Three-Star Fantasy and Science Fiction

 I had a really great morning at work, which is a bit surprising because - wait, let me back up. One of my non-resolution goals for this year is to treat my body with kindness. This is just more of what I was already trying to do - drinking water, eating more vegetables, keeping up with the yoga, getting rest, and not being denigrating or resentful about the things it's not. And how has that body repaid me? By being stubbornly awake from three a.m. until past five a.m., even WITH a sleeping pill.

Like, seriously? What the hell am I eating all the broccoli and aligning the fuck out of my heart chakra for if this is the thanks I get. Kidding, mostly. I have the loveliest first class at this school, and the teacher is great, and it's really one of the times when my job feels exactly like what I hoped it would be. 

So that little success is nice, because on the starting fresh with my reading goals for the year? *rude noise* I have read six books in 2025. Were three of them by white-ass men? Yes they were. Did I go to the library to pick up a hold today, determined not to look at any other books because I have a tremendous backlog of actual books and digital books already? Yes I did. Did I then borrow an express copy - I NEVER borrow express copies - of yet another book by YET ANOTHER WHITE-ASS MAN? I MIGHT HAVE.

Three-Star Fantasy and Science-Fiction

A Door in the Dark (Waxways #1) by Scott Reintgen: Synopsis from Goodreads: One of Us is Lying meets A Deadly Education in this fantasy thriller that follows six teenage wizards as they fight to make it home alive after a malfunctioning spell leaves them stranded in the wilderness. Ren Monroe has spent four years proving she’s one of the best wizards in her generation. But top marks at Balmerick University will mean nothing if she fails to get recruited into one of the major houses. Enter Theo Brood. If being rich were a sin, he’d already be halfway to hell. After a failed and disastrous party trick, fate has the two of them crossing paths at the public waxway portal the day before holidays—Theo’s punishment is to travel home with the scholarship kids. Which doesn’t sit well with any of them.

A fight breaks out. In the chaos, the portal spell malfunctions. All six students are snatched from the safety of the school’s campus and set down in the middle of nowhere. And one of them is dead on arrival. If anyone can get them through the punishing wilderness with limited magical reserves it’s Ren. She’s been in survival mode her entire life. But no magic could prepare her for the tangled secrets the rest of the group is harboring, or for what’s following them through the dark woods…

-”The two of them went on like that for another hour. All the obnoxious laughter at least served to lighten Ren’s spirit. There was one rather serious debate about the choice between a lifetime of cheese and a lifetime of handsome suitors. Cheese emerged victorious.”

One of Us is Lying meets A Deadly Education is a pretty potent hook This was probably more like three and a half -  felt a little bit "why am I actually reading this?" and then a little bit "just let it be a good story", and it was a pretty good story. Ren isn't very likable, for completely understandable reasons, and I did like how clear she was about her goals, unsavoury as they sometimes seemed. The magic systems are pretty well explained. Haven't quite decided if I will continue with the series. I put the second one on hold as an ebook and then un-holded it because I was at my limit.

Old Country by Matt and Harrison Query: Synopsis from Goodreads: 

It’s the house of their dreams. Former marine Harry and his wife, Sasha, have packed up their life and their golden retriever, Dash, and fled the corporate rat race to live off the land in rural Idaho. Their breathtaking new home sits on more than forty acres of meadow, aspen trees, and pine forest in the Teton Valley. Even if their friends and family think it’s a strange choice for an up-and-coming pair of urban professionals, Harry and Sasha couldn’t be happier about the future they’re building, all by their lonesome.

That is, until their nearest neighbors, Dan and Lucy Steiner, come bearing more than housewarming gifts. Dan and Lucy warn Harry and Sasha of a malevolent spirit that lives in the valley, one that with every season will haunt them in fresh, ever-more-diabolical ways. At first, it seems like an old wives’ tale. But when spring arrives, so does the first evil manifestation, challenging everything Harry and Sasha thought they knew about the world.

-”He’d looked so confused right before I shot him again. My mind went to another man I’d killed a couple weeks later, the older man, the grizzled warrior. I saw his face a lot in my mind, more than any of the others. It was a face that casually but solemnly assured violence.”

Concept was great, execution was disappointing. The narration ostensibly alternated between the husband and wife, but the voices were identical. The word 'amazing' was overused. Italics were overused. The indigenous character's dialogue is a little cringily stereotypical. Apparently one of the writers is a screenwriter, which fits. This would probably make a good film, and some of it read a little like a screenplay for a 'reality' show. At some point in the middle it did get genuinely creepy, briefly. Then the ending was a bit glib and shallow and unsatisfying.

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown: Synopsis from Goodreads: If you could open a door to anywhere, where would you go?

In New York City, bookseller Cassie Andrews is living an unassuming life when she is given a gift by a favourite customer. It's a book - an unusual book, full of strange writing and mysterious drawings. And at the very front there is a handwritten message to Cassie, telling her that this is the Book of Doors, and that any door is every door. 

What Cassie is about to discover is that the Book of Doors is a special book that bestows an extraordinary powers on whoever possesses it, and soon she and her best friend Izzy are exploring all that the Book of Doors can do, swept away from their quiet lives by the possibilities of travelling to anywhere they want.

But the Book of Doors is not the only magical book in the world. There are other books that can do wondrous and dreadful things when wielded by dangerous and ruthless individuals - individuals who crave what Cassie now possesses.

-”The man smiled at that, and it made his face handsome, as if all of his good looks were tucked away until he was happy.”

Concept was killer, writing was clumsy and forgettable. Except Cassie moaning about her body and calling herself gross for eating anything that isn't a salad - can male authors write female characters? Sure, but often their portrayal is laughable and wrong. I see the author has another book coming out, and one of the principal characters is also a woman. I'm curious about why he thinks he has to keep doing this? I will not be reading the next one.

Genesis (Robert Hunter #12) by Chris Carter: Synopsis from Goodreads: A killing like no other.A killer more twisted than he’s ever seen before.A case that will test him to the limit.Has Robert Hunter finally met his match? ‘Do you believe the Devil exists, Detective?’ the officer at the end of the line asks. ‘Because if you don’t . . . I’m sure you will once you get here.’

Robert Hunter is called to the most vicious crime scene he has ever attended. It is made even more disturbing when the autopsy reveals a poem, left by the killer, inside the body of their victim. 
Soon, another body is found. The methods and signature of the murder differs, but the level of violence used suggests that the same person is behind both crimes. Hunter’s fears are confirmed when a second part of the poem is found.
But this discovery does more than just link the two killings – it suggests that this is the work of a serial murderer.With no forensic evidence to go on, Robert Hunter must catch the most disciplined and systematic killer that he has ever encountered, someone who thrives on the victims' fear, and to whom death is a lesson that needs to be taught.

Clearly this author isn't hurting for fans or good reviews, so maybe it's just me. There are some mystery/thriller writers that seem to me to be stuck in a bygone era - which, again, fine if it works for them. I'm not going to read any more of this series, since it's clear nothing is going to change. Every female character is immediately introduced according to how conventionally attractive she is - or, rarely, isn't. Most men are either tall and skinny, or just skinny, or 'well-built'. The gruesome murders are described in gleeful detail. The police dude is supposed to be well-versed in psychology, but the descriptions of grief or rage are dry and textbook-ish and seem unlikely to actually be effective in the field. And I would be happy if I never again read or watched a police officer say "you don't want to do this" to the murderer - of fucking course they want to do this, particularly when you've just seen them 'do this' multiple times before this one. There is some lip service thrown in about how police racism and brutality is an issue, but it's superficial and of course has never been demonstrated by the main character. There's just nothing new here. 

The Drowning House by Cherie Priest: Synopsis from Goodreads: Synopsis from Goodreads: A violent storm washes a mysterious house onto a rural Pacific Northwest beach, stopping the heart of the only woman who knows what it means. Her grandson, Simon Culpepper, vanishes in the aftermath, leaving two of his childhood friends to comb the small, isolated island for answers―but decades have passed since Melissa and Leo were close, if they were ever close at all. Now they'll have to put aside old rivalries and grudges if they want to find or save the man who brought them together in the first place―and on the way they'll learn a great deal about the sinister house on the beach, the man who built it, and the evil he's bringing back to Marrowstone Island. From award-winning author Cherie Priest comes a deeply haunting and atmospheric horror-thriller that explores the lengths we'll go to protect those we love.

I'd been meaning to check out this author for quite a while. The story was good. The writing was good. The pacing was off and dragged in places. I will probably try one more book.