Category: Book review

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

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Title: A Marvellous Light
Author: Freya Marske
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this story — on its surface, a historical fantasy romance involving the affable baronet Robin Blythe being shoved into a ministry position that introduces him to the magical world, via the stand-offish magician Edwin Courcey and a magical curse.

Robin and Edwin are captivating characters, both struggling with other people’s expectations for them as well as their desire for each other. But the story goes beyond that, including blatant examples of sexism and racism (hat tip to the fabulous Adelaide Morrissey and Kitty Kaur — all I can say is “woe.”) that cloud the judgment of not only the non-magical Edwardian society but the magical community as well. I enjoyed how these themes were woven together with the plot, how the main characters grew through the story, and the delightful (albeit a bit hand-wavy, pun intended) magical system based on Cat’s Cradle.

I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel focused on Robin’s sister Maud, A Restless Truth.

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

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Title: The Road Trip
Author: Beth O’Leary
Format: Audiobook
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

The Road Trip was just the kind of contemporary romance I enjoy: a story with conflict caused by the characters’ values and priorities (not just miscommunication), gradual character growth, and humor alongside dealing with serious issues. The audiobook was recorded with two narrators (for the two leads), which worked well for the way the POV was passed back and forth between them. I also enjoyed the structure, which interspersed the present day timeline — full of unexplained interpersonal tension — with flashbacks that gradually filled in the reader on everyone’s history. I genuinely liked both Addie and Dylan, even when they were making mistakes, and most of the other flawed characters had enough humanity and depth to explain their actions. A really enjoyable read with a humorous literal journey and a moving figurative one.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

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Title: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
Author: Cat Sebastian
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, LGBTQ+
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is a highly enjoyable romance starring Percy, the foppish son of the (clearly evil) Duke of Clare, and Kit, a former highwayman who Percy tries to hire to steal (from the duke, of course) a book that belonged to his late mother. It has a fairly predictable series of events and I found myself identifying who was really who almost as soon as new characters appeared on the page. But despite that, I enjoyed watching Percy open his eyes to the damage the aristocracy can do and make his own choices based on that knowledge, without having a complete personality transplant. Kit was a charming highwayman-turned-coffeeshop-owner and I adored watching the two fall for each other. I wish we’d seen more of their backstory with their closest friends, Marian and Rob — I especially found it hard to like Marian, who was barely there for Percy — but perhaps the sequel will make them more likable or at least relatable characters.

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

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Title: The Radium Girls
Author: Kate Moore
Genre(s): Non-fiction
Rating: ★★★★★

This was one of the most captivating non-fiction books I have ever read, with the women and their stories coming to life (including in their own words) in a way that I rarely feel outside of fiction. Not surprising, then, to find out that Moore’s mission was to focus on the women at the center of this radium controversy.

It was deeply disturbing to read what happened to these women — women who contracted radiation poisoning while working with radium-infused paint — and how their suffering was minimized, ignored, or outright lied about in the name of profit. And it was incredibly moving to hear what they were willing to go through to get justice for themselves and for everyone coming afterwards. All in all, this was an enlightening read about an important part of the history of labor rights in the United States, told in a way that is sure to stay with me.

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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Title: Gallant
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre(s): Gothic fantasy
Rating: ★★★★☆

This was a beautiful, dark, compelling tale about an orphan girl searching for home and family. It took me a little time to get into it — getting used to the slow pace and Olivia’s internal world — but once I did I was all in. I loved the way Olivia kept returning to her mother’s journal, revealing something new about her story each time. The fantasy aspects of the story were a bit simplistic, but I found I didn’t really mind that since my focus was on Olivia’s experience and the creepy yet captivating setting. I loved seeing the shift in her perspective and her relationship with the people and places (and ghouls) surrounding her.

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella (DNF)

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Title: Love Your Life
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

I picked this up from my library as a light-hearted, contemporary romance story I could listen to in audiobook format while doing chores around the house. Sadly, it was a DNF for me. The main character was too naïve, clueless, and melodramatic for me to get interested in her. And the idea that the two characters thought they were in love (rather than just infatuated) having only spent a holiday together in which they refused to share personal details about themselves? I stuck with it long enough to see them get back home and start to learn about each other’s real lives and everyday personalities, and it all just felt so unreal and ridiculous that I couldn’t continue.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

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Title: Husband Material
Author: Alexis Hall
Genre(s): Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆

There are a few things I adore about Alexis Hall’s romance novels that are well represented in this book: his couples communicate and act like real people, and so don’t end up in conflicts that could be solved with a straightforward explanation, thus inspiring me to yell “just talk to each other already!” (but do still sometimes end up with communication problems because, well, people are complex and sometimes communication is hard); his stories are full of feelings that often are not just about the two main characters, but also portray the benefits and challenges of friendship; and he is interested in looking for satisfying endings that aren’t necessarily the simple marriage and heteronormative HEA or the simplified fall-in-love-and-done story. Luc and Oliver are such interesting characters to me because at this point (heads up if you didn’t know, this book is a sequel to Boyfriend Material!) they are dealing with the kinds of problems that come up when the New Relationship Energy has run out and you’re left with questions about long-term compatibility and values and identity and those conversations that you see turning into arguments but can’t quite stop because the disagreements are well-worn grooves that you just fall into. They feel like such real people in a caring, imperfect long-term relationship. I maybe wasn’t a huge fan of the “Four Weddings and a Funeral” structure, which felt a little too predictable once I realized what was going on (around the end of the second wedding). But I was sucked in to the story, from the serious and loving moments to the hilarious — including the continued failed jokes with Luc’s coworkers and the very satisfying jabs at Tories and religion and the middle/upper classes.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

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Title: The Dutch House
Author: Ann Patchett
Format: Audiobook
Genre(s): Literary fiction, Historical
Rating: ★★★★★

I picked up this book entirely because I’d heard that Tom Hanks does an incredible job narrating the audiobook; that’s 100% true and I’d recommend listening just to hear how a first-rate actor can really bring a story to life through narration. But this is also a moving story about a brother, a sister, their childhood home, and the ways their relationships (with each other and everyone around them) grow and change through their lives. We often think of a relationship as a thing that exists between two people, but this books illustrates how relationships exist in a web, and how changes in one relationship can pull on the other strands, shaping or loosening or weaving them tighter. The house also, unsurprisingly, has a strong presence throughout the book — unchanging while the family within it is remade over and over. A fascinating story about relationships, family, wealth, memory, and the ways that we build and rebuild our lives moment by moment.

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King

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Title: Five Tuesdays in Winter
Author: Lily King
Genre(s): Literary fiction, short stories
Rating: ★★★★☆

This collection of short stories portrays a fascinating variety of relationships, with characters at different points in their lives struggling through very different situations. All of the stories have a profound element of sadness, and some even violence, but they are also threaded with hope and love. As with my favorite short stories, these drop us right into the middle of a character’s experience, seeing their struggles from their perspective, and they aren’t all resolved pleasantly. We sit with the messiness of real conflict, mixed with pain and affection. A wonderful set of stories and a great introduction to a new-to-me author; I’ll be reading more of Lily King’s work.

Arabella by Georgette Heyer

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Title: Arabella
Author: Georgette Heyer
Genre(s): Romance, Historical
Rating: ★★★☆☆

A friend recently introduced me to the Internet Archive Books collection, so I decided to take advantage of its vast collection of older books to read a regency romance by the author who established the genre. I love the historical details in Heyer’s novels, including the dialogue, and she includes a great deal of humor (especially in stories like this that revolve around a sort of mistaken identity). Arabella, as a relatively unsophisticated girl from Yorkshire, provides a refreshingly progressive perspective on the inequality that pervades London — her combination of privilege and naïvety is mostly endearing though at times offensive as she rides roughshod over those around her in an attempt to help the less fortunate. I tend to feel that Heyer rushes the endings, with everything resolved a bit too quickly. But the journey to get there is funny and witty and I always enjoy the ride.