"The Last Magician" by Lisa Maxwell

I read Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell last year and really enjoyed her writing. So when I saw her newest novel at my local library, I was immediately interested. This is a YA fantasy novel that includes time travel, several heists, lots of characters with questionable morals, and various cons and deceptions.

Our main character Esta is a thief who lives in modern day New York and has the magical ability (or "affinity") to slow down time around her such that to a casual observer she can simply vanish out of sight or move through space very quickly. With the help of a magical cuff, she is also able to travel through time. I should mention that Manhattan is surrounded by a magical force of sorts called the Brink which people with magical abilities (called Mageus) cannot cross without irrevocable damage to their powers or even death. The Brink had been created by a powerful underground Order whose sole purpose appears to be hunting and eliminating all Mageus and harnessing magical powers through alchemy and other pseudo-scientific methods. Esta's latest and most important task is to travel to 1902 and steal a book that contains the secrets to bringing the Brink down and thus liberating the Mageus trapped in New York.

The narrative (especially in the beginning) shifts between various time periods and is presented from several different points of view. For the first 50 to 70 pages or so, it was quite confusing. However, once Esta arrives in 1902, the novel is much easier to follow and the number of POVs also becomes limited at that point. Overall, the plot is quite interesting, the characters are complex, and the book is filled with intricate plot twists. I also quite enjoyed the relationship between Harte and Esta. I just wish we got to see more of them together.

My only complaint about the book (and the reason for a 4 star rating) is that the Order and the Brink are not very well explained. If Manhattan is surrounded by the Brink and keeps the Mageus trapped inside, why does it only work one way since Mageus seem to be able to arrive in Manhattan just fine? What is the order doing with the Mageus that they kidnap? Nothing is explained about the experiments that are performed in the Mysterium. At 500 pages, the novel is quite chunky and instead of piling up layer upon layer of cons and deceptions, I think she should have spent a bit more time developing the world and explaining the magic system.

I understand this might not be a stand-alone. The ending is certainly very open and begs for a sequel. However, I am not sure I will be able to retain a lot of detail from this book to jump into a sequel a year from now. So this is likely going to be the only novel I read in this series. 4 out of 5 stars.

"Pompeii" by Robert Harris

I have always been fascinated by the story of Pompeii. Even though the city was abandoned as a result of a catastrophic volcano eruption, this natural disaster is also the reason this is a well-preserved historic site which lets us see first-hand what life was like in ancient Rome.

In Pompeii we follow Marcus Attilius, an engineer for the Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct that supplies water to Misenum, Neapolis, Herculaneum, Pompeii and the surrounding area. His predecessor mysteriously disappeared two weeks before, and now in Misenum inexplicably the water fountains are dry. Somewhere the line of the enormous aqueduct is damaged. The engineer sets out to investigate the incident and make urgent repairs. He finds himself very close to Vesuvius and observes first-hand as the dormant volcano begins to slowly come to life...

In addition, to the detailed account of the days and hours leading up to the eruption, we get a glimpse into the life and politics of the cities around the Bay of Naples. Attilius is a very likable protagonist to follow. He is honorable, brave and smart. There is also a mystery surrounding the disappearance of his predecessor and even a bit of romance. Despite the fact that we know how the story ends, I couldn't help but root for Attilius. This was an interesting and fast-paced historic novel. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.  

Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley. It is a YA fantasy novel with a gender fluid protagonist named Sal. Sal is a thief and a former street fighter, who is the only surviving representative of a nation called Nacea. His home country was wiped out during a brutal war in which magically created shadows were killing humans until they were stopped by a powerful mage turned queen of the entire land. In defeating the shadows, the Queen also banished magic from her land.

The Queen has a team of four assassins who are collectively called the Left Hand, and one of the positions on the team is open to all willing and deemed fit to compete for it. Sal decides to enter the competition, and the story takes off from there.

One thing that surprised me about this book was how violent and bloody it was. In that aspect it did not feel like a YA novel. I also had some issues with the plot. The main story line was centered around the competition for the assassin job. The author also did a fairly good job introducing the world, the history and the politics. However, the ending was very abrupt and confusing. I did not understand if it was left open-ended for a possible sequel or it was an actual ending. The story also was unevenly paced. Some portions seemed dragged out and I really had to push myself to power through those. Overall 3 out of 5 stars. A solid, interesting premise, a unique world, and a likable main character. But the plot and pacing could be improved. 

"Love & Gelato" by Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Gelato reminded me a lot of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. So if you liked Anna, you will definitely enjoy Love & Gelato. Our main character Lina recently lost her mother to cancer and on her deathbed, her mother makes Lina promise that she would go to Italy and live with her old friend Howard. Lina had never heard of this person before and is understandably very hesitant to go through with these plans, when her grandmother drops a bombshell: Howard is Lina’s estranged father and it is time to reconnect with him. I know the premise seems a bit strange and far-fetched but things do get cleared up as the story moves along.

I really enjoyed this book. It is fun and fluffy, and includes wonderful descriptions of the Italian country side (it is set in Tuscany around Florence). Lina makes new friends and learns her mother’s deepest secrets. The book also emphasizes that parents and family are not necessarily people we share DNA with, but those who, love, nurture and support us.

The only thing I had a bit of an issue with in this book is that all the events are crammed into a 5-day period. I think if they were stretched over a longer period of time and not rushed with such a lightning speed, everything would feel more natural, especially as far as relationships go. Nonetheless, I really liked this book and gave it 5 out of 5 stars, a super cute story and a great book to relax with.

"The Tsar of Love and Techno" by Anthony Marra

The Tsar of Love and Techno is a compilation of intertwined short stories that begin in Stalin's pre-WWII Soviet Russia and end in outer space. I must admit that I enjoyed the first 2 or 3 stories much more than subsequent ones. Perhaps it is because they grew progressively more violent and surreal. By the end of the book, when I was on the last story but one, I could not help but draw parallels between Marra's work and Quentin Tarantino's movies.

Just like Tarantino's films, Marra assembles a cast of wholly unlikable characters - specimen of bottom dwellers: murderers, snitches, drug dealers and the like. I honestly could not relate to any of them. However, I could definitely sympathize and feel for their plight. Again, as in Tarantino's films, there is prevalence of violence, moral deprivation, and a sense of complete and utter hopelessness and despair.

His book cannot be read as historical fiction. Even though the stories are deeply rooted in Russia's turbulent history of Stalin's purges, gulags, the devastation of the post-Soviet period and the horrors of the war in Chechnya, they give impressions of what life for a single individuals might feel like in a given snippet of time. It is not a historically accurate account. It is more of an impressionist's snapshot of what reality could be like for someone at a given point in time. His characters and his portrayal of Russian life are not representative of what an average Soviet or Russian citizen experienced.

I also can't help but note the lopsidedness of his portrayal of the conflict in Chechnya: Russian soldiers are depicted as wholly rent-seeking, dishonest and violent, yet there is a telling absence of brutality on the part of rebels, who nonetheless hold two Russian soldiers as domestic slaves at one point in the narrative.

Overall, I enjoyed seeing the interconnectedness of the stories and tracing the lives of various characters as times and regimes changed. I think the book is masterfully written, definitely reminiscent of Cloud Atlas, and if you are a Tarantino fan, you will enjoy the unsavory cast of characters and the neo-noir atmosphere. I just got sick and tired of despair and depravity, and had to intersperse my reading with happier books in between the stories. I also did not really like the ending. Although the loneliness of an afterlife in a space capsule coupled with weird bodily (or spiritual) sensations is a fitting end for a heart-broken murderer.

"Geekerella" by Ashley Poston

I don't know about you, but I love reading and watching movie adaptation of Cinderella retellings. Come to think of it, a lot of classics and modern fiction that I enjoy are? at the heart of it, Cinderella type-stories. Just think of Jane Eyre and Price and Prejudice - two of my all time favorite classics - both include stories of poor girls getting their proverbial prince charming.

Getting back to the point of this review, Geekerella is a fun modern take on the age-old story. The plot revolves around a fandom (rather than a kingdom), and our main character Danielle, or simply Elle, is a blogger and a life-long fan of the Starfield TV series. She is an orphan living with her stepmother and twin stepsisters in Charleston, NC. On the prince charming side, we have Darien, a teen TV star, who has just been cast for the lead male role in a new movie adaption of Starfield - a choice die-hard fan like Elle do not support from the get go.

And so their story begins: an unlikely friendship growing into more between two lonely souls, unexpected friendships and hateful enemies, and through it all, an underlying ode of love to fandoms and everything that comes with being a fan. I greatly enjoyed this book. 5 out of 5 stars.

"The List" by Patricia Forde

I did not have high expectations going into this book based on some reviews I saw. But I ended up really enjoying it. It is a dystopian YA story set in a post-apocalyptic world where only a handful of people survived (or so they think) and the dictator in charge thinks that language is the root of all human problems. He thus limits the vocabulary that people can use to only a few useful words. The main protagonist Letta is a wordsmith's apprentice and unlike others in this society has access to a large vocabulary and can read and write. One day something happens that makes her re-think her loyalty to their way of life. She begins doubting, searching and uncovers some dark secrets, which sets her life on a completely different path.

The book is fast-paced, I liked the main character and overall enjoyed the story. 4 out of 5 stars.

I read an e-ARC of this novel provided by Netgalley.com.