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The world has gone "grey" a disease causing severe depression leaving the afflicted in a zombie like state. Lily is a scientist like her father who died when she was young. She uncovers a mysterious vessel with a code to finding those who can help end "the grey". Along with Peter, a rock singer who is dying who offers her help, the two jump from one dangerous situation to another one. Time is running out as they try to stop the cult leader named Aunt Jane before she can burn the world down. Dan Brown meets Matt Haig and Marvel comics this is a surreal thrill ride that speaks directly to what makes us human and willing to keep fighting and searching for answers even when it seems like the world is doomed. 3 1/2 stars 
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Lou is the victim of a serial killer. As part of a new program she has been brought back to life along with the other women who died at the hands of the killer. As she tries to get back into the life she abruptly left with her husband and new baby there is something that lingers in the back of her mind. She doesn't remember anything about her death. The other women in her support group find relief in playing a video game that lets them pick a victim's avatar and then hunt the killer. At least in the game they can kill the killer and not just be satisfied that their killer is on death row. Lou just wants to fill in the gaps and feel like herself again. This feels like a near future that is within reach and not just the VR aspect. 3 1/2 stars  A strange pandemic is gripping London (sound familiar?) and Neffy has signed up for a clinical trial of a new drug to combat it. She awakens after a bad reaction only to discover that the world they knew is gone and the staff have abandoned them. One of the few people left has a prototype for a memory device that allows the user to "revisit" favorite memories. For Neffy this is a blessing and a curse and soon with no future to look to she becomes addicted to the machine and the past. Through these memories she goes through her childhood and her fraught career as a marine biologist and in her spare time she writes letters to one of her subjects, an octopus. This is an interesting look at when the lab worker becomes the lab specimen as if to make amends and "a fly caught under the glass" look at how people react to a crisis. Neffy could not reconcile the treatment of these marine animals that felt cruel and the respect she had for the octopus and upended her career. I loved the back story of the world of the octopus which was full of fascinating facts. 4 stars  Happy book birthday to DEEP AS THE SKY, RED AS THE SEA by Rita Chang-Eppig Times are tough for pirates in the South China Sea. An uneasy alliance between the various pirate gangs and the increasing threat from European war ships have made more than one pirate keep an uneasy eye on the horizon. Shek Yeung is a good fit captioning alongside her pirate husband after he rescued her from the pleasure flower boats. Now, with one swift slice of an enemy sword her husband is dead leaving the fleet to his adopted son. They form an alliance of their own and marry to keep everything in the family and honor Cheng Yat's memory. Shek Yeung deftly navigates the shark infested waters of the other pirate clans, foreign attacks, spies and her new husband's expectations for her to provide him with an heir with the same grace and killer instinct that she wields a sword. This is a historical adventure on the high seas with all the political intrigue and battle skills but with a fierce pirate queen at the helm. Readers looking for the same high sea adventures of Patrick O'Brian and Wilbur Smith but focusing on savvy fierce women will sail through this. 4 stars  Perfect Southern horror that will keep you out of the lake this summer. A lakeside town holds a dark secret under its watery depths. There once was another Prosper until yellow fever ravaged it and someone wanted it gone so one night they opened the dam and all those people drowned and the disease with it. The town is once again looking in the eye of development and a group of misfits don't want it. Cassie runs a treasure shop of sorts selling what is dredged out of the lake - old coins, telescopes and an occasional pearl. Now a wooden box that won't open sets off a chain of events and nightmares of drowning. It seems the ghosts don't like what is happening. Starts off slow and easy like a summer night and then flips to a storm where no one is in control. Themes of gentrification and the angst of growing up in a small town are well addressed but it is the quiet scare that brings you in. 4 stars  Happy book birthday to INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Torzs Generations have been guardians to magical books or scribes writing new volumes in blood. This job comes with a price which Esther and Joanna know all too well. Esther ran off to Antarctica to protect her family, their mom ran off when both girls were young and now a book has claimed their dad leaving Joanna alone. In London there is another magical library where a lonely young man is a virtual prisoner with only his bodyguard and small dog for company. The books are safe but their caretakers may not be which is why Esther decides to leave the frozen outpost and come back home. These two groups come together to unravel the mystery and stay one step ahead of the hidden threat. Magic mirrors, blood magic and secrets libraries - what more can you ask for in a debut fantasy series that will have fans of THE MAGICIANS, HARRY POTTER and NINTH HOUSE over the moon. 4 stars  Imagine that many of the legendary Knights of the Round Table were immortal and not just living on the pages of classic books about King Arthur. Every time England is in peril (which is often) these key figures awake to fight again thanks to the magical shenanigans of good old Merlin. Arthur's castoff brother Kay digs himself out from under a tree to help a young maiden named Mariam blow up a fracking facility unleashing unwanted heat and a dragon. Meanwhile Lancelot and his sidekick witty Marlowe are also involved but from another side and gunning for Kay. An oil rig named Avalon is the next target and it could spell disaster for Mariam and her band of not so merry ecoterrorists. From magic swords, pagan gods and fey, talking squirrels and fiery dragons to fierce female dragon slayers this clever yarn will delight lovers of both classic and a new breed of heroes looking for leadership and action in a world gone mad. 4 stars  Ess wakes up on a sailboat off the Canadian coast with a headache and no idea who, where or why she is there. Thanks to climate change the weather situation is forcing many people to flee to Canada where the natural resources have not been stripped but Ess has papers, money and a boat. She also has a note telling her not to trust anyone or tell anyone what is going on. It turns out that she is not the only amnesia refugee and they are being rounded up which amps up her intention to stay hidden. She befriends a troubled artist and her harbor patrol brother but soon realizes the danger she is putting them in by getting close. Forced amnesia and a somewhat scary look at what climate change could bring about in the not too distant future. 3 1/2 stars  Violet wants to be a scribe anything other than a dragon rider but with a general for a mom and a brave dragon rider sister there isn't a choice. There certainly isn't much of a chance she will get through the entry contest let alone get paired with a dragon and survive training. Not only is she less than 100% physically ready to do the challenge but most of the other contestants want her to fail (and by fail I mean die). Alliances are made. Challenges are met and a new warrior is born. Those who can't handle the heat are dragon toast. The characters all work for me, the relationship both mental and physical between dragons and their chosen riders is well developed and there is a bad boy romance. This new fantasy series is for those of us who thought the GAME OF THRONES dragons got a raw deal and readers who enjoyed the battles and political backstabbing of HUNGER GAMES and RED RISING. Works for older YA readers and adults won't be embarrassed to show the cover. Ready for the next installment now. 4 1/2 stars  A violent and gory spin on The Little Mermaid fairy tale. A mermaid leaves the sea to live on land with the man she loves but she does not get the fairy tale ending. Years later her daughters have bled and burned the kingdom down forcing the mermaid to flee with a somber doctor hiding behind a plague mask. They hunt and become the hunted when they run into a nightmarish group of bloodthirsty kids who are tortured and torture others in a village controlled by bizarre surgeons. The story is written in a fairytale style yet it definitely falls into the horror category. Not for those looking for a Disney reboot but it is a prime example of blending genres. 3 stars  |
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