Dune (Dune Chronicles #1) by Frank Herbert

Amy 

fantasy, sci-fi

Paul (who, along with his mother, Jessica, are the only two characters with boring American names in the novel (?)), the son of the Duke, is set to inherit the rule of the desert planet of Arrakis.  However, there are forces at work who wish to regain power and destroy Paul and his family.  Paul has to use his training and resources to survive and defeat the evil forces at work. 

Dune is another one of those books like Stephen King’s The Stand where I read it too late to appreciate it fully. As with The Stand, while Dune may have been among the first of its genre of such an impactful scale, it just never grabbed me. While I can appreciate the creativity and ingenuity of Frank Herbert, who wrote this novel in 1965, it is another example of a beloved, old novel that was of its time but has been surpassed in the years since. I was prompted to read it because a friend recommended it and then it appeared on the Great American Reads list. While it mostly held my interest, the characters failed to make me care about them. With only one exception (and a minor character at that, Gurney Halleck), they were all mostly unfeeling or flat and almost robotic in their thoughts and actions. They were characters made to populate a story instead of characters around whom a story was built. I prefer more character-driven novels. I prefer to care so much about the characters that I am compelled to keep reading to find out what happens to them. Sadly, these characters never earned my regard. The ending is as it was predicted by the characters themselves so there were no surprises. I’m glad I read it but I do not care to read any more novels in the series.

Meanwhile, the audio book was perplexing. The production was sometimes (for no apparent reason) like a movie with background music, sound effects, and multiple actors playing out scenes. But, mostly, chapters were read solely by the main narrator with him voicing all the characters himself. Why? Why was some of the novel narrated by multiple actors while other parts were not? I just don’t get it. It was distracting. Did they not have enough money to pay the actors to do the whole thing? Why have them participate at all? How odd. I think the main voice actor/narrator, Simon Vance, did a good job but then the other voice actors were obviously better than one man trying to voice multiple characters. So, I guess I’ll give him an A-. I most definitely did NOT like his narration of the character Count Fenring with the odd humming. Drove me batty! Thankfully, that character wasn’t in the novel very much.

The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle

Amy       
Lynnie   

mystery

In The Marriage Lie, Iris is stunned when notified that her husband, Will, was killed in a plane crash of a flight on which he was not supposed to be a passenger. He had told Iris he was flying to Orlando, but the flight that crashed was headed to Seattle. While grieving, she is driven to learn why her husband had lied to her about his flight plans.

Amy's Review

The characters were all interesting, the setting of Atlanta was full of fun local references of my home city, and the storyline kept me fully engaged. While some pretty unbelievable things happened during the course of the story, I didn’t let it get to me. I was as determined as Iris to get to the bottom of the mystery. The fact that Iris was a psychologist gave the reader some important insights. I was able to see where things were heading before Iris got there at times, but it was not one of those painful situations where the reader cringes about the character’s stupidity. Instead, I was sympathetic for Iris’ state of mind and gave her some leeway to muddle through most of the time. Although, the one area where I didn’t forgive Iris was that she returned to her job way too soon, without thinking that she could cause hurt or harm to students who looked to her for support. I’m not sure I could allow her to make grieving the excuse for that one. Also, her trip to Vinings alone was just plain stupid. Alas, she wasn’t in her right mind. I had no idea how the author, Kimberly Belle, would be able to suitably end the story but was pleased with her decisions in the end.

The narrator, Johanna Parker, had an odd accent. Her voice acting was really great although she only had a couple different “voices”. I’ll knock her down to an A- because of the limited repertoire and distracting odd accent.



Lynnie's Review

When I first started reading this book I was completely intrigued! What a fascinating and gripping idea- your husband dies in a plane crash, but not the plane that he was supposed to be on! As Iris began to unravel what she thought she knew about her husband more mysteries were created- ooooh. 

And then, they introduced the villain, who was so clearly the villain, that I just spent the rest of the book waiting for Iris to figure it out. I was willing to forgive all the stupid decision Iris made, and I loved her twin brother as a character, but the last 30% or so of the book just confirmed everything I had already figured out. 

I generally don't enjoy mysteries because I am prone to putting the pieces together too early and this was another example. It's just not my genre, though I will continue to try when an interesting premise appears. I know several people who LOVED this book so I'm absolutely willing to believe that it's me and not Kimberly Belle's writing. Bottom line, if you enjoy the thrill ride of a mystery you'll probably enjoy this.

Smoke in the Sun (Flame in the Mist #2) by Renee Ahdieh

Amy    

young adult, fantasy

Smoke in the Sun is the final book in the Flame in the Mist duology and I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. It picked up where the first novel left off. Mariko is set to marry Prince Raiden and Okami is a prisoner in the royal palace after the death of the Emperor and the rise of his son. The characters are fun. The settings are delicious. The adventures are satisfying. Sometimes the fantasy elements were a bit too convenient as was the ability for Mariko to move about and escape the palace without notice. And the new Emperor is just pitifully evil for no good reason. Meanwhile, Raiden’s mother seems to be the cause of almost everything that happens yet she’s a pretty flat character. So, I’m withholding some stars. But, I definitely enjoyed it and looked forward to every opportunity I had to listen to the audio book. Great story-telling by Renee Ahdieh.

The narrator, Nancy Wu, was alright. However, she had a tendency to speak very slowly and robotically at times. Plus, the recording was very digital-sounding which, although not her fault, annoyed me. I’ll give her a B+.

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Lynnie   

Amy      

contemporary fiction

Lynnie's Review

I adored Robin Sloan's previous book, Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, several years ago so I was thrilled to see that he released another one. While there are similarities between the two books (San Francisco tech startups play an important role, quirky characters, a mystical background) the stories are very different.

Sourdough follows Lois Clary as she is given a very unique sourdough starter from her favorite local restaurant and has to learn to feed, care for, and create from this magical colony of microorganisms. Having baked my fair share of bread, including sourdough there were parts of this book that amused me to no end but made me wonder if non-bakers would appreciate it as well. Still, watching Lois follow where the sourdough leads was a wonderful journey full of surprises. I love the other characters that Lois encounters on her way and as usual the joy of Sloan's writing kept me enthralled. Like Sloan's other book, I still find myself thinking about the world he created.

Amy's Review

Despite the fact that I loved Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, the description for his new novel, Sourdough, did not appeal to me.  So I did not plan to read it.  However, my sister loved it so much that she convinced me to give it a try and I’m so glad she did!  It was delightful!  

Lois gets a well-paying hi-tech job with a cool, successful, pressure-filled company.  As she realizes that she now lives and breaths work and doesn’t take time to even eat properly, she stumbles upon an amazingly satisfying delivery meal which changes her outlook on life.  Not only that, but when the restaurant owner bequeaths a sourdough starter to her, it truly changes her actual life.  And this new life is better!  Her life is once again interesting and worth relishing.

It was a completely different story than Mr. Penumbra but it had many of the same wonderful elements:  weird food, high technology, books/book lovers, fantasy mysteries, California, dark and secret places, progressive workplaces, quirky and loveable characters, fantastical histories, respect for elders, fun, exaggerated circumstances, and it didn’t take itself seriously.  Plus it was funny while not being a “comedy” (which I appreciate since outright comedy novels never meet my expectations).

The way the story is crafted is perfect. Pacing is good.  It gets a little silly at times, and bogged down with chemistry and baking details sometimes, but it bounces back soon enough and is a really quick read.  I highly recommend it!

A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir

Amy    

young adult, fantasy

In A Reaper at the Gates, the stories of Laia, Elias, and Helene continue where the series last left us. Sadly, it has been too long since the previous installment. I couldn’t remember the back-stories of all the different peoples and tribes and how they interacted. I wish Sabaa Tahir had done a better job of reminding the reader about what happened in the last novel. It's been 22 months and the readers deserved a little help, IMO. There were characters I could not recall well. Situations were blurry in my memory. And, with all the mysticism, even though I am a friend of fantasy, some of it wasn’t explained well enough to allow me to understand or feel immersed in the story. I kept wondering what was going on. All of these flaws negatively affected my experience reading the novel. I had been SO excited about it after loving the first two novels and meeting the lovely author last month. But, I felt like I could never catch up. And now, one of the characters I've loved most is unrecognizable due to his changes and he has been relegated to a stagnant secondary character moving in useless circles. I will still read the last novel in the series when it is released because I have high hopes that Tahir will give me some sort of satisfactory closure. I will write notes to myself this time in hopes that I’ll enjoy the next one better than this one.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan

Amy        
Lynnie    

historical fiction

Beneath a Scarlet Sky details two years during WWII in which Pino Lella, an Italian teenager in Milan, helps Italian Jews escape to Switzerland, enlists in the war, and serves as a spy against the Germans aiding the partisan efforts in Italy. This is a fiction based on Pino's real story. 

Amy's Review

Oh wow. What a story! Pino had an amazing experience. And, what a knack he had for being in the right place at the right time! The novel also covers the highlights of all the characters’ lives after the war and into current day so that the reader is able to learn what became of everyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of this heroic, brave, strong, loyal, romantic, adventurous, devout, amiable, and smart young man. Mark T. Sullivan did a fantastic job bringing Pino and all the other characters to life. The story ran smoothly with just the right amount of background information, detail, and intrigue. There were such highs and such lows, the most shining moments and the darkest moments, and it is all written so realistically and understandably. It never lost my interest. Even Pino’s life after the two detailed years is interesting. How fortunate that the author was able to discover Pino’s stories, get to know the man himself, and create such a well-written tribute.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Will Damron and he did a terrific job! I never once thought about the narration itself which is a tribute to the great job he did. His voice acting was perfect for any given mood and character. I give him an A+.

Lynnie's Review

I've been pondering this book since I finished it. I found the history of Italy during WWII particularly fascinating because it isn’t a perspective that is often shared. Overall I enjoyed the story of Pino Lella & his family but while I absolutely believe that much of what I read was true, I also believe that much of it was so far out of the realm of reality that it took the wind out of Lella’s story for me. I suspect that Pino was a true hero who led a fantastic life, but the fictional aspect of his life really muddied his legacy in my eyes. I think Pino's story would have been fascinating enough so I wonder why Sullivan felt the need to embellish it.

Others have made the comparison to Forrest Gump & it’s a good one- Pino is everywhere important & interacts with everyone of consequence...the book definitely feels more fictional than historic. I actually started to roll my eyes about mid-way through the book because some of the coincidences were just too absurd.

Still, it’s an interesting book, but one day I’d like to know Lella’s real story.