Book 46 The Banishment

 

The Banishment by Marion Chesney (MC Beaton) fulfills the category “Book from Your TBR List You Associate with a Favorite Person, Place, or Thing” for the PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge.

I bought this title on a trip to Portland, OR to see my husband’s bestie. The two have known each other since the Navy many years ago. Bestie moved to the West Coast after stints in New York and Connecticut. He and Hubby talk all the time in long, political, and scientific conversations. Two years ago, we decided to hit the Pacific Northwest, and all four of us packed up for Portland.

Hubby had visited Bestie before and sent me back pictures of Powell’s Book Store. I was like, “very nice.” I had no idea. Powell’s bookstore in person is a thing of wonder and glory. I wanted to stay all day and buy everything! I purchased all the Marion Chesney/MC Beaton I could find, including The Banishment.

I hit all three: favorite person (one of them)—Bestie, favorite place—bookstore, favorite thing—books.

This title is a regency romance. Ms. Chesney has several series of regency romances, Edwardian mysteries, and of course, her sixty-plus cozy mysteries. The Banishment begins the “Daughters of Mannerling” series. The plot sets up the series when the Beverly’s lose their fortune to their father’s gambling. They had been the snootiest, richest family around, and now they were forced to sell their palatial home and live in a cottage. Isabella, the heroine, just had a failed season because of her snobbish ways. Had she married, it might have saved the family.

Of course, being a romance, we end up with a happily-ever-after for Isabella, who goes through a not-quite-believable change of heart about her family’s circumstances. Page one, she’s a ridiculous snob. Page 100, she’s empathetic and strong. Her change was abrupt, but the book is short. Also, it’s MC Beaton, and I’m used to following her lead, even if it’s not a hundred percent believable.

I love her books, and this first in series was fun. Ms. Chesney played on all our literary favorites. The house sounds like Manderley, from Rebecca. The family has a house full of girls in need of good marriages, a la Pride and Prejudice. They are forced into a cottage like Sense and Sensibility. I’m sure there are more that I missed.

Anyway, loved the book, loved buying the book, loved seeing Bestie.

I give The Banishment by Marion Chesney Four Horses with Evil Names (only four because of Isabella’s quick change).

 

Book 45 The Rook

 

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley fulfilled the category “A DNF from your TBR List” for the PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge. I received a recommendation for this title at least five years ago. I started it but put it away for some reason. A quarter of the way into the novel, I realized why I never finished. It is the perfect example of showing, not telling.

The Rook places us inside a secret British government agency that polices paranormal activity in the British Isles. No, this isn’t another Lockwood and Co story and does not star Thursday Next. Instead, our main character is a bureaucrat who finds herself without memory in the middle of a murder and invasion plot. Her group is called the Checquy, and they base their leadership on the chessboard. Myfanwy (pronounced Miff-ann-ey) is a Rook. She must hide her lack of memory, find out who tried to kill her, and save the world.

Sounds fantastic, right? Many members of the Checquy have superpowers, and most are unique. It’s like the author thought long and hard about interesting ways to expand human capabilities. For example, a set of quintuplets only have one consciousness between them—four bodies, one brain. Cool, right?

Yeah, well…

The book is 504 pages, 250 of which are exposition. The author explains what happened in the past to set up Myfanwy’s current situation. We listen to her own diary entries, stories from other characters, and long history lessons. I get that Mr. O’Malley must build the world he threw amnesia-stricken Myfanwy into. But really, the wonderful story suffered from the pages and pages of explanations. It was great that he switched from third person to first person to do the diary entries, but other characters droned on and on. Even my hubby, who listened to five hours of the seventeen. commented the amount of explanation in the book.

Also, I had a hard time finding some things believable. I can buy a man who can melt metal and reshape it into any form with his hands or an old woman who can speak to others in dreams. The diary of the pre-amnesia (PA) Myfanwy is supposed to be from a perfect bureaucrat, well versed in proper procedure. If that was the case, I think she would have spilled the information the new Myfanwy needed immediately, instead of writing tons of letters. If PA Myfanwy really was super-efficient at conducting strikes against supernatural enemies, she would have reported in the first letter. Yes, I know—plot. Honestly, with inconsistent characters and miles of explanation, I was disappointed in the telling of the story.

Just to mess me up even more, the audio was read by the same woman who read all the Thursday Next books. I got a bit confused why the book wasn’t better. Then I remembered Jasper Fforde didn’t write it.

So, The Rook was an interesting read with a great premise and interesting ideas. But if you want your supernatural government agencies to rule by action, rather than explanation, you might want to try another series.

I give The Rook by Daniel O’Malley Four Psychic Ducks, just for effort.

 

 

Book 44 Want

 

Want by Cindy Pon fulfilled the category “Book about a Social Justice Issue” for the PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge.

I also read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett after I finished the first title. I’d hoped for a less obvious plot. The novel was good. But if I reviewed it, I’d be rehashing topics I’ve already discussed on the blog. With Forbidden, though the period is earlier, the topic of passing as white is a central part of the conflict. In The Vanishing Half, there’s more family, sexual identity, and other racial issues. But I didn’t care for the ending. Too much seemed unresolved. Plus, being a white suburbanite, I’m not sure it’s my place to do more than listen and learn about race issues. Oh, and fix my inner biases. So, I will keep reading books such as this.

Anyway, Want was an altogether different story. The plot takes place in the future in an environmentally savaged Taipei. In this bleak environment, the rich can shake off the worries about destroying the planet by purchasing products to ignore them. In the city, the poor struggle to breathe and find adequate health care in the smog-filled streets. The break between the haves and have-nots is enormous. They even use these terms in everyday speech.

A small group of environmentally conscious teens decides to take on the big corporation that sells the breathing suits. Jason Zhou transforms himself into a You (pronounced yo), one of the rich, to infiltrate the company. Along the way, he discovers romance, corruption, and an evil plot.

As a sci-fi suspense book, Want has all you need. I hesitated to use it for the blog because at times the plot was contrived. (Says the romance writer, forgive me.) Like my last choice, the author seemed to go one step too far in building conflict. It’s felt like, “Hey, all this bad stuff and now a romance. OMG, and then… wait, there’s more.” Too much coincidence and contrivance for my taste.

But the concepts used by the author to build her setting were amazing. The world-building is spectacular, detailed, and very plausible. Which makes it also a bit scary—the use of a devastated environment as setting. We could be in the same situation in twenty or thirty years if we keep this up. If we don’t take care of this planet, we will kill ourselves off.

Also, the issues about socio-economic differences highlight a real-world problem. We are beginning to see the scope in the United States. The uber-rich plan flights into space rather than invest in green and renewable resources for this planet. Millions of people struggle to survive working several jobs. One health care disaster and they could be on the street. While the rich play and play and play, indifferent to the struggle of others.

The future Ms. Pon shows us is absolutely achievable if we don’t change our actions and attitudes quickly.

I give Want by Cindy Pon Four Calla Lilies.

 

Book 43 Firekeeper’s Daughter

 

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley fulfills the category “Book Written by an Indigenous Person” for the PopSugar 2021 Reading Challenge. This novel was written by a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan.

The title was not my first choice for the category. I’ve read a couple of other books by Native Americans recently, including There There and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I liked one, didn’t like the other, and I think I’ve already blogged those for you for the challenge.

I also read Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead. The book was interesting. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t sure how to put it together in the blog. Talking about a gay, male Native American who is a sex worker was just a little too much for me this week. I still recommend the title. It is a unique perspective about being queer and being native, but it’s explicit. Be aware.

Now let’s talk about Firekeeper’s Daughter, an amazing book. It wasn’t just a slice of life of a Native American. It was a suspense novel, using their tribe and Daunis, the heroine, as the base. And she was a true champion—brave, smart, and vulnerable when needed. I love the fact that she was a female hockey player.My friend’s daughter is a hockey player. But being an athlete is not her only attribute. She’s smart and studies. She cares for her family by taking time out for them and assisting them. She was a great daughter of the tribe.

The author did a fantastic job interspersing cultural information with suspenseful action. It never felt like an information dump. Daunis explained things without being boring or dogmatic. It was a perfect blend. Especially since most of the book involved suspense, murder, and drugs. Poor Daunis gets caught up in it.

She ends up becoming an informant for the FBI. Ms. Boulley went all 21 Jump Street and had one of the FBI officers infiltrate the high school. Daunis and Jaime have serious sparks. So now we have a Native American romantic suspense novel… maybe… Honestly, it’s more traditional suspense, with a building of tension until the end. Through without knowing our bad guy, I guess I have to classify the novel as a mystery.

Without spoiling, I will say that I think the author jumped the shark a tiny bit with conflict and tension toward the end. Spoiler! Daunis is sexually assaulted—raped—near the end of the book. In my opinion, the scene and action are not necessary for the story. In fact, the plot becomes less believable because of it. Too many bad things happen to Daunis on her journey to find the person who killed her friend and is spreading drugs in her community. She has little reaction to the sexual assault. I understand why the author added that horrible event, but I think rape went too far.

Enough ranting… because spoiler. I was not happy about the identity of the bad guy. Too much baggage was left with that villain. I won’t say more. Read the book!

I give Firekeeper’s Daughter Five Pinches of Tobacco to honor a brilliant book.