Main Blog Page

Review of Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

December 14, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This book is kind of difficult to classify. It’s kind of a speculative fiction, alternate reality, paranormal murder mystery, I guess.

The world in the story is pretty identical to ours except that it is no stranger to magic, and discussions about monsters, magic, and ghosts, and heroes of legends are not unusual. There are also vampires who’ve pretty much been accepted by society and even fairy rings, which serve as a mode of transportation.

Our tale follows a young Lipan Apache girl named Elatsoe, who has the ability to raise the ghosts of animals. She even has a ghost dog named Kirby as a companion. This skill has been passed down to her through the women in her family. In fact, her six-great grandmother was quite a legendary hero. We learn that Elatsoe’s cousin Trevor has just been killed in an automobile accident, but he appears to her in her dreams and informs her that his death was no accident. He even names his murderer: a man in Willowbee called Abe Allerton and asks Elatsoe to ensure that justice is done and protect his family.

She ends up investigating the odd little town where her cousin’s murderer lives and, in the process, unearths some pretty dark secrets, and she soon discovers that the murderer is a key figure in a much larger and more dangerous conspiracy.

I especially loved this book because of the numerous indigenous stories that everyone told and how they were seamlessly intertwined with the plot. It’s clear that the concept of “story” is a key theme in this book, and I enjoyed how the stories about “Six-Great” rendered her immortal. I especially loved the tales about her and her ghostly mammoth.

Ellie’s character is also so lovable and real. She’s strong, delightfully nerdy confident, and never doubts her ability to succeed. Her touch of sarcasm and biting wit endeared her all the more to me. She’s also proudly asexual, so I enjoyed that rep in this story. What also really worked for me in this novel was the strong circle of support that Elatsoe has around her, including her parents, her friends, her ever-faithful, and protective ghost dog. Oh, and I absolutely adored her relationship with the ghost dog.

All of the secondary characters are well-fleshed out and vivid, and I enjoyed getting to know all of them. There were also quite riveting in their own right, such as her Fey friend and another character — I think it was her friend’s sister — who’s in love with and hopes to marry a vampire. Additionally, I loved the fact that no matter how far out Elatsoe’s experiences are, her parents and friend never doubt her or question her. At no point does anyone think she’s lying or fail to show her the utmost respect.

This book has a plethora of riveting themes such as grief, loss, family, the exploitation and genocide of indigenous people, colonialism, murder, greed, racism, and so much more. The fact that this was a book focused on Indigenous culture and its traditions was a huge plus for me. We got to see those traditions firsthand in the everyday life of Elosoe and her family.

So yes, this was a wonderfully written magical story with phenomenal world-building and a cast of realistic characters.

Purchase Elatsoe on Amazon

Review of The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg

December 13, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I’m a massive fan of Bill Konigsberg, so I was very excited to learn he was coming out with a new book. This was certainly an intense and quite a raw read.

It follows two teens, Aaron and Tillie, two strangers but who end up on the George Washington Bridge at the same time with the intention of jumping. Aaron is gay and suffering from depression, and Tillie has just been ghosted by her boyfriend and has been publicly humiliated in an online bullying event. So there are four scenarios that could play out:

Tillie jumps, but Aaron doesn’t.
Aaron jumps, but Tillie doesn’t.
They both jump.
Neither of them jumps.

What’s interesting about this story is that it explores all four outcomes in a diverging storyline format, which I typically enjoy. That is to say, the story plays out all four scenarios allowing us to see the fallout and repercussions of each decision on everyone in their lives. It’s funny. I went into this without knowing anything about it (Bill is an auto-buy author for me).

But when we moved onto the second scenario, I thought, “Wait, What??? Isn’t Tillie dead??” It’s at this point I read the blurb and had that: “Aha!” moment.

So….to say this novel is powerful is an understatement.

As you can imagine, any novel with the theme of suicide at its core is no doubt raw and heart-breaking, and this novel is no exception. Though a bit tough to read in places and definitely an emotional roller-coaster, it was also compelling as each section laid out the various possibilities of events following each scenario.

In the story, he delves into themes of mental health, bullying, shame, body shaming, body image, parental neglect, family, loneliness, and of course, death by suicide. But I felt that at no point does the author romanticize suicide but instead shows the brutal results of such an act and how it can affect so many others.

Now given that this is an exploration of these four different scenarios, there’s really not any closure to the story as all of the stories end in an open kind of way. It’s up to us to decide the outcome of each story. I’m glad the author saved the scenario in which neither teen jumps for the last, which ends the novel in a hopeful and optimistic manner.

The message at the core of these four stories is kind of a wake-up call — maybe even a personal message to anyone who has or has ever had suicidal thoughts. There’s no ideation here, but instead, the author attempts to show us that things will, indeed, get better, as well as illustrating how devastating the death of a loved one by suicide can be for family and friends.

I also think these four stories create an often much-needed conversation around the topic of depression and mental illness in general. In the case of one of the characters, it’s discussed how exhausting it is to keep a smiling face when the darkness inside threatens to overwhelm you and pull you down.

The events that kicked off each scenario were not only fascinating but also eye-opening, and I felt that the author did an excellent job of bringing these events to life for the reader.

And even though we get the same story after the events of the George Washington Bridge, the book is not at all repetitive because every decision the teens make sets off a chain of entirely different events. The ripples and repercussions of each person’s decision in the story made for fascinating reading.

I felt the story in which they both jumped was especially powerful, and the author took it to the next level by showing the hole that they left not only now but in the future. Here, the author shows us how far into the future, the ripples of their decision can reach. For instance, the book introduced the people they were supposed to fall in love with, people who now felt like something is missing from their life, but they can’t put their finger on what.

So here, we see the effects not just on the people they knew but also on the people they should have known. Ah… I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

So again, the book is not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination. It’s dark, heavy, sad, and gut-wrenching. The grief in this story jumps off the page. But it’s also hopeful, in that there’s always another option, and in this book, we explore those options.

Purchase The Bridge on Amazon

Review of Reverie by Ryan La Sala

December 12, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

This is a contemporary magical realism/fantastical story that follows our main character Kane Montgomery who wakes up in the hospital following a coma. He learns that police found him nearly dead in the river.

But he cannot remember anything at all about the accident – how he got there, what he was even doing there. Moreover, everything now seems a bit strange and off-kilter — a feeling that this world isn’t quite right.

He then discovers that one of the girls from his school was a friend of his, and they hung out quite a bit, especially over the past few months. The funny thing is that he has no recollection of ever being friends with this person. Moreover, he then discovers that he was extremely close to three other classmates who call themselves “The Others” but again, no memory of ever associating with them.

At this point, he has no idea who he can trust, and the gaps in his memory disturb him more and more.

But when fantastical worlds begin materializing out of nothing, Kane has to put his trust in these one-time-friends/strangers to figure out what in the heck is going on. Oh, and he has to do this before a certain villain destroys the world, and only he can stop it…if only he could remember what he needs to do.

This was such a delightfully queer and campy book. Our main character, Kane, is gay. There may or may not be a love interest, and another one of the main characters is a quite flamboyant drag queen.

But apart from that, I also found this to be quite an imaginative and fun romp, full of magic and adventure. The premise of dream worlds becoming manifest was also quite compelling, and I thought the author did an excellent job of bringing it to life.

The visual imagery was stunning and really solidified the whole concept for me. What I especially enjoyed, however, was how and why these dream worlds or “reveries” came into being and how they could prove deadly for all those involved.

It was fun journeying along with Kane as he tried to fill in the gaps in his memory until he discovers the sinister and dangerous truth of his and The Others’ situation. I thought this was quite an ambitious novel and enjoyed this fascinating world.

Purchase Reverie from Amazon

Review of Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

December 12, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

I was delighted when I started reading this and discovered that it takes place on the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota. I actually rode through there during my motorcycle trip a couple of years ago, as well as the Pine Ridge reservation, which was also mentioned, so that fact really brought the story to life for me.

I don’t know if I can really classify this as a thriller; it’s more of a crime fiction story though there were undoubtedly some thrilling elements to it. But I decided to chat about it for Thriller Thursday nonetheless as I think it would appeal to those who enjoy mysteries, thrillers, or crime fiction.

So we follow Virgil Wounded Horse, a Lakota man living on the Rosebud Reservation who is sort of a vigilante. Others call him “a hired thug.” When the justice system fails, people hire tough-guy Virgil, who ends up delivering his own kind of punishment. When the government decides not to prosecute or pursue those committing rape, assault, or even murder on Indigenous, you call Virgil.

The story opens with Virgil delivering some “special justice” to a rogue teacher who’s sexually assaulted one of his young students. Because of his “chosen career,” Virgil’s kind of an outsider in the community, and people tend to steer clear of him….unless they need his services. He’s also a reformed alcoholic and is trying to turn his life around.

The latest job that he’s hired for — by his ex’s father, nonetheless — is quite a bit different than his previous assignments. The man has requested that Virgil find out who’s bringing heroin into the Reservation and make them stop — any way he can.

It appears that both men know the culprit — someone who used to bully Virgil — so he doesn’t hesitate in taking the case. The task then becomes personal when his beloved teenaged nephew, who is Virgil’s charge, overdoes on heroin and nearly dies, all of which motivates Virgil even more to get to the bottom of it.

But as Virgil soon discovers, things are a lot more complicated than he had thought and much more dangerous. Things really get interesting when he’s pretty much forced to collaborate with the Feds, which may or may not go according to plan and seriously endanger certain lives in the process, with murder being a strong possibility.

This was quite a compelling character-driven story as we got to delve into Virgil’s mind and had firsthand insight into his motivations. Virgil is such a riveting character with so many layers and vulnerabilities and conflicting motivations, and it’s apparent that he’s still trying to figure out his place in the world. There’s a lot more to him than being merely a vigilante for hire. In fact, all of the characters in this book are richly developed, complex, and engaging.

It was also a riveting, sometimes gritty look at what life is like on the Reservation. I also appreciated the discussion around Native-traditions, ceremonies, and teachings that Virgil has come to reject over the years.

But apart from that, there’s also a serious conversation around the crucial issues of drug abuse, economic poverty, and horrendous injustices aimed at Indigenous people, which was genuinely heartbreaking to read.

The lack of government involvement around serious crimes was incredibly eye-opening, especially since, by federal law, tribal police couldn’t prosecute any federal crimes that happen on the Reservation. In this way, the legal system is mostly non-existent, so criminals walk away, and you have to turn to a man like Virgil to obtain justice.

This novel worked for me on so many levels. I loved learning about the culture, and the author really brought the characters and the setting to life for me. This extremely well-written novel was touching, endearing, humorous in place, shocking, heart-breaking, and heart-mending. It touched on so many serious issues that affect Indigenous people today, and in so doing, I feel that it provides valuable insight into these issues.

Additionally, the author gives us a compelling, heart-in-your-throat mystery to solve as Virgil enters deep into a web of corruption, deception, and danger and quickly finds himself in way over his head.

It was difficult for me to leave Virgil as I finished this action-packed book as I grew quite attached to this character. I hope the author gives us more books that follow this character as I’d love to see Virgil Wounded Horse once again.

Purchase Winter Counts on Amazon

Review of Lava Red Feather Blue by Molly Ringle

December 5, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Lava Red Feather Blue is a fun fairytale-esque gay-themed fantasy that takes place in Eidolonia. In this world, the fae realm and the human realm are separated by a border, though many of the inhabitants intermingle. In this world, magic and faeries are commonplace, and peace between the two domains is maintained because of prince Larkin and the evil and powerful fae queen Ula Kana, both of whom were placed under an enchanted slumber in the year 1799. As long as they’re both asleep, the human realm is safe.

The story follows our main character, Merrick Highvalley, a modern-day-witch who is half-fae and a descendant of the original witch who cast the spell placing prince Larkin and Ula Kana into their slumber. When Merrick inadvertently awakens the sleeping prince, chaos ensues because when Larkin awoke, so did Ula Kana, and she is determined to destroy the human realm.

Larkin and Merrick then embark together on a potentially deadly plan to stop the evil queen, and as the story moves forward, their connection to each other deepens. I really loved the chemistry between these two very different characters, and it was fun watching them fall for each other while they both attempted to fight their attraction. I also enjoyed watching Larkin try to adjust to the new century, given that he’d been asleep for 200 years. It gave me a chuckle several times, watching him trying to differentiate between magic and technology. The banter and flirting between the two of them were also lighthearted and comical.

Another thing I enjoyed about the story was how there was no homophobia by either society or anyone’s family — being gay was just automatically accepted by everyone. Additionally, one of Merrick’s siblings was non-binary, which was also universally accepted, so I really enjoyed the representation.

Additionally, I thought the world-building and the magic system in this story were phenomenal. The author really brought the story to life because of the atmospheric and lush descriptions. The tale was moody and immersive, giving me the feeling that I was right there along with the characters.

Ringle has created here a cleverly crafted new world that I wanted to lose myself in. It’s a story featuring a great cast of believable characters, a compelling world, an intriguing political and magical system, and a satisfying conclusion. It’s a dark and fascinating tale — a beautifully woven magical adventure of two desperate souls who enter into a strange new world.

As an extra treat, the author included a section at the end of the book explaining the mythologies behind the names of the characters — both human and fae — as well
as the names for the various places in the story.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book. The book goes on sale on January 5th, 2021 but it available for preorder now.

Purchase Lava Red Feather Blue from Amazon.

Review of Better Have Heart by Anyta Sunday and Andy Gallo

November 19, 2020 by Roger Hyttinen Leave a Comment

Blurb:

They hate everything about each other, so why do they harmonize so well?

Isaiah Nettles wants a chance. A chance to help his family.

The prestigious Gage Scholarship will secure his future. He needs this. The competition might be hot, but Darren Gage is a golden child. No way will Isaiah let an entitled rich kid be handed the award.

But what if Darren is more than an entitled rich kid?

Darren Gage wants to be seen. Seen as more than just his name.

The Gage Scholarship will let him shine. He needs this. Sure, Isaiah is insanely sexy—and right to stand up for himself—but he is the competition.

No way will Darren let just anyone take his legacy.

But what if Isaiah isn’t just anyone?

Review

This is the second book in the Harrison Campus series by this duo. I’ve already read the third book in this series (which I loved!) but have yet to read the first. The story is a slow-burn opposites attract/enemies to lovers tale that follows two college boys, Darren and Isaiah, who find themselves competing for the same scholarship program.

These two men couldn’t be more different. Darren comes from a wealthy family – a VERY WEALTHY family — and has never had to worry about money. He has also recently come out to his parent, and since then, his father has barely spoken two words to him. Darren is hurt by his father’s reaction and is desperately trying to win his approval. He’s hoping that landing this scholarship will put him back in his father’s good graces.

On the other hand, Isiah is out and proud and has a fantastic relationship with his mother. He grew up with very little money, and his mother works extra hard to support the family. He also works as a yoga instructor to earn extra money to help ease his mother’s burden.

Now it’s worth mentioning that the scholarship program for which they’re competing was initially set up by Darren’s great-grandfather specifically for the Gage men (though that’s not explicitly stated in the rules). Thus, Darren is expected to automatically receive it without having to compete for it. When Isaiah learns of this, he files a complaint with the university. The university decides that the only solution is for the two men to compete for the scholarship, which involves them working on special projects together. The scholarship is extremely important to both of them for different reasons, and each is determined to win.

Initially, it’s pretty rough going for our cut-throat competitors, and most of their early interactions are unfriendly and uncomfortable. What our guys didn’t count on was the intense attraction they felt for their “enemy” and soon begin to form, in spite of themselves, a deep personal relationship. Though it first appears that these two couldn’t be more different, they soon discover they have a lot more in common than they initially thought.

I thought the character development was outstanding, and I really loved both of these guys. They’re both quite complex once we get to know them. Darren is not at all the typical spoiled rich kid that Isaiah had him pegged for and rather is kind, compassionate, principled, and selfless. Isaiah, though he initially came across as super judgmental and a tad hot-tempered, ended up being quite an honorable character: empathetic, also kind and determined. I loved watching them bond over their mutual love of music and, subsequently, fall in love with each other before they even knew it was happening. I loved watching them fight their attraction and, ultimately, losing.

As typical in Ms. Sunday’s book, this was a super slow-burn, so you’ll have to be patient before we get to the steamy parts. What we do have is a lovely, heartfelt college romance between two endearing and admirable characters who both utterly enthralled me and stole my heart. This adorable book brought tears of joy to my eyes a couple of times and also had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

I look forward to reading more in this series.