Review: The Curse Workers: White Cat; Red Glove; Black Heart

The Curse Workers: White Cat; Red Glove; Black Heart by Holly Black
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is probably the first Holly Black book that I didn't fall in love with immediately. I did like it, but I didn't find it quite as engaging as the Folk of the Air (a masterpiece series), Coldest Girl in Coldtown (a standalone under-the-radar masterpiece), or even the Tithe series.

Most of what I love about Holly Black is there - great characters, clever dialogue, a crapton of bon mots. The worldbuilding here (curse workers possess various cool powers but cannot use said powers indiscriminately) wasn't as strong as in other books, but I didn't hate it. I thought the concept of blowback (basically receiving back what you put out ten folder, so if you're a death worker you can kill someone with a touch, but you'll literally lose parts of yourself as a result) was smart, I was really engaged by the whole criminal underworld/con man focus, and I thought Cassel was a delight. Actually, most of the main characters were great (I very much enjoyed Cassel and Sam's dynamic, and Cassel's family is like a smorgasbord of train-wreck entertainment).

Given all that, I'm not sure why I only rated it 3 stars; in fact, I'll be generous and bump it up to 3.5. I think if I had to pick a reason, it would be, first, I didn't like Lila (the main female character and Cassel's love interest) at all. For a gangster's daughter, she was bland, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why Cassel loved her so much. She's supposed to be some tough, cool girl, but I found characters like Jude from FotA and Tana from CGiCt much grittier, which is saying something, given that Lila is a mob boss in training. Also, this was a bind-up of three separate books, so I think it just felt like kind of a slog going through all three one after the other.

That being said, I'd still recommend it because there's enough of what Holly Black is known for and what she excels at present here to make it worth the effort in reading.

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Review: The Contortionist

The Contortionist by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am slightly shocked that I liked this as much as I did. I'm also pleasantly surprised to see that Kathryn Ann Kingsley appears to be not only talented, but consistently talented - there is nothing worse than reading a book, loving it, and trying to devour the author's entire catalog only to discover that the one book was an outlier and that everything else sucks.

Definitely not the case here - KK is so far five-for-five in my book as far as writing engaging, funny, witty, sexy stories. And she has a definite knack for writing truly dark heroes that you can't help but love. I'm not talking about the type that seems bad at first but then somehow has an explanation for literally every bad thing they've ever done. Her heroes are bad, they know it, but somehow they can't help being soft for the FMC. There's no trying to understand it, and I'm actually kind of glad that I don't have to perform the mental gymnastics required to understand how I could actually be hot for a villain (or read a fucking chapter-long diatribe on the same). In other words, this is true dark, fantasy romance, and it's great.

I've mentioned before that I'm not normally a fan of dark romance, though I do find it more palatable when it's in a fantasy setting, and I think that's purely because I want to suspend disbelief and don't want to think about the implications of finding an actual psycho that could very well exist in the read world kind of hot. I don't want to read about another Ted Bundy. A freaky undead puppeteer that's part of a murder circus (as Cora would say)? Sign me up, I don't have to worry about running into him in an alley at night.

This is true dark romance, mind you, and while Simon is every bit as witty, intriguing, and charming as Valroy (from the author's Maze series) you'd do well to understand that he is not a good guy and doesn't try to be at all, except when it comes to his intended. In other words, you're not going to get all hot for him only have him be completely defanged later because it turns out he was working undercover the whole time and was really emo over the bad stuff he did, and can you tell I'm talking about Rhysand here?

You're safe with Simon....not literally, but you're safe in knowing that he's not going to turn out to be a wimp later on.

All things aside, the story is engaging, the setting is *chef's kiss* (freaky vintage carnival with a sort-of tarot theme! I can practically smell the popcorn). And if that doesn't have you convinced, KK is an artist in addition to being an author, so her books are often accompanied by character and setting artwork, which is such a treat. I know not all authors are artists, but I do wish more included artwork in their books (and it's really just on the flyleaf or end papers here, there's not a ton) because it really helps with the immersion, and I am American, and thus lazy, and don't like to think for myself. In all seriousness, her art is gorgeous, as is her writing, and I'm so so glad I discovered her. You will be too.

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Review: A Court of Mist and Fury

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm surprised I never reviewed this on my first go-around two years ago. In a way I'm glad, because I apparently gave it a five star rating, and I had written some gushy review I'd be feeling pretty damn embarrassed right now.

This was the audiobook version, and that bears mentioning because I severely disliked the book narrator. I don't believe that had any impact on my downgraded rating, more that emphasized a growing dislike for Feyre and Rhys that really started in "A Court of Silver Flames." Why it started there I can only chalk up to the fact that their behavior is so egregiously bad in that book that it's hard to ignore. I apparently did ignore it my first trip through this book, but now that I look at it, it's there in spades.

ACOTAR - Full Highlights and Notes

 

Idk what anyone says, he's still the hottest high lord and I'd still let him eat me alive.

There's really no point in putting up an ACOMAF highlight notebook without doing the same for ACOTAR, because you cannot look at both independently of each other and hope to understand why 1). Tamlin is deserving of our sympathy and 2). Apparently SJM has selective memory when it comes to her own writing.

In any case, here are my notes on book 1.  Feel free to send them to any Rhys stan who insists Tamlin was always awful or that Rhys was always good.

Review: House of Sky and Breath

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Where do I even start with this? There are three things you need to know about this book. First, it's fucking long. Second, it didn't need to be as long as it was. Third, it's absolutely batshit crazy. 

 I was hopeful for this new, more adult series when I first read it last year, but it actually wound up being not all that different from ACOTAR, or what I read of TOG (I haven't finished that yet and I'm not sure I will). 

 Now that I mention it, there's probably a fourth thing you should know about this book - Sarah J. Maas writes the same story, over and over. The minor details might change, but the major ideas, themes, and concepts are all the exact. same. thing. Partially human girl? Check. Ridiculous amount of powers and abilities? Check. Status as chosen one/savior? Check. Hot, over-muscled, similarly over-powered SO that everyone else is really afraid of? Check. Quest to save the world that only our aforementioned heroine can complete? Check. Lots of fucking/growling/purring/roaring? Check check check check. 

 Honestly, the list could go on and on. And really, I could have forgiven sticking with a certain theme (horny fae is definitely her shtick). The fact that SJM is now not only copying her own concepts over and over again, but literally smashing all of those previously separate worlds together is where I draw the line.