Book Review - The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

 

The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz is an epic sci-fi about people creating and exploring worlds. Destry is a part of the ERT, Environmental Rescue Team. The team is responsible for caring and protecting the planet while maintaining the young eco-system at optimal levels. Destry has followed the same path as her parents and grandparents.  She has dedicated her life to the newly created planet Sask-E. She wants to ensure that the planet has everything it needs to thrive and prosper. As she begins her daily tasks, she notices an intruder on the planet. She decides to break protocol and deal with the problem as she feels is best for the planet. Little did she know she was going to set off a chain reaction that will change the trajectory of the planet and its inhabitants. 

The book is split into three sections with each narrator connected to the previous narrator. I was on the fence with this novel. It was interesting reading about the different sci-fi elements and how different beings were considered “people”. However, I am at a loss as to what the actual point of the book is. 

The author went into detail about the scenery and it’s vivid, but I had a hard time imagining some of the concepts. At times, the book was a bit boring and seemed pointless. The middle arc was about a group of researchers/explorers trying to find a way to create public transit to the planet. They go into detail about trivial things for pages with the point being so mundane that I kept yawning while reading. I was confused as to why corporations would create workers to maintain their worlds but then there were workers who weren’t owned. It was confusing on how the corporations hired some workers and created others. I felt more backstory was needed to explain certain aspects of this world.  If you like reading about world building and epic sci fi novels, then you would enjoy this one.

Book Review - The Woman Inside by M.T. Edvardsson

 The Woman Inside by M.T. Edvardsson is about an affluent couple who is found murdered in their house.  Bill Olsson recently lost his wife to cancer. He has tons of medical bills and is struggling to provide for his daughter, Sally. He is unable to find a job and is not able to pay rent by himself. He decides to rent out Sally’s room to help cover expenses. Bill rents out the room to Karla.

Karla is a law student and aspiring judge. In her spare time, she is a housekeeper to the Rytters. The Rytters are an incredibly wealthy couple. The wife is ill and she hasn’t been able to leave the house for months. The husband is a well respected doctor. He has tendencies to be controlling and obsessive when it comes to his wife. Is he a worried husband that is concerned about his wife’s well being, or does he have malicious intent?

As Bill’s financial situation becomes more dire, Karla is empathetic to his plight. She understands what it’s like to have a rough childhood, and doesn’t want Bill’s financial strains to affect Sally’s outlook. She feels that she is forced to make a difficult choice between helping someone or doing something bad. 

When the Rytters end up dead, Karla is questioned due to her employment in the household. They bring up parts of her past that she would rather keep a secret.  Every character in the novel seems to be hiding something or isn’t what they seem, but is one of them desperate enough to kill to keep their secret?

I thought the book was an okay read. I felt like the story was drawn out with no unexpected twists or turns. The book is narrated by three different people: the cash strapped Bill, the housekeeper Karla, and a young woman named Jennica. Bill and Jennica are connected by his late wife. We got each of their views but they were biased and didn’t give the entire story. I wish the author went into more details about Bill’s wife. 

The story is littered with police notes from interviews with and news snippets regarding everyone related to the case.  The novel is a slow burn as it slowly hints at who might be the culprit. I felt that the ending was predictable and boring. I didn’t care for any of the characters. They were all selfish and acted entitled. I didn’t like Bill the most and felt like he was completely responsible for his situation but doesn’t have any accountability for his actions.

Book Review - Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

 

Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban is about a young woman who tries to escape her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend who betrayed her. Jade is looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime. She will get to visit 11 countries in 4 months aboard a luxurious cruise ship.  She couldn’t wait to move on and experience all that the cruise has to offer, only to find out that the people she is trying to escape are also on the trip with her. 

Her obsession with the couple begins to grow as she spends every moment trying to analyze what went wrong in the relationships. She tries to analyze what went wrong with her relationships with her ex and ex-best friend. Her obsession becomes an issue when someone ends up murdered. Then more of her friends are dying and Jade has become the prime suspect. She will have to figure out who is behind these crimes before anyone else ends up in a body bag.

This young adult novel is a closed room thriller with a few twists and turns. I thought Jade was an annoying main character. She was too stubborn and stuck in her own head. When she wanted to find out the truth over her relationship, she was basically stalking the couple. To me, her character seemed stereotypical: The sweet and caring character that everyone seems to love. She always tried to see the best in people even when there were so many clues pointing to them being the bad guy. When she realized that one character could have prevented another from dying if they spoke up earlier, she still tried helping that character instead of having them face any consequences.

Some of the dialogue and characters seemed one dimensional and juvenile. They seemed to make silly mistakes that I would assume someone younger would do. I was also surprised that a scene in the book mentioned the characters doing meth. I feel like that seems out of place for college students.  The book did reel me in the beginning but then it started petering out towards the end because it seemed unbelievable and far fetched.

Book Review - Giga: The Complete Series by Alex Paknadel + Giveaway

 

Giga: The Complete Series by Alex Paknadel is about an engineer who is trying to survive in a world that is dominated by gigantic mechas, commonly known as “Gigas”.  Evan Calhoun is a disgraced engineer who is trying to scavenge parts to get enough points to buy food. While out searching for parts, he comes across a murdered Giga in the middle of the forest.

Gigas are huge mechas that allow humans to inhabit them. There isn’t much known about them other than they are slumbering after fighting a world shattering war that ended many many years ago. They are just lying in wait for their next mission. The people who inhabit the machines treat them as shelters but also as Gods.

Since Evan has found the dead Giga, he finds himself in this web. People from his past re-entered his life but he isn’t sure who to trust. He knows the only way he can go back to his quiet life is if he figures out who is behind the murder. If he isn’t able to find a viable suspect, he fears the authorities will blame him for the murder since he found the body. Will Evan be able to solve the murder before society starts to crumble around him?

I thought the book was an okay read. It was hard to follow along with the story at times. It would jump back into the past or the author would hint it at something that wasn’t very clear to me. It took a long time for me to get into the story and then the ending felt rushed and incomplete. I felt like we were left to assume what the ending meant instead of being told. If you like graphic novels with giant robots, then you might enjoy this sci-fi graphic novel more than I did.

 **Disclosure - I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion**

 

About The Book:

Title: GIGA (The Complete Series)

Authors: Alex Paknadel & John Lê (Illustrator)

Pub. Date: June 27, 2023

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats:  Paperback, eBook

Pages: 144

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/GIGA-The-Complete-Series

Ever since their world-shattering war ended, the slumbering mecha called 'Giga' have been both gods and habitats for the surviving humans. Then disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun discovers a murdered Giga, and the very fabric of society starts unraveling around him.

A GIANT MECH MURDER MYSTERY.

Nobody knows why the skyscraper-sized mechs known as ‘Giga’ fought their bitter, centuries’ long war. All they know is that when the fighting finally stopped, the dormant Giga became humanity’s new habitat and new gods in one. When disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun finds an apparently murdered Giga, his society and the fascistic tech-centered religious order that controls it are rapidly thrown into chaos..
From writer Alex Paknadel (Friendo, Turncoat, Incursion) and rising star John Le comes another Vault & White Noise partnership about what happens after the mechs stop fighting.

Collects the complete five-issue series.

For fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ultra Mega, and the Department of Truth

"A well-thought-out sci-fi series...." -- AV Club

"A world where people take shelter in the rotting husks of giant mechs - smart, fun, beautiful stuff." -- Scott Snyder (Batman, American Vampire, Justice League, Wytches)

"I read GIGA the other day and fell desperately in love with the world they build, and was desperate to spend more time in it and explore. You do NOT want to miss it." -- James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children, House of Slaughter, Department of Truth)

 

About Alex Paknadel:

Alex Paknadel is a writer and academic from London, England. His first comics work, the dark sci-fi thriller ARCADIA from Boom! Studios, met with critical acclaim and led to additional projects with a range of publishers including VAULT COMICS (GIGA), Marvel Entertainment, Valiant Entertainment, Lion Forge, and Titan Comics. He is also a founding member of White Noise Studio alongside fellow writers Dan Watters, Ram V, and Ryan O'Sullivan.

Keep in touch here: 

Twitter | Instagram

 

About John Lê:

Artist, Illustrator, Storyteller 

Keep in touch here:

Twitter 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive finished copies of GIGA (The Complete Series), US Only.

Ends July 18th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

6/19/2023	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt/IG Post
6/20/2023	Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer	Review/IG Post
6/21/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
6/22/2023	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
6/23/2023	@evergirl200	IG Review
6/24/2023	Cara North	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two:

6/25/2023	Sadie's Spotlight	Excerpt/IG Post
6/26/2023	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review
6/27/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
6/28/2023	@jlreadstoperpetuity	Review/IG Post
6/29/2023	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
6/30/2023	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
7/1/2023	Nerdophiles	Review

Week Three:

7/2/2023	Fire and Ice	Review/IG Post
7/3/2023	Jaime_of_gryffindor	IG Review
7/4/2023	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Review/TikTok Post
7/5/2023	@pagesforpaige	IG Review
7/6/2023	Ariandher.books	IG Review
7/7/2023	@enjoyingbooksagain	Review/IG Post
7/8/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review

Week Four:

7/9/2023	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
7/10/2023	The Momma Spot	Review
7/11/2023	Lifestyle of Me	Review
7/12/2023	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post/LFL Drop Pic
7/13/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post
7/14/2023	Two Points of Interest	Review

Book Review - Pack Your Bags, Maggie Diaz by Nina Moreno

 

Pack Your Bags, Maggie Diaz by Nina Moreno is about a young girl who is excited to spend Spring Break with her two best friends. Maggie has been working hard in school and loves running as an extracurricular activity. As a seventh grader, Maggie is able to take her first overnight trip with her school friends, Julian and Zoey. She is looking forward to their first trip together to St. Augustine.  Maggie wants to spend time with her friends because she also needs a break from her family. Her parents are overprotective, her sister is lovesick and excited about prom, and her abuela is overly involved in her life. Maggie feels that she has everything worked out and nothing will be able to stop her plans from happening.

Even though Maggie has it all planned out, things start to fall apart. Maggie’s friends are excited about prom and who they are going to take, instead of focusing on the group trip. Julian has a crush on the new girl at school and starts inviting her to hang out with the group. Maggie is thrown by the new addition and feels that the dynamic is thrown off and she might lose her friends to the new girl. Her other friend, Zoey, is stressed about maintaining her straight A streak. She is so stressed that she can’t focus on anything else.  Maggie also thinks that Zoey is interested in Julian, as she sees jealousy peeking through from Zoey with the attention Julian shows his new friend.

When Maggie feels like everyone is ensnared by the love bug, she can’t stop thinking about Eerie Eddie, who is a classmate of Maggie’s. She isn’t sure about how she feels about him or why she can’t stop thinking about him. She feels that she, Julian, and Zoey have been three best friends for years and now everything is changing. Will Maggie be able to keep her friends when everyone is interested in being romantically paired off with someone else?

The book was a fun and quick read. Readers are taken on a journey as Maggie tries to navigate her new friendship dynamics and her own growing feelings for a classmate. I enjoyed reading how she tries to understand and process her feelings. Maggie is fond of creating plans and following them. When things do not go exactly to plan, it was exciting seeing her work through different situations.

I like that they included tidbits from their trips and modern cultural references. I didn’t like that the book had a few Spanish phrases that weren’t translated. I felt like it took away from my enjoyment of the story as I would need to stop reading to look up what was said. The book was filled with black and white illustrations that were funny. I think the novel would be perfect for young readers who are trying to navigate friendships and their budding romantic feelings for other people as they come of age.

Book Review - Come Home Safe by Brian G. Buckmire

 

 

 

Come Home Safe by Brian G. Buckmire is about two African American siblings who have a run in with the police and it takes an unexpected turn. Reed and Olive are siblings who live in New York City. The siblings take the subway home after school. Reed is excited to sit down and watch some videos of his favorite soccer players. Things take a turn for the worse, when police officers believe Reed is a suspect for disorderly conduct in the train that matches their description. Reed tries to remain poised and tactful while trying to verbally defend himself.  He states that they have the wrong person. However, the cops are not interested in hearing what Reed has to say because in their minds, they have their guy.

Later at a cafe, a woman accuses Olive of stealing her phone and demands her phone. Olive is startled by the request and is offended that she is being accused of something she didn’t do. A crowd starts to form around her but no one comes to her aid even as the woman says she will report Olive to the police.

The book is an important resource to people of color and marginalized communities. The book provides tips and instructions when interacting with police officers to prevent a disastrous outcome. The stories were pulled from the headlines and were very relatable. I liked the tips provided that can be incorporated into everyday life.

 

Book Review - A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar

 

A Brief History of Living Forever by Jaroslav Kalfar is about a woman who learns that she has a terminal illness and decides to put her affairs in order. Adela is a native in a small Czech village. She spends most of her days taking care of her family and going to work. As she doesn’t have long to live, she decides that she will use this opportunity to reunite with her daughter in America.

Adela gave up her daughter, Tereza, when she was born decades earlier at the time of her birth. Adela is excited to revisit the country where she married a filmmaker and starred in a movie. However, things were completely different in 2030 since her last visit to the States. America is now ruled by an authoritarian government and has closed itself off from the rest of the world. Its citizens and residents must abide by strict rules and policies if they wish to visit or live in the country.

 

Tereza works for VITA, a cutting edge biotech company that will stop at nothing to discover the key to immortality. She is a lead researcher at the company and she hopes to help it in its quest. 

 

Tereza is excited when she meets her mother for the first time and finds herself instantly connecting with her.  Unfortunately, their time is cut short after a devastating event. Tereza tries to figure out where her mother is when she notices an alarming VITA activity in an abandoned area. She realizes she needs help to find her mother.  She decides to find her brother, who she has never met to ask for help.

 

The novel was narrated by Adela’s restless spirit as she tries to navigate the world from beyond. She is unsure how she has consciousness without inhabiting her body. The book was a quirky SciFi read. It had some interesting moments, which gave insight into how the author viewed the possibility of a dystopian world. At times, I thought the book was too political.  Some of the events the author mentioned happened recently in American politics that seemed like the author was trying to impress their opinion of current events onto the readers.

 

I thought the book progressed very slowly at times. The book was narrated by Adela in the present and when she reflects on her past. There were times I struggled to understand why she was telling a story from her past when it didn’t seem relevant to the current story. I didn’t really care for the book as it was very boring and I was struggling to finish it.

 

Book Review - The Getaway by Emily March

 

The Getaway by Emily March is about a family trying to move forward after an incident has torn them apart. Genevieve Prentice was unexpectedly widowed at a young age. She has dedicated her life to raising and nurturing her four children. They were always the center of her world. Her kids are now all grown up and have other other obligations than spending the holidays with their  overbearing mother.

Genevieve is ready for a change and decides to put her beloved home on the market. She decides to head to Lake in the Clouds, Colorado with her sister. Together they plan to turn a rustic waterfront lodge into a B&B.  Genevieve and her sister plan to rehabilitate the old lodge to make it ready for guests. As they begin to work on the lodge, Genevieve is shocked when her older son, Jake, makes an unexpected visit to the lodge. 

 

Jake Prentice is known to be the dependable one in the family. He has stepped up as the father figure to take care of the other siblings after his father’s passing. He is good at his job as a consultant but he finds himself stressed out and constantly overworked. He decides to follow his mother’s path and quit his job, and use this new-found time to figure out what makes him happy.

 

This is the first time in a long time that Jake doesn’t have any demands or obligations he needs to work on. He decides to make the most of it. He likes being surrounded by the open sky and enjoying the fresh air while working with his hands. Jake feels that he can stay in limbo forever without having to make a decision on what he wants to do next. That is, until his former colleague Tess Crenshaw appears with an opportunity for a new job. It forces Jake to reassess who he is and what he wants to do.

 

I didn’t really care for this book. I thought it was very boring and it took a while to get to the main story. The author spent several pages describing Genevieve’s serving ware and other mundane things that didn’t really add any value to the story. I didn’t understand why the author felt it was important that the readers knew every single dish Genevieve owned. I didn’t like how the author hinted about a situation that tore the siblings apart but failed to go into detail. By the time we found out  what happened, it was mostly bits and pieces and by then, I had lost interest in the story.

 

I found it hard to relate to any of the characters. Other than Jake and his mother, most of the characters barely had any involvement in the story until the very end of the book. I felt like the author spent a lot of time with details that didn’t really mean much but barely any time with the meat of the story. This was the first book in the series and it didn’t really grab my attention enough that I would continue reading.

Book Review - A History of Burning by Janika Oza

A History of Burning by Janika Oza is an epic saga that shows the influence of how one event can affect generations to come.  In 1898, Pirbhai was a young impoverished teenage boy who was desperately looking for work to provide for his family.  He came across a merchant that promises him work that will help feed his family.  Little did Pirbhai know that would be working for the British on the East African Railway and that it would be years before he could see his family again. Pirbhai arrives in Africa and realizes that he has to put his morals aside if he wants to survive. He commits a brutal act in the name of survival that will haunt him and his loved ones for years to come.

Pirbhai meets a young woman, Sonal, while looking for work after leaving the railway company. Sonal’s family decides that Sonal and Pirbhai should marry and leave so they can find work somewhere else to send money back home to help provide for her family. Pirbhai and his wife move to Uganda to start a new life together. Their children are born during the tumultuous days of the waning British colonial rule. The country is moving towards independence from the British along with the countrymen pushing out the Asian people that the British brought.

Pirbhai’s daughters come of age during the time when the nation is divided. His eldest daughter, Latika is an aspiring journalist. She is willing to stop at nothing to defend what she believes in even if it puts her loved ones in danger. His middle daughter, Mayuri, has left Uganda to pursue becoming a medical doctor in India. She was hesitant to put her ambitions before her family and leave the country. His youngest fearless daughter, Kiya, is burdened by keeping her and her family’s secrets.

In 1972, Idi Amin’s military dictatorship passed a mandate that required all Asian families to leave the country or face dire consequences. The entire family is forced to flee and ends up in different parts of the world from each other. Will they be able to find their way to each other?

The book is told from across multiple perspectives and generations throughout the twentieth century. We are able to see how one decision made by Pirbhai shaped the lives of his kin. I thought the book was an interesting and spell binding read. As it was told from multiple perspectives, it was hard trying to keep track of the different narratives and how they related to the story.

There were times that I felt that the story dragged and then there were times I wish more details were given. We learn how Pirbhai ends up in Africa and commits a sinful act but then some time passes before he crosses paths with Sonal. I wish they mentioned why he left and why he lost a part of his finger.  It seems that he became a shell of a person between the two events occurring. The ending was a bit ambiguous and I wish they told us if the two characters did connect in the end.

The books had themes of forgiveness, finding a place to call home, how far someone would go for something they believe in and starting over. It was interesting seeing the role “fire” played in each character’s life and how they had their own moment of reckoning.

Book Review - All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition by Rainesford Stauffer

 

All the Gold Stars: Reimagining Ambition by Rainesford Stauffer is about examining our needs and motivation behind our ambitions. The idea of ambition has been woven into Americans’ minds and lifestyles since early childhood for many generations. We are taught as children that having ambition is important for us to be successful or worthy in life.

Ambition can be many things to different people. It is that need, the want, and hunger that drives someone to do something. We strive for it at an early stage in life; to get our first “gold star” or recognition for something we did. We celebrate people who hustle and grind, those who are driven, even when they have an unfair advantage compared to others as they achieve their success. We are conditioned to be ambitious and strive for more even when we are burning out or know that our work will never end no matter how much we give.

 

The book reports on how cultural, personal, and societal expectations can shape our ambition and lead to people burning out by tying our personal worth to our productivity. Our ambition can limit our imagination, destroy personal relationships, and degrade our happiness. The author weaves her personal story about her own ambition crisis, along with advice from experts and experiences from others. 

 

As the author peels back the layers of outside influences, she shines a light on the effects ambition might have on us. I thought that was interesting and thought-provoking to read. I grew up thinking that if you weren’t ambitious, that you weren’t successful, or were a loser in life. I was a bit hesitant when I first started reading the book because mostly, I found it hard to go against something I was trained to believe was the best course of action for a satisfying and fulfilling life.

 

Each chapter was organized in an easy to digest way. I used the end of each chapter to regroup my thoughts and think about what would be the next steps to end the chain. I realized how easy it is to assume that if someone didn’t have a good job or didn’t get to a certain stage in life at a certain point, that they weren’t successful.

 

I found it relatable to my life experiences: I went to a networking event with a few friends and the first thing people asked was “what we did”, and then I noticed people’s reaction to what other people had said. The networking event was for a hobby of ours that wasn’t related to our everyday work but yet we viewed some people who had certain jobs as more “valuable” than others. I must admit, it was hard not asking a person when you meet them for the first time without asking what they do. 

 

I like that the author included stories and experiences from not only professionals but from “ordinary” people. It showcased how ambition is defined and shaped by outside influences. For example, someone from a different socioeconomic background might view starting a business from a hobby one way versus another person from the other end of the spectrum, i.e. an impoverished person might be hesitant to do that because they need a hobby that takes their mind away from the daily grind. The one thing I would have liked was tips on how to combat the need to feel ambitious to the point where it is counter productive. I would have liked to see some activity to help restructure ourselves or ways to put some of her suggestions into practice.