The Fox Hunt by Caitlin Breeze
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 star, rounding up to four stars because I think this story concept is excellent, more than acceptable writing for a debut novel and characters have good development arcs. The biggest issue for me was connecting our characters back together in the final chapters.
I felt like I read two or three totally different, yet related, stories. Portal fantasy does tend to do this where you are taken somewhere so different it’s jarring. And yes, you want to create a sense of discomfort for your reader (as your MC is likely having that feeling), it’s still critical to connect the story back to the original pages. And that is where Fox Hunt comes up lacking. There must be a hundred or more pages where the MC’s main ‘enemy’ from the beginning of the book isn’t mentioned directly. It seemed a bit odd for me when we finally circled back around. While the group our boys are members of is mentioned lots they are (seemingly) forgotten for a while and I can’t figure out why. I’d link them back in for part two to help join things up.
Overall, my advice is to go in prepared. A lot happens, it’s not that complex to follow necessarily, but we meet characters early on that we don’t see again (sadly) until the final pages of the story. Our leading gal undergoes a large transformation (in so many ways) from start to finish. And so you must accept that the severity of her circumstances causes her to shift quickly into the person she becomes. I’d definitely pick up another book by debut author, Caitlin Breeze, as I see a lot of promise in her storytelling, especially as her writing style matures.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Pam Kowolski Is a Monster! by Sarah Langan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I just spent 3 hours listening to this. Straight through. No pauses or breaks, barely a drink of water, while I worked on a stitching project. It occupied my mind, grabbed my attention, and did not let go. I have struggled with audiobooks for years. This past few months somehow I’ve been finding a way to hear them better. The right audiobook will grab me every time. Pam Kowalski is a Monster certainly did that. However, I believe it would have done the same if I’d read the pages because this is a compelling, can’t wait to get to the next moment story.
Sarah Langan gives us a book that may not seem like horror at first. It may seem a bit mundane and silly. A comic, like the cover art. Yet the further you venture into it the more unhinged, and yet creepily familiar it feels. This is a story about unhandled trauma and how it (literally) eats the world around you. Makes you lesser in ways you can’t even see. It poisons your mind and everyone you touch. Or at least that is what I got from it. It might also just be a pre-apocalypse story about where society is headed; not because of technology or war, but instead because of a bizarre monstrous magic or energy that overcomes people. However you look at the final twist of this story, one thing is for certain, it’s stunning, immensely well done, and will entrance the reader (or listener).
The thing it made me think of the most is a movie I adored called Late Night With the Devil. It starts off goofy, silly, and seemingly a hoax, but by the end it just stuns you with it twists, turns, and finale. That is what Pam Kowalski is a Monster does as well. In its own, different, yet similar way. If you love horror that emerges from our world in its own bizarre way check this out. If you love immense twists of a psychological but also that are slightly supernatural check this out.
Overall if you enjoy a good mystery, without feeling like you’re reading a ‘typical’ mystery (I have a real meh reaction to whodunnit stories) then definitely check out this little gem from Langan. It’s quick, efficient, and effective in its telling and definitely well worth a few hours one night when you don’t need to sleep until you’ve encountered the last line.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Many are going to love this debut from Rachel Hochihauser that reimagines Lady Tremaine, the evil stepmother from Cinderella. That description is perhaps the first problem here. When I think of Lady Tremaine I always think ‘evil’. Not just stepmother, but evil. I know this is a retelling, a spin and change up of the story we all know and love. I also know unlike most, even as a child and certainly as an adult, I love villains. A good villain is far more intriguing and impressive than a good hero to me. So it is perhaps not surprising that I did not love this downplaying of the evil aspect here.
While Lady Tremaine story is very feminist, well written (or at least quite good for a debut), and very original for a retelling; it just didn’t quite do it for me. Although the narrator of the audiobook has the perfect British tone for the story; I still found myself wandering whether on audio or reading off the printed page. I just wanted more darkness and at times was bored by the banality of details I just didn’t care about.
Before you jump at me, that the blurb made it clear this was a more positive spin on Tremaine, let me reiterate my point. This is the EVIL stepmother. The lady that made our society think of stepmothers as inherently awful. So to add too much vanilla to her is a challenge. Does she do inherently ‘evil’ things? I suppose, spoilers aside, one might argue she does some unsavoury things. But everything she does is to help, save, or better the position of her daughters. All three of her daughters, yes the famous Cinderella (known as Elin here) included. At no time is she ‘mean’ or ‘unfair’ to Elin over her own daughters. In fact it could be said that Elin is the one who is awful most days.
On the note of Elin, I did not understand why Hochihauser changed the names so drastically of the characters. It felt unnecessary. Ella would have been fine, and the original (non-Disney names) better for the girls. Yet the one thing that bothered me the most in the entire story is the cut of the most iconic item from any Cinderella telling, the glass slipper. There are no slippers, no glass, no attempt at symbolism or way to draw in this critical aspect of the tale. This for me is the worst mistake made here. I didn’t need a glass slipper; but I did need some attempt to join the idea back to something left behind. I kept waiting and waiting for something to represent that classic slipper and am stunned it never appeared. I did however enjoy the focus on apples as a nod to the Evil Queen and many other Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and other fairy tale princess story nods.
Ironically, perhaps, the best part of this novel was once we were done with the ball and the original Cinderella story was behind us. Then Lady Tremaine took on a life of its own. This tells me that Hochhauser should be writing her own unique stories. She did a brilliant job with the ending and twisted it all up. This would have been a much better story without any fairy tale base we all know. I’d have much preferred to strip it down to a twisted fairy tale and not bother to tie it to any one specific story or known character.
Generally, I think this is a clever take. I will consider reading a future Hochhauser novel as it was good enough, especially for a debut. I do like the feminist overtones and push of the young girls to not just the ‘be a princess’ like the Mothers all desire. And, not unlike a good Disney movie, the side characters were my favourite. The falcon, Lucy, is a lovely icon and her role is brilliant in the end. The stoic man and prince’s guard, Otto, is absolutely perfect representation of a man stuck in a very feminist toned, but stuck in a patriarchal royal story. He is just trying to live a good life and be fair to all; a trait I always admire in men (my own husband included).
In the end, I just wish there had been more darkness in Tremaine. She could have been just as feminist, strong, and downtrodden as she was without taking so much of the ‘evil’ out of her. It just didn’t quite hit for me; but again I truly believe it will for many others.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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