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Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
For a work that was first published in 1998 Daughter of Fortune strikes me as something more suited to the 1970s. Don’t get me wrong, I love Isabel Allende’s work and she is one of my favourite authors, however, at the risk of coming across as an oversensitive zillennial, her mystification of China struck me…
1830s, 1840s, 1850s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, ADOPTION, Adult, adventure, America, California, chile, Chilean American author, China, class, daughter of fortune, doctors, drama, FAMILY SAGA, favourite authors, female authors, GRIEF, heavy on telling, HISTORICAL FICTION, ISABEL ALLENDE, latin america, latin american, latinx author, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, MELODRAMA, miscarriage, orphans, pregnancy, problematic, prostitution, published in 1998, road trip, ship, slow pacing, survival, TRANSLATED FICTION, travel, unrequited love, voyage -
The Rebellious Tide by Eddy Boudel Tan
This is one of those rare cases where I genuinely feel bad for not liking a book. The more I read The Rebellious Tide, the less I liked it. Yet, I really tried to pretend otherwise. Having loved Eddy Boudel Tan’s debut novel (it moved me to tears, something that does not happen often to…
2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, canadian author, cheesy, class, Contemporary, cruise, drama, Eddy Boudel Tan, fathers & sons, gay, Greece, Italy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m, male authors, Mediterranean, MELODRAMA, myths, netgalley, published in 2021, queer, read in 2020, sea, ship, The Rebellious Tide, voyage, weak prose, work culture -
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
“A smart Teek survives the storm, but a wise Teek avoids storms altogether.” It took me awhile to warm up to Black Sun and during its first half I worried that I would find myself once again in the ‘unpopular’ opinion camp. As I’d read and liked Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning I was hoping…
3.75 stars, 3rd pov, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, between earth and sky, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black Sun, disabilities, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, gods, great storytelling, high fantasy, indigenous, lgbtq+, MAGIC, morality, myths, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, non-binary side characters, political intrigue, pre-Columbian inspired setting, prophecies, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, Rebecca Roanhorse, ship, voyage -
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
“That’s the problem with summoning demons, you see. Sooner or later somebody else raises them against you.” Readers who enjoyed Stuart Turton’s previous novel will probably find The Devil and the Dark Water to be a far more captivating read than I did. While I personally was not enamoured by The Seven Deaths of Evelyn…
17th century, 2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, British author, cat and mouse, curses, DETECTIVE, HISTORICAL FICTION, Indonesia, ISLAND, male authors, MURDER, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, netgalley, Netherlands, published in 2020, read in 2020, sea, ship, Stuart Turton, SUSPENSE, The Devil and the Dark Water, THRILLER, voyage -
Crossings by Alex Landragin
Alex Landragin has written an ambitious tale, one that begins with the following line: “I didn’t write this book. I stole it.”This prologue, written by a bookbinder, tells us of how this manuscript has come to be in his hands. The manuscript in question comprises three seemingly separate books: ‘The Education of a Monster’ written…
18th century, 19TH CENTURY, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, adventure, Alex Landragin, books about books, books about writers, Charles Baudelaire, Crossings, FRANCE, French Armenian Australian author, HISTORICAL FICTION, interconnected stories, interesting structure, ISLAND, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, on a ship, plot over character, published in 2020, read in 2020, ROMANCE, sea, star-crossed lovers, story within a story, travel, voyage, Walter Benjamin, WWII
luce [is reading] 