Audiobook
Wild is The Witch by Rachel Griffin
On the romance blog Kat mentioned that the thing with enemies-to-lovers is that if it is not done well you end up hating both characters and Wild Is The Witch gets real close.
Wild is the Witch is set in a contemporary world where witches live out in the open. The story follows Iris , a young witch who has recently settled in the Pacific Northwest.
…Jess Reviews The Broken Earth Series by N.K. Jemisin
The people of The Stillness live at the will of the Seasons–world-ending tectonic disasters that occur without warning.The Stillness has not always been this way and this current season might just be the last.
I bought the box set of this series in 2018 and have just gotten around to reading it. This immersive series is a dynamic blend of science-fiction and fantasy that is must listen on audio. Narrator Robin Miles did her thing with these audiobooks. She has amazing range and her multifaceted performance highlights the epicness of this earth-bending series.
A fantasy series is a successful read for me when I CANNOT figure out how the author came up with the story, world or concept. To that end, this series is a smashing success. The characters and the struggles they encounter felt real and lived in. There are actual worlds in Jemisin’s head. That is the only explanation.
The Fifth Season
Life in the Stillness, a vast dystopic landscape, revolves around Seasons– apocalyptic natural disasters that occur without warning. The earth has it out for humanity and the only ones who can control it are Orogenes, those born with the ability to control kinetic and seismic energy. To be an Orogene is to be feared, enslaved, and abused.
The first book follows Essun, a 40-year-old Orogene in hiding, as she attempts to outrun the current apocalypse to exact revenge on her son’s murderer. Unfortunately, this is not an ordinary Season and Essun is soon pulled into a large conspiracy that will change everything.
I don’t know what I can say about Jemisin’s award-winning series that hasn’t already been said. It is an immersive and well-imagined tale. Her storytelling is unique (it’s in the second person) and she masterfully weaves multiple POVS in an unexpected way. I will say it took me a few chapters to get into, but once you get into the flow it’s hard to put down.
A majority of the characters are Black. Ir is delightful reading a fantasy book where caucasian features aren’t the automatic default. There is also a healthy intersection of LGBTQ characters and representation.
My only critique is that I had a hard time picturing exactly what the setting looked like. They mention gaslights and horses so at first, I imagined a dystopian early 20th century–but something about the clothes and the way medical devices are described felt a little more 90’s ? IDK. Maybe it’s supposed to be like Mad Max vibes ?
The Obelisk Gate
Jemisin’s storytelling ability is still going full force in the second book. Essun and her motley crew of travelers have been volun-told into joining a utopian underground community. In between dealing with community politics, Essun learns the whole truth about this very unusual season. This is a stationery book and I was sad to see we don’t get to watch the characters travel.
Essun’s ten-year-old daughter Nassun has a POV and look, I’m not the biggest fan of children’s POV in brutal adult books but I think this one worked well. Nassun has to grow up fast as she learns about her potential as an Orogene and what it means to sacrifice. One of the characters, Chaffa, is a Guardian whose job is to control Orogenes in a harsh but gentle manner. I’m not really understanding what Jeminisn is doing with this character or what they add to the story. This character’s origins, motivation and purpose just never made sense to me.
The Stone Sky
The world’s fate is now in the hands of a mother and daughter on two sides of a millennia-long war.
My favorite part of this book is the flashbacks that finally reveal the origin of The Stillness and what the mysterious Stone Eater creatures are. Reveals like this are why I enjoy speculative/dystopian stories. This book languidly moves towards the finale, which honestly wasn’t as massive and action-packed as I thought it would be. I thought the ending was fitting but I can’t say I truly understood parts of it or that it gave me the emotional punch I was hoping for.
In conclusion
I’m sold on Jemisin as a writer and am up for checking out her other series. These last few years I’ve been diving into fantasy by POC writers and it never disappoints. I think there is freedom to storytelling when you break away from the stereotypical fantasy setting
Pastoral England where?
Anyway… I’ll wait here until someone casts Danai Gurira in the movie adaptation.
Bad Muslim Discount by Syed Masood
I didn’t make any official goals this year but one thing I’m trying to do is read more “literary fiction” and books by men of color.
The Bad Muslim Discount is a carefully observed coming-of-age story of two young Muslims–Anvar, a sarcastic Pakistani immigrant in San Francisco, and Safwa, a young Iraqi woman burdened with endless tragedy in a country torn apart by war.
…The Guest List by Lucy Foley
On a wild secluded Irish island, friends and family gather for an exclusive celebrity wedding. As the big day approaches, secrets are revealed and one person won’t make it off the island alive.
I picked up The Guest List because all the marketing described Foley as a modern-day Agatha Christie. I went in expecting a parlor room whodunit mystery but that wasn’t what I got. Instead, it plays out more like a modern-day grip-lit thriller.
I was kind of annoyed that all the women’s stories are rooted in motherhood or their relationship with men. Meanwhile, the men’s stories focused on their ambitions and careers.
The setting is key to this story and Foley nails the ominous and desolate setting of the island. It’s very foreboding.
This book is character-driven and therefore lends itself well to audio. Each of the narrators embodies their characters. Narrator Olivia Dowd in particular nailed Jules–the cold, determined, and successful bride–who accounted for everything when planning her perfect wedding except murder.
Overall a gripping slow-burn mystery with a twist I didn’t see coming.
Redemptor by Jordan Ifeuko
Redemptor continues Tarisai story as she takes her place as Aritsar’s Empress. Before she can build a better country she will need to build her own Council of Eleven and survive her upcoming journey through the underworld.
Again I was taken in by Ifukeo’s imagination and her ability to build big elaborate mythologies. I usually believe in Death of The Author when I read a book, but I’ve watched a few of Ifueko’s TikToks about this book, so I knew going in that aspects of this book were metaphors for living with depression and mental illness. I think Ifeuko pull tshis off really well.
Unfortunately, this book has a few weaknesses that brought it down to me. The most glaring one is that this book really should have been a trilogy. There was way too much to cram into this one book.
To me, Tarisa’s journey through the underworld should have been its own book, instead of the last ~20% of this book. . This journey is built up as this big harrowing experience and I was shocked at how short this section was. That said, these were some of my favorite chapters. Ifeuko’s version of the underworld was bleak and haunting. She built out this very detailed realm that could have absolutely been explored in one book
A majority of the book is spent with Tarisai gathering her own Council of Eleven which means we are introduced to 11 new characters in addition to spending time with Tarisai’s original Council of Eleven. The original council gets a ton more page time and I think we are supposed to feel attached to them… but it’s hard because there were so many other people to meet.
Out of all the fifty-eleven characters we are introduced to my favorite was King Zuri, the lofty young royal who isn’t all he seems. I thought he was the breakout of all the side characters. *Slight spoiler* I think there was sequel bait hinted about this character. We shall see.
I listened to this on audio and there was a name mentioned in the acknowledgment that makes me think that there is a second narrator doing the singing?
If you enjoy the first book and want to live in the world of Raybearer again then I would recommend Redemptor, if you are more there for the characters and relationships this might not work for you.