August flew by, thanks to my first encounter with COVID. But I’m better now and while I didn’t get much reading or reviewing done, what I did read was diverse and interesting. Time to get back to regular review posting!
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Published by Mariner Books
Publication date: March 19, 2024
Bookshop, Amazon
As technology advances there is more and science fiction about scenarios that feel too close for comfort. In this case it’s Annie Bot, a novel about a lifelike female robot who’s been purchased as a companion for Doug. Or more accurately, a secret sexual companion he hides from the rest of his life. Except Annie has a degree of AI that lets her learn and grow and soon events transpire that blur the lines between human and machine. Well-written, confusing, thought-provoking.
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak: Review to follow
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult: My review
Look In the Mirror by Catherine Steadman
Published by Ballantine
Publication date: July 30, 2024
Bookshop, Amazon
There are two narrators in Look in the Mirror and one idyllic location, the British Virgin Islands. Nina is there to see the house left to her by her father. A house she didn’t even know existed. Maria is earning money for medical school by nannying, but when she arrives on the island she’s informed her clients will be delayed. She’s welcome to stay in their gorgeous home, but only if she follows the rules. This premise has nowhere positive to go, but the author does a great job building the tension and the twists, until the end when the revealed truth feels a bit recycled.
The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty: Book 2 in The Daevabad Trilogy, a fantasy series I’m loving. Review to follow.
Rabbit Heart by Kristine Ervine: Piercing memoir, review to follow
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Published by Del Rey
Publication date: August 13, 2024
Bookshop, Amazon
In Lady Macbeth Ava Reid takes the basics from Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, sifting them together with a new point-of-view, Macbeth’s wife, to create a fresh novel that is less about the prophecies of witches and more about the power dynamics of political alliances and marriages in 11th century Scotland. between a 17-year-old bride and her decades older husband. Sound dry and dull? This is anything but as a girl tries to navigate her way to safety in a land where she is alone and a foreigner. I didn’t need the spirals into horror and fantasy that the plot takes, but this new version of an old work made me think as I was being entertained.
How was your August? I know much of the country was sweltering so I hope everyone stayed safe and found a comfortable place to read. Any great books I should know about?
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*I received a free copy of these books from Ballantine Books and Del Ray Books in exchange for an honest review.*
Some books I loved in August — “The Days I Loved You Most” by Amy Neff; “A Killing On the Hill” by Robert Dugoni; “Hera” by Jennifer Saint; “Go as a River” by Shelley Read “Bright Young Women” by Jessica Knoll” and “Goodnight From Paris” by Jane Healey
I loved Bright Young Women. The Days sounds interesting, I’ll have to take a look!