bookaquarius's reviews
70 reviews

James by Percival Everett

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

“I am the angel of death. Come to offer sweet justice in the night.” 

I finished James by Percival Everett this morning and it was a five star read. Per the publisher’s synopsis, this story is a “reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.” Everett’s vision for James and the new twists he added to this adventurous and harrowing story added depth, complexity, and intrigue while sticking with the kind of absurd & unbelievable undercurrent was really something.  Mind you, I hated some of the possible implications in this book! There are suggestions that aren’t really answered clearly and have just left me ruminating and twisting and uncomfortable with the not knowing what the author actually thinks. But I also loved so much of the subversion of the original story; the bold display white supremacy’s hypocrisy, perversion, and violence; the moments of dark humor; and the thread of compassion that in its own way twisted the original story into something new and more interesting. I’m coming away from this thinking about how we can come to know so much, and know more than anyone expects of us, and still not even be scratching the surface of the bigger picture. This is one of those books that makes me wish I had a book club because there are layers to unpack!! Everett is, in fact, one of the best story tellers I’ve read in a long time.

I wish I could say what I needed to say about Huck but it’s spoilery so just know that THAT specific change to the original story… Percival, you ate. 

P.S. Dominic Hoffman narrates the audio and it was fantastic! Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I finished The Phoenix King and I enjoyed it overall but think the entire book could have been better if there was more balance. The vast majority of what made the story interesting happened in the second half (revelations, betrayals, the main characters meaningfully interacting, etc.). If more of this was introduced earlier it would have been much stronger. Even so, I’m glad I have this Indian-inspired SFF book another shot and actually made it to the part where there is fire magic. 

Thoughts 💭 : 

I liked the fire magic and how ominous the scary fire pit was. I wish there had been more to the fire magic and what it can do but maybe that will be more prevalent later in the series! I liked the attempt at subverting the usual reluctant heir storyline as well. However. Despite taking place in the in the center of a powerful kingdom, there aren’t really any complex politics. The political goals of the POV characters are vague, and we don’t get a POV from a political challenger which I think made it frustrating by the time we got to the big reveal. Elena (aka the complainer) has no real motivation behind anything she does beyond wanting power and believing she’s a god. She has no introspection. Lack of clear motivation was a hindrance to the character development in this story writ large. The author was trying so hard to keep her secrets for *big reveals* that it left the characters feeling underbaked until suddenly they one by one revealed their true intentions at that third. If this was more balanced with some deeper thoughts and interactions in the beginning it would have elevated the characters ten fold for me. The POVs did not interact nearly enough, everyone is just constantly along with their thoughts and it made the relationships seem shallow and not as meaningful as we were told in the end. Overall good, needs some development! 

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I made it through Daughter of the Forest and I really enjoyed it! We follow the protagonist from childhood into adulthood as she goes on a long, arduous journey to save her 6 brothers from a terrible curse. The beginning starts off rather slowly as we learn about Sorcha and her brothers’ lives at Sevenwaters, the land owned and stewarded by her family. There’s a prolonged war with neighboring Britons, and a legacy of violence between the two people. As dark and emotional as it was (and it really really was), it also definitely had a lot of spring/summery cottage vibes because of the magical forest filled with mystery and various forest folk. The protagonist also has a talent for gardening so it was a beautiful landscape to imagine. 

As for the story, Ms. Marillier does not pull punches. The protagonist gets dragged through it! Like, she did not catch a single break up until the end and even in that moment she was still struggling. I found myself really invested in her story as I was reading but at times I needed long breaks because it became harder to pick up when I knew our girl would be getting knocked down unbelievably harder each day 😭. It read like a dark epic fairytale and was ultimately a rewarding read. The romance even read a bit like a fairy/folk tale in the sense that it’s the reward for the journey, not necessarily what you see the whole way through. I liked how it was handled and that it was a relationship that allowed Sorcha to stay true to herself.

As for one of the content warnings, I disagree with statements I’ve seen that the assault was not graphic or in any way not fully on page. Everyone is different, and for me it was a highly detailed and graphic scene. It’s the first half of Ch 6. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit and War

Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi

challenging emotional funny sad fast-paced

4.0

The last chapter of this interlocking short story collection had me googling “Kansas hospital debt jail” just to double check I didn’t miss a chapter in real life. 😮‍💨 I love a good speculative twist! 

Anyway, per the synopsis: “Nigerian author Omolola ljeoma Ogunyemi makes her American debut with this dazzling novel which explores her homeland’s past, present, and possible future through the interconnected stories of four fearless globetrotting women. Moving between Nigeria and America, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions is a window into the world of accomplished Nigerian women, illuminating the challenges they face and the risks they take to control their destinies.” 

This was a quick read and very engaging! I was so caught off guard by the last chapter but in hindsight it made so much sense. I thought this part was risky and fun and bold. 

The author and the main characters of this story are Nigerian, and whenever I read from non-American authors who write about America I always feel like I’m eavesdropping on a conversation happening in another room. But I just can’t move away because I’m so curious what they will say! Will it be fair? Will it be spiteful? Do they see the same problems I see? Do they love it or hate it more than me? It always makes me curious lol. I liked reading how the four main characters’ stories overlapped and diverged going from America to Nigeria to several other places and back. This short collection also jumped around in time mostly from the 80s/90s to modern day in a seamless way. Despite the short length, so much history was packed in to each character so there was so much material to unpack with each chapter. I was also surprised and intrigued by the short vignettes from side characters in and around the lives of the four main women. 

If you’re looking for a short story collection definitely pick this up! I think this one gives a nice balance of contemporary fiction and speculative fiction so it will appeal to a broad range of readers. 

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

5.0

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.

I think I’m going to DNF (not finish) Faebound. I made it 40% of the way in and I don’t think it’s going to get better from here for me. This book made me too aware of one of the main issues in the fantasy romance subgenre—authors lack the ability to balance both elements and end up shoving it all together in nonsensical ways. You don’t have to have a fantasy element and romance element in every single scene to prove they’re both there. We read the synopsis, we know. The romance works better when you give the fantasy plot some room to develop on its own and don’t throw in completely out of place “they made eyes at each other” moments just for the sake of it. It will still be a fantasy romance if they’re not witnessing a murder and then ogling someone’s physique in the literal same paragraph. Let’s think about chapters hun!! I also was not enjoying how the characters were reacting to allegedly major events. A lot of it was out of proportion and made it seem a bit silly. Okay and this last thought is kind of petty but “the forever war” … okay. 

I do think this book has some interesting elements that people will enjoy, such as multiple romantic pairings to follow, animal companions, and (just a guess) secret heritage plot lines. 

Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire by Jennifer Bing, Mike Merryman-Lotze, Jehad Abusalim

challenging informative

“In April 2016, Professor Chomsky again sent a dozen of his books. However, the Israeli authorities had stopped all mail to Gaza. They claimed that armed groups were getting materials that could be used for military purposes. I didn’t think that the draconian Israeli ban would apply to books for children, linguists, and anyone interested in literature, but I was wrong. That confirmed to me that Israel was waging a deliberate and systematic attack on Palestinian learning by depriving the people of knowledge.”

“Exporting Oranges and Short Stories: Cultural Struggle in the Gaza Strip” by Mosab Abu Toha, Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire.

I finished Light in Gaza over the weekend and it was a great collection of work. There were essays on history, culture, & personal stories, as well as interludes of poetry. A lot of the essays one, two, or several decades at the impact war and occupation has had on the region and the people. It’s really incredible (as in defying credulity) how without the year explicitly mentioned, readers would not be able to tell if some of the events discussed were in 2004 or today. 

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“I want my life—my death—to matter more than that.”

I read Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar and I’m having mixed feelings! “Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past….” I think it’s undoubtedly a great book. I didn’t love it but I liked it. It’s artistic, and dark, and sardonically funny, and gross, and confusing. It lost me a bit in the middle when I was struggling to overcome my judgement of Cyrus, but I was refreshed when I realized his supporting character, Zee, noticed it too. I went out of my comfort zone with this one; it was almost uncomfortably real. I suppose I appreciate the surrealism at the ending now that I’m reflecting on how bleak the main story got. Besides the more obvious themes (e.g., martyrdom, whether life & death can ever mean enough, if art can actually heal anything or if it’s just something to pursue relentlessly when it feels like there’s nothing else that really matters) something that comes to mind is how this book made me recoil at the way we tend to reduce our parents to characters in the stories of our own lives, and never manage to fully appreciate the scope of their lives before us or during us. I think Cyrus’s pathological self-centeredness highlighted this. 

I’ve read so many theories about the ending and I don’t yet know what I want to believe. From death, to self inflicted death, to reconciliation, to metaphorical earth-shattering perspective shifts, to happiness, to the apocalypse, there’s obviously a lot of different perspectives from readers on this one. This unexpected last couple chapters led me to perhaps the most critical question I will ever encounter as a reader: Do I like open endings or do I hate them, actually? 

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I read A Tempest of Tea and to be honest, it wasn’t a great read for me. The plot was fine—a group of people team up to complete a mission, not everyone is who they say they are, and everyone’s a comedian. I think the world building could have been stronger and none of the characters was as interesting as their internal monologues seem to tell us they were. At times it seemed like every character had an assigned personality trait and that was all they were. I wish they were more well rounded because with everyone sticking to their Thing, they fell kind of flat at times. 

The last quarter of the book was the most interesting by far! There were reveals and new questions that far outweighed all of the drawn out set up at the beginning. The set up leading to the heist, the heist itself, and the immediate fallout all pale in comparison to the amount of intrigue and plot development shoved into that final bit. I wish the heist had been over with way earlier so we could have gotten more of the intrigue introduced at the end. The final quarter was the section where characters finally started getting a bit more interesting and the true plot started clicking. But something about this still seems imbalanced, because it shouldn’t have taken so long to get there. 

And one part of the story was so distracting… Everyone’s breath kept catching every time they made eye contact. Or their skin flushed or they got flustered or their stomach fluttered. Like some characters barely made it through a conversation without thinking to themselves how attractive the other person was. Aren’t you going to jail soon?? Isn’t your home in a pile of ashes right now?? Stand up! Everyone was too ridiculously distracted by crushes to be in the middle of a government take-down operation. There are bigger things to worry about and y’all are courting!!