Dragon's Green
The Worldquake series, Book 1
Scarlett Thomas
Simon and Schuster
Fiction, MG Fantasy
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Euphemia "Effie" Sixten Bookend Truelove used to have a happy life, until the worldquake happened. Around the world, electricity dimmed, the internet died, and hints of long-hidden magic began to creep back, though most people continue to deny its very existence. Worse, though, Effie's beloved mother Aurelia vanished in the cataclysm - taking her father's love with him and leaving a stern, cold man in his place, one who remarried to a woman with little love for Effie or anyone else in her tiny heart. The girl was even sent to the dismal Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange. The only light in her life is Griffin Truelove, Aurelia's eccentric father, though even he has become changed and closed off since the worldquake. Effie's sure the old man is really some sort of wizard, with his odd travels and house full of mysterious things she's not allowed to touch - and if he's a wizard, surely there's some spell he could work to fix things - but Griffin refuses to teach her so much as a smidgen of the stuff.
When Griffin is attacked in an alley, Effie has nobody left to turn to. And when her father tries to deny her her inheritance - Griffin's mysterious library - he tries to sell it off to the charity man before Effie can lay a hand on a single volume.
Piecing together bits of conversations and other clues, Effie realizes there's something much more sinister and dangerous going on than random thugs attacking an old man... something that smells of magic, and could lead her to her long-lost mother in another world, in a place known as Dragon's Green.
REVIEW: Yes, I'm still a sucker for dragons. And, yes, sometimes that love leads me astray. It certainly did here. The title promised dragons, and the cover blurb and general plot promised magical books and other worlds and fun, somewhat perilous adventures: solid ingredients for a fantasy title, especially a middle-grade fantasy title, all around... or so I thought. Instead, I got a confused jumble of characters, plot points, and ideas that don't so much flow together as crash randomly into one another like insane literary bumper cars, hurtling the reader this way and that. Magic is rare and elusive and considered a lie, we're told - only literally every character except Effie knows pretty much all about it, or learns it's real and the basic rules in a fraction of a time in which Effie manages to repeatedly be confused (and I mean repeatedly, in that she's prone to repeating things she doesn't understand) and bungle the simplest of instructions despite ostensibly being a heroine. The author goes out of her way to raise questions and refuse to answer them... then goes out of her way to make Effie and her associates incapable of even asking the questions, let alone listening to the answers (though, in their defense, the entire rest of the world seems incapable of answering a simple question). What was the worldquake? Who are the oft-mentioned, only-very-belatedly-clarified Diberi antagonists? Why did Effie's father turn into an emotionally abusive monster, allowing his new wife to torment both Effie and her own baby Luna? Why was the theoretically wise Griffin too blasted stupid to teach Effie things vital to her survival until it was far too late? Who is the Guild who keeps messing things up for everyone but never once is explained or revealed or given any motivation for their actions other than "screw things up for everyone to enable a plot"? What's the exchange rate for M-currency to dragon gold to krubles, why is it so complicated, and what the heck does any of this have to do with the ostensible plot of books as gateways to the Otherworld and an implied but never clarified conspiracy to crush creativity out of Earth? What are the rules, here, and why should I even care? The story can't even find a consistent tone, veering wildly from whimsy to darkness to light to deep... then it introduces mortal danger only to yank back so hard on the leash I almost felt the whiplash as it prevents so much as a smidgen of actual peril from drifting near our fragile protagonists - only they weren't nearly that fragile a moment ago when they got into peril to begin with. As for the dragon, there is a dragon of sorts, but I still felt somewhat cheated on this account. The whole book turned into a slog of wasted potential and pointless plot turns and cul-de-sacs, with characters too conveniently plot-shaped to come to life in their own right and too many questions that never got anything like a satisfactory answer despite the author repeatedly reminding me that the question was there and needed an answer that was being deliberately, irritatingly withheld.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The School for Good and Evil (Somani Chainani) - My Review
The Book Jumper (Mechthild Glaser) - My Review
The Forbidden Library (Django Wexler) - My Review
Monday, November 29, 2021
Thursday, November 25, 2021
A Dead Djinn in Cairo (P. Djeli Clark)
A Dead Djinn in Cairo
A Dead Djinn Universe novella
P. Djeli Clark
Tor.com
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In a 1912 Egypt where old magic has returned and beings like djinns and self-proclaimed angels mingle with the mortal populace, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities is a vital resource, helping keep the peace when crimes cross the line from mundane to supernatural... but even Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi, no neophyte to her badge, is daunted by what she uncovers while investigating a djinn's apparent suicide. Strange glyphs at the crime scene hint at ritual sacrifice, and the presence of an artificial feather ominously points to one of the entities who call themselves angels. Soon, it's apparent the case is far bigger - and more dangerous - than any she's encountered before.
REVIEW: I actually think I would've enjoyed this novella better had I read it before A Master of Djinn, Clark's novel-length debut. This is where the author first introduces both the universe and the distinctive character of Fatma, with a few descriptors being copied almost verbatim in the novel. The latter, however, goes into much greater depth, and has (for lack of a better word) a polish to it that makes this entry, fine and interesting as it is, look a bit tarnished by comparison. It's a solid, decent tale in its own right, but A Master of Djinn covers much of the same material and more, making reading this after the novel feel redundant, save filling in a bit of backstory on how Fatma encountered a few characters. As an introduction, though, A Dead Djinn in Cairo and its companion novella (The Haunting of Tram Car 015, which is less rehashed in the novel) are still good stories in a world that has enormous potential.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Finder (Emma Bull) - My Review
The Black God's Drums (P. Djeli Clark) - My Review
Devil's Tower (Mark Sumner) - My Review
A Dead Djinn Universe novella
P. Djeli Clark
Tor.com
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In a 1912 Egypt where old magic has returned and beings like djinns and self-proclaimed angels mingle with the mortal populace, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities is a vital resource, helping keep the peace when crimes cross the line from mundane to supernatural... but even Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi, no neophyte to her badge, is daunted by what she uncovers while investigating a djinn's apparent suicide. Strange glyphs at the crime scene hint at ritual sacrifice, and the presence of an artificial feather ominously points to one of the entities who call themselves angels. Soon, it's apparent the case is far bigger - and more dangerous - than any she's encountered before.
REVIEW: I actually think I would've enjoyed this novella better had I read it before A Master of Djinn, Clark's novel-length debut. This is where the author first introduces both the universe and the distinctive character of Fatma, with a few descriptors being copied almost verbatim in the novel. The latter, however, goes into much greater depth, and has (for lack of a better word) a polish to it that makes this entry, fine and interesting as it is, look a bit tarnished by comparison. It's a solid, decent tale in its own right, but A Master of Djinn covers much of the same material and more, making reading this after the novel feel redundant, save filling in a bit of backstory on how Fatma encountered a few characters. As an introduction, though, A Dead Djinn in Cairo and its companion novella (The Haunting of Tram Car 015, which is less rehashed in the novel) are still good stories in a world that has enormous potential.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Finder (Emma Bull) - My Review
The Black God's Drums (P. Djeli Clark) - My Review
Devil's Tower (Mark Sumner) - My Review
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
The Tiger and the Wolf (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
The Tiger and the Wolf
The Echoes of the Fall series, Book 1
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Pan Books
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In a wild world of ancient gods and shapeshifting tribes, Maniye is a girl torn in two. Her father, Akrit Stone River, is the ambitious chieftain of the Winter Runner clan of the Wolf people; when he made war against the Tiger people, he took their queen captive and forced a daughter on her, then had the woman killed to leave her matriarchal kin leaderless and lost in their eastern refuges. Maniye's childhood has been one of deprivation and resentment, harried by her father and the clan's priest Kalameshi Takes Iron (holder of the secret Wolf-gifted knowledge of forging weapons stronger than stone or bronze), but she holds a secret: she can step - change shape - into both wolf and tiger, having two animal souls within her own instead of the one of most people of the world. But tiger and wolf are natural enemies, and the rival spirits will tear her apart unless she chooses one and cuts out the other. Even as she faces this fate, she discovers Stone River's terrible plan for her. Fleeing the clan with an imprisoned priest of the Snake people, intended for sacrifice in the jaws of the Wolf god, Maniye sets out across the wide, cold crown of the world... crossing paths with a southern prince Asmander, a Champion of the southern Sun River Kingdom with a stepped form from another age, and his companions. A great change is coming to the whole world, a time that could see the many tribes and gods united against a common enemy - or see them fall, torn apart by men like Stone River, until all people die.
REVIEW: This was another audiobook that I downloaded to kill time at work, but I enjoyed it enough to listen even on my days off. Tchaikovsky creates a prehistoric world with traces of our own ancient traditions, but mixed and melded into its own thing, a world of endless wilderness and cruel nature and ever-watchful gods and tribal rivalries that spill over onto neighbors. Nor is the shapeshifting confined to ordinary animals; Asmander's Champion is a velociraptor, and other Champions include ancient eagles and saber-toothed cats, part of the animal spirit-based cosmology of the fantastic world. Shifting even absorbs clothing and weapons to strengthen the animal form; a shifted Wolf hunter wearing iron mail has a near-impenetrable hide, while a Tiger warrior's bronze knife can become gleaming claws or teeth. It's a little thing, but adds a nice dimension to the shapeshifter concept, opening up interesting possibilities while also dealing with the eternal question of what happens to a werewolf's clothes.
Maniye starts out a somewhat weak character, undersized and beaten down, full of resentment and anger yet still determined to prove herself to the very people who hurt her, and to the Wolf god who knows her to be of mixed heritage. Try as she might, though, her dual nature cannot be denied, as the tiger and the wolf start quarreling within her for dominance. Her encounter with the Snake priest Hesprec sets her on a new path, if one that initially extends no further than escaping the Winter Runners and the stalking lone wolf Broken Axe, who may sometimes share her father's fire but is his own man with his own motivations. Meanwhile, Asmander has his own journey, a quest to secure the legendary "iron wolves" from the north as mercenaries in a looming war of succession in his native Sun River Kingdom, and the Snake priest Hesprec follows a hidden agenda. There are frequent battles, some bursts of levity, several reversals of fortune, and a few stretches of dialog that border on being too grandiose and weighty, but overall it's a decent story in a unique and interesting world, one I wouldn't mind revisiting in the sequels.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Leopard's Daughter (Lee Killough) - My Review
Saturday, the Twelfth of October (Norma Fox Mazer) - My Review
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (Nghi Vo) - My Review
The Echoes of the Fall series, Book 1
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Pan Books
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In a wild world of ancient gods and shapeshifting tribes, Maniye is a girl torn in two. Her father, Akrit Stone River, is the ambitious chieftain of the Winter Runner clan of the Wolf people; when he made war against the Tiger people, he took their queen captive and forced a daughter on her, then had the woman killed to leave her matriarchal kin leaderless and lost in their eastern refuges. Maniye's childhood has been one of deprivation and resentment, harried by her father and the clan's priest Kalameshi Takes Iron (holder of the secret Wolf-gifted knowledge of forging weapons stronger than stone or bronze), but she holds a secret: she can step - change shape - into both wolf and tiger, having two animal souls within her own instead of the one of most people of the world. But tiger and wolf are natural enemies, and the rival spirits will tear her apart unless she chooses one and cuts out the other. Even as she faces this fate, she discovers Stone River's terrible plan for her. Fleeing the clan with an imprisoned priest of the Snake people, intended for sacrifice in the jaws of the Wolf god, Maniye sets out across the wide, cold crown of the world... crossing paths with a southern prince Asmander, a Champion of the southern Sun River Kingdom with a stepped form from another age, and his companions. A great change is coming to the whole world, a time that could see the many tribes and gods united against a common enemy - or see them fall, torn apart by men like Stone River, until all people die.
REVIEW: This was another audiobook that I downloaded to kill time at work, but I enjoyed it enough to listen even on my days off. Tchaikovsky creates a prehistoric world with traces of our own ancient traditions, but mixed and melded into its own thing, a world of endless wilderness and cruel nature and ever-watchful gods and tribal rivalries that spill over onto neighbors. Nor is the shapeshifting confined to ordinary animals; Asmander's Champion is a velociraptor, and other Champions include ancient eagles and saber-toothed cats, part of the animal spirit-based cosmology of the fantastic world. Shifting even absorbs clothing and weapons to strengthen the animal form; a shifted Wolf hunter wearing iron mail has a near-impenetrable hide, while a Tiger warrior's bronze knife can become gleaming claws or teeth. It's a little thing, but adds a nice dimension to the shapeshifter concept, opening up interesting possibilities while also dealing with the eternal question of what happens to a werewolf's clothes.
Maniye starts out a somewhat weak character, undersized and beaten down, full of resentment and anger yet still determined to prove herself to the very people who hurt her, and to the Wolf god who knows her to be of mixed heritage. Try as she might, though, her dual nature cannot be denied, as the tiger and the wolf start quarreling within her for dominance. Her encounter with the Snake priest Hesprec sets her on a new path, if one that initially extends no further than escaping the Winter Runners and the stalking lone wolf Broken Axe, who may sometimes share her father's fire but is his own man with his own motivations. Meanwhile, Asmander has his own journey, a quest to secure the legendary "iron wolves" from the north as mercenaries in a looming war of succession in his native Sun River Kingdom, and the Snake priest Hesprec follows a hidden agenda. There are frequent battles, some bursts of levity, several reversals of fortune, and a few stretches of dialog that border on being too grandiose and weighty, but overall it's a decent story in a unique and interesting world, one I wouldn't mind revisiting in the sequels.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Leopard's Daughter (Lee Killough) - My Review
Saturday, the Twelfth of October (Norma Fox Mazer) - My Review
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (Nghi Vo) - My Review
A Master of Djinn (P. Djeli Clark)
A Master of Djinn
The Dead Djinn Universe series, Book 1
P. Djeli Clark
Orbit
Fiction, Fantasy/Historical Fiction
***** (Great)
DESCRIPTION: 1912 Cairo is a thriving metropolis, where ancient traditions meet new technology - and returned magic. Ever since the mysterious sage al-Jahiz tapped the otherworldly domain of lost powers, djinns and other magical beings have flowed into the world, bringing strange new powers and devices... and, of course, dangers. Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi, one of a handful of women field agents in Egypt's Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, has had more than her share of danger already, but Cairo never sleeps, and neither do its criminals, human or otherwise.
When an eccentric English tycoon, head of a crackpot cult dedicated to al-Jahiz, is found burned alive with the rest of his cult companions, the only remaining witnesses point the finger at a stranger garbed in black with a shifting golden mask: a figure who claims to be the lost mystic al-Jahiz, returned. Neither Fatma nor her rookie partner Hadia believe it - but the man has uncanny abilities, a supernatural guardian, and even appears to have tamed an untameable fiery Ifrit. As rumors and riots spread, Cairo stands on the brink of disaster... and if Fatma fails to unmask the imposter and his scheme, the whole world might fall to the self-proclaimed Master of Djinn.
REVIEW: I have read one of Clark's two novellas set in this alternate history, The Haunting of Tram Car 015, and enjoyed it so much I grabbed this title before I'd even gotten around to reading the other one, A Dead Djinn in Cairo. In retropspect, I should have reversed that order; while the novella I read introduced me to the world and one of the Ministry's dedicated agents, A Dead Djinn in Cairo introduces the singular Fatma, one of those characters who just leaps to life from the page in her fine Western-style suits and bowler hats, as she deals with a crime that forms a key part of this book's backstory. However, it is not at all necessary to have read either novella to enjoy this book; Clark does an excellent job backfilling information from the novellas as needed (if with potential spoilers).
The alternate Cairo leaps to life as a vibrant, dynamic, and diverse city, one where the promise of progress and equality constantly jostles with holdover prejudices and superstitions, exacerbated rather than soothed by the return of powers and beings once relegated to old poems and stories. The djinn are fantastical and wildly magical, but ultimately just people, prone to the same personality faults and vices and prejudices as any mere human. There are also wonderful mind's-eye-candy details, like "boilerplate eunuch" brass robot servants and automated vehicles and even new twists on old architectural styles - and even mundane touches, such as a thriving proto-jazz scene made of expatriate American musicians fleeing Jim Crow's killing grasp, that add richness and texture. Through this amazing setting wends a collection of distinctive characters pursuing a tantalizingly twisted mystery and a dangerous, devious villain who exploits the city's underlying inequalities and unrest for their own gains. Glimpses of a wider world where magic has returned and either been rejected or embraced are offered via an attempt at a peace conference to head off what would be this world's Great War. The whole creates a great story, as Fatma chases leads, survives risky scrapes, runs into numerous dead ends and setbacks, and ultimately arrives at a final confrontation with the fate of the city at stake. I couldn't help thinking that, in the right hands, it would make an absolutely wonderful streaming series; the world and the characters could easily carry more adventures, and the visuals would be amazing.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get back to my kindle to read the novella I skipped, while I wait for future installments of Fatma and the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (P. Djeli Clark) - My Review
The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud) - My Review
Alif the Unseen (G. Willow Wilson) - My Review
The Dead Djinn Universe series, Book 1
P. Djeli Clark
Orbit
Fiction, Fantasy/Historical Fiction
***** (Great)
DESCRIPTION: 1912 Cairo is a thriving metropolis, where ancient traditions meet new technology - and returned magic. Ever since the mysterious sage al-Jahiz tapped the otherworldly domain of lost powers, djinns and other magical beings have flowed into the world, bringing strange new powers and devices... and, of course, dangers. Agent Fatma el-Sha’arawi, one of a handful of women field agents in Egypt's Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, has had more than her share of danger already, but Cairo never sleeps, and neither do its criminals, human or otherwise.
When an eccentric English tycoon, head of a crackpot cult dedicated to al-Jahiz, is found burned alive with the rest of his cult companions, the only remaining witnesses point the finger at a stranger garbed in black with a shifting golden mask: a figure who claims to be the lost mystic al-Jahiz, returned. Neither Fatma nor her rookie partner Hadia believe it - but the man has uncanny abilities, a supernatural guardian, and even appears to have tamed an untameable fiery Ifrit. As rumors and riots spread, Cairo stands on the brink of disaster... and if Fatma fails to unmask the imposter and his scheme, the whole world might fall to the self-proclaimed Master of Djinn.
REVIEW: I have read one of Clark's two novellas set in this alternate history, The Haunting of Tram Car 015, and enjoyed it so much I grabbed this title before I'd even gotten around to reading the other one, A Dead Djinn in Cairo. In retropspect, I should have reversed that order; while the novella I read introduced me to the world and one of the Ministry's dedicated agents, A Dead Djinn in Cairo introduces the singular Fatma, one of those characters who just leaps to life from the page in her fine Western-style suits and bowler hats, as she deals with a crime that forms a key part of this book's backstory. However, it is not at all necessary to have read either novella to enjoy this book; Clark does an excellent job backfilling information from the novellas as needed (if with potential spoilers).
The alternate Cairo leaps to life as a vibrant, dynamic, and diverse city, one where the promise of progress and equality constantly jostles with holdover prejudices and superstitions, exacerbated rather than soothed by the return of powers and beings once relegated to old poems and stories. The djinn are fantastical and wildly magical, but ultimately just people, prone to the same personality faults and vices and prejudices as any mere human. There are also wonderful mind's-eye-candy details, like "boilerplate eunuch" brass robot servants and automated vehicles and even new twists on old architectural styles - and even mundane touches, such as a thriving proto-jazz scene made of expatriate American musicians fleeing Jim Crow's killing grasp, that add richness and texture. Through this amazing setting wends a collection of distinctive characters pursuing a tantalizingly twisted mystery and a dangerous, devious villain who exploits the city's underlying inequalities and unrest for their own gains. Glimpses of a wider world where magic has returned and either been rejected or embraced are offered via an attempt at a peace conference to head off what would be this world's Great War. The whole creates a great story, as Fatma chases leads, survives risky scrapes, runs into numerous dead ends and setbacks, and ultimately arrives at a final confrontation with the fate of the city at stake. I couldn't help thinking that, in the right hands, it would make an absolutely wonderful streaming series; the world and the characters could easily carry more adventures, and the visuals would be amazing.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get back to my kindle to read the novella I skipped, while I wait for future installments of Fatma and the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (P. Djeli Clark) - My Review
The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud) - My Review
Alif the Unseen (G. Willow Wilson) - My Review
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Let's Get Textual (Teagan Hunter)
Let's Get Textual
The Texting series, Book 1
Teagan Hunter
CreateSpace
Fiction, Humor/Romance
**+ (Bad/Okay)
DESCRIPTION: College senior Delia just broke up with her long-time boyfriend Caleb, and though it was an amicable and mutual split, it never feels great to go back to sleeping alone. Maybe that's why, when a stranger mistakenly texts her, she chose to reply instead of simply deleting it... which is how she "met" Zach. Their text exchanges soon become the highlight of her days. He's clever. He's nerdy. He shares her sense of humor. But will their sizzling chemistry translate to the real world, or is this strictly a textual relationship?
REVIEW: This was a quick audiobook, a bit of a palate-cleanser between my usual genre reads. Romances can have some great dialog and character interactions, and Let's Get Textual delivers some truly fun exchanges between Delia and Zach... and if the power imbalance between the two (he's a young, wealthy, successful entrepreneur already, while she's a struggling college senior with zero clue what she's going to do with the degree she's a semester away from earning) becomes a bit glaring, they both seem mature enough to actually be capable of an adult relationship, instead of giggling teens forever playing games or leaping to ridiculous conclusions... at least, at first. There also, oddly enough, doesn't seem to be much in the way of a story, the usual complications and greater goals outside the relationship that drive the average (or average in my limited reading experience, at least) romance plot; for the most part, it's just Zach and Delia getting to know each other and developing their connection - and, yes, there's heat and innuendo almost from the start, but they're both adults about it and capable of waiting until they're more sure of their relationship before making that leap.
Not long after that progression, though, Delia takes a serious nose-dive in intelligence and maturity, when a cardboard villain character and a manufactured crisis (which is barely hinted at until it reaches said crisis point) creates a manufactured response that completely flies in the face of how she behaved toward Zach earlier and made me seriously doubt whether she was, in fact, mature enough to handle a relationship after all. How she deals with that setback becomes increasingly ridiculous - as her own friends point out - and also turns a pet into a pawn in a relationship, which is an automatic ratings knock. (I was already somewhat iffy about the pet baby goat subplot; just because an animal's "cute" doesn't mean it's an ideal pet, let alone an ideal impulse purchase... especially since she's the one fawning over baby goat pics and Zach's the one who goes and buys one because her apartment doesn't allow pets. There's just something about treating a living animal, especially an animal that's not really meant to be a cuddly housepet and will undoubtedly outgrow its "cute" phase very quickly, as a toy or prop - then turning that prop into an object in a stupid emotional tug of war between grown adults - that really rubs me the wrong way.) So, while I enjoyed the fun interplay between Delia and Zach and almost laughed out loud at some of their text exchanges, I found myself very put off by the final stretch of the story, enough to drive the rating down significantly.
You Might Also Enjoy:
This Is Our Song (Samantha Chase) - My Review
The Fix Up (Tawna Fenske) - My Review
You Slay Me (Katie MacAlister) - My Review
The Texting series, Book 1
Teagan Hunter
CreateSpace
Fiction, Humor/Romance
**+ (Bad/Okay)
DESCRIPTION: College senior Delia just broke up with her long-time boyfriend Caleb, and though it was an amicable and mutual split, it never feels great to go back to sleeping alone. Maybe that's why, when a stranger mistakenly texts her, she chose to reply instead of simply deleting it... which is how she "met" Zach. Their text exchanges soon become the highlight of her days. He's clever. He's nerdy. He shares her sense of humor. But will their sizzling chemistry translate to the real world, or is this strictly a textual relationship?
REVIEW: This was a quick audiobook, a bit of a palate-cleanser between my usual genre reads. Romances can have some great dialog and character interactions, and Let's Get Textual delivers some truly fun exchanges between Delia and Zach... and if the power imbalance between the two (he's a young, wealthy, successful entrepreneur already, while she's a struggling college senior with zero clue what she's going to do with the degree she's a semester away from earning) becomes a bit glaring, they both seem mature enough to actually be capable of an adult relationship, instead of giggling teens forever playing games or leaping to ridiculous conclusions... at least, at first. There also, oddly enough, doesn't seem to be much in the way of a story, the usual complications and greater goals outside the relationship that drive the average (or average in my limited reading experience, at least) romance plot; for the most part, it's just Zach and Delia getting to know each other and developing their connection - and, yes, there's heat and innuendo almost from the start, but they're both adults about it and capable of waiting until they're more sure of their relationship before making that leap.
Not long after that progression, though, Delia takes a serious nose-dive in intelligence and maturity, when a cardboard villain character and a manufactured crisis (which is barely hinted at until it reaches said crisis point) creates a manufactured response that completely flies in the face of how she behaved toward Zach earlier and made me seriously doubt whether she was, in fact, mature enough to handle a relationship after all. How she deals with that setback becomes increasingly ridiculous - as her own friends point out - and also turns a pet into a pawn in a relationship, which is an automatic ratings knock. (I was already somewhat iffy about the pet baby goat subplot; just because an animal's "cute" doesn't mean it's an ideal pet, let alone an ideal impulse purchase... especially since she's the one fawning over baby goat pics and Zach's the one who goes and buys one because her apartment doesn't allow pets. There's just something about treating a living animal, especially an animal that's not really meant to be a cuddly housepet and will undoubtedly outgrow its "cute" phase very quickly, as a toy or prop - then turning that prop into an object in a stupid emotional tug of war between grown adults - that really rubs me the wrong way.) So, while I enjoyed the fun interplay between Delia and Zach and almost laughed out loud at some of their text exchanges, I found myself very put off by the final stretch of the story, enough to drive the rating down significantly.
You Might Also Enjoy:
This Is Our Song (Samantha Chase) - My Review
The Fix Up (Tawna Fenske) - My Review
You Slay Me (Katie MacAlister) - My Review
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