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Everything Under
Everything Under
Daisy Johnson | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a book to take your time over. It’s not to be rushed, because there’s so much going on under the surface, and you might just miss something.

It’s a story about transitions of gender, family and home. It looks at language, how it can be manipulated and made into something new and different (Gretel and her mother have their own words for some things).
‘Leaving’ is another theme: Margot leaves her family, Gretel is left by her mother, and in a way, Margot leaves herself behind when she becomes Marcus. Everything Under is also a book that reworks the Oedipus legend, as well as using elements of Hansel and Gretel (beyond just the use of the name!), and a made up legend called the Bonak (which is actually a Tagalog word for a stupid child or a ‘dumb kid’) - a monster that destroys, stays and disrupts.

There’s a dreamlike quality to this novel, which really added to the fairytale element - the really menacing versions.

I loved this book.
  
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Wicked Kingdom ( Crown of Blood and Frost book 3)
By C.Y. Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️

I never wanted the crown, the Throne, Elyeria... I never wanted any part of it. That’s my father’s world, not mine. Or so I thought.The false Queen needs to be stopped. She’s has gone too far this time. When you mess with any of my mates, you mess with me. Turning against one of my mates, I’ll do anything to protect him.Secrets are uncovered and bad guys become allies. There’s no such thing as rules in the war of the heart.I’m Winter DelaCort, Princess, Queen. No matter what you call me, I’m the true ruler of this Wicked Kingdom.

I didn’t end this one as much as I’ve enjoyed the others it lacked something. I thought a few bits were just eye rolling annoying. I found scenes with Kaiden a little uncomfortable too. Some of the language and words used I thought were just thrown in for a reaction. It was a bit meh.
  
Stuff Dreams Are Made of
Stuff Dreams Are Made of
Don Bruns | 2008 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
“There May Have Been a Murder”
Skip Lesser and James Moore have renovated James’s truck to use it to serve food at the revival meetings being help by Reverend Cashdollar. They quickly start to hear rumors of several deaths connected to this ministry, including someone Skip met 10 years ago. Will they figure out what is going on over the course of the weekend?

Obviously, this “reverend” is not preaching anything I would consider Biblical, and I appreciated the fact that I never got the feeling anyone was taking it seriously as such. While this set up might sound like it, this isn’t a cozy, with a liberal amount of foul language and a bit more violence. The pacing was very uneven, with some page turning twists and suspenseful scenes being slowed down by lots of recaps and talking. Still, I do like Skip and James and their struggles with life in general. I don’t think this will be a favorite series, but I’m glad I am finally getting to book two.
  
Infernal Devices (Mortal Engines #3)
Infernal Devices (Mortal Engines #3)
Philip Reeve | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Third entry in Philip Reeve 's Mortal Engines quartet, set 16 years after the end of Predator's Gold, and which largely shifts the focus away from Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw onto their daughter Wren, whilst also - at least in the first section - finishing off the story of Freya and Caul (the former Lost Boy).

As before, I found this to be uncertain of its own identity: the language and general style of the prose would lead you to believe it was written for children (or even the so-called tweenage audience), but then you get into the 'meat' of the story, with child slavery, death and mutilation all abounding!

Professor Pennyroyal also makes a return, with Hester Shaw herself coming across more - in this - as a complex anti-villain than she did in the previous entries, and with this also seeing the return of the Stalkers Shrike and Fang, both of whom largely drive the plot.

Worth a read, but maybe not the best 'jumping-on' point.