Month in Review: July 2024

I can't believe we're already a week into August!  July ended up getting really busy for me so  I took some minor impromptu blogging breaks (which basically just means I just didn't get as many reviews as I meant to up, sorry!). Among all of the normal things like work and general life going on, I'm also going to be partaking in my first aerial performance at the end of August, so I've been prepping for that as well and am both nervous and excited for it!

In reading news, I managed to read the exact same amount of books I read in June, and among those were some truly excellent reads. My favorites were probably The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean, which I highly recommend and brought me so much joy, as well as H.G. Parry's Heartless, a Peter Pan retelling that I truly adored and was a bit heartbroken by. I also recommend that one! I also continued my nonfiction journey of learning more about North Korea, and after the last one I think I'll move on to another nonfiction area to explore!

How was your July?  Let me know how your month was below and what you've been reading!

   

# books read: 12

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean 

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: This was such a wonderful story that made me feel so happy. I can't recommend this one enough!

Heartless by H.G. Parry 

Source: Purchased | Format: Hardcover

Thoughts: This is one fo my favorite Peter Pan retellings and I absolutely loved it. It made me very sad (which is what I want from a good Peter Pan retelling) and really left me with a huge book hangover. If you are at all a fan of Peter Pan retellings (or even if you aren't), this is a really great one you should check out. 

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones 

Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC

Thoughts: Stephen Graham Jones absolutely never disappoints, especially with slasher-themed stories. This was another incredibly story from him and I would absolutely recommend it, especially as we get closer to fall. 

After Oz by Gordon McAlpine 

Source:NetGalley | Format: eARC

Thoughts: I've never read a Wizard of Oz-inspired retelling so I thought this was a really fun idea. It wasn't exactly what I expected, but I still had an enjoyable time with it. 

Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia 

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: This was an overall very disappointing collection of short stories. I talk about it a bit more in my review, but I really didn't care for this one. 

How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie 

Source: Publisher | Format: Paperback

Thoughts: This definitely won't become a favorite, but it was certainly an entertaining idea for a horror story. Craig DiLouie always brings ideas and executes them with intensity and goes full force with them.

The White Guy Dies First: 12 Scary Stories of Fear and Power edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker 

Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC

Thoughts: This collection of horror stories was incredibly hit or miss, with some really fun stories and some letdowns. Still, a solid collection for anyone looking for some short horror. 

Dallergut Dream Department Store by Mi Ye Lee 

Source:Purchased | Format:Paperback

Thoughts: This wasn't quite as wonderful and dreamy as I expected, but still a hugely enjoyable story with some really neat ideas. 

Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi 

Source: Library | Format: Paperback

Thoughts: I've really enjoyed Bacigalupi's writing and this collection was no exception. There is some incredible writing in here and there are equally incredible (and creative) stories in here. 

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman 

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This is a novella that I hadn't ever heard of, but that I think could easily be considered a sci-fi/dystopian classic akin to something from Margaret Atwood. Well worth a read!

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite by Suki Kim 

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: This is another installment in the unofficial 'Jordan reads about North Korea' series and was really fascinating. This author wanted to write an investigative journalism story, but her publisher wanted a memoir, so it's a bit confused about what it wants to do, but overall it's very insightful and was a great read. 

The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un by Anna Fifield 

Source: Library | Format: Audiobook

Thoughts: I've been working through a number of books on North Korea lately so I can get a better overall picture of it (we all go down random rabbit holes sometimes, right?) and this was probably one of the most enlightening one that I've read. This was filled with a lot of information I didn't previously know and gave some fascinating insight into areas I hadn't read about before (I've largely read stories from defectors and those from the camps) and makes you feel even worse about North Korea, to be honest. 

DNF/To-Be-Finished:

Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright

This was an ARC from the publisher that I do plan to revisit and finish, but at the moment it just wasn't working for me. The story seemed interesting, but for some reason I just was not enjoying the writing. 

 

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
The Rent Collectors: Exploitation, Murder, and Redemption in Immigrant LA by Jesse Katz
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker
After Oz by Gordon McAlpine

 Posts:

Month in Review: June 2024
Anticipated August 2024 Releases

Blog Memes:

Can't-Wait Wednesday:
7/3: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher & Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
7/10: The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter & The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey
7/17: Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright & Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby
7/24: Hum by Helen Phillips & The House Where Death Lives edited by Alex Brown
7/31: Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen, The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois by Ryan Graudin, & Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Friday Face-Off:
Current Read #30

Review: These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

Orbit

Publication Date: July 9th, 2024

Paperback. 464 pages.

About These Deathless Shores:

"Jordan has gotten good at pretending.

On an Island where boys fly and fight pirates, but girls can only be mothers, Jordan's shaved head and false swagger are the only things keeping her adopted crew of Lost Boys from forcing her into a role she has never wanted. When she gets her first period, she's exposed and thrown back Outside—into a world where grown-ups die slowly in offices, flight is a fantasy, and withdrawal from the Island’s magical Dust slowly strips its afflicted of their dignity.

To Jordan, it’s a fate worse than death.

Nine years later, when the drug she has been using to medicate her withdrawal begins to show its fatal final symptoms, Jordan persuades her best friend and fellow ex-Lost Boy to return with her to the Island. With the help of a temperamental pilot and her long-estranged sister, she sets in motion a plan to oust Peter from his throne and seize control of the Island’s Dust supply.

But Peter isn't the only malevolent force moving against her. As Jordan confronts the nature of Dust, first love, and the violent legacy carved into the land itself, she realises the Island may have plans of its own..."

These Deathless Shores is a dark Peter Pan-inspired story that really grabbed me with its premise. I will read any and all Peter Pan-inspired stories, so this was an immediate must-read for me. While the execution didn't quite meet my expectation, there were still so many elements that I really liked and I found myself consistently captivated by this gritty, complex world created by the author. 

The story follows Jordan, who as a child disguised herself a boy in order to be swept away to Neverland alongside her friend where the two could fulfill the role of the 'twins' together as one of Peter Pans Lost Boys. When she is eventually kicked out and left for dead, she struggles back in the real world with her strong addiction to the magic Dust and her deep desire to be back on the Island.

Jordan is a complicated person who has been through a lot and struggles with her addiction to Dust and attachment to the Island, which she has never really been able to move on from. She leads a somewhat erratic life with a main goal of getting back to the Island, though she generally seems a bit unclear about what she wants long term. I'm not sure even Jordan knows what she wants from life, and I could relate to this struggle with finding yourself and your place in this world.  Baron acts as somewhat as a foil to Jordan and was a bit of an odd character, but I liked him and connected with him and many of his anxieties and desire to move on from things. He's not overly adventurous and prefers to probably stay out of things, but he makes some personal discoveries throughout the book that really help him development as a character. He's the type of character that's easy to be bullied by other characters, if that makes sense, and I actually felt like Jordan wasn't always the kindest to him in ways that made their friendship feel very complex and tense, a setup that I think Low explored very carefully and with thoughtfulness that made it a really fascinating dynamic.

This is a dark tale that deals with a lot of mental health struggles and traumas, so a quick look at content warnings is a good idea if you're sensitive to anything along those lines. I appreciated that the author did include relatable struggles such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, disability rep, addiction, and more, as I thought it packed in some realism that helped me connect more with the characters and even better understand their actions and motivations. There is also a fair bit of violence throughout the book that fit in well with this gritty dog-eat-dog type of world. There's a definite 'everyone looks out for themselves' vibe throughout, so it was interesting to see how different connections were able to be formed by different characters. It's a brutal life to live on the Island with Peter. 

The world-building felt both over and under developed at the same time. While the world felt like an alternate, somewhat dystopian vibe version of our own–but with different names and it's own map–there really didn't seem to be enough exploration or explanation of the world for it to make sense to me. I was left wondering where exactly different places were and what the general setup of this world was, and in the end I just ended up feel fairly lost throughout some of this book. This is also shows up in the layout of the Island itself, as I felt there were sometimes conflicting descriptions given of just how big or small the Island was and where all of its inhabitants were located. For instance, the Island is home to Peter and his Lost Boys, and the Pirates, and the Pales, the latter being Lost Boys who aged out of being Lost Boys but remained on the Island. It was a little unclear to me at times where all these different factions existed and how exactly they lived on the Island and interacted, and this bothered me a bit while trying to understand the world. 

I also felt that the plotting and pacing were a little messy at times. It often seemed as though the author wanted to tackle a lot of different angles of this story, but didn't fully commit to any. This also created some uneven pacing, where at times things seemed to be progressing quickly–occasionally too quickly–but other times it didn't seem like it was going anywhere.  I also didn't care for the ending and felt it was a bit lackluster and disappointing compared to what the story had been building up to, and I didn't personally feel like all the previous plot points had been fully addressed. 

All that being said, I always like to leave credit where its due so I think it's important to note that despite these struggles, I kept reading the book and finding myself curious about what would happen next. I'm not someone who really holds back on DNF-ing books anymore, so clearly something kept me going, and I strongly believe it's the author's writing the kept me so engaged. Low did such a great job of really capturing the gritty atmosphere of this rather brutal tale and conveying it through their thoughtful prose style and through their characters and their emotions and reactions to everything that happens. I was really captivated by Low's writing and would certainly want to see what else they may write in the future. 

Lastly, I also just want to note that I really hated the romance that occurs in this. Maybe it shouldn't have been this way, but it really felt like it came out of nowhere and it didn't work to me at all. The dynamics also felt really off and I just didn't feel comfortable with this pairing, so that was something that frustrated me whenever it came up.

This review may seem fairly negative, but I really didn't dislike this book. I loved a lot of the bones and general core of it, I just wish everything else had filled in a bit better. As mentioned, I really enjoyed the author's writing and think there's a lot of promise there, so it's one I'd still encourage people to check out if it sounds interesting to them. Overall, I've given These Deathless Shores 3.75 stars!

*I received a copy of These Deathless Shores in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating.*

Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org

Can't-Wait Wednesday: I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer, & The Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

       

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephan Graham Jones
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Saga Press
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic."

I'm always ready for another slasher-themed horror from Stephen Graham Jones (or any type of book from him, really)!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Ballantine Books
Hardcover. 352 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost."

Books about nostalgic fantasy dreams seem to be ones that continuously tempt me, and I'm so curious to see where Meg Shaffer takes this story and idea. "Fairy tales for grown-ups" is right up my alley!

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Atria Books
Hardcover. 320 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Set in a wonderfully reimagined 15th century West Africa, Masquerade is a dazzling, lyrical tale exploring the true cost of one woman’s fight for freedom and self-discovery, and the lengths she’ll go to secure her future.

Òdòdó’s hometown of Timbuktu has been conquered by the the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Already shunned as social pariahs, living conditions for Òdòdó and the other women in her blacksmith guild grow even worse under Yorùbá rule.

Then Òdòdó is abducted. She is whisked across the Sahara to the capital city of Ṣàngótẹ̀, where she is shocked to discover that her kidnapper is none other than the vagrant who had visited her guild just days prior. But now that he is swathed in riches rather than rags, Òdòdó realizes he is not a vagrant at all; he is the warrior king, and he has chosen her to be his wife.

In a sudden change of fortune, Òdòdó soars to the very heights of society. But after a lifetime of subjugation, the power that saturates this world of battle and political savvy becomes too enticing to resist. As tensions with rival states grow, revealing elaborate schemes and enemies hidden in plain sight, Òdòdó must defy the cruel king she has been forced to wed by re-forging the shaky loyalties of the court in her favor, or risk losing everything—including her life.

Loosely based on the myth of Persephone, O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade takes you on a journey of epic power struggles and political intrigue that turn an entire region on its head."

I am unbelievably intrigued by the setting of a reimagined 15th century South Africa and can't wait to have a chance to read this!

Can't-Wait Wednesday: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček, These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low, & Dallergut Dream Department Store by Lee Mi-Ye

        

 Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
Publication: July 16th, 2024
Tordotcom
Hardcover. 384 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"A palace the size of a city, ruled by giant Ladies of unknowable, eldritch origin. A land left to slow decay, drowning in the debris of generations. All this and more awaits you within The West Passage, a delightfully mysterious and intriguingly weird medieval fantasy unlike anything you've read before.

When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.

Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer. Rats erupt from beneath the earth, fleeing that which comes. Crops fail. Hunger looms. And none stand ready to face the Beast, stirring beneath the poisoned soil.

The fate of all who live in the palace hangs on narrow shoulders. The too-young Mother of Grey House sets out to fix the seasons. The unnamed apprentice of the deceased Grey Guardian goes to warn Black Tower. Both their paths cross the West Passage, the ancient byway of the Beast. On their journeys they will meet schoolteachers and beekeepers, miracles and monsters, and very, very big Ladies. None can say if they'll reach their destinations, but one thing is for the world is about to change."

I am absolutely captivated by this cover and equally so by the premise! I love stories that have such weird and creative sounding premises. 

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low
Publication: July 9th, 2024
Orbit
Paperback. 464 pages.
Pre-order: Amazon | Bookshop.org

From Goodreads:
"Jordan has gotten good at pretending.

On an Island where boys fly and fight pirates, but girls can only be mothers, Jordan's shaved head and false swagger are the only things keeping her adopted crew of Lost Boys from forcing her into a role she has never wanted. When she gets her first period, she's exposed and thrown back Outside—into a world where grown-ups die slowly in offices, flight is a fantasy, and withdrawal from the Island’s magical Dust slowly strips its afflicted of their dignity.

To Jordan, it’s a fate worse than death.

Nine years later, when the drug she has been using to medicate her withdrawal begins to show its fatal final symptoms, Jordan persuades her best friend and fellow ex-Lost Boy to return with her to the Island. With the help of a temperamental pilot and her long-estranged sister, she sets in motion a plan to oust Peter from his throne and seize control of the Island’s Dust supply.

But Peter isn't the only malevolent force moving against her. As Jordan confronts the nature of Dust, first love, and the violent legacy carved into the land itself, she realises the Island may have plans of its own..."

Maybe I just have a bad memory, but I can't recall many (any?) books I've read with a protagonist named Jordan (which, by the way, is my name) and that has really thrown me! Bonus is that this is a Peter Pan-inspired story which are some of my favorite books so it just feels perfect, haha. I'm reading an ARC of it right now and so far it's a little odd, but I'm super intrigued and can't wait to see where this story goes.

The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Lee Mi-ye
Publication: July 9th, 2024
Hanover Square Press
Hardcover. 288 pages.
Pre-order: Blackwells

From Goodreads:
"In a mysterious town that lies hidden in our collective subconscious, there's a quaint little store where all kinds of dreams are sold ...

Day and night, visitors both human and animal from all over the world shuffle in sleepily in their pyjamas, lining up to purchase their latest adventure. Each floor in the department store sells a special kind of dream, including nostalgic dreams about your childhood, trips you've taken, and delicious food you've eaten, as well as nightmares and more mysterious dreams.

In Dallergut Dream Department Store we meet Penny an enthusiastic new hire; Dallergut, the flamboyant owner of the department store; Agnap Coco, producer of special dreams; Vigo Myers, an employee in the mystery department as well as a cast of curious, funny and strange clientele who regularly visit the store. When one of the most coveted and expensive dreams gets stolen during Penny's first week, we follow along with her as she tries to uncover the workings of this wonderfully whimsical world.

A captivating story that will leave a lingering magical feeling in readers' minds, this is the first book in a bestselling duology for anyone exhausted from the reality of their daily life."

I believe this is only a UK release right now, but I am in love with the sound of it. This sounds absolutely magical and like something that would be pure delight to read (and a nice change from all the darkness and horror I put in my brain, haha). I can't wait to check it out!