Unasked-For Book Reviews

I recently finished the book  Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries , By Heather Fawcett for my book club. I really enjoyed this book. I liked it so much, that when I found out that its sequel is being released in January of 2024, I pre-ordered it immediately.  The main character, the Emily of the title, is capable, logical, and no nonsense, which I liked quite a bit. She's also neurodivergent. I've never read a book with a clearly (defined) neurodivergent character before. Her neurodivergence is primarily a lack of being able to read social cues. This apparent drawback is actually quite a boon when it comes to dealing with faeries. Much like the character Sunny Nwazue, and the other magical characters from the Nsibidi Scripts Series by Nnedi Okorafor, Emily's handicap is actually her greatest strength. I always enjoy reading how someone's gift is what they initially think is a drawback. The book is packed with adventure, but it's also really funny, and made me ...

  Unasked for Book review – The Ferryman , by Justin Cronin I finished listening to Justin Cronin’s “The Ferryman” today (Sunday, 10/15), and what a journey it was.   The main character, Proctor Bennet is complex.   At times I liked him, and at other times, I did not like him at all.   In the end I felt that he was a satisfying main character to take us on this story’s journey.   He is not the only character that narrates the book at times, but he is the primary one. This is a meaty book.   I don’t know the exact page count, but the book was 19+ hours of listening, so I’m thinking 700+ pages at least.   The length is worth it though. I didn’t feel like anything was wasted in the telling of the story.   There were no gratuitous story arcs or meandering flowery passages. Cronin is NOT Nathanial Hawthorne, thank goodness, and weaves an engaging story and characters, deftly. This book is a lot of things; thematically it could be best described a...