It was great to have some extra time off this month, with which I happily spent some time reading books. There were a couple of 5 star reads that definitely stood out.
King Sorrow by Joe Hill (2025) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a long book, blending fantasy and horror together, that didn't quite fire on all cylinders for me. While the way the characters behaved while they were young was fine, I was disappointed that they didn't seem to grow or mature much during the course of the novel. I also wasn't terribly convinced by the portrayals and motivations of the female characters in the book, and at times many of the group of friends even appeared cartoonish.
That said, there were gripping segments like the one where the dragon is threatening to destroy a plane loaded with passengers, which is kept going for an extended amount of time and is no small achievement. And there's a lot action and pathos holding the pieces of the main story together.
This third installment of the Shadows of the Apt is another solid entry in the series. While it doesn't match book 2 as an achievement, which was dominated by military battles and epic struggle, it does keep things moving forward. Totho, the half-breed artificer struggles with guilt and personal ambition in connection with his murderous new creation, the snap bow. Stenwold Maker tries to form alliances, Tynisa follows her destiny with Mantis-kinden, and Che is caught up in a takeover of a Spider city by the diabolical Wasp empire. But it was the ruthless chase for the all-important mystical shadow box and the world building that I appreciated the most.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel (2022) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a pleasing literary scifi novel that I was able to finish quickly. I liked the play with different timelines, the future imagining of the moon cities and the central mystery about the strange melody and sense of temporal disconnection. I found it easily accessible and sometimes simple is best.
I read this middle-grade novel with the hopes that this series might match some of they hype I'd heard about it being "the next Percy Jackson". While it wasn't a bad book at all, it didn't quite live up the hype. I did like the sense of strange new adventure near the start with the hidden magical archipelago and the different creatures that the two main characters meet.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I found this to be a wonderful and genuinely moving literary novel.
The mark of a good horror writer is often that they can make you interested in and care about characters before alarming things being happening to them. That is also the strong point of this story, centering on a group of four friends from a native American reservation. A reckless, bloodthirsty action of the past that they committed returns to haunt them in the form of a shapeshifting avenging spirit. Each of these four friends has aged, and we get an authentic feeling of their lives as they had grown up and moved within and without of the Blackfeet indigenous lands. What strikes them down is tragic. as the spirit manipulates them into truly appalling disaster. But it is the hope in the young people present that brings about the sense of resolution near the end.
Jade City by Fonda Lee (2018) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was a bit late to the party, but enjoyed reading this start to the Greenbone Saga very much. The world building is impressive as it takes place in a pseudo-Hong Kong, the island of Kekon, which is dominated by the magical greenbone crystals which lend power to the two ruling clans. The story centers on three siblings and their adopted young cousin, Anden, in the Kaul family. Their family drama overlays struggles for power, coping with threats from outside, the gripping and tense martial arts sequences, betrayals, revenge, hidden secrets and much more. The loss of a central character is felt by all and the emotional hit lends much momentum to the story. It was slightly long but I'm already looking forward to the next book.
Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater (2022) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I thought this was a sweetly amusing cozy fantasy. I especially liked the angel Barachiel's mischievous tricks and the bittersweet relationship between Holly and her niece, Ella. Gadriel, the MC, is a disarmingly sly but charming trickster as a fallen angel luring humans into petty temptations. The author managed to keep a moving, often fun and funny story going. And the clever and surprisingly well researched footnotes at the end of each chapter were a bonus.
