9 minute read
ROMANCE
was necessary in the slums due to the rampant nanotech available. Bullets didn’t kill people with the same finality they used to.” Gradually, their storylines converge, as Marzuk learns of a plot involving the upgraded remains of the International Space Station and a group of djinn working on creating an AI more powerful than anything that exists on Earth. That also leads to denouements that play out in both the physical realm and within the game that Marzuk is so fond of. The tonal whiplash between the novel’s irreverent teen protagonist and the dense plotting can sometimes be disconcerting, but the layered narrative feels assembled with care.
An unpredictable exploration of an expansive future world.
WHERE THE DROWNED GIRLS GO
McGuire, Seanan Tordotcom (160 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 4, 2022 978-1-250-21362-4
In the seventh Wayward Children tale, students plan to escape from a brutal institution designed to crush the magic out of them. Cora, a strong swimmer constantly tormented by her peers for her weight, went through an underwater door to the Trenches, a magical undersea world where she was a mermaid and a hero, valued for her bulk and her strength. But a whirlpool spat her out again into our world, leaving her bereft. Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children brought her among other young people who had traveled through a door and returned here, often unwillingly. Cora then passed through another door leading to the creepy world of the Moors, where the sinister Drowned Gods claimed her for their own. Even back at the school, Cora can’t block out their voices or deny their marks on her skin, so she makes the desperate choice to switch to the Whitethorn Institute, which, rather than helping children while they wait for their doors to reappear, encourages them to reject their magical pasts and accept this world as home. Sadly, Cora almost immediately understands that Whitethorn’s philosophy is less about giving its students the strength to move on with their lives and more about breaking their spirits and ruthlessly molding them into a miserable conformity. But dropping out isn’t an option the school offers, and Cora and her friends realize that Whitethorn has more than mundane means at its disposal to keep them there. McGuire’s themes— let people be themselves and don’t treat being fat as some kind of moral failing or physical issue that’s easily addressed—won’t surprise readers of this series and her other works, but her usual arguments remain sound, and she tells a good story. There are also some deeply chilling moments in the experiences of the other students, particularly in the case of a girl cursed by the Rat King to shrink into a nameless rat.
A journey into familiar territory with a skilled guide; but here’s hoping that future trips head into the unknown.
romance
DIGGING UP LOVE
Blumberg, Chandra Montlake Romance (345 pp.) $12.95 paper | Jan. 1, 2022 978-1-5420-3390-9
A determinedly single small-town baker and a paleontologist recovering from heartbreak cross paths in highly unlikely circumstances, proving that love always finds a way. Tucked away in a nondescript corner of rural Illinois with her grandparents, Alisha Blake yearns for the sights and sounds of urban life. Even as she helps her grandfather run their well-loved family-owned barbecue joint, she’s secretly working toward opening her own bakery in Chicago. She finally builds up the nerve to tell her family about her plans, but she’s forced to defer her announcement when a large dinosaur bone gets dug up in her grandparents’ backyard. Although the find throws a wrench in Alisha’s plans, it’s a dream come true for Quentin Harris. He hopes that the bone will pave the path to academic prestige and finally vindicate his career choice in the eyes of his father. Quentin needs to focus on the dig, but his presence in Alisha’s backyard unearths long-buried desires in both of them. Quentin, who was once jilted at the altar, is leery of committing to Alisha, and the talented baker is struggling to strike a balance between her family’s needs and her own dreams. While Quentin’s presence comforts and excites Alisha, the paleontologist’s sermons about her life choices often cut too close to the bone. To make their relationship work, both must quit digging in their heels and focus on rooting out old apprehensions and worries instead. Replete with instantly likable characters and relatable pop-culture references, Blumberg’s debut is warm, engaging, and emotionally honest. Alisha and Quentin’s gradual movement toward companionship hits all the right notes, and their interactions are both meaningful and fun. While the external obstacles and issues keeping them apart are quite real, their internal battles seem to reach too pat a resolution.
A sweet romance that would have improved with a little more heat.
how to deceive a duke
HOW TO DECEIVE A DUKE
Parish, Samara Forever (384 pp.) $8.99 paper | Jan. 25, 2022 978-1-5387-0454-7
A duke and an inventor fall in love for a second time, and sparks fly. Fiona McTavish was once in love with a duke, before she knew he was a duke. But when Edward Stirling, Duke of Wildeforde, returned home to tell his mother he was prepared to marry a commoner, she subtly reminded him of his duty, nipping his announcement in the bud. Fiona was devastated when he failed to return and chose to focus her curious mind on her inventions; meanwhile, in London, Edward focused on restoring his family’s reputation. But when Fiona comes to London five years later to try to find a distributor for her latest invention and finds herself arrested during a protest against the government—while dressed as a Mr. Finley McTavish, no less—Edward is the only person she knows who can get her out of jail. Unfortunately for Fiona’s plans, the rescue involves the requirement that she live in his house for a month in the middle of the season, just as the duke is beginning his search for a suitable wife. Fiona sets up a lab and tries to find a business partner, but her frustration at being turned down repeatedly by skittish moneymen is rivaled only by her frustration at the clear chemistry she and Edward still have. As they grow closer again, Edward comes to realize he wants to marry her, regardless of any gossip or scandal, but her day in court sparks a misstep that may part them permanently. The second entry in Parish’s Rebels With a Cause series, like the first, How To Survive a Scandal (2021), is an engaging story of love in the face of class differences, with an unusually honest assessment of the barriers many couples would face in such circumstances. The complex story is enlivened by Fiona’s Scottish voice as well as by the realistic way both hero and heroine navigate difficult family relationships alongside their own secondchance romance. Despite the obstacles, of course, Fiona and Edward have their happy-ever-after, and because Fiona’s invention is the safety match, this comes with copious fire metaphors alongside the steamy intimate scenes. Parish continues to bring a refreshing point of view to the Regency subgenre, and though the book stands alone, fans will want to read both volumes in the series so far for the full story.
A sparkling new voice in historical romance delivers a satisfying story of love on the edges of the beau monde.
ELECTRIC IDOL
Robert, Katee Sourcebooks Casablanca (240 pp.) $12.49 paper | Jan. 18, 2022 978-1-72823-176-1
Eros meets Psyche in the second book of Robert’s Dark Olympus series. Psyche Dimitriou, one of four daughters of Demeter, has a problem. Just as she’s helping an injured Eros Ambrosia at an Olympus party, a paparazzo takes a candid of them in an apparent romantic clinch and the photo goes viral. The problem is that Eros’ mom, Aphrodite, hates Demeter and orders her son, whom she uses as a fixer in her political power games, to punish Psyche as a lesson to her mom. Though used to doing his mother’s bidding, as she’s groomed him from childhood to kill, Eros can’t execute this latest order. Instead, he offers Psyche, a smart, plus-sized social media influencer, a different bargain—a PR marriage of convenience that might protect her from his mother’s wrath. Despite the tense start to their relationship, the two find their arrangement quickly morphing into an erotic and emotional connection. The couple copes with their new feelings while dealing with powerful family members, all under intense social media scrutiny, giving the book the atmosphere of a Kardashian-style reality show version of Greek myth. Robert creates an Olympus for our time in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunters series. She keeps the core of the original Eros and Psyche story even as she humanizes her protagonists, though not always successfully: There’s the somewhat tired trope of the hero as victim of his traumatic upbringing, a bad boy cured by the love of a good woman. The ass-kicking heroine is also a familiar type, but Psyche is better sketched, a fat-positive yet secretly vulnerable and media-savvy young woman. The pair’s chemistry, in and out of the bedroom, gives them added dimension. Both the protagonists’ mothers harken back to the terrifying matriarchs of myth and could have used more updating to counter old stereotypes of mothers gone feral. On the other hand, the inclusion of a couple of Black characters in the roles of famous mythological figures, which seems like an attempt at diversity, feels like hollow colorblind casting.
Like an amusement-park ride through a new Olympus.
THE BECOMING
Roberts, Nora St. Martin’s (448 pp.) $28.99 | Nov. 23, 2021 978-1-2502-7270-6
A woman destined to be the bridge between the human and fey worlds prepares for war.
This second book of The Dragon Heart Legacy series begins where the first book, The Awakening (2020), left off, with
Breen Kelly and her best friend, Marco, jumping through a portal from Philadelphia back to the magical world of Talamh. Breen was born in Talamh and inherited powerful magicks from her fey father; however, Breen’s human mother insisted they leave the magical realm, fearing for the safety of her family. Breen, raised in complete ignorance about her background, was taught to use her magick by Keegan, the handsome leader of the fey. Breen’s return comes at the right time. The people of Talamh sense that Odran, a powerful, villainous god, has been gathering his forces and will soon make another attack on their world before moving on to conquer the rest of the known realms. Odran is her grandfather, and Breen intends to use her magick to stop him while he hopes to steal her abilities to further his own evil cause. Breen’s relationship with Keegan is on hold—his sole focus is teaching her to fight and preparing his people for battle, which leaves little time for romance. Most of the book is consumed with expanding Breen’s understanding of the world and her own abilities. There are multiple subplots about interpersonal relationships: Keegan’s ex-lover will do anything to get him back, Marco falls in love with a handsome young soldier, and Breen strengthens the ties to new friends and family. The characters learn more about themselves and prepare to battle Odran, but too much of the plot feels like filler, keeping readers on the hook for the final confrontation in the last book.
