I finished Parable of the Talents day before yesterday, soon after reading Parable of the Sower. I'm still walking around in that world in my head. NoI finished Parable of the Talents day before yesterday, soon after reading Parable of the Sower. I'm still walking around in that world in my head. Not sure I'll ever shake it.
Earthseed is a really scary duology to be reading right now. My son and I read it together, beginning on July 20, 2024, which is the date of the first entry in PotS. Butler may have written the books 30 years ago, but--like Olamina, a main character--her ability to look ahead to likely outcomes, and her ability to identify course corrections needed to set us on a better path, was right on target.
I had only intended to read the first book, but once I did, there was no way I was not going to find out what happened next to Olamina and her found family. And Parable of the Talents hooked me even more deeply than Sower had. It's a masterpiece of characterization and understanding of human flaws and strengths. Olamina is at once low-key, driven, and larger than life -- a deeply intelligent, deeply thoughtful person who combines a survivor's ability to do whatever is needed, no matter how difficult or unpleasant, with a cult leader's ability to draw people to her and reach their hearts.
But Olamina is more messiah than cult leader, in that she is always working toward an end that is bigger than herself. Despite how those who fear or hate her the most might characterize her, she is nearly egoless. She is striving for a better world for everyone. A world that will outlive her.
Racism, misogyny, greed, tyranny, violence of all kinds... All are present in abundance in the series. The events of the two books are terrifying and devastating, partly because they are only small steps away from the world we live in now. But somehow, because of Olamina's belief in her larger purpose and her ability and willingness to hone every one of the considerable skills she possesses to further her goals, somehow the series ends on hopeful note.
I can't say more without giving spoilers, but I highly, HIGHLY recommend the Earthseed books to everyone. 1,000,000 stars....more
I really enjoyed this entire series, and this is the one I read first. WOW Laura Drake can make me feel all the feelings--including the gut-wrenching oI really enjoyed this entire series, and this is the one I read first. WOW Laura Drake can make me feel all the feelings--including the gut-wrenching ones--with her writing. Just beautiful. Highly recommend....more
This is the first book in my son's favorite series, and he got me to read it. He's a really smart history and military history and sci-fi/fantasy buffThis is the first book in my son's favorite series, and he got me to read it. He's a really smart history and military history and sci-fi/fantasy buff, and after reading The Grace of Kings I understand why the series appeals to him so. Ken Liu's worldbuilding is astounding: rich, detailed, and deep, including history, legend, culture, geography, and a set of competing gods. The story starts slowly, with the first 150-200 pages largely setting up the context for--and introducing characters vital in--later events. Once the action begins to pick up, the rest of the story is a whirlwind of battles and treachery and twists, honor and deceit and betrayal, as the extremely rigid Mata Zyndu meets, is befriended by, and then clashes with the extremely flexible Kuni Garu. For me the most interesting thing about the story is the philosophical conundrums it leaves me with, including the idea that any characteristic--even honor, even desire to be just--can turn negative when taken to extreme. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come. It's a long, bloody, sometimes traumatic ride with masterful worldbuilding and a deep understanding of human psychology and behavior.
"Take the Lead" shored up my belief that being on a reality show would be my personal version of hell. No privacy, lots of subterfuge and back-stabbin"Take the Lead" shored up my belief that being on a reality show would be my personal version of hell. No privacy, lots of subterfuge and back-stabbing and misleading portrayals of situations and relationships... No thank you very much.
But that setting is a perfect pressure cooker for a romance novel. The situation--in which even the participants can't be sure what's real and what's fake, or even who they really are and what they really want--ramps up the tension in what might otherwise be a straightforward insta-love story.
Big stoic Stone, on loan from one reality show to another, agrees to participate in a celebrity dancing competition only because his family needs the money. He would rather be off by himself somewhere fresh and clean where he doesn't have to play any role that seems fake or unnatural. But his professional dance partner Gina is fresh and bubbly and kind and fun, beautiful and talented and an excellent teacher who brings out the best in Stone in more than just his dancing.
Their physical attraction is instantaneous, heightened by the constant close physical contact of dancing, and we see them begin to appreciate and fall for each other, even though their end goals and dreams make a life together seem impossible. Their relationship grows, but Gina has to guard her professional reputation against those who would stereotype and discount her as a promiscuous fiery Latina. She is a warm, lovely, lovable person, but she is determined to not make her mother's mistake of prioritizing a man over her career. Meanwhile Stone is reveling in his new, freer, feelings and ability to be his true self with her. He'd like to shout their relationship to the rooftops.
So even as we like and respect both characters and their affectionate, loving, steamy, protective relationship, the conflict is always there under the surface, growing to an inevitable blowup.
"Take the Lead" gives an interesting backstage view of reality shows and the pressures and difficult choices they bring participants. It's a fun, steamy read with easy-to-care-for main characters. I would have liked more back story so I could really feel Stone and Gina's internal conflicts and better understand the way they are when we meet them, but this was an enjoyable read.
M W Craven's Washington Poe series was recommended to me by a friend who is a smart and voracious reader. I'm always excited to try a new-to-me seriesM W Craven's Washington Poe series was recommended to me by a friend who is a smart and voracious reader. I'm always excited to try a new-to-me series, so I got my hands on book 1: The Puppet Show. I will now be looking for book 2 (Black Summer)!
The Puppet Show is an engrossing mystery, full of twists and burned bodies, glimpses of rural England and police politics. As the story progresses, we get to know disgraced detective Poe slowly and to build an impression of him as a solid, independent, occasionally brilliant loner with his own compelling ethics. He's a likeable guy with very few friends. My favorite aspect of the story was its focus on relationships, between friends, coworkers, family and community members... and especially the growing friendship between Poe and Tilly, a genius police analyst who has been both bullied and deeply sheltered. At first Poe seems like Tilly's white knight, saving her from assholes and introducing her to the world (via fieldwork and driving) but by the end of the story it's become apparent that he needs her too.
I recommend this book if you enjoy mysteries with engrossing characters; twists, turns and gray areas; and strangers-to-workmates-to-friends relationships. 4.5 stars, rounded up.
I'm very much enjoying this series. The crimes are twisted, the mysteries twisty and intriguing. The relationship between Poe and Tilly is delightful, I'm very much enjoying this series. The crimes are twisted, the mysteries twisty and intriguing. The relationship between Poe and Tilly is delightful, and Flynn is pretty great too. I've already requested the next book from my library! 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars...more
I enjoyed this whole series, even without reading them in order. Going into a new one is like getting to see old friends again as you meet new ones, aI enjoyed this whole series, even without reading them in order. Going into a new one is like getting to see old friends again as you meet new ones, and with Suzanne Brockmann's stories, you know you're also in for action, humor, and characters who have big hearts and issues they need to address.
In King's Ransom we get to see smart, steady, dependable Thomas King thrown for a loop. He's been such a wonderful character in all the other books that it's great to see him get his own love story. It's especially touching to see his struggles with his beliefs about right and wrong and responsibility as he battles his attraction to Tasha Francisco, who has loved him since she was a little girl.
Together Thomas and Tasha are hilarious and touchingly honest and vulnerable as they work past The Incident that had wrecked their friendship five years earlier. And it IS work for them, enough that they need the pressure cooker of physical danger and forced proximity to propel them through to their HEA.
King's Ransom is a lovely and satisfying story of two extremely loveable characters who have always belonged to each other in various ways and who now, as two capable adults who can be full partners, truly deserve each other....more
5 stars all the way. This book is DELICIOUS. I savored it, bit by bit, from the very first chapter, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about why it5 stars all the way. This book is DELICIOUS. I savored it, bit by bit, from the very first chapter, and I've spent a lot of time thinking about why it captivates me so.
Chloe and Red couldn't seem much more different at first, him a tall brawny friendly ginger giant of an artist and her a regimented, of-necessity-careful chronically ill website designer, cocooned in her own pain and loneliness. But under the surface, their puzzle pieces match up just right. They've both been badly hurt and are both prickly in their own ways, soldiering on and trying to build bearable new lives for themselves out of the wreckage of their old dreams.
And somehow these two, who don't even like each other at first, manage to see and understand and empathize with bits of each other that even their closest loved ones have missed. Red seems to fall first, but only because Chloe's walls are so formidable. She's not far behind, not really. And seeing them open up and share secrets and intimacies of all kinds, even as they're sniping at each other, is moving and delightful and so touching I just really wanted to hug them both, shove them into a room together, and lock the door until they worked things out.
I don't know how Talia Hibbert managed to make these two very different characters so unique and so distinct and so REAL in my mind, but she is a wizard and this story is pure magic....more
I really did not expect to like this story more than Chloe's (#1 in the series), but I did. Dani, like her sisters, is funny and smart and talented. ShI really did not expect to like this story more than Chloe's (#1 in the series), but I did. Dani, like her sisters, is funny and smart and talented. She is also emotionally scarred by a jackass from her past in a way that convinced her to steer clear of relationships. But her friend Zaf is just so lovely...and when he needs her to pretend to be his girlfriend to encourage donor interest in his work helping boys express and deal with their feelings, Dani is all in. And then it becomes hard for them to know what's real and what's a show, because everything sure FEELS real. Zaf is just...mm. He's so sweet and caring and thoughtful and emotionally mature that if he weren't also a blunt and hilarious smartass, he'd be too good to be true. Their banter was wonderful and made me laugh out loud many, many times. Talia Hibbert has crafted two people who were obviously meant to be together from the get-go, and watching them get there was a great pleasure. I highly, HIGHLY recommend....more
This memoir is heartrending and amazing. It's like reading a news piece about a case of sexual assault and, before your eyes, the word "victim" begins This memoir is heartrending and amazing. It's like reading a news piece about a case of sexual assault and, before your eyes, the word "victim" begins to reshape itself and grow until a fully formed person--a loving, capable, talented, funny, beloved, determined PERSON--is standing before you. She breathes, she breaks, she somehow through sheer grit bears up under attacks of all kinds as well as delays and miscarriages of justice, and slowly, painfully, she begins to gather the shards of her life and fasten them back together with new bits she's grown until she is able to step out in the world and do something that helps millions of other people. There's not enough stars in the world for this memoir. Thank you, Chanel Miller. #BeTheSwede...more
Let me say up front that I'm rating this book a 4.5. I want to be clear on that before I mention the things that originally had me thinking I hated itLet me say up front that I'm rating this book a 4.5. I want to be clear on that before I mention the things that originally had me thinking I hated it.
A Perfect Story is about Margot, a poor little rich girl who leaves her Prince Charming at the altar, and David, a free-spirited, barely-making-it underachiever. Despite their vastly different worlds and lives, when Margot ends up in the dive bar where David works, they recognize the sadness in each other's eyes. It's probably their differences and the fact that they have nothing to lose with each other that frees them up to become delightfully honest, supportive friends as they both seek to rekindle relationships with their exes. Fake dating leads to a Greek holiday which leads to something so much deeper that it challenges their ability to even figure out what they want, much less be honest with themselves and each other about it.
It was this premise that attracted me to the story. What nearly lost me as a reader: - 640 pages seems way too long for this story. I had to drag myself through the first big section before Margot & David become friends. It seemed way too slow for me. - Another problem for me in that first big chunk of the book was culture shock. The story was set in Spain and Greece. I knew the characters were Spanish, so I suspected going in that the book might have been translated from Spanish. No problem. There were lots of cultural references I didn't get--names and bands and songs--but that's fine. But Margot's relationship with her sisters and mother seemed wildly over-dramatic, and the things they said to each other seemed cruel and didn't make sense to me. It was hard to figure out what they meant and how they actually felt about each other. I don't know whether the issue was the translation or some combination of cultural and social class differences between me and them, but it was really difficult for me at first to feel any liking or sympathy for any of them, including Margot. This compounded my difficulty in getting through the first part of the book.
But THEN, Margot and David become friends, and from the moment she goes back into that bar to retrieve her sister's phone, I love them together. They are so sweet, so funny, so honest and supportive with each other, it's just a delight. Their dialogue is simultaneously hilarious and touching. They're clearly the best thing in each other's lives.
And I ended up loving them and the book, and enjoying their adventures together, and being terrified that they wouldn't end up together. It was a tough road for them, with fraught choices and a lot of doubt about whether they COULD make it, despite their obvious love. They both had a lot of growing to do. A lot of tears to shed and tough truths to face.
So, A Perfect Story was NOT perfect. It put me through a damn wringer ... and I love it. My review and opinions are entirely my own. Thanks very much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book; it was a pleasure.