of Mr Black, a wealthy socialite with a young second wife who always tips her well. Unfortunately, she finds Mr Black dead in the bedroom, and quickly becomes the obvious suspect. Molly must figure out who really killed Mr Black, and in doing so, she'll learn who she can and cannot rely on.
My thoughts: If you appreciate autism spectrum disorder representation in literature (as I do), you will like this book; I found being inside Molly's head is quite delightful. The author makes constant references to the Molly Maid cleaning company, and I learned that it's not actually a local Etobicoke chain, so that was disappointing (FYI, Molly Maid was founded in Mississauga but has since expanded to the US, the UK, Japan, and Portugal (one of these countries is not like the other)). Molly also unfortunately makes some pretty cringe decisions that I definitely don't approve of (past readers may complain that I have a very low tolerance for cringe/bad decisions, especially in romance; to that I must borrow a turn of phrase from Ariana Grande-Butera: “and what about it” The final reveal was also kind of wack.

Rating: 3/5 cleaning carts with all of the little bottles and chocolates that i am allowed to take as i please

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

Synopsis: After Kitty Talbot's father passes away, leaving her with a mountain of debt, 4 younger sisters to support, and 0 parents, there's only one option left: to go into Regency London and debut during the Season, so that she can find a rich husband who will wipe away all her family's debts. If you are constantly afraid that women are just after you for your money, this book is NOT for you.
My thoughts: this book had a bit of a slow beginning, but I'm so glad that I stuck with it! Kitty is SUCH a girlboss, I would die for her. Go manipulate a young rich boy into marrying you, that's queen behavior. And she gives absolutely zero fucks, nothing will stand in her way. Reading her wake Radcliffe up early to grill him about the specific ins and outs of high-society so that she can blend in was honestly hilarious. Lowkey I also adore Radcliffe, and their interactions together are the absolute cutest. The ending is SUPER satisfying, and when I was done reading it I wanted to go back to the beginning and start again.

Rating: 5/5 family estates with roofs in desperate need of repair

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

Synopsis: Will Chen, a Chinese-American art history student at Harvard, is invigorated when he witnesses art thieves break into an American museum and steal back priceless Chinese artefacts. He and four friends (also all Chinese-American college students) team up to steal 5 Chinese sculptures that were stolen by the West and currently live in European and American museums. There are several heists, but this book is much less about about the thefts and much more about the identities of these 5 second-generation, Chinese-American students.
My thoughts: I got this as a skip-the-line hold so I only had it for 7 days, so I had to really stress-read to finish it on time, and that definitely soured my experience reading the book. But it's so popular that if I didn't finish it then, I would probably have to re-read the whole book the next time I got access to it. So I pushed on. There are a LOT of references to Ocean's 11, so I felt a bit called out. The author tried to go for a more realistic view of how college-students might break into a museum, but I mean, it's still completely absurd. As someone in a museum-adjacent field, this book hit home with its discussions about colonization and theft of priceless cultural artefacts, and how museums are complicit in their past wrongdoing. It's almost strange to be viewing the effects of Canada/Britain's colonialism on China, instead of focusing on Indigenous nations, since that's what I'm most used to. This book is also very lyrical and delves a lot into feelings surrounding identity, the diaspora, and one's place in the world.

Rating: 3/5 rightfully repatriated jade sculptures

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Synopsis: It's the summer of 1958 in the American Midwest, and a string of murders has everyone on edge for one reason (there are multiple reason, but there's one really weird reason): all of the bodies have been completely drained of blood. The police have no leads until the latest killings: Marie Catherine Hale is discovered at the scene completely drenched in blood. That's weird enough, but it's not just that: Marie Catherine is only 15-years old. The case fascinates teenager Michael Jensen, son of the police chief with dreams of being a journalist. Marie Catherine agrees to tell her story, but only if she can tell it to him.
My thoughts: This book was definitely spooky, but it didn't really hit the spot. I feel like it was trying to be too many things at once: a supernatural horror but also a fictional true crime novel, and it didn't really hit the spot. It's too bad, because I like a lot of Kendare Blake's other books. Anna Dressed in Blood & Girl of Nightmares (romance between a ghost and a ghost hunter) are set in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and are actually some of my faves! The Three Dark Crowns quartet (fantasy series about 3 sisters with magic abilities that have to fight to the death in order for one to become the Queen of the island) was also great. But the Goddess War series (Greek mythology; normal human Cassandra meets teenaged Apollo, Athena, and Hermes, who have all been cursed to die) was also a miss for me.

2/5 mysterious symbols carved into a tree trunk while we were being chased through the woods

Malice by Heather Walter

(Book 1 in series, book 2 is below)

Synopsis: this is a Queer reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. In Briar, some girls are Graces, blessed with magic blood that can be used to create any elixir. Alyce is a Dark Grace, her blood can only be used to make evil-coded elixirs, and she's bullied and hated by the entire realm. The Queens and princesses of Briar have all been cursed: if they don't kiss their true love by their 21st birthday, they'll die. Aurora is the last surviving princess, and she only has one year left to live.
My thoughts: It was pretty good. There's a lot of lore and fantasy, so it doesn't feel too much like a basic fractured fairy tale. I thought it was great Lesbian representation, but I'm just a cis-het white woman, so what do I know. It does bug me that AlYce and MalIce aren't spelled the same way.

3/5 enchanted rings that put the wearer into an eternal sleep

Misrule by Heather Walter

(SPOILERS FOR MALICE)
(no book cover because I couldn't find a good image of the canadian edition, but just imaging the cover of Malice but with lavender instead of dark purple and you'll get the idea)
Synopsis: 100 years have passed since the events of book 1. Alyce, now called Nimara, rules over the Dark Court in the ruins of the former Briar. All the creatures that were once despised can thrive in the darkness, including Reagan, leader of the Vilas (evil-coded fairies). However, they've been at war with the Fey King this whole time, and the battle is coming to a close. Alyce/Nimara has to manage the war, rule her beloved subjects, and also deal with the fact that Aurora (a human; humans despised all of the creatures that now make up the Dark Court) is still in an endless sleep. What will happen if she wakes up? Has Alyce/Nimara changed too much to have a second chance with her true love?
My thoughts: Justice for Raegan, she did nothing wrong and deserves so much more. Aurora was honestly kind of getting on my nerves, and Alyce/Nimara wasn't that entertaining either. There's also a boy thrown in, and while he doesn't give me the icks or anything I just didn't really like him there. I desperately wish this book had been called Mnimara or Maurora or Mraegan or something. Who cares if it's not a real word; your girl loves a theme.

Rating: 2/5 enchanted staffs that give the Fey King his powers

The Bonus Bracelet:

This is a variation of pattern #105326. I chose the colours to look like a sunset, but someone (you know who you are) told me the colours looked like the lesbian flag but not even the good one. So I'm a bit miffed about that. I also had to do the knots for this one row by row like a dot-matrix printer to prevent it from warping, which made it feel like it was taking forever to complete.

i am, your most faithful blogger, elisa