Things I've Read Recently (67)

If you're new around here, Things I've Read Recently is a series of posts I do that are basically mini-reviews of books that I either forgot to review, didn't have enough to say for a full review, or just didn't want to do a full post about for whatever reason.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Published: December 14th, 2009 by Simon Pulse
Genre: Paranormal YA leaning towards horror at times
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 454
Part of a series? There is a companion novel called Slice of Cherry, and a short story, all set in the same universe.
Got via: The author sent it to me, and I actually did read it in like 2009, 2010, but I never wrote anything about it, and I wanted to reread it.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she’s far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

Thoughts: This is a weird freaking book. I've seen it compared to Welcome to Night Vale, and the setting does remind me a lot of that, along with Silas University (the setting of the webseries Carmilla). It is creepy and weird and surreal, and the setting is one of my favourite parts of this book. The author's ability to write something so weird is an incredible strength. I also thought the romance was cute, and not altogether what you'd usually see, especially for the time period the book was published in. And the relationship between Hanna and her mother is complicated and really interesting.

The part I didn't so much like was the bipolar rep. I'm going to point these things out after saying that as far as I know, this book is not ownvoices in that area. If the book was, obviously that would be different. The book uses an outdated term for bipolar, and I'm not sure that's right for someone who doesn't have bipolar to decide to use. The book also uses a lot of ableist language that is not, in this case, the author's to reclaim, and I think comes off almost sensationalizing or even fetishizing. There's also just a straight up r-slur. I'm gonna link to a few other things talking about this here, here, and here.

There is basically no fat rep besides an offensive monster and there are annoying comments now and then along that slant. Not much for other disability rep, and there's no queer rep at all. It's not even mentioned as a possibility.

Overall, the setting is amazing and the writing of the horror aspects is great, but I had problems, too. This is one that I think would be absolutely amazing if it was released today and had had sensitivity readers. As it is, it's dated in those aspects, and because of that, it suffers some.

TW for ableism, fatmisia, self-harm, suicide, and probably a little bit of racism (from other characters aimed at Hanna).

Angels Fall by Nora Roberts

Published: July 11th, 2006 by Putman
Genre: Adult Romance
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 444 plus extras
Part of a series? Nope.
Got via: It was a library reject.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Reece Gilmore has come a long way to see the stunning view below her. As the sole survivor of a brutal crime back East, she has been on the run, desperately fighting the nightmares and panic attacks that haunt her. Reece settles in Angel's Fist, Wyoming-temporarily, at least-and takes a job at a local diner. And now she's hiked this mountain all by herself. It was glorious, she thought, as she peered through her binoculars at the Snake River churning below.

Then Reece saw the man and woman on the opposite bank. Arguing. Fighting. And suddenly, the man was on top of the woman, his hands around her throat . . .

Enjoying a moment of solitude a bit farther down the trail is a gruff loner named Brody. But by the time Reece reaches him and brings him to the scene, the pair has vanished. When authorities comb the area where she saw the attack, they find nothing. No signs of struggle. No freshly turned earth. Not even a tire track.

And no one in Angel's Fist seems to believe her. After all, she's a newcomer in town, with a reputation for being jumpy and jittery-maybe even a little fragile. Maybe it's time to run again, to move on...

Reece Gilmore knows there's a killer in Angel's Fist, even if Brody, despite his seeming impatience and desire to keep her at arm's length, is the only one willing to believe her. When a series of menacing events makes it clear that someone wants her out of the way, Reece must put her trust in Brody-and herself-to find out if there is a killer in Angel's Fist before it's too late.

Review: This is a bit out of the usual around here, but I was in the mood for something different and this was a great reminder that I really love Nora Roberts. This isn't exactly diverse or revolutionary, but it is exactly what it claims to be and it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The romance was funny and cute. I liked the dynamic between the two leads, and it played with some romance tropes, but it never over the top with the ones I'm really not into. Like it never got all, "I am alpha male, here me roar." I also thought it was neat that Reece got a pap smear on page in the book. It isn't graphic or anything, and it's just treated as something kind of annoying, but part of her full physical check-up. It also talks about breast exams, and doing self-examinations.

All in all, a good romance with a cool murder story. Nice to read something different and a reminder I should read more along this line.

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee

Published: September 8th, 2016 by Duet Books
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 280 plus some extras.
Part of a series? There's a sequel for sure, and possibly more?
Got via: The library, but the author is a friend, so if that bugs you, there you go.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): Welcome to Andover… where superpowers are common, but internships are complicated. Just ask high school nobody, Jessica Tran. Despite her heroic lineage, Jess is resigned to a life without superpowers and is merely looking to beef-up her college applications when she stumbles upon the perfect (paid!) internship—only it turns out to be for the town’s most heinous supervillain.

On the upside, she gets to work with her longtime secret crush, Abby, who Jess thinks may have a secret of her own. Then there’s the budding attraction to her fellow intern, the mysterious “M,” who never seems to be in the same place as Abby. But what starts as a fun way to spite her superhero parents takes a sudden and dangerous turn when she uncovers a plot larger than heroes and villains altogether.

Review: I really liked this. It's got a unique voice and that takes a little to get used to, but once you do, it's well worth it. It reminds me of Sky High, and I think it might honestly have couple Sky High references. The world-building is excellant and I really want to know more about it. My favourite little touch is honestly the household robots, especially Jess' robot Chả. It's like a Roomba with anxiety.

I also think this would be really great for younger readers. While this is very obviously YA and it fits there perfectly, but for preteens or young teens who have an advanced reading level or look to read up or whatever, this would be perfect. It would be very approachable for younger readers, and the subject matter isn't anything... I'm gonna say "not super mature", but in a good way. Nothing that a younger reader might not be ready for. Since there are some great queer characters, I could totally see this really appealing to younger reders who want to read about queer rep beyond what is currently available in MG.

Really fun read, some great rep on multiple facets, and I'd like to read more. I definitely recommnd this one.

You by Charles Benoit

Published: August 24th, 2010 by HarperTeen
Genre: Contemporary YA
Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 223, plus an excerpt of another book and stuff.
Part of a series? Standalone.
Got via: I think I bought it from Amazon, actually. I know, how unusual around here to have a book not from the library.
Amazon / Book Depository / Indiebound

Summary (from goodreads): This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go.

You’re just a typical fifteen-year-old sophomore, an average guy named Kyle Chase. This can’t be happening to you. But then, how do you explain all the blood? How do you explain how you got here in the first place?

There had to have been signs, had to have been some clues it was coming. Did you miss them, or ignore them? Maybe if you can figure out where it all went wrong, you can still make it right. Or is it already too late?

Think fast, Kyle. Time’s running out. How did this happen?

Review: Meh. That's just about my overall feelings on this, very meh. The writing is fine, and for me the second person thing neither takes anything away nor adds anything. I can fully see a lot of people hating it, but I didn't care one way or the other. It's fine. It doesn't do a lot for me, but it's fine.

I didn't really like any of the characters, but there's not enough time spent on any of them to really hate them either. The "villain" has like no character development and there's some build-up that he's supposed to be the worst thing ever, but I don't see it at all, honestly. It's all very abrupt and shallow. We never see any real depth at all. It's all very surface level. We don't know anything about him like, what's with his family, what does he like to eat, why does he do the things he does. He's a very one note "villain".

And Kyle is so passive. The book happens to him and he doesn't do anything. With the second person narration, it's like a Choose Your Own Adventure book where you can't choose anything.

Honestly, it was just boring. Nothing really happened, there's nothing satisfying about the ending, and it feels super rushed. I think this format could be good for selective readers, because it is an interesting idea, but the execution of the book could very much be a turn off. Would not recommend, and I'm gonna pass it along out of my collection.

Content notes for slightly graphic blood descriptions, violence, ableist slurs, racism, queermisia, fatmisia by the author, and slutshaming.

And I think that wraps up this post! What have you guys been reading lately?

Peace and cookies,
Laina