The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the thread where you can submit reviews for the Best Review contest. The thread is open for submissions and will close at Midnight EST on May 14, 2022. Voting will start the next day and run until the end of the GR day on May 31. The person whose review gets the most votes will have the opportunity to design a 20 point task for the Summer Challenge.

To be eligible for this task opportunity you must have achieved at least 100 points on the Spring 2022 Challenge Readerboard by midnight Eastern Time on May 13, 2022. Only one task per person per challenge.

Just a reminder that each person can only submit one review - but you can make edits to your review up until the end. The review does not have to be any particular length and doesn't have to be a positive one (i.e. you can choose to review a book you didn't like).
Please include your Readerboard Name.

PLEASE DO NOT comment on people's reviews in this thread - this is for submissions only - you will be able to comment when voting begins.

SPOILER ALERT!- These reviews may include spoilers

APRILLEIGH

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

Rating: 5 stars

I just finished this and it was so compelling that I'm not even mad about the slight cliffhanger. Don't worry, it didn't end in the middle of the action or anything like that - not that kind of cliffhanger. But, it's very clear that the story isn't over even though many of the events in this volume reached a conclusion.

What I'm mad about is that there's only one more book. Seriously. It's that good.

The characters feel real, warts and all, despite existing in world of fantasy with powers that don't exist in the real world. Even the relatively minor characters felt real enough that I was upset when some of them died. The magic system, which many will recognize as being based on Chinese astrology, is fascinating. Since the main character is unskilled the magic system isn't well explained because she doesn't really understand it herself yet. I'm sure we'll learn more as she gains knowledge and grows into her power.

Eon, whose true name is Eona, hopes to be chosen as a Dragoneye apprentice. But this path is only open to boys, no matter how much talent and power a girl might have. Her Master maneuvers her into the ranks of the hopeful candidates by disguising her as a boy. Getting caught guarantees both of their deaths, but the reward is worth the risk.

The relationships between the characters are complicated, which is a big part of why they feel so real. Love and betrayal go hand-in-hand, often out of necessity and forces outside the characters' control. As is to be expected anytime power and royalty are concerned, the level of intrigue behind the scenes is almost intoxicating.

The plot twists several times, but the most amazing twist that had me absolutely glued to the pages comes near the end and brings both the hope of salvation and the bitter irony of events turning out very different than was expected. Compassion turns out to be a very important part of this story, and justice is both elusive and painfully complex.

Kathy KS

Blacktop Wasteland, by S.A. Crosby

Do you enjoy heist flicks? Or movies with fast and amazing driving, like the Fast and Furious franchise or Baby Driver? Then you'll most likely enjoy this award-winner from S.A. Cosby. I had never read any by Cosby and this really isn't my type of usual reading fare, but I do believe he's got the potential to be one of tops in the crime/noir field.

More and more, I search out books with much more optimism that we find here. Many of the people in the novel are desperate, poor, and/or beaten down by trying to be good when the odds are stacked against them. The tone of the book began to feel how I felt when watching the TV series Justified; some characters you really want to succeed, some that you want to get their "just desserts", and a pervading feeling of hopelessness. But that doesn't mean that the novel lacks any humor. Cosby has a way of finding a descriptive phrase that would sometimes make me snort in appreciation, or even give a chuckle or have to share a portion with my husband.

Beauregard "Bug" Montage's struggles with bills piling up, his mother in a nursing home, his continuing grief over his father's abandonment of the family, and his own personal demons was an enticement to return to driving during a heist. There's also the issue of criminals that seem to figuratively shoot themselves in the foot and the dangers of working with them. Beau is obviously a very intelligent man, good mechanic, talented "driver", and loving husband and father, but those qualities don't always make for an easy life.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to read another Cosby book yet; I might have to clear my palate first with some lighter fare.

But, I recommend that readers buckle up their seatbelts and feel the thrill of fast driving and attempting to outwit enemies. I'm not hooked on fast cars, but I could feel my shoulders tensing during several of the driving sequences! I also looked up the official definition of "noir" and part says "moral ambiguity." Yeah, you'll have to deal with some of that, too...