elisa

August

This month I read 4 ebooks and 2 eaudiobooks and 1 physical book from the Toronto Public Library, totalling to 7 books.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Synopsis: All of Cambria has been torn apart by the ongoing divine war, after the Underling god Dacre was unable to recapture his estranged wife, the skyward goddess Enva. Although the City of Oath, in the Eastern Borough, is attempting to minimize the effects of the war, it’s having a huge impact on rivals Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt. They’re both interning for the Oath Gazette, fighting over a single columnist position. Iris dropped out of school to support her alcoholic mother, who has spiraled ever since her brother Forrest enlisted to fight in the war for Enva. She’s only at the Oath Gazette after winning an essay contest. Roman, on the other hand, comes from a privileged family and got his internship through family connections. But he’s dreading his upcoming arranged marriage to the daughter of one of his father’s clients, who appears to be developing illegal chemical weapons for Dacre’s side. Fed up with the Gazette’s commitment to Dacre propaganda and reeling after her mother’s death, Iris quits her internship to sign up to be a war correspondent for the Inkridden Tribune, hoping to find some sign of her brother. She’s sent to a small town near the front lines, armed only with her magic typewriter that has been allowing her to exchange letters with a mysterious penpal named Carver, her only solace in these tough times. But Carver is actually Roman Kitt, and the connection that he and Iris are forming has left him desparate to protect her, no matter what.

My Thoughts: For me, despite its issues, this book was unputdownable, and I quickly devoured it. I thought the mythology was cool, and appreciated how it made a classic WW1-style war feel a bit more unique. I also liked how Iris and Roman were depicted as journalists: dedicated to reporting the truth, instead of harassing people in order to get the scoop. Readers will know, however, that I am a hater of the you’ve-got-mail trope, and it was one of the big issues I had with this book. By itself, I probably would have been able to look past it, but it went hand-in-hand with Roman being incredibly paternalistic towards Iris. I didn’t like that he had all the power when he knew Iris’s identity but refused to reveal his own when they were penpals. I also thought it was crazy that he followed her to the front lines based only on the connections formed in their letters (which is not real life), even though Iris couldn’t stand him at the office (which is real life). The book ended on a devastating cliffhanger, and I’ve heard that the sequel isn’t executed well, so we’ll see how I fare once I actually get my hands on it.

Rating: 4/5 honeymoons at a picturesque bed and breakfast run by lesbians

Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by TJ Newman

Synopsis: A summer day at the pool ended tragically when Annie slipped and hit her head on the concrete. She died that day, and her mother, Chris, and father, Will, never really recovered. 6 years later, their marriage is falling apart, and their remaining daughter Shannon is desperate for the independence that her parents are too scared to give her. Shannon is frustrated that her dad insists on flying with her from Hawaii to summer camp in San Francisco; she’s 11 years old, and can definitely handle herself. But two minutes into their flight, the airplane loses an engine, all hydraulics, and is forced to ditch into the ocean. By some miracle, the plane lands largely intact, and passengers are faced with an impossible scenario: leave the plane (conditions are rough and the water is covered in flammable jet fuel), or stay in the plane and risk being trapped inside. Will and Shannon decide to stay inside. Within minutes, the plane fills with water and sinks to the ocean floor, trapping a few survivors with a limited bubble of air. Will they make it out alive?

My thoughts: I’ve seen Falling (the author’s first book) by the same author for AGES in bookstores, and I’m pretty sure that I did read it, but the only thing I remembered is that I didn’t like it. However, I’m glad that I decided to give Drowning a chance. Readers will know that I love fire and rescue shows, and also that I love air crash investigation shows, so it was a match made in heaven. It definitely made me very emotional but sometimes you just want to feel some adrenaline and have a good cry. I would definitely recommend it.

Rating: 4/5 messages in a water bottle

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

Synopsis: Lucky St. James has always been unlucky. After her mom died when she was young, she was taken in by her grandmother Stella. Stella was a doting grandmother, but they only ever scraped by. Now, Stella’s dementia is getting worse, and their rent is being raised again. Lucky’s job at a temp agency doesn’t make enough to cover the bills, and she can’t bear to take her grandma out of the Toronto apartment where they grew up together. It’s full of memories and ghost stories, like the one Stella loves to tell about the psychiatric hospital that used to be down the block, and how one of the inmates dug a tunnel to try to escape. One afternoon while doing laundry, Lucky discovers the legendary tunnel, but the only thing in it is a strange silver spoon. A few days later, she’s approached by a beautiful woman with a tantelizing offer: come work for her company, VenCo. It’s a huge woman-run company with offices around the US, and they're looking to open a publishing house. For Lucky, an aspiring writer, it’s too good to be true. The woman invites Lucky and Stella to visit their Salem, Massachusetts office, so that Lucky can learn more about what the position entails; so they pack up the car for a road trip. Except when they get to Salem, it’s not what Lucky was expecting. Instead of corporate glass and steel, they’ve arrived at the historic mansion belonging to Mina Good and her wife Wendy. There, Mina explains that VenCo is isn’t what you might think. Mina is collecting a coven of witches. Once they find all seven, each with their own silver spoon, the coven will be complete and they’ll be able to change the world. Lucky is the sixth witch, and she has less than two weeks to find the seventh and complete the coven. Is Lucky (who, by the way, has no magic powers to speak of) out of her depth? Or will she really be able to find the elusive seventh witch and save the coven before it even begins?

My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading a book that was written from a very feminist and women-centered lens, especially one that was very pro-seniors. Readers will know that belonging to a coven full of feminine energy is literally the dream. I also really liked how Lucky made her magic all her own by drawing on the lessons from her mother, Arnia. They were a mix of Indigenous spirituality and general life lessons, and I thought they were used really well for the final battle. I also thought it was kind of cool that the cross-country road trip happened from the northern US down to the south, instead of being the typical east-west (I don’t know if it was intentional but it was cool to have a trope subtly flipped like that). My main nitpick is that I wish that the other witches in the coven had more character development and presence besides the story of how they each got their spoons, but I understand that 5 supporting characters can be a lot to balance. As a final note, this book had HUGE prequel energy (becuse it involved Lucky getting her powers, and the formation of the coven), which I haven’t ever seen before in a book that wasn’t intentionally advertised as being a prequel. From my research it doesn’t seem like the author is turning this into a series, so I thought it was a bold choice for her to focus on the building-up aspect of the storyline, and I appreciated it.

Rating: 3/5 elderly women that seem to attract gay men in spades

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

Synopsis: What if Apollo 17 wasn’t the last ever mission to the moon? It’s 1973, and NASA is preparing to send a group of astronauts back to the moon in the Apollo 18 mission. But this isn’t any ordinary mission; it’s funded primarily by the Deparment of Defense, so the priorities are a lot less about science and a lot more about National Security. The Soviets have just launched Almaz, a spy satellite with astounding resolution and capabilities. If it becomes operational, it’ll be very difficult for the US to keep their own secrets on their own soil. So, Apollo 18 will have to do something that’s never been done before: rendezvous mid-spaceflight with Almaz, incapacitate it, and continue on to the moon. But mission control is fully confident that the crew of Luke Hemmings, Michael Esdale, and Tom Hoffman have what it takes to pull off the most complicated Apollo mission yet. Except, just weeks before launch, Tom is killed in a routine helicopter flight, forcing backup commander Chad Miller to take his place. Commander Kaz Zemeckis, a former test pilot and current liaison between the White House and Misson Control, has a bad feeling about this. Thankfully he’ll be acting as the CAPCOM, communicating directly with the astronauts once they’re in space. Can he keep the mission afloat and bring the astronauts safely back to Earth? Or are there more surprises in store?

My thoughts: I don’t necessarily think that my summary does the plot justice, because it’s a bit of a slow burn, so I didn’t want to give everything away. The title is a bit misleading because it’s an alternate history novel with cold war intrigue, not a murder mystery, but I really did like this book! Especially how the author tried to line up things in the book with real-life people and events, in order to make things as plausible as possible. Funnily enough, I’m pretty sure this is my second time reading it. I don’t actually remember reading it for the first time, but the plot beats definitely felt familiar (but not in a predictable way). I am glad that I came back to it for another go-around though.

Rating: 4/5 mysterious, possibly bottomless, holes on the Moon

The Defector by Chris Hadfield

Synopsis: It’s the day before Yom Kippur, 1973. A soviet fighter pilot, callsign Grief, has crashed his MiG-25 fighter plane into the Levantine Sea just off the coast of Israel. Except, Grief didn’t actually crash. In reality, he landed his plane safely in an Israeli hangar and is attempting to defect to the US. The MiG-25 is currently one of the best recon and combat aircrafts in the world, and the Americans would love dearly to get their hands on one. So Commander Kaz Zemeckis is assigned to keep an eye on the pilot accompaning this miracle plane. Can Grief be trusted? Or is there more than meets the eye?

My thoughts: Based on the success of The Apollo Murders, I was really excited to try the second book in the series. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down. For me, the pacing was really off, because the book felt like it ended in the middle of the plot, immediately after the incident at Groom Lake. Anything that got wrapped up had to be addressed in the epilogue, and a lot of things were not. I was also expecting the Apollo Soyuz plotline to matter a lot more. I’m hoping that this is all building towards a third book that will pick up where everything left off, but I’m not really counting on it. However, I definitely enjoyed the first three quarters of the book.

Rating: 3/5 tickets to see old blue eyes

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer

Synopsis: Anton Treuer, an Obijwe from the region around the Leech Lake Reservation in Northern Minnesota, has put together an introductory guide that covers everything you may have wanted to know about Indians but were too afraid to ask. It covers things like terminology, history, economics, politics, and languages. Each section is split into direct questions with easy to understand answers.

My thoughts: This is a really great introductory book for people who are vaguely aware of issues facing Indigenous peoples but don’t really know a lot of concrete details. It might be because this is the Young Readers Edition (randomly, TPL has a lot of copies of the Young Readers Edition, but not nearly as many of the original edition for adults), but this book is extremely clear, direct, and to the point, so it’s very easy to digest and understand. I think the book was structured really well, and could easily serve as a reference material, especially if you only want to explore a few of the questions or topics that are covered. I really liked that the author injected a lot of his own personal experiences and even family photos. It made sure that he wasn’t generalizing to all Indigenous people, and also made everything discussed seem more concrete for the reader. I also found the comparisons between the US and Canada really interesting; I’m glad that the author made sure to emphasize that even though Canada is farther along in the conversation of reconciliation than the US, things are not necessarily substantially better for Indigenous peoples in Canada, and that there’s still much to be done.

Rating: ⅗ White mechanics that say “Miigwech” and “Gigawaabamin miinawaa” to their Ojibwe customers

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher

Synopsis: Mona is one of the few wizards that are left in Riverbraid, although you wouldn’t know it, since she’s only 14 and her magic only works on bread. When anti-wizard sentiment, spurred by Inquisitor Oberon, starts increasing, she’s perfectly happy to stay at her aunt’s bakery with her animated gingerbread man and her sourdough starter Bob. But early one morning, Mona enters the bakery to find a dead girl on the floor. The girl’s name was Tibbie, and she was killed by the mysterious Spring Green Man simply for being a wizard. Now, Mona can’t just ignore everything that’s going on. With the help of Tibbie’s brother Spindle, she’s determined to contact the Duchess of Riverbraid. Surely once a responsible adult finds out what’s been happening they’ll put a stop to everything, right? Right?!

My thoughts: I’ve read adult books by T Kingfisher before (see my April 2023 roundup) I think this was technically a middle grade book, and although I wasn’t intending to read a kids book I’m not mad about it. Overall I did like it! I thought the themes were interesting; they revolved around the idea of reluctant heroes and war veterans, and also the idea of children having to take charge when adults cannot or willnot. The characters were charming, and the final siege was cool. I appreciated that the author did a bit of world-building with regards to the magic system, by teaching Mona about sympathy magic.

Rating: 4/5 provinces where rats are NOT ALLOWED (very Alberta-core)

i am, your most faithful blogger, elisa