Tag: book review

Why Gods of Jade and Shadow works

Last year I talked about why a book called Mexican Gothic worked. It turned out to be one of my favorite books of 2020. It was good enough to convince me I needed to lay hands on every other book Sylvia Moreno-Garcia ever wrote or will write. On the off chance she reads this review, I am a fan for life, girl. 

Fan for life.

Gods of Jade and Shadows was next on my list from her. Published in 2019, it’s not a new book. Nor is it very old. It was impossible to put down.

Let’s break down why Gods of Jade and Shadow works. Because boy, does it work. And I think we’d all like to see more books like this on the shelves. 

If you haven’t read it yet, the story is about a god of death named Hun-Kame. Well, really the story is about a young woman named Casiopea. Her family is horrible to her. She and her mother are treated as poor relations. She wants nothing more than to run away and never have to see them again. Then she finds the bones of Hun-Kame in a box in her grandfather’s room.

The story is like a modern-day fairy tale. Like a greek fable, but with gods most people haven’t heard of. Hun-Kame has to battle his brother to regain his throne. But as they are gods, they can’t battle themselves. So they have to choose champions to battle for them. Hun-Kame choses Casiopea. His brother chooses her cousin. They have to race through the land of the dead to decide who will sit on the throne.

One thing you don’t see a lot of in fables is character growth if the character happens to be a god. But that’s not the case here. I don’t want to ruin anything, but Hun-Kame is forced to look at his past actions. He’s forced to grow. Which is something I think we need to see more of.

It should surprise no one that there’s a lot of heat between the two main characters. Like smoldering heat. It has some sexy, sexy parts.

But there’s no sex! There’s nothing I’d be worried about if my grandmother caught me reading. I wish we had more ghost pepper hot scenes in fantasy stories that aren’t cringy sexy.

Finally, let’s talk about the ending. I’m going to do this carefully, as I don’t want to spoil it for you. It’s not a perfect fairy tale ending. The thing I wanted to happen didn’t happen. But it is so satisfying. It’s everything that needed to happen, and it couldn’t be happier. 

All in all, Gods of Jade and Shadow is a great read. And other authors would do well to learn why it works. 

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Why Mexican Gothic works

So often I’m behind on my reading list. But not this time! This book came out this year, and I got to read it!

Well, listen to it. I got the audiobook because I just have more time to listen than to read. 

On one hand, I wish I had read it. It was such a delicious story, the thought of spending hours with the book in hand, sipping tea while rain pelted my windows and I was lost in a gothic castle is fantastic. On the other hand, hearing the story read by Frankie Corzo was a treat. She did a fantastic job, especially jumping from accents and characters. 

The story starts simple enough. A young socialite, Noemi, gets a frantic letter from her cousin. She goes to check on her, at her father’s request.

When she arrives, she finds a cold, dark castle better suited for Transylvania than Mexico. It’s inhabited by a family of depressing English, old aristocracy whose money is all gone. It appears clear soon that Catalina, Noemi’s cousin, was only brought here for her money.

But it’s hard to suss that out, as she’s not in her right mind. The family keeps the two girls away from each other most of the time, leaving Noemi to wander around the castle and the graveyard. 

In doing so, she finds out more and more about family secrets. Secrets that are doing their damndest to wrap around her neck and strangle her.

There’s a great amount of symbolism that I only realized in hindsight. The story is about two young women trapped in a castle. But it’s also about an older generation that refuses to let go. Old ways, old customs, old hatreds. Especially old ignorance. It festers and grows, infecting younger generations who are struggling to break free from this toxic behavior. This is met by a younger generation that wants to escape, evolve. But they’re trapped by the needs and traditions of those who have come before them. Who refuses to leave, no matter the price.

All of this is wrapped up in the story of a haunted house. Something is creeping in the corners and shadows. Something haunting Noemi’s dreams. Something that seems to be driving Catalina mad.

Woven among this story, is a love story between Noemi and Francis, the youngest son of the family. It blends through brilliantly and seems like a natural process. The book wouldn’t have been half so good without it.

Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is one of those authors that makes you add all of her books to your to-read list as soon as you finish one. The story was classic and clever. It was nestled in a haunted house story that we’ve read a hundred times, with a new twist I didn’t see coming. I loved every second of it.

Have you read Mexican Gothic? Let us know what you thought of it in the comments below. 

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Bossypants, by Tina Fey

Image result for bossypants

Welcome to another edition of the Paper Beats World book club.  Here I talk about books I love that I think you’ll love too.  Some of them are indie books I was really impressed by.  Some of them are books I think every writer should read.  This month, it’s the latter.

Now, you should know that I think Tina Fey is literally the best person on the planet.  She’s hilarious, hard working, insane.  The best thing about her is that she’s honest, brutally honest about herself and others.  She’s also a brilliant writer.

The book is autobiographical, chronicling her life from childhood until sometime about halfway through the run of 30 Rock.  Again, Fey is very honest about herself.  She recounts, without flinching at all, things about her life that she was ashamed of, embarrassed by, and really freaking stoked over.

I would have loved Bossypants just because I love Fey’s voice.  I love to hear her tell stories.  But I learned so much about being a writer from her, and this book that I want to share with you.

Don’t let your gender stop you.

Comedy hasn’t always been a friend to women.  We aren’t slapstick, or vulgar, or any of the things that are supposed to be funny.  Except we are.  I think I’m freaking hilarious, of course, but let’s also consider Carol Burnett, Amy Poehler, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Kathleen Madigan, and a ton of others.  We are funny, and shocking, and capable of all the same things men are, (including writing our names in the snow.)

Men are smart, and capable of self control.  They are nurturing, and tender, and fully capable of writing ‘chick lit,’ romantic comedy, really anything a woman can write. Don’t let anyone tell you you shouldn’t write something because of your gender.

Do things before you think you’re ready.

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but it bears repeating.  Why does it bear repeating?  Most people still don’t believe it.  Start your book even if you think you’re not ready.  Write a short story, and send it off even if you think you’re not ready.  Start researching agents, start calling yourself a writer, even if you think you’re not ready.  You might create some really fantastic material, even before you think you’re ready.

Education is good, but hard work is better.

Fey went to the University of Virginia, where she studied drama.  It seemed pretty clear to me that it was her experience at Saturday Night Live that made her the person she needed to be to make 30 Rock, and Mean Girls.  I’m similar.  I took Journalism and Creative Writing.  But I learned writing by writing.  I wrote a book, then another one and another one. I finished two rough drafts before I ever wrote something I thought worth my time to edit. I’ve written 15 short stories this year.  I am a better writer today than I was before I wrote those 15.  So, yes, get an education if you can.  I’ll never tell anyone that an education is a bad idea.  But experience will always be better.

Friends that know you’re the type to work your ass off are even better.

Fey will be the first to tell you that she got some of the opportunities she did because of the work relationships she made on Saturday Night Live, like Lorne Michaels.  Do you think for one second anyone would have wanted to help her out if she’d been lazy, sloppy, hard to work with, or just an overall pain in the ass?  No, probably not.  Learn from that, people.  Be known as a hard worker, someone who’s willing to do what’s needed to get the shit done, and people will want to work with you again.  Those are the kind of relationships that open doors later in life.

  

And my personal favorite line from the whole book, by Lorne Michaels, “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready.  The show goes on because it’s 11:30”

Man, this is my new motto for life. Oh, I don’t think this chapter is quiiiite right.  Who cares, it’s 11:30, time to go! I can’t get my hair to lay right.  Too bad, it’s 11:30.  Maybe if I give this manuscript just one more once over… Nope! It’s 11:30, and it’s time to go!  I’m not saying rush, or don’t take care during the editing process.  But don’t focus on perfection, because you will never think a story is perfect.  Others will call it perfect; parents, lovers and friends will praise it.  You will still see the imperfections.  Stop, it’s 11:30.

I highly recommend reading Bossypants.  I recommend even more listening to the audio version, because Fey reads it herself.  Really, there’s nothing better than hearing that woman read her own work.

Let me know what you think of Bossypants, or anything else you’re reading that’s rocking your world.

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Book Review, Nightblade

A few months ago, I started reading indie books to review.  I really love the whole concept, you know?  Self publishing, being like an indie band, selling copies of books out of our trunks.  Still flat broke but with some die hard fans.  I mean, how cool would that be?

For the longest time, I’ve wanted to start posting reviews of books I read.  Lots of things have prevented that.  Time constraints were a big issue, of course.  I just don’t have enough time to read as much as I want.  And I read a lot that isn’t indie, of course.

Then there were the books themselves.  I really didn’t want to write a review of an indie book that I really hated.  That seemed cruel.

But then!  I just finished an indie book that I truly enjoyed.  Then I read some traditionally published stories that I wanted to share with you all, too.  So I’m going to start reviewing books on Paper Beats World.  My hope is that I’ll be able to do two a month, and I really hope a lot of them will be indie books.  But I make no promises.

Anyway, the indie book that changed my mind is called NightBlade, by Garrett Robinson.  It is the subject of Paper Beats World’s very first book review.

This was a really fast paced fantasy story about a girl named Loren.  She’s a pretty miserable young woman.  Her parents are horrible to her, seeing her only for what she can do for them.  But she’s got little more than a fantasy of being a thief to sustain her until a mage stumbles into her village, tailed by lawmen.

Now,the book isn’t without it’s flaws.  The secondary characters like the father and village boy who’s in love with Lauren are pretty one dimensional.  Other characters, like Lauren herself, aren’t though.  While I do question her desire to actually run off with some stranger, she’s interesting.

All in all, I liked Nightblade.  It was a fun read, even if it didn’t do more than that.

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