Hey friend! It's been a while since we did one of these because I haven't had time to do as much reading lately. I got home from my European adventures in August and had about two weeks to settle in before heading to the beach for a week with friends and then embarking on Birthright Israel at the end of the month. (My entire household also got COVID at the beginning of September when I got back from Israel, so we were all down for the count for about two weeks.)
Anyway, I've finally been able to settle in, reorganize my room, get in the zone at work, and get back into the hobbies that really fulfill me! I've been doing a lot of journaling and crafting (including playing around with some watercolors, which is new for me!), and I got the urge to hit up the library a few weeks ago, so of course I came home with two entire tote bags full of books. Whoops.
Table of Contents
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Her city is under siege.
The zombies are coming back.
And all Nona wants is a birthday party.
In many ways, Nona is like other people. She lives with her family, has a job at her local school, and loves walks on the beach and meeting new dogs. But Nona's not like other people. Six months ago she woke up in a stranger's body, and she's afraid she might have to give it back.
The whole city is falling to pieces. A monstrous blue sphere hangs on the horizon, ready to tear the planet apart. Blood of Eden forces have surrounded the last Cohort facility and wait for the Emperor Undying to come calling. Their leaders want Nona to be the weapon that will save them from the Nine Houses. Nona would prefer to live an ordinary life with the people she loves, with Pyrrha and Camilla and Palamedes, but she also knows that nothing lasts forever.
And each night, Nona dreams of a woman with a skull-painted face...
So it's almost impossible to say anything about this book that isn't a complete spoiler for some part of this series that started with Gideon the Ninth (which I think every single person on the planet should read, even if you never read the rest of the series). But I was inspired to write a whole readalong post for this book, which you can check out here if you're interested. For now, I'll just say that I loved it and it was a beautiful follow up to the first two books. In overall style and tone, it's more like Gideon (the first book) rather than Harrow (the second in the series) and so I liked it more than Harrow but not quite as much as Gideon.
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.
This was recommended to me by a friend, but I knew nothing about it so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's very short compared to many of the monster novels I've read in the past and a compelling read, so I finished it in one afternoon! The premise reminded me a bit of the 'eldest of three' trope from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - Marra is the youngest of three and her elder sisters have been married off to royalty but she gets to go chill in a convent and learn practical life skills instead of dealing with court politics and intrigue. I loved that even though we are shown that Marra and Kania have a somewhat contentious sibling relationship, Marra never hesitates in her mission to save her sister, no matter how hard it gets.
One question I have still is about the 'blistered land' where Marra constructs the bone dog. We're not really given any history on it, so I'm curious how/why it was cursed. I wonder if the author's other books take place in the same universe - perhaps that's the plot of another novel!
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
Persephone Station, a seemingly backwater planet that has largely been ignored by the United Republic of Worlds, becomes the focus for the Serrao-Orlov Corporation as the planet has a few secrets the corporation tenaciously wants to exploit.
Rosie—owner of Monk’s Bar, in the corporate town of West Brynner—caters to wannabe criminals and rich Earther tourists, of a sort, at the front bar. However, exactly two types of people drink at Monk’s back bar: members of a rather exclusive criminal class and those who seek to employ them.
Angel—ex-marine and head of a semi-organized band of beneficent criminals, wayward assassins, and washed up mercenaries with a penchant for doing the honorable thing—is asked to perform a job for Rosie. What this job reveals will affect Persephone and put Angel and her squad up against an army. Despite the odds, they are rearing for a fight with the Serrao-Orlov Corporation. For Angel, she knows that once honor is lost, there is no regaining it. That doesn’t mean she can’t damned well try.
A major corporation tries to bully a peaceful indigenous community into compliance to share the secret of long life and good health hidden in their DNA. A ragtag team of mercenaries with hearts of gold try to stop them. Very Firefly-esque and I loved the casual queer representation! Rosie is non-binary (as well as multiple other side characters, and not just in alien races!), and the other main characters are all women (and mostly women of color).
The first two thirds of the book was so amazing, but I felt like it was a little rushed towards the end once the action moved to the space station. I didn't understand how Lou swooped in to rescue them at the last minute (how did she get onto the station and how did she heal from her injuries so quickly?) and we also didn't really get much page time for Rosie once the mercenary team made it onto the station. The interaction between Kennedy and Cora at the end felt a little anticlimactic as well. Overall I liked it, but the end left a lot to be desired.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
Not only is the cover art absolutely stunning, but the story itself was much more interesting than I expected. Reminiscent of Pacific Rim, I figured it would be a fairly straightforward 'heroine unlocks the secret of her own power and proceeds to kick ass and win the war.' Oh no. Zetian is not a hero. She just wants vengeance for her sister's death and she doesn't much care who gets in the way. The inevitable YA love triangle is resolved by forming a polyamorous throuple (along with a really sweet line about how love is infinite). When the pilot-trio discovers the dark secret why so many girls burn out, they prepare to take down the entire government and remake society in a more equitable manner - but we're left wondering if their power-hungry nature will actually win out.
I love the way this book addressed gender identity in addition to the other main themes; Zetian's passing thoughts near the end of the book when she switches seats and takes on the traditionally male pilot's position make me wonder if she's closer to nonbinary and if we'll see that explored further in a sequel perhaps. She often uses a cane or wheelchair due to the pain and physical limitations of her bound feet, a constant reminder of the limitations this history-inspired society places on their female children. I'm curious how the emperor will factor in to the second book, since I'm sure they will have some very contradictory opinions about how the country should be run, and the final twist about the planet they inhabit promises some interesting commentary on indigenous cultures.
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Shiori, the only princess of Kiata, has a secret. Forbidden magic runs through her veins. Normally she conceals it well, but on the morning of her betrothal ceremony, Shiori loses control. At first, her mistake seems like a stroke of luck, forestalling the wedding she never wanted, but it also catches the attention of Raikama, her stepmother.
Raikama has dark magic of her own, and she banishes the young princess, turning her brothers into cranes, and warning Shiori that she must speak of it to no one: for with every word that escapes her lips, one of her brothers will die.
Penniless, voiceless, and alone, Shiori searches for her brothers, and, on her journey, uncovers a conspiracy to overtake the throne—a conspiracy more twisted and deceitful, more cunning and complex, than even Raikama's betrayal. Only Shiori can set the kingdom to rights, but to do so she must place her trust in the very boy she fought so hard not to marry. And she must embrace the magic she's been taught all her life to contain—no matter what it costs her.
I remember reading The Wild Swans over and over in a fairytale anthology as a child, so this reimagining of that story was like a warm cup of cocoa calling back those peaceful childhood memories. It follows the classic structure fairly closely - Shiori and her brothers are cursed, she must weave a net from a painful plant without speaking or doom her brothers, she is accused of witchcraft and nearly killed, etc - but the lush Eastern-inspired setting breathes a whole new life into the story. Some twists were easy to spot as I read, but others weren't. The way Shiori gradually recalls memories from her childhood with her stepmother and has to reevaluate everything she thinks she knows was a particularly poignant part of the story, since I think many of us misremember things or paint certain events in our lives with too broad a brush (whether negative or positive). I'm not quite sure how the Dragon Kingdom fits into all of this, so I'm interested to see where the author takes that in the second book.
That's all for this month! I still have quite a stack of new books next to my bedside table, so hopefully we'll have another great line up for November reads in review. Until then!
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