Thursday, January 19, 2017

The Silent Kookaburra by Liza Perrat

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): All eleven-year-old Tanya Randall wants is a happy family. But Mum does nothing besides housework, Dad’s always down the pub and Nanna Purvis moans at everyone except her dog. Then Shelley arrives – the miracle baby who fuses the Randall family in love for their little gumnut blossom.

Tanya’s life gets even better when she meets an uncle she didn’t know she had. He tells her she’s beautiful and could be a model. Her family refuses to talk about him. But that’s okay, it’s their little secret.

Then one blistering summer day tragedy strikes, and the surrounding mystery and suspicion tear apart this fragile family web.

MY THOUGHTS:

The beginning felt a little slow, but that later on proved necessary as it provided the fine cues for the rest of the story.

I was initially wary of the first person POV. However, Liza Perrat manages to pull off the 11-year-old’s language and rationale with great authenticity and without impoverishing the story. Quite the contrary, the style imbued with local linguistic flavour only enriches it.

While Tanya’s uncle was the sort of a bad person that made me root for the mobsters to take him out, I couldn’t help myself thinking that had he received some help and support, he might not have become what he had. The victim-turned-perpetrator stereotype doesn’t sit well with me: some victims do turn out just like their abusers, but it is not inevitable if the people close to the victims and the society at large offer them proper help.

I loved how in The Silent Kookaburra Perrat seamlessly and with great insight incorporates a number of issues which are still current (or which are, really, current in every age.) These range from poverty, domestic violence, depression, loss of a child, alcoholism, superstition and prejudice against immigrants and people of other religions, and probably some more that I forgot about.

Tanya herself has a lot on her plate, dealing with alienated parents (from each other and the children), bullying, low self-esteem, having to grow-up early, and being the target of the mysterious uncle who says all the right things to make her feel good but has nefarious intentions towards her.

In several ways, I could relate to Tanya, and Liza Perrat captured her struggles in a very genuine manner that truly resonated with me.

At the end of the story, one of the main mysteries of the book remained unresolved. But that is just life; we don’t always get all the answers.

And finally, I loved that Tanya got her happy ending, albeit it was a bit clichéd, and that certain prejudices were overcome for the good of everyone involved.

RECOMMENDATION: The Silent Kookaburra is an incredibly rich story set at the beginning of the era I would consider ‘modern’ that provides a wealth of food-for-thought for everyone not afraid to dig into some, perhaps uncomfortable, but still very current and important issues, and is, therefore, a very compelling read.


The author has sent me a free copy of The Silent Kookaburra in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

Monday, January 16, 2017

The Summer Palace (Captive Prince short stories #2) by C. S. Pacat

The Summer Palace is a short story that serves as an epilogue to Kings Rising, with Damen and Laurent meeting at the summer palace for a well-deserved respite from trying to consolidate their positions and secure the future of their people.

The story of their reunion is a triple wonder as it offers glimpses into the aftermath of the final events of Kings Rising while allowing Damen and Laurent to finally enjoy their time together and at the same time process – with each other’s help – some of the hardest parts of their past.

(Except for one; but I think it was the right choice of the author not to cramp everything into such a short story and leave that out, either for some future story or for the readers’ own imagination, not to mention that dealing with everything in the span of one evening would have been too much for the characters, as well.)

As such, The Summer Palace is utterly touching; it made me both laugh and shed a tear. I didn’t think that I could love these two fictional characters more than I already had, but after this story, I do. I so do.

And against such beauty, I cannot possibly hold a few missed typos against the author, so all five stars it is, because all in all, The Summer Palace was brilliant, better than I could have ever imagined.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Labyrinth of Stone by TA Moore

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): Ten years ago the Black Rapture transported thousands of people, seemingly at random, from Earth to the strange, inimical world they call the Labyrinth. Will Teller was one of them. Surviving that meant joining an army and becoming better at killing than he's comfortable with. It's enough upheaval for anyone's life. The only problem is, apparently no one told his commanding officer that.

Pride, and heart, stung by abandonment, the icily controlled General Nathan Kearney has decided that Teller can either find the wayward lover, or he can take his place in Nathan's bed. That's pretty good motivation for a straight guy, only thing is - Teller's sexuality seems to have gone a bit Magic-8 Ball on that issue. Suddenly Nathan's starting to look pretty good, and the only question is whether or not Teller wants to be the consolation prize?

MY THOUGHTS:

I should probably reread Labyrinth of Stone to do it proper justice – and I’ll definitely give it another go – but since I don’t see the time for a reread in the near future, this will have to do for now.

In Labyrinth of Stone, TA Moore blew me away with her masterful world-building, once again, with the gritty, raw imagery of the alien, dystopian setting and its unique characteristics. The same goes for her characters: rough, complicated, hardened by circumstances, yet softened by distinct quirks and dry humour.

What I missed in the Labyrinth of Stone was at least a hint of a resolution to two of its major mysteries, but I can live with it.

All in all, Labyrinth of Stone is a fascinating story for its plot, setting, characterization, and relationships between various characters. With the way TA Moore crafts her words, sharp and eloquent, it was a delight to read.

RECOMMENDATION: If you are into no nonsense m/m Sci-Fi romance, I absolutely recommend you check out Labyrinth of Stone.


Sunday, January 01, 2017

Happy New Year!

A picture of baubles with a 'happy new year' inscripition.

Happy New Year, reading and otherwise, to all of you who stumble across my humble blog!

I'm going to kick the new (reading) year off with Bout of Books 18.0, as for the rest, I'm not making any plans or resolutions (reading-wise), so we shall see how it goes.

2017 Reading

Still going easy on myself, although I kinda feel the reading lust again, so I challenge myself to 12 books this year. This will be the place where I keep the records of my reading together with rereads and things GR challenge doesn't record, like parts of volumes and such.

MY READING:

Books are listed in order of reading (with the level of strangeness, see my rating system); those reviewed are linked to their reviews and also listed under Book Reviews tab.
  1. The Summer Palace (Captive Prince short stories #2) by C. S. Pacat (5)
  2. Beyond Control (Beyond #2) by Kit Rocha (4.5)
  3. Beyond Denial (Beyond #2.5) by Kit Rocha (4)
  4. Beyond Pain (Beyond #3) by Kit Rocha (4.5)
  5. Beyond Temptation (Beyond #3.5) by Kit Rocha (3)
  6. Beyond Jealousy (Beyond #4) by Kit Rocha (4.5)
  7. The Silent Kookaburra by Liza Perrat (4)
  8. Beyond Solitude (Beyond #4.5) by Kit Rocha (3.5)
  9. Beyond Addiction (Beyond #5) by Kit Rocha (4)
  10. Beyond Possession (Beyond #5.5) by Kit Rocha (3)
  11. Beyond Innocence (Beyond, #6) by Kit Rocha (4.5)
  12. Beyond Happily Ever After: Closed Doors (Beyond #6.5) by Kit Rocha (4)
  13. Beyond Happily Ever After: Blank Canvas (Beyond #6.6) by Kit Rocha (4.5)
  14. Beyond Ruin (Beyond #7) by Kit Rocha (4)
  15. Beyond Ecstasy (Beyond #8) by Kit Rocha (4)
  16. Beyond Surrender (Beyond #9) by Kit Rocha (4)
  17. MacRieve (IAD #14) by Kresley Cole (4)
  18. The Professional (The Game Maker #1) by Kresley Cole (4)
  19. The Master (The Game Maker #2) by Kresley Cole (4.5?)
  20. Dark Skye (IAD #15) by Kresley Cole (4)
  21. Dark Domination series (4 books) by Lili Valente (3)
  22. The Book by Jessica Bell (5)
  23. Asking for It (Asking for It #1) by Lilah Pace (4)
  24. Begging for It (Asking for It #2) by Lilah Pace (3.5)
  25. Ashwin (Gideon's Riders #1) by Kit Rocha (4.5)
  26. Kill Someone by Luke Smitherd (2.5)
  27. Under His Command trilogy by Lili Valente (3)
  28. Sweet Ruin (IAD #16) by Kresley Cole (5)
  29. Their Virgin Captive (Masters of Ménage, #1) by Shayla Black (3)
  30. Shadow’s Seduction (The Dacians #2, IAD #17) by Kresley Cole (4.5 - 5)
  31. Ours to Love (Wicked Lovers #7) by Shayla Black (3)
  32. Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1) by Rosamund Hodge (4)
  33. Wicked Ties (Wicked Lovers #1) by Shayla Black (2)
  34. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (3)
  35. The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant (Captive Prince short stories #3) by C. S. Pacat (4)
  36. Finding Anna series (4 books) by Sherri Hayes (4)
  37. Come Home To Me (Second Chances #1) by Peggy L. Henderson (4)
  38. Angel's Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh (5)
  39. Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunter #2) by Nalini Singh (5)
  40. Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunter #3) by Nalini Singh (5)
  41. Archangel's Blade (Guild Hunter #4) by Nalini Singh (4)
  42. Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter #5) by Nalini Singh (4.5)
  43. Archangel's Legion (Guild Hunter #6) by Nalini Singh (5)
  44. Archangel's Shadows (Guild Hunter #7) by Nalini Singh (5)
  45. Archangel's Enigma (Guild Hunter #8) by Nalini Singh (4.5)
  46. Archangel's Heart (Guild Hunter #9) by Nalini Singh (5)
  47. An Indecent Proposition (Indecent, #1-5) by Stephanie Julian (3)
  48. Enemies Like You by Joanna Chambers (3.5)
  49. Decadent (Wicked Lovers #2) by Shayla Black (3)
  50. Delicious (Wicked Lovers #3) by Shayla Black (3)
  51. Surrender to Me (Wicked Lovers #4) by Shayla Black (3.)
  52. Belong to Me (Wicked Lovers #5) by Shayla Black (3)
  53. Wicked All the Way (Wicked Lovers #6.5) by Shayla Black (3)
  54. Uprooted by Naomi Novik (5)
  55. Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman (4)
  56. Beyond Doubt (Beyond, #9.5; O'Kane for Life, #1) by Kit Rocha (4)
  57. Liar, Liar by T. A. Moore (4)
  58. The Cold King by Amber Jaeger (1)
  59. At His Mercy by Alison Kent (3)
  60. Welcome to the Hotel Yalta: Six Stories of Cold War Noir by Victoria Dougherty (3)
  61. An Introduction to Pleasure (Mistress Matchmaker #1) by Jess Michaels (3)
  62. Daddy's Best Friend (Temperance Falls: Experience Counts #1) by London Hale (3.5)
  63. The DILF (Temperance Falls: Experience Counts #2) by London Hale (3)
  64. Nanny with Benefits (Temperance Falls: Experience Counts #3) by London Hale (3)
  65. Sinful Temptation (Temperance Falls: Selling Sin #1) by London Hale (3)
  66. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (4)
  67. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood (5)
  68. Archangel's Viper (Guild Hunter #10) by Nalini Singh (4.5)
  69. Debt Inheritance (Indebted #1) by Pepper Winters (3)
  70. The V-Girl by Mya Robarts (3.5)
  71. Angels' Flight (Guild Hunter, #0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 3.5) by Nalini Singh (4)
  72. Night Owl (Night Owl #1) by M. Pierce (3)
  73. Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) by Sylvain  Neuvel (5)
  74. Waking Gods (Themis Files #2) by Sylvain  Neuvel (4) 
  75. Possessed (When Worlds Collide #1) by Kelly Apple (4) 
  76. Beauty's Daddy: A Beauty and the Beast Adult Fairy Tale (Billionaire Daddies Book 1) by Jane Henry (1.5)
  77. Forbidden Daddy: A Blakely After Dark Novella (The Forbidden Series Book 1)by Kira Blakely (1.5)
  78. Call Me Daddy by Jade West (3)
  79. The Thomas Elkin Series by N. R. Walker (4.5)
  80. The Siren (The Original Sinners #1) by Tiffany Reisz (4) 
  81. The Angel (The Original Sinners #2) by Tiffany Reisz (4)
  82. The Prince (The Original Sinners #3) by Tiffany Reisz (4)
  83. The Mistress (The Original Sinners #4) by Tiffany Reisz (4)
  84. An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde) (3)
  85. The Saint (The Original Sinners #5) by Tiffany Reisz (5)
  86. The King (The Original Sinners #6) by Tiffany Reisz (4.5)
  87. The Virgin (The Original Sinners #7) by Tiffany Reisz (4)


Did-not-finish:
  1. Lords of the City series by Alice Ward 

    Books I Read in 2016
    Books I Read in 2015
    Books I Read in 2014
    Books I Read in 2013
    Books I Read in 2012
    Books I Read in 2011