magical realism

Review: Rouge by Mona Awad

~ megs14malloy

RougeRouge by Mona Awad
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.75-stars rounded up**

Rouge is the 2023-release from Mona Awad. It’s my second novel from this author, the first being All’s Well.

I actually felt very similar to this one that I did All’s Well, except I enjoyed the content and messages of this one more.

In this story we meet Belle, a lonely shopkeeper, living in Montreal, with a penchant for skincare and watching skincare videos. When Belle’s mother, Noelle, unexpectedly dies, Belle has to travel to her mom’s home in Southern California to settle her estate.

As she’s there and begins to dig into her mother’s life, she finds Noelle had built up considerable debt and was living a lifestyle that raises a lot of questions about her death.

The mystery thickens when a woman in red appears at the funeral offering clues about Noelle’s life. These clues, along with a pair of red shoes, help Belle to find Maison de Méduse, a lavish, yet eerily cult-like salon to which her mother was completely devoted.

This is where Belle, like her mother before her, becomes obsessed with the mirror, and the Alice in Wonderland-like world that exists behind it.

Rouge is described by the publisher as being a surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry.

I did get all of these things, but only wish I could have understood what was going on in the second-half of the story more. It started strong, then lost me.

As with All’s Well, I loved the beginning, but as Belle got more involved and invested in the world of Maison de Méduse, the narrative went so far into fever-dream territory, that I’m afraid the majority of it went over my head.

Therefore, by the time I got to the end, I couldn’t decipher what I’d read. Honestly, the latter half, I had pretty much given up on true understanding and was more invested in the lyrical writing and word play.

I think for people who have loved Awad’s stories in the past, or people who love weird fiction in general, particularly with beautiful writing, you should read this.

I’m glad I picked it up. It was beautiful. I did love the modern Dark Fairy Tale quality of the story. I could actually see this being turned into a great movie, or limited series. Maybe I would understand it more in that format.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon Element, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I know so many Readers are going to love this, even if it wasn’t 100% for me.

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Review: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

~ megs14malloy

The Seven Year SlipThe Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Last year, after reading the synopsis, I had no idea how Ashley Poston was going to deliver on the The Dead Romantics. How was it even going to work?

Not only did she nail that, but it ended up being one of my most memorable books of 2022. I loved it so much and have been eagerly anticipating this new release ever since.

The time has finally come for the latest Adult Romantic Contemporary from Ashley Poston.

Unsurprisingly, The Seven Year Slip is stunning. I love this story with my whole heart. Poston has such a unique and magical sense of Contemporary storytelling that really vibes with my tastes.

I cried actual tears, y’all. That’s rough, but feels so good.

In this story we follow Clementine, a single-woman in NYC. She works in publishing and lives in a well-loved apartment that she recently inherited from her late-Aunt.

Six-months have passed since the toughest day in Clementine’s life and she feels like she is doing a relatively good job holding it all together. She is still working hard, focusing on that and just staying busy.

She may be fooling herself though, as she’s sort of standing in place; stuck.

That is until the apartment, which her Aunt always promised her was magical, delivers her the perfect gift she needed to potentially shake her out of her funk.

A man. The apartment delivers her a handsome, kind, sexy man with a Southern drawl and a penchant for cooking. The only problem, for him, it’s seven years in the past.

How the heck is this going to work, you may be wondering? How does this even make sense? All I can say to you is, trust the Poston.

The Seven Year Slip is an absolute delight. It’s so layered and beautiful. I loved so, so much about this story, but for me, the really special part was the relationship between Clementine and her Aunt.

As someone who is so incredibly close with my now adult niece and nephew, that aspect hit me hard. Right in the feels, like a gut punch. You could tell that Poston was writing this story from the heart. I felt it all the way to the marrow of my bones.

Poston’s writing is incredibly smooth and engaging. She quickly pulls you in and before you know it, you’re completely immersed in whatever world she has created.

Additionally, she has a smart and snarky wit that just tickles me. Her characters are fantastic and I love the exploration of the different kinds of love and relationships. Particularly the family relationships are so well done.

As you can tell, I adored this story. I walk away with a full heart. 10-out-of-10 recommend.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This will definitely be a standout for me in 2023!

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Review: Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline

~ megs14malloy

Funeral Songs for Dying GirlsFuneral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls is equal parts heartbreakingly-beautiful and chest-constricting in its uncomfortableness. This isn’t an easy read and won’t be for everyone.

I read this in 2-days and was genuinely moved by it.

This novel is told via the 1st-person perspective of a girl named Winifred. It’s the summer she turns 16 and Winifred christens it the Summer of Humiliations.

Winifred is at a difficult period in her life. Her mother passed away when she was born, so Winifred has never had a lot of strong female influence in her life. The only adult female she’s had a genuine connection with was her Aunt, her mother’s sister, who has recently passed on.

Not only was this a loss of the only sort of motherly influence she has had, but it was also the loss of the only connection she had to her Mom’s family and the Métis community. It’s a big loss and she definitely feels it.

Upsetting her world further is the news that the crematorium that her Father works at may be shutting down, his job outsourced. If this happens, Winifred and her Dad will be forced to move from the only home she has ever known.

They live in an apartment on the cemetery grounds, close to her Mother’s grave. Even the idea of having to move on from this space causes a great deal of anxiety for Winifred, and for her Dad.

When Winifred’s comings-and-goings around the graveyard mistakenly get labeled as hauntings however, Winifred sees this as a potential saving grace. A local ghost tour is interested in the hauntings and may add the cemetery to their stops list because of them.

If they do, this could mean additional income and a possibility that the crematorium could remain open. They would be able to stay in their house. Winifred needs to develop a plan to coax this possibility along.

After Winifred befriends an actual ghost in the graveyard though, her outlook on everything slowly begins to shift.

The ghost is a teen girl, Phil, who died tragically in a ravine next to the cemetery decades before. Through the telling of her story, Winifred’s eyes are opened to the greater world around her. She starts to see and consider things she never did before.

Through Phil’s short life, Winifred is inadvertently introduced to the rest of hers. There’s a great big world out there, what is Winifred’s place in it?

First of all, the writing in this book is breathtaking, in such a raw, sort of aggressive way. I’m not sure I can quite convey what I mean by this, but basically, in the beginning, Winifred is in a really tough spot in her life. The way she views the world, and tells her story, is jaded and harsh.

Not a lot is going her way. She’s an outcast at school, ridiculed by her peers for being strange. They call her Wednesday Addams and generally give her a hard time.

She has her Dad, who provides for her and obviously loves her, but he is emotionally unavailable. He’s stuck in his grief from the loss of his wife and that has unfortunately put up a bit of a wall between him and his daughter.

Winifred has her dog, Mrs. Dingleberry, who she loves so much and her best friend, Jack. Unfortunately, as her and Jack have gotten older their relationship has changed and gotten complicated. Then an event on her 16th-birthday ends up fracturing it further, so she is feeling more alone than ever.

At first, she seemed so abrasive to me. I wondered if I would be able to connect with her, but the further I got into the story, the more I learned about her and I cared more and more. Learning about her family and about her wants, it sucks you in.

Phil’s story is even more heartbreaking than Winifred’s and the way it is slowly revealed, oh man, so impactful. The final section of Phil’s story, I cried. I cried for Phil and for all the young people who have similar experiences to hers. Lost souls who will never find a way home.

Overall, I think this is a powerful story for those who can stomach it. It’s not an easy read. It’s not fast-paced, or plot heavy, this is very much a character examination and a moving portrait of growing up, discovering your identity and learning to love yourself and others.

I was so impressed with Dimaline’s writing and her ability to pour emotion and culture into the story in an unflinching and unapologetic way. It’s dark, but ultimately left me full of hope. I am very satisfied with the way it wrapped-up.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tundra Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was moved by this and I hope it gets into the hands of Readers who appreciate it.

I think for the people this resonates with, it will be a very memorable reading experience indeed.

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Review: Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

~ megs14malloy

Babel: An Arcane HistoryBabel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Babel: An Arcane History is the latest release from R.F. Kuang, beloved author of the The Poppy War trilogy. This is the first I have read from this author.

Babel is one of those books that everyone was buzzing about in 2022. It seemed everyone was reading it; your brother, your mother, your cousin, your neighbor, your coworkers, maybe even your enemies.

Y’all know, I can’t resist that type of hype. So, I bought it.

Then it arrived. What a day! I still remember opening that box. Behold the beauty!

Then I lifted it from the box and thought, oh shit. Yeah, she’s thick. So, then I was intimidated and hid it on my shelves for a later date. Last week was that date.

I decided to listen to the audio and am really happy I did. I feel like it helped me get through it more quickly and I enjoyed the narration, imagining the wonderful narrator, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, as our MC, Robin Swift.

The story starts in 1828, when a young boy, orphaned by cholera is taken in by a mysterious benefactor, Professor Lovell, after performing a bit of a test. The Professor, who will be moving the boy from his native Canton to London, makes the boy select a more Western-pleasing name. Thus, the boy christens himself Robin Swift.

We follow Robin on his voyage to his new home, as well as his subsequent educational journey from his benefactor’s home lessons, all the way through to the hallowed halls of Oxford University.

More specifically, Robin is enrolled in the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, also known as Babel.

For Robin, this all feels like a dream. He is enamored with Babel, truly in awe, but as with many things in life, the more he learns about the institution and its function and goals, the more he becomes disillusioned by it all.

((…think Anakin Skywalker…))

We follow Robin, and his cohort, as they all come to certain realizations and as they decide which course they would like their lives to take.

I was very intrigued with this story from the start. The set-up was fantastic. You can’t help but be drawn to Robin’s character right away. From his first encounter with the Professor, you can just tell this is a boy of pure heart.

Once he starts University, he gets the opportunity to make his first real friends within his first year cohort. I was so happy for him.

The found family element was like something he had been lacking all along, but he didn’t even realize it. Meeting friends like Rami was a really pivotal moment for Robin.

It was interesting to watch the tone shift in this novel. It was a bit bright-eyed optimism, full of possibilities, to darker realizations of the world and its systemic dysfunctions rather quickly. But so is life. That did ring true.

I’m so impressed with this novel as an undertaking. You can tell that Kuang is a true lover of language. That fact pours off the page, that feeling and heart about language and its power. I was fascinated by this aspect.

Even though I was impressed with the content, I do consider this a challenging read. It’s heavy, with blatant racism and exploitation on page, and I did feel that there were sections that dragged a little.

There was a particular trip to Canton, that after that, from the return voyage onward, the pace really picked up for me. The stakes were raised higher than I could have imagined and I enjoyed seeing where the story went from there.

Oddly, even though I was initially intimidated by the size of this novel, I actually think it should have been longer.

Hear me out. I actually feel like I would have liked even more character and world development. Please note, this is a positive thing if I am asking for more.

For me, this may have worked better as a duology. Perhaps with the first book being up through the end of the first year at Babel and the second book picking up with the start of second year.

Is that crazy?

Overall, I would say that, small nit-pick things aside, this is an incredible novel that shows off Kuang’s stunning intellect, grace and superbly smooth writing style in only the best light. I cannot wait to pick up more of her work!!

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Review: Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

~ megs14malloy

Summer of SaltSummer of Salt by Katrina Leno
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I recently picked up Summer of Salt as Book #13 for my TBR-Haul Project. Checking ’em off feels good!

I originally hauled this book in December 2018, receiving it as a Christmas gift from my partner. Since then, even though I have read other works from Katrina Leno and really enjoyed them, I never picked this one up.

When I saw this was an option for my next selection for my project, I was so excited. I was looking forward to heading into Leno’s backlist for this magical YA Contemporary novel.

From the synopsis, I felt like it would be a perfect, cozy November read and boy, was it ever!

Summer of Salt follows Georgina Fernweh and her twin sister, Mary. The girls live on a little island called By-the-Sea, with their mother, who owns an Inn.

Even though the island is tiny, it has some very special features. The one that draws the most attention is the fact that a mysterious, one-0f-a-kind bird, who the locals have dubbed Annabella, makes their shores her annual summer destination.

Whilst there, Annabella nests solo for a couple of months before moving on. Her residence on island brings many, many birders to the island as well. These birdheads are intrigued by Annabella. They want to see her, study her, just be near her.

She’s rare, she’s beautiful, she’s the Margot Robbie of birds.

Like Annabella herself, the birdheads return year after year, most of them staying at the Fernweh Inn. The Fernweh family is tied to this by more than the tourists though, they share an unexpected link to Annabella as well.

When something happens that disrupts this annual tradition, the island is thrown off it’s normal course. Things get dark, the rain starts and many truths are revealed.

I adored every aspect of this book. From the very first chapter the atmosphere that Leno created was exactly what I was looking for. I could taste the salt and the magic. I fell in love with the characters and the rich traditions of the island.

Honestly, Summer of Salt is one of the most beautiful stories that I have ever read. This one hit me hard. IYKYK.

I love how Leno blended whimsy with darker subject matter. It was the perfect ratio. I felt so connected to these characters and everything they were going through as they navigated their last summer on island before college.

The magical realism elements were incredibly well done too; engaging and easy to understand. There’s actually a number of different topics explored within this and I found it sort of surprising how well they all worked together.

Sometimes it will seem like a book doesn’t know what kind of story it is trying to be when so many things are meshed together, but that was absolutely not the case here. It was really beautifully constructed.

As a person who lives on a small island, 30-miles out to sea, I can also attest to the fact that Leno nailed these New England island vibes. I was definitely relating to it.

You can probably tell, this story touched my heart. I will remember this magical and eye-opening story for a long time to come. 10-out-of-10 recommend!

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Review: A Song Below Water (A Song Below Water #1) by Bethany C. Morrow

~ megs14malloy

A Song Below Water (A Song Below Water, #1)A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Tavia is a Siren living in present-day, Portland, Oregon. Due to fear and discrimination against Sirens, Tavia is forced to hide her nature from those outside her home.

Navigating the world repressing her true-self presents a lot of challenges for her. It can be frustrating and often feels like the world is closing in on her.

Tavia’s best friend, Effie, was taken in by Tavia’s parents after suffering through some tough times.

Since then, the girls have come to rely upon one another. It’s them against world for the most part; at least it feels that way.

While Effie is not a Siren, there is definitely something magical about her. As she gets older, she begins to notice she is changing and she may not be able to hide much longer.

Effie works as a mermaid at a local Renaissance Fair, incorporating the lore of that job into her personality and thus, blending the lines between fantasy and reality.

When a murder trial making the national spotlight turns out to have a Siren as a victim, Siren’s existence is now a hot button issue.

Tavia listens as those around her discuss the case and the Siren’s fate and rights. From there we watch as the debates, opinions and stakes heat up.

Drenched in allegory, A Song Below Water includes lush, lyrical storytelling and is nuanced enough to provide a lasting impact.

Tavia and Effie’s relationship is beautiful to read. Their unconditional support for one another, set against a backdrop of a world that doesn’t guarantee them social justice. It was quite moving.

This novel is particularly relevant to the climate of the United States over the last few years. I love YA Contemporary stories that provide such social commentary.

The fact that this one mixed in fantastical elements with black girl magic made it that much more enjoyable.

The sequel to this novel, following different perspectives is now available. I am currently reading it and actually enjoying it even more.

I cannot wait to see what magic Morrow creates next!!

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Review: Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

~ megs14malloy

Lost in the Never WoodsLost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

Five years ago, Wendy Darling and her two brothers, Michael and John, went missing in the local woods.

Six months later, Wendy was found. She had no memory of her time away, or the fate of her little brothers.

After she returns, the police question her pretty hard, not sure how much of her story they can believe. Perhaps she knows more than she is letting on.

Now in her Senior year of high school, Wendy is working at a hospital and trying to move on with her life, although she is still plagued with thoughts of her brothers.

When children start disappearing again, in ways similar to Wendy and her brothers, all eyes look to her for answers.

She feels no closer to knowing what really happened all those years ago, but something is definitely going on, as the boy she thought lived only in her stories becomes real.

Peter Pan. He is real and he is pleading with Wendy for her help finding his shadow; the villain of this tale.

Lost in the Never Woods was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Sadly, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

The first 10% seemed really promising and the last 10% gave me a conclusion that felt satisfying. However, everything in between was a giant slog.

The tone was quite melancholy and morose. The pace was incredibly slow, the relationships forced and the magical elements felt bland. Not what I was hoping for.

The writing style itself was good. It had a pleasing flow and you can tell that Thomas put a lot of thought into the real world issues discussed; grief, guilt, PTSD, those aspects were well done.

Overall, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for and I never felt connected. With this being said, there is a Reader for every book and vice versa.

So, don’t take my word for it. If the synopsis sounds interesting to you, give it a go. It could end up being your new favorite book!

I will definitely pick up more work from this author in the future. I already own Cemetery Boys and am really excited to get to that one!

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Review: The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson

~ megs14malloy

The Apocalypse of Elena MendozaThe Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elena Mendoza is a miracle, literally.

The product of parthenogenesis, a virgin birth, Elena’ life has been quirky indeed.

As you can imagine, this anomaly made the headlines, making Elena low-key famous.

She does her best to just live her life, ignoring the chatter around her, but it hasn’t always been easy.

Elena has never really fit in and although she has some close relationships, she’s far from one of the popular kids.

When the girl she has been crushing on, Freddie, comes close to losing her life, right in front of Elena’s eyes, she discovers she has the ability to heal. A power she never realized she had.

However, the power comes at a price.

Every time she heals, a random number of people disappear, sucked up by a bright light; raptured, if you will.

Through Elena’s own musings, as well as her conversations with certain inanimate objects, we begin to slowly understand the reality of her situation.

Somehow, she needs to save the world. The future of humanity rests on her young shoulders, or does it?

This was so good. Wildly creative and although the content may seem over the top, there are some incredibly important topics to be found within these pages.

Examining complex relationships, as well as the power of free will and identity, this will definitely stick with me.

There’s no doubt, if you are looking for a queer story to make you think about life and the choices we make, Shaun David Hutchinson is a good way to go.

This was completely unique and stole my heart in an oddly compelling way!

I’m so happy my random number generator selected this book for me to read off of my enormous TBR list.

Who knows how long it would have actually taken me to get to it otherwise!? I really enjoyed my time reading this.

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Review: Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

~ megs14malloy

Tuesday Mooney Talks to GhostsTuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tuesday Mooney, a 30-something researcher, living in Boston is about to have the adventure of a lifetime following the clues on a dead billionaire’s treasure hunt.

She is just the sort of character I love, independent, funny, smart, quirky and a bit of a loner; I was happy to go along for the ride.

Full of hilarious hijinks and engrossing twists and turns, this story grabbed me by the heart and never let up. I was a big fan of Racculia’s work going in and it certainly didn’t disappoint!

Every page is full of intelligent writing and witty banter, I am seriously addicted to her style. I could absolutely see myself reading this story again. There was a great cast of side characters that brought humor and depth.

The setting of the city of Boston, a place where I have lived, made it even more exciting. Tie in the fact that she kept mentioning my hometown of Nantucket, felt like I was reading about a friend or neighbor!

As always, Racculia weaves some fairly serious topics into her otherwise humorous narrative. There is an examination of grief, guilt, the loss of a friend, loss of a family member, loss of a job, questioning of self-worth, intimacy, adult friendships and the presence of an afterlife, to name a few.

I think she always handles such topics with grace. It was all really well done here.

If you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, fantastical adult novel, you should definitely give this one a try. If you do and you enjoy it, be sure to check out Bellweather Rhapsody as well!

Finally, thank you to my friend, Tucker, for sending me his copy. I will cherish it forever!!

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Review: When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry

~ megs14malloy

When the Sky Fell on SplendorWhen the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

This is a tough one.

A sort of genre-mash of things I love but together seemed a little disjointed but still good…yeah…

A few years back the town of Splendor was wracked by an industrial accident. Pretty much everyone in the town was effected in some way.

The plant were the accident occurred literally employed about half the town. There was an explosion and a lot of people were killed.

As you can for imagine, for a small town, this had horrible ramifications. People had brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and spouses stolen away from them in an instant.

In part, that is what this book is about. Even though it is around 5-years later, the aftermath continues to be challenging for those remaining residents of Splendor.

We follow a group of teens who have really come together since the accident. The adults in their lives are dealing with their own grief and sort of left the kids on their own to deal with theirs. This group of kids has come to rely on each other in both meaningful and beautiful ways.

As an exploration of grief, this is a touching, heart-wrenching story but there is also a science-fiction element that I found truly interesting.

You can tell that the author really enjoys science, as do I. There are detailed sections on black holes, time/space, fibonacci spirals and the idea of a cosmic consciousness.

I loved the friend group and how supportive they were of one another and I loved the science. However, there was something a little wonky about the way it was all strung together. It didn’t feel cohesive to me.

As always, this is 100% subjective and you may read this and think, ‘what the hell was Meg talking about?’ And that’s fine!

Just for me, it felt like the narrative was fighting over what kind of story it was trying to be. It didn’t feel like a seamless composition, if that makes sense.

Overall, I am really glad that I read this book. It is definitely a thoughtful exploration of a lot of interesting and important topics. I also think Emily Henry is a very talented woman and clearly a lot more intelligent than I am!

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