Karena's Reviews

This book is a wicked good time. As someone who grew up on 70s/80s rock, the idea of reimagining monster fighting mercenaries as touring rock bands makes my heart pitter patter. Saga being the retired “we’ve seen it all, smoked it all, fought it all” on a comeback tour/rescue mission is ingenious and hilarious. Read this if you love adventure, laughs, and amazing band names. - Karena

“The vision of a better future doesn’t have to deny the crimes and sufferings of the present; it matters because of them.” Solnit covers topics from the gentrification of San Francisco to the horror of the 2016 election. I was kicked in the teeth with every sentence, but it also reverberated in my brain that even though we have miles to go, there are others to help us on the journey. - Karena

The way this country reviles people in need of government assistance has always appalled me. As a child of parents who have, at one time or another been those people, Maid resonated. Land thoughtfully recounts her experiences being a working mom with no support and abusive partners, proving yet again how this country is built on the backs of the invisible and ignored. - Karena

While World War II isn’t my usual era of interest, Juliet’s hilarious inner monologue about everything that happens around her won me over. There is espionage and intrigue, and twists and turns emerge where you least expect them. I can see the 1940s so clearly, thanks to Atkinson’s fantastic writing. This is a book that will be a hit for a lot of different kinds of readers: people who like historical fiction, mystery, or literary fiction. - Karena

I loved Guillory’s debut The Wedding Date so much that I jumped at the chance to read The Proposal. The story starts with the Most Awkward Meet Cute, then blends together hilarious dialogue and steamy sexy times. Guillory gives Nik fantastic girlfriends who are there for her but will not let her get away with anything. This is the romcom we’ve been waiting for. Someone call Shonda Rhimes and make this a movie. - Karena

After reading Circe by Madeline Miller, I was so ready for more Greek mythology from a woman’s perspective, and Pat Barker delivered. I appreciated the fact that Briseis is allowed to be angry. She’s allowed to feel rage and other very complicated feelings at being the concubine of Achilles. She is front and center in the war of Troy, a pawn between very “great” men, who gives a voice to the thousands of women who were in the Greek camps in all manner of occupations, from slave to nurse. - Karena

I think I’ve yet to dislike a book by Tessa Dare. She knows how to give us the romance we want and deserve. She gives us a bookstore meet cute, a heroine who is unafraid to take risks even though she’s a timekeeper not a governess (thank you very much), and a hero who is the kind of guy you can take home to mama, but also will kiss you blind as soon as she leaves the room. The very best part? His wards are two little girls whose hobbies include daily funerals for a doll named Daisy. - Karena

This isn't an easy or quick read. It takes stiffening your spine and grinding your teeth. Not because the writing is bad, quite the opposite; Dalcher is a fantastic writer. The premise of the story centers on limiting the speech of women in a very real way by electrocuting them through a bracelet every time they go over their 100-word daily quota. Given today’s political climate, it was a scary and very unsettling read. I highly recommend it (with a very stiff drink). - Karena

Šejić is one of my favorite comic book author/artists. I'm so very fond of this sex positive, LGBTQ friendly comic with its brilliant art and hilarious dialogue. Watching Allie and Lisa figure out their BDSM relationship and their relationship outside those boundaries is both sweet and heartrendingly realistic. - Karena

I kind of have an obsession with books where a woman is raised in extreme religious families. This fictional tale of a girl raised on TV with her preacher father, machinating mother, and five siblings fit the bill perfectly. I love the way Essie figures out how to escape by  using the rules and restrictions her parents set up against her. It is fantastically written. - Karena