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Book Review: Forty, Fabulous and…Fae?, by Melinda Chase

I borrowed an audio version of Melinda Chase‘s Forty, Fabulous and…Fae? through Hoopla.

No one expects their happily-ever-after to end at forty—but here I am one Prince Charming short of a fairytale.

Living back at Mom’s place with her and Gram is not how this ex district attorney intended to start the next chapter of her life, but I shouldn’t be surprised it’s where I ended up.

You see, my family is cursed. Literally.

At least that’s what both Gram and Mom claim. I’ve never given much thought to their ridiculous superstitions, but when three local patrons from my mom’s occult shop end up dead, even I’m a bit unnerved.

So, I decide to dive right into the crazy headfirst. And what I thought would be the end of my journey…may only be the beginning.

Meh, this wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fabulous either. I think it just needed another 100 pages—taking it from a novella to a novel—to carry it off. As it is, everything feels a little sketched out, none of the characters feel particularly well-fleshed, and the plot barely starts before the book ends on a cliffhanger.

I liked Shanna well enough, but she’s the only character you get to know, and barely even her. And notably, since this is supposed to be PWF, nothing about her or her situation feels 40+ years old. She could have been 25 and the book would have felt exactly the same. Her being a DA is literally extraneous to the plot. What’s more, I think given the lack of age-defining characteristics, mid-twenties would have fit the plot better. (I always wonder in such scenarios if the author just aged the character up to catch the PWF wave, but of course I don’t actually know.) Everyone else is either just a name or a card-board cutout not worth mentioning.

The writing is quite readable, though, the narrative has an appreciable tone, and the audiobook narrator (Traci Odom) did a good job. But I’m still pretty meh on the whole thing. I don’t think I’d bother with the next book. I’m just not invested enough to really care what happens.

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Book Review: Wizard of the Pigeons, by Megan Lindholm

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I borrowed an audio copy of Megan Lindholm‘s Wizard of the Pigeons through Hoopla.

Seattle: a place as magical as the Emerald City.

Seattle: a place as magical as the Emerald City. Subtle magic seeps through the cracks in the paving stones of the sprawling metropolis. But only the inhabitants who possess special gifts are open to the city’s consciousness; finding portents in the graffiti, reading messages in the rubbish or listening to warnings in the skipping-rope chants of children. Wizard is bound to Seattle and her magic. His gift is the Knowing — a powerful enchantment allowing him to know the truth of things; to hear the life-stories of ancient mummies locked behind glass cabinets, to receive true fortunes from the carnival machines, to reveal to ordinary people the answers to their troubles and to safeguard the city’s equilibrium. The magic has its price; Wizard must never have more than a dollar in his pocket, must remain celibate, and he must feed and protect the pigeons. But a threat to Seattle has begun to emerge in the portents. A malevolent force born of Wizard’s forgotten past has returned to prey upon his power and taunt him with images of his obscure history; and he is the only wizard in Seattle who can face the evil and save the city, his friends and himself.

I picked Wizard of the Pigeons up through Hoopla, from the ‘newly added’ shelf. So, I assumed it was a new book. However, about halfway through I stopped by Goodreads to drop a quick status update and learned two things. One, i didn’t have a new book, but a new edition of an older book—the 35th anniversary edition, as fate would have it. And two, Megan Lindholm is the same author who writes as Robin Hobb. Neither of these things changed anything about the book, but I did look at it a little differently.

I’d call this book more interesting than enjoyable. But the way Lindholm leaves the reader to decide where the lines lay between reality, Wizard’s wizardry, and his history as a Vietnam veteran and the resulting trauma is intriguing. So is characters supposition about what causes them each to become wizards. The book really is a wonderful tribute to veterans and their struggles. It focuses on Vietnam vets, probably due to when it was written, but would work just as well for returning soldiers of more recent conflicts. Though one might quibble about whether the ending is the happiest outcome or not. I can see people having differing opinions on the question.

I liked Wizard and the rest…except Linda (who you’re not supposed to like). The writing is good and the audio version is a pleasure to listen to. It’s narrated by Daniel Thomas May. The book is slow at times, but I don’t think I minded that too much. All in all, a success for me.