Review: All the White Spaces: A Novel by Ally Wilkes

All the White Spaces: A Novel by Ally Wilkes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Edelweiss+, however I ended up listening to the final version of the audiobook.  All opinions are my own.

From the description, this sounded like it would align with my reading tastes.  A little bit historical fiction with an interesting horror aspect.  Unfortunately, I wasn't drawn in by the slow pacing.  This follows Jonathan, who stows away on an expedition to Antarctica after the death of both of his brothers.  Jonathan's brothers both had dreams of going on Antarctic adventures, and Jonathan has decided to take up the mantel.  When the crew arrives in the dangerous Weddell Sea, disaster strikes and the expedition seems to be cursed.  

I did think that the use of the aurora as a device to prey on the fears of men was a good one.  You couldn't tell if there really was something supernatural out there or if the men on the crew were slowly descending into madness from the Antarctic temperatures and lack of provisions.  I thought that Wilkes did a good job developing the fear and fragility of the characters as they try to survive their situation.  

While I thought this was a well written book, this is a case of this style of slow build up isn't the type of book I prefer.  I never truly felt the tension and terror that the characters were feeling, I think that is because there were long periods of time between the events.  This is also very character driven, which is also no my preferred style.  I prefer faster paced plot driven books with a bit more action.  This is a great story of self discovery and survival.  

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Review: God Themselves by Jae Nichelle

God Themselves by Jae Nichelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an audio arc of this book via Netgalley, all options are my own. I kept seeing the cover of this and was immediately drawn to the book. I kept coming back to it and knew I needed to read it. I’m so glad that I did.

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. I really enjoyed that it was narrated by the author. I feel poetry is often more impactful when spoken and who better to speak it than the author. Her voice was a pleasure to listen to. As the author mentions in intro some of the poems are meant to be viewed as they have a visual impact. The audio is supposed to have a pdf for these poems, but I was able to grab a print copy from my library and follow along with the audiobook. There are some really cool visual poems in the print version but I really enjoyed listening to Nichelle speak her words.

This covers a lot of different topics and the length of the poems varies from a few words to a few pages. I found myself reflecting on many of the poems and you can really feel the author’s emotions and experiences in each of the poems. As you can tell my the title that there is a focus on God and religion throughout, so I would stay away from this collection if that is not your cup of tea. I didn’t feel it was preaching anything or disrespectful, only a reflection on the author’s own experience and feelings. This is geared toward a more audience based on some of the content and language.

Overall this was a solid collection and I’m so glad I followed my instincts to grab a copy of the audiobook. I was not disappointed with this beautiful collection of poems.

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Review: The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided print and an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  

This is a queer retelling of Rapunzel, which I don't think I knew when I requested this.  You don't often see Rapunzel retellings, though I have seen a few pop up recently.  All I knew going in that this was a queer fantasy with witches and vampires, I didn't really need any more to entice me.  I do love a good retelling though.  It has been a while since I've read the original Rapunzel, but I get the correlation.  The action and adventure parts more closely resemble the movie Tangled, which to be fair is probably the version of Rapunzel that people are most familiar with.

This follows former best friends Ava and Kaye who are both witches, except Ava is a vampire and Kaye is a vampire hunter in training.  Kaye's mother was killed on the same night Ava disappeared (the night she was turned), and they haven't spoken in years.  Ava has been held prisoner by her mother and her creepy husband, but she's had enough.  She is determined to escape and seek refuge with the Vampire Queen.  Meanwhile Kaye is doing everything she can to prove herself worthy of being a Flame Witch and hunter.  On the night Ava escapes, Kaye catches up to her and the two of them embark on a journey of self-discovery they didn't intend on.  Kaye has been taught to believe that vampires are only mindless killers, but Ava proves her wrong at every turn.  Together they must work together to fight against more dangerous beings and face devastating betrayals if they want to survive.

I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers, slow burn romance.  The romance is really clean so it is perfect for young adult readers.  There are vampires so there is blood.   While there aren't particularly graphic or gory scenes, there are vampires doing their thing and several fight scenes between the vampires and the witches so if that isn't your thing I'd steer clear.   The world building could have been a bit more detailed.  I find that the fast pace and the action packed scenes made up for that.  The story was entertaining and the romance wasn't over the top.  It is fairly slow burn as the friends reestablish trust in one another 

I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this.  I flipped between the ebook and the audiobook, but I  put in the most time on the audiobook.  I enjoyed both of the narrators and felt they did a good job brining Ava and Kaye, as well as the rest of the characters to life.  They brought emotion into the story where it belonged and I could feel the tension between the girls as the story progressed.  

I felt the ending was a rushed.  Things came together really quickly at the end and I felt like it really needed a few more chapters for it to be flushed out. While the ending was conclusive, it was a bit open ended.  I did get the feeling of closure, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of Ava and Kaye in the future.  

Overall, I loved this.  I didn't want to put this down once I picked it up.  

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Review: Intruders by Ashley Saunders & Leslie Saunders

Intruders by Ashley Saunders & Leslie Saunders
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is the second book in the Exiles series, I don't feel you can read it as a standalone.  There is alot of set up and introduction of the characters in the first book that you really need for this book to make sense.

This picks up shortly after book 1 ends with the twins trying to put their lives and the lives of their siblings back together.  All of the siblings have been impacted in some way by the nanobot technology that their foster father developed.  A sinister group call the Conservators has begun using that technology to target the homeless population in Los Angeles.  As the twins and the core group of siblings work to stop the Conservators, they realize that the homeless aren't the only target.  They plan to control the entire world with.

Much like with book 1 I felt that the pacing was a bit slow until the final few chapters at the end.  I felt the ending felt rushed and things wrapped up a bit too conveniently.   I really thought the premise of the nanobot technology was interesting, but there isn't a ton of time spent exploring the development and science aspect of the nanobots in a lab setting.  You just kind of have to accept that it works and that the bots that make them inactive also works.  The writing in this was still a felt a bit confusing as things jump around from one thing to another.  I was always left feeling as if I missed something as the characters moved from one place to another or one topic to another.  I had the same issue with the first book. 

Overall I enjoyed seeing how this duology came to a close.  The premise was interesting.  This is a great series for readers who want to read sci-fi but don't want to get bogged down by the heavy details of all of the science (I love that stuff, but not every reader does).  I think this will particularly appeal to young adult readers as there isn't a ton of graphic anything, there is a bit of violence but not much and the language is pretty clean.

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Review: Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Edelweiss+, all opinions are my own.  This book was published back in August 2022, so in an attempt to get the review up I opted to listen to the audiobook now that it has been out for a while.  The audio narration was OK, the narrator tried to give each of the women a different voice, but they mostly sounded the same in my opinion.

This thriller was fairly straightforward.  The end felt a bit rushed and while it was interesting, there wasn't alot of suspense.  This isn't the type of thriller that has a ton of suspense though, and it fit with the type of story the author was trying to tell.  That being said, this isn't the type of thriller I gravitate toward.  I like the higher stakes, heart pounding, more suspenseful thrillers with lots of action.  This was more calculated as the story unfolds to reveal the plot.

This follows Nicole, a successful attorney who has found herself at a crossroads in her career.  Her position at her firm is on thin ice despite her being one of the best lawyers in the business.  She finds herself dealing with the antics of the "good old boys club" mentality of corporate America, while also dealing with an ailing family member and other family issues.  It seems like perfect timing when she gets invited to a networking retreat for an exclusive, women's only group that promises to help Nicole get her career back on track.  It seems almost too good to be true, and her husband jokes that it seems like a cult.  Nicole finds herself making friendships with powerful, successful women who quickly help get her career back on track with a high visibility case.  Being the good lawyer that she is, Nicole quickly realizes that there are too many coincidences and there is something bigger at play with the group.  

I thought this had an interesting premise.  Having worked in a male dominant setting for much of my career, I can relate to some of what Nicole experienced.   I liked the aspect of female empowerment and having a group to lean on.  I've attended women's only leadership training and having a core group of women to support you is an amazing thing to have.   I thought Nicole felt like a realistic character, she was a bit down on her luck and herself and this awesome opportunity came into her life when she needed it.  All of a sudden things started to look up and she was happy again.  Then things started to feel out of place and she stuck to her guns to figure out what was really going on.  I so appreciate that Nicole had a moral code and she stuck to it.  While the whole concept of the sinister plot felt a bit far fetched for me because it had so many moving parts that had to be executed for it to work, I still thought it provided for an entertaining read.

Overall I thought this was a good thriller.  While this type of thriller isn't my favorite in the genre, if you like less suspenseful thrillers that have minimal violence that feel more like figuring out a puzzle this will really appeal to you.  I enjoyed the writing style and will be checking out more of the author's work in the future.

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Review: Last Night by Karen Ellis

Last Night by Karen Ellis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I've had this book on my TBR for much longer than I would care to admit, and did opt to listen to the audiobook.  

While this is marked as the second book in the Searchers Series, it can be read as a complete standalone.  It features Elsa, the main character from [book:A Map of the Dark|35605410], but there is no overlap  in the storylines.  Elsa does have a cameo in this book, but she is not the main character and her role is small. 

This follows a group of teenagers, who find themselves in a  world of trouble after making a slew of bad decisions.  Their parents report them missing when they don't come home and they are assigned Lex, a detective with the NYPD. The author tries to weave social commentary into the storyline, however I don't believe it is an own voices perspective.  There is nothing really done about the social issues and no solutions brought forth to try to solve them or change the situation, only that they exist and they are bad for those who have to experience them.  Each of the characters fits a stereotype, and they aren't developed much beyond that.  The main characters make alot of dumb teenager decision that they should have been able to avoid given the level of intelligence they were supposed to have.  They read alot younger 18/19.  There are a few side plots that don't really add to the main plotline, and I don't feel that they added to the story, but they do help you get to know Lex.

This is more of a police procedural type of thriller/mystery.  It doesn't contain the suspense and violence that you might expect from some other books in the mystery/thriller genre.  There isn't much violence or suspense.  I thought the police work was done well, and if you are into procedural type crime fiction, this might appeal to you.  It is not my favorite type of mystery. 

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Review: The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, thank you to Dutton for providing me a copy of this book.  I've had this ARC on my backlog for longer than I'd like to admit, but am slowly  making my way through the titles in my backlog.  I'm so sad that it has taken me so long to read this.  I ended up listening to the audiobook as this has been out since March of 2020.  As always all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved this!  I found it hard to put down.  This is a gritty mystery, and while I'm not typically a fan of books involving kids I was spellbound by this.  It isn't particular gory or graphic, but it has alot of content warnings.  This follows Eve in the wake of the murder of her 12 year old daughter.  Eve has lived a hard life, but she loved her daughter and tried to be the best mother she could be.  When her daughter and best friend are murdered, Eve promises to avenge the girls with the brand of cruelty she was raised with.  She launches her own investigation, and she isn't ready for what she finds.

While this is filled with twists and turns, it has been a long time since I wasn't able to figure out what was going on and predict the ending.  This had several surprises that I didn't see coming.  This book isn't very long, the audiobook was just under 7 hours, but the author did a great job keeping the plot straight forward and doesn't over complicate things.  I really liked the underlying story about Eve's family dynamics and the interaction she had with her mother.  While her mother isn't exactly a likeable character, she shaped Eve into the woman she needed to be to seek justice for Junie and  Izzy's deaths.  This is a powerful story about grief, motherhood, poverty, and so much more.  Engel did an amazing job writing a great mystery that really pulls on your emotions.

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