Scan barcode
lorny's review against another edition
2.0
Major props to Daryl Gregory for writing diverse characters, as always, but Harrison Squared was just okay for me.
carol26388's review against another edition
4.0
Review posted permanently (with photos!) at
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/harrison-squared-by-daryl-gregory/
Harrison Squared. Formally known as Harrison Harrison. Or, to be exact, H²×5. Despite some consternation about the name, it is an excellent book. However, followed so quickly after reading [b:Kraken|6931246|Kraken|China Miéville|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320551670s/6931246.jpg|8814204], I will note my suspicions of the order Teuthida. I'm just saying--I'd think twice about visiting the Tentacles exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Or stick with the jellies.
"'There are questions in that book,' the professor said. 'Important questions, buried in page after page of interminable droning. Isn't that always the way, though?'
'I was kind of hoping for answers,' I said.
'You can't have quality answers without quality questions,' he said."
Harrison has decided to accompany his mom on her research trip to Massachusetts. Unfortunately, he's sixteen, which means attending the local school for the month or two the project will take. Harrison has a healthy degree of suspicion for the atmosphere in his (hopefully) temporary school. With good reason: the building looks more like a tomb, there's morning religious services in an incomprehensible language, and the cafeteria ladies are gutting live fish in the back of the kitchen. Action picks up fast, so in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I'll say while it didn't head in entirely unexpected directions, the plotting makes interesting work of intertwining Harrison's past with his present circumstances.
I loved the characters, from Harrison, to the librarian, to Lydia, to Aunt Sel. Told in first person, Harrison's voice is perfect, a blend of naiveté and intellectualism that works perfectly for the child of two scientists. The school staff is suitably odd in vaguely creepy ways. Take Mrs. Velloc, who "seemed to be constructed of nothing but straight edges and hard angles, like the prow of an icebreaker ship... her nose was sharp as a hatchet, her fingers like a clutch of knives." But Mom is a counter-whirlwind of force: "'Thank you,' Mom said. It was the 'thank you' of a sheriff putting the gun back in the holster after the desperados had decided to move along." I worried a little when Aunt Sel appeared--there was so much potential for the trope-ridden clueless adult--but it turned out my worry was completely unnecessary. Aunt Sel was a delight, and most certainly a new role model for me: "For lunch, Aunt Sel refused to consider the food court ('Because all the food has been found guilty'), and led us to a Mexican restaurant attached to the mall, where she could order a margarita."
Mood was spot-on for me, balancing humor and horror, slowly adding tension and then leavening it. I was pleased to note an absence of maudlin sentimentality that I feel so often ruins a young adult book for me. It is fairly comparable to Gregory's novella [b:We Are All Completely Fine|20344877|We Are All Completely Fine|Daryl Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407196510s/20344877.jpg|28350172], in tone and events. Having read that book, it was especially intriguing knowing Harrison's eventual destination, and learning about the road he traveled to get there.
I love Gregory's writing; for me he hits an enjoyable blend of clever description, interesting characters, fun dialogue and nicely paced plotting. I highly recommend reading both Harrison Squared and We Are All Completely Fine.
Just beware the tentacles.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for a review copy.
https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/harrison-squared-by-daryl-gregory/
Harrison Squared. Formally known as Harrison Harrison. Or, to be exact, H²×5. Despite some consternation about the name, it is an excellent book. However, followed so quickly after reading [b:Kraken|6931246|Kraken|China Miéville|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320551670s/6931246.jpg|8814204], I will note my suspicions of the order Teuthida. I'm just saying--I'd think twice about visiting the Tentacles exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Or stick with the jellies.
"'There are questions in that book,' the professor said. 'Important questions, buried in page after page of interminable droning. Isn't that always the way, though?'
'I was kind of hoping for answers,' I said.
'You can't have quality answers without quality questions,' he said."
Harrison has decided to accompany his mom on her research trip to Massachusetts. Unfortunately, he's sixteen, which means attending the local school for the month or two the project will take. Harrison has a healthy degree of suspicion for the atmosphere in his (hopefully) temporary school. With good reason: the building looks more like a tomb, there's morning religious services in an incomprehensible language, and the cafeteria ladies are gutting live fish in the back of the kitchen. Action picks up fast, so in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I'll say while it didn't head in entirely unexpected directions, the plotting makes interesting work of intertwining Harrison's past with his present circumstances.
I loved the characters, from Harrison, to the librarian, to Lydia, to Aunt Sel. Told in first person, Harrison's voice is perfect, a blend of naiveté and intellectualism that works perfectly for the child of two scientists. The school staff is suitably odd in vaguely creepy ways. Take Mrs. Velloc, who "seemed to be constructed of nothing but straight edges and hard angles, like the prow of an icebreaker ship... her nose was sharp as a hatchet, her fingers like a clutch of knives." But Mom is a counter-whirlwind of force: "'Thank you,' Mom said. It was the 'thank you' of a sheriff putting the gun back in the holster after the desperados had decided to move along." I worried a little when Aunt Sel appeared--there was so much potential for the trope-ridden clueless adult--but it turned out my worry was completely unnecessary. Aunt Sel was a delight, and most certainly a new role model for me: "For lunch, Aunt Sel refused to consider the food court ('Because all the food has been found guilty'), and led us to a Mexican restaurant attached to the mall, where she could order a margarita."
Mood was spot-on for me, balancing humor and horror, slowly adding tension and then leavening it. I was pleased to note an absence of maudlin sentimentality that I feel so often ruins a young adult book for me. It is fairly comparable to Gregory's novella [b:We Are All Completely Fine|20344877|We Are All Completely Fine|Daryl Gregory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407196510s/20344877.jpg|28350172], in tone and events. Having read that book, it was especially intriguing knowing Harrison's eventual destination, and learning about the road he traveled to get there.
I love Gregory's writing; for me he hits an enjoyable blend of clever description, interesting characters, fun dialogue and nicely paced plotting. I highly recommend reading both Harrison Squared and We Are All Completely Fine.
Just beware the tentacles.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for a review copy.
rinn's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.
I’ve been flitting about this review ever since I read the book, unsure what to really say about it. So this will probably be a short one!
The premise for Harrison Squared is an unusual one, to say the least. The protagonist, Harrison Harrison (hence Harrison Squared), moves back to the town of Dunnsmouth with his mother, a marine biologist. Having lost his father when he was younger, Harrison is very close to his mother, and after his first day of school in this new town, she goes missing.
Okay, so maybe that doesn’t sound so unusual – a Young Adult mystery tale. But what was so different about Harrison Squared was what inspired it. The stories of H.P. Lovecraft, and his tale of Cthulhu, were obviously great inspirations for Daryl Gregory, and the town has a real Lovecraftian vibe to it. It was so refreshing to read a paranormal Young Adult tale without vampires, without werewolves, but instead with sea creatures as the main element.
It was also interesting to have a protagonist with a disability – Harrison only has one leg. I can’t think of many save perhaps She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgewick. Additionally, I have read so many Young Adult books with female perspectives that it was actually quite nice to read one from a male perspective instead.
I did have a couple of issues with the book. The conclusion was definitely quite rushed, the ‘villain’ felt a little too comedic to present any real threat and the school kids of Dunnsmouth felt a bit Midwich Cuckoo creepy at first, but that soon changed. I think it would have been even better if many of them stayed that way, keeping up the feeling of something within the town not being quite right.
However, this was a good, solid read, with a unique and rather strange premise. Definitely something to delve into if you’re looking for a fresh take on Young Adult paranormal fiction.
I’ve been flitting about this review ever since I read the book, unsure what to really say about it. So this will probably be a short one!
The premise for Harrison Squared is an unusual one, to say the least. The protagonist, Harrison Harrison (hence Harrison Squared), moves back to the town of Dunnsmouth with his mother, a marine biologist. Having lost his father when he was younger, Harrison is very close to his mother, and after his first day of school in this new town, she goes missing.
Okay, so maybe that doesn’t sound so unusual – a Young Adult mystery tale. But what was so different about Harrison Squared was what inspired it. The stories of H.P. Lovecraft, and his tale of Cthulhu, were obviously great inspirations for Daryl Gregory, and the town has a real Lovecraftian vibe to it. It was so refreshing to read a paranormal Young Adult tale without vampires, without werewolves, but instead with sea creatures as the main element.
It was also interesting to have a protagonist with a disability – Harrison only has one leg. I can’t think of many save perhaps She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgewick. Additionally, I have read so many Young Adult books with female perspectives that it was actually quite nice to read one from a male perspective instead.
I did have a couple of issues with the book. The conclusion was definitely quite rushed, the ‘villain’ felt a little too comedic to present any real threat and the school kids of Dunnsmouth felt a bit Midwich Cuckoo creepy at first, but that soon changed. I think it would have been even better if many of them stayed that way, keeping up the feeling of something within the town not being quite right.
However, this was a good, solid read, with a unique and rather strange premise. Definitely something to delve into if you’re looking for a fresh take on Young Adult paranormal fiction.
jameseckman's review against another edition
3.0
While this has the trappings of a Lovecraft story, it really is a YA urban fantasy novel, no cosmic horror here folks! Move along now. That being said, it's a fun, fast read for those who aren't HPL purists. There's obviously a sequel in the works, the ending leaves some easy hooks for the future.
sunsoar25's review against another edition
4.0
Harrison Harrison, H2 to his mom, has been terrified of the water since the age three when a sea creature capsized their boat causing him to lose his leg and his father to vanish. Now, he and his mom have moved to the worst possible place for her to continue her scientific research as a marine biologist, Dunnsmouth, Massachusetts. It's a very small, creepy, and old-fashioned town right on the Atlantic where beyond weird teachers run the school, strange things happen at night, and monsters lie in wait underwater. On their first full day in this town, his mother disappears at sea while on the job and Harrison will do anything to get her back, even if that means crossing a knife-wielding psychopath and coming face-to-face with one of the creatures that live below the water's surface.
I'm so lucky to have won this Lovecraftian horror fantasy with a healthy dose of humor on the side - I'm not sure why I waited so long to actually read it. I greatly enjoyed diving into the eerie world Gregory has created and meeting his characters. Harrison is quite a unique character in so many ways - I haven't met too many like him - plus his narration is engaging and jumps off the page at you. Professor Freytag, the Dunnsmouth Secondary School librarian, is also a real stand out. As much as I liked Harrison and Freytag, however, my two favorites had to be Lub and Aunt Sel. They stole the show from Harrison, which must have been quite a task. The main cast and secondary characters are able to pull off quite a balancing act by injecting just the right amount of humor into an otherwise creepy fantasy that's dripping with atmosphere.
If you enjoy H.P. Lovecraft, I'm sure you'll enjoying getting to know Harrison Harrison. I also expect you enjoy this if you like Welcome to Night Valeand the Wayward Pines series by Blake Crouch. I'm hoping Harrison Squared is the beginning of a new series, although that doesn't seem to be the case. However, it does appear to be a prequel of sorts to Daryl Gregory's We Are All Completely Fine, so I will probably be checking into that book in the future.
I'm so lucky to have won this Lovecraftian horror fantasy with a healthy dose of humor on the side - I'm not sure why I waited so long to actually read it. I greatly enjoyed diving into the eerie world Gregory has created and meeting his characters. Harrison is quite a unique character in so many ways - I haven't met too many like him - plus his narration is engaging and jumps off the page at you. Professor Freytag, the Dunnsmouth Secondary School librarian, is also a real stand out. As much as I liked Harrison and Freytag, however, my two favorites had to be Lub and Aunt Sel. They stole the show from Harrison, which must have been quite a task. The main cast and secondary characters are able to pull off quite a balancing act by injecting just the right amount of humor into an otherwise creepy fantasy that's dripping with atmosphere.
If you enjoy H.P. Lovecraft, I'm sure you'll enjoying getting to know Harrison Harrison. I also expect you enjoy this if you like Welcome to Night Valeand the Wayward Pines series by Blake Crouch. I'm hoping Harrison Squared is the beginning of a new series, although that doesn't seem to be the case. However, it does appear to be a prequel of sorts to Daryl Gregory's We Are All Completely Fine, so I will probably be checking into that book in the future.
hollowspine's review against another edition
4.0
Harrison Harrison the 5th just moved to Dunnsmouth with his mother. She’s a marine biologist and Dunnsmouth is perfect for her research into the Giant Squid. However, by Harrison’s standards Dunnsmouth is far, far, from perfect. For one, there’s nothing in the town, nothing to do. Secondly, even if there were things to do, the kids at school seem to like nothing better than spending their days making nets and singing weird chants in the gymnasium before school. They won’t talk to Harrison anyway.
Then his mom goes missing. She and the Captain she hired to ferry her out on the Atlantic never return and Harrison starts to learn about his family’s previous history in Dunnsmouth. It turns out that Harrison’s dad had been in Dunnsmouth when he died and so had Harrison.
A tale of Lovecraftian horror. I found the Skrimshander aspect of the story especially terrifying and would have liked a little bit more on him and his history. I also enjoyed the twist of the Librarian.
I would recommend this book for those who enjoy the mythos, but familiarity with the works of H.P. Lovecraft is not necessary to fully enjoy the book. For any of us who look at the ocean and see the depths hiding Jaws or tentacles this creepy tale will give us pause to consider before dipping our toes into the water.
There was humor as well as horror to the story, which I enjoyed. I liked Lub and his conversations with Harrison which provided a little insight into the other side of the Innsmouth story that isn’t often portrayed.
Harrison was first introduced as an adult in Gregory’s previous novel, We Are All Completely Fine, but I hadn’t read it and was able to follow this novel just fine, since it’s basically a prequel.
For those who have enjoyed the Russalka chronicles by Jonathan L. Howard or Ben Tripp’s book Fifth House of the Heart.
Then his mom goes missing. She and the Captain she hired to ferry her out on the Atlantic never return and Harrison starts to learn about his family’s previous history in Dunnsmouth. It turns out that Harrison’s dad had been in Dunnsmouth when he died and so had Harrison.
A tale of Lovecraftian horror. I found the Skrimshander aspect of the story especially terrifying and would have liked a little bit more on him and his history. I also enjoyed the twist of the Librarian.
I would recommend this book for those who enjoy the mythos, but familiarity with the works of H.P. Lovecraft is not necessary to fully enjoy the book. For any of us who look at the ocean and see the depths hiding Jaws or tentacles this creepy tale will give us pause to consider before dipping our toes into the water.
There was humor as well as horror to the story, which I enjoyed. I liked Lub and his conversations with Harrison which provided a little insight into the other side of the Innsmouth story that isn’t often portrayed.
Harrison was first introduced as an adult in Gregory’s previous novel, We Are All Completely Fine, but I hadn’t read it and was able to follow this novel just fine, since it’s basically a prequel.
For those who have enjoyed the Russalka chronicles by Jonathan L. Howard or Ben Tripp’s book Fifth House of the Heart.
nilchance's review against another edition
3.0
Prequel of Gregory's We Are All Completely Fine. Unfortunately, I feel like We Are All covered more emotional and character ground at a much shorter length. The story is somewhat constrained by the fact that it is a prequel and so you know certain events will occur. But when I'm reading this and thinking "I wish I was reading the novella right now," there's something off.
Aunt Sel was awesome, though.
Aunt Sel was awesome, though.
sarathebibliophagist's review against another edition
3.0
Let me preface this review with two things:
#1: I have not read any Lovecraft.
#2: I have not read We Are All Completely Fine.
Does this make a difference in my opinion of the book? Probably. But I don't think it's too much of an issue, because no background information is necessary to understand what's going on.
Harrison Harrison, or H², has just moved to Dunnsmouth, MA with his marine researcher mother. It doesn't take him long to realize that something's a bit off with the locals. Not only is the high school probably the weirdest place he's ever been, but the students all look the same, speak some kind of silent language, and attend the same creepy church services. To top it all off, there's no connection to the outside world, what with there being no cell phone signal or internet service in the area.
Shortly after arriving in Dunnsmouth, Harrison's mother disappears in a freak accident similar to the one that took Harrison's father (and Harrison's leg) when he was just a small child. A whole host of interesting characters come into play as Harrison searches for his mother, determined to prove the local police wrong and uncover the conspiracy that's clearly lurking within Dunnsmouth.
As a story, Harrison Squared is just fine. I can't say it wowed me, but I can't say that I disliked it, either. I found it hard to connect with most of the characters and couldn't help but feel that something was missing throughout. Had it been a little creepier, or a if there was something more nefarious going on, I might have enjoyed it more. I actually felt that the ending was a bit of a letdown.
But that's not to say that this is a bad book. It's actually very well-written when it comes to language and how the plot flows. Unfortunately, this just wasn't the right book for me at the time that I read it.
And like I said before, maybe if I were a big Lovecraft fan, or if I'd read We Are All Completely Fine, I would have enjoyed it more.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy.
[see all my reviews at the bibliophagist]
#1: I have not read any Lovecraft.
#2: I have not read We Are All Completely Fine.
Does this make a difference in my opinion of the book? Probably. But I don't think it's too much of an issue, because no background information is necessary to understand what's going on.
Harrison Harrison, or H², has just moved to Dunnsmouth, MA with his marine researcher mother. It doesn't take him long to realize that something's a bit off with the locals. Not only is the high school probably the weirdest place he's ever been, but the students all look the same, speak some kind of silent language, and attend the same creepy church services. To top it all off, there's no connection to the outside world, what with there being no cell phone signal or internet service in the area.
Shortly after arriving in Dunnsmouth, Harrison's mother disappears in a freak accident similar to the one that took Harrison's father (and Harrison's leg) when he was just a small child. A whole host of interesting characters come into play as Harrison searches for his mother, determined to prove the local police wrong and uncover the conspiracy that's clearly lurking within Dunnsmouth.
As a story, Harrison Squared is just fine. I can't say it wowed me, but I can't say that I disliked it, either. I found it hard to connect with most of the characters and couldn't help but feel that something was missing throughout. Had it been a little creepier, or a if there was something more nefarious going on, I might have enjoyed it more. I actually felt that the ending was a bit of a letdown.
But that's not to say that this is a bad book. It's actually very well-written when it comes to language and how the plot flows. Unfortunately, this just wasn't the right book for me at the time that I read it.
And like I said before, maybe if I were a big Lovecraft fan, or if I'd read We Are All Completely Fine, I would have enjoyed it more.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy.
[see all my reviews at the bibliophagist]
bibliotropic's review against another edition
4.0
The somewhat meta-prequel to We Are All Completely Fine, Harrison Squared tells the story that Jameson hinted at in WAACF, the story of his childhood experiences in Dunnsmouth, where he discovered that there’s more to the world than the mundane. I say meta-prequel because in We Are All Completely Fine, Jameson admits to having written about his experiences in the form of fiction, changing his name from Jameson Jameson to Harrison Harrison. Fiction disguised as fact disguised as fiction, and this approach from Daryl Gregory doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. This could be considered a prequel, or an in-universe novel, or both.
This is what you get when you read Gregory’s novels. Something to make you think, something that isn’t quite what you expect and that challenges expectations. It’s one of the reasons why I love reading his work.
This book is pretty short, a nice quick read, and between this and the protagonist being a teenager in high school, it could easily be classed as YA. I’m not entirely sure it isn’t, but it doesn’t really feel like it, at least to me. Maybe it’s because it’s the prequel to a much darker novel, maybe it’s because the publisher has its own YA imprint and this book wasn’t published through them, I don’t know. Either way, there’s enough crossover here that fans of both YA and adult fantasy can find something to like here, especially when their interest falls to Lovecraftian fiction.
It’s an interesting mystery that Gregory crafts here, at first seeming like Harrison’s problem will lie in figuring out why everyone at his new school are so weird (and that goes beyond the typical teenager definition of weird; most teenagers don’t have coded finger-tapping communication, attend classes on how to reanimate frogs using a car battery, or spent morning assemblies chanting in a strange incomprehensible moaning language), progressing to solving the mystery behind his mother’s disappearance. Those who have read We Are All Completely Fine will see bits and pieces of everything Jameson talked about, from Dwellers to the Scrimshander. This was a double-edged sword, since while it was interesting to see how the character encountered all these concepts and people, in the end it felt almost as though the author was trying to shoehorn as many of them in as possible. They did all play a part in the plot, at least, but it still started to feel a bit cramped with references by the end.
Still, it’s a fascinating and complex story that Gregory builds, layers upon layers of little points of interest that could have been done away with — such as fingercant — without changing the story much at all. But its their presence that adds realism to the dark fantasy, which I always love to see. People are always more complex and varied than the stories they take part in; Gregory has been excellent at expressing this in prior works, and this is no exception. The bad guys are not always people who the protagonist dislikes, and the good guys are not always the ones who instantly flock to the golden boy. They’re not always intensely dedicated to one goal and one alone. And you don’t always seen everything of them during the course of the story. There were characters with stories that I very much wanted to see elaborated, particularly within the group of teens who weren’t so keen on the cult-like activities of Dunnsmouth’s adults. There’s another host of novels (or at least a large collection of short stories) in those characters, and I’d love to read them. Gregory really has the knack of making people on pages feel real and expansive.
I can definitely recommend Harrison Squared to those who read and enjoyed We Are All Completely Fine. That much I’m sure of, and those who read the sequel first will probably appreciate the references and tie-ins. Those who haven’t read it, though, I think will probably think that this is definitely a decent book but probably won’t appreciate it as much as those who have stepped into the mythos beforehand. Some of the fun was in seeing what connected things to We Are All Completely Fine, and though it functions perfectly well as a standalone novel, I do recommend reading the two books together. They make a much more comprehensive picture together, complementing each other well, and the experience is better for it.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
This is what you get when you read Gregory’s novels. Something to make you think, something that isn’t quite what you expect and that challenges expectations. It’s one of the reasons why I love reading his work.
This book is pretty short, a nice quick read, and between this and the protagonist being a teenager in high school, it could easily be classed as YA. I’m not entirely sure it isn’t, but it doesn’t really feel like it, at least to me. Maybe it’s because it’s the prequel to a much darker novel, maybe it’s because the publisher has its own YA imprint and this book wasn’t published through them, I don’t know. Either way, there’s enough crossover here that fans of both YA and adult fantasy can find something to like here, especially when their interest falls to Lovecraftian fiction.
It’s an interesting mystery that Gregory crafts here, at first seeming like Harrison’s problem will lie in figuring out why everyone at his new school are so weird (and that goes beyond the typical teenager definition of weird; most teenagers don’t have coded finger-tapping communication, attend classes on how to reanimate frogs using a car battery, or spent morning assemblies chanting in a strange incomprehensible moaning language), progressing to solving the mystery behind his mother’s disappearance. Those who have read We Are All Completely Fine will see bits and pieces of everything Jameson talked about, from Dwellers to the Scrimshander. This was a double-edged sword, since while it was interesting to see how the character encountered all these concepts and people, in the end it felt almost as though the author was trying to shoehorn as many of them in as possible. They did all play a part in the plot, at least, but it still started to feel a bit cramped with references by the end.
Still, it’s a fascinating and complex story that Gregory builds, layers upon layers of little points of interest that could have been done away with — such as fingercant — without changing the story much at all. But its their presence that adds realism to the dark fantasy, which I always love to see. People are always more complex and varied than the stories they take part in; Gregory has been excellent at expressing this in prior works, and this is no exception. The bad guys are not always people who the protagonist dislikes, and the good guys are not always the ones who instantly flock to the golden boy. They’re not always intensely dedicated to one goal and one alone. And you don’t always seen everything of them during the course of the story. There were characters with stories that I very much wanted to see elaborated, particularly within the group of teens who weren’t so keen on the cult-like activities of Dunnsmouth’s adults. There’s another host of novels (or at least a large collection of short stories) in those characters, and I’d love to read them. Gregory really has the knack of making people on pages feel real and expansive.
I can definitely recommend Harrison Squared to those who read and enjoyed We Are All Completely Fine. That much I’m sure of, and those who read the sequel first will probably appreciate the references and tie-ins. Those who haven’t read it, though, I think will probably think that this is definitely a decent book but probably won’t appreciate it as much as those who have stepped into the mythos beforehand. Some of the fun was in seeing what connected things to We Are All Completely Fine, and though it functions perfectly well as a standalone novel, I do recommend reading the two books together. They make a much more comprehensive picture together, complementing each other well, and the experience is better for it.
(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)
ranaelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
This was delightful, so much so that I wished that there was a sequel. I want more of H2!