Backlash Blues (Gabriel Præst series #2) by Amulya Malladi (ebook)
Happy reading!!! 📚
Dorothea 💜
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Sunday, January 7, 2024
REVIEW - The Phoenix Crown ebook
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang (ebook)
OVERVIEW
This is my fourth book of 2024 and my first 5-star book!! This was a team writing effort by Kate Quinn (who I have read) and Janie Chang (who was new to me). What an incredible collaboration!
This was a historical fiction novel with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake as the plot twist. As someone who was born and raised in Southern California, the authors got the whole visceral earthquake ordeal down on paper exactly as it feels like (especially as both grew up in earthquake-prone areas).
San Francisco was "the city" of the West Coast in 1906. It had a very cosmopolitan feel with an opera house, grand hotels, and elegant restaurants, but it still had the underlying tensions of xenophobia especially against the Chinese. It was horrible to read about this again in a historical novel about how bad it was and how dangerous it was for the Chinese, period.
It was a wonderful book that was written beautifully about my home state - the good, the bad, and the ugly. If we don't learn about our history, we can never do better as a society.
OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
The writing was beautiful and detailed but flowed so well. I could not determine who wrote what part of this amazing novel - the authors write so well together. The prose was just lovely and dovetailed both authors' strengths together. This was a fantastic collaboration and hope that they write more books together.
Character development: 5.0 stars
There are four main female characters - Gemma, an opera singer; Suling, an embroideress; Alice, a botanist; and Reggie, an artist. There is also a villainous main character Henry Thorton. These four women are looking for justice against the villainous man who horribly wronged them.
The secondary character is San Francisco, California, and the 1906 Earthquake. The earthquake allows a huge plot shift to take place and characters to interact in incredible ways.
There are a lot of tertiary characters as is normal for a good historical fiction novel. All of these characters add so much depth and color to the storyline.
Storyline: 5.0 stars
This novel begins about two weeks before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and ends about five years afterward. The story is just so creative and well-written that it is an intense experience to read this book. All I wanted to know was what happens at the end?!? It was a very good ending, but not at all what I expected!
The main locations were mainly San Francisco, California, and Paris, France and vicinity.
Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars
The novel made me realize how San Francisco was destroyed in 1906 not so much by the earthquake but by the fires. That is still a very scary possibility with any earthquake even now.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Gorgeous!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Perfect!
HIGHEST recommendation
EBOOK DETAILS
NetGalley ARC (ebook)
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang
384 pages
William Morrow
Release date of 02/13/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
Saturday, January 6, 2024
REVIEW - Yellowface audiobook
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (audiobook)
OVERVIEW
This is one of those books that people have been talking about since it was published in May 2023. It is a raw and ugly portrayal of writers, editors, literary agents, and the publishing business. Also, the nastiness of social media plays a huge and horrible role in the direction and plot line of this novel.
The two main characters, Athena Liu and Juniper "June" Hayward are "frenemies". They both attended Yale together and reconnected after June moved to Washington D.C. A horrible accident occurs and June takes Athena's recently finished novel and portrays it as her own. Then the book really takes off with all the twists and turns and ups and downs. It is one crazy, wild ride.
It was a gut-wrenching and sad tale of our society. Stereotyping, racism, and elitism are all tied together with the insanity of social media.
OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars
Writing: 3.5 stars
The writing was just okay, but it was popular culture writing. It was written with all of the slang and foul language that Gen Z's use all the time. Additionally, it was a first-person narrative from June's point of view.
The problem for me was that the writing didn't dig deep enough for me. Without the deep dive, this novel was too superficial and just about writing and publishing. Why, really, were Athena and June friends? Were they really talented or did the publishing industry need another "next thing"? What caused Athena and June to be who they are - what happened in their lives?
Overall, I am an outlier who just didn't "get" this book and what was so special about it.
Narration: 4.0 stars
Helen Laser is a strong narrator. She really captured both Athena and June really well and brought them to life. Overall, it was a good listen, but more for the narration than the writing.
Character Arc: 3.0 stars
I really wanted more. It was written in a somewhat chronological order, but there were some flashbacks. However, it just didn't get deep into the characters so we could understand who they were, why they behaved so horribly, and how they could justify the obnoxious things that they did. Without the background character information, it just didn't sit well with me.
Memorable: 3.0 stars
The biggest thing for me is that we continue to learn nothing as a society about race, social media, and entitlement.
Entertaining: 3.5 stars
It was entertaining at times, but it was very dark and satirical.
Book cover: 3.5 stars
It could have been so much more.
Book title: 4.0 stars
Very good!
Recommend
AUDIOBOOK DETAILS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
8 hours, 39 minutes
Release date of 5/16/2023
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
Thursday, January 4, 2024
January 2024 - Amazon First Reads
Hi, everyone!!
Did you know that there is a FREE monthly Kindle book available with your Amazon Prime membership??? It is called Amazon First Reads!! You can find out more about it here: Amazon First Reads.
I received the email yesterday and there are TWO free books in January 2024. No explanation, but TWO free books are GREAT!
My TWO choices for January 2024 are:
The County Line by Steve Weddle
The Real Deal by Caitlin Devlin
So what TWO books did you choose for your January 2024 First Read picks? Please share your choices in the comments!!
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
P.S. Don't forget to "buy" the books at Amazon! I almost did that this month!
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge
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Hi, everyone!
So, no surprise, I am setting my Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge to 100 books!! It is a big number, but I will do my best to meet this challenge.
If Oliver James @oliverspeaks1 (Instagram) who is teaching himself to read did it last year, I can meet the challenge with him. If you want an amazing motivational account to follow, Oliver James is it!! I will share some more good Instagram accounts to follow as the year goes on - please share yours too.
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If you want to set your Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge, here are the simple steps:
- Go to the Main Page/Home on your Goodreads page.
- Log in, if necessary.
- Click on the "Join the challenge" banner in the upper left of the page.
- You will be prompted to enter YOUR goal!
- Happy reading and good luck!
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
CHANGES to Book Read Order
Hi, everyone!
As you may have noticed, the order of the ebooks I read has changed. Initially, I was planning to read:
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Change
However, an ARC with a short review time became available so I had to switch gears quickly to read this book. The new ebook was:
The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate
I have finished and reviewed The Queen of Sugar Hill (REVIEW), Now I am going to restart The Phoenix Crown. Thankfully, I was only one chapter when I originally started it on December 17th. Then my holiday break started December 21st with very minimal reading so I am going to start the historical novel completely from the beginning again.
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
REVIEW - The Queen of Sugar Hill ebook
The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate (ebook)
OVERVIEW
This was the first book that I have read from the prolific author ReShonda Tate who was unknown to me! I was impressed and need to read more of her books going forward.
The was a historical fiction novel based on the life of Hatte McDaniel. It is a thought-provoking and powerful story about an amazing woman. Hattie was bright, multi-talented (she sang, acted, and danced), and an Academy Award winner. This is her story told in the first person which made a compelling read!
This novel erased so many of my beliefs that Los Angeles (my hometown) was not segregated in the 20th century and was a haven for Blacks which is what I was taught as a child. So many stories in the book totally disproved my previous mindset. I am so saddened, convicted, and horrified by it all. But most especially since I did not know this continuing issue in Los Angeles history, I was shocked when colorism and racism reared their ugly head again with Los Angeles City Councilmembers in 2022. Now, I won't be shocked again. But we can be the change - we have a lot of work to do in this beautiful city, but we can and will do it!
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars
Writing: 4.0 stars
This is Hattie McDaniel's story told in the first person. From what I could ascertain, the author was very true to the life of Hattie McDaniel, her life experiences, and how she REALLY lived her life. It was a fascinating read and to read it in first person was great! The author writes strong prose with great descriptions, interesting dialogue, and fantastic peeks into Hattie's thoughts.
Character development: 4.0 stars
The main character is Hattie McDaniel. She was an actor and performer from the young age of six and progressed to winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Gone With The Wind). One would have thought that she would have become a significant star as she was the first Black individual to ever win an Academy Award, period. Buckle up and get ready for a very bumpy ride as this novel plays out!
Hattie had a large circle of close personal friends, husbands/lovers, and Hollywood friends. They were the secondary characters. But there were a lot of secondary characters as is normal in a historical fiction novel.
The tertiary character is the Hollywood power establishment of white male studio executives, white actors, and various Black groups such as the NAACP and sororities.
Storyline: 4.0 stars
This novel starts when Hattie wins the Academy Award and follows her life through to her death. She was an incredible human being who was the child of former enslaved parents who rose to prominence in the movie and entertainment industry.
The main location was Los Angeles, California.
Memorable/Informative: 4.0 stars
The novel made me actively face the fact that I did not grow up in a utopian, perfect city. Los Angeles has its flaws and ugly history. But, we can, jointly and as individuals, work together to repair this flawed city to make it a place where all are welcome and equal.
Book cover: 4.0 stars
Very pretty and appropriate!
Book title: 4.0 stars
Totally on point!
DEFINITE recommend
EBOOK DETAILS
NetGalley ARC (ebook)
The Queen of Sugar Hill by ReShonda Tate
368 pages
William Morrow
Release date of 01/30/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading! 📚
Dorothea 💜
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