Initial reaction: Highly engaging and original story. Probably one of my favorite vampire stories. 4.5 stars overall.

Full review:

I remember back in 2016 when I first read Silvia Moreno-Garcia's "Certain Dark Things" that I was blown away by how rich the writing, worldbuilding, and characterization were in this action-packed novel. Even as I revisit the novel today in a different format (audiobook, which was very well narrated by Dan Bittner), I'm still left feeling with a sense of wonder and wanting to dive more into this universe while following the characters and the vision of Mexico and Mexico City depicted here. I wish that this story (now out of print) would be brought back into circulation so that more people could have the chance to experience this for themselves. It's one of the most original and fascinating vampire novels I've read in a long time.

To build a bit of background, in this universe vampires are real and they have been discovered since the 1970s, living and thriving in different parts of Mexico. There are many different types of vampire groups, many of whom you do not want to cross in the wrong path whether you're human or vampire, especially since they are in rival gangs with their own motivations and alliances. Domingo, a sweet, naive, but well meaning protagonist, is a clumsy human who happens to cross paths one fateful night with Atl in Mexico City. Atl is descended from Aztec vampires and walks her own path with her dog Cualli, only really seeing Domingo as a means to an end at first, but she keeps him around. Technically, vampires are banned inside Mexico City, so Atl keeps a low profile, but the two of them meeting sets off an unlikely camaraderie which leads the two into a whirlwind of trouble while crossing paths with rival vampire gangs. Atl's journey is especially heavy as she's on the run from those who want to capture or kill her. She persistently seeks aid after a tragedy befalling her family and left not knowing whom she can trust. Domingo follows her and her dog willingly, fascinated by her intrigue and wanting to know more about her, but ends up learning more than he thought he would about the underground workings of the narco-vampire gangs.

This book is written in third person, and follows a colorful cast of characters which I enjoyed watching. Ana was another character I enjoyed following, a cop who endures a lot of difficult circumstances in the pursuit of several crimes committed by the vampire gangs and her determination to discover the truth of things. Nick, one of the antagonists of the novel, is truly sinister and hell bent on capturing/killing Atl for his own reasons, yet I also found myself following his perspective to see how events would unfold through the novel.

One caveat of "Certain Dark Things" I found overall was the open nature of the ending, which made me think there could be more stories down the line in this universe given the fate of some of the characters (others...not so much considering they meet some pretty brutal ends). If there's a chance of that happening, I would love to follow it, since the action scenes were strong, the characterizations were solid, the building of the different groups of vampires, their lore and history were very well drawn, and it felt like a solid entry in urban fantasy that I wanted to revisit long after I put the book down.

Definitely glad to have this as a part of my library and I look forward to reading more of Moreno-Garcia in the future. For me, it was a wonderful introduction to her work.

Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher. I also purchased a copy of the book in audio.

Worum geht es in der Trilogie „The Divine Cities“? Laut Autor Robert Jackson Bennett geht es um Veränderung. Schmerzhafte, quälende Veränderungen. In einem kurzen Essay über das Finale „City of Miracles“ schreibt er, der Kern seiner Geschichte sei der Versuch seiner Figuren, ihre traumatischen Erfahrungen zu überleben und zu überwinden. Ich stimme Bennett daher zu, dass es mehr als passend ist, den letzten Band aus Sigruds Perspektive zu bestreiten, da dieser unter zahllosen unaufgearbeiteten Traumata leidet. Ich wusste allerdings auch, dass Sigrud zu folgen bedeutet, einen blutigen Pfad einzuschlagen.

Eine Explosion zerreißt den regnerischen Tag in Ahanashtan. In der Detonation, die ein halbes Stockwerk des noblen Golden Hotels zerstört, kommt die ehemalige saypurische Premierministerin Shara Komayd ums Leben. Sechs Tage später erreicht die Nachricht ihrer Ermordung ein Holzfällerlager nahe Bulikov. 13 lange Jahre versteckte sich Sigrud je Harkvaldsson in der Anonymität wechselnder Gelegenheitsjobs. Damit ist jetzt Schluss. Sein Herz schlägt im Takt eines einzigen Wortes: Rache. Ohne zu zögern nutzt er die tödliche Effizienz seiner außergewöhnlichen Talente, um die Mörder seiner Freundin ausfindig zu machen. Leichen pflastern seinen Weg. Je tiefer Sigrud gräbt, desto klarer wird, dass der Anschlag Teil eines größeren Schemas war. Shara war in schockierend schmutzige Geheimnisse verstrickt, verschleiert hinter der wohltätigen Fassade eines Programms für kontinentale Waisenkinder, die systematisch zu verschwinden scheinen. Was ist dran an den Gerüchten einer neuen Gottheit, die aus den Schatten heraus agiert? Welche Rolle spielt Sharas Adoptivtochter Tatyana? Rache ist Sigruds Spezialität. Doch dieser Kampf könnte selbst den hartgesottenen Dreyling an seine Grenzen bringen. Ihn – und die gesamte Welt.

Oh. Mein. Gott. „City of Miracles“ ist GROSSARTIG. Es ist eines dieser Bücher, für die bisher keine adäquaten Superlative erfunden wurden, um es zu beschreiben. Es landet ohne Umwege in meiner persönlichen Top 5 der besten Trilogieabschlüsse aller Zeiten. Für diesen Roman verdient Robert Jackson Bennett so viel mehr als fünf Sterne; er verdient das ganze verdammte Firmament. Mich durchläuft jetzt noch ein Schauer, denke ich an die Lektüre zurück. Seit dem Auslesen habe ich sogar eine Illustration von Sigrud der Künstlerin Chanh Quach als Hintergrund auf meinem Smartphone, so begeistert bin ich von „City of Miracles“ und so schwer fällt mir das Abschiednehmen.
Warum ist dieses Finale dermaßen atemberaubend? Es war eine Herausforderung, herauszufinden, welche Elemente „City of Miracles“ aus der Masse herausheben und ich bin nicht sicher, ob ich die Antwort gefunden habe, weil eben schlicht alles fantastisch ist. Natürlich weist es die gleiche inhaltliche, logische Konsistenz auf, die ich bereits aus den Vorgängern kenne – es baut direkt und konsequent auf den vergangenen Ereignissen auf. Selbstverständlich sind die Figuren hyperlebendig und einnehmend, obwohl ich ein winziges Bisschen enttäuscht war, dass Mulagheshs Rolle gering ausfällt. Zweifellos ist das Worldbuilding detailreich und überzeugend, da sich Bennetts Universums stets im Wandel befindet und ich angesichts des technischen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Fortschritts in Saypur und auf dem Kontinent aus dem Staunen nicht mehr herauskam. Doch muss ich den Finger darauflegen, was es ist, das „City of Miracles“ vom durchschnittlichen High Fantasy – Roman unterscheidet, entscheide ich mich für die transformative Reise, die Sigrud erlebt. Robert Jackson Bennett liebt seinen furchteinflößenden, traumatisierten Protagonisten genug, um ihm Möglichkeiten zu schenken, sich selbst aus dem Teufelskreis seiner Seelenqual zu befreien. Er macht es ihm nicht leicht, oh nein. Sigrud leidet, er geht im Namen der Erkenntnis durchs Feuer. Aber Sigrud hätte einen einfachen Ausweg keinesfalls akzeptiert. Er hätte einer Lösung auf dem Silbertablett misstraut. Er musste hart aufschlagen, um sich endlich zu ändern. Es zeugt von ausnehmendem schriftstellerischen Geschick, dass Bennett in der Lage war, mir dieses spezielle Verhältnis zu vermitteln. Ich wusste genau, was er Sigrud anbietet: blutige, schmerzhafte Erlösung. Er offeriert ihm eine Rettung, die dieser auch annehmen kann, weil sie seiner Persönlichkeit entspricht. Er prüft ihn, schickt ihn in rasante Actionszenen, während derer ich vor lauter Nervenkitzel buchstäblich die Luft anhielt. Er konfrontiert ihn in stillen, leisen Momenten mit Verlust, Trauer und Schuld. Diese scheinbare Gegensätzlichkeit macht Sigrud aus und sie charakterisiert ebenfalls Saypur und den Kontinent, weshalb er meiner Meinung nach exakt der ambivalente Held ist, den dieses Universum braucht. Sigruds Reise zur Katharsis wühlte mich sehr auf. Ich konnte und wollte mich seiner inneren Zerrissenheit zwischen grimmiger Fatalität und zerbrechlicher Hoffnung nicht verschließen. Als der Showdown nahte, war ich daher emotional bereits völlig wund. Die letzten 20 Seiten waren für mich verheerend. Umwerfend. Ich habe Rotz und Wasser geheult. Es war… perfekt. Robert Jackson Bennett ist ein Poet. Ich wünschte, jedes Ende könnte so sein.

Denkt an irgendein positives Attribut, das ein Buch besitzen kann. Irgendeins. Ich versichere euch, in der Trilogie „The Divine Cities“ findet ihr es. Diese Geschichte hat sich nicht nur in mein Herz geschlichen, sie hat sich einen Platz in meinen All-Time-Favorites erkämpft. „City of Stairs“, „City of Blades“ und „City of Miracles“ sind brillant und ehrfurchtgebietend originell. Es gibt viele Fantasy-Autor_innen, die krampfhaft versuchen, anders zu schreiben, anders zu sein. Robert Jackson Bennett gelingt dieses Kunststück mühelos. Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Mr. Bennett. Sie haben sich selbst ein Fangirl erschaffen. Und glauben Sie bloß nicht, Sie würden mich so schnell wieder los.

I've been fortunate that the last several books that I've read in a stretch this year have been among my all-time favorites, and Angie Thomas's "The Hate U Give" is no exception to that. Any review that I write really won't convey the depth of how much I loved and appreciated this book, but nonetheless I'm going to do my best to try and hope that it inspires others to read this undeniably necessary and engrossing book.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement alongside actual events that have occurred in the past several years, "The Hate U Give" is the story of Star, a young woman who witnesses her friend Kahlil being shot by a police officer after they are pulled over one night. What transpires after that is a realistic portrait of racial tensions and family struggles that Star finds herself within front and center. I thought the characters and voices conveyed in this book were so honest, real, and dimensional that I couldn't put the book down - I was very invested in her overarching story. Whether it was talking about the differences between her home and school life, her family history, her grief over seeing two people she knew and loved dearly killed at gunpoint, Star's narration held my attention from beginning to end. (It certainly helped that Bhani Turpin provided a great narration to the audiobook.)

This is a book with many different layers to pull from. Usually I say the best stories that stick in my mind are those that are multidimensional in not only the showcasing of the events, but also provide dimensional portraits of the characters within. From the beginning of this book, Star's strong voice and personality lept off the page for me. I liked her interactions with her friends, her honesty, confidence and even pieces of her vulnerability and doubt as events transpire through the story. Watching what happened to her and Kahlil broke my heart (especially knowing so many real life stories that mirror Kahlil's). Her grief comes in waves through the narrative as she struggles to come to terms with it alongside her family as well as her community. I honestly thought it was refreshing to see a YA story that also focused so strongly on Star's interactions with her family and friends. There are moments that are tense given the events, insecurities, and flaws each of the members of Star's family (Star included) have, but there are also refreshing moments of humor and grounding that I really appreciated. The romance is very well done for the bit showcase it has in the story.

Ultimately, Star plays an important part of the narrative as she struggles to seek justice for Khalil against the people and perceptions that skew the person she knew him to be. She doesn't find the strength to speak up right away, especially with so many different events and setbacks that make her fearful and angry. The narrative takes an honest look at racial prejudices and injustices from a multitude of angles, some overt and others more subtle. It gave an honest look at Star's reactions and rationales to a number of things she endures and witnesses through the narrative, and I think that's something many people will get out of this narrative long after the final page is turned. She doesn't back down from trying to do the right thing and have people understand her, and even when realizing the reality of situations that go horribly awry, she ultimately learns when to stand up and speak and when to let go (even if it means letting go of relationships she once had).

I definitely appreciated the whole of "The Hate U Give" and indubitably consider it one of my favorite reads of 2017.

Overall score: 5/5 stars.

Initial reaction: One of my favorite reads this year so far. I loved this book so much. The MC had a strong voice and the overarching storyline was imaginative and exciting. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Full review:

I'll admit I saw this book on the shelf at my library and was completely taken by cover lust. If you also want a different experience than reading the physical book, the audio version is wonderfully read by Anika Noni Rose (I ended up purchasing this from Audible because I loved the book so much.)

I think one of the things that I can say off the bat about this book's collective experience was that it was so much fun to read and very imaginative. I haven't read any of Daniel Jose Older's work before this point, but my experience with "Shadowshaper" makes me want to read more. The story revolves around a young woman named Sierra who descends from a long line of "Shadowshapers": those who can magically manipulate the art they create. Sierra's ill grandfather suddenly snaps out of his near comatose state, begging Siera to finish a mural that she notices has come to life and is quickly fading away. She doesn't understand what it means at first, but a rich history and harrowing adventure unfolds as Sierra discovers not only her hidden abilities but a rich and dynamic family history that was kept hidden from her because of the rising conflicts between members of her family. I really enjoyed Sierra's strongly asserted voice and the dynamic characters that I came to know in this book. Even the romantic angles of the story were well-developed and in a dynamic I was rooting for throughout the story. It's the kind of tale that I wish more YA novels had the depth and development to tell. Plus, the multicultural cast, lore and history really sets this book apart from many of its peers.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.

Link to purchase:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00889YTYI/