Dibandingkan sama buku kedua, Rainshadow Road, Dream Lake ini menurut gue ada sedikit penurunan kualitas terutama dari segi hubungan anta 3,5 bintang
Dibandingkan sama buku kedua, Rainshadow Road, Dream Lake ini menurut gue ada sedikit penurunan kualitas terutama dari segi hubungan antara dua karakter utamanya. Mungkin karena itu juga gue baca Dream Lake ga sat set sat set kayak baca Rainshadow Road. Selain lagi hectic banget, gue juga kurang merasakan romansanya Alex sama Zoe. Benernya kisah romansa mereka itu trope yang grumpy bf x sunshine gf. Plek ketiplek tanpa ada modifikasi. Alex ga cuma sekedar grumpy, tapi bitter to the core gegara pernikahannya yang gagal sama mantan istrinya, Darcy. Selain itu Alex juga alkoholik, tiap ada masalah pokoknya minum-minum biar masalahnya selesai. Gue juga ga ngerti walau udah cere, Alex masih tetep having sex sama Darcy, simply karena butuh pelepasan. Bahkan alasan mereka menikah sejak awal pun gue ga ngerti. I mean, kalau cuma butuh HS doang buat pelampiasan nafsu, mending ga usah nikah aja. Tapi ya, jadi ga ada konfliknya ya hahahaha. Karena perceraian Alex sama Darcy inilah yang bikin Alex nanti bakal terhubung ke Zoe.
Zoe sendiri ya typical sunshine girl yang walau perceraiannya menyakitkan (mantan suaminya ternyata gay yang denial) dan ayah kandungnya ga sayang, tapi Zoe ini masih ceria dan percaya sama cinta. Sejujurnya Zoe ini ya tipikal salah satu cewe yang yakin bisa "menyembuhkan" tokoh cowonya yang bitter, dalam hal ini Alex, untuk jadi lebih baik. Kalau kamu suka trope2 model ginian, ya bakal suka. Gue sendiri ga terlalu, kayak yang ini corny abis ga sih trope cewe bisa menyembuhkan luka batin cowo hanya karena cinta wkwk. Walau gitu penulisan tante Lisa mah tetep juara. Zoe pun diceritakan piawai dalam memasak jadi banyak deskripsi masakan di buku ini yang minimal bikin kamu ngiler.
Yang membuat Dream Lake menarik menurut gue bukan perkembangan karakter Alex menjadi lebih baik atau kisah cintanya sama Zoe, tapi identitas si hantu yang nempel ke Alex. Meneruskan subgenre magical realism di buku 2 (Rainshadow Road), tante Lisa menambahkan unsur supranatural dimana seorang (?) hantu menghantui Alex pas Alex lagi benerin rumah Sam di Rainshadow Road. Bagi gue, teka teki identitas si hantu sebenarnya lah yang bikin buku ini asyik buat dibaca. Kita diajak menebak - nebak siapa sih hantu dan kenapa dia ga bisa pergi ke alam baka karena ada sesuatu yang menahan di bumi. Pas akhirnya tahu, kita juga merasa trenyuh, karena kisah cinta si hantu emang dasarnya tragedi. Tapi karena ini romansa ya, selain Alex sama Zoe dapat happy endnya, si hantu akhirnya juga bisa bersatu dengan love of his past life. Selain hantu, tante Lisa juga memasukkan unsur magical di masakan Zoe. Dimana siapapun yang makan masakan dia, bakal merasakan sesuatu yang lebih atau membahagiakan. Nyari orang kayak Zoe ini dimana ya, karena gue kan hobi makan XD.
Tidak ada antagonis di buku ini, ga kayak adik sama mantan Lucy yang dajjal di buku 2. Kalaupun ada, bisa dibilang, antagonisnya ada dua. Alex sendiri dan ayahnya Zoe yang meninggalkan Zoe tanpa alasan yang bahkan sampai akhir pun ga bener2 jelas (alasannya karena Zoe mirip sama ibunya yang dulu meninggalkan ayahnya pas Zoe kecil. Tapi ini juga ga ada penyelesaiannya). Gue agak kesel juga sama Alex yang mati2an menyangkal perasaan tapi nafsu juga sama Zoe. Ah elah, wkwkw. Gue sepertinya lebih cocok sama kisah romansa Sam dan Lucy yang walau awalnya friend with (sex) benefit tapi slow burn mereka tuh dapat banget. Gue cuma mendapat kesan kalau Zoe itu cinta Alex karena pria itu terluka batinnya, jadi dia pengen nyembuhkan lukanya Alex. Kalau misal Alex itu minimal kayak Sam, meski terluka tapi ga yang bitter, gue ga yakin juga Alex sama Zoe bakal jadian.
Eniwei, terjemahannya tetep enak dibaca. Steamy factornya juga wadidaw wadaw dan gue cukup apreasiasi karena terjemahannya di bagian adegan olahraga tempat tidur itu bagus. Si Alex ini suka dirty talk ke Zoe, tapi gue udah agak euh tahu dia masih HS sama mantan istrinya meski udah cere, walau ya setelah ketemu Zoe; Alex udah ga mau lagi. Kalau kamu tipe yang suka banyak adegan smutnya, mungkin agak kecewa karena mereka baru begitu pas mau akhir2 cerita. Tapi gue sih kagak keberatan ya, hehehe. Seleranya udah beda dan gue lebih appreciate slow burn, meski slow burnnya Alex sama Zoe ini agak kurang kalau dibandingkan sama Sam dan Lucy. Sisterhood antara Justine sama Zoe menurut gue lumayan, apalagi ada hints kalau Justine ini kemungkinan keturunan penyihir. Jadi di bukunya si Justine, bisa jadi ada unsur2 sihirnya walau tentu saja ga banyak.
Tetap menarik buat dibaca dengan segala dinamika keluarga dan menunjukkan kalau kekuatan cinta bisa menyembuhkan hati yang terluka serta membuat makhluk gaib (si hantu) menemukan kembali cinta masa lalunya. Dream Lake emang ga sebagus Rainshadow Road, tapi gue tetep rekomendasi kalau kamu suka kisah cinta di kota kecil dengan trope grumpy x sunshine.
PS: Gue ga paham lagi lah sama covernya, karena ini kan bukan hisrom XD. Entah kenapa modelnya pakai gaun ala2 mau pesta, meski penggambarannya sih sama karena Zoe juga rambutnya pirang....more
Mumpung buku kedua dan ketiga seri Ferals juga sudah diterjemahkan dan tersedia di Gramedia Digital, maka abis baca buku pertamanya ya gu 3,5 bintang
Mumpung buku kedua dan ketiga seri Ferals juga sudah diterjemahkan dan tersedia di Gramedia Digital, maka abis baca buku pertamanya ya gue otomatis lanjut aja dengan buku kedua. Cerita masih tetap berfokus pada Caw, seorang Feral atau pengendali binatang. Bukan sembarang binatang, karena Caw adalah Feral gagak. Jadi semua gagak di kota Blackstone ada di bawah kendali Caw. Sama kayak buku pertama, dari semua feral seakan feral gagak ini yang paling penting dan diincer sama musuh. Di buku pertama, Caw berhadapan dengan musuh bebuyutannya yang juga membunuh orang tuanya, Spinning Man. Nah, walau Spinning Man sudah berhasil dikalahkan di buku 1, ga lantas kedamaian datang. Kota Blackstone masih tetep kumuh dan kali ini Caw lagi - lagi diincar sama Feral bernama Bunda Lalat (yang mengendalikan...yak, you right, lalat) yang jauh lebih bengis ketimbang Spinning Man. Tapi bukan Caw namanya kalau harus menyerah dengan keadaan.
Di buku keduanya ini, Jacob Grey menambahkan beberapa tokoh. Salah satunya Selina, cewe yang ditemui Caw pas Caw lagi nostalgia di rumah lamanya. Lha, terus Lydia kemana? Tenang Lydia tetap ada dan tenang juga, ga ada namanya cinta segitiga soalnya fokusnya bukan di kisah romansanya Caw. Jadi mereka semua temenan. Dari para feral sendiri, mulai dikenalkan feral yang baik tapi yang jahat juga ada. Malah gue mikirnya ini agak ga seimbang ya antara kekuatan feral baik sama feral jahat. Padahal feral baik jumlahnya lebih banyak tapi feral jahatnya bisa menang di awal - awal. Mungkin authornya penganut paham jagoan menangnya di akhir :))). Selain tokoh manusia, tentunya ada tambahan gagak baru lagi di trio kawanan gagak yang setia menemani Caw. Si gagak baru bernama Shimmer, seekor gagak betina yang kayaknya sih ditaksir sama Screech. Lha terus Milky kemana? Kalau mau tahu nasib Milky ya kudu baca buku pertama hehehe. Sayangnya, bagi gue interaksi Caw sama gagak - gagaknya kurang banyak disini padahal gue kangen pengen baca Screech dan Glum saling beradu pantun (alias berantem). Untuk karakter Feral, lebih banyak karakter dewasa dimana yang masih muda cuma Caw dan juga Pip. Jadi agak ga balance juga nih benernya.
Kalau dari segi cerita, tentunya tetap seru dan alurnya cepat. Nyebelin ala anak remajanya juga ada, tapi sekali lagi masih bisa dimaklumi soalnya Caw sendiri juga selain pengalaman sama manusia kurang, dia juga masih belajar baca. Tapi Caw sendiri perkembangan karakternya lumayan dan dia ga mudah menyerah. Mungkin bagi gue yang agak bikin jijik karena deskripsi serangga di buku ini. Kalau di buku pertama ada kecoak sama lipan, di buku ini ya...lalat, wkwkw. Sama satu lagi yaitu cacing. Meski begitu gue masih tetep menikmati pas bacanya kok, mungkin berusaha biar ga terlalu dibayangkan juga. Authornya sendiri mungkin juga ingin balance interaksi Caw, jadi hampir semua dikasih panggung, walau fokusnya emang tetep di Caw dengan Selina dan Lydia. Sementara untuk orang dewasa antara Caw dengan Crumb yang jadi mentornya dan juga Velma.
Seri Ferals sendiri berakhir di buku ketiga dimana di buku kedua ini ada beberapa misteri yang cukup bikin penasaran. Kayak kenapa kesannya feral gagak sangat penting padahal banyak feral binatang lain yang mungkin lebih kuat atau cerdas. Apalagi karena di buku ini banyak rahasia yang disembunyikan sama ibunya Caw, jadi kayaknya di buku ketiga bakal banyak yang dibahas.
Series yang recommended buat yang mau nyari urban fantasy untuk middle grade atau YA dengan tone cerita yang kelam dan suram....more
Melihat sepintas dari covernya (yang menurut gue bagus banget), bisa ditebak kalau Ferals atau diterjemahkan jadi Pengendali Gagak ini ad 3,5 bintang
Melihat sepintas dari covernya (yang menurut gue bagus banget), bisa ditebak kalau Ferals atau diterjemahkan jadi Pengendali Gagak ini adalah novel untuk anak - anak atau middle grade. Tapi gue ga nyangka ceritanya bakal se-dark and gritty ini. Bener - bener bikin gue termenung, karena konten kekerasannya cukup lumayan untuk sebuah buku dengan tujuan pembaca anak - anak. Mungkin lebih pas kalau dibaca sama yang udah SMP atau kalaupun yang baca masih SD perlu dampingan orang tua. Karena aura ceritanya emang cukup suram, sama suramnya dengan penampilan si tokoh utama, Caw, yang bisa mengendalikan gagak.
Ide tentang kemampuan mengendalikan hewan atau beast-tamer sebenarnya bukan hal yang benar - benar baru. Genre buku ini yaitu urban fantasy with dark & gritty element juga udah sering dipakai. Tapi gue suka sama eksekusi Jacob Grey (yang tidak jelas identitasnya. Gue yakin ini nama pena penulis yang udah banyak bikin novel sih) buat novel pertamanya ini. World buildingnya cukup simpel tapi teratur dan ga sulit dipahami atau diikuti. Membaca Ferals mengingatkan pada pengalaman baca gue saat baca Lockwood & Co. And surprise, surprise, sama kayak Lockwood, Ferals pun berkutat dengan dunia lain atau dunianya para orang - orang yang sudah tiada. Mungkin ingin ada sedikit unsur kayak Harry Potter, maka Caw sendiri juga sudah tidak punya orang tua dan harus bertahan hidup dari umur 5 tahun hanya dengan ditemani gagak - gagaknya. Gue suka banget sama trio gagak yang ngikutin Caw. Glum dan Screech itu suka saling adu pantun, dimana Glum kebagian peran gagak tua yang sinis dipadukan dengan Screech yang jiwa muda. Lalu ada Milky, gagak putih buta dan bisu yang ternyata menyembunyikan banyak rahasia.
Tentunya cerita ga cuma berkisar di sekitar Caw aja, karena Grey mengenalkan beberapa tokoh Ferals yang lain. Hewan - hewan yang dikendalikan pun cukup beragam. Walau kalau ga suka serangga, baca deskripsi tentang pengendalian kecoak, laba - laba dan lipan di buku ini emang agak euh sih. Tokoh2nya pun ga cuma anak - anak, karena ada tokoh dewasa juga. Masa lalu Caw dijelaskan dengan cukup runut dan konfliknya bersama Ferals lain pun cukup oke dieksplorasi. Pertemanannya dengan Lydia pun juga cukup menarik diikuti termasuk identitas asli Lydia. Karena masih bocah, ya tentunya ada saat dimana Caw (dan juga Lydia ) berlaku yang bikin gue kesel, tapi akhirnya gue inget yah ini kan masih bocah umur 13 tahun yak. Pace cerita yang cepat dan tanpa babibu tetap terjaga membuat gue penasaran sama apa Caw akan berhasil mengalahkan musuhnya, yaitu Spinning Man.
Kalau pengen nyari novel middle grade yang ga melulu tentang anak sekolahan atau sihir dengan setting antah berantah dan lebih ingin yang nuansanya suram dan cukup hopeless (pada awalnya), Ferals ini bisa jadi pilihan. Pun, walau series, bukunya cuma tiga, jadi cocok buat yang susah berkomitmen sama series yang banyak bukunya XD. ...more
Waktu baca blurbnya, gue nyangka ini bener-bener fiksi karangan alm Michael Chricton. Gue ga nyangka kalau kejadian di novel ini sebenarn 3,5 bintang
Waktu baca blurbnya, gue nyangka ini bener-bener fiksi karangan alm Michael Chricton. Gue ga nyangka kalau kejadian di novel ini sebenarnya emang fakta. Dragon Teeth adalah karya alm Chricton yang menceritakan kembali tentang Bone Wars, persaingan antara dua ahli Paleontologi yaitu Othniel Charles Marsh dan Edwin Drinker Cope. Bersetting di tahun 1876, selain Bone Wars, ceritanya juga berlatar belakang perang antara suku Indian dan warga USA saat itu. Jadi, konten rasis dan kolonialismenya sangat kental, karena mungkin alm Chricton emang berusaha membuat cerita yang otentik sesuai dengan kondisi saat itu. Walau memang menceritakan kejadian yang pernah ada, tetap aja novel ini memang fiksi karena semua diceritakan dari sudut pandang seorang karakter pemuda bernama William Johnson.
Gegara taruhan, William yang sial (atau malah untung?) terpaksa bohong dan ngaku jadi ahli fotografi ke Marsh biar bisa ikut ekspekdisi Marsh untuk penggalian fosil dinosaurus. Sayangnya, Marsh yang kadung curiga sama William, ninggalin pemuda malang itu di Cheyenne. Untungnya (atau sekali lagi, sialnya?) William malah bertemu sama Professor Cope dan berujung ikut professor melakukan ekspedisi ke daerah Badlands yang di satu sisi juga sedang ada perang dengan suku Indian. William dan Professor Cope berhasil menemukan fosil gigi seekor dino yang sangat besar, hence the title of the book, Gigi Naga. Cuma, masalah emang kayak bertubi - tubi menghampiri William setelah penemuan fosil ini. Dikejar - kejar Indian, harus bertahan hidup, dikira nipu karena Cope nyangka William udah mati. Cuma gegara taruhan dengan temannya, hidup William akhirnya berubah sepenuhnya di akhir perjalanannya.
Awal baca buku ini emang gue merasa haduh ini fiksi tapi kayak buku non fiksi. Begitu banyak tokoh - tokoh yang ada dan gue agak sulit buat menghapal mereka semua plus bbrp juga tokoh nyata. Selain prof Marsh dan Cope, ada juga Earp bersaudara dan bahkan nama Calamity Jane pun disebut.Tapi jangan khawatir, fokus utamanya tetap di perjalanan William kok. Pemuda ini kasian juga kayak kena sial terus - terusan, sampai gue khawatir apa dia bisa selamat pada akhirnya. Walau emang di awal buku, agak - agak bosenin, pace ceritanya mulai seru setelah perjalanan William dan Profesor Cope mencapai Badlands dan menemukan fosil - fosil. Gue merasa penelitian alm. Chricton tentang Bone War dan perang antara suku Sioux dengan tentara federasi Amerika itu sangat ekstensif karena detail - detail terutama deskripsi daerah Badlands, Deadwood, etc di buku ini emang luar biasa.
Dragon Teeth diterbitkan setelah Michael Chricton meninggal, jadi ada semacam catatan dari istri almarhum. Selain itu catatan ini juga mengarahkan pembacanya untuk membaca buku karangan Stenberg, seorang ahli paleontologi yang juga pernah jadi asisten Prof Marsh dan Prof Cope untuk pengalaman baca yang lebih otentik. Meskipun Dragon Teeth ini memang murni fiksi, tapi gue seneng dapat beberapa info tentang Bone Wars dan mau ga mau gue ikut semangat pas Prof Cope melakukan penggalian fosil. Buku ini cocok kalau kamu cari hisfic yang ga melulu berfokus sama perang, tapi tentang hal - hal lain, misalnya penggalian fosil dino di abad 19.
Tentu saja, "gigi naga" ini harafiah ya. Naga disini hanya merujuk pada asumsi Cope kalau fosil gigi dino yang mereka temukan sangat besar bak naga XD....more
Against the Currant is the book that left me conflicted. In the span of 2024 alone, I had read 13 cozy mystery titles including this one. S 3,5 stars
Against the Currant is the book that left me conflicted. In the span of 2024 alone, I had read 13 cozy mystery titles including this one. Some of those titles feature the start of small business owned by the heroine that got into hot water when someone died days later after the victim's altercation with the heroine. Against the Currant is totally follow the same formula while try to be different with the way Olivia Matthews infused some of Caribbean culture to this book. I'm not that familiar with the Caribbean culture and norms, so I will take what I get.
This book is a cozy mystery yes, but tend more toward mystery rather than cozy feeling. The cozy come from the Lyndsay Murray's big family, from her parents, her big brother, her grandma, her cousin and some uncles and aunties. The pace itself kinda fast but I wish Matthews didn't try to always remind what time is it when Lynds going somewhere or investigate someone. This book also didn't try to hide its dislike of cops, lel. Apparently NYPD detectives were incompetence of sort with how they are so sure that Lynds is the murderer. Actually, the way Matthews write it was make sense. Lynds have motives, means and also her charm bracelet was found in the victim's place. All the evidence were against Lynds and I kind of know how frustrated Lynds might be. Try to clear her name because her business and her family matters. The unbelievable happen when Lynd and her cousin, Reena, got random shot that they believe the culprit try to intimidate them but the cop (in this case a potential love interest) said that maybe they fake the whole things. Like, OMG, seriously, I can't even. How incompetence these cops eh?
Although the mystery and the way of story unfold left me with mixed feeling, I decide to give half star more to my original 3 stars rating with the way story end, especially when Lynds got cornered by the culprit. I'm appraised Matthew's decision to write Lynds that keep practicing kickboxing because the scene when (view spoiler)[Lynds kicking the culprit to their ass was very satisfying. We need more heroine in cozy mystery that know to defend herself (hide spoiler)]. While I said that one of the cop will be Lynd's potential love interest, I can see that the romance itself is more afterthought. Rather than Bryce (the cop), I enjoy Lynd's interaction with Jose, a local newspaper journalist. The power and strength of this book is more like the family support that Lynds has. Sigh, I almost green with envy, lel. Lynds sure have a family that love her in their own way and they also seem tight-knit.
I enjoy reading Against the Currant although Lynds's attitude sometimes can grates my nerves, lel. So I don't know if I want to read the next book or not. I think if you like your foodies cozy with Caribbean culture and a spitfire heroine that will not let others bullied her and accused her of murder, you might want to try this one....more
Setelah entah puluhan tahun gue ga pernah pergi ke perpus kota/daerah dan baca disana (ya karena koleksi dan timbunan gue gila banyak ban 3,5 bintang
Setelah entah puluhan tahun gue ga pernah pergi ke perpus kota/daerah dan baca disana (ya karena koleksi dan timbunan gue gila banyak banget), akhirnya di tahun 2023 gue main ke Perpus di Cikini. Itu juga setelah 12 tahun kerja di Jakarta baru sekali ini juga main di daerah Cikiniii...ke Gondangdia (malah nyanyi). Kenapa kok tahu-tahu ke perpus? Karena ada yang ngajakin dan gue akhir2 ini suka ikutan acara bookish walau ya hanya dateng kalau penyelanggaranya kenal. Maklum, anak INFP (apa hubungannya? A lot, sadly)
Namanya juga baca di perpus dan jamnya terbatas karena cuma sampai jam 12 acara library date dan silent readingnya (baca di perpus kan harus tenang ya bestie), dimana gue nyampe perpus jam 9, maka milih bukunya yang ga tebel2 banget (under 300 halaman), terjemahan (gue baca buku dalam bhs Inggris tuh lama) dan kalau bisa genre yang gue suka. Akhirnya setelah ngider milih2 dan sejujurnya gue seneng plus galau mau baca buku mana (banyak banget buku2 referensi dari DK!) gue milih buku The Shrunken Head yang ditulis Lauren Oliver (penulis beneran) dan Hester J.C (kagak jelas bionya. Diterjemahkan oleh Mizan Fantasy dan sejujurnya gue juga ga tahu sama buku ini dimana pas gue lihat stempel perpus di bukunya ternyata tahun 2019? Mungkin Mizan udah males masarinnya karena toh PJO yg paling laris dan juga karya Rick Riordan lainnya. Gue beruntung juga nemu buku ini karena cuma 1 eksemplar dan juga ini buku pertama.
Singkat cerita, karena keterbatasan waktu dan walau namanya silent reading tapi gue masih sempat ngobrol cekikikan ma Mba Yuska, Mba Treez, Febri dan Marina yg duduk deket gue (wkwk kelakuan emang eyke ini), gue berhasil menuntaskan baca buku ini dalam waktu dua jam. Mungkin karena isinya juga termasuk ringan dan terjemahannya sendiri dan luwes dibacanya plus minim typo. The Shrunken Head sendiri adalah buku pertama dari seri The Curiosity House, menceritakan tentang sebuah Museum berisi hal-hal ganjil dan orang2 unik yang mempertunjukkan kemampuan mereka bak orang sirkus. Dipimpin oleh Mr Dumpfrey yang bak sales tulen, buku ini berfokus sama anak - anak belia yang usianya mungkin masih di kisaran belasan tahun. Ada Thomas yang cerdas dan bisa melipat - lipat tubuhnya. Ada Phillippa atau Pip yang bisa menerawang apa yg ada di kantongmu dan belakangan ternyata dia mulai bisa membaca pikiran manusia. Lalu ada Samson atau akrab dipanggil Sam yang sangat kuat bisa menghancurkan dinding atau mengangkat benda berat tapi juga sangat pemalu. Terakhir ada Mackenzie atau Max, anggota terakhir yang bergabung dengan Museum Mr Dumpfrey, ahli melempar pisau tapi suka berkata sinis dan kleptomania.
Keempat tokoh kita jelas bukan anak - anak biasa. Mereka juga ga akur, terutama Pip dan Max. Tapi ketika sebuah artefak bernama Kepala Mengerut disinyalir membuat beberapa orang terbunuh dan Mr Dumpfrey dicurigai sebagai pembunuh, keempat anak ini berusaha menyelidiki siapa yg mencuri Kepala Mengerut dan menuduh Mr Dumpfrey. Mulai dari sini memang ceritanya lebih condong ke misteri whodunnit ala Nancy Drew dan gue akuin element misterinya yang membuat gue bisa baca dengan cepat. Selain itu ternyata ada juga misteri di balik kemampuan khusus para anak-anak yang nantinya akan sedikit terungkap di akhir cerita.
The Shrunken Head cukup membuat gue teringat akan cerita Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children tapi juga semacam digabungkan dengan Freak Showsnya P.J.Barnum. Tidak ada petunjuk waktu yang menunjukkan pada era apa buku ini ditulis, dan ilustrasi yang ada di dalam bukunya terasa modern. Meski banyak orang aneh di buku ini, cerita memang hanya berkutat pada Thomas, Sam, Pip dan Max. Masing - masing cukup menarik dengan personalitas yg beda-beda. Thomas yg jail tapi optimis, semacam pemimpin tidak resmi, Sam yang takut2 kalau kekuatannya akan melukai seseorang, Pip yang kaku dan hobi berantem dengan Max yang semaunya sendiri. Gue merasa ceritanya lebih fokus ke Thomas, sementara Pip jauh lebih banyak diceritakan bermusuhan sama Max walau mendekati akhir cerita mereka mulai akur. Para orang dewasanya juga campuran antara kebapakan (Mr Dumpfrey) atau yang menyebalkan sekalian seperti wartawan bernama Bill Evans yang artikel-artikelnya suka menyudutkan museum. Bagi gue misterinya cukup solid tapi agak membingungkan pada akhir cerita yang juga membuka kemungkinan ada cerita selanjutnya.
Buku ini cocok dibaca untuk sekali duduk. Dilengkapi dengan ilustrasi yang menurut gue cukup unik dan bergaya gothic dan alurnya juga cukup cepat. Misterinya ga terlalu sulit, gue sebenarnya udah bisa nebak siapa pelaku di balik menghilangnya Kepala Menyusut. Walau sayangnya Kepala Menyusut ini, alih2 sebagai judul, sebenarnya lebih ke arah plot device aja. Kalau suka sama buku anak dengan element misteri yg cukup kental dan sedikit bumbu fantasy, buku ini boleh dicoba....more
Apparently, the key to exorcise demon that roamed in your neighborhood is the female friendship. Better yet, the female friendship between 3,5 stars
Apparently, the key to exorcise demon that roamed in your neighborhood is the female friendship. Better yet, the female friendship between housewives
Nope, not kidding. I know those sentences sounds like shonen anime or manga slogan, but the main theme for Suburban Hell is the friendship between the suburban housewives in Winchester, Illinois. Suburban Hell is Maureen Kilmer's debut horror book and honestly this book have some debut's weakness. But, I'm having fun while reading this although some things can be glaring. More about that later.
Suburban Hell told entirely from Amy's first PoV. Together with her "outcast" housewives neighbor, namely Melissa, Jess and Liz, they create a place just for them to relax without spouses or children's distractions. Little they know when they toast above She Shed (the place), Liz got possessed by a demonic entity and things going downhill after that. Balancing housewives duty, social life and paranoia induced by demon-Liz attacks, Amy got her hand full. Luckily, she still have Melissa and Jess, although she need to encourage them to join her cause in order to save Liz.
This book kinda remind me of Southern Book Club Guide's to Slaying Vampire by Grady Hendrix. The premise is the same, outcast housewives that facing an evil force in order to save their family and neighborhood. But, Suburban Hell's horror vibes are lighter compare to the former. Yeah, there's demonic appearance, but it's slightly spooky and creepy. Not the kind that give me heebies jeebies. The story can be mundane to read since you will read about Amy do her housewives responsibility and caring for her children while also searching some means to get rid of the demon, so some chapter can be too slow to read. However, the chapters are shorts, providing a fast read and the mystery also suspense will make you glued to the page.
I like how Kilmer portrayed the friendship between Amy, Melissa, Jess and Liz; and make them all different in personality. Melissa is a strict and confident manager but come from a religiously fanatic parents and she is the hardest to convinced while it come to saving Liz. Jess is carefree and also the youngest of the four, often provide comic relief with her snarky remarks. Liz is kind and thoughtful but we only get a glimpse about her from Amy's PoV because Liz was being possessed for 99% amount of this book. Then, we will get to know more about Amy since she is the main character. How Amy still grieving for her sister's death and her drive to save people she loved is what make her determined to save Liz rather than sold her house and moving away in order to protect her children.
However, I think the demonic entity's explanation is the weakest link of this book. I don't get why the demon come to possess Liz now rather than years ago and possess the people in the home before Liz; and the reasons behind just explained by Amy's deduction when she research about the suburban's history. The demon didn't bother to explain themselves and just focus to wreak havoc in the neighborhood. I don't know how the demon become the demon at all, lol. They were more like a vengeful ghost, but then later become a demon? The conclusion behind the exorcism also feel anti climatic although hints for something sinister to come in the future. Since this book is apparently a standalone, that left to reader to interpreted the ending. Anyway, I like the way Kilmer write the spouses in this book. I prepare myself to read about cheating spouses especially when Kilmer write Amy's husband often did overtime and sudden business trips. BUT, Mark (Amy's husband) is far from cheating husband! He's so supportive to Amy even he didn't believe 100% when Amy explained there was a demon possessing Liz. Even Melissa's husband and Jess's boyfriend seems cool. It's refreshing to read when there's no cheating husband or wives, lel.
I will recommend Suburban Hell if you want to read a light horror with demonic possession and female friendship among the housewives of the suburban....more
Honestly, I'm very conflicted to rate this one. I'm a House Andrews (HA) fans and have been for many years. But, true to HA's words on thei 3,5 stars
Honestly, I'm very conflicted to rate this one. I'm a House Andrews (HA) fans and have been for many years. But, true to HA's words on their web, Alphas: Origin is their most controversial novellas to date. It's also the darkest, grim and deal with questionable moral values. I want to give just 3 stars, but I enjoy this much compared to my previous title that I only rate 3 stars. Dammit, this is why I really want half-star rating!
Written first in 2011, for Angels of Darkness anthology (my copy still borrowed by friend, and she apparently forget to give it back), the novella were republish in a separated novella in 2016. I would said the beginning is pretty confusing, and the length of the story as novella also didn't help either. For a starter of a series, it left many unsolved thread and questions. But, the dark tone also make me understand why HA didn't plan to continue this one and I have a hutch that this novella need a really BIG overhaul. It's like HA write this novella to match the theme of Angels of Darkness. There must be an angel or angel-like appearance but the story tone must be dark. This is, imho, darker that their usual books, but I'm not finish Kate Daniels series yet and don't read Hugh book yet, so I'm not sure.
The genre for this novella rather than urban fantasy, deal more in science fiction. There is interesting concept that connected with DNA, a concept that I'm familiar with in Hidden Legacy. There is Houses, pretty much like Hidden Legacy, and the whole of colonization, universe and multiverse whatchamalit remind me of Innkeeper Chronicles. The concept behind the Alphas is pretty interesting with all the member of the House of Daryon have interesting designation with their skill tied up to that design and they also have special term for that skill, like Demons (more like shapesifter), Wither, Mind Bender, Ripper, and etc. The only difference with another HA's novels is the heroine, Karina Tucker, is an ordinary woman with a child. I don't usually like children characters in adult novel, but I liked that Emily, Karina's daughter is far from spoiled brat. Karina is a widow, and the reason why she choose to live with the stranger that kidnapped her is to spare her children's fate from being killed and alone in the world. As for main love interest (?), Lucas, he feels like Curran, or maybe Rogan, but more alpha and broken in some ways. There are another characters like Daniel, Henry and the enigmatic Arthur as part of House Daryon that also Lucas's House. From all the characters, I like Henry the most because he remind me of Kaldar Mar.
If I can summary my thought of this novella, is like this novella is far from finished. The idea that toyed with kidnapping and stockholm syndrome is sketchy at best. Lucas is shown interested to Karina in sexual way in the most darkest tone. He amused to himself that if he touch Karina, for him it's flirting, but for Karina (and reader too, I supposed), his action can be considered as rape. Karina herself cooperate to Lucas because she have no choice and constantly said that her freedom are taken from her, since she's a donor that can produce substance that will help Lucas. I did think that this "kidnapping then end up fall in love" trope was executed best in Nevada's novel, Burn For Me, but that's because there is a room for improve. Alphas: Origin didn't have that luxuries, therefore I said that if HA want to continue this one, it's need overhaul. The beginning that feel confusing also just explained in the end, and when Karina finally stand up to herself and prove that she is far from ordinary, is also happen in the last chapter.
True to HA's style, there's no HEA. I think it's not HFN either, and I'm not thoroughly sold for Karina and Lucas become together just because of their close proximity and maybe, just maybe, Karina indeed get a stockholm syndrome, lel. The action also happen late, and so many things left unsolved. So,yeah, while I want to know more about the world of the Alphas and their enemy, the Ordinator, I can accept why HA didn't want to write more or maybe wait for some years to overhaul the series. Beside, they already have plenty in their palate with Kate Daniels, Aurelia Ryder, Innkeeper Chronicle. Not forget to said, Arabella's books! (still waiting hahaha)...more
A pretty short novella (or novelette) in Wraith Kings world, and also prequel to The Nomad King, Gaeres's story. We will get introduce to h 3,5 stars
A pretty short novella (or novelette) in Wraith Kings world, and also prequel to The Nomad King, Gaeres's story. We will get introduce to his love interest, Emerence Ipsam that already in her 37-ish, therefore make she older than Gaeres. This is sure is my catnip. The event itself happen in the same timeline with The Darkest Midnight novella since Emerence and her father prepare for the wedding of Sodrin Uhlfrida, in which Sodrin is Jahna's older brother.
I like how Draven incorporated the message about marriage through Emerence. Emerence herself never bother with her spinsterhood, because she want to held true to her principle, that she will married a man that she deemed worthy rather than rushed, resulted in unhappy marriage. Draven also write how Quereci's matriarchal customs work, in which they value their women so much more compared to the patriarchal Beladine society. This novella offer a glimpse into how Emerence and Gaeres's romance blossoming and I can't wait to see how Gaeres will prove that beside his great deeds in banishing the galla to ensure his worthy to have a wife of his own, he's also worthy of Emerence's love.
The waiting for The Nomad Kings, indeed, will be a torture. Also, I think this is a pretty smart marketing move, since if reader want to read about how Emerence and Gaeres meet and develop feelings for each other, they can check this one....more
Quiet in Her Bones is the first time I read book by Nalini Singh that written from 1st PoV and male MC at that. Definitely out of her usual 3,5 stars
Quiet in Her Bones is the first time I read book by Nalini Singh that written from 1st PoV and male MC at that. Definitely out of her usual books since I'm a fans of her Guild Hunter series, follow Psy-Changeling series (need to do a complete reread since I stop in Kaleb's book) and try to read her Rockstar series but found it is not to my liking. Quiet in Her Bones also her first thriller book that I try to read.
Honestly, from the vibes and story tones alone, Quiet is pretty much like Guild Hunter. Dysfunctional family and gritty environment that surrounded by a mystery. In contrast, if Guild Hunter is filled with fantasy settings, Quiet happen in your usual urban area with rich people that hide their scandals and malicious intents. Our narrator, Aarav Rai is an example of unreliable story teller, a self diagnosed sociopath that slowly succumb to uncertainty and become unhinged days by days while try to solve the mystery behind his mother's disappearance. Who's the killer of Nina Rai? Is it her husband, Ishaan Rai, a respectable CEO that she had toxic relationship with? One of their rich neighbor? A secretary that Ishaan banged at that time when Nina disappear and want to get Nina out from the house to become the next Mrs Rai? A close friend of Nina that decide to betray her? Or maybe, Aarav himself? Aarav, a devoted son with love and hate relationship for a mother that so clear live to her own way but become bitter through her marriage. Aarav, a multi-sensational thriller writer with a book that turned into movie, a book about a mother killed. Aarav, a man that found his brain slowly succumb to madness unknown, unhinged, filled with rage and uncertainty of his memories when his mother flee from their home 10 years ago because his brain decided to mess with him.
The start of this book is pretty slow and the introduction of Aarav neighbor in the rich community, the Cul-de-Sac, can be pretty confusing. I feel difficult to memorize who is who, since Aarav know them all and begin to suspect is one of them a culprit responsible for his mother's death. The ensemble cast remind me of Agatha Christie's mysteries that also have big cast in which if you don't focused enough, you will get lost. The things is, I can't help to compare Quiet's big casts to another Nalini's series. I can remember all of the member of Cadre of Ten and their territories, maybe because I'm curious about them and want to know more. But, in case of Aarav's neighbor, doctors or his ex-gf, I just got lost. I don't feel these want to connect with them. Maybe, this is deliberate, since I can feel Aarav's aloofness and his unhinged characterization so I don't feel this closeness to other characters. Sometimes I feel like the characters introduction in the start of the book will help me to memorize the characters.
The mystery while solid, its conclusion in the end feel pretty easy although still enjoyable to read. I appreciate Nalini Singh to throw some red herring in order to make the mystery not that easy to predict. All Aarav's neighbors hide their scandals closed to themselves, only to be peeled layer by layer later, following the story. Aarav himself is not that likable but I can understand him. I mean, he's not that bad and I still enjoy his voice. Some of the revelation regarding about his relationship with his mother, his father, and his ex-GF is pretty shocking and I think it's work because of the 1st PoV and the fact that Aarav can't be trusted that much. There's a tongue-in-cheek part about Aarav burn bad review about his book, rather than he confront the reviewer itself. I just chuckling and wondering if Nalini also do it herself? While the story feel unsettling and chilling, I like that Nalini still try to write Aarav as a big brother figure to his step-sister, Pari and also have a good relationship with his step-mother, Shanti. If you search for romance, I'm afraid, there's none.
Quiet in Her Bones is Nalini's first thriller (and there's no romance too!) that I had read and I will check out her other thriller as well. Although, this book have so many trigger warning (like toxic relationship and domestic abuses), so you might want to read this one with cautions. ...more
Molly Harper did it best when its comes to light paranormal romance set in tight-knit community with a good dollop of humor. I keep snicker 3,5 stars
Molly Harper did it best when its comes to light paranormal romance set in tight-knit community with a good dollop of humor. I keep snickering and giggling, especially any scene that involved Zed, the Mayor of Mystic Bayou whom happen to be a bear shifter and hero from book 2.
Selkies are a Girl's Best Friend featured Sonja Fong, Jillian's best friend that I already know from book 1 and true to Harper's style of writing competent, independent and strong women, Sonja take it all to the top notch. I wonder why I can't find a friend like Sonja, it will make my life easier since my personality happen to feel like Jillian's (read: awkwardly clumsy and can be too overwhelming when we like something). Sonja's love interest is William Carmody, a totally new character but have history with both Bael and Zed, since they apparently in the same age (or decade, three of them are in their 70-80 year old. Shifter with their immortality and long age, lel). Beside being a doctor, Will is also a selkie. But forget the seal, his merman state is far from seal that we know although Harper try to stay true to selkies mythology while throw some liberties. It didn't complete to write character without family issues, so ofc Will there have it with a parent that have tumultuous relationship and its affect his view of love. On the other side, Sonja have a loving parents. I feels like I detect some kind of pattern here, like when the other character have terrible parents, their partner at least have a decent and loving childhood.
I feel like the story feel shorter and honestly the beginning can be too awkward, although Harper managed to capture both Sonja's and Will's feeling about moving from high city environment to a small town. The problem also start late, almost to the end although I can guess whom the culprit was. We will get some big picture here, that the problem from book 2 was tied to this book. Otherwise, pretty much hoo-hum story but still keep me entertained. What I loved is the friendship, not just from the women, but men's too. Especially when our h/H kinda messed-up their fragile-still-in-the-beginning relationship. Not much angst, and IMHO both Sonja and Will have issues, and I still want both of them to..Idk grovel or admit to each other that they wrong when they fight? It's just, when I expect about groveling, something sinister happen, then continue to the climax to the story, and wham, ending. So I don't get what I want.
Selkies are a Girl's Best Friend might be the weakest entry so far of Mystic Bayou (didn't count the Nymph's novelette, since the story is too short for my liking), but still end up charmed me and make me want to visit this small town again. I would rate it higher, if only the amount of typos didn't drive me nuts. A shame, actually....more
Seberapa besar rasa duka yang bisa ditanggung seorang istri, setelah kehilangan suami yang baru saja dinikahi satu tahun dalam kondisi me 3,5 bintang
Seberapa besar rasa duka yang bisa ditanggung seorang istri, setelah kehilangan suami yang baru saja dinikahi satu tahun dalam kondisi mengandung bayinya dan setelah itu langsung menikah dengan sahabat sang suami untuk lalu hidup dalam pernikahan tanpa cinta? Itu adalah premis awal yang ditulis Tiffany Reisz untuk The Night Mark. Faye Barlow harus kehilangan suaminya, Will Fielding untuk selamanya dan sejak saat itu dia bagaikan hidup tak mau, tapi mau mati juga berkali - kali digagalkan oleh suaminya yang sekarang, Hagen. Muak dengan pernikahan tanpa cinta walau sudah berusaha selama empat tahun, Faye dan Hagen pun bercerai. Perjalanan ke Carolina Selatan untuk mengambil foto buat kalender membawa Faye ke sebuah mercusuar di pulau Bride Island dengan legenda tentang putri seorang penjaga mercusuar yang meninggal terseret ombak di dermaga. Siapa sih yang bakal mengira kalau Faye bakal terseret ombak yang sama dan mengarungi waktu dari 2015 untuk kemudian terdampar di tahun 1921? Paling terkejutnya ternyata sang penjaga mercusuar, Carrick Morgan itu mirip banget dengan Will, dan Faye saat ini ada di tubuh Faith Morgan, putri dari Carrick.
Seperti ciri khas Tiffany Reisz, unsur tabu dan ada unsur agama juga ada di The Night Mark meski ga terlalu mencolok banget seperti yang gue baca di The Lucky Ones (sudah diterjemahkan juga sama Elex). Unsur tabunya sendiri lebih ke arah cheating, tapi cheating ini juga tergantung kamu lihatnya dari sudut pandang yang gimana karena menurut gue, Faye tuh dah cerai sama Hagen dan ditinggal mati Will jadi harusnya dia sih bebas ya mencintai siapapun. Masalahnya, tubuh yang dia tempati yaitu Faith,itu kondisinya complicated. Akan ada beberapa twist yang mungkin awalnya kamu bakal mikir lah Faith ini kan putrinya Carrick, tapi gimana ceritanya Faye (dalam tubuh Faith) bisa mencintai Carrick? Apa yang bakal dipikirkan Carrick? Tenang gaes, ga ada unsur incest kok hahaha. Faith sendiri ga ada hubungan darah sama Carrick dan ada alasan yang kuat kenapa Faith pergi ke Carrick dan menyandang nama keluarga Carrick yaitu Morgan. Dilemanya sendiri juga akan kelihatan nyata dari segi Carrick yang berusaha melawan rasa tertariknya pada Faith/Faye. Bingung? Emang agak2 bingung buat jelasin apa yang terjadi di buku ini tanpa harus spoiler banget XD.
Untuk unsur agamanya sendiri, mengingat setahu gue Reisz itu Katolik taat, jadi ada tokoh pendeta di buku ini yaitu Fater Pat Cahill. Gue sendiri suka sama karakter Pat Cahill ini karena sering jadi voice of reasons di buku ini. Untuk genre The Night Mark sendiri, bisa dibilang campuran antara time travel dengan historical romance. Jangan mengira time travel disini bakal scientific banget karena menurut gue jatuhnya lebih ke magical realism. Kalau kalian tahu Outlander, ya The Night Mark ini bisa dibilang mirip - mirip Outlander lah karena sama - sama mengarungi waktu dan tokoh utama wanitanya jatuh cinta sama pria di masa lalu. Cuma bedanya kalau Claire di Outlander masih secara resmi menikah, di buku ini Faye udah cerai walau ya seperti yang gue bilang di awal, masalahnya rumit. Unsur time travel di buku ini lebih kayak keajaiban dari Tuhan (mungkin) yang intinya sih untuk membuat Faye itu move on dari rasa dukanya yang mendalam karena kehilangan Will.
Dari segi karakterisasi, gue suka sama semua karakter - karakternya. Gue applause sama cara Reisz menggambarkan duka Faye. Gue ngga menganggap cara Faye menghadapi duka itu lebay, karena loe pikir aja baru setahun menikah dan lagi cinta - cintanya terus suami mati direnggut dari loe hanya dalam waktu singkat. Faye bertahun - tahun hidup dalam kegilaan dan kesedihan sebelumnya akhirnya bangkit lagi. Reisz seakan ingin menulis kalau cinta itu bisa hadir dua kali dalam hidup, karena ya jodoh mana ada yang tahu. Selain Faye dan Pater Pat Cahill ada juga tokoh Dolly, seorang gadis kulit hitam tuli yang nantinya akan jadi salah satu keluarga Faye yang berharga di tahun 1921. Mungkin yang agak lemah itu malah Carrick ya. Gue cuma merasa Carrick tuh mukanya mirip Will (walau ya ga mirip2 banget) dan ceritanya lebih fokus ke dilema dia melawan rasa suka ke Faith/Faye. Untuk ukuran pria tahun 1921, Carrick ini nrimoan banget orangnya wkwk, kayak yang pas dia akhirnya tahu masalah time travel ya udah nerima - nerima aja XD. Pertanda kalau Carrick ini emang ditulis author cewek hahaha. Apalagi karena buku ini walau ditulis dari sudut pandang ketiga tapi fokusnya dari Faye, jadi gue hanya tahu Carrick dari pandangan Faye dan juga dari Pat Cahill yang pada tahun 1965 adalah pendetanya Carrick. Untuk villainnya sendiri pun ga terlalu dibahas banget, kayak yang ya udah gitu.
Pertengahan buku apalagi pas Faye tinggal di 1921 itu mayan slow abis padahal kejadiannya cuma semingguan aja. Tapi Reisz bisa dengan detail menjabarkan kejadian di tahun itu juga dilengkapi dengan kejadian - kejadian bersejarah salah satunya Great Depression dan era Prohibition alias era dimana banyak yang menyelundupkan miras di Amrik. Penjabaran tentang cara kerja mercusuar dan setting mercusuar di Bride Island itu juga menjadi nilai tambah. Meski eksekusi gimana akhirnya Faye dan Carrick bisa bersatu mayan - mayan agak "gampang", gue suka sama cara Reisz menulis saat Faye dan Hagen akhirnya berdamai dan bahwa Hagen itu sebenarnya bukan pria yang jahat cuma karena kondisi aja Faye dan Hagen ini jadi kelihatan musuhan. Bab terakhirnya juga menurut gue the best sih, cukup menyelamatkan bagian tengah yang kedodoran dan mekanisme time travel yang menurut gue outlandish banget (tapi time travel sendiri juga udah outlandish XD)
Bukan buku terbaik dari Tiffany Reisz yang pernah gue baca, tapi tetep akan gue rekomendasikan apalagi kalau kamu nyari time travel romance yang ga biasa....more
Four book already (and 1 novella or novelette, whatev), and I can feel that the story aspect such as setting, background, etc can be formul 3,5 stars
Four book already (and 1 novella or novelette, whatev), and I can feel that the story aspect such as setting, background, etc can be formulaic. Although, I don't mind the formulaic part, since I considered Mystic Bayou series as comfort read. We have characters with family issues, small town community, friendship that may come as forced at first but not at all. I'm glad that the friendship part not just from the heroine part, but the hero as well. Add it with humor, especially from Zed. I swear, it's Zed that make this series interesting. Not that I think both h/H, Cordelia and Brendan (whom name apparently a combination from Brendan Fraser and Richard O'Connell. You know, THE MUMMY. My favorite movie, though) are boring, but seriously, Zed is the reason why I found this series charming in its own way.
So, Cordelia is a psychic with a terrible power because she will get memories and feeling from anything she touch. Must be very miserable and add it with control freak mother, not exactly a happy childhood. Again. In the other side, Brendan is a banshee. Now, when you ask "but, I think banshees are usually women?", mind you that Brenda is a rare case. Sadly, Brendan abilities as a banshee just come short to when he can predict people's dead but...yeah just that. Their love can be categorized into lust, er, love at the first sight, especially from Brendan side, and its seems that Cordelia can't feel what Brendan think when she touch him. Reason for that is spoilery, so you must read the book first. The problem is continuous from book 3, Sonja and Will's book, since the artifact on the rift is acting again. There's interruption from the League's office that apparently come from the high place, Cordelia's lost love that appear again and potentially create DRAMA, Jillian's pregnancy, then something sinister try to target the artifact. But don't fret, there's always pie that will soothe the h/H soul when there's trouble brewing. Because apparently, everyday is a pie day in Mystic Bayou. But, if you have a brownie, in this case Siobhan that can give you a pie that suitable for what you need (not what you want), who will said no?
The romance is kinda feel rushed, and maybe there's lack of development since the drama part come from misunderstanding and potential of love triangle (don't fret, there's none). But, the artifact plot is written nicely. The problem kinda wrapped up, although seems like there's new trouble brewing in the horizon. Part of why I like the Mystic Bayou is the familiarity that I feel when reading about old characters. In this case, Jillian, her dragon beau Bael (which real name is...let's say I prefer his dragon name), ofc Zed (my favorite Mayor that always make me cackling), his lady love Danica that obsessed with llama, and the almighty Sonja with her selkies boyfriend Will. Also another Mystic Bayou lovely citizens that I never get tired to read their daily life. I think that Always be My Banshee can't be read as stand alone and so you must start how it's all began in How To Date With Your Dragon.
I just wish this series don't come in audio book version first. Because I don't do audiobook (my English listening skill is rusty) and the ebook version come 6-7 months later after the audio book released. Too much time for waiting....more
Games We Play is the first book by Dana Isaly that I'd read and well, didn't meet my expectation but it's not bad either. The writing can b 3,5 stars
Games We Play is the first book by Dana Isaly that I'd read and well, didn't meet my expectation but it's not bad either. The writing can be too over the place, especially the BDSM parts that seems like jumbled and written half-assed (lel, is this even a term XD). The kink kinda come from nowhere too, lol. Like degradation, daddy kink, spanks, humiliation, but imho not that hard to read? BDSM not my favorite theme but I can feel that the BDSM element in this book is not that good.
Anyhoo, despite the criticism, I feel entertained. I think Jack a.k.a Joker will be a jerk but turn up he's a cinnamon roll guys with the right amount of protectiveness and possessiveness. Quinlan is not that bad either, although when -trigger warning there- she talk about her attempt to suicide can be triggering to some. The epilogue kinda cute, tho. So what if they end up married, lol. Lastly I got stressed enough because of work, so the epilogue is like a balm to my soul and remind me why I always love reading romance at the first place.
Games We Play might not be a solid starter for One Night series, but Dana Isaly introduced reader to Jack's friends. Since this is part of series, the book will feature different hero and heroine and their one night, and next is Wes's chance. I hope he's as interesting as Jack, or..better. ...more
The Moonshine Shack Murder is the first book from Southern Homebrew Mystery and also the first Diane Kelly's book that I'd read. I buy the 3,5 stars
The Moonshine Shack Murder is the first book from Southern Homebrew Mystery and also the first Diane Kelly's book that I'd read. I buy the book because the cover is charming and actually the story also have its charm as well although some of its weakness were apparent. While Moonshine Shack cross all the cozy mysteries trope, the book also manage to subvert some trope such as the detective that handle the case is a Africa-American woman in her fifty-ish. The love interest is part of law enforcement too though, although he's an officer and apparently his great grandfather was a sherrif that caught the heroine's great grandfather who was a bootlegger.
The mystery is pretty solid and actually our heroine Hattie Hayes is not bad herself. She seems positive without too much sunshine (aka grating my nerves) and kinda business savvy. Although, if I read some of the reviews, I agree that Hattie's decision to share free jar and jug of moonshine in her opening party to local business owner kinda hard to believe although I think Hattie did it because of "to make money, you must spent money in order to do a marketing". But when Hattie didn't installed a camera system for her store, I just kinda face palm. Like, girl, why no security camera? I think maybe because of plot, because with the lack of camera system in the outside of store, Hattie can't caught the murderer that kill the Limerick's owner, a local bar and therefore Hattie was suspected.
Anyway, I still enjoy reading this book and also enjoy the relationship between Hattie and her love interest, Marlon Landers. Some of the reviewers state that the way Marlon called Hattie as "little filly" is cringey. I don't get it after I google it and then I was like "ahh, I understand, lol". Yep, it can be a little cringey though, lel. There also some of sexist remark toward Hattie although Hattie try her best to face it. Some of the story can be too mundane to read but overall the mystery still enjoyable and I'm looking forward to see Hattie's moonshine business to shine through. ...more
A short story that sure have a lot of things going on. Short story can be tricky, but I'm surprised P. Djeli Clark can write a murder case w3,5 stars
A short story that sure have a lot of things going on. Short story can be tricky, but I'm surprised P. Djeli Clark can write a murder case with complex and intriguing world building that make me want more. This alternate Cairo with a hint of steampunk technology in the early 20th century have djinn, angels and ghouls roaming free in the street and what the author do to make it interesting? Of course, by throwing murder to the mix.
We got introduced to the heroine, Fatma, an agent of supernatural ministry that already quirky from the get-go. I like Fatma's non-sense and cynics characteristic, also how she deal with her partner's sexism make me smile a little. There's a hint for some romance, but it's not the main focus.
I want to know more about this alternative Cairo and what Fatma's next case will be!...more
When my friend hold a reading challenge with foodies as a main topic, I know that I have that one particular title that I always want to r 3, 5 stars
When my friend hold a reading challenge with foodies as a main topic, I know that I have that one particular title that I always want to read. Arsenic and Adobo is my choice. I remember I bought this because I always love to read a cozy mystery with foodies elements, hence why almost of my cozy mystery collections are about food. Arsenic and Adobo is the debut book by Mia P. Manansala. With the story unfold and how I know the main character and the family that surrounded her, this book kinda have same setting and premise with Dial A for Aunties, by Jesse Q Sutanto. Both books also published in the same year (2021), although I'm not read Sutanto's book yet although we both Indonesian.
Reading Arsenic and Adobo make me feel connected with our sharing cultures. Manansala provide the glossary and some of the Tagalog language is pretty much the same with Indonesia. That's why, although Manansala provide how to pronounce them in English/American way, I just said it with my Indonesian tongue because they sound the same. Like, "anak", "tito", "tita", etc. Even the food also have lumpia, which is a staple of snack in my country. I also liked that Manansala provide trigger warning and content warning in the first page, despite this is cozy mystery so sometimes things can be triggering of sort, but she's so thoughtful to provide it in the first place. Although, she made some slip regarding inappropriate diabetic jokes that she already apologize for in her website. Arsenic and Adobo feels different compared to some cozy mysteries I read this year and year before. First, of course it's diverse and also queer (Lila's close friend, Adeena is a lesbian). Two, it's point to some of millenial discourse, with Lila herself is in her twenty five, so basically she's in the same age with my sister that nine years younger than me (myself is also millenial, though). And then, it deal with some personal struggle and joked (mostly in sarcasm manner) about the family culture of Filipino folks. The last thing make me amend to that, maybe because it's Asian thingie.
I feel like the mystery, while well-written, kinda not as main focus and the focus more like in Lila's personal development and her struggle regarding her family circumstances and close friends, not to forget some of potential love interest. Also, a parade of description about Filipino dishes. From ube cookies, ginataang bilo - bilo (that the victim, Derek, eat before his death), lumpia, almondigas (like Vietnam's pho), ensaymada, coconut jam, etc. Reading this book make my mouth is watering, ngl. I also like that both of Lila's potential love interests is not the police or detective, although I'm more inclined for Lila to be Jae's girlfriend although Jae is Jonathan's little brother, the detective who pretty much gung ho to ensure Lila to go to jail. The culprit is not what I'm expected at all. Sadly, the adobo is pretty much just a pun and not a main course of this book despite its become the title of the book.
So, is Arsenic and Adobo a mystery book about food? Or a foodies book about mystery? Imho, it can be both and I'll look forward to Lila's adventure for both the mysteries and delicious foods. ...more
Dinta menghela napasnya panjang, "Ini semua nggak bakal kejadian kalau kamu berpikir pakai isi kepala, bukan isi celana..."
Pas baca 3,5 bintang
Dinta menghela napasnya panjang, "Ini semua nggak bakal kejadian kalau kamu berpikir pakai isi kepala, bukan isi celana..."
Pas baca - baca review gue untuk Sudut Mati, ternyata gue pas ketemu Tsugaeda sekitar tahun 2014-2015an pernah nodong "lanjutin ceritanya Makarim Ghanim dong!". Gue ga ngira, lima tahun setelah ngomong itu, di tahun 2020 Tsugaeda beneran dong nulis tentang Makarim lagi! Memang di sinopsinya tidak ada clue yang mengarah kalau Makarim akan jadi salah satu karakter dengan role cukup besar di buku ini. But, I'm still surprised, nonetheless! Buku ini emang jedanya cukup lama setelah Tsugaeda merilis Sudut Mati dan juga diterbitkan oleh penerbit yang berbeda. I know Tsugaeda personally (sama-sama 1 sekolah di SMA dulu), walau sayangnya kami jarang ngobrol karena Tsugaeda lebih banyak di IG, sementara gue anak Twitter. Tapi gue tetap ngikutin karya - karyanya Tsugaeda, termasuk tentunya Efek Jera ini.
Ditulis dari sudut pandang pertama tokoh utama, yaitu Dio Prasetyo. Anak jalanan but book smart and street smart, yang lalu direkrut oleh Sarjono atau kerap dipanggil Om Jon, untuk melakukan investigasi ke salah satu maskapai di Indonesia, yaitu Penida Airways. Dimana salah satu pilot Penida melakukan bunuh diri, tapi Om Jon curiga kalau si pilot ini aslinya dibunuh. Bekerja sama dengan Makarim Ghanim dan seorang angel investor, Om Jon membuat start up yang tujuannya untuk memberi efek jera pada badan - badan/pengusaha yang merugikan negara. Maka Dio pun jadi ikut terseret saat melakukan investigasi ke Penida Airways, dan mau ga mau membahayakan nyawanya sendiri karena ada orang2 yang ga mau penyelidikan ke Penida Airways dilanjutkan.
Lucunya, atau ironisnya, Penida Airways yang mengusung slogan LCC (Low Cost Carrier) ini pasti mengingatkan pembaca sama salah satu maskapai beneran yang ada di Indo. Bahkan salah satu dialog pemiliknya:
"Kami mungkin maskapai terburuk di dunia, tapi orang - orang Indonesia tidak punya pilihan, kan? Seat kami masih penuh. Pemasukan masih lancar di hampir semua rute. Orang Indonesia yang penting harga murah dan kami bisa memberikannya."
Ring any bells, huh? Di luar skema LCC, ketidak adilan Penida Airways ke pilot2nya ini juga ngingetin kita ke issue salah satu maskapai dengan logo warna biru (I don't need to explain, lol). Gue masih inget berisiknya Twitter saat itu dimana banyak issue-issue bertebaran sampai akhirnya jadi heboh. Yah, Tsugaeda emang selalu memasukkan kasus aktual ke dalam bukunya. Tentunya kisahnya sendiri tetap dibuat fiksi. Tapi kalau kamu ngikutin kondisi politik dan sebagainya, pasti bakal langsung ngeh. Sarkasmenya Tsugaeda emang ga ada lawan, gue bisa ngerasain sinisnya dia dari sosok Dio. Emang sangat blak - blakan, walau gue juga cukup setuju sama pandangannya.
"Di Indonesia ini, Dio, daripada punya tenaga dalam, lebih baik punya orang dalam."
Berbeda dengan Muslihat Berlian (yang gue baca duluan, meski rilisnya setelah Efek Jera), Efek Jera ini cukup down-to-earth ceritanya dan cukup related sama dunia nyata. Gaya nulisnya Tsugaeda masih enak dibaca, apalagi ini pake sudut pandang orang pertama. Cuma nih, cumaaa...ini layout bukunya berasa kayak boros kertas. Emang nyaman di mata, tapi gue merasa ini agak - agak boros kertas deh hahaha. Jadi walau bukunya ada 300 halaman lebih, tapi sebenarnya bisa cuma dibawah itu. Mungkin karena pace ceritanya juga cepet, gue juga ikutan cepet bacanya. Sayangnya, bagian terakhir - terakhir jadi lumayan kedodoran, pun eksekusi terakhir terkait nasib Penida Airways rasanya agak...terlalu gampang yah? Beberapa bagian pun menurut gue cukup deskriptif sehingga mungkin agak mengorbankan porsi aksinya. Pun Dio agak berasa "wuih hebat bener, ini seriusan baru 19 tahun?" Tapi yah, mungkin karena Dio udah lama di jalanan dan pun dia itu aslinya anak pinter cuma nasibnya buruk aja. Despite my complaints, buku ini tetep seru sih buat diikuti, apalagi gue emang suka sama gaya nulisnya Tsugaeda.
Efek Jera menambah satu lagi judul novel karya penulis lokal untuk genre thriller-suspense yang cukup jarang ditemui di Indonesia karena gempuran novel - novel romansa. Gaya nulis yang lugas dan pace yang cepat, tapi sekaligus juga menyentil isu-isu yang akan tetap relevan sampe saat ini, bikin buku ini cocok dibaca dalam sekali duduk. Petualangan Dio sebagai salah satu agen investigasi dibawah arahan Om Jon dan Makarim Ghanim ternyata masih berlanjut di Sisi Liar. Jadi ga sabar pengen baca, walau sejujurnya ketimbang Dio, gue lebih sukaan Dinta sih hahaha. Plus penasaran sama Om Jon yang hebat banget, tapi tetep agamis (ini gue merasa konten agama di buku ini cukup lumayan, wkwkw, dimana Om Jon selalu mengingatkan Dio buat ga ninggalin sholat X)) ).
"Tadinya aku orang yang skeptis pada segala hal, apalagi pada keadilan. Disini hanya mimpi siang bolong saja kalau orang - orang kecil seperti aku meminta keadilan pada orang - orang besar. Mereka terlalu kuat dan berkuasa. Meminta keadilan pada mereka berarti menantang. Tantangan yang pasti berujung kekalahan. Tidak ada gunanya melawan. Sudah biarkan saja. Hidup sendiri mengurus urusan masing - masing. Tapi pekerjaan ini memperlihatkan sendiri kepadaku, bahwa rasa pesimisku itu mungkin salah. Kita masih bisa melakukan sesutu. Dan aku tahu Om Jon memang ingin menunjukkan itu padaku"
Kalau dibandingkan dengan pendahulunya
[image]
, yang juga sudah diterjemahkan sama Elex, buku (atau manga?) yang satu ini lebih kompreh 3,5 stars
Kalau dibandingkan dengan pendahulunya
[image]
, yang juga sudah diterjemahkan sama Elex, buku (atau manga?) yang satu ini lebih komprehensif, matang dan informatif (bahasa gue dah kayak marketing aja ya =)) ). Kalau di Eva the Explorer, Eva lebih banyak membandingkan Singapura dan Jepang, maka di buku ini dia menceritakan pengalaman hidupnya di Jepang. Eniwei, karena ini semua dari sudut pandang Eva, maka banyakan isinya subjektif. Jadi jangan terlalu dijadikan pegangan buat misalkan entar mau sekolah/kerja/menetap di Jepang. Just take it with a grain of salt.
Gue yakin ga ada sebuah negara yang benar - benar 100% sempurna, even Japan. Tahu kan betapa Jepang sering diagung - agungkan dengan disiplinnya yang luar biasa, lingkungan yang bersih, tata krama ciamik dll. Emang g ada kurangnya? Oh tentu saja ada. Patriarkinya mayan kenceng walau ga ada dibahas di buku ini. But that's another matter, lol. Apakah Jepang 100% bersih? Sayangnya menurut Eva, tidak, hahahaha. Selain itu Jepang juga ribet dalam urusan administrasi (meskipun teknologinya maju), tampak sangat alergi jika diajak omong bahasa Inggris (atau takut? Ini sepertinya sudah rahasia umum) dan untuk urusan medis sepertinya berbelit. Yang terakhir ini bisa terlihat dari cara mereka mengatasi pandemi COVID-19 yang lagi marak sekarang. Don't believe me? Silakan cari di Twitter, lol. Bahkan ada bagian yang cukup lucu, dimana mereka juga memakai semacam name tag untuk menghalau alergi pollen, dimana di saat ini, name tag itu dianggap bisa menghalau virus. Nah, hoax pun bisa terjadi dimana saja kan :P.
Yang gue suka dari buku ini adalah, Eva berusaha jujur dan apa adanya dalam menceritakan pengalamannya di Jepang. Gue ngerasa kalau gue kesana as Indonesian, gue juga akan ngebatin sama kayak Eva, hahaha. Gue ga akan banyak cerita apa aja yang dibahas ma Eva, karena lebih menarik buat dibaca sendiri. Yang jelas, buku ini menurut gue is a must kalau mau lihat Jepang dari sudut pandang lain, yang isinya ga cuma ngebahas otaku, wibu, dan semacamnya.
Semoga Elex juga nerbitin bukunya Eva yang lain, kayak Tokyo Travel's Guide. Eniwei, kalian juga bisa follow Eva di FB atau Telegram (ngga, ini bukan promo berbayar), karena dia sering bikin ilustrasi - ilustrasi yang lucu tapi juga tepat sasaran....more
This is the case when the cover really matched the tone of the story. I mean, days ago I just read a sci-fi novella by Alyssa Cole that if 3,5 stars
This is the case when the cover really matched the tone of the story. I mean, days ago I just read a sci-fi novella by Alyssa Cole that if I guess from the cover, it will feature a cute romcom with sci-fi world, but what I got is totally opposite. Still good, but, a weird choice of cover. Tikka Chance on Me is my first Suleikha Snyder, feature Pinky Grover, an India girl who just abandon her dream and back to her hometown to help her mother's India restaurant. At first glance, the cover and the synopsis promise a romcom story with MCs that have totally different personality. Pinky is your girl next door with sassy remarks. Her love interest, Tyson"Trucker" Carrigan is part of Motorcycle Club. Think of Sons of Anarchy. He has this red flags around him, beside his MC is dealing with shady kind of business, his appearance also scream white supremacist, redneck, etc. But, the more Pinky and Trucker got entangled, both in the street and the sheet, the more we see that Trucker is not what he seems to be.
I liked that while Pinky's PoV is in first PoV, Snyder also manage to write Trucker's PoV but from the third. At first that taken me aback, because I rarely see the change of flow of PoVs in the same chapter. Usually it's written in different chapter. Snyder did a good job to switch from Pinky's PoV to Trucker's, giving insight to what they think to each other. I also like that Trucker's PoV written from the third, because not all authors, especially women, can pulled men's voice right in 1st PoV. With write from both parties, I can feel more connected to both and their story make me sold. The amount of drama and angst are pretty much balanced. While the attraction of Pinky and Trucker is the classic case of insta-lust, I also like to read their bantering. Snyder check all the right notes in the romancelandia trope, with HEA's guaranteed in the end. The way Snyder write the sex scenes is not gratuitous but in the same time also steamy.
While I liked the story and the flow of PoV, the pop culture references drive me bonkers. Especially MCU. Goodness, I follow all MCU movies, but I'm not a fans. Also it's clear Trucker image is based on Chris Evans, and when Snyder write that in one point Trucker looks like Chris Hemsworth, I'll be like "ugh, no". Not that I dislike both Evans or Hemsworth, I liked them actually, but I want to imagine the hero/heroine image not by actor/actress appearance. Also the story can be move too fast, but honestly, it's a good thing. No need to prolong the drama and the problems, because sometimes, less is more.
I think if you want to read a romcom in one-sitting and didn't have much time, Tikka Chance on Me is a good choice. ...more
Ren Puspita
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Books:
3-and-half-stars
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