whatsheread's reviews
2190 reviews

Mindy McGinnis is a skilled author who excels in creating stories that are relevant and impactful, evoking strong emotions in readers. Her latest book, UNDER THIS RED ROCK, showcases her exceptional talent to an even greater degree. The protagonist, Neely, has a challenging story to tell, and I advise readers to take note of the trigger warnings provided at the start of the novel.

In UNDER THIS RED ROCK, we get a glimpse into Neely's world, complete with her hallucinations. We witness her struggle to navigate her life while keeping up the facade of being mentally stable and ordinary. Initially, Neely's crush on a coworker and her belief that her demons can't follow her into the cave system where she works as a tour guide enables her to successfully keep up the charade. It's especially satisfying to see her find happiness, given the traumatic experiences she's had to endure during her childhood.

However, UNDER THIS RED ROCK could not be a novel by Ms. McGinnis unless her characters were forced to confront their demons in whatever form they took. Neely's descent into darkness is particularly agonizing since we know that she deserves happiness after the traumas of her childhood. As Neely's story hurtles toward an edge-of-your-seat conclusion, all we can do is hope that she will find closure and a small measure of the peace she so rightly deserves.

What makes UNDER THIS RED ROCK a brutal read is the realization that Neely is the ultimate victim. Her mental health issues directly correlate to the events of her past. Yet, through poverty, a lack of decent health insurance, and familial pressures, she does not obtain the help she needs. UNDER THIS RED ROCK is a tragic story, made more so by the fact that it highlights all the faults of our society. 

UNDER THIS RED ROCK is another stellar novel by Ms. McGinnis. As always, her subject matter is timely, making her story pertinent to the ongoing societal discussion of mental health stigmas and the lack of adequate care for those suffering from mental health issues. Neely is a haunting character, not just because of her fragility but also because of her desperation to be "normal." UNDER THIS RED ROCK may be an emotionally difficult book to read, but it is worth the effort.

THE TITAN'S CURSE is the third book in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the first book I have not previously read. Unfortunately, I had two issues with my reading experience that made it my least favorite of the first three books. 

My first issue is with Jesse Bernstein's narration. For some reason, he chooses to change the voices of certain characters after two books in the series. As if that were not jarring enough, he stumbles in his narration of Percy's voice. He doesn't use enough sarcasm - something Percy already has in spades, made worse by being a fourteen-year-old. The change is subtle, but it makes Percy whinier and less enjoyable a character. 

My other issue with THE TITAN'S CURSE is that the entire story feels repetitive. The first book is, in essence, a rescue mission with a deadline, and so is THE TITAN'S CURSE. The danger, locations, and rescuees might be different, but that's about it. A mysterious person is still sending danger to stop Percy and his friends. Percy still becomes the de facto quest leader. The two books are twins, and it makes for a boring read. In fact, I fell asleep while listening during one point, missed about 30 minutes of narration, and had no problems understanding the story despite the missing gap. 

THE TITAN'S CURSE was indeed written for children, and formulaic stories are helpful learning tools for the target demographic. I had higher expectations for the series, hoping the narrative would mature as Percy ages. Maybe if Mr. Bernstein had not stumbled so much during his performance, my opinion would be different. I still plan to finish the series, but I now know to temper my expectations. 

Book 17 of the In Death series by J. D. Robb is IMITATION IN DEATH. I don't know what it says about me, but I enjoyed the reenactments of infamous serial killer crime scenes that give the book its name. One of my favorite parts is trying to guess which serial killer inspired Eve's suspect before she revealed it. I also appreciated that one inspiration is fictitious, not having occurred yet in our timeline but in history in Eve's. That this fictitious killer went on his rampage in 2023 is a bit eerie, but Ms. Robb did publish IMITATION IN DEATH twenty years ago. I'm sure 2023 was far enough in the future to not be an issue.

As always, I enjoyed the character development as much as Eve's case. Watching Peabody stress about the detective's exam was cute. More importantly, we see Eve take steps towards sharing her feelings instead of keeping them to herself. Granted, she isn't smooth or gracious about it, but it is Eve Dallas. Sensitive and suave are not words one could ever use to describe her. 

This series never gets old, and I think that is in large part due to Susan Erickson's narration. I have no idea if she narrates anything other than the In Death series, and I don't want to know. For me, she is the lifeblood of Eve Dallas' world. I can't imagine the devastation I would feel should she stop narrating Ms. Robb's series. For now, it is all I can do to stop myself from starting the next book in the series immediately upon finishing another. I am definitely an In Death addict!

A TEMPEST OF TEA is the first novel by Hafsah Faizal that I have read, and I will definitely be reading more. It reminds me of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows series mixed with Peaky Blinders but with vampires and a masked despot. Trust me when I say both comparisons are a compliment.

Arthie Casimir is the type of character I adore. She is fiercely loyal to her chosen family. Moreover, she is confident, brazen, and a wee bit scary. Most importantly, she actively undermines Ettenia's colonialism and endeavors to rectify as many wrongs as she can control. Arthie is a great reminder that even small actions can have big consequences. 

I am so happy that vampires are back in fashion. While I love the Fae, dragons, shapeshifters, and other beasties, my heart belongs to the fanged ones. The vampires created by Ms. Faizal are drop-dead gorgeous and lethal, but they are not the most frightening creatures that Arthie has to deal with. That honor belongs to the masked Ram, proving once again that the enemy you know is nowhere near as fearful or dangerous as the enemy you don't.

A TEMPEST OF TEA is part heist, part colonialism warning, and part dystopian thriller. With a story that keeps you guessing and larger-than-life characters, A TEMPEST OF TEA keeps your interest and makes for a fast, engaging read. Given its surprising ending, I eagerly anticipate the sequel and am sure I won't be alone.

DISCIPLES OF CHAOS concludes M. K. Lobb's Seven Faceless Saints duology. As with the first book, it is a book that is difficult to describe and even more difficult to analyze. It remains an action-packed, emotion-fueled story in which all characters are morally gray and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

Before I discuss what I liked, I had a few issues with DISCIPLES OF CHAOS. First, I am not a fan of the "will they or won't they" trope, something Ms. Lobb adapts for Damian's behavioral changes. Roz and Damian spend so much time wringing their hands about Damian's increasing anger and what it might mean for him. Unfortunately, there are only so many times I can see the same plot point repeated, and the number of times Damian yells at Roz and then apologizes to her pushes me over that edge. 

Also, Ms. Lobb introduces not one but two new baddies in DISCIPLES OF CHAOS. These baddies are so stereotypical and one-dimensional, that I don't know what value they bring to the story. Part of me wonders if the story would have been stronger if Ms. Lobb had kept one or two baddies from the previous book. At least then we wouldn't have had the introduction of two new characters who are nothing more than plot devices. 

Lastly, Ms. Lobb chose to end her series with a resolution in which all parties achieve some form of satisfaction. However, for a while at least, it looked like she was going to end DISCIPLES OF CHAOS with a less traditional ending. Given the anger and bitterness that embodies both books, the non-traditional ending felt right in that it honored what each person was trying to accomplish. While I don't mind the ending, here is another area in which I wonder if a different choice would have improved the story even more. 

Despite all of my nitpicks, I did enjoy DISCIPLES OF CHAOS. Roz is still so angry, and now we have even angrier Damian. Reading about their anger helped ease my anger towards the general state of the world right now. I could direct my anger towards Roz's and Damian's foes. Having something concrete like that eased some of my anxiety, which is always a goal of reading. Plus, the action is fast and furious, with plenty of twists that I did not anticipate. For its cathartic nature alone, DISCIPLES OF CHAOS is one to enjoy.  

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is my first experience with Ursula K. Le Guin. She is my son's favorite author, and he presented me with this particular novel for Christmas. He felt it was the one that was closest to reflecting some of my values. Now that I've finished at least one Le Guin novel, I am not sure she is the author for me.

THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS starts slowly. While the intention is for it to sound like a travel brochure, it doesn't make for the most engaging of reads. Our main narrator, Genly Ai, is self-centered, misogynistic, and pompous. As his eyes provide our only look at the perpetually frozen planet Gethen and its inhabitants, his biases have a way of sneaking into your subconscious, as do his deliberate or unintentional cultural misunderstandings.

The first half of the novel contains nothing but his commentary on Winter's population and is told in such dry language that it took all my effort to stay awake while reading. Plus, for someone who was sent to the planet as an observer and to entice the natives to join the planetary collective, Ai proves to be less observant and a lot more judgemental than he should be. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Ai's refusal to accept the ambisexuality and complete lack of gender roles that are the hallmark of Gethenians.

While THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is somewhat of a philosophical experiment regarding gender roles' impact on society, the experiment suffers specifically because of Ai's biases affecting his observations. Ai does not attempt to understand a society without gender norms. He continues to categorize those Gethenians he meets as either female or male. And because he has such a rigid, archaic idea of female gender roles, those categorizations immediately impact how he interacts with others. We can only surmise that the Gethenians' lack of war or sex crimes is a direct result of their gender fluidity. There is not enough concrete evidence to support this hypothesis, and all Ai provides is a continued opinion that becoming war-like would promote the Gethenians to a more advanced race. 

Once the story becomes less a travelogue and more an actual story, complete with action and adventure, THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS improves in readability and enjoyment. I particularly enjoyed those few chapters told through Estravan's point of view. Not only did it give me a break from Ai's one-sidedness, but those chapters also helped solidify some of the cultural differences Ai was trying to explain. 

I can't say that I enjoyed THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, but I can appreciate what Ms. Le Guin was trying to accomplish with it. In many ways, the novel feels prescient as discussions of gender fluidity and transgender continue to dominate politics today. For me, however, the novel is too philosophical, too esoteric for my tastes. I like escapist fiction, and at least half of THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS is not escapist at all. It demands your undivided attention while reading and dedicated analysis after reading. My son loves that sort of thing. I prefer to read something a lot less intellectual. 

PORTRAIT IN DEATH, book 16 in J. D. Robb's In Death series, continues the story of Eve Dallas and her homicide cases. This time, the murderer immortalizes their victims through photography, focusing on the young and innocent. It is a sad story, more so than usual, and made even more solemn by a big reveal about Roarke's past. 

With the previous novels, I have been able to hazard an educated guess as to the murderer with a modicum of success. This is not the case with PORTRAIT IN DEATH. Every time I thought I had the killer, Eve would uncover something else that would prove me wrong. While I never judge a mystery based on my ability to solve it, I do love that after so many novels in the series, Ms. Robb still has the power to keep me guessing. 

While every book in the In Death series is about loss in one form or another, PORTRAIT IN DEATH has loss at its core. Everything from the murderer's rationale for the killings to their frame of mind to the secrets of Roarke's past coming to light for the first time deals directly with loss, familial loss in particular. The only sections of the story not dealing with loss are the scenes between Eve and Somerset, always a delight, and which bring with them a much-needed sense of levity to the proceedings. 

PORTRAIT IN DEATH is another strong story in a series of strong stories. Not only does Eve solve yet another tricky murder mystery, but we also get a rare glimpse into Roarke's past and an even rarer look at his softer side. While novels that make up the In Death series are always good, those that help Eve and Roarke lose one more layer of their tough outer shells are particularly special. Such is the case of PORTRAIT IN DEATH. 

THE BAD ONES is Melissa Albert's latest novel. Known for her fantasy worlds, Ms. Albert changes things by setting this story in the un-fantastical Chicago suburbs. She doesn't abandon her roots, however, which means there is more than meets the eye as you progress through the story. 

Unfortunately, THE BAD ONES is not up to the same standard as Ms. Albert's previous stories. For one, it suffers from pacing issues. The novel starts WAY too slowly; I couldn't get more than five pages before falling asleep, no matter what time I started reading. And this lasted well into the halfway mark. Once you reach that midway point, the story becomes a race to the end. There are few explanations for the supernatural element, which Ms. Albert introduces towards the last third of the novel. The rush and the last-minute introduction of something that dramatically changes the story make for an unsatisfactory reading experience. 

However, I do like how Ms. Albert portrays Nora. She doesn't shy away from showing Nora's inner turmoil. Friendships are tricky, and Nora must maneuver through the emotional aftermath of a long-time friendship that abruptly ends and the guilt that ensues once Becca disappears. We see Nora hesitate to seek potential love while experiencing a loss. Because of this, we know that Nora is more vulnerable and fragile than most teens. It makes her a likable character, even if her relationships are questionable. 

The main message of THE BAD ONES is one we've heard before and often. Ultimately, we know that people experience things we cannot know, and we should be mindful before criticizing them. Ms. Albert doesn't just remind us of this fact. She hits us over the head with this idea of secrets that are not just shocking but also life-changing. It not only makes you question what someone might be experiencing, but it changes how you look at other people. Because you never know.

I still love Ms. Albert and her writing even if I wasn't enamored with THE BAD ONES. More than anything else, the pacing is what makes THE BAD ONES such a disappointment. Her characters remain strong and well-developed. The plot is good, albeit it suffers from too much exposition in the first half and not enough in the second. I'm going to chalk this up to a one-off and expect good things from Ms. Albert in the future.

THE SEA OF MONSTERS by Rick Riordan is the second Percy Jackson and the Olympians book, and it ends much more strongly than it begins. I saw the movie years ago, providing me with the basic plot. Still, reading THE SEA OF MONSTERS was very different than watching the movie. It surprised me in several ways.

It wasn't apparent in the movie, but I would describe THE SEA OF MONSTERS as The Odyssey Lite. Percy and Annabeth essentially follow Odysseus' path, with stops at Circe's island, escaping Sylla, Charybdis, and the sirens, and battling a cyclops. Plus, there is a not-so-veiled nod to Penelope. It just so happens that this all occurs in the Bermuda Triangle instead of the Mediterranean Sea. Very clever, Mr. Riordan. Very clever, indeed.

As if retelling The Odyssey weren't enough, THE SEA OF MONSTERS also pushes the overarching plot forward. We learn the answers to one or two secrets, meet new characters, and learn more about Luke's plans. You can feel the story preparing for a big battle. While we aren't at that point yet, you can begin to see how it might unfold. 

The other element of THE SEA OF MONSTERS I appreciate is the growing maturity of the characters. Yes, they are still young and act like it. But we also get to see many of the characters overcome prejudices and battle long-held intolerances. Percy doesn't jump quite as fast into an unknown situation. He does take a second or two to think through his actions before jumping. The character development feels natural, befitting the characters' experiences and increase in age.    

THE SEA OF MONSTERS is a clever retelling of The Odyssey. Similarly, Percy and friends provide excellent examples of what it means to overcome prejudice. With plenty of monsters and danger to excite the target audience, there are also some great lessons young readers will pick up along the way. No wonder it remains so popular with kids and parents.

THE BOOK OF DOORS by Gareth Brown is a clever story with a very different take on time travel. All books are magic, but Mr. Brown presents a world in which certain books have a specific type of magic. One makes you feel nothing but joy. One helps you to create illusions. One causes pain. And one opens any door anywhere. 

One of the best things about THE BOOK OF DOORS is that it is a standalone story that explains all its mysteries. By the end of the story, you know what happens to each of the characters, know the pertinent elements of their backstory, see how the books come to exist, and get closure on the characters' futures. Mr. Brown tidily wraps everything up for his readers, something that doesn't often happen in fantasy novels. 

While book lovers often talk about books as a way to discover new worlds and experience different cultures without ever leaving home, THE BOOK OF DOORS takes that idea and makes it real - except for the leaving home part. It is less about a love of books and more about the living embodiment of what books can do for its readers. While Cassie's book is a literal door to anywhere, the other books are equally powerful. Everyone who calls themselves a reader has an experience of strong emotional reactions or imagining something that doesn't exist simply through the words on a page. 

As for Cassie's Book of Doors, Mr. Brown changes the idea of time travel we've seen in previous novels. If I had to guess, Mr. Brown was not a fan of any of the Back to the Future series, given that his book makes that series impossible. Gone is the idea that the past is malleable, and any change you make to the past would have consequences for your future - the very premise of all three Back to the Future movies. Instead, in THE BOOK OF DOORS, the past is fixed and cannot be changed.  

Not only does Mr. Brown's time travel idea turn the idea of time travel on its head, but it removes all of the danger of time travel. (Yes, time travel is theoretical, but let's pretend we could do it and it was physically safe.) No more time paradoxes. No more threat of nonexistence should your past self meet with your time-traveling self. The options Mr. Brown's idea gives time travel are limitless, and Cassie only touches the surface of it. 

While other stories out there revolve around a love of reading, THE BOOK OF DOORS takes the idea of the power of books and makes it literal. The story is a simple one, and the characters are equally one-noted. But any lover of books will appreciate the world Mr. Brown builds.