Category: Fiction Page 124 of 348

Another novel from Matthew Hanover means another chance to ask him a few questions–I’ve been looking forward to sharing this with you–it’s a little look behind the curtain, a little insight to his process. I enjoyed this, I hope you do, too.

And remember–it’s publication day for Not Awkward–go get yourself a copy. And if you haven’t yet, grab Not Famous and Not Dressed, too!

I remember seeing you tweet about working on Not Awkward and Book 4 at the same time. How was that process? Was it the kind of thing you’d do again, or was that a special set of circumstances?

It was a very confusing time, to be honest. I’d had the idea for Not Awkward since before Not Dressed was complete, and I wanted to start… but it took me a long time to really get into it because shortly after Not Dressed was published, the pandemic hit. For some reason, that just made it very difficult to get into a creative writing state of mind. So, when I found myself in that place, I’d come up with the idea for my fourth novel, and it came in a torrent, and I felt the best thing to do was to just let myself write whichever novel I was inspired to work on at any given time. Eventually, Novel #4 eclipsed Not Awkward in word count, though eventually, I had to focus on Not Awkward alone.

I used to think it would be impossible to write two books at the same time, but the more I write, the easier it is to switch lanes and just get absorbed in one story or another. In fact, I’ve already written a small amount for Novel #5, and anticipated getting a jump on it as I complete #4.

So in the Not-verse, or Alli-verse, or whatever you’re calling it, you’re scattering characters from the previous novels in the next. Is that something you plan before you start to write—or do you just get to the point where you see an opportunity to bring back someone and go for it? In particular, I’m thinking of [redacted], who readers may look at differently than they did before after her pivotal role here. How long were you sitting on that?

I honestly hadn’t considered writing novels in a shared universe until late in the writing of Not Famous when I was nearly finished and hated the idea of leaving those characters. The problem was that I didn’t want to write a sequel because I felt Nick and Alli’s story had reached a point where I’d taken it as far as I could. But, writing separate novels in a shared universe allowed me to offer little glimpses into characters’ lives outside of their primary story, while also allowing for each novel to stand on its own.

Not Awkward is about the road not taken (or the road you’re shoved off of). Sure, Leila and Scott were in pretty good places when we met them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to check out the greenness of the grass on the other side of the fence. Is this Matthew Hanover working through some stuff? Waxing philosophical? Or is it just the byproduct of telling Leila and Scott’s story?

In Not Awkward, the main character, Scott, learns that his ex-girlfriend’s father has passed away, decides to go to the funeral, and ends up staying for a few days and a whole bunch of things happen. Rest assured, I’ve never been in such a situation. However, the idea for this novel came to me after I found out that a college girlfriend’s father had passed away. It did take me a long time to get over that relationship, and I never would have considered going to his funeral (in fact, I found out well after the fact) but it did get me thinking about a lot of “What ifs” and I could tell there was a story in that. There are other biographical elements in the story, but very much fictionalized. But, truthfully, I got over her many, many years ago.

One thing I picked up from reading your novel is just how bad a job Tropper’s Foxman family was at sitting Shiva. How do you approach something so important, so sacred to many, and yet use it for entertainment purposes? I imagine it’s tricky—did you go into it saying “I’ll play with this part of it, but not that part?”

Honestly, it never really occurred to me that a shiva might be problematic. I needed a reason to keep Scott around for multiple days, and a shiva just worked out beautifully. Of course, Leila’s family, the Rosenfelds, are very different from the Foxmans. Leila is an only child, while the Foxmans are four adult children of a dysfunctional family. Judd Foxman also got to tell their story as an insider, as Scott was more an outside observer trying his best to not be a distraction and failing miserably. I felt the best thing to honor the Jewish traditions was to have them explained for those who may not be familiar with them.

Speedcubing, eh? Where did that come from for Charlotte? How are you with a Rubik’s Cube?

This was pure serendipity. I’d always seen the character of Charlotte, Scott’s fiancée, as being uber smart and socially awkward, and I’d been trying to think of some kind of quirk that spoke to that. And I kept coming up stuck. Then, I happened to watch “The Speed Cubers” on Netflix, and was totally blown away at how there are people who can solve the Rubik’s cube in a matter of seconds. And I thought, “That’s it!” and then I researched the hell out of speedcubing, and the more I found out, the more it was clear this was just perfect for the character of Charlotte.

As for myself, I remember having a Rubik’s cube when I was a kid, but solving it was something I never accomplished. Sadly, I lack the patience and discipline to learn the algorithms necessary to solve it!

Not to take the focus off of Not Awkward, but what’s the timeline for #4? Are you still wrapping it up, or have you moved on to what’s next? Care to tease anything?

It’s actually been a few months since I worked on it, but it currently sits at around 23,000 words. So, it has a long way to go. While I’m not ready to discuss plot points, I can say that my next two novels will be focusing on characters in their late 30s and early 40s, not their 20s like my first three novels. I’m ready to focus on stories of people in a slightly later stage of life.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these—and for Not Awkward—I had a blast reading it and hope it finds its audience.

PUB DAY REPOST: Not Awkward by Matthew Hanover: Moving On by Looking Back

By HCNewton

On August 24, 2021

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Matthew Hanover

I’m very excited to bring this back to the attention of my readers today. Mark me down as a big Matthew Hanover fan, and this book will show you why. I wrote this about the draft that I read as a beta reader, so the one that’s on sale today is surely a little different. I’m looking forward to seeing what the final product is like—I know it’ll be a good one. Be sure to come back a little later, I’ve got a Q&A with Hanover coming up.

Not Awkward

by Matthew Hanover
Series: Wallflowers, #3

Beta Version
2021

Read: May 9-18, 2021

What’s Not Awkward About?

I’m assuming I’m not the only one who finds themselves in a situation like this—I halfway expected to find a Jeff Murdock monologue about this, but alas… You go to an event of some kind because of family obligation, an acquaintance, your Significant Other’s employer—not because you really want to, but you feel you should. Once there, you stay an adequate amount of time and try to make your excuses and leave. But the host or someone talks you into staying for a little longer, and a little longer after that. While you may not be actively hating the experience, you’re certainly not enjoying yourself much and are looking for an opportunity to make a tactful exit.

This is pretty much the situation that Scott finds himself in. But rather than a birthday party for your second cousin you haven’t seen in a decade, Scott finds himself as a guest at his ex-girlfriend’s house while they sit shiva for her father. Recently fired and about to get married, Scott felt like he should go to the funeral for the man who always treated him so well. One thing led to another and Leila’s mother compelled him to stay for a night, which turns into another, and another…

Scott’s fiance, Charlotte, is off for a bachelorette’s week with his sister and Charlotte’s closest friend, Quinn. So there’s nothing for him to go home to, and he can search for jobs from Leila’s as well as anywhere. So he sticks around as emotional support (and/or emotional punching bag, depending on Leila’s understandably shifting moods require), and finds himself with an opportunity to get the closure he didn’t realize he needed and maybe even an explanation for why she dumped him out of the blue six years ago. Or maybe, something else will end up happening between the two.

Speedcubing

A few months ago, one of the local newscasts had a feature about an area resident who used to take part in Rubik’s Cube competitions on a pretty high level, it looked back on his competitions and “does he still have it?” No, he doesn’t. But he’s still faster than at least 96% of anyone who’s ever solved one.

So when we learn that Charlotte is a speedcuber, going to competitions, posting videos to social media, my mind immediately went back to that and I was in. Most readers aren’t going to have that particular background, but Charlotte’s hobby (for lack of a better word, but it’s not quite right) is going to make her stand out in readers’ minds—how often have you come across a character who does that? What I appreciated most about the Rubik’s cube thing is that was it starts out as a character quirk, but by the end, Hanover finds some thoughtful things to do with it—revealing something about the character (and a little more).

The Sister Factor

A mistake that readers like me can make is to think they’ve figured out all a writer’s moves, I really thought I had a handle on the role of “protagonist’s sister” in Hanover’s books. So when Quinn shows up pretty early, I sat up and paid attention to her. Which is when I noticed that Quinn is going to serve another role in this novel. She’s not an antagonist, but she’s certainly an obstacle for both Charlotte and Scott to overcome.

She’s been best friends with Charlotte since childhood—and try as she might, she’s still having trouble shifting from being Charlotte’s best friend to her best friend and brother’s significant other/future sister-in-law. I wasn’t entirely sold on this particular arc, but it helped us get a different look at Scott and his love life, and in the final third or so of the novel, it really paid off.

Along the same lines, Hanover hasn’t given us a protagonist’s brother before. I really didn’t care for this one—but I wasn’t supposed to*, he was written in such a way that it’d be hard to like him at all. But Scott and Quinn having an older brother is a new dynamic for Hanover and it works pretty well.

* And I won’t even get started about his wife.

The Interconnectedness of It All

In Not Dressed, Hanover alludes to a couple of characters and events from Not Famous, but here in Not Awkward he goes a lot further—the characters and events actually show up in the text. Sure, it’s done in such a way that people who haven’t read the other books won’t be short-changed when it comes to understanding this novel. But if you have read them, you’ll appreciate the way that Hanover has woven them into these pages.

It’s a great way to make a reader smile when they recognize something. But better, it’s a fantastic way to touch base with characters from one of those books. “Oh, look X got engaged.” Or “hey, Y and Z will be working together.” We also get to see characters like that in a different setting and from a different perspective. Rather than having to go through the bother with writing a whole new novel about one of Not Dressed‘s characters, with a few scenes in this (that move the plot along and help us understand Scott better), we see that character in a whole new light and it may change what you think of some parts of that other book.

Again, I stress—if you haven’t read his other novels, or if you don’t remember the details, it won’t matter at all.

Eep! A Conservative!

There is a character in this book who is a political conservative who works in politics (in more of the pre-2015 mold, I should stress), but this is a non-political book. The fact that they are conservative is mentioned a few times, and two (I think—no more than three) positions are mentioned. There are no debates, explanations, or arguments for the positions.

I mention this only because in our current climate, a lot of readers (from all over the political spectrum) run for the hills when politics come up. There is no need for that here—it’s brought up occasionally, but not in any kind of detail. No political position is ever endorsed or supported, or discussed in any kind of depth.

So, what did I think about Not Awkward?

While this is a lighter read, as is the norm for a “lad lit” novel—it’s not as funny as Hanover’s earlier works. That said, there are a couple of moments that are comedic gold. Slap-stick humor is difficult to pull off in print, but Hanover makes it look fairly effortless.

At at least three points in this novel, I assumed I knew how the rest would play out, “Oh, it’s going to be ____ kind of a story.” And I was wrong each time—thankfully. Instead, Hanover has given us a different kind of story than he has in the past, a subtler one, a more mature one.* One still infused with his trademark warmth, heart, and appeal. But there’s more going on, there’s a little ambiguity about some things. Experience is making a better author out of Hanover.

* Although I would have been satisfactorily charmed and entertained by the kind of story he’s given us before.

There were aspects of the story or characters that I wasn’t crazy about—but I’m not going to get into that at this point, because I don’t know what will happen to those things between the beta stage and the final version (although I was told about some directions he was going and that made me feel better). Maybe I’ll update this when the final version is out—maybe I won’t, we’ll see how much I care once it hits. But whatever quibbles I might have had, that’s all they were, quibbles. And they paled in comparison to the novel as a whole.

Because I wanted to think carefully about this novel, I wouldn’t let myself read more than 10-15 percent of it a night. That was hard. I wanted to read the whole thing in one sitting—and easily could have. I literally had to force myself to stop reading each time I picked it up so I could send my feedback and do other things. But I wanted to keep going, I had such a great time with these characters, this story, and Hanover’s writing.

Somewhere in there is Hanover’s secret—no matter what dumb, reckless, obnoxious, or (have to say it) awkward thing his characters do, you like them. You can’t help but do so. Scott said a couple of things in the first chapter that really made me wonder if I wanted to go through an entire book with him. By the third, I was pulling for the guy. This goes for Leila, too—not only did she break Scott’s heart six years ago, but she didn’t even tell him why. But in no time flat, you’re hoping she’s doing okay after her father’s death and you feel bad for the situation she finds herself in. If it’s bad enough that she talks Scott into sticking around…

And I’ve gone on far too long here. I need to wrap things up.

Not Awkward is a warm and heart-filled story about revisiting the past, finding healing (whether or not you thought you needed it), and embracing a future that doesn’t look like you expected it would (and is probably better). It’s the kind of book that’ll make you feel a little better about life for a while—and who doesn’t want to read something like that?

4 1/2 Stars

Quote of the Moment: from Burned by Benedict Jacka

By HCNewton

On August 23, 2021

In Alex Verus, Benedict Jacka, Books, Fiction, News/Misc., Quotations, Urban Fantasy

I’m not sure why, but since I listened to these paragraphs last week, I’ve come back to them a few times. Sure, Gildart Jackson’s narration was part of it, but I just really liked this. We tend to focus on plot, magic systems, characters, and whatnot–but it’s the little moments like this that really make a book stand out. They don’t advance the plot, they don’t really reveal a lot about the narrator, but they shed a little light–adding flavor to someone we know.

from:

Burned

by Benedict Jacka
Most people in the world don’t travel much. In a lot of cases, it’s because they just don’t want to. Either they don’t have any real interest in seeing other places, or they’re too occupied with the life they’re living already. But for a lot of people, it’s not a case of not wanting to, it’s that they can’t—either they don’t have the time or the money, or there’s something actively preventing them from leaving. When you’re in that second group, you usually have fantasies about getting to travel and see the world, visiting different cultures and having new experiences. There are people who spend their whole lives dreaming about journeys overseas.

So it’s really kind of sad that once you finally do get to spend a lot of time travelling, you tend not to appreciate it very much. Take me, for instance. I’ve visited more countries of the world than I can easily remember. I’ve even visited places not in this world, from bubble realms to shadow realms to the dreamscapes of Elsewhere. I’ve stood upon the tops of towers and looked out over castles the size of cities, walked through ancient forests where the trees have passed hundreds of years without hearing a human footstep, seen impossible alien landscapes that could never exist on Earth. Unfortunately, in pretty much every one of those cases, I’ve generally had more pressing concerns to worry about either there are people trying to kill me, or people who might want to kill me, or things that aren’t people that might want to kill me, or people or things that don’t necessarily want to kill me but nevertheless are important enough that it’s highly advisable for me to pay attention to them instead of spending my time sightseeing. Usually the place I’m visiting becomes a blur, a few brief images standing out in my memory while I spend my time dealing with various threats and problems. And by the time they’re all sorted out, it’s time to move on.

Reposting Just Cuz: Robert B. Parker’s Fool’s Paradise by Mike Lupica: Jesse Stone takes a Murder Case Personally

By HCNewton

On August 23, 2021

In Fiction, Jesse Stone, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker

Robert B. Parker’s Fool’s Paradise

by Mike Lupica
Series: Jesse Stone, #19

eARC, 352 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2020

Read: September 2-3, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Fool’s Paradise About?

Suitcase Simpson calls Jesse to the scene of a murder, an unidentified man has been found shot at the lakeshore. Jesse recognizes the man—they’d been at the same AA meeting the previous night. It’s not Jesse’s regular meeting, and he didn’t think this man was a regular, either. But at least they had a first name to go off of.

Suit is able to find out at least a little about what the man did after the meeting. He’d taken a taxi from the neighboring town into Paradise. He even had an address—the mansion of a rich and influential family who’d been in Paradise for ages. They’re quick to claim they didn’t know the man, or that he’d been at the house in the hours before he was shot. No member of PPD believes this, but there’s little they can do until they learn a bit more about the victim.

Jesse admits this isn’t entirely rational—but doesn’t back off from it—the fact that he and the victim came to the same meeting, both needing the help that can be found there, created a link for between the two of them. Jesse felt like he owed this man justice more than he would another victim (not that Jesse’s ever been known to not try to find justice for anyone, it’s just personal this time). I loved this little touch—it felt very true to the character and his circumstances, but something that a lot of authors wouldn’t do.

Not long after this, someone takes a shot at Jesse while he’s in his home. Soon, other members of the PPD are attacked off-duty. As always, Jesse, Molly, and Suit acknowledge that coincidences exist, but they have a hard time believing in them. So while they try to identify the murder victim and figure out what he’s going in Paradise (and that part of Paradise in particular), they also need to figure out why someone would be attacking the PPD. And are the two cases related?

A Nice Little Bonus

There’s a lot of Molly in this book. She gets whole chapters without Jesse in them, and a lot of space on her own in chapters with him. We get a little bit of an off-the-job look at Molly, as well as seeing her work part of the investigation. Yes, Jesse’s the central character and should be the focus—but any time that Lupica (or whoever) can flesh out Molly, Suitcase, or any of the others is time well spent (I like the new deputy, too—he was a nice touch). But Molly’s been a favorite since Night Passage introduced this world, and she’s rarely been used as well as the character should’ve been. It’s so nice to see that.

Lupica’s Take on Jesse Stone

I was worried about Lupica being given the reins of this series. I was such a fan of what Colman had done, saving the series from the Michael Brandman debacle—and even from some of the uneven quality that Parker had given toward the end.

But Lupica did exactly what he needed to do—and exactly what I’d hoped (and didn’t expect). He embraced the developments that Coleman introduced and built on them. He could’ve ignored them, or written around them, but he kept Jesse going to AA, he worked on the new relationship with Cole, and Paradise and the Paradise Police Department the same way Coleman had, treating that bit of the series with as much respect and influence as the first nine novels.

Stylistically, Lupica’s closer to Parker than Coleman—which makes sense, it’s the more natural way for him to write (and will likely win back some of Coleman’s detractors). It works for the series, it works for the author—all in all, it’s a good move.

I freely admit that I was skeptical and pessimistic about anyone but Coleman at the post-Parker helm of Jesse Stone and am glad to be proven wrong.

Something I was Pleasantly Surprised By

While I have thought in the past that the best use of Sunny Randall was when Parker used her in the Jesse Stone novels, I wasn’t thrilled to see her in these pages—I thought that Stone, at least, had grown past this relationship. It’s not what it was back in the 3-4 books that Parker wrote with them as a couple, but reflects where they both are now.

I’ve got to say, I liked her here. I liked her in Paradise more than I liked her in the two books that Lupica has written about Sunny. If he keeps this up, I won’t complain.

Lupica’s War on my Sanity

Sure, that’s hyperbolic. But it felt like he was doing this to just bug me.

The mansion that the taxi pulled up to that fateful night is owned by the Cain family, Whit and Lilly Cain. Whit suffered a stroke a few months back, so his wife, Lilly, is who Jesse primarily interacts with. She’s brash, confident, loud, and flirtatious.

Now, I’ve watched the Veronica Mars series more times than I should have. Season One more than the rest. Every time I read “Lilly Cain,” I couldn’t think about anything other than “Lily Kane,” Veronica’s brash, confident, loud, and flirtatious friend.

I know it’s a coincidence, that neither name is all that rare. But it didn’t feel that way.

So, what did I think about Fool’s Paradise?

I liked this so much more than I expected to. I went into this hoping I wouldn’t hate it, and it didn’t take long at all for me to realize I was enjoying it. The prose crackled and moved quickly. There was enough of Jesse’s quiet humor to keep me grinning. The relationships and banter between the characters was spot on. The cases were compelling, interestingly framed, and well-executed. Lupica tied his novel into the overall history of the series well (referencing over half of the books, I think) and established that he’s the right man for the job. I strongly recommend this—either for new readers or established fans. Robert B. Parker’s Fool’s Paradise is a satisfying read that’ll get you eager to see what comes next.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

The Far Empty by J. Todd Scott: Imagine if Don Winslow Tried to Write a Craig Johnson Novel…

By HCNewton

On August 20, 2021

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Far Empty

by J. Todd Scott
Series: Chris Cherry, #1

Paperback, 446 pg.
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2019

Read: August 16-17, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

At dawn, when the sun’s up ove rthe mountains and it hits the far edges of twon at the right angle, the pink caliche on the bluffs burns crimson and everyting runs red. Murfee alwasy wakes up bloody. The dead are her secrets…The missing are her ghosts.

I know who Deputy Cherry found out at Indian Bluffs, and so does my father.

My mother…his missing wife.

What’s The Far Empty About?

This is so hard to sum up in a few paragraphs. Murfee is a small town in Texas near the southern border—the area around Murfee is even less populated. There are farms, ranches, and a lot of uninhabited land—very close to the border—a great place for smugglers (of people and substances) to ply their trade.

We open on one of the ranches that’s used as a crossing point. The owner has discovered a body on the land and newish Deputy Chris Cherry goes to look at the scene. Any other deputy would do what the rancher wants and write this off as another dead Mexican*—but Chris wants to do it right. And as he’s careful about his business, he notices something that compels him to dig in and really investigate the circumstances around the death—and the identity of the victim.

* Actually, it’d be a slur, but let’s keep this civil. I’m not sure I read many terms for minorities in this book that weren’t racist slurs. Thankfully, the characters that are on the admirable side of things (not necessarily “good guys”) don’t use that kind of language.

Actually, that’s incorrect—we start with the Sheriff’s seventeen-year-old son, Caleb, talking about the men that his father has killed (that Sheriff Ross—aka “Judge”—is willing to talk about in public, anyway), the women he married and the reasons they’re no longer around. Up to a year ago when Caleb’s mother left town—or so the official story is—Caleb says he knows his father killed her.

“The Judge” is the most powerful man in this part of Texas—he doesn’t enforce the law, he is the law, in just about every sense of the word. He’s what Walt Longmire and Quinn Colson could be with a lot more ambition—and an utter lack of morality. He sleeps with who he wants to, takes what he wants to—and, presumably, kills who he wants to. And the people who keep electing him love him, he’s their hero. He’s really one of the more despicable characters I’ve read this year.

So we have Caleb trying to find out what happened to his mom, Chris trying to figure out how this corpse ended up buried on the ranch, Sherrif Ross up to all sorts of things—and a few other residents of Murfee up to things full of secrets and lies. Too many threads are interwoven to do a decent job of talking about them here—but it’s safe to say that because of what Caleb and Chris are up to, there’s a chance that this intricate web could start to fall apart.

A chance.

The Exception

We learn so much about every major character—their backstory, the secret lives they live, the lies they tell the world (and, in some cases, themselves)…with one exception—Melissa, Deputy Cherry’s girlfriend.

We get a hint about her past—just the barest of hints—and we know a lot about her life with Chris—before and after Murfee. But that’s all. Just a hint? It drives me crazy that I could write a page or more on the backstory of every other major character, and I can’t about her. She’s largely a mystery.

And the part that isn’t being driven crazy about that loves it. She’s shrouded in shadows, and someone in this town needs to stay that way.

Series Premiere vs. Stand-Alone

I knew this was the first novel in a series, but it never felt like it. I kept thinking that this was a stand-alone. It was only in the last twenty pages that I could see how it could continue.

I have to wonder—did Scott’s publisher say, “We like this and would like to buy it from you—but we’re going to need this to be a series, add something to the end, okay?” Because those twenty pages don’t need to be there—I’m glad they were, it was easier to move past the darkness that characterized the 426 pages before because of those last twenty.

But I’m not sure it’s a better novel because of them.

So, what did I think about The Far Empty?

This book deserves kudos for the atmospheric writing—you feel the emptiness of the geography. It also draws on the legends (and history) about Texas Lawmen and Criminals—placing these events squarely in that vein. It’s hard to walk away from this book thinking that any part of Texas could possibly be different from Murfee.

I spent a lot of the novel thinking “This is almost too noir, I need someone I can believe in, someone who seems to care about the law, morality, simple decency.” I knew from the first chapter on that it was brilliantly written—Scott’s voice, style, and ability shone throughout the novel.

But, man…it was so bleak.

Caleb and Chris, sure, did care about justice, what’s right, and so on—but their efforts seemed so Quixotic that it was almost painful to watch these two and their futile quests.

I don’t know if the novel eased up on that eventually, if Scott’s writing won me over, or if I eventually grew numb to it all. But at some point, I bought into it—I needed to know what was happening and started to care about many of these characters.

When I get to the sequels, I might change my opinion of the book as a whole—but on the whole, it didn’t work for me as much as I wanted it to. It wouldn’t surprise me if by the end of book two, I’m a rabid fan of this series, but for the time being I’m unable to think of it as more than “pretty good.”

I do recommend The Far Empty, Scott’s a guy to keep your eye on. Just don’t go into this thinking it’s a fun adventure.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

BOOK BLITZ: Swop The Satsuma-Sized Secret by Lucy Noguera

By HCNewton

On August 19, 2021

In Book Tour, Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

This morning I’m pleased to host a Book Blitz Lucy Noguera’s Swop The Satsuma-Sized Secret, a charming-looking book that you’re going to want to look into..

Book Details:

Book Title: Swop The Satsuma-Sized Secret by Lucy Noguera
Publisher: Brilliant Monsters Books
Release date: July 16, 2021
Format: Ebook
Length: 133 pages

Book Blurb:

What would you do if you found the world’s smallest dog?

When Ernie and his family leave the countryside to move to the city. Ernie feels like he’ll never settle into their new home.

Yet on his very first night, a surprising new friend introduces himself – Swop is a very tiny dog. A dog that just happens to be the size of a satsuma.

Ernie vows to keep Swop a secret, but Swop has other ideas and he’s determined to make Ernie’s first day at his new school a memorable one!

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US

About Lucy Noguera

An ex-primary school teacher and Teacher of the Deaf. I now run a small educational company, specialising in arranging book projects and theatre events for schools and families. I live with my husband, our three children and our three dogs in Ealing, London. Yet the one in charge is our little ex-street dog, even though he has no eyes and three legs. He also happens to be called Swop!

My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this blitzl and the materials they provided.

PUB DAY REPOST: In Ten Years by Ian Shane: They’re Perfect For Each Other…But Can They Make It Work? Do They Even Want to Try?

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2021

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Ian Shane

In Ten Years

by Ian Shane

eARC, 261 pg.
2021

Read: July 23-26, 2021

What’s In Ten Years About?

In 2000, two Denver University students meet in such a way that practically guarantees Jack will have one of dullest (and probably worse than just dull) twenty-first birthdays. Liz unintentionally contributed to that but also did everything she could to make up for that. After this, she decides that the two of them are going to be great friends.

After spending a couple of chapters in 2000, we see them again in 2009—and it turns out that Liz’s plan to be great friends worked. They’ve become incredibly close, the Two Musketeers. They’re so close that everyone (including every romantic interest they ever have) assumes they have/are/want to be involved. The idea never really lodges with either of them—and they don’t understand why no one believes them.

We catch up to them in 2018. At some point, they’ve made that pact that you’ve seen in countless sitcoms and movies, if they’re not married by _____ time, they’ll marry each other.* In this case, it’s when Jack turns 40 (he’s a little younger than her, so at that point, they’ll both be 40), and in 2018 that’s a year away.

* The scene where the pact is made is just about perfect, I should add.

Both of them try to treat the pact as a joke—while hoping the other forgot about it. But neither did and despite the preposterous notion—they both kind of take it seriously. They can’t imagine not growing old together, why not?

And then one of them starts to realize that their interest in the pact isn’t because of a drunken promise, pragmatism, or the lack of a better option—but there just might be something right about the whole idea, a reality that’s been before them all along.

Supporting Characters

I’d intended on spending a few paragraphs talking about both Jack and Liz, and after a couple of failed attempts, I realized I couldn’t do either justice without just recapping the whole novel. So, instead, let’s talk about the other characters.

I wasn’t that far into the 2018 part when I made a note about, “Of course they end up together, everyone else they know is horrible.” Which was a little harsh, but essentially true—that’s up to and including their closest friends. Thankfully, that didn’t stay that way—sure, their friends didn’t make a great first impression, but as I got to spend some more time with them, I ended up liking them. They also proved to be good friends to Jack and Liz.

But when it comes to other romantic interests or dalliances? The reader can understand the appeal of (most) of the people they’re interested in—at least initially. But you don’t spend time thinking, “yeah, Person X would really be a good long-term partner for them.” I might have appreciated it more had I actually considered anyone to be a rival for Liz or Jack. But maybe after a few chapters, I’d already ruled out anyone who wasn’t Jack or Liz for the other.

I’m not sure it matters, ultimately. But what Shane did give each character plenty of frogs of various sides and coloring to kiss so that they’d inevitably discover their Prince/Princess.

The supporting characters, from college roommates to overbearing and overly-inquisitive mothers, to Russian hockey players to waitresses in a bar or inappropriate former students are well-written, they all stand out as pretty well-rounded (at least as much as someone who’s only around for a few paragraphs can be).

The Dialogue

I talked about this a little in the Q&A with Shane, and you should read what he said about writing it. My favorite part of this novel was the dialogue. Jack has some great lines when he’s upset or angry with someone, for example.

But what really won me over was the interaction with Jack and Liz—either when they’re being silly about something or when they’re talking about something serious. This is fitting for a contemporary When Harry Met Sally-esque story, Harry and Sally talking to each other is what made viewers fall for the pair, and Shane hits some Ephron-level interchanges with Jack and Liz.

So, what did I think about In Ten Years?

There are a few other highlights that I really don’t have the time or space to get into, I’d recommend checking out the aforementioned Q&A with Shane that I posted yesterday to catch a few other selling points for this book.

The novel is just funny—humor that arises from the situations and the characters’ inherent and reflexive wit and charm. It’s in the way they react to situations, and not because silly and madcap things happen around or to them (well, sure, there’s a little bit of that). Shane’s voice is part of it, too—but mostly it’s because these are smart, funny people who express that.

I can’t get into it without ruining anything, but there’s a chapter in the 2009 portion of the book that is my favorite chapter of 2021—it was so painful, and yet so funny. Shane was careful not to go too far in either direction, which would’ve blunted the impact. Instead, he’s able to portray the emotionally damaging circumstance and let the character’s wit and the ridiculousness of the situation keep it from being maudlin. The rest of the book is just as good, and just as balanced.

In Ten Years ticked just about every box that I can think of as a reader. I both couldn’t wait to find out what happened and didn’t want to get to the end because I was having such a blast. There’s a fresh-feeling take on a tried-and-true story (two, I’d argue), characters I genuinely liked, dialogue that I’d frequently reread a time or to before moving on, and a great mix of emotion and laughs. I wasn’t even 20% through the book when I noticed I was highlighting and making notes too often—had I stopped there, I had more things than I could squeeze into a post. I can only imagine how massive my notes collection would’ve been had I not made a conscious effort to stop. There was just so much that I wanted to remember about this book.

I know that I’m going to be talking about this book in January when I look back on the best of 2021, and I probably won’t be alone.

5 Stars

Twice Cursed by J. C. Jackson: It’s Time to Bring Werewolves into this World

By HCNewton

On August 17, 2021

In Fantasy, Terra Chronicles

Twice Cursed

by J. C. Jackson
Series: Terra Chronicles, #3

Paperback, 241pg.
Shadow Phoenix Publishing, 2018

Read: August 5, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Since it’s been awhile (too long) since I posted about this series, I thought it’d be a good idea to copy a bit of the introduction to this series I posted back in 2018 (slightly edited):

I had a brief conversation a couple of weeks ago with J.C. Jackson and she described the book as “Science Fantasy” and told us a little about the series. Something about fantasy characters but with modern technology, but phrased better. Not really getting what she said, I asked why not just call it Urban Fantasy, and she gave a decent answer—basically that she didn’t have enough vampires or werewolves in the books so readers told her she couldn’t. I was a chapter or two into the book when I figured out what she was saying.

In your mainstream Urban Fantasy, you have fantasy creatures—wizards, druids, werewolves, fae—popping up in our world. On the other end of the spectrum (or an other end, anyway) you have things like the Eddie LaCrosse novels or the Dragon Precinct books that have modern ideas (police squads, private investigators) used in a fantasy series. Jackson takes a different tack—it’s a typical fantasy novel in that there’s a lot of magic, elves, halflings, Dark Elves, etc. living next to humans—very standard kind of thing, but their technology matches ours (actually, it’s slightly more advanced). I loved this approach and there’s a good chance that I’d have had nice things to say about the book just because of this idea.

What’s Twice Cursed About?

Ketayl and her Paladin partner, Silver, are sent off to do fieldwork, bringing along another lab tech to look into a rash of werewolf deaths in the territory of the Alpha Prime’s pack (he’s sort of like the Marrock of this world). The local Terran Intelligence Organization office is primarily full of recent graduates from the Academy, most still learning the ropes—they’re not up for dealing with both the investigation and dealing with the Alpha. So, instead, they throw Ketayl into leading her first team because of her investigative abilities and to get her to grow into leadership.

She interacts better with the pack than anyone (except maybe her boss) expected—certainly better than she assumed. She and Silver quickly decide that this is another example of the rise in Necromancy that they’ve been chasing.

Through a combination of good procedure and being in the right place at the precisely right time (or wrong place/wrong time, depending on their perspective), they make great strides in the investigation—even if it essentially puts multiple lives on the line. Through it Ketayl gets a crash course in juggling personalities, abilities and unprepared-for team members.

A Gripe Resolved

Something that bugged me through a lot of the first book, and that really got on my nerves in the second book was (to cite that post) that most characters treat Ketayl “with the kind of care usually reserved for glass on the verge of shattering, they only tell her as much of the truth as they want—all the while, wanting the benefit of her intelligence, abilities, and magic. It feels condescending and manipulative. And for that to be the way those closest to her to treat her? I can’t stomach it.” There were characters throughout that didn’t treat her that way, but they were the distinct minority.

None of them were around this time—only those who saw her strength, who believed in her when she didn’t really believe in herself (which is still going on ), and those who didn’t have preconceived notions about her. Despite herself, she responded to that kind of confidence well and is able to rise to the occasion.

I do wonder what it’ll be like when they spend more time around some of those other characters—will they see the growth in her?

A Quibble Exasperated

I do have another quibble with the series—Jackson has two story arcs that she appears to be taking a “slow burn” approach to. I’m all for that, but while she’s letting the development of those arcs build deliberately—she’s telegraphed where they’re both going in a way that takes away the deliberate, careful way she’s going about it.

It’s hard to talk about that without getting into plot specifics, but hopefully, that paragraph makes sense.

Now, that’s a quibble—not a full-on gripe or criticism. It’s a thought I have every so often while reading (and when writing about it), but I shrug it off and move on with a fun read.

So, what did I think about Twice Cursed?

I really dug it. The Alpha and his crew were a lot of fun (I hope we get to see them in a book or two). Ketayl’s growth was great—both in leadership and social interaction, but she has a few places where she’s able to flex the magic muscle that she’s long kept under wraps, and…yeah—I really loved those scenes.

I’ve been kicking myself for getting behind on this series—I had this and the next book on my shelf for years untouched—and I’m so glad I got back into this world and with these characters. The mix of tech and Fantasy, and characters you can’t help but want to befriend makes for a fun time. I’ll be back for more soon.

(Over the weekend, I bought the next two books, so even after reading this, I’m more behind).

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Reposting Just ‘Cuz: Classically Cool—Let’s Talk Classics!

By HCNewton

On August 16, 2021

In Books, Fiction, News/Misc.

One day, I’ll update this, if for no other reason than I’ve actually finished The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. But today is not that day. Still, I liked this post and could use a break from composing something new.

Last week, Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub posted Classically Cool- Let’s Talk Classics!, and it got me a-thinkin’, what Classics would I mention as faves?

Dickens doesn’t do anything for me, ditto for the overwhelming amount of Shakespeare I’ve read, Hawthorne makes me angry, I don’t get Melville’s appeal (but I also kind of do…I just don’t want to put in the effort)…but by and large “The Classics” (aka the Canon) are Classics for a reason (not because some nameless, faceless group of (now-)Dead, White Males exercised hegemonic powers to impose their tastes, either).

Still, there are some favorites:

Starting with The Oresteia (for chronology’s sake), this is the only existing example we have of a Greek dramatic trilogy. This series showing the fall-out of the Trojan War for Agamemnon and his family/kingdom and is pretty impressive.

Call me silly, but Beowulf has always really worked for me. I don’t know how to rank the various translations, I’ve read a handful and don’t think I ever knew a single translator’s name. I’ve meant to try the Haney translation since it came out, but haven’t gotten to it yet—the same goes for Tolkein’s. From about the same time (a little later, I believe, but I’m not going to check because if I start researching this post, it’ll never get finished) is The Dream of the Rood, a handly evangelistic tool (one of the better-written ones) in Old English.

Moving ahead a couple of centuries (I’ll pick up the pace, don’t worry, the post won’t be that long) and we get Gawain and the Green Knight, which is fun, exciting and teaches a great lesson. Similarly, we have that poet’s Pearl, Patience, and Purity. I don’t remember much about the latter two, beyond that I liked them, but the Pearl—a tale of a father mourning a dead child and being comforted/challenged in a dream to devotion—is one of the more moving works I can remember ever reading.

I want to throw in Tom Jones (technically, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling) by Henry Fielding here, but I’ve never actually completed it. Which says more about my patience and how distracted I can get than the book—which is an impressive work. I’ve gotta get around to actually finishing it at some point.

I can’t remember the titles for most of the Robert Burns poems I’ve read—”A Red, Red Rose” and “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785” (one of the best titles in history) are the exceptions—but most of them were pretty good. And I’m not a poetry guy.

Skipping a few centuries and we get to Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. If all you know is the story from movies, you’re in for a treat when you actually read this thing. I’ve read it a few times, and each time, I’m caught off-guard at how fast-moving it really is, how entertaining and exciting it can be. It’s not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel compelled at this point to mention that the book about Dumas’ father, The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss is a must-read for any fan of Dumas.

I don’t remember how Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott ended up on my bookshelf (I think whatever relative took me to the bookstore said I could get something silly and trashy (in their view) if I got a Classic, too). But a few years later, I finally got around to reading it at about the same time that another kid in my class (we were High School sophomores) was reading it—both of us talked about how it was pretty good, but too much work. Until we got to a point somewhere in the middle (he got there a day before I did, I think) and something clicked—maybe we’d read enough of it that we could really get what was going on, maybe Scott got into a different gear, I’m not sure—and it became just about the most satisfying thing I’d read up to that point in my life.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is one of my favorite books, probably belonging in the Top 3. Go ahead and roll your eyes at the idea of me saying that about a romance novel, that just means you’ve misread the book. This tale about integrity, about staying true to what one holds dear, what one believes, and to what is right despite everything and everyone around you is exciting, inspiring, fantastically written, and so-memorable. And, yeah, there’s a nice love story to go along with that 🙂

Speaking of love stories, we now get to my favorite, Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac. I steadfastly refuse to learn anything about the actual figure, because I don’t want anything to ruin this for me. When I first read the play in junior high, I considered the best parts the lead-up to the duel in Act I, and Christian’s trying to pick a fight with Cyrano the next day. Now I know the best parts are Christian’s realization in Act IV and Cyrano’s reaction to it and then, of course, Cyrano’s death (I’m fighting the impulse to go read that now instead of finishing this post). And don’t get me started about how this play’s balcony scene leaves any other romantic balcony scene in the dust.

I can’t pass up an opportunity to praise, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain’s tour de force. Satire, social commentary, general goofiness, and some real heart. This book has it all.

I’m not sure that Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictdionary is technically a “Classic.” But I’m counting it as one. It’s hilarious, it’s incisive, it’s a great time for those who like to subtly (and not-so-subtly) play with words. Yeah, it’s cynical—but it’s idealistic, too (as the best cynics are). If you haven’t sampled it yet, what’s wrong with you?

I feel strange dubbing anything from the Twentieth Century as a Classic, so I won’t talk much about The Old Man and the Sea, The Great Gatsby, Winesburg, Ohio or Our Town (the best way short of having a dog die to make me cry is get me to read/watch Act III). But I do feel safe mentioning To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the ground-breaking, thought-shaping, moving, inspiring, and (frequently) just plain fun look at a childhood in the south.

When I started this, I figured I’d get 4-5 paragraphs out of the idea. I guess I overshot a little. Anyway, that’s what came to mind when I read W&S’ post—maybe other works would come to mind if I did this another time, but for now, those are my favorite Classics. What about you?

REPOSTING JUST CUZ: The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge: The Norwegian-Chinese Ninja Hero You Never Realized You Needed in Your Life

By HCNewton

On August 13, 2021

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

I’m stumbling over myself trying to write my post about the sequel, The Ninja’s Blade–seriously, I’ve tossed out the first paragraph 5 times so far. So, as has been my habit of late, I’m reposting what I said about the previous book in its stead. If you haven’t looked into this yet, maybe this’ll prompt you to do that (while I hope it prompts me to finish the post on the sequel)

The Ninja Daughter

by Tori Eldridge
Series: Lily Wong, #1

Paperback, 300 pg.
Agora Books, 2019

Read: August 21-22, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s The Ninja Daughter About?

Lily Wong’s nickname is Dumpling, and like that food, there’s a lot hidden underneath the surface.

For starters, there’s the fact that she trained extensively in martial arts—more than her parents realized—growing up. Then there’s the fact that she (in her mind, at least) let her sister down the night that her sister was sexually assaulted and murdered. Which fuels the last hidden part of her life—she uses her guilt and need for vengeance to fuel her utilization of those martial arts skills to be a kunoichi—a female ninja—to help women and children who are the victims of abuse while she hunts for her sister’s killer. Her parents only know she does IT work from home.

When the book opens she’s trying to help a Ukrainian immigrant woman and her son get away from her abusive husband (who brags about his criminal connections), but that’s not going too well. To distract her self from the lack of success there, she takes up the cause of a waitress who’d been attacked in her home by a customer. The judge tossed the case based on insufficient evidence following weeks of the waitress being victim shamed through the media (traditional and social).

Lily decides that this waitress needs a big sister to look out for her and appoints herself to fill that role. She does this by doing what she can to keep Mia safe and then to investigate the guy she pressed charges against. This leads her into a murky world of government contracts, real estate, organized crime, and murder.

You Know Who Lily Reminds Me Of?

Part of it’s the city of L.A., part of it’s the female action-hero vibe, the one woman against the world kind of thing. Part of it is ineffable. But I couldn’t help but think of Cas Russell (of Zero Sum Game and Null Set) and Teagan Frost (of The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind) as I read this book.

Sure, Lily’s more grounded than either of them, she has no real powers other than those that are the result of years of training and practice. Theoretically, everything that Lily does in this book Tori Eldridge is (or at least was at one point) capable of doing herself—and a lot of what Cas and Teagan do are purely the stuff of fiction. Still, I’m probably going to lump the three of them together in my mind for some time to come.

The biggest difference between them is that Lily knows just who she is and where she comes from—her family is strong, affectionate (in their way), and supportive. She may have friends to augment that core support, but they’re not everything she has. This makes her a bit more stable and capable of dealing with challenges that come than the others.

(and, yeah, I thought of Lydia Chin and her mother every time Lily and her Ma interacted, but that’s a whole other can of worms).

The Food

There’s food all over this book. Lily’s father owns and runs a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. The woman that runs the shelter she works with cooks amazing sounding soul food. The meals she eats with her family and on her own sound amazing. Spenser and Elvis Cole may know their way around a kitchen, but Lily Wong knows her way around some fantastic restaurants in L.A. She’s so far ahead of the game than Kinsey Milhone’s lousy sandwiches and Hungarian food that it’s hard to believe they’re in the same genre.

Do not read this book if you’re peckish. Keep yourself fed well, or you’re going to be snacking far too much.

Lily’s Heritage

It’s that family makes Lily who she is. In these three hundred pages, we hear more about Lily’s grandparents and parents than I’m used to hearing about a protagonist’s family over several books. Particularly when we’re talking about an action hero.

Eldridge has given Lily the same heritage that she has—a Norwegian father from North Dakota and a Chinese mother. So Eldridge knows the special kind of alchemy that the mixture of the two cultures produces.

The Important Word in the Title

Obviously, it’s Ninja that draws your attention and is the memorable takeaway, but as you can tell, it’s Daughter that colors the whole book. It’s Lily’s interactions with her parents, her application of the way they raised her and still care for her, the way she draws on what they teach and tell her that defines her and proves to be the key to figuring out what’s going on in the book.

So, what did I think about The Ninja Daughter?

If you want to ignore the deeper stuff and enjoy a book about a determined young woman out for vengeance (presumptive and by proxy, as it often is) on the streets of Los Angeles, this book will do the trick.

If you want a rounded, complex, female character trying to figure out how to deal with personal guilt, and trauma while helping out women and children by any means necessary, this book will do the trick, too. The idea that she may be starting to figure out a way past the guilt and move into healing and happiness* makes that all the better.

* Sure, I realize that within the first fifty pages of the sequel, all that can go away. The important thing is that it was there

You could make the case that Philip Marlowe was Chandler’s attempt at telling the story of a knight errant in early-twentieth-century L.A. Lily’s in the same vein—just a little more modern (and, ironically enough, using an older kind of warrior). Eldridge’s L.A. has slightly nicer mean streets, but they’re just as deadly and are in just as much need for a hero. I hope we get to see her at work for quite some time.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.