T Is for Tea Dragons

I polished this off very quickly and it was beautiful. It has the sweetness you’d expect from My Little Pony but an element of the fantastical. There’s a wizard and dragons who grow tea leaves. That is inherently cool.

There’s also a quiet message of acceptance and understanding. There’s nothing self-congratulatory or even obvious awareness about about it. Just this lovely acceptance.

That art is beautiful, the concept is neat, and the story works for all ages. There’s several other types of dragons listed in the back so I hope there will be more stories to come.

Books I’ve Kickstarted in 2018

I have a problem. It’s too little money and too much awesome stuff on Kickstarter. I’ve kickstarted other things but it’s mostly books. I’ve had a few that took over a year to arrive but these all expect to arrive this year

Wanderlust: A Mythology Anthology
Anticipated arrival April 2018

Sunspot Jungle
Anticipated arrival November 2018

The Dreadful Objects: A Supernatural Mystery
Anticipated arrival August 2018

Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters 1 & 2
Anticipated arrival May 2018

Battling in All Her Finery: Tales of Women Who Rule
Anticipated arrival September 2018

Valor anthology Vol. 2
Anticipated arrival June 2018

The Author’s Apprentice
Anticipated arrival

Pugs Unleashed!
Anticipated arrival August 2018

Couriers Off Grid A Post-Apocalyptic Action Thriller
Anticipated arrival September 2018

Welcome to Miskatonic University: An Anthology
Anticipated arrival November 2018

As Told by Things – Unique Short Stories told by Objects
Anticipated arrival June 2018

There is the chance that the final two won’t get backed because they haven’t met their goal yet but there’s still plenty of time for it to happen. With Awesome Con and my library’s spring sale in the next couple of weeks, I’m not sure I’ll be staying within 50 books for the year. We’ll see what happens.

Bonus TBR Jar Pick

I’ve been slacking on pulling extra TBR Jar pick so I opted to pull one today. I got lucky since this one is hella easy. It will be one of the two since they’re both from the library and have waitlists. Courtney Carver is best known for creating the 333 Capsule Wardrobe project and Dangerous Case is edited by a woman psychiatrist.

Q Is for Quest

With the movie coming out soon, I wanted to reread this book before the movie came and changed the picture in my head. I loved this the first time I read it and loved it now. Which made the recent vitriol a bit surprising.

One of the funnier ones was from Jenny Nicholson who did a female rendition. I think some of the criticism is valid and I think others need to chill.

This book is by a male author about a male protagonist and a world built by an aspie AF Steve Jobs knockoff. While I would have enjoyed more representation of the pop culture I loved, it makes sense Popples, Care Bears, and Barbie weren’t big features. Based on some of the things Cline did in Armada, I’m glad he didn’t try to create a bigger female presence. I’m not he would have been able to do it or at least do it well.

I also get this isn’t the pinnacle of literature. It’s an easy entertaining read and works the same way National Treasure does. There’s a whole section that requires an insane amount of pure dumb luck just to pull off. It’s not supposed to be brilliant; it’s supposed to be fun.

The dystopian premise should resonate deeply with an American government full of climate change deniers and VR advancing ever faster. The world is darker and scarier than it’s ever been and we have so many virtual worlds to disappear into. Apathy and escape are easy and Cline reminds of that.

There’s a lot of things about this book that aren’t great or downright problematic. I can recognize that but I still love this book. It’s a classic hero story with a fun spin. Still 5/5 for me.

TBR Jar: Myth or Fairytale Retelling

For the myth or fairytale retelling, I reached for Persephone by Allison Shaw. I helped kickstart this volume so I thought I should see what I helped create.

I liked the spin this put on the classic tale. Rather than Hades being a villain and Persephone a helpless victim, it gave her agency and choice and Hades got more depth. They were both interesting characters and easy to root for.

I have two complaints. I am a fan of sex positive comics but I’m disappointed all we saw was boobs. Boobs are cool but they are not all you need for sex so I felt like it should have been more or less.

I also wanted just a little bit more plot or story. So many different pieces of Greek mythology are touched on but not much more. Shaw did such a good job with what was there, I wanted to see more of what she could do. This fun and sexy retelling warned 4/5

S Is for Sunburn

I entered a giveaway on a lark. I’d heard her speak at a National Book Festival and enjoyed what she has to say. I also know she’s a local writer and I like reading books that take place in locations I recognize. I was very surprised when this book appeared in my mailbox.

This is not your average mystery or your typical love story. The pacing is slow but it makes sense for how the story unfolds and the games the characters are playing.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Pauline/Polly was that she’s a complicated woman with a dark past. She’s not especially likeable or sweet or easy to root for. She’s like an actual person who is complicated and has layers. Is she a sociopath (like a diagnosable lack of empathy) or just a woman who has had a hard life? I’ve finished the book and I’m still not entirely sure. She must have been great fun for Lippman to write.

Her love story is full of problems like the questions that aren’t asked and a foundation of deceit. The feelings and bonds are real but it’s so full of secrecy and lies that you’re not sure what ending you’re rooting for. Adam is also a complicated character but his self-awareness and honesty about what he is and what he wants make him a character you enjoy getting to know.

My personal taste for storytelling and pacing puts this at a 3.5 but all of the layers of mystery and deceit push it over to a 4 for me. The way it all unfolds at the very end surprised me and was worth the journey.

G Is for Glitter

Glitter Kiss by Adrianne Ambrose & Monica Gallagher has been collecting dust on my shelf for ages. It was pulled to be a part of my read-a-thin but we all know how I am with TBRs. I binged it the other night and really liked it.

It’s a graphic contemporary with a magical twist starring Tinka (WTF on that name though?). An enchantment causes the callous boys of Tinka’s school to realize being a girl isn’t as easy as they think, especially with boys like them to contend with. I love the message and lesson learned which was communicated without being too heavy handed.

The ending felt a little rushed. I wanted to see what caused some of the other guys to revert back to their original form. How did they learn their lesson? How is everyone so chill about magic? There were some easily answered questions that just weren’t so it lost a star for that.

I still recommend it at 4/5 stars

Black Panther Review

I finally saw Black Panther. My days off are random, I’m too broke to see an evening show, and theaters don’t show anything before noon on a weekday. Don’t judge me.

It lived up to the hype. The acting was great, the writing was compelling, the character development was excellent. The score, special effects, costumes were all on point.

There was even excellent nuance such as the battle cries of the mountain tribe, the looks of the different tribes, the architecture of Wakanda’s capital city, how the important the ‘battle steed’ became later. I loved how we followed the other characters’ journeys when we realize all hope is not washed away.

I have to actively try to find anything to say and everything I came up with was minor. That is definitely a soundstage or that’s totally not snow. I wanted to know more about the general’s relationship. That felt a little shoehorned in but I’m sure there are deleted scenes somewhere. The prodigy kid is a bit overdone but it worked here.

I loved how Everett Ross got to become a hero in his own way without stealing the show. He stayed a minor character because this wasn’t his story but will help tie this in with the larger MCU.

This movie makes me so happy because representation matters. In a time of major social backlash, this movie shows that Africans and African Americans can be heroes and carry major blockbuster films. We demanded it and let our dollars talk.

Let Black Panther and Wonder Woman reign at the box office. Our voices will not be denied and our children will learn that super heroes look like everyone.

Oh, 5/5 stars ICYMI.

W Is for Winter People

I waffled on whether or not to keep reading this. The beginning was interesting but I wasn’t sure if this would prevent the book slump I could feel creeping up. The good hype from folks I know kept me going and I’m glad I did.

Because this isn’t my first rodeo, I figured out how all the characters fit together pretty quickly. It was just a matter of getting there. Fortunately McMahon doesn’t waste time and the story kept moving forward. It alternated back and forth between the two timelines perfectly to maintain suspense and interest.

ChapterStackss mentions a character’s motivation seeming shallow. There are two this could apply to IMHO but I’ve spent a lot of time in the world of Cluster B personalities. Those motivations made sense to me even if they felt like a quick and easy wrap up. You spend enough time reading about crazy, you can see the twists and turns it tends to take.

The ending isn’t perfect but it doesn’t leave you wondering or wanting (much). I can see why it’s gotten positive reviews. If you’re hesitant about dipping your toe into horror, this is a great place to start. 4/5

February Wrap-Up and March TBR

My big goals was to read and release some books from my shelves and tackle my library holds. How’d I do?

The Cute Girl Network by Greg Means

This had been collecting dust on my shelves for ages so I was glad to read and release. It was cute and fun 4/5

Fire & Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

A sleazy journalist writes a book about sleazier people running my country. Rushed editing and mediocre writing mean, despite major relevance and importance now, this won’t be remembered well in the future. 3/5

The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

A very interesting novella about a girl who must regularly kill her double. Lots of questions, not all answered, and good storytelling. 4/5

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn

A thriller with an unreliable narrator and literary style was not my jam. Full review went up yesterday but 3/5.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

A dual timeline suspense/horror novel. A longer review is forthcoming but it mostly lives up to the hype. 4/5

March TBR

Last month’s TBR was more than impossible so I’m going to try to bring it back to reality this month.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman by Catherine Mayer

In honor of women’s history month, here’s some feminist nonfiction.

I Promise Not to Suffer by Gail Storey

A memoir of newlyweds trekking the PCT that has been collecting dust on my shelf for too long.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This is one of my all time favorites and I want to revisit it with the movie coming out at the end of the month. The story lends itself well to imagination so I am excited to see it in my untainted image one more time before the movie changes that.

A dog book

I work with dogs as part of my full time job as well as one of my side hustles. I’ll go by feeling on deciding which one but I want to read at least one.

An unfinished book

I have way too many books I’ve made a sizable dent in but haven’t finished. I want to finish one of these.

For the TBR Jar, this month is myth or fairytale. I love a good retelling and I have those in abundance in prose and graphic form. Let’s see what I come up with.