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Review of Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate

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Book cover for Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate

Those of us familiar with Bram Stoker’s Dracula know that the ship which transported Count Dracula arrived utterly empty except for the dead captain chained to the helm, with nobody knowing that happened to the rest of the crew….that is, until now.

Initially published in 1998, The Route of Ice and Salt is a reimagining of Dracula’s voyage from Transylvania to England on The Demeter. It is narrated by the captain (we never do learn his name), who is assigned to transport fifty crates filled with Transylvanian soil from Varna to Whitby.

We learn right off the bat that the captain isn’t what one pictures as a typical captain of this time period. For one thing, he is gay, and the first part of the novel centers heavily on the captain’s sexuality. We enter into his head as he fantasizes and dreams about having sex with his crew — hungering and yearning for the touch of another man. It was heartbreaking to see how the captain yearned for connection with others but dared not get close to anyone lest they discover his horrible secret.

But our captain also suffers from internalized guilt and internalized homophobia, as it’s slowly revealed that his lover was murdered in a homophobic act of violence by a mob. Because of this, the Captain experiences shame at what he is but, surprisingly, comes to accept himself more and more as the novel progresses. It becomes clear to him that he is not the monster here, but instead, it is that which is causing the disappearance of his men. So what we have here, then, is a story consisting of multiple layers; there is so much more to it than merely a gay captain transporting 50 crates of soil to England.

Now I will say that there’s not much of a plot to this story, and anyone familiar with Bram Stoker’s classic knows how it turns out. There is also minimal dialog and not a whole lot of action. What we do have, however, is a character-driven novel told mostly through internal monologue that’s ultimately about hunger and desire, about inner monsters vs. real-life monsters, about heroes and villains, about suppressing your true self, about how dangerous homophobia can be (both internalized and external) and about redemption.

I enjoyed how the vampire stalking the crew paralleled the captain’s predatory (according to him) desires and thoughts. But through the captain’s revelations, the reader is reminded that being gay and loving others is not what is monstrous, but rather it is that which preys upon innocents where we find the true villains/monsters. I did enjoy the captain’s character arc as he came to some amazing realizations about himself, his lover’s horrific murder, and society in general.

This novel is also quite dense, though it is beautifully written. The prose is lyrical, flowery, and poetic with phenomenal descriptions and meticulously crafted sentences, and I found it a joy to read. I loved the gothic feel and atmosphere to this story, which the author really pulled off swimmingly. That being said, there are some genuinely creepy scenes in the book, especially those involving rats, distressing dreams, the crew’s unexplainable fear, and, of course, a vampire slowly taking over the ship.

Though indeed disturbing, dark, and unsettling, this tension-filled book was also incredibly rewarding to read with its compelling main character, beautiful prose, and fascinating storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for review purposes.

Purchase The Route of Ice and Salt on Amazon

Review of Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka

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Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Chloe had a plan: work hard, get good grades, and attend a top-tier college. But after she collapses during cross-country practice and is told she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste. Six months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, the “new Chloe” takes heedless risks, like skipping her anti-rejection meds while running wild with the class party girl and nearly crashing a motorcycle she’s not even licensed to ride. Even more unsettling: her recurring nightmares of dying and the strange, vivid memories she doesn’t recognize as her own.

The only place Chloe feels at home is in the ocean, where she’s learning to surf the Pacific’s wild waves and slowly falling for her instructor, Kai. But as her strange symptoms continue, she becomes more and more convinced that something is wrong with her new heart—or even worse, her mind. As Chloe searches for answers, what she learns will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about life, death, love and the true nature of reality.

Review:

This follows our main character Chloe whose life is derailed after she collapses while running. She learns that she has a serious heart condition and is a very sick young lady.  Her doctor tells her that her only chance of survival is to obtain a heart transplant sooner rather than later.  Luckily for her, a heart becomes available, and the operation is a success.

So after that, C begins to have disturbing nightmares about dying in a motorcycle crash and dreams about a woman she’d never met, all of which start seeping into her everyday life. She’s also begun recognizing people she’d never seen before, experiencing unfamiliar feelings, and is developing a desire for doing things that have never even crossed her mind in the past, such as surfing and getting tattoos.  She ends up exploring her “rebellious” side, something quite out of character for the “old” Chloe.

To satisfy her urge for surfing, she even begins taking lessons from a super attractive surfer dude named Kai, and he ends up playing quite an essential role in her life.

The book got especially interesting once she starts researching cellular memory, in which an organ donation recipient can experience thoughts, feelings, and even memories of the original organ owner.  I was mesmerized when the story took off in this direction, and Chloe begins asking some big questions, providing a lot for the reader to think about as well.  It was fun journeying and guessing along with Chloe as she moved closer and closer to a place of understanding.

So what we have here, then, is kind of a speculative mystery as Chloe searching for answers about what is happening to her — about the strange visions and memories that seem to be taking over her life. She even tracks down her heart donor’s family to prove to herself she’s not going crazy. 

This is such a sensitive subject, and Takaoka delves into with a lot of thought and consideration to all parties who might be involved. This is one of those books that was about a serious issue and one that you probably don’t think about unless it touches your life; about how in order for one person to live, someone else had to die. I’d never considered many of the issues that this book brought up, and I am definitely glad that I read it.  

And the unusual paranormal/quantum physics direction that the book went in as well as the compelling mystery added to the richness of the reading experience. There’s also a HUGE twist near the end which I did not see coming, but which made me love this story all the more. I was surprised in the best of ways, and the new knowledge even brought a tear to my eye. 

In truth, Everything I Thought I Knew is a super-rich story: it deals with very loaded issues like grief, regret, loss, survival, and trauma, but also with the opportunity to start anew, with the vital importance of second chances, and the difficult journey of personal growth. It’s Chloe’s steely determination to figure out what was happening to her that makes Everything I Thought I Knew compelling, fierce, and ultimately human.

A huge thank you to Shannon Takaoka and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy of this novel.

Purchase Everything I Thought I Knew from Amazon

Review of The Player by Joe Consentino

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The Player by Joe Consentino

Blurb:

When young music teacher Andre Beaufort discovers an antique player piano in the basement of his apartment building, he is visited by the ghost of the original owner: a dapper and charismatic playboy from the Roaring Twenties, Freddy Birtwistle.

Andre has never seen a ghost and Freddy has never been one, so they get off to a rocky start. But when Andre finds his neighbor murdered on his doorstep, he and Freddy join forces to narrow the pool of suspects.

Soon Andre and Freddy discover that opposites attract, even if one’s alive and the other dead. Together these amateur detectives make an enticing team, and it’s a good thing too, because the first murder they solve together won’t be their last. But the real mystery isn’t just whodunit—it’s how a romance between a man and a ghost can have a happily ever after ending.

The Player contains two stand-alone cozy murder mysteries, The City House and The Country House.

Review:

I love stories featuring ghosts — especially romances — so I couldn’t wait to delve into this novel. The Player is actually two gay cozy mystery stories in one book. The first novella is entitled “The Country House,” which opens with Andre discovering an old player piano in his apartment building’s basement. His Aunt, who is the landlord, agrees to let Andre haul up the piano to his apartment. What Andre doesn’t know is that there’s a handsome ghost named Freddy Birtwistle attached to the piano whom Andre inadvertently releases when he begins to play the pianola.

As we soon learn, Freddy, a wealthy meticulously-dressed socialite from the roaring 20s, was shot at the age of 30 by a jealous husband in 1935. Freddy was quite the gay “player” in his day, and if any of his numerous stories about his exploits can be believed, he left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. According to Freddy, he broke the heart of every eligible male Hollywood celebrity, and even his presence would often send spouses/partners into a jealous rage. This part of the book was a lot of fun, though I did find that Freddy’s rambling anecdotes got to be a tad repetitive by the second book.

The novel then takes a compelling turn when one of the tenants in Andre’s building is murdered, and once Andre becomes a suspect, the duo takes it upon themselves to investigate the crime in the style of Holmes and Watson. Through their investigation, we meet all the other quirky tenants of the building as we try to guess whodunit.

Given that Freddy was bound to the piano and couldn’t physically leave the apartment, Andre did all the legwork and then reported his findings back to Freddy. The two men then put their heads together to try to figure out the case. And of course, while working together, they fall deeply in love.

This story was a lot of fun and incorporated several surprising plot twists that I didn’t see coming. I also loved Freddy’s continuous stream of 1920s lingo and expressions, many causing me to laugh out loud.

The second book, The Country House, takes place at Freddy’s former country house, now converted into a B & B. At first, we think that Andre is on his own, but another of Freddy’s original player piano’s is in Andre’s rented room, and a couple of pumps of the pedal bring Andre’s ghostly lover to him.

Once again, a murder occurs, and this time, it’s the surly proprietor of the B & B. Like The City House, this second book is also populated with a plethora of compelling and outlandish characters. I found the second book to be as delightful as the first one. It was fast-paced, delightfully twisty (more so even than the first) with a shocking ending.

Now it’s worth mentioning that given that these two novellas are cozy mysteries, meaning there is no on-page sex, swearing, or violence. What we do get, however, is a sweet romance between a young man and a saucy charismatic ghost from the 1920s, as well as a couple of captivating murder mysteries to solve. I hope the author writes more in this world as I’d love to revisit these two enchanting characters.

Purchase The Player on Amazon

Review of Dracula’s Child by J.S. Barnes

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Blurb:

It has been some years since Jonathan and Mina Harker survived their ordeal in Transylvania and, vanquishing Count Dracula, returned to England to try and live ordinary lives. But shadows linger long in this world of blood feud and superstition – and, the older their son Quincy gets, the deeper the shadows that lengthen at the heart of the Harkers’ marriage. Jonathan has turned back to drink; Mina finds herself isolated inside the confines of her own family; Quincy himself struggles to live up to a family of such high renown. And when a gathering of old friends leads to unexpected tragedy, the very particular wounds in the heart of the Harkers’ marriage are about to be exposed…

There is darkness both within the marriage and without – for, while Jonathan and Mina wrestle with the right way to raise a child while still recovering from the trauma of their past lives, new evil is arising on the Continent. A naturalist is bringing a new species of bat back to London; two English gentlemen, on their separate tours of the continent, find a strange quixotic love for each other, and stumble into a calamity far worse than either has imagined; and the vestiges of something thought long-ago forgotten is, finally, beginning to stir…

Review

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ~ Edmund Burke

I’ve always been a massive fan of Bram Stoker’s novel ‘Dracula’ so I was incredibly excited when I had to opportunity to read Dracula’s Child. The story takes place ten years after the original novel’s events after Abraham Van Helsing destroyed the evil Count Dracula. In this novel, we follow Jonathan and Mina Harker, who are still dealing with the trauma and aftermath of those horrific events. Then, something happens on the eve of their son Quincy’s 13th birthday leading to a descent into darkness for everyone involved as it quickly becomes clear that the evil may not be gone after all. Thus begins a fight not only for Quincy’s soul but for the lives of everyone around him.

What I loved about this captivating book is how it’s in the same epistolary format as the first and written in the form of letters, found documents, newspaper clippings, and diary entries. Like the original, the story is also told through multiple points of view, allowing us to experience the story from several different angles, viewpoints, and voices.

It was so true to the original and so atmospheric that I felt as though I were reading a sequel penned by Stoker himself. It even had that same suspenseful slow burn aspect to it as what was really going on was slowly revealed by the author.

Additionally, the characterization was spot on and utterly faithful to the original. It was so compelling to watch the new terror unfold as many of our favorite characters from the original story are forced to face an unspeakable horror and make some impossible decisions. There are also plenty of new characters as well as a new and original plotline to add to the intrigue of the story.

I thought this book really stood up well to the original and what we end up with here is a gothic story as timeless as the original Dracula. The story’s ever-darkening atmosphere had an increasing feeling of foreboding and menace to it as the events slowly unraveled, revealing quite a twisty, multi-layered heart-in-your-throat tale.

Though this book does stand on its own, I’d recommend reading the original first as there were plenty of references to that book’s events. It will also help the reader better understand the characters and their motivations.

All in all, I thought this was a phenomenal and unputdownable novel. Barnes has succeeded in creating here an intense, troubling, and complex story just as dark and creepy as the original, and I thought that the blend of human horror and the human heart is expertly achieved. Dracula’s Child is an outstanding balancing act that walks a thin line between being an ode to classic horror and a nightmarish and original modern-day suspense story all its own.

Purchase Dracula’s Child from Amazon

Review of The Vicar and the Rake by Annabelle Greene

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Blurb

As a young man, Sir Gabriel Winters left behind his status as a gentleman, turning his back on his secret desires and taking a self-imposed vow of celibacy. Now he’s a chaste, hardworking vicar, and his reputation is beyond reproach. But, try as he might, he’s never forgotten the man he once desired or the pain of being abandoned by his first love.

Edward Stanhope, the Duke of Caddonfell, is a notorious rake, delighting in scandal no matter the consequence. With a price on his head, he flees to the countryside, forced to keep his presence a secret or risk assassination. When Edward finds Gabriel on his estate, burning with fever, he cannot leave him to die, but taking him in puts them both in jeopardy.

With the help of a notorious blackmailer, a society of rich and famous gentlemen who prefer gentlemen, and a kitten named Buttons, they might just manage to save Edward’s life—but the greatest threat may be to their hearts.

Review

I love M/M Regency Romances, so I was excited to pick this one up. The Vicar and the Rake follows the rakish Edward Stanhope, who, along with his surly servant, returns to his childhood house to hide out after an exceptionally huge scandal involving him and a young man in a darkened room — a scandal that could lead to his hanging. But upon arriving at his home, he discovers Sir Gabriel Winters, his childhood friend and now the local vicar, unconscious from fever on his doorstep. Against his better judgment, he hauls Gabriel inside to care for him.

We learn right away that there were romantic feelings between Gabriel and Edward years ago before suddenly Edward left without so much as saying goodbye. Upon seeing Edward again, Gabriel’s old feelings for him resurface, leading to mixed emotions of desire and betrayal. Though there was definitely heat between these two characters, Edward, who believed himself to be irreparably broken, refused to get close to Gabriel, though, despite his resolve, he did continuously send the man mixed messages.

This ended up being such a fun story. In addition to the romance, there was also quite a bit of added intrigue such as missing diamonds, a price out on Edward’d head, childhood trauma, a ruthless brother, clandestine affairs, a secret society, and a kitten named Buttons. The storyline was compelling, and the author introduced several zany and quirky characters adding to the richness of the tale. Green then ratcheted up the tension by increasing the element of danger, not just to Edward but to everyone close to him.

I thought this book was addictive, intense, and oozing with romance. I really loved the chemistry between our two main characters, especially the slow burn aspect of their relationship, as they each tried to distance themselves from the other unsuccessfully. Additionally, the somewhat quirky and outlandish plot around them was kept steady by the realism and the truth of their romance. Readers who like a little messy romance will definitely get that in spades here – Gabriel’s and Edward’s interactions are funny, awkward, heartfelt, and sometimes exactly as confrontational as they need to be. Yet, everything you love about romance is here: it’s hot and steamy, amusing, charming, emotional, and inspiring, with a lovely feel-good ending all bound together by a beautiful, well-written narrative.

One thing I especially liked about this book is how the romance didn’t overtake the plot. So many romance novels are peppered with way too many repetitive sex scenes that completely take over the plot. Though there are certainly steamy parts in the story, they’re balanced nicely against the storyline.

All in all, I loved The Vicar and the Rake. It was a lovely story with a clever plot and fun, original characters, include the delightful and surprising secondary characters. I’d definitely read more by this author.

Oh, and did I mention? There’s also a cute kitten named Buttons!

A huge thank you to Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC! This book goes on sale on October 12, 2020 but is available for preorder now.

Order The Vicar and the Rake on Amazon

Review of Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter

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Blurb

The silicon revolution left Dremmler behind, but a good detective is never obsolete.

London is quiet in 2039—thanks to the machines. People stay indoors, communicating through high-tech glasses and gorging on simulated reality while 3D printers and scuttling robots cater to their every whim. Mammoth corporations wage war for dominance in a world where human augmentation blurs the line between flesh and steel.

And at the center of it all lurks The Imagination Machine: the hyper-advanced, omnipresent AI that drives our cars, flies our planes, cooks our food, and plans our lives. Servile, patient, tireless … TIM has everything humanity requires. Everything except a soul.

Through this silicon jungle prowls Carl Dremmler, police detective—one of the few professions better suited to meat than machine. His latest case: a grisly murder seemingly perpetrated by the victim’s boyfriend. Dremmler’s boss wants a quick end to the case, but the tech-wary detective can’t help but believe the accused’s bizarre story: that his robotic arm committed the heinous crime, not him. An advanced prosthetic, controlled by a chip in his skull.

A chip controlled by TIM.

Dremmler smells blood: the seeds of a conspiracy that could burn London to ash unless he exposes the truth. His investigation pits him against desperate criminals, scheming businesswomen, deadly automatons—and the nightmares of his own past. And when Dremmler finds himself questioning even TIM’s inscrutable motives, he’s forced to stare into the blank soul of the machine.

Auxiliary is gripping, unpredictable, and bleakly atmospheric—ideal for fans of cyberpunk classics like the Blade Runner movies, Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon, William Gibson’s Neuromancer, and the Netflix original series Black Mirror.

Review

Auxiliary: London 2039 was such an exciting book in that it’s a dark combination of the detective noir, cyberpunk, and sci-fi genres. Our main character, Carl Dremmler, is the kind of detective you’d find in a 1940s noir story: he drinks too much, has a painful past, is a bit crass, and picks up strangers for sex (though he often has sex with his personal humanoid robot). I thought the author did a fantastic job of meshing the different genres, and they all worked seamlessly in this story.

The setting for this dystopian thriller is more than a bit disconcerting and grim, taking place in the near future where machines pretty much run the world. Robots have replaced most jobs, humanity has stopped growing, striving, and evolving, and people are continuously monitored and controlled by the primary operating system. “Real Life” as we know it has nearly become obsolete.

We get a taste of this in the opening scene where Detective Dremmler is called to the flat of a young man who was so engrossed in the virtual reality “AltWord” that he neglected to eat or drink, and thus died at his computer. It’s at this point where we’re introduced to the main operating system, TIM, which stands for “The Imagination Machine.” TIM is a single interface that controls every aspect of people’s lives, from turning on the lights, ordering food, shopping, playing music, transportation, surgery, etc. Basically, this system holds absolute power, with everyone’s lives being tightly controlled by the AI.

The story then becomes especially interesting when Detective Dremmler is called to the scene of a grisly crime. A young man has allegedly murdered his girlfriend by crushing her skull with his cybernetically-controlled prosthetic arm. It appears to be an open and shut case of murder. However, the distraught man protests that the arm, whose chip is controlled by TIM, acted on its own accord and that the man couldn’t stop it — that he had neither intention nor reason to kill his girlfriend. Initially, Dremmler is certain that the man is lying because what he’s claiming is impossible. TIM is unhackable; everybody knows that. Right?

But as Dremmler and his partner begin investigating deeper, he soon begins to suspect that there’s a lot more going on here than what he first thought and the case then morphs into something else entirely. In fact, the “unhackable” TIM may not be as safe as everyone thinks. Further digging causes him to suspect that there’s an even larger conspiracy at the bottom of it all.

Of course, there are those who want him to stop digging, especially those higher up in the police hierarchy and certain mega-IT corporations. It also becomes clear that some will do whatever it takes to ensure that he stops digging because if it’s proven that TIM was indeed hacked, that knowledge could destroy the public’s trust in the AI and throw society into panic and upheaval. Dremmler and his partner then begin working under the radar, and the more they uncover, the more deadly the situation becomes.

The clever and imaginative plot was utterly compelling and had me madly turning the pages to discover what was really going on here. I thought the story was fascinating though certainly dark, creepy, and profoundly unsettling. This book captivated me from beginning to end as the twists started to pile up. I thought this was a blood-chilling roller-coaster ride of a novel that’s both provocative and shocking. Compelling, dark, and intense, this story of technology gone wrong kept me guessing until the end and took me places I very much didn’t expect.

Speaking of the ending, it’s worth mentioning that the book ends rather abruptly mid-scene, which is the type of conclusion one often finds with short horror stories. I’m not a fan of these types of endings, so I knocked off a star for that as it did leave me feeling a little unsatisfied. But apart from that, I thought this gripping story was phenomenal and the world-building exceptional. I’d definitely read more by this author.

A huge thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy of this book.

Purchase Auxiliary: London 2039 on Amazon