Monthly Archives: July 2019

Book Review: Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

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pride prejudice and other flavorsPride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
by Sonali Dev
Contemporary Fiction / Retelling
481 pages
Published May 2019

This is yet another Pride and Prejudice retelling, as evidenced by the title. It seems to be a popular thing to do of late, but they’ve all been very good, so I’m not complaining! This one, more than the others, really deconstructed the story and put it all back together in a unique way.

Probably the biggest change here is that while Darcy is still a man with a younger sister and no other family, the roles of the two families have been switched. Darcy is the poor one, and Trisha (Lizzie Bennett) is the rich one. Wickham still plays the villain, though in a slightly different manner, and Darcy is not the friend of Trisha/Lizzie’s elder sister’s beau. (Though the elder sister does still have romantic problems!)

I really liked the swapped roles; it made for a radically different plotline than the story it’s based on. What I did not like is the lack of sparks between DJ/Darcy and Trisha. They butted heads like they should, but unlike the original and most of the retellings, I didn’t feel the underlying sexual tension. Trisha seemed more enamored of DJ’s cooking than of DJ, and I don’t know what DJ saw in Trisha at ALL.

The author also kept pulling me out of my immersion in the story with her repeated use of “XXXX” was what I WANTED to say, but of course I didn’t say it, instead I simply replied “YYYY.” Just – over and over, with multiple characters. I appreciate you’re trying to show us what they’re thinking vs. what they’re saying, but change it up.

I did enjoy the book overall; I love seeing other cultures take on this trope, from the Pakistani Unmarriageable to the Brooklyn African-American Pride, to this mix of Indian-American and British-Indian. I think Unmarriageable was my favorite of these three, but it really was excellent.

So this was good, but not outstanding.

From the cover of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that only in an overachieving Indian American family can a genius daughter be considered a black sheep.

Dr. Trisha Raje is San Francisco’s most acclaimed neurosurgeon. But that’s not enough for the Rajes,  her influential immigrant family, who have achieved power by making their own nonnegotiable rules:

  • Never trust an outsider
  • Never do anything to jeopardize your brother’s political aspirations
  • And never, ever defy your family

Trisha is guilty of breaking all three rules. But now she has a chance to redeem herself. So long as she doesn’t repeat her old mistakes.

Up-and-coming chef DJ Caine has known people like Trisha before, people who judge him by his rough beginnings and who place pedigree above character. He needs the lucrative job the Rajes offer him, but he values his pride too much to indulge Trisha’s arrogance. And then he discovers that she’s the only surgeon who can save his sister’s life.

As the two clash, their assumptions crumble like the spun sugar on one of DJ’s stunning desserts. But before they can savor the future, they need to reckon with the past . . . .

A family trying to build a home in a new land.
A man who has never felt at home anywhere.
And a choice to be made between the two.

Book Review: The Tiger At Midnight

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tiger at midnightThe Tiger At Midnight
by Swati Teerdhala
Young Adult / Fantasy
484 pages
Published April 2019

I’m posting this during AnthroCon; I thought it was fitting given the nature of the royal family’s magic; they can turn into humanoid animals. Or complete animals. I’m not actually completely clear on that point. It’s not explored much in this volume, but I think it will be in the next book.

The Tiger At Midnight as the first in a fantasy trilogy, set in two countries. The two countries were founded by two fraternal twins. They bound themselves to the land, and that blood bond has to be renewed every… year? some period of time – by the rulers of the two countries – a woman from one royal family, and a man from the other. In this manner the countries have been prosperous for centuries, until about fifteen years before this book begins. There was a coup against the queendom. The royal family was slaughtered, and the military has propped up a king since then. In the ensuing years, that country has begun to deteriorate; there have been droughts, animal attacks, forests have gotten darker and more dangerous – the bond is dying with no royal blood to sustain it. The other country can only sustain it so long before it will start affecting them, too.

So this is the setting. There’s rumors of a lost princess, but how much of that is truth and how much is foolish hope is yet to be determined. Into this strife we have Esha, a rebel also known as The Viper. The Viper is a mythical assassin who everyone thinks is a man, mostly because the imposter king disenfranchised his country’s women, so obviously someone so accomplished must be a man. Kunal is a soldier raised by his uncle who can’t remember his father at all, and only knows that his mother was one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting who died in the coup. Kunal, the only one who realizes The Viper is a woman, winds up chasing her across the country, and the cat-and-mouse style of their chase makes up most of the book and is incredibly entertaining. The two are well-matched in skills and wits, and the way they spark off each other is great. Every time he catches up to Esha, she pokes another hole in his belief system, and Kunal begins to see how much the soldiers have been lied to about what is happening out in the country they are fighting for.

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding here, and I really hope the glimpse we saw of the royal family’s magic gets expanded on in the rest of the trilogy. It is otherwise a pretty low-magic world; there are no wizards or spells or enchantments or anything. The dichotomy of the two kingdoms is interesting, and I can’t wait to see if they can salvage the bond to the land somehow, or reforge it. But the next book isn’t due out until 2020 and doesn’t even have a title yet!

This is a great action-oriented Young Adult light fantasy book, with a touch of romance, politics, and just a pinch of magic. Highly recommended!

From the cover of The Tiger At Midnight:

A BROKEN BOND. A DYING LAND. A CAT AND MOUSE GAME THAT CAN ONLY END IN BLOODSHED.

ESHA is a legend, but no one knows. It’s only in the shadows that she moonlights as the Viper, the rebels’ highly skilled assassin. She’s devoted her life to avenging what she lost in the royal coup, and now she’s been tasked with her most important mission to date: taking down the ruthless General Hotha.

KUNAL has been a soldier since childhood, training morning and night to uphold the power of King Vardaan. His uncle, the general, has ensured that Kunal never strays from the path – even as a part of Kunal longs to join the outside world, which as been growing only more volatile. 

Then Esha’s and Kunal’s paths cross – and an unimaginable chain of events unfolds. Both the Viper and the soldier think they’re calling the shots, but they’re not the only players moving the pieces. As the  bonds that hold their land in order break down and the sins of the past meet the promise of a new future, both rebel and soldier must make unforgivable choices. 

Drawing inspiration from ancient Indian history and Hindu mythology, the first book in Swati Teerdhala’s debut fantasy trilogy captivates with electric romance, stunning action, and the fierce bonds that hold people together – and drive them apart.

Friday 56 – Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

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pride prejudice and other flavorsThe Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. The rules are simple – turn to page 56 in your current read (or 56% in your e-reader) and post a few non-spoilery sentences.

This week’s quote is from Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, an Indian-American retelling of Pride and Prejudice.

“I thought you wanted to be thrown at men. Weren’t you biting my head off earlier about withholding good butt from you? Seriously, what’s wrong? Didn’t you see him and his . . . oh! – ” Her eyes went round, and she let out a squeak of delight. “You got the grant!” She threw her arms around Trisha.

There, was that so hard? That’s all Trisha had wanted. She let Nisha squeeze her tight, the irritation inside her melting away. Then again maybe it was this pulav. She shoved another spoonful into her mouth. It was seriously the best thing she had ever tasted. She thought she knew rice. She’d grown up eating rice. But this . . . this was like an explosion of familiar flavors doing an entirely unexpected dance in her mouth.

Book Review: Superman: Dawnbreaker

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superman dawnbreakerSuperman: Dawnbreaker
by Matt De La Peña
Young Adult / Superhero
288 pages
Published March 2019

Update: it has come to my attention that Matt De La Peña has been accused of sexual harassment. I was not aware of this when I wrote this review. It has generally been my policy to NOT separate art from artist unless the artist is no longer profiting from the work. I will not be reading any more of his books.

I mulled over which book to review today – it’s the Fourth of July, or Independence Day if you’re in the United States. I think the only superhero more all-American than Superman would be Captain America, but it’s Superman that I recently read! This is the fourth in the DC Icons series, all of which I have now reviewed. It started with Wonder Woman, then moved through Batman and Catwoman before culminating in Superman. All four books have been written by popular young adult authors, from Leigh Bardugo to Marie Lu to Sarah J. Maas. Superman went to Matt De La Peña, who I had not actually heard of before. He apparently wrote a book called Ball Don’t Lie that was made into a movie in 2011, and another book titled Mexican Whiteboy. What I’m trying to say is that De La Peña’s Hispanic background makes him a perfect choice for this book. Because whatever else can be said about Superman, his is the ultimate immigrant story.

And this book not only tells Superman’s immigrant story, but deals heavily with immigrant issues around him as well. Smallville is deliberating a new law that is basically stop-and-frisk; Hispanic people are going missing; undocumented immigrants are getting beaten in the streets. Clark is rightly horrified, and vows to get to the bottom of the disappearances.

The book is very timely, and I like what it says about one of our country’s greatest fictional heroes. It reminds me of Justice League: Gods and Monsters, in which Superman is the son of General Zod, and was raised by illegal Mexican immigrants instead of the all-American Kents. (It’s a fantastic animated movie, and well worth watching.)

Lex Luthor makes an appearance, and for a while I thought Clark’s best friend, Lana, was a stand-in for Lois, but Lois is mentioned ever-so-briefly late in the book.

This is the fourth and final book in the DC Icons series, and taken as a whole, they’re quite good. I wish they were a little more entwined with one another, but I understand that would be difficult with four different authors. But they are a very neat re-work of the four characters’ origin stories.

From the cover of Superman: Dawnbreaker:

HIS POWER IS BEYOND IMAGINING.

Clark Kent has always been faster, stronger – better – than everyone around him. But he wasn’t raised to show off, and drawing attention to himself could be dangerous. Plus, it’s not like he’s earned his powers . . . yet.

BUT POWER COMES WITH A PRICE.

Lately it’s becoming more difficult to hold back and keep his heroics in the shadows. When Clark follows the sound of a girl crying, he comes across Gloria Alvarez and learns that a dark secret lurks in Smallville. Turns out, Clark’s not the only one hiding something. Teaming up with his best friend, Lana Lang, he throws himself into the pursuit of the truth. What evil lies below the surface of his small town? And what will it cost Clark to face the truth about his past as he steps into the light to become the future Man of Steel?

BEFORE HE CAN SAVE THE WORLD, HE MUST SAVE SMALLVILLE.

Library Loot Wednesday

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Two fiction books, two nonfiction books, and a graphic novel this week, for a total of five.

I’ve checked out Song of the Dead, sequel to Reign of the Fallen. It somehow snuck past me when it came out in January, but a friend mentioned it on Twitter and reminded me I hadn’t read it yet! The other fiction book is Sorcery of Thorns, involving a library, demons, and sorcery.

The first of the two nonfiction books is The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals. I’m still trying to unpack some things from the move, and I want to have an organized house! The second is The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World. I’ve spoken before about my prepper tendencies when it comes to climate change – this book speaks to that part of my brain. I also put it on my Summer TBR list last week.

batwoman elegyLastly, I picked up the graphic novel Batwoman: Elegy. I’m pretty excited for the new Batwoman CW show, and as she’s canonically lesbian, I thought it would be a good, quick Pride Month read.

TTT – Childhood Favorites

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Childhood Favorites. I had to go hunting to find the covers I remember from the 80s on most of these. I was a horse-and-dragon girl, so that’s what most of these books are!

The books that aren’t horses or dragons are books my parents read to us before bed every night. We worked through some advanced books and series this way.

misty of chincoteagueOne of my all-time favorites, and one that’s on my mind lately, is Misty of Chincoteague. My uncle gave me all of Marguerite Henry’s books, which I still own. This actually came up recently because the Beebe ranch from the book actually burned last week. All the horses were safe, but that’s a part of history up in flames.

Continuing in the horse topic, I devoured the Black Stallion books (and specifically The Island Stallion). Loved those horses.

The last horse books on this list are the Golden Filly series by Lauraine Snelling, a middle-grade series beginning with The Race. They follow a girl jockey as she fights to race her family’s horses and then through her father’s fight with cancer. I don’t know what happened to my copies – I may have given them to a cousin – but I loved them, all ten books.

On to the dragons!

jeremy thatcher dragon hatcherJeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher is a book I actually don’t remember much about other than I remember loving it. I should re-read it.

forbidden doorThe Forbidden Door is a book I spotted in a grocery store checkout line (I know!) and somehow convinced my mother to buy. Two children find a dragon at the back of a seacave, crying because he can’t get back through the door to his own world. They’re able to open the door, and find themselves in a land of dragons, where the young dragon turns out to be a prince. Similar to Narnia, time moves differently on different sides of the door, and the kids go in and out of it a few different times. Loved that book.

dragon's baitThe last of the books I personally read, Dragon’s Bait still occupies a magical place in my memory. It focuses on a girl ostracized from her community on suspicion of being a witch. They stake her out for the dragon, who finds her, shapeshifts into a boy, and offers to help her get revenge. Looking back on it now, this book helped form a lot of my desires in a partner. (Which is slightly messed up, as the dragon-boy is…not a very moral person.) I had this book out from the library in my early teens, and then years later finally figured out which book it was and bought myself a copy.

Books that I loved as a child because they were read to me:

I don’t remember in what order my parents read these books to us. So in no particular order:

little house on the prairieMom read us the Little House on the Prairie series – we had a box set, and I remember pretending to be Laura at my grandparents’ log cabin in the winter. I definitely dressed up as a Pioneer girl one year for Halloween.

hobbitDad read us the four-book Tolkien saga, but The Hobbit is the one I really remember. It definitely started my love of fantasy. And perhaps dragons. (That might have also been Disney’s Sleeping Beauty though.)

anne of green gablesThe second series my mother read to us was Anne of Green Gables. I don’t actually recall a lot about the series, but it still occupies a comfort-food like space in my brain.

lion witch and wardrobeLastly, Dad read us most, if not all, of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even though looking back at them, they’re rather heavy-handed on the Christian metaphors, they were still a childhood favorite.

Well that was a trip down Memory Lane, and I want to dig Dragon’s Bait out of my moving boxes and re-read it now!