Author Archives: Goddess in the Stacks

Book Review: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

by

2

gentleman's guide to vice and virtueThe Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue
Mackenzi Lee
YA Historical Fiction
513 pages
Published 2017

This was excellent! First, all the diversity here – between the bisexual main character, his best friend, who is biracial, has an “invisible” disability, and also likes men (or at least likes Monty!) and his seemingly asexual sister – the book covers so many facets, it’s great.

Given that it’s historical fiction, set in Victorian Europe, Percy’s biracial heritage has him just seen as black to most people they encounter. Monty doesn’t seem to understand what that means, most of the time, and is a little blinded by his rich white boy privilege. He gets talked to a couple of times about how he’s being blind to the problems his friend is facing.

I liked that we got to peek under Monty’s playboy facade a few times, when being punched has him flashing back to being beaten by his father for being a “disappointment.” An interaction between him and a pirate captain was particularly sweet, teaching him to fight back because he’s worth defending.

I LOVE Felicity, Monty’s sister, and I’m really eager to read her story in the sequel to this book, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. She is so badass, and incredibly intelligent.

The writing was fun, the action well-paced, and the dialogue clever. I was a little put off at first by the size of the book, but I flew through it quickly. I especially liked Monty’s bisexuality – how he just cheerfully perved on practically everyone his age. It definitely reminded me of a few people I know!

Something that I noted, near the end of the book, was Percy not asking Monty to stop his perving. What he said was “if you ever go behind my back…” which implies as long as Percy knows, it’s not an issue. Yay for non-monogamy being present in YA! It’s nice to see alternative relationship structures being presented, though I wish it had been more than just implied.

This was an excellent read for Pride Month, and I loved the amount of diversity and intersectionality present in it. You can find the rest of my Pride Month reads listed here.

From the cover of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue:

Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions – not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men.

But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy.

Still, it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Library Loot Wednesday

by

1

gentleman's guide to vice and virtueI picked up a couple of books for Pride Month this week – The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, which I’ve seen rave reviews about, and Ellen DeGeneres’ third book, Seriously….I’m Kidding. I haven’t actually read her other two!

hero at the fallI had one other hold come in, the third in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy, Hero at the Fall. So I’m excited to finish that!

My husband spotted a book on the stacks (I bizarre romancekind of purposefully wasn’t looking, I have enough to read already!) that was intriguing enough to take with us. It’s called Bizarre Romance, and it’s a collaboration between a married writer and artist – thirteen stories about “oddballs in love.” Some of the stories are prose and some of them are comics, so it should be a fairly quick read.

That’s all I picked up this week, another small week. I’m starting to make some headway on my library books!

TTT – Books I Did Not Finish

by

4

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is supposed to be Ten Books I Decided Not to Finish Too Soon – but given that I very, VERY rarely decide not to finish books, I’m just going with Ten Books I Didn’t Finish.

The Essex Serpent – I read the first two pages of this and went “Nope. This prose is beautiful and artsy and flowery and there’s no way I can read this book.”

I won Demon Hunting With a Sexy Ex via a Goodreads Giveaway, so I checked the first one out from the library – Demon Hunting in Dixie – and tried to read it. Then the “hero” of the story assaults the heroine three times in the first thirty pages of the book, ending with forcing an orgasm on her in the back of her flower shop while she’s resisting him. NOPE. DONE. I am not cool with those lack of consent issues. (He kisses her the first time, resulting in her running him off WITH A SHOTGUN. Then he starts foreplay with her WHILE INVISIBLE AND SHE’S ASLEEP because she was just “so sexy he couldn’t resist her.” No. Disgusting.)

What the Dead Leave Behind – I started it but it just didn’t hold my attention. Some writing styles just don’t.

The Cooking Gene – I had this from the library but this is one I think I need to own and consume in small sections. I just didn’t have time to absorb it properly from the library.

Fifty Things You Need to Know About World History – Bought on my Kindle. Should probably finish reading, since I only got through the first two sections. I don’t remember anything about those two sections.

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires behind the Rise of the Radical Right – Interesting book, from what I read. Like The Cooking Gene, probably a book I should own and read in small sections. A lot of the heavier nonfiction is like that.

The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: the story of the African Americans who have fed our first families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas – I didn’t get further than the first page. I regret that. But it was a library loan and I just had so much other stuff to read.

St. Patrick of Ireland – Philip Freeman – WAY too Christian-centric and “those eeeevil pagan worshipers” and I almost threw it across the room. Forget that. Like, St. Patrick was obviously a hugely Christian-centered story, but I’d expected the book to be a little more objective, not “obliterate their pagan religions because they’re eeeeeevil.”

A Very Private Woman – Another Writing Style issue. It put me to sleep. Biographies are hit or miss with me – some are fascinating, some put me to sleep. There’s rarely any middle ground.

I know that’s only nine, but that’s all I could come up with for books I haven’t finished! I usually force myself to finish books even if I don’t like them, so this was pretty hard to scrounge up.

 

Book Review: The Dirty Girls Social Club

by

0

the dirty girls social club

The Dirty Girls Social Club
by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Contemporary Fiction
308 pages
Published 2004

So in trying to read more inclusively, I had been looking at some prominent minority writers like Junot Diaz or Sherman Alexie (I actually had one of Alexie’s books out from the library when I realized where I’d heard his name). When the news broke about Junot Diaz, and I remembered that Sherman Alexie also had sexual harassment accusations against him, I decided instead of reading their books, I’d look up the books of the women calling them out! The Dirty Girls Social Club is the first book of what I’m calling my “Wronged Women” list. Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez wrote an article titled “I tried to warn you about Junot Diaz” about her experience with him. Others on the list include Erika Wurth, Elissa Washuta, Zinzi Clemmons, Carmen Maria Machado, and Monica Byrne. I’ve built a shelf on Goodreads for my list, and I’m sure more names will wind up on it. (Unfortunately.)

The Dirty Girls Social Club is the story of six college friends who decide to meet every six months for the rest of their lives, no matter what. The book covers one six month period, from one meeting to the next. It took me a few chapters to sort out who was who, and throughout the book I occasionally had to flip back to the first chapter, where Lauren gives a rundown of names and professions. All six are Hispanic of some flavor, whether that’s Dominican, Puerto Rican, Colombian, Spanish, or Southwestern Native American. That’s why they banded together in college. Each one has her own storyline – dealing with an abusive marriage, leaving a loveless marriage, being forcibly outed as a lesbian and learning to adjust to her new visibility, or becoming a rock star. I enjoyed how each of the six had a very individual story; they have interesting jobs and complicated love lives and unique problems.

Each of the women reflects on her Hispanic heritage in some form, whether that’s taking lessons in how to love from their parents, or fighting for recognition for their minority, or writing columns about their lives for the local newspaper. The book both shows and tells us about the differences in various Hispanic cultures.

I especially enjoyed Amber/Cuicatl (the rock star) and Elizabeth (the lesbian). The rest of the book was a little slow going at times, but I think that’s largely because I’m not a fan of contemporary fiction. I did enjoy it, though, and I’ll probably check out more of the author’s books.

From the cover of The Dirty Girls Social Club:

Meet the Dirty Girls – Lauren, Sara, Amber, Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Usnavys – six friends whose mutual support and (mostly) admiration society sorts out and celebrates the complications and triumphs in each other’s lives. No matter what happens to each of them (and a lot does), the Girls dish, dine, and compare notes on the bumpy course of life and love. There’s always a lot of catching up to do.

Sunday Funday

by

0

Well. We were planning to go to an Air Show today; it’s been years since I saw the Blue Angels perform, and my husband and his friend have never been to one. (My father was nuts for airplanes, so I was drug to a bunch of air shows as a kid/teenager.) Buuuuuut it appears to be raining all day today. So I’m staying home and finally reading Red Clocks (it’s due tomorrow!) They haven’t decided whether they’re going or not, but I know my husband is leaning towards no.

In other news, The Washington Capitals won their hockey game last night, so they’re up 2-1 in the Stanley Cup series! I know very little about hockey, (my game of choice is American football) but it’s always fun watching sports games with people that actually care about the game, and my friends sure care! So watching the game was a lot of fun, and I’ll probably be joining them to watch Monday as well!

Book Review: To Kill a Kingdom

by

0

to kill a kingdomTo Kill a Kingdom
by Alexandra Christo
Fantasy
352 pages
Published March 2018

I really enjoy books that take mermaids (or sirens, in this case, as mermaids exist but are something different in this world) and turn them back to their murderous roots. Adding in Cthulhu-esque horror made Into the Drowning Deep especially fascinating. To Kill A Kingdom didn’t have much horror – it took the fantasy adventure/quest route instead.

The book alternates between the viewpoints of Princess Lira, the siren known as the Prince’s Bane, and Prince Elian. Their name is at the start of each chapter that is written from their viewpoint, but it’s small and easily missed. I wish it was in a larger, more obvious font, because I kept having to flip back a few pages to figure out who I was reading.

I loved seeing the character growth of Lira as she comes to know the humans, and realizes there is another possibility besides just following her mother’s brutal orders. She learns, watching Elian’s people follow him, that there is a way to inspire loyalty rather than compel it by magic and brutality.

Lira definitely shows more character growth than Elian does, and the book never really explains how Elian gets past the fact that she’s killed so many princes.

The beginning of the book was also a little slow – I actually set it aside for a couple of weeks while reading other things and worried a little that I was never going to pick it up again. Worried because I don’t usually not finish books unless they’re terrible, not because I actually wanted to find out what happened. I didn’t get invested in the characters until probably about halfway through the book. Books usually catch me far before that point.

So – it was okay. If you want predatory mermaids, I would recommend Into the Drowning Deep long before this one. Though if you want more fantasy with a touch of romance, and less horror, then this is probably the book you want. Just be warned it takes some time to hit its stride.

From the cover of To Kill a Kingdom:

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most–a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. 

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby–it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good–But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?