So Misguided

Plain words, uncommon sense

Category: Book Reviews (Page 8 of 39)

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

April 12, 2022 /

Harry Potter meets the X-men.

El is in her penultimate year at the Scholomance. The Scholomance is a bewitched school that educates young sorcerers on the fine art of surviving mals (incredibly hungry monsters that hunt magical beings).

El is not well liked. She sounds like the goth girl in high school that was rude to everybody. She’s the kind of girl who wants friends, yet can’t get passed being betrayed too often by people close to her. The problem is that the only way to really survive mal attacks is to work together. Sorcerers who graduate (aka survive) the school tend to live in enclaves (closed communities who protect each other).

Well turns out Galadriel (El) is an all-powerful wizard who is trying to hide her powers because they are mostly the evil-doing, super dangerous kind. Some kids at the school are really good at making things, others are good at forming protective spells. El is good at bringing down reins of terror. Her grandmother’s prophecy says that El is a burdened soul and will bring death and destruction to all the enclaves in the world if she isn’t stopped. Oops. Well good thing she’s the daughter of a well-loved healer. El is working hard to fight against the prophecy. She’s does things by the book in order to not turn evil. She fights against her powers by thinking through every little spell (her powers are a bit like asking a genie for a wish in that she’s going to get the evil outcome of a spell vs. the benign one her classmates might get).

El is used to doing things on her own. But damn it all if Orion Lake won’t stop running around the school saving everyone from mals, including her.

If El is the goth girl then Orion is the football hero. Of course they are destined to be friends. But that path is full of painful laughs.

Sweet Valley High or Archie meets Harry Potter and the X-Men?

I loved it.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

April 12, 2022 /

Hench is a hilarious and snarky novel about a woman who works for a temp agency. The twist is that the temp agency hires henches for villains. Anna is particularly good at data entry.

There is also a temp agency for meat (hired goons) and it’s called The Meat Market.

Hench was recommended to me by my brother-in-law. It’s the perfect mix of bureaucracy and superhero/villainy.

Since I was already reading A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik, I decided to listen to the Hench audiobook during my daily walks. It was definitely a great way to experience this novel.

Anna is bored but also likes to play it safe. Unlike her friend June (who does field work), Anna is happy at her laptop. But she’s soon thrown into the fray when her evil villain boss kidnaps a kid. Anna becomes collateral damage when the kid is rescued by a superhero who collides into her and shatters her leg.

Left unable to work, Anna finds herself ruminating on just how much damage superheroes actually cause to their communities. Her data analysis is surprisingly revealing and soon another mad-genius villain is interested in her work.

I mean, come on, this is a novel about a data nerd who is able to weaponize her snark! Totally up my alley.

Listen to Hench on audible.

Or find Hench in print via HarperCollins Canada.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

February 24, 2022 /

A beautiful story about belonging, friendship, and home.

TJ Klune deserves all the accolades this book has received and more.

  • A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
  • A 2021 Alex Award winner
  • The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner
  • An Indie Next Pick
  • One of Publishers Weekly‘s “Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020”
  • One of Book Riot’s “20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies”

Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s bestselling The House in the Cerulean Sea is considered his breakout contemporary fantasy — “1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in.” (Gail Carriger)

I am happy to read more from this author. The story is cheeky, magical, and funny (yet somber at times).

Linus Baker is a caseworker with DICOMY, the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. Imagine a caseworker who shows up at places like the X-Men school. But then add the layer of ridiculous bureaucracy.

Linus is full of reports. He sits at a small wooden desk, Row L Desk 7, in a room with 26 rows with 14 desks in each row. It’s stifling. No personal items. No talking. The threat of demerits.

Then one day he is summoned to the fifth floor, Extremely Upper Management, and assigned to a highly classified assignment: visit a far-gone orphanage where only the children with the most dangerous powers are kept. Gulp.

Linus meets a female garden gnome, a sprite, a wyvern (winged creature), an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist.

There are so many great moments in this book where Linus is struggling with his interior monologue (all fear based) and what actually needs to come out of his mouth (words of support and encouragement). In the quote below he has been dragged on a forest adventure with the children. The son of Lucifer is in charge today. He’s six.

“Okay,” Lucy said, stopping at the edge of the trees. He turned back toward the group, eyes wide. “As you all know, there is an evil sprite—”

“Hey!” Phee cried.

“Lucy, we don’t call people evil,” Arthur reminded him as Theodore settled on his shoulder. “It isn’t polite.”

Lucy rolled his eyes. “Fine. I take it back. There is a murderous sprite…” He paused, as if waiting for any objections. There were none. Even Phee seemed gleeful. Linus felt the point had been missed entirely, but thought it wise to keep his mouth shut. “A murderous sprite who has a treasure hidden deep in the woods that is ours for the taking. I cannot promise your survival. In fact, most likely even if you make it to the treasure, I will betray you and feed you to the alligators and laugh as they crunch your bones—”

“Lucy,” Arthur said again.

Lucy signed. “It’s my turn to be in charge.” He pouted.

chapter 10

Linus’ job is to report back to Extremely Upper Management on the house manager Arthur and the children’s welfare. He’s to recommend either it stays open or not. What he finds is a home full of magic—the fantasy kind and the kind that’s fostered by love.

This is a fairy tale for adults and any kid wise enough to understand the nuances of prejudice.

Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day

February 22, 2022 /

Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day is a classic Agatha Christie style mystery. Indeed the novel is set during World War II at Agatha Christie’s real-life country home, Greenway.

In real life, the home hosted a war nursery—children who were evacuated from London. In the novel, the children are managed by a couple—the Arbuthnots—and two hospital nurses. The thing is, neither of the nurses is certified. Gigi is some sort of spy or at least on the run, and Bridget Kelly is a disgraced nurse-in-training. She’s been sent on the assignment as a favour by the hospital Matron.

What transpires is not one murder, but two! And it is Bridget Kelly who manages to do the sleuthing.

Greenway is home to the Scaldwells, who are butler and cook, The Hannafords, gardener and chauffeur, and a colourful cast of village folks who are not keen on evacuees. Mrs. Mallowan (Agatha Christie) makes a brief cameo.

I found this novel thoroughly enjoyable. It’s historical fiction meets murder mystery. Think Poirot, but solved by the new girl.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten

February 7, 2022 /

Maud is almost 90 years old and you might think she’s a flighty old bird but you’d be wrong. She a calculated killer. I really wanted her to be eaten by lions on her safari trip because she’s so nasty. She did sort of warm on me in the end, but I wouldn’t drink anything she’s offering.

This tiny book looks super cute (it’s 6″ x 4.5″) but it’s an alarming set of six stories that present the unfortunate memories of Maud’s earlier days (well, one murder is rather recent). Each trick or murder is weirdly justified in Maud’s mind, and she seems to get away with it.

In some ways the book reminds me of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Night Murder Club, but instead of the little old lady solving murders, the little old lady is committing them.

Overall I did come to like this book.

City of Thieves by David Benioff

February 6, 2022 /

Absolutely haunting, and hilarious, novel about two men who find themselves searching for a dozen eggs during the Nazis’ siege of Leningrad.

Lev Beniov is on citizen patrol when he and his friends see a dead paratrooper drift to ground near their apartment. It’s after curfew but they are starving and are drawn to the treasures this man must have on him, like warm boots, chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes, weapons, anything.

Unfortunately the patrols catch the friends in the act and Lev is captured and thrown into the Crosses. The Crosses is where people are brought and shot. During the night Koyla, a soldier and apparently deserter, is thrown into the same cell as Lev. Koyla is full of confidence and swagger.

“So you think they’ll shoot us in the morning?”

“I doubt it. They’re not preserving us for the night just to shoot us tomorrow.” He sounded quite jaunty about it, as if we were discussing a sporting event, as if the outcome wasn’t particularly momentous no matter which way it went.

chapter 2

Where Koyla is full of drive, Lev is cowardly. The two—a thief and a deserter—are sent out to find a dozen eggs for a wedding cake. A top colonel’s daughter is getting married. The absurdity of war.

One moment they have minutes to live, the next a sniper is flirting with them, they have a lead on eggs, they are running from cannibals who are making sausages out of unsuspecting market goers, apartments collapse, soliders freeze, girls are kept warm and fed to be prostitutes to the Germans. It’s sad and funny and desperate all at the same time.

If you like Chekhov and adventure stories, this is a well-paced novel with all the joy and misery of war that you can imagine.

The True Confessions of a London Spy by Katherine Cowley

February 6, 2022 /
Jane Austen meets John Le Carré

I absolutely LOVE Katherine Cowley’s The Secret Life of Mary Bennet Series. The books are smart and witty, and a wonderful nod to Jane Austen.

The True Confessions of a London Spy is the second novel in this trilogy. Our heroine, Mary Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, finds herself acting as a spy for the British government. She must juggle the expectations of a lady (extravagant balls, chaperones, and asking her brother-in-law permission to leave the house) along with solving the murder of a government messenger, spying on members of parliament, and avoiding harm.

If you’re an Austen fan then you know that Mary Bennet is the lesser known of the Bennet sisters. Elizabeth (Darcy) is often the star of the show. Mary is the middle child, with Jane and Elizabeth as her older sisters and Kitty and Lydia as her younger sisters. Being overlooked is quite familiar to Mary. It’s also what helps her.

Mary could admire Elizabeth. She could aspire to some of Elizabeth’s attributes, and she could use her knowledge of how Elizabeth acted in particular situations to help her take the best possible actions as a spy. But she would not let herself be consumed by envy. She could set it aside, and not let it be a focus of her attention. It was better to become one’s fullest self than to attempt to become someone else.

chapter 8

You don’t have to be a Jane Austen fan to love and appreciate these books, but if you are then I think you will come to adore Mary Bennet the way I do. She’s vain and pedantic and actually quite as beautiful as her older sisters and just as quick and mischievous as her younger sisters.

I absolutely cannot wait for the third book in this series. Full applause to Katherine Cowley for such a fun read.

Find the books at your local bookstore, check out the author’s site, or see my review of book 1 The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet.

The Maid by Nita Prose

January 24, 2022 /

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time meets The Thursday Night Murder Club.

Molly the maid is the perfect scapegoat for a murder. She’s innocent to the world and befriends some bad eggs. But people shouldn’t underestimate Molly. She sees and remembers everything, yet she’s invisible to most. Just a maid.

Nita Prose’s debut novel is a great twist of a story. It has all the quirks of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. We see the world from Molly’s point of view.  “The truth is, I often have trouble with social situations; it’s as though everyone is playing an elaborate game with complex rules they all know, but I’m always playing for the first time.” And it has the fun twists and turns of the best cozy mysteries. Yes there’s a murder, but it’s not a blood and gore, spine-tingling thriller. It’s a mental puzzle. And like Richard Osman’s The Thursday Night Murder Club, Nita Prose has given her readers many splendid characters. 

I was on the third floor, cleaning my rooms. Sunshine was cleaning one half of the floor and I was tackling the other. I entered Room 305, which was not on my roster for that shift, but the front desk had told me it was vacant and needed to be cleaned. I didn’t even bother knocking since I’d been told it was empty, but when I pushed through the door with my trolley. I came face-to-face with two very imposing men.

Gran taught me to judge people by their actions rather than by their appearances, so when I looked upon these two behemoths with shaved heads and perplexing facial tattoos, I immediately assumed the best of them rather than the worst. Maybe these guests were a famous rock duo I’d never head of? Or perhaps they were trendy tattoo artists? Or world-renowned wrestlers? Since I prefer antiques to pop culture, how would I know?

Chapter 7, The Maid

“A smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing debut.” —Lisa Jewell

Find The Maid at your favourite bookstore or learn more at NitaProse.com or the publisher site.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

January 18, 2022 /

A beloved classic that I failed to read sooner.

Meg, her twin brothers, and her baby brother Charles Wallace are desperate to hear news of their father. He’s disappeared and although Mother is keeping it together for the sake of the kids, they all know she’s upset.

The answers come on a dark and stormy night in the form of Calvin, the neighbour, and three witches (women? spirits?): Mrs Who, Mrs Which, and Mrs Whatsit.

Seems that father and mother have been experimenting with space and time travel, and the 3 Mrs’s are experts in it. They take Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace into another dimension to rescue the dad.

Perfect for fans of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

January 18, 2022 /

Pure magic.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is the intertwined stories of Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance. They live in different times but are connected by a lost book about a man who dreams of a world beyond his imagination. He becomes a donkey, a fish, and eventually a bird. It’s a glorious fairy tale about love and finding true knowledge. I loved every part of it.

Konstance lives in the future. She’s in a time capsule travelling through space. Anna lives in the 15th century Constantinople, just before it’s about to be conquered. Omeir is part of the invading army. And Zeno and Seymour cross paths in a library in Idaho. Their stories merge in the same way that very different lives come together in All the Light We Cannot See.

Favourite moment: Anna convinces Licinius to be her tutor by reciting one of his lectures back to him.

Two weeks later she is coming back from the market, going out of her way to pass the rooming house, when she spies the goitrous tutor sitting in the sun like a potted plant. She sets down her basket of onions and with a finger in the dust writes,

Ωκεανσς

Around it she draws a circle.

“Eldest son of Sky and Earth. Here the known. Here the unknown.”

The man strains his head to one side and swivels his gaze to her, as though seeing her for the first time, and the wet in his eyes catches the light.

His name is Licinius. 

Anna, page 3=48

Licinius teaches her the stories of Homer’s Odyssey, Greek grammar, and how to read.

This read is perfect for fans of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. Imagine Klara and the Sun meets Piranesi.

Find a Cloud Cuckoo Land at AnthonyDoerr.com

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