September Reviews

September FLEW by, holy shit. I know they say that the older you get the faster time seems to go, but I didn't think they meant to this extent, wow. But, if time is going to pass, I guess filling it with books isn't such a bad thing.

One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake

I've just about read all of Blake's works by now (or at least this pseudonym; I have to hit up her other works too) and while this one was just as beautifully written as the rest, I gotta say I think I might like the others a little bit more. But again, this was just as beautifully written, compelling, and twisting as the others.

The Antonovas and the Federovs have a long history; powerful witch families running their own crime circles and trying to tear one another apart. But when their respective youngest witches have a life changing run in, the city of New York may never see the end of the families' violence. 

Romeo and Juliet retelling aren't always well done, but this one took the right about of irony and tragedy from the original story while still breathing incredible new life into the world and characters. Blake's magical world building is always fantastic, and this one was no different. Her dialogue is witty and her descriptions like poetry, and by god does she know how to write love and tragedy.

This one admittedly took a bit for me to get into (14 days to read altogether, which is an astounding long time for me), but once I got to like the last third I was speeding through it. Blake lays a complicated web full of intensely cunning characters, and the reader falls into traps just as easily as other characters do.

Again, overall I think I like her other work more, but this was certainly still a very creative and beautifully written book that I very much enjoyed.

The House In The Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 

I actually already read and reviewed this book a couple years ago, which you can find here, but wanted a refresher before reading Somewhere Beyond The Sea. And honestly, I was so glad I read it again because it was just as delightful as I remembered and I loved it so much.

Somewhere Beyond The Sea by TJ Klune

The long-awaited sequel to one of the warmest books I've ever read, Somewhere Beyond The Sea picks up almost exactly where The House In The Cerulean Sea ends.

Arthur Parmassus has finally found peace-- he has his children and their hopeful adoption, the love of his life, and the beautiful island they call home. But the outside world is ever present, and determined to have their say. A new inspector arrives at the island shortly after a new child, and Arthur will need the help of everyone he loves to ensure his family comes out the other side.

This book was very much a reaction to the transphobia and hateful rhetoric that's become unfortunately all too common, especially coming from a certain spiteful bitch named JK Rowling. But Klune takes the unfair vitriol and prejudice and tells a story of a family that will not give up on what is good and what is right, who will protect one another and people like them with everything they have. There are moments of feeling angry and helpless, but they are ultimately overshadowed by moments of unity and love. Hate is loud but love is louder.

It was such a delight to return to the island and see what everyone has been up to, and it was nice to see it all from Arthur's perspective this time. The Phoenix we didn't get to see a lot of in the first book finally has his chance to shine-- and ask for help himself. 

This was a wonderful combination of whimsical moments with clever children leading strange adventures and a family standing together as their head learns that he cannot and should not carry the whole world by himself. 

Overall it was delightful and a great follow up to HITCS. 

The Devil And The Dark Water by Stuart Turton

I got this book from a friend who gave it 3 stars, and honestly after reading his previous book The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, I thought 3 stars was good enough to give it a go.

Arent has been Sammy Pipps' bodyguard for several years, helping him solve cases around the world. But when Sammy is arrested for a mysterious crime and imprisoned on a cursed ship bound for COUNTRY, Arent is tasked with solving the mystery hounding the ship without Sammy's help. Helmed by Arent's uncle, the ship seems doomed, chased by a devil called Old Tom. With the help of his uncle's wife, Arent will have to use everything he's learned from Sammy over the years to get them all out alive.

This is a cleverly spun mystery with a lot of terrifying and thrilling aspects to it. Having it set on a boat made it feel even more harrowing, since it really limited the places and people while extending potential dangers. And while I enjoyed trying to solve the case, I did struggle a bit with trying to decide if it was a supernatural mystery or a real person pretending to be (a la Scooby Doo) and flipping back and forth several times, which was maybe the point of the mystery but did make it harder to really get into it. That being said I guessed some part of the mystery correctly, which is always nice.

Turton's writing is good, matching the setting and tone without getting overly bogged down by period terminology, which I appreciated. It felt fantastical at times, but I liked a lot of the strange elements and weird occurrences. The characters were all entertaining and ultimately I really enjoyed the sort of Holmes/Watson dynamic shaken up to really put the Watson character in the spot light.

And that's it! Overall a really good month, even if I didn't read as much as I wanted to. As the weather gets cooler I'll hopefully spend more time inside reading, but maybe I'll be surprised!

Until next time!

Literary recommendation: I just put a little recommendation list together for a new coworker and very earnestly remembered how good Freya Marske's A Marvelous Light is, so go read that

Media recommendation: I've been "playing" (watching my friends play while I cook or paint my nails or whatever) the coop Stardew Valley game and honestly that's been such a blast. Love to see what my wonderful friends build while they answer my questions about the hat mouse.