Book Blog #425: My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney

 

Title: My Husband's Wife

Author: Alice Feeney

# of Pages: 307 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (GR: 2 stars)

Synopsis: Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife. One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying. Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person's date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs. My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.

Review: I don't understand why this book is so popular.

This is my first Alice Feeney book, and it might be my last. Through multiple first person POVs (flaw #1), the reader follows along on the investigation surrounding Eden Fox. Each of these POVs go on long monologues about their past and misleadingly frames their story so it's impossible to tell who is going to be involved in this complicated mystery. 

Feeney threw in the whole kitchen sink into this plot; toss in a bunch of red herrings in the form of characters, plot lines that lead to nowhere. She also throws in some elements that are meant to feel sinister and mysterious (think: one character writing something ominous on the walls), but once everything is revealed it makes no sense why the characters would act/think in that way. 

The big reveal was a big let down; not surprising and didn't feel realistic to me with all the loose ends Feeney left behind in the character development. 

I really had to push through this one because it was so easy to put down; I would not recommend. 

Book Blog #424: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

Title: The Tainted Cup 

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

# of Pages: 406 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: ★★★★☆ (GR 4.0)

Synopsis: In Daretana’s most opulent mansion, a high Imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree spontaneously erupted from his body. Even in this canton at the borders of the Empire, where contagions abound and the blood of the Leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death at once terrifying and impossible. Called in to investigate this mystery is Ana Dolabra, an investigator whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol. Din is an engraver, magically altered to possess a perfect memory. His job is to observe and report, and act as his superior’s eyes and ears--quite literally, in this case, as among Ana’s quirks are her insistence on wearing a blindfold at all times, and her refusal to step outside the walls of her home. Din is most perplexed by Ana’s ravenous appetite for information and her mind’s frenzied leaps—not to mention her cheerful disregard for propriety and the apparent joy she takes in scandalizing her young counterpart. Yet as the case unfolds and Ana makes one startling deduction after the next, he finds it hard to deny that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective. As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the safety of the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

Review: An enjoyable read but so confusing that I'm worried the world/plot isn't going to stick.

This is first and foremost a whodunnit mystery, and it just happens to take place in a fantasy setting. Ana is the erratic and crass investigator, and Din (the narrator) is her more serious assistant.  Ana is clearly the comedy in this book and was a crucial part of why this story was so enjoyable.

Unlike other fantasy books (DCC, Harry Potter) that have a protagonist who is new to the fantasy world being introduced, Din is more relatable to the audience in being new to investigation rather than as a character who could introduce the reader to the fundamental fantasy elements. 

Therefore the world building was put on the back burner, and it felt like the reader was expected to gloss over the complexity in favor of trying to follow along with the mystery plot. To make it more confusing, the author wasn't even consistent; "Leviathans" and "titans" were used interchangeably to refer to the enormous monsters that are a threat to the Empire's wall. Honestly the world was vaguely reminiscent of the anime Attack on Titan (walls to keep the titans at, different military divisions) but instead with way more complicated names. 

The fantasy aspect was overly complex relative to the amount of world building actually accomplished n this book. Yes there's a map and a chart for military ranks at the front of the book, but this only scratches the surfaces of all the different races (Oyapati, Sazi, etc), government divisions (Apoth, Iudex, etc.), and suffusions aka permanent alternations (engraver, crackler, etc.) that all could have used their own chart/appendix. 

There's also way too many characters; maybe more than necessary were introduced to make it harder for the reader to deduce who's involved in the mystery, but it made the story harder to follow. The pacing was also quite slow (took me ~2 weeks to read).

Overall I would recommend this book because it's fun, but moreso for those who are interested in whodunnit mysteries. I hope the fantasy element will be better fleshed out in the second book!

Book Blog #423: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

 

Title: The Great Alone

Author: Kristin Hannah

# of Pages: 544 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆ (GR: 4.25)

Synopsis: Alaska, 1974. Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed. For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival. Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

Review: This is the third Kristin Hannah book I've read (following The Women and The Nightingale), and it further proves that she can consistently write engaging stories.

While still soap opera-esque, this book is equally if not more gripping than The Nightingale. Going into this book, I knew the story took place in Alaska and had something to do with a Vietnam War veteran, but I didn't actually read the full synopsis. I was expecting a nature survival story, and while there were elements of that, the crux of the Allbright's problems were actually rooted in mental health and domestic abuse. 

The story is told in third person primarily from Leni's POV. Despite being a kid, Leni is unrealistically self-aware of her toxic family dynamic. The family struggles with what it means to love someone in the face of abuse and demonstrates (frustratingly so) how difficult it is to break out of toxic cycles when mixed together with positive moments. Hearing about this from Leni's 13 year old perspective in the beginning of the book wasn't as gripping because she sounded like an unusually wise observer of this toxicity with little agency herself. This improved as she aged up with the rest of the story, which contributed to the story becoming more gripping in the second half the book. 

I found this book to be less emotionally compelling compared to The Women. While I still was emotionally engaged, particularly as tragic events unfolded and deepened the family conflict, the romance aspect didn't have me as hooked as it did in The Women. It was still a page turner, and I was still rooting for the relationship, but the male love interest was very flat as a character. His existence seemed to revolve around the woman he loved without having much of a personality on his own.

It shouldn't have surprised me that this book focuses on women and the beauty of unconditional love between them. After three books of this, Kristin Hannah has solidified her position as a women's fiction writer. She also proved again that she is a master of writing historical fiction by weaving in details from the time period into the story. In this book, the social and legal landscape for women (even for something as simple as getting a credit card without a cosigner) really underscored the struggles Leni and her mother Cora encountered.

The ending was extremely rushed; Kristin Hannah seemed to be in a hurry to tie up all the loose ends as quickly as possible without leaving space for the reader to sit with the stress of the high stakes. Despite the uneven pacing, I would still recommend this book.

Book Blog #422: American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee

 

Title: American Hagwon

Author: Min Jin Lee

# of Pages: 640 (hardback)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (GR: 3.25 stars)

Synopsis: In schools and churches, hotel rooms and nail salons, law firms and fried-fish shops; in cramped, dingy apartments and luxury, gated communities, the men, women, and children in American Hagwon struggle to find satisfaction and meaning in a world that seems to grow less forgiving with each passing year. Once comfortably middle class in Korea, John and Helen Koh and their three children—Bo, DH, and Mido—find their lives upended, first by a shocking betrayal by John’s oldest friend, then by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Desperately striving to regain their footing, they leave Seoul for Sydney and eventually settle in Southern California—where new vistas of opportunity open up for the children as their parents, strangers in a strange land, must adjust to a new life in which their experience and education mean little, and they set their sights on whatever it takes to provide for their children’s futures. The Kohs, their friends, relatives, and even their foes move in and out of each other’s lives as they navigate new courses across the years, always nursing the almost all-consuming faith that education will lead the next generation to success and security. In American Hagwon, Min Jin Lee has crafted an unforgettable, panoramic novel where the smallest of gestures can have enormous repercussions, where the bonds of family and of memory twist and fray but rarely break, and where willful self-sacrifice—for the benefit of loved ones and even strangers—is a kind of prayer.

Review: This book could have been so much better.

It's been a long time since I read Pachinko, but I remember being emotional invested despite how much the book took on (spanning multiple generations, multiple third person POVs, time skips, historical accuracy). American Hagwon is similar; it focuses primarily on the Kohs (John, Helen, and their three kids) but also includes some tangentially related characters like Danbi (John's coworker), Yun (Mido's friend), Sonya (Helen's sister), Peter (DH's friend), etc.

Unfortunately unlike Pachinko, American Hagwon doesn't achieve the same beauty and richness in its story. The start was slow (as to be expected to build up a large cast of characters). However, the story only had a few compelling moments but otherwise stayed flat in pacing. There were a lot of slice of life moments where is usually okay for an in-depth drama, but MJL would reiterate key events or character traits as if the reader would've already forgetten something that happened a few chapters ago. 

This book read like a Jodi Picoult book; it's clear MJL wanted to tackle the topic of education/learning and its societal expectations being bad for children. It was blatant when MJL used a character to deliver an argument on this topic, which came off as preachy and read like a fantasy (unrealistic). I wish these points were better woven into the story rather than having the characters (especially Peter and Lion) tell other characters (and therefore the reader) over and over again.

The best chapters were the ones that focused on Danbi (love to hate her) and Sonya (juggled more interesting relationship dynamics than other characters like Mido). The characters would have benefitted from being more nuanced; the morally good characters are too good that they're boring, and the morally questionable characters lean into the "villain" role a bit too much.

Overall, didn't meet my expectations unfortunately. This book was very put-downable, and the story would have been much better if it were more focused, concise, and immersive since I wasn't too attached to the most of the characters. 

Book Blog #419: The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinniman

 

Title: The Gate of the Feral Gods

Author: Matt Dinniman

# of Pages: 572 (ebook)

Genre: Adult,  Adventure, Dystopia

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (GR: 3 stars)

Synopsis: A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps. It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked. Here's the thing. It's never easy. Carl and his team can't go it alone. Not this time. They must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can't-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted? Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon.

Review: I actually like book 3 more than I liked this book. 

While the fifth floor concept described in book 4 is more comprehensively executed (no warning in the beginning from Dinniman about it being too complex and unnecessary for the reader to understand), I wasn't that interested in it. Readers who enjoy the boss fights the most will be pleased. Otherwise this book seemed to be setup for (hopefully) more character-driven storylines later in the series; new characters and connections were introduced, but existing characters and relationships didn't have as much development compared to book 3. 

It took me a while to chip away at this book, but the second half and epilogue was definitely better than the first. 

Book Blog #418: Hollywood, Ending by John Green

 

Title: Hollywood, Ending

Author: John Green

# of Pages: 296 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (GR: 3.5 stars)

Synopsis: For rising young actors Kai Laramie and Juniper Castillo, being cast in the buzzy biopic Andy Warhol Never Gets Old is the opportunity they’ve been waiting for. They’re on the verge of breaking out, and maybe even falling in love. Soon the movie is blowing up and so are their lives—in exciting but also terrifying ways. John Green artfully blends a behind-the-scenes Hollywood love story with an unflinching examination of the insatiable attention economy. Told through dual points of view, the novel follows Kai and Juniper from their first days on location to the movie’s premiere, brilliantly juxtaposing their story with the on-screen study of Warhol’s life at the dawn of celebrity culture.

Review: (This is the first book I'm rating using Goodreads's partial stars)

This felt like a story I'd already read. Juniper, a child star who's now a young adult, has a chunk of a chapters from her first person perspective that showed the pains of growing up in the Hollywood industry. Since Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died was popular not that long ago, this felt like too similar of a story and made the book very put-down-able.

In the middle of the book, there are chapter from Kai's perspective which I enjoyed more. Kai is a more relatable narrator because he's a newcomer to the Hollywood industry. I initially thought that the story should have only been told from his POV, but I could appreciate how the dual points of view showed how those in the industry can be both victims and perpetrators of the toxicity (even if only through being complicit). 

However, even Kai's narrative highlighted the dark side of Hollywood in similar ways that some readers probably always saw through other popular media like Bojack Horseman (the glamor of Hollywood hiding the behind the scenes toxicity for the sake of fame, inauthenticity in the industry, selfishness for the sake of career, Hollywood driving people toward self-destructive behavior, etc). 

Overall, the writing was decent (love John Green's style) but the story wasn't fresh and ultimately was a slow read. Readers may feel differently if they haven't read other books that already covered the dark side of the entertainment industry. 

Even so, the pacing of the story is pretty slow because the story covers the lifecycle of the movie from an actor's POV (making the moving, promoting the movie, the aftermath). It's a contemplative story with nuanced characters rather than an eventful, heart-wrenching story.

Overall not a bad read, but it took me a while to push through this one and felt like a decent story at the wrong time. 

Book Blog #417: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Title:  Love, Theoretically

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 384 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs. Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job. Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

Review: High 3 stars! An enjoyable read for the genre.

The author isn't doing anything revolutionary here; an academia-related romance where the main conflicts can be traced back to bad assumptions and miscommunication are not far off from what Hazelwood already did in Love Hypothesis. Love, Theoretically is basically the less comedic version.

As per typical romance books, it appeals to classic women fantasies in men: for them to be caring (and maybe overly concerned about their well being), for men to be able to read their minds (aka know women's needs without having to be a direct communicator), and of course for them to be tall and strong. Elsie is of course the damsel in distress while also being a smart, hard working physicist. Jack Smith, unsurprisingly, is the fantasy.

I loved the yearning but overall the (predictable) plot was a bit slow that made the book somewhat put-down-able. The last third of the book was actually my least favorite and felt like Hazelwood got distracted writing the smutty romance part and the open plot points were an after thought that were rapidly wrapped up at the end. 

It's also painfully clear Hazelwood is projecting her interests onto these characters. There's way too many Twilight mentions (reminds me of As the Lemon Trees Grow and all the Studio Ghibli shout outs). From reading Bride and Mate, it's pretty clear why fanfiction and the omegaverse got a mention by the main character too.

Overall an entertaining read for a romance, would recommend it for people who are interesting in the genre and are able to not take the story too seriously. 

Book Blog #416: The Leavers by Lisa Ko

 

Title: The Leavers

Author: Lisa Ko

# of Pages: 335 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: One morning, Deming Guo’s mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant named Polly, goes to her job at the nail salon and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, eleven-year-old Deming is left with no one to care for him. He is eventually adopted by two white college professors who move him from the Bronx to a small town upstate. They rename him Daniel Wilkinson in their efforts to make him over into their version of an “all-American boy.” But far away from all he’s ever known, Daniel struggles to reconcile his new life with his mother’s disappearance and the memories of the family and community he left behind. Set in New York and China, The Leavers is a vivid and moving examination of borders and belonging. It’s the story of how one boy comes into his own when everything he’s loved has been taken away--and how a mother learns to live with the mistakes of her past.

Review: I just couldn't get into this book.

Deming's and his mother Polly's stories are actually pretty interesting. Polly's story reads as historical fiction and delves into the perspective of what it's like to grow up in rural China and become and undocumented Chinese immigrant. Deming's story is what it's like to be the son of said immigrant and struggle with feelings of identity and belonging in white suburban America. 

However, the execution is weak; I couldn't help but wonder if this would have been a 3 or 4 star read at least if it was written by an author who was a stronger storyteller. The story is told in a hodgepodge of Deming's third person and Polly's first person perspectives that skip around between the past and present. It was hard to be invested in their stories with these constant changes, which were clearly used to beat around the bush of addressing why Polly suddenly disappeared. 

Most of the story was really slow, literary but without impressive prose that I would expect from novels that are more "slice of life" than plot focused. This also meant I was not emotionally invested in either of their stories until closer to the ending. The last 100 pages were the best because it dug deeper into Polly's experiences as an undocumented immigrant, and the conclusion of Deiming's story is what digs into the core message of identity and belonging.

It seems intentional that Polly comes off as a narcissistic mother. While it's great to have nuanced, imperfect characters, I wish the author actually made her a bit more likable/redeemable because her chain of bad decisions made it hard to be sympathetic toward her most of the time. Her life experiences are compelling and feel mostly realistic, but I wish Polly was more introspective on the clash between her fierce independence and societal obligations to be a selfless mother. (This also drove home how important it is for people to learn about contraceptives, family planning/resources, financial planning, etc.)

The Chinese American experience of growing up in white suburbia is a story that just wasn't that interesting to me, probably a symptom of being a decent story that's read at the wrong time. I've also read/watched/heard about many similar stories (the first one that comes to mind is American Born Chinese), so this aspect of the story didn't feel very novel to me. 

Overall not a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend it in a hurry. While it's thought provoking, there are other more more compelling storytellers that will cover some of the same topics.

Book Blog #414: Taipei Story by R.F. Kuang

 

Title: Taipei Story

Author: R.F. Kuang

# of Pages: 279 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Memoir

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: College freshman Lily Chen is off to spend the summer in Taipei at an intensive language program like so many Chinese American students before her, hoping to connect with the culture she inherited but never fully understood. But a promising start quickly unravels. Her classes are grueling, her roommate is driving her insane, and a reckless trip to the hot springs with a guy she barely knows soon has her classmates viciously gossiping. She feels adrift, a foreigner in a country she thought would feel like home. Then shocking news Lily’s grandfather has passed away. The loss forces her to grapple with now-unanswerable questions about her family history. As Lily grieves, she’s drawn into a journey of self-discovery—piecing together memories, stories, and silences over a series of hilarious and devastating attempts at connection. Taipei Story What if the diaspora fantasy of homecoming never comes true? What if learning a language can’t bring you any closer to the people you’re trying to reach? What if you search for your family’s history, but your family doesn’t want to share? What if you wait too long to ask the right questions? As Lily struggles for answers, her summer becomes a poignant search for understanding—of herself, her family, and the meaning of home.

Review: If you must read Taipei Story, read it from the perspective that it's a memoir and NOT an original fictional story.

I didn't know this going in and was shocked later to hear the same "plot points" repeated in R.F. Kuang's interview where she talks and her and her family's real life experiences. Knowing this actually explained so much, such as why R.F. Kuang overly-eager (yet somewhat narcissistic) way of speaking showed through so much more in this work compare to her others. 

If Kuang was more upfront about this (I double checked the synopsis, for notes in the front, but nothing indicated that this was heavily based off of her real life), I would consider rating this upwards toward 3 starts for it as a memoir. She is very accurate at writing about how she sees herself, and I wouldn't have to consider her character development and plot craftsmanship because she'd get more points for being open and honest about her actual experiences. 

But alas it's not, so I will judge it as a stand alone fiction. Mild spoilers ahead about themes, overarching issues, etc.

Part 1 (first half of the book): Slow, Taipei-based slice of life, no apparent plot

A lot of this book is just ramblings about Taipei and nerding out about the Chinese language and literature. There were so many unnecessarily and repetitive food mentions (we get it, you like tofu pudding) that it made me think Kuang went to Taipei, meticulously planned a trip, and came back with no one willing to listen to all her food adventures. Thus the poor saps who pick up this book are forced to read about it. 

With all the woman-splaining of Chinese language phases, I thought Kuang's target audience would be those who aren't familiar with Chinese culture at all. I expected the main character Lily, a Chinese American girl, to be the relatable protagonist who suddenly gets exposure niche Taiwanese literature and phrases. Instead, Lily is somehow already pretty well versed and takes the time to explain to reader everything she already knows about a particular author anytime one comes up (which I now suspect is Kuang gushing over authors she either likes or heavily researched and wants to show off). 

Lily's characterization was pretty weak until you realize that Kuang is self-inserting. Even from early as page 6, she says the following without any strong development of Lily's goals/aspirations:

"I had spent a lot of time thinking about what it meant to be a female author who wanted critical acclaim and also to look pretty" (p.6)

Not only is she incredible self involved, she is extremely nerdy; way nerdier than the average person with some benign hot takes:

"New textbooks always gave me a little masochistic thrill. I liked the weight of them. I liked previewing all the things I didn't know. It made me excited about the amount of work to be done" (p.21). 

She also has under-developed relationships with other characters that I wouldn't considered fleshed out by the end of the book. This includes her friendship with Ana (no clear resolution to conflicts in their relationships) and her familial relationship with her grandfather (how can she claim to be learning Chinese to better communicate with him if she previously wasn't putting in the effort to try to interact with him regularly?). Most the problems she encounters in her story are related to her poor communication, which is always frustrating to read about. 

Part 2 (second half of the book): Family trauma that has nothing to do with the main character

"My grief was not that special...Ask around and every first-, second-, even third-generation Asian American"

A big focus in the latter half of the book is about Lily's family history and highlighting horrors of genocide. Since Lily is so self-involved she decides that she is entitled to know about this trauma and that it somehow effects her (despite her having a pretty privileged life as a Ivy school American and no strong argument of generational trauma). 

"I couldn't get a grip on the idea that this happened to my own family - that this chapter of history, which never made it onto any of my high school or college syllabi, was involved with me in any way" (p. 196). 

Instead of taking some lessons from her family's past to either raise awareness on similar genocidal current events or something else that would be productive in a way that's bigger than herself, it seems like Lily is more aghast that she didn't get a chance to incorporate this in her identity and wants to check some "good daughter" box by belated asking her parents about their backstory. 

"I had always imagined my parents would be pleased at my attempts to reconnect - that they had been waiting all these years for any one of their children to tkae an interest in our culture and our past...I thought I'd be rewarded for caring" (p.210).

Of course, the moral of this arc is that the trauma her parents and grandparents went through don't have anything to do with her, and that she needs to accept that. However, this didn't come off as a major learning; readers likely already have this perspective from the start of hearing Lily's story, so it's confusing why Lily comes to this realization so late. 

Overall, Lily comes off as a self-centered, privileged girl who isn't worth reading about. Kuang is clearly introspecting about her own life, but her life lessons are not relatable to most audiences (maybe a very specific niche of Chinese Americans, who are also self-centered and bad at communicating). 

It's not even clear to me if Lily/Kuang actually grew in meaningful ways; she still yearns for an identity that isn't necessarily hers to have (being authentically Taiwanese/Chinese) and only focused on understanding herself rather than understanding others and being compassionate. 

I wouldn't recommend this book.

Book Blog #412: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

 

Title: 11/22/63

Author: Stephen King

# of Pages: 1080 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force. Following his massively successful novel Under the Dome, King sweeps readers back in time to another moment—a real life moment—when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history. Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk. Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life – a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

Review: This book has no business being as long as it is. There are multiple story arcs that easily could have been individual books in a series (which also would have given me excuse to stop reading after first story arc...). 

In retrospect, I probably should have DNF'd this one instead of pushing through. While the story did get better as it approached the grande finale of JFK's assassination, King's editor should have pushed harder to make this story more concise. Some story arcs are completely unrelated to the primary plot (where the tie in is so loose that it could have just not existed in the first place). He actually wastes so much time on all these story arcs that he doesn't ever fully flesh out the science fiction part of how this time travel is possible in the first place (and this is even after the reader has to slog through exposition in the beginning that "sets the stage" for time travel in the first place). 

One of these tangential story arcs is Jake's love life with Sadie during his time travels. This was actually the arc that felt the most disconnected; a parallel story that was for Jake's personal enjoyment that doesn't benefit Jake's task to save JFK's life. Some scenes are repetitive, and reading romance from the male perspective gave me the ick sometimes (how many times is he going to mention thinking about holding her boob?). However, if their love story were told in isolation, King could have written a decent romance novel. 

King must really love this era because he focuses on some of the nicer aspects; how great the root beer tastes, how cheap the cool "vintage" cars are. While he does in passing mention the bad parts (racial segregation, lack of civil rights, conservative views on romantic relationships), he mentions how great Jake is at the Lindy Hop much more (way too much for my liking). Although King did a good job researching the 1950s and 60s, I'm not a huge fan nor nostalgic for that era. 

If you want to read a book about a character that fulfills the male fantasy (over 6 feet tall, white knight) and love the 1950s and 60s, this is the book for you. If you're looking for a plot-focused novel or crazy twists, this one is not for you (since the narrative is told as if he's writing a manuscript, Jake will often strongly hint on what's to come, so everything was pretty predictable). 

Book Blog #410: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: Ugly Love

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 323 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future. They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Review: An easy read for people who enjoy their romance with tension, bad communication, and baggage!

Ugly Love follows a similar story arch as Maybe Someday (just replace the song writing sessions with sex, and take out the cheating). I definitely could enjoy the main characters in this one more despite their flaws (Tate being so submissive she's a pushover, Miles needing therapy and being overbearing).

There's first person POV switching, but it didn't really bother me this time because the chapters for both Miles and Tate were pretty engaging. The downside of Tate's chapters were that they mostly focused on repetitive sex scenes vs Mile's POV was written like Milk and Honey style poetry but dumbed down to a wispy child's mentality. 

Hoover also does a great job at writing male main characters who give me the ick for one reason or another (makes me wonder what men in her life inspire such problematic male characters). Miles is better than Ridge, but I had a hard time cheering for his relationship with Tate because of his unresolved baggage he displaced on her. 

Overall a decent read for an accessible romance book. Scratched my itch for romance read!

Book Blog #408: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: Maybe Someday

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 367 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Synopsis: At twenty-two years old, Sydney has a great life: She's in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter's cheating on her--and she is left trying to decide what to do next. Sydney becomes captivated by Ridge, her mysterious neighbor. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there's something about Sydney that Ridge can't ignore, either. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one...

Review: This one can go in the trash with all the other "romance" books that glorify cheating.

Maybe Someday tries to tout two main messages: "love has no boundaries" and "even if you cannot control how you feel, you can control how you act." However, Sydney and Ridge's relationship is a TERRIBLE example of both of these things. 

Ridge is a horrible person. Sydney wants others to recognize him as an honest man who works hard to maintain integrity in his relationships when he LITERALLY makes untactful jokes and doesn't seem to have respect for his other romantic relationship. Red flags everywhere. 

Sydney's perspective (because yes, there's first person POV switching) is what I imagine Ariana Grande's internal dialogue must have been like when she got with Ethan Slater. "Yes, he's in a relationship, but the undeniable love between us and our shared passion for our craft overcomes all (even though we know better)!"

Not attached to any of these characters who seem more like caricatures than real people. I was not excited about Ridge and Sydney's love story and thought it was not a story worth telling.

Book Blog #406: Whistler by Ann Patchett

 

Title: Whistler

Author: Ann Patchett

# of Pages: 296 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again. Whistler is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. It’s a story about bravery, memory, the often small yet consequential moments that define our lives, and the endless stream of loss that in time comes for us all. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is ultimately about how love endures, and how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.

Review: A short read but not a quick read.

"We should think about doing the things we want to do while we’re able to do them"

Whistler is unsurprisingly contemplative story focused on nuanced, familial relationships between 50+ yr old characters who are tied together by something greater than just blood. I did find myself feeling a bit emotional thinking about aging and lost time, but ultimately it's more of a slice of life of characters who spend a lot of reminiscing and not much else. While there was a lot of beauty in long lost relationships being rekinded, there's just not a lot that HAPPENS in this book, which made it less of a gripping read.

Although they're quite different (in format, character development), I do see why The Correspondent dropped in an Ann Patchett mention; the vibes are somewhat similar.  Another similarity with that book (and honestly many others) is that Patchett is definitely writing in the realm of what she knows (main character always dreamed of being a novelist, multiple characters work at major publishing houses, etc). 

I liked it, but nothing really stood out to me. I kept putting this book down and thought there could be more to the story. This is my first Ann Patchett book, so maybe this slow, slice of life style is common in her books, and it's just not my ideal read. I'd recommend it only if the premise already sounds interesting to you.

Book Blog #405: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

 

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author: V.E. Schwab

# of Pages: 442 (hardcover)

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Review: I went in expecting a fantasy romance and instead got a contemplative contemporary laced with magical realism. But the best part is I fell in love with this story more than I expected. 

This story was basically a big hypothetical scenario on what would life looked like if you had unlimited time (which most people wish they had more of) but no one remembered you (what many fear will happen in death). It makes me feel existential in the best way possible but also inspired; if Addie can still find beauty in being alive after 300 years then so can everyone else in our relatively short lives.

This book is pretty reads slowly in that there's a lot of nostalgic, vibes based writing that isn't directly related to the plot (the book would be 1/3 shorter if we cut out all the "fluff"). Although I wished the plot was a bit stronger, I actually liked the fluff in this case. The dialogue was simplistic, but the descriptions were so cinematic that captures not only the visual aspect but emotional as well. This is one of the few books I've read where the experience felt more like a movie in my mind.

Some parts actually reminded me of A Little Life, partially because both showcase the romantic aspects of NYC, but also because the story would jump between perspectives (but for this book, it's all in third person) and time. These latter two were actually downsides for me and almost made me want to give this book 3 stars (the chapters are short, so ever perspective change and/or time skip kept breaking my immersion).

I was really invested in learning more about Addie, the demon with whom she make a bargin, and the young man at the bookstore (no spoilers!) and how at least the former two are morally grey. I also really enjoyed reading about their relationships especially in the last 1/3 of the book. 

However, the magical realism aspect of this story is pretty weak; the story is best enjoyed if you DON'T think too much about the rules. The rules aren't even clear to Addie, which is fine, but even by the end it's pretty ambiguous to the reader and feels like there's conflicting examples on when the curse does/doesn't apply. 

Got a bit emotional at the end thinking about mortality. Would recommend for people who like feeling existential and are okay with sad reads.

Book Blog #404: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

 

Title: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

Author: Matt Dinniman

# of Pages: 524 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Adventure, Dystopia

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Welcome to the Gun Show! The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face. The Iron Tangle. An impossibly complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away. But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly useless book. Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon.

Review: This might be my favorite DCC so far in the series. 

I saw this book was actually the lowest rated in the whole series on Goodreads, with many reviews citing the train concept as being a drag. Dinniman even puts a disclaimer at the beginning of the book saying that the train system is complicated and that it's a puzzle for Carl and co to figure out, not the reader. I will say that the train system didn't affect my interest in the book (and if you go in aiming to have a surface level understanding, it should be enough to follow the plot). However, if you need to have a warning that your book is hard to understand, it might be a sign that something should be done about it (maybe add more visuals or focus only on the most important parts of the complex system). 

Trains aside, what really stood out was how the plot showcased a lot of returning characters! This felt like a turning point in the series where there's enough character and world building and now the books can focus on interpersonal relationships, teamwork, etc, which is something I really love to read about. Even though there was less crass humor and Moredecai was MIA for large parts of the book, the amount of returning characters and their interactions still elevated the book enough to be engaging.

Would recommend this one if you're already invested in the series!

Book Blog #403: The Tenant by Frieda McFadden

 

Title: The Tenant

Author: Freida McFadden

# of Pages: 344 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet. Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she? Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets... Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

Review: This was an EXTREMELY fast and easy read. 

This is my first McFadden book, and it's clear that she knows how to write for the masses. The writing style is quite simple and very plot-focused (definitely not some literary masterpiece). The story is told in from a couple point of views (for the most part in series) in first person present tense, so you are along for the ride with Blake in figuring out why his life is going so wrong so suddenly. Usually I strongly dislike first person POV switching, but since the different POVs weren't intertwined, this actually didn't bother me. 

I'm not a huge fan of thrillers (this was meant to be a daytime-only read for me), but I was glad to find this was scary in the sense that weird events happen in Blake's life that the reader doesn't find out how it happened until later. There's less explicit "thrilling" scenes compared to Verity (e.g. no freaky lady jump scaring the main character by staring at her), although the concept of strange events happening at home while a couple lives with a random new person is coincidentally very similar. It also reminded me a bit of the Black Mirror episode Bête Norie (but based in reality), so the story's premise is nothing super original. 

I was totally expecting to not be entertained by her books (since she's so popular with The Housemaid series, I was bracing myself for an overhyped read). However, I was pleasantly surprised that I incorrectly guessed the twist, and I couldn't put the book down (read in <1 day). 

Something I didn't like is how the characters wouldn't follow through with logical solutions (e.g. if you're bothered by loud noises and can't get them to stop, why not try wearing earplugs or doing something else within your control? If you're broke, why insist to talk to someone in person rather trying first to call them and save the drive out as a backup plan?). The story also relies on the miscommunication trope which is always frustrating. The very ending seemed rushed; didn't really need the epilogue. 

Overall a very light (but still somewhat thrilling) read; would recommend it to people who already like the mystery-thriller genre. 

Book Blog #402: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

 

Title: The Love Hypothesis

Author: Ali Hazelwood

# of Pages: 383 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships--but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding...six-pack abs. Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

Review: This was WAY more enjoyable and fun than I expected.

The premise is nothing new; it follows the usual progression of any other friend to lovers romance, male savior fantasy. I was really in the mood to read something strongly focused on a love story, especially after reading a lot of books that had 0 romance (e.g. Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Poppy War). It checked all the boxes, plenty of yearning and sweet moments where the characters show how much they care about each other.

"This is a Hallmark movie. Or a poorly written young adult novel. That will not sell well."

What made this story standout is that its a metafiction. Hazelwood is self-aware of exactly what is serving the audience; a protagonist who is "a living, breathing, rom-com trope machine." I loved the commentary from the other characters on the ridiculousness of the premise and how exaggerated each trope plays out. 

But one trope I didn't enjoy was how prominent miscommunication is central in the conflict, especially at the end of the story. ESPECIALLY since this is not some high school romance; these are supposed to be more mature, intelligent adults in a relationship.

Hazelwood also does her signature "throw in a few tidbits of women empowerment in STEM". While the messaging is good, the execution feels random and non-cohesive with the main plot.

Overall, much much better Hazelwood's Deep End that I read earlier this year, despite both stories suffering from the bad communication trope. The characters were more likable, and it was more believable that the two main characters developed a relationship that isn't just based on lust.

Would recommend this to people who are interested in a fun, easy to read romance!

Book Blog #400: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

 

Title: The Nightingale

Author: Kristin Hannah

# of Pages: 593 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Romance

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Despite their differences, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Vianne finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her. As the war progresses, the sisters' relationship and strength are tested. With life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.

Review: A solid read! 

I’ve only read one other Kristin Hannah book so far (The Women), and compare to that one, The Nightingale has protagonists with more compelling life journeys. However, the storytelling execution was weaker. The story has two 3rd person POVs: Vianne and Isabelle who live in France during WWII. 

I didn’t know much about WWII from the French POV, so to hear about the suffering that even from those who weren’t specifically targeted by the Nazis was shocking.

The author has a knack for writing unlikable characters since I didn’t enjoy Vianne similarly to how I was frustrated with Frankie from The Women. Being forced to switch between Vianne’s and Isabelle’s perspectives broke the immersion and slowed the pace of the story because I kept wanting to read Isabelle’s perspective instead.

That being said, for the characters in general, I appreciate how not all of these characters are perfect. Despite their flaws, at least one character shows growth throughout the story that makes their personality flaws redeemable.

There’s also a mysterious first person perspective that takes place long after the war has ended. This narrative was unnecessarily interwoven with the third person narrative; it added nothing to the main story and could’ve been shortened into an epilogue. 

In typical soap opera (but maybe Kristin Hannah’s recurring  storytelling pattern), major events happen coincidentally timed to maximize shock value. It’s unrealistic in a way that’s sometimes cheesy, but I still enjoyed the plot despite this. 

Although I wasn’t as engaged in this story as I was for The Women (although maybe I’m just a sucker for romance), The Nightingale succeeds where The Women failed: Vianne’s and Isabelle’s stories are stories worth telling. 

Book Blog #399: Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

 

Title: Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Author: Matt Dinniman

# of Pages: 400 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Adventure

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive. They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose. Carl still has no pants. They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.

Review: Not as big of a fan of this one compared to the first one. The main focus is introducing quests to the dungeon. When they are working through each quest, the quests are unrelated to each other, so it felt like I was reading different stories. I would've liked it more if there was a greater focus on progressing some of the plot lines started in the first book. 

The first half had me interested, but my reading progressed slowed down with the last quest because I wasn't too interested in that storyline. 

Low 3 stars, but will consider reading the next book after taking a break. 

Book Blog #398: To Drown Among The Stars by L.K. Frost

 

Title: To Drown Among The Stars

Author: L.K. Frost

# of Pages:

Genre: Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: In an unprecedented turn of events, Bastion emerges from his Trial of Knighthood a failure. Certain the gods have abandoned him, he travels down the coast on a leave of absence, looking for solitude. Instead, he walks into trouble in the wake of a series of pirate attacks on seaside villages, where he meets Ulla, a deaf dragon-kin healer with secrets of her own. Despite their initial, disastrous meeting, they’re drawn together by their mutual loneliness. Then, they discover the attacks aren’t random - they’re coordinated. The pirates are planning a large-scale attack on Moonwatch, the kingdom’s naval base, with the intent of stealing an ancient secret. Together, Bastion and Ulla race to Moonwatch only to learn the commander has been drawn away by the attacks. Unable to deny his duty or his very nature, Bastion takes command of their diminished forces in the face of a pirate fleet armed with a mysterious weapon. When Ulla is wounded, the world comes crashing down on Bastion and he must reveal his darkest secret to save her, even though it may mean losing her, after all.

Review: I received an ARC directly from the author. 

To Drown Among the Stars had a lot of potential (the premise sounded interesting to me!) but unfortunately it fell short of expectations.

Each scene in isolation is pretty decently written (immersively descriptive) but the transitions between them were abrupt or the catalyst in a change of action seemed random and unrealistic. Multiple times throughout the story, Bastion ends up wandering around for time to think or for some unexplained "leave of absence" that didn't feel nature with the flow of the greater story. 

The writing was too verbose on aspects that don't matter. Instead of spending a few sentences describing an empty pint rolling along the ship floor, those lines could've been spent doing more world building or moving the plot forward. I actually had to check if this was a sequel in a series because it read as if world building and character backstories were covered in a previous book.

The characters are not fully developed; they felt flat. The reader is told by other characters how they would characterize Bastion (a man of high moral character), but the story didn't show his personality. Am I supposed to view him as a young knight-to-be who's still building his confidence? or an experienced swordsman with authority? The characterization flipped flopped between the two personas without a it being clear on what type of person Bastion is supposed to be. 

The romance between the main characters came off more as infatuation rather than actual romance (there's a lot of focus on how Bastion feels when he's interacting with Ulla, and not as much about what he loves/cares about her as he spends more time with her). Despite being depicted as independent and capable, the female lead Ulla is just a narrative accessory for Bastion's journey rather than a fully autonomous character.

While I was excited to read this, I had a hard time staying engaged in the story and feeling invested in the characters. There's some major improvements that I'd want to see before I recommended this book to someone.