ARC Review – LairOfBooks

Spoiler Free Review: A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Title: A House With Good Bones

Author:T. Kingfisher

Pub. Date: March 28th 2023

Genre: Gothic Horror/Paranormal

Format: eARC

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Pages: 247

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆

╰☆☆ “𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝.” ☆☆╮

This is now my second T.Kingfisher (the first was Nettle & Bone) and I’m quickly surmising that this author can’t be boxed into just one genre. Genre blending authors have all my respect (think Silvia Moreno-Garcia), if done well you just know you’re in for a wild ride. This southern Gothic Paranormal story is centered around a house that seems to be haunted by our MC’s racist grandmother. Sam Montgomery is an entomologist returning home to visit her mom in North Carolina, her brother has given her the heads up that their mom is acting a little funny. When she arrives, she isn’t met by the warm wallpaper and cozy vibes her mother is known for. Instead, she sees plain white walls and finds a jittery version of her mom who startles easily and can’t stop looking over her shoulder. One thing hasn’t changed, her grandmothers prize-winning rose bushes. However, Sam’s whole life is the study of insects and what she doesn’t see in her mother’s garden is a single bug in site. With enough red flags to get her going, Sam begins digging for answers all the while noticing the crows circling the house at all hours of the day.

This one is a bit slow paced up until the 60% mark at which point you realize that it’s intentional. I don’t think I would’ve been as genuinely creeped out for Sam and her mother if it weren’t for how Kingfisher slowly makes the haunting seem real. I actually stopped my read overall since it was the book I chose to take with me to the mountains and I kid you not, I did not sleep well that night startling at every single creak of the wood floors. The ambiance in the book is perfection and our MC is comes across as relatable, easily someone you’d know in real life. She’s witty, funny and has a pretty cool relationship with her mom. All Sam wanted to do was come home with a box of wine and spend time with her mom on the couch solving murder mysteries on tv. What she gets instead is a haunted house and a slew of paranormal encounters thanks to the racist grandmother who has a tight grip on the house and her mom. The last 40% of the book revs up the paranormal aspects and the revelations will make your skin crawl. I honestly feel this is one author that has written books for every reader, I’m enjoying making my way through their backlist. A dedicated post ranking my favorites is definitely in the future.

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Spoiler Free Review: Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson

Title: Ramón and Julieta

Author:Alana Quintana Albertson

Pub. Date: February 1st 2022

Genre: Contemporary Romance/Latinx

Format: eGalley

Publisher: Berkley Books

Pages: 304 pages

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆╮

Characters: 7/10 Atmosphere: 10/10 Writing Style: 7/10 Plot: 10/10 Intrigue: 0/10 Logic/Relationships: 5/10 Enjoyment: 7/10

Rating: 46/6.5 = ☆☆ 3 Stars☆☆╮

Rating system created by The Book Roast

╰☆☆ 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐨́𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫-𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. ☆☆╮

I’ve been waiting what seems all my life for a taco lovers romance so it was without a doubt a must read when I saw this title make its rounds. We have our modern day Latinx Romeo and Juliet who are literally from opposite sides of the bridge in San Diego, specifically Barrio Logan. A community that has for a very long time been home to many Mexican-Americans who try to preserve the rich culture. There’s so much to appreciate and love in this book, from the respect given to Dia De Los Muertos to the emphasis placed on discussing Gentefication (not to be confused with Gentrification) and its trickle down effects. The neighborhood comes to life with mom and pop shop owners who take great pride in their Cultura and watching over one another. Ramon comes from the other side, born and raised wealthy he is a business man who works alongside his dad for a large chain of taco shops. Julieta owns a small fish taco shop alongside her mom where she is the chef and prides herself In authentic Mexican cuisine. This is a predominantly plot driven Contemporary Romance that delivers thought provoking social commentary from a Latinx perspective. Readers who enjoy their romance storylines with some external layers as contributing factors in the romance would enjoy this. What’s to love? taco wars, cheesy over the top declarations of love that in turn induce cheesy smiling, Latinx small business owners protecting their turf, BIG families with lots of siblings, aunties, and cousins and a backdrop filled with so much culture that you feel like you’re walking down Barrio Logan.

I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not the biggest fan of insta-love so it was rather early on that I started to struggle a bit with the romance aspect of this book. That being said, there’s SO much to love that made this a book I wanted to finish. I got invested in Barrio Logan so deeply that I was rooting for the shop owners to rally up and find a way to stay where they’ve worked so hard to grow roots. Gentefication, a term that was new to me up until I read this book, is the gentrification of neighborhoods by the very same people who live in it. Our love interest Ramón would be considered a Gentefier as a Mexican-American from across the bridge who has interest in Barrio Logan. Our characters are from two very different socioeconomic classes and it does prove challenging in their story arc. I kind of hoped to see more gradual character development but overall the pacing for this and the romance was what I struggled with. If the romance had been a bit better developed, I wouldn’t have minded what felt like over the top cheesy moments heaped with terms of endearment too early on. What I loved about their romance? the scenes we got with Ramon genuinely taking interest in the community and Julieta’s life. I loved seeing two MC’s who are very passionate and invested in what they do. Scenes at the taco shop where they’re both cooking were some of my favorite. Latinx stories with large families are my bread & butter, Julieta’s mom and many aunts were fun to meet on the page. I was actually hoping that we’d get more from Julieta’s mom and Ramón’s father since there is a back story there. We also got some page time with Ramón’s brothers who I see potentially getting their own story arcs. I’m very curious to see if there are more stories with these characters and if so, who the next couple would be! So, count me in for this author’s next book 😉

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Spoiler Free Review: Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart

Title: Witches Steeped in Gold

Author: Ciannon Smart

Pub. Date: April 20th 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Format: eGalley

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 544 pages

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eGalley provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review, all quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release

This Jamaican-inspired Young Adult Fantasy follows two enemy witches who must form an alliance in order to take down the Queen. The Obeah ruling family (Iraya’s people/natural born magic) has been killed and their people enslaved by the Alumbrar (Jazmyne’s people/Use of magic via Conduits.) Jazmyne happens to be the Queen’s daughter, only she doesn’t agree with how the Queen rules the people and hopes to overthrow her and take up the throne. Jazmyne is active in a rebel group plotting to eliminate the Queen when she hears of Iraya having survived her parents assasination. The last remaining heir of the previous ruling family, Iraya is a witch who was born with natural powers. See, in this world there are two ways to come about magic and that’s either through conduits to syphon it OR you’re naturally born with it. We first meet Iraya at the start of this story as she sits in jail plotting her vengeance on the Alumbrar Queen and whoever else played a part in killing her loved ones. Jazmyne plans to utilize Iraya to kill her mother, Iraya plans to allow herself to be used whilst carrying out a plan of her own.

I’ll preface my thoughts by saying that I am not an Own Voices reviewer for this story however I do encourage you seek them out. Joel from FictionalFates on Booktube gave it a 5 star rating and is an Own Voice reviewer for the Jamaican representation. I gave this a 3 star rating which means I enjoyed many aspects however there were a few things I wish had been ironed out. The world building is where I struggled quite a bit and that isn’t because of its complexity, I love my Fantasy to be meaty and in depth. However, the first half of this book doles out a ton of information and I felt it threw off the pacing. I’ll admit to even being confused for about 40% of the story while trying to take notes. The magic system is very interesting considering magic is attainable through other means if you’re not born with it. We don’t really get to see them in action much since the Obeah’s abilities are being surpressed by the Alumbrar. Some of the history that lead to the suppression of Obeah magic doesn’t get explained till much later in the story. Also, the Obeah aren’t the only people seeking to overthrow the Queen so there are a few power pieces on the board closing in on her that I would’ve liked to see more of. There’s a ton of plotting, scheming and double dealing which I happen to love in my Fantasy reads. There are characters who have good intentions but end up losing themselves along the way, I did enjoy Iraya’s POV more than Jazmyne. However, by the end of the story Jazmyne managed to get my attention back as I wondered what fate awaits her. All in all, I’m looking forward to the sequel and seeing if these characters can coexist.

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