Review: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

5 Stars | Received as an ARC via Netgalley.

I saw the blurb for Shadow of the Fox on Goodreads, and my first question was: “How much like Inuyasha is this book?” Another reader answered that it had similarities but otherwise not at all…

First thing first, I loved this book and I want more, now. Secondly, it is incredibly like Inuyasha, except maybe written by someone who saw an episode once and then gender swapped all of the characters. No time travel, but the main character is a half yokai (nature spirit/demon) who is on a journey with their cursed budding love interest to find ancient artifact pieces, which, when reassembled, will grant the bearer a wish. Sound familiar?

Yumeko, who is half kitsune (fox spirit), was raised in a temple by monks, and is generally fox-like and mischievous, until an oni (greater demon) destroys her home and she runs off to protect this scroll fragment from falling in the wrong hands. She meets Tatsumi, who is a demonslayer from the Kage (Shadow) clan, the bearer of the sword Kamigoroshi (god-slayer), which is in danger of possessing him if he feels feelings. As you may guess, he meets a girl and starts feeling feelings. Along the way the two gather a ragtag band of misfits/warriors and have episodic adventures…including a run in with a wind witch *coughKaguracough*. Predictably, nearly every male character they run into is charmed by Yumeko. Oh, also they meet a miko (priestess) who distrusts yokai…

Now, to defend Julie Kagawa, a lot of the tropes and folklore elements in both Inuyasha and Shadow of the Fox are common, not to mention how much more depth into the historical (albeit) fictional setting of Iwagoto readers get. In addition, the journey is an almost universal trope in literature the world ’round. Kagawa does a great job of creating likeable characters that aren’t half as annoying to read as some anime and manga characters I’ve seen. I loved this book.

Despite my adoration, I’m very curious to hear and read the reviews of people who picked up the book having no cultural frame of reference. Descriptions of clothing, architecture, and certain customs might be entirely lost on someone who didn’t spend their childhood-adolescence, and, let’s admit it, chunks of their adulthood watching Japanese TV, or has not studied the language. I say this because I’ve read books set in other cultures and time frames and was lost without the cultural frame of reference (e.g. Russia, . This is not something I feel I have the authority to criticize Kagawa for, as I am not Japanese and Shadow of the Fox was completely accessible to me. Can you tell I’m trying very hard not to sound like one of those insufferable anime geeks?

Anyway, read this book.

What I’m reading: Jo Walton, mostly.

Among Others by Jo WaltonToday I completed my 2018 Goodreads reading challenge! I was looking over the books I’ve read this year, and  it occurred to me that I haven’t been blogging about them much, if at all. I’ve discovered a number of fantastic books, and I need to yell about them more, obviously.

Have you ever heard of Jo Walton? If yes, we are in a fight, because you didn’t tell me about how WONDERFUL she is. I read Among Others about a month ago and I haven’t been so joyfully wrapped up in a book in ages. Each page was like a discovery, an old friend newly met, and like a really good lucid dream. Walton, like my all-time favorite author Diana Wynne Jones, is originally from Wales, and while I wouldn’t say they write alike, they both are certainly masters of creating a conscious, enthralling narrative.

The Just City by Jo Walton

It’s sort of like when you meet someone who just gets you. I could gush for days and years, but I am on the third book of Walton’s Thessaly trilogy, and I’d rather be reading that, honestly. The first book, The Just City, is about Apollo and Athena’s involvement in gathering scholars and philosophers throughout history, plunking them on an island, and trying to set up Plato’s Republic in reality. While I’m not personally a huge fan of Plato, or The Republic, I do love philosophy, and there are so many historical figures that are transported to the island, and Walton does an incredible job with this premise.

Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire

In other news I’ve been reading Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid series, which I’d always stupidly written off because of the cover art (I am stupid). I assumed it was a cyberpunk series, and I was dead wrong. It’s about a family of cryptozoologists, and how they study and protect sentient and animal fantastical creatures. So good. The series jumps around in viewpoints from the different members of the Price family. Antimony is my favorite viewpoint to read, but Verity’s adventures are what start the series, and she is a pretty cool character too.

There are tons of other books that I need to blog about, but these are the ones that have been stuck in my brain lately.

Advance Review: Furyborn (Empirium #1) by Claire Legrand

Furyborn (Empirium, #1)Furyborn by Claire Legrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world…or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed…unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable–until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world–and of each other.

Furyborn starts out with magic, intrigue, and the earthly/human and heavenly/angelic realms colliding. The story sets up slow, spanning a thousand years, and absolutely not pulling any punches. Fans of The Queen of The Tearling will enjoy this book, but it requires patience and the investment of your curiosity in a series that is only just beginning.

I liked this book (thanks Netgalley!), but I have to be honest, it took me entirely too long to figure out what the heck was going on (as evidenced by my Goodreads update at 20%). There are so many story elements that are set up quickly, and the plot spans quite large, jumping back and forth between character viewpoints is a bit dizzymaking.

I didn’t love the protagonist, Eliana Ferracora, mostly due to the inconsistency in her nature – which is deliberate, I’ll argue, and hints at future growth. Also the way her name is pronounced is the way people always mispronounced my friend Eylyana’s name growing up. So that is my bias. Rielle is set up to be unlikeable as well, in my opinion.

I’m not dying to read the next book, but I certainly am very curious to see where this saga takes its readers. Not a solid four stars. Maybe like 3.75.

Review: Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber

Caraval (Caraval, #1)Caraval by Stephanie Garber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

Enchanting and fun, much like the game of Caraval is supposed to be.

This book reminded me a great deal of the Capri parts of Ellen Raskin’s Figgs & Phantoms, a young adult book mired much more firmly in reality. This book is a fairy tale murder mystery, and was really fun to read. I couldn’t put it down. I am looking forward to the sequel: Legendary.

Anyone interested in fantasy books with a bit of romance, and the allure of the carnival/traveling show/theatre/mystery-type books will enjoy it. I would also recommend it to fans of high stakes YA game settings, such as The Hunger Games, Mask of Shadows, and Throne of Glass.

Mermaids in Wheelchairs

Mermaid drawing by deviantart user boobookittyfuck. So my friend posted this thing and I was like, guys, there are already tons of books like this? Then my stupid internet browser at work ate my comment, so here I am!

Okay so:

First, specific recommendations based on the above, and then just general “look, fantasy books that are doing the damn thing.”

Mermaids in wheelchairs:

  • Deadshifted by Cassie Alexander (Edie Spence #4). The character is actually a siren, if I remember correctly, but she has a tail. This is the least exciting book in the series in my opinion. The first book is about a night nurse in a supernatural ER ward. There are shifters and vampires and mysterious multidimensional entities, oh my!
  • One Salt Sea (October Daye #5) by Seanan McGuire. See below for the first book in the series. **added 01/12/18

Sirens using sign language:

  • High Demon and First Ordinance series by Connie Suttle. The characters are by and large villains in this universe, but there is one in particular whose vocal cords were damaged intentionally and he uses telepathy and sign language to communicate. Trigger warning: Suttle’s books contain a lot of violence and misogyny and her characters are largely disempowered women with massive trauma issues. Many attain power and status and resolution later, but it didn’t sit well with me.

Religious vampires:

  • Blood Rights (House of Comarré series #1) by Kristen Painter has a vampire named Preacher who lives in a church.
  • In the Forests of the Night by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes also has several characters who have to reconcile their religion and their vampirism. There are honestly so many more but these are the ones that immediately came to mind.

Disabled fairies fighting for accessibility:

  • The Hollows series by Kim Harrison. The pixies in these books have to fight for fair wages and anti discrimination. Also Jenks is just an all around fun character.
  • Rosemary and Rue (October Daye series #1) by Seanan MacGuire also deals with this, delving even more into drug abuse, and racism.
  • A Kiss of Shadows (Merry Gentry #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton. Although in this series the fairies are disabled mostly as a direct result of violence inflicted on them by a twisted and sadistic society or three.

Spirits fighting fires and saving people from natural disasters/situations that are too dangerous for the living:

  • Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires series #1) by Rachel Caine.
  • The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (though more so as the series progresses).
  • Grave Witch by Kalayna Price. The ghosts in this series are more bidden than selfless, but they are present!
  • Shadowland (The Mediator series #1) by Meg Cabot. Kind of. Again, more bidden and subjective rather than a ghostly task force.

Fae snatching children from abusive homes while changelings wreak havoc:

  • Seanan MacGuire again, October Daye.
  • Trailer Park Fae (Gallow and Ragged series #1), by Lilith Saintcrow. This series is so so so good!

Liberated genies using their powers to fight for human rights:

  • Oracle’s Moon by Thea Harrison. This is a romance novel and doesn’t have much plot to speak of. Mostly the Djinn is just horrified at the poverty this hot witch is suffering through, but I like this series, each of which can be read as standalone novels.

Psychic doctors, psychologists, teachers, etc:

  • Calderon’s Fury (Codex Alera series #1) by Jim Butcher. All of the healers in this world are also empaths.
    This is actually a really common element in urban fantasy, so it’s very odd that I am otherwise drawing a blank.

I didn’t get into a couple of the suggestions: shapeshifters with stretch marks is weirdly specific and I’m positive there are hirsute female shapeshifter protagonists with normal, stretch-marked bodies, but it isn’t treated as a point of contention or mentioned. Let me know in the comments if I mentioned any of your favorite, or if there are any I should check out!

I’ll leave you with a strong, genre subverting recommendation which is an awesome, 5 star read: In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan. Excerpt:

“What’s your name?”

“Serene.”

“Serena?” Elliot asked.

“Serene,” said Serene. “My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle.”

Elliot’s mouth fell open. “That is badass.”

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border—unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and—best of all as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids.

Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands.

It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world.

Thanks for reading!

So This is the New Year

Woody Guthrie’s resolutions, 1943.

& I don’t feel any different. I mean, the calendar system we use in the US is so arbitrary. I’m really more of a lunar cycle kind of girl (btw, is that series any good? I’ve never had much inclination to check it out).

Throwing it back to last year’s post on this day, 2017 was chock full of THINGS. I did less traveling than the year prior, and most of it was for job interviews with airlines. Some time around the end of March I decided to give up the ghost, take some time to have a regular sleep schedule and maybe be a flight attendant again in a couple years when I’m more financially secure.

I added several more odd jobs to my list of “I’ve done almost everything for money (but I won’t do that),” and btw, I would strongly discourage anyone from working in the cannabis industry in Denver unless you’re pretty solid dealing with dickbags and shady business. I quit my job, and spent a good amount of time crying on the phone before I checked my voicemail and heard my invitation to interview for a new one

So, for the second half of 2017, I worked a 9-5 in a law office, moved from a suburb to Denver proper (pretty close to downtown and “the action,” which is where I love to be), and got a lot of puppy snugs. I submitted poetry, was published twice! and closed out the year with potential and growth and all of that positivity nonsense you never hear from me.

What I didn’t do was finish anything. Does a poetry manuscript count? Even if I’ve written the majority of the pieces in it in years prior? I exist constantly in this weird pendulum swinging between trying too hard and not trying hard enough.

I’m moving next month, hopefully starting in an upward position at my company (send hopeful vibes!), and will hopefully crush it personally and professionally this year (by finishing a damn book). Even my personal life is looking pretty tolerable (although I have friendships and family to tend to, and men are trash, except the one that is currently less trash). I’m looking forward, and I hope I can drag a few friend’s gazes future-ward as well. I’ve been so lucky to not be under the constant yoke of depression and I want that for others, too.

With that, I’ll leave you with a link to Angel City Review’s current issue. I’m in there, along with a poem I wrote 6 years ago when I was bitter and angry. I’m still bitter and angry, but not in LA anymore, and less so.

Series recommendation: I Bring The Fire by C. Gockel

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, not for a lack of material, but because I’m lazy. This series demands recognition though, and I am totally floored that such an engrossing, imaginative, intricate story hasn’t become a sleeper sensation among fantasy readers.

Set in the US in the present, but spanning millennia and ages, I Bring The Fire incorporates mythology into a modern fantasy story. Many cultures are represented, in both the myths and mythological creatures that appear in the duration of the series.

The first book opens with veterinary student Amy Lewis driving home to Chicago during a vet school break. She gets run off the road by a serial killer and her unwitting prayer for help is heard by Loki, the trickster god of Norse legend.

Pretty much anyone who has enjoyed seeing gods and legendary figures in the media, The Avengers, for example, will enjoy the portrayal of Loki, his dynamic with Amy, modern America, as well as Thor, Odin, Mimir, and Hoenir. There are action, adventure, romance, and more myths than you would think possible all woven into this series. I’ve considered myself fairly knowledgeable about mythology in the past, but the depth of narrative and characterization Gockel has incorporated in the plot is very impressive. There are also some cool twists and adaptations of the traditional stories, like Baldur being completely different than in retellings.

Any fans of Jim Butcher, Rick Riordan, Ilona Andrews, and the expanded Marvel universe will probably get a kick out of these books.

My writing was published in a magazine!

 

photo credit: Birdy Magazine on Facebook.

A few months ago I wasn’t doing much writing, so decided that I needed to be a Real Writer™ and start submitting. I am floored because two of my poems have been accepted by two different publications and it’s seriously wild to think that other people read something I wrote and thought it was good enough to accept for publishing (and pay me for it!)

 

The December issue (vol. 48) of Birdy Magazine is out and one of my poems is in it and I’m all aflutter. Birdy is a local Denver magazine and it’s really very cool, chock full of art, and devoid of the kind of garish advertising you see in more “commercial” magazines. It’s also free. The quality of the printing makes each issue pretty and collectible, and the artists featured on each cover do such a great job. I couldn’t be happier to be featured, and I want to show everyone this issue.

However, it is deeply, deeply uncomfortable publicizing my poetry. I’ve never had an issue sharing stories, blogs, articles, you name it. Poetry, on the other hand, is like my deep dark secret activity. I’ve only really ever written it for myself, and I almost never show it to anyone. With the exception of a couple poems I submitted to a writing contest once and in workshops, I just don’t share.

I brought a few copies of the magazine to work, and after the fifth person tried to open the mag and read my poem right in front of me I started awkwardly insisting they go away first. As much as I love attention it seems really self aggrandizing to blather on, and I’m not falsely humble. I’m happy to brag, it’s just such a quagmire of emotions and awkwardness to share something personal. I should probably get used to it.

Is Kindle Unlimited worth it?

YES.

See, you didn’t even have to read through a long ad-studded listicle to find out. In my opinion and experience, Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited is absolutely definitely worth it.

I read a lot, and I also happen to own a Kindle Fire. These days I find that my phone’s Kindle app is my primary reading device, but the tablet is what got me on the platform.

Amazon recently took the purchasing functionality out of their iOS apps, due to Apple moving to take a percentage of in-app transactions. One may still purchase from a mobile browser.

With KU, I am able to select and download books to read for free directly from the Kindle app, because it is not a paid transaction. As an iOS user who is far too lazy to switch apps just to purchase a book, this is very convenient for me.

Not to mention how many awesome books are available.  Many of the authors I’ve read and loved and have yet to review here have whole series available through the service.

I read about three to six books a month, depending on my schedule and the book length. For $9.99 USD per month, this is more than reasonable. I don’t have checkout dates to worry about as I would when using the library, nor are there a finite number of copies available. In addition, I can reread a book whenever I want (although who has time to do that?! There are so many books to be read!)

Your mileage may vary, but if you’re an avid reader who has been on the fence about the service, and wanted an unsolicited opinion, you’ve just read mine.

And if you don’t trust me, Groupon is offering at free 60 day subscription so you can see if it’s worth the price!

https://www.groupon.com/deals/kindle-unlimited-national-2

**BTW nobody paid me to advertise this, I just like the service and found the Groupon this morning (but if you work for Amazon and want to throw money at me, feel free).

Writing, art, passion, loneliness.

I just sent in a poetry submission. To a real publication (I am still unsure if my community college writing contest counts, but that’s a question for a poetry editor somewhere), and I find myself feeling strangely not relieved or excited. Just the same strange strong obligation to march ever onward.

I tried explaining this to someone recently. We were discussing ambition and motivation and life-in-general stuff, and explaining my perception of my life and goals wasn’t very relate-able. Writing is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, not necessarily for money, or fame or success, but to do.

have to write. Not often or in any particular quantity, but it’s what I have, and I have always felt a weird undercurrent of obligation to do so. Also I’m getting kind of good at it at this point, so it’s easier than say, oil painting would be, in terms of expression of the self.

Anyway, the thing is, not everyone has that drive to share, to express, and I didn’t really know it until recently. Not every human on the planet is constantly obsessing about creating art in ways that other people can relate to. You see the urge in other things, relate-able social media, memes, etc. Storytelling is a part of most human cultures, but not everyone has a tiny voice threatening you every day to write, or else. Yeah, my passion threatens me, what does yours do?

The part we did agree on, in this conversation, was that any endeavor that requires focus requires ALL OF THE FOCUS. This is part I struggle with. I can’t neglect the routine, the self-care, socializing. Those are all  things I need to stay sane so I can write. I am never going to be that shut-in genius that people talk about in hushed tones about my dedication to my craft. I like living and doing and laughing, and if that means I blow off editing this damn poetry manuscript for another month, I shall. And you shan’t stop me with your guilt-trip, self. SHAN’T.

Anyway, writing is lonely. Unless you collaborate with another person (and this idea is HORRIFYING to me, because control issues), you’re bound to spend a lot of time alone, with paper. Lots of paper. And pens. And computers. That is an incredibly off-putting realization, for me.

But I just submitted some poetry. And I’ll do it again. And I’ll continue to (very slowly) write this book (and the three others I’ve started since I started that one).