The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

October 31, 2022

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

Galadriel Higgins, known as El to her friends, has escaped the Scholomance, the school for magically gifted children. Usually only 10% of the graduating class gets out alive, but El and her friends managed to turn the tables on the maleficaria who dwell at the school, and 90% of the students survived. El cast a spell to send the school off into the void with all the mals, but her friend Orion Lake stayed behind when everyone else left. Now El has to figure out how to get him out, while also saving the enclaves from the mals that are trying to destroy them.

This is the third book in the Scholomance series. It got a little long and winding, but it was good to reconnect with favorite characters. We also learn more about El's family and her own abilities and the consequences of her actions. There are some chilling details about how enclaves are built as well. The conclusion is satisfying and it leaves the way open for another book in the series, should the author choose to continue.

In Eastern European folklore, the Scholomance was a school for black magic in Rumania, in the Transylvania region. It was run by the devil and open to only a select few students. The school was underground and the curriculum lasted seven years (as opposed to the four years that El spends at the school). The Scholomance also appears in some online games such as Worlds of Warcraft and Minecraft. The Scholomance in Novik's novels is in a multiverse, attached to our world but sort of hanging onto the edge. It's like a mirror image of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels: at Hogwarts, there are excellent teachers, wonderful meals and accommodations, and the school works to help and protect the students; at the Scholomance, there are no teachers, the food is atrocious, the dorm rooms are dangerously open to the void on one side, and the school is filled with malevolent creatures and tries to kill off as many students as possible. Nice. The only thing the two schools have in common is being located in a multiverse attached to our world.

A depiction of the Scholomance from Worlds of Warcraft

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

July 12, 2022

Black Cake by Charmaine Williamson

When their mother dies suddenly, siblings Byron and Benny meet after many years. Their mother left them her secret black cake recipe and an eight-hour audio recording about her life before she met their father. With the help of their mother's lawyer, Byron and Benny try to make sense of what their mother is telling them.

I like the first 2/3 of the book, then it lost me. Too many new characters were introduced in the last third. The two main characters irritated me - they were whiny, self-centered, and immature. The author also tried to address every social issue she could think of, which got boring. This book needed a good editor to whack out at least 100 pages and improve the narrative. Disappointing.

Traditional Caribbean black cake, a dense fruitcake-type of spice cake - every Trinidadian family seems to have their own recipe - some look more like chocolate cake than fruitcake

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

July 10, 2022

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

At the start of World War II, Mercury Pictures is strictly a B-movie studio (possibly a C-movie studio), until a critic hails one of their films as a prophetic masterpiece. The studio owner, a man of many toupees, is called to Washington D.C. and enlisted to make propaganda films (i.e., war fiction) for the U.S. government. Maria Lagana, an associate producer at Mercury, came to the U.S. from Italy as a child but when the U.S. enters World War II, she is subject to the same restrictions as other German, Italian, and Asian Americans. Former architects, poets, and photographers are enlisted to make miniature replicas of Berlin, write B-movie propaganda films, and portray stereotypical evil villains from the Axis countries.

This was a fascinating look at the culture, politics and economics of the movie industry in the WWII era. There was a lot more humor than I was expecting, and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

Typical propaganda film of the World War II era

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

July 3, 2022

Stay Awake by Megan Goldin

A woman wakes up in a taxi with no memory of how she got there. She goes home but a stranger is living in her apartment. Her phone and purse are missing, but she does find a bloody knife in her coat pocket. Also, her hands and arms are covered with words, including STAY AWAKE. The last thing she remembers is from two years earlier. When she sees a news report about a stabbing murder with words written on the walls much like the ones on her arms, she realizes that she has to piece together what is going on, and who she can trust.

A fast fun read, great for vacation or the beach. The main character's backstory is slowly revealed. The plot and good pacing and keeps you turning the pages. The main character in S. J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep has a similar malady. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC.

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

July 2, 2022

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

Zinnia Gray, former Sleeping Beauty and professional fairy tale fixer, is tired of rescuing sleeping princesses. She wishes they'd just solve their own narrative problems. But when she looks in the mirror, a different face looks back at her, and she is pulled into a Snow White story. This time, it's the evil queen  - she found out how her story ends and she wants to find a better ending for herself. She tells Z the story about how she ended up in that particular fairy tale, and Z is shocked to discover that it's not only princesses who are stuck in a story they didn't choose.

A retelling of the Snow White story from the perspective of the Evil Queen. This story turns the traditional fairy tale on its head, and reminds me of the musical Into the Woods (if you haven't seen it, the first act is about traditional fairy tales and ends with "and they lived happily ever after" - the second act tell about what really happens after the princess marries her prince). I enjoy Z's snarkiness. This is the second book in the Fractured Fables series, and it's fun and creative.

A sexier Evil Queen than the usual Disney version

The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks

June 30, 2022

The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks

Adapted from Chaucer's Wife of Bath tale in the Canterbury Tales. The author imagines Eleanor's life (called Alisoun in the Canterbury Tales, but the name change is part of the story) with her five husbands.

One of the current trends in fiction that is popular right now is retelling stories and fairy tales. I didn't love this as much as I wanted to or as much as other readers did, maybe because I studied Chaucer in graduate school and I know a lot about the Wife of Bath's tale. If you don't know the Canterbury Tales, you'll like it just fine. Disappointing.

One of the many images of the Wife of Bath

Gallant by V. E. Schwab

June 22, 2022

Gallant by V. E. Schwab

Olivia Prior grew up in the Merilance School, essentially an orphanage for girls. All she has left from her mother is a journal that has several pages ripped out. But then a letter arrives, inviting her to Gallant, her mother's family's home. But when she arrives, no one is expecting her or admits to having invited her. Her cousin is hostile toward her, and Olivia sees shadowy figures, but she is not about to leave until she gets some answers. One day, Olivia crosses through a gate at the bottom of the garden and finds herself in an alternate version of Gallant.

The atmosphere is gothic and the writing is good but the plot is sketchy. The main theme is that everything has a mirror image that is the opposite. I like Schwab's adult books better than her YA books. It didn't really hold my attention, although I did like the cover.