Posted in John A. Heldt

Indiana Belle (American Journey #3) by John A. Heldt

Posted on by roxtao

If I wouldn’t have seen the long list of this author’s books, I would have honestly thought that Indiana Belle is his debut novel. Not because of the storyline, but because of the writing style. The story is nice and cohesive, most of the characters’ portraits are sturdy enough to be credible, but the writing technique has something so… naive that it gives you the impression that the author just started his writing experience and that he’s trying to follow all the rules taught in school.

The main downside is that even for a time-traveling story, there are some aspects that just seemed either forced or not enough developed, so be prepared to swallow your frustration about this and just move on with the story. Despite this, I enjoyed the book: it has this nice, relaxed vibe, sweet and light like a lazy summer day, without any drama, stress or conflict. The world building is absolutely wonderful. The author throws you straight into the 1920s and colors the life there in bright, clear colors. I felt like the side characters were contributing even more to this, giving you a glimpse into the people’s mentality back then.

What drove me crazy was just the way the characters were oftentimes addressed. I understand the wish of avoiding repetition when referring to the same characters again and again, but expressions like “the rhode islander”, “the time traveler”, “the society editor” somehow put distance between the reader and the protagonists and after a while become annoying.

I didn’t connect in any way with Cameron, the book’s hero but I blame it more on the fact that I deeply hate the insta-love. And in his case, the concept is even more absurd: he falls in love with… a photo 😑 At least Candice has a more natural reaction and overall, her personality is more bubbly and charming. And as I mentioned before, even if their appearances are kind of episodic, I found almost all the secondary characters extremely well portrayed and their actions are a great addition to the whole 1920s picture.

Although the storyline flows pretty much without a major or breathtaking conflict, here and there, there will be some chapters that are breaking the rhythm and make the whole plot more entertaining. I personally loved the chapter from the far future and to be honest, I would have loved to see the story continuing in that era. It was an awesome and totally unexpected turn and it offered some extra flavor to the whole novel.

Indiana Belle is the third book in the American Journey series, but each novel can be read independently. I haven’t read the first two novels yet but I didn’t feel there were any missing points or that I skipped any connections with the previous two books.

Posted in Trish Harnetiaux

The Secret Santa by Trish Harnetiaux

Posted on by roxtao

This book felt very much like a shot of alcohol: super fast and surprisingly intense, you’re finishing it before you even know it and it gives you no time to get bored or lose your interest.

Yes, the story doesn’t go super deep and it might feel more like a short story or novella instead of a full length novel despite the decent number of pages. However, it definitely doesn’t feel rushed or incomplete. Perhaps it’s not offering a lot when it comes to people’ motivations or complex descriptions, but it brings a clear view of the actions happening and colorful enough portraits of the main characters. And by colorful I believe it is the best way to describe the individuals that we’re encountering in The Secret Santa. Nobody could argue that their personalities are the most genuine, but in the same time, they’re not annoyingly unbelievable also. It feels like the author took some very normal features and just exaggerated them enough to make a statement, but not to the point where the characters turn to caricatures. I encountered this technique before with other authors and always loved it. It’s like the characters themselves become the definition of certain traits: ambition, platitude, stubbornness, revenge, etc. But in the same time, they are portrayed with enough colors to give them full personalities. Frankly, you’ll never meet in real life such unidirectional personalities but for sure you won’t mind loving them or hating them when you’re reading about them.

As long as you don’t start the book expecting a deep dive, but instead, a light and catchy story, I’m sure you’ll be enjoying it a lot and find very little things to judge or to dislike.

Posted in Stephen Graham Jones, Uncategorized

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Posted on by roxtao

I have no idea how exactly to explain my initial reaction to this book. I’ve read countless books in English, which is not my mother tongue, I live in an English speaking country and use the language every day, but once I started The Only Good Indians I felt like I don’t understand a word, like I’m reading in Chinese. After a few pages, I even passed the book to my SO to make sure that my brain didn’t suddenly lose its ability to read or to understand a sentence. And no, it clearly wasn’t me, it was the writing. I still have no idea what exactly happened there, what the issue was. Each word had a meaning, but somehow, put together, they just didn’t have any sense. Somehow, after a few chapters, things sort of went back to normal and the phrasing was smoother. Despite that, the book still didn’t catch me and I just wanted to finish it faster and be done with it.

The storyline is definitely original and not one of the tipical horror plots, but that’s pretty much the only good thing I can say about it. I’ve seen so many excited reactions about this novel, I saw it in so many 2020 tops. It’s not even the fact that my expectations weren’t met. I wasn’t just disappointed, I simply disliked everything about it. The characters weren’t interesting, I couldn’t sympathize with any of them, their actions seemed illogical half of the time, the storyline wasn’t catchy, the plot didn’t make my pulse jump or give me the feeling that I’m reading a horror. In addition, I feel like the author tried so much to signal that this is a story about native indians that it became repetitive and annoying.

Considering that so many readers gave positive reviews and I’m in minority here, I’m just going to assume this was not a story for me, but it can definitely be for somebody else. So in case you’re feeling tempted to give it a try, don’t let my opinion discourage you from reading it.

Posted in Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Posted on by roxtao

I was not intending to read this book, but after watching the TV series, what eventually convinced me otherwise was the fact that… it seemed like my sympathies laid on the wrong side. Between the readers, there will always be Team A or Team B (remember Twilight?) but usually this happens when both options are reasonable and do not fall under the “villain” category. After watching the TV series, completely empathizing with Elena Richardson and almost hating Mia Warren, I discovered with shock that most of the people had a complete opposite opinion. Like.. Elena was the bad one?! Did we really watch the same thing?
So I started the book just to see if it will leave me with the same perspective or offer some additional details that might explain why most of the people had a different point of view.

Although you might expect the opposite when it comes to a book versus its adaptation, I felt like this time, the screenplay offered somehow an ampler spectrum of the main characters’ colors. In the book, Elena’s actions are clearly throwing her in the villain’s role, without giving too much depth to her reasons. By comparison, Mia’s lack of color makes you sympathetic to her cause without the justification of any actions, but simply because of the role she’s playing: the single, poor, but dignified mother that’s just trying to raise her daughter in the best way and… doesn’t really do much else.

In the TV series, my perception was different. Mia is selfish, sacrificing her daughter’s happiness and stability on the altar of her own career dreams. She stabs Elena in the back, she sets off a custody battle because of her own past trauma and without actually thinking about the well-being of the baby, she subtly manipulates and uses people around her. Yes, some of Elena’s actions are questionable as well, but only after she’s been provoked by Mia and usually have a “the end justifies the means” vibe. But overall, Elena just fights in a fairer way, with more direct hits. And even though her portrait might be simpler than Mia’s, who is this hipster-ish, gipsy-at-heart, mysterious and misunderstood artist, I stand by Elena’s cause. Although she sacrificed her own dreams for the sake of the family, I did love the fact that she had a strong attitude and turned the situation in the best way, without victimizing herself, despite having some regrets at an unconscious level. Meanwhile, Mia sacrifices everyone around her (her parents, the Ryan couple, Bebe Chow, the disputed baby, her own daugheter) for the sake of her own dreams and beliefs, without any doubts or remorse.

I also loved the portrayal of the other characters more in the TV series than in the book. All of the side characters and all of the kids’ experiences (both Pearl’s and the Richardsons’) are more lively and intense, you get to know them deeper and overall, the TV series just does it better. I feel like the book is covered by a veil that makes everything and everyone faded and blury, while the screenplay removed that veil and allowed the action to shine bright and colorful.

Posted in Jackie Morrissey

Before I Die by Jackie Morrissey

Posted on by roxtao

What a delightful read this was! Before I Die offers such a fresh and original perspective, bringing a very unexpected character as a protagonist. Most of the times, when an old person is the main character of a book, the action takes place somewhere in the past, developing mostly from the memories, when that character was young, strong and adventurous. That’s not the case in Before I Die, where Maureen is an old teacher with zero special detective abilities, with no special training to deal with crazy or wicked people and with nothing more than an ordinary life for a person of her age.

Moreover, her age starts becoming a disadvantage since people around her are beginning to doubt her mental capacity. So much actually, that at some point, Maureen herself begins to wonder if her intuition is correct or if she’s imagining everything. So when Maureen gets tangled in the spiderweb of what seems to be an absolute evil caretaker, she’s clearly completely unprepared for such a fight. And her one and only ally? A homeless drug addict…

The mystery/crime fiction has brought before older characters that play the role of the detective. Mostly amateurs with some kind of experience or retired police officers or private investigators. But it’s the first time when I’m encountering such an innocent and “unqualified” protagonist for such a story. And the author does an amazing job on illustrating how difficult it is for an absolutely common person to be put in a situation where she has to deal with a diabolical villain. 

I’m also in an awe regarding Maureen’s new friend, Michael. A typical drug addict: zero self control, questionable morality, falling for every impulsive need, totally unreliable. There’s little to nothing to like about him. But somehow, his devotion for the old, kind Maureen, mixed with his own survival instinct is enough to start pushing him to the right path and to make the reader grow more and more sympathy towards him. The blooming friendship between such opposite personalities is contoured in realistic shades, with ups and downs, with doubts, fears and disappointments, but ends up being one of the sweetest aspects of the book. 

The action is well balanced, with enough suspense to keep you hooked but without being rushed. Perhaps not completely surprising, but definitely well enough written and entertaining.

I enjoyed each page, each turn of the action and can’t wait to try some other books of Jackie Morrissey.