Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails – and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective – while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.

Review:

I have been a huge fan of Kevin Hearne for many years.  I love the Tales of Pell series (his collaboration with author Delilah S. Dawson), and I have read five of The Iron Druid series.  Ink & Sigil, takes place in the same universe as The Iron Druid, but follows a completely new set of characters.  Set in historic Glasgow, this book has a fun cast of characters, and a story that was highly entertaining.

What I Liked:

Setting:

Although I have been to Scotland (many years ago), I have not visited Glasgow.  But the author paints such a vivid picture of the city, that I feel like I have been there.  He mentions not only historic places, but bars, libraries and scenery that make me want to visit this wonderful place.

World-Building:

Aside from the real-life setting, the world of Ink & Sigil is steeped in the magical world, and mythology of the Fae.  There are many magical creatures, and planes of existence that are explained.  But you don't need to have read any of the Iron Druid books to understand the rules of this universe.  This is a self-contained series, so it's quite accessible.

Characters:

Al is a really likable, human character.  Unlike the Iron Druid, he is not immortal, and I love that he is on the older side.  He has seen a lot of life, but still has much to contribute to the world.  He is also complicated.  I like that he wasn't perfect.  But he did (mostly) try to do the right thing.

Al's sidekick is a hobgoblin named Buck.  I enjoyed how they got to know each other, with both characters testing each other's mettle.  Buck is mischievous and Al must keep a careful eye on him.  Even with Al's diligence, Buck manages to find ways to mess with Al.  This was super fun and entertaining.

I also enjoyed the character of Nadia.  She is many things (including being Al's accountant),  but most importantly, she is Al's Battle Seer.  I love how no-nonsense she is, and that she has a girlfriend.  This allows a friendship to grow between Al and Nadia, without the complications of a possible romance.  

Story:

The story is basically a mystery:  when Al's apprentice Gordie dies suddenly, he finds out that Gordie has been selling magical creatures.  Why was he doing this, and who was buying them?  I loved the parallels made between the book's plot, and the plight of immigrants caught up in real-life human trafficking. I enjoy how a book can bring up real-life issues using fantasy to illustrate social ills.  Strangely, using magical creatures as stand-ins for immigrants actually makes the point that people who are tricked into slavery are worthy of dignity and respect.  If we can develop sympathy for hobgoblins, we can certainly see immigrants as people.

Rating: 

Release Date:  August 25th, 2020

Author:  Kevin Hearne

Publisher:  Del Rey Books

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Page Length: 336 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation: A promising start to a new fantasy series, filled with an entertaining mix of characters.  If you enjoy fantasy, you will love this book.

Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of an unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

The Star: Kallia, a powerful showgirl out to prove she’s the best no matter the cost

The Master: Jack, the enigmatic keeper of the club, and more than one lie told

The Magician: Demarco, the brooding judge with a dark past he can no longer hide

Review:

I really like books about competitions, such as the wonderful Caraval, by Stephanie Garber.  Where Dreams Descend, by Janella Angeles, has a similar world of magic and danger, but with more female empowerment.  This was a book filled with wonderful world-building, characters, and an exciting story.  I loved it.

What I Liked:

World-Building: 

I loved the magical, kind of Victorian, feel to this world.  Some people are magicians.  But men are allowed to become stage magicians (and become rich and famous), while women can only use magic for practical purposes such as helping in factories and other laborious tasks.  Women who perform magic are considered wanton, and indecent.  

Kallia is able to be a performing magician in a nightclub.  But she must wear a mask, and she is never known as herself.  She longs for recognition, and a career on stage as a headliner.

There are also cursed, mysterious cities, haunted woods, magical satchels, and a circus of female performers.  This creates a mood of decadence, contrasting with prim manners and rigid rules.

Characters:

I loved Kallia.  She is fierce and determined, and (mostly) doesn't care what people think of her.  She is a provocateur.  But I mostly loved that she really just wanted to have the ability to make her own choices.

Jack is The Master.  He is the owner of the club who tightly controls Kallia's life.  While he, at times, seems to care for Kallia, his mind games are a kind of domestic abuse.  Kallia is both afraid of Jack, and drawn to him.

DeMarco is the magician she meets during the magical competition.  He is hiding a secret, so even though he is wildly attracted to Kallia, he doesn't want to get too close to her.  He can't risk her uncovering his skeletons.  I loved how jaded he was about fame, and how one could tell he ached for Kallia.

Side Characters:

I also really liked the many supporting characters, especially Aaros (Kallia's assistant) and Canary (the unofficial leader of the Circus).  Both of these characters are underappreciated by most.  Aaros, the handsome thief, is also fiercely loyal to Kallia. Without asking, he is not only her assistant, but also her bodyguard, and confidant.  Canary is a natural-born leader and instantly sees in Kallia that she is a fellow performer.  Once Kallia has earned Canary's respect, you can tell they will form a life-long friendship.

Story:

This is a story about magic, performers, and the limits we put on ourselves (or others).  Kallia has had so many limits on her freedoms that she can hardly know if she can trust her own judgement.  While not explicitly saying so, her relationship with Jack is abusive.  She has to learn that her ambitions and instincts are legitimate.   For DeMarco, he needs to end the overwhelming guilt he feels about the possible demise of his assistant, and also learn to trust himself and his judgement.

This is also a story about a magical competition, and who doesn't like that!  The players, aside from Kallia, are all men.  They feel threatened by Kallia and do their upmost to push her out of the competition.  It is so satisfying to read how Kallia puts them in their places.

What I Was Mixed About:

Ending:

While I understood that a cliff-hanger was inevitable, I didn't feel that there was enough resolution with this ending.  Many questions that I thought would be answered were not.  Was Jack the bad guy, or not?  If not, who was the real puppet-master?  What was Demarco's actual role?  Several questions were asked right at the end, but (frustratingly) there were zero answers.  I wish at least a few plot points would have been resolved.

Rating: 

Release Date:  August 25th, 2020

Author:  Janelle Angeles

Publisher:  Wednesday Books

Genre:  Fantasy

Page Length:  464 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  With fantastic world-building, this was a fun first book in this series.

Synopsis: (from Goodreads):
It’s been three years since ICE raids and phone calls from Mexico and an ill-fated walk across the Sonoran. Three years since Sia Martinez’s mom disappeared. Sia wants to move on, but it’s hard in her tiny Arizona town where people refer to her mom’s deportation as “an unfortunate incident.”

Sia knows that her mom must be dead, but every new moon Sia drives into the desert and lights San Anthony and la Guadalupe candles to guide her mom home.

Then one night, under a million stars, Sia’s life and the world as we know it cracks wide open. Because a blue-lit spacecraft crashes in front of Sia’s car…and it’s carrying her mom, who’s very much alive.

As Sia races to save her mom from armed-quite-possibly-alien soldiers, she uncovers secrets as profound as they are dangerous in this stunning and inventive exploration of first love, family, immigration, and our vast, limitless universe.

Review:

As I read Sía Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything, I found myself very confused.  Was this a YA Contemporary?  It had all the elements of a story about a high-school-aged girl dealing with friendships, first loves, and parental relationships.  With talk about spirits and it's Hispanic community setting, this book could have been categorized as Magicla Realism.  Or was it Science Fiction?  Fantasy?  The novel's attempt at combining so many different genres, while at times admirable, ultimately made me tune out as a reader.  Although I enjoyed the narrator, and characters, this story was way over the top. I just can't buy into a story that jumps around so much.

What I Liked:

Narrator:

Inéz del Castillo is wonderful as the narrator of this book.  She is so expressive as Sía (and all the other characters) that I couldn't stop listening, Even when the story went off the rails of believability.

Characters:

I did really like Sía.  She had a really difficult life, living in a small town where brown people were constantly harassed by law enforcement. She was resilient, but also didn't have her life figured out.  She had conflicts with her best friend as both of them start to form romantic relationships for the first time.  

Sam, Sía's best friend was also a wonderful character who was trying to figure out how to be gay while having extremely religious parents.  You can understand why Sía and Sam would be friends.

What I didn't Like:

Genre Mash Up:

I know that one of the points of the novel was to deliberately mix genres.  And a little mixing is fine, as long as the universe the writer remains plausible.  But it felt like the author made a list of every genre she liked, and then tried to throw it all together in one book.  The result was a disjointed mess.  I know that's harsh.  But, if you want to make a world where there's space aliens, people with super-powers, government conspiracies, and ghosts, you need to establish this world at the beginning, not throw a different reality in willy-nilly.

Story:

This goes with my complaints about mixing genres.  The story moves from one situation to another, seemingly at random.  One moment the characters are hiding from the Feds, then Sía and her boyfriend Noah are talking about poetry, and getting sexy.  It's too disjointed.

This book could have been amazing.  There were many moments of characters trying to overcome abuse,  and coming to terms with changing friendships.  These were wonderful.  The author ruined the story be veering off into to many directions.

Warning:

This book came with a warning at the beginning that there are triggers for sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence.  They are well deserved.  There's also racist language that (while necessary) was upsetting to read.

Rating: 

Release Date:  August 11, 2020

Author:  Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Genre:  Who knows!

Audiobook Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio

Narrator:  Inéz del Castillo

Audiobook Length: 8 hours, 9 minutes

Print Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Print Length:  432 Pages

Please Note:  I received an advance audio copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

From the beloved and best-selling Anne Tyler, a sparkling new novel about misperception, second chances, and the sometimes elusive power of human connection.

Micah Mortimer is a creature of habit. A self-employed tech expert, superintendent of his Baltimore apartment building, cautious to a fault behind the steering wheel, he seems content leading a steady, circumscribed life. But one day his routines are blown apart when his woman friend (he refuses to call anyone in her late thirties a "girlfriend") tells him she's facing eviction, and a teenager shows up at Micah's door claiming to be his son. These surprises, and the ways they throw Micah's meticulously organized life off-kilter, risk changing him forever. An intimate look into the heart and mind of a man who finds those around him just out of reach, and a funny, joyful, deeply compassionate story about seeing the world through new eyes, Redhead by the Side of the Road is a triumph, filled with Anne Tyler's signature wit and gimlet-eyed observation

Review:

Ever since this pandemic began, I have taken the opportunity to up my reading game.  I try to read at every opportunity, and listen to audiobooks as I work.  I've always loved how Anne Tyler creates sweet, quirky characters and makes us truly care about their happiness.  Redhead by the Side of the Road is a lovely novel about love and second chances.  It is a perfect book for our time.

What I Liked:

Characters:

Micah has many set routines.  Having order in his life is his way of keeping himself frogetting hurt.  I don't think he is consciously doing this.  But his distance (even from his "woman friend") means there won't be an opportunity to blame himself if someone leaves him.

He observes others (like his clients who neehis help with mundane computer issues) with a slight disdain.  But you could feel that he is not quite happy.  I know a few people like this.  People who have a lot to offer, if only they (and others) take the time to get to know them.  This book gives me hope for the people in my life who are like this.

Story:

When Micah loses his steady "woman friend", he is unsettled.  I think when anyone goes through this you go through a period where you reflect on past relationships.  Patterns emerge and you can't help but wallow in self pity.  But (of course), our memories aren't necessarily an accurate chronicle of what actually happened.

Micah gets his reality check when the son of one of his former girlfriend's comes knocking at his door.  This brings his past romances into focus.  Is there something wrong with him?

He begins to understand a pattern.  Once Micah gets a girlfriend, he becomes complacent.  It's like he's checked a box (girlfriend, achieved), and then loses interest.  His many"woman friends" sense this and the  relationships are doomed.

This is not a complicated story.  It's a character study of one man and his journey to understand his life.  This is just the kind of story that Anne Tyler excels at.  If you've ever read her classic book The Accidental Tourist, you understand how she goes deep into a character, makes you adore them, and then picks apart their life.  The fun of the story is how the subject puts their life back together again.

Theme:

I loved the theme of this book, that we can find happiness when we open our hearts to those around us.  Micah isn't ever unhappy, but he certainly seems like he's missing something in his life.  By closing himself to strong ties with others, he is shielding himself from getting hurt.  But his life is less satisfying because of it.  When he finally takes a chance to really connect with others, life is so much better.  In a time where we are forced to keep apart, it's a lovely reminder that when this is over, there will be better times.  I know I will appreciate family gatherings, and get-togethers with friends all the more due to our collective hibernation.

Rating: 

Release Date:  April 7th, 2020

Author:  Anne Tyler

Audiobook Publisher:  Random House Audio

Audio Length:  4 Hrs, 50 Mins.

Print Publisher:  Knop Publishing Group

Genre:  General Fiction

Page Length:  192 Pages

Source:  Publisher

Format:  Audiobook

Recommendation:  I lovely story of a man assessing his life.  A great listening experience.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

Review:

This novel was a selection from my bookclub.  We were searching for something fun, and a bit escapist, given the times we're in.  And this book fit the bill.  This was romantic, fun, and also quite lovely in its exploration of forgiveness and second chances.

What I Liked:

Setting:

I love books set in a small town.  This book had all the elements I love.  There were several fun side characters, people in the community who you'd want to get to know.  I also enjoyed the sense of community you get in a small town.  

Supporting Characters:

The people who inhabited it were supportive, but also had their own struggles and complicated relationships to deal with.  These were fully-formed characters I grew to love.  I especially liked the owner of the bookstore.  She was fun, loving, and ready to arrange book events, and give reading recommendations.

Main Characters:

Gus and January are writers who each have a chip on their shoulder.  They knew each other in college, each secretly attracted to the other.  But their competitive natures stood in the way of them making a substantial connection.

When they meet later in life, January still is seething with professional jealousy and perceived slights from Gus.  Gus is smarting from a breakup. Their relationship builds slowly with plenty of misunderstanding along the way.

Story:

When both writers suffer from writer's block, they challenge each other to write a book in the other's genre.  This was so fun to see how each of the writers approach their research and develop their stories.  As an aspiring writer, I loved the "inside baseball" aspect of the story.

Themes:

The book, aside from a lovely romance, also explores themes of forgiveness and second chances.  January is reeling from the news that her father had a long-term mistress, complete with another house (the one by the lake).  Everything she thought she knew about their parents comes into question.  As she idealized their marriage, it's a shock to realize her parents were complicated, imperfect people. Can she forgive (or at least understand) her father?

Gus had a huge crush on January in college.  She (of course) had no idea.  But before he can jump into a relationship with her, he needs to find a way to trust women again.  His ex cheated on him, and this makes him more reserved than he would normally be.  But January interprets this in the worst way.  Does he really like her or is this just a quick fling?  Gus needs to open up or risk losing January.

What I Was Mixed About:

Cover & Title:

We had a lively discussion in our book club over the title and the cover of this book.  We agreed that both were rather misleading.  This book takes place in a lakeside community.  The characters go to the lake (the beach?) briefly only twice in the book.  I felt it seemed to be a marketing gimmick.  Plus many of the subjects of the book were not light.  I liked this, as it gave the book more weight.  But this is not a fluffy book.  The publisher should have presented a more accurate representation of the novel.

Sex Scenes:

I'm just putting this out there.  Everyone has their own standards for how sexy they want a book to be.  This book lived up to the "Romance" label with several super hot love scenes.  It was just short of "Mommy Porn".  So if you want (what some label) "Clean" romance, this book will not be for you. 

Rating: 

Release Date:  May 19th, 2020

Author:  Emily Henry

Publisher:  Berkely Press

Page Length:  361 Pages

Source:  Bought

Format:  Paperback Book

Recommendation:  This is a fun, romantic book that would be a nice escape from reality.