SHARK ISLAND BY CHRIS JAMESON {review}

Paperback, 320 pages

Published June 27th 2017 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

Rating: ★★★★

This is what I want a thriller to be; quick, exhilarating, tense, and enjoyable.

Shark Island starts by introducing Naomi, as close to a main character as the book has, losing part of her leg to a shark attack while photographing seals off the coast of Cape Cod. Several months later has her joining a scientific expedition experimenting with a beacon that would lure the masses of seals, and thus the feeding sharks, to a remote island far from people. Throwing a wrench in their plans is a huge storm, environmental terrorists following them in another boat, and the discovery that the beacon while the beacon does entice the seals to move, it also drives the sharks into an intense frenzy. And it only gets worse from there.

The book is both tense and intense, with moments of real humanity. It's brutal in places and had me flinching, but I count that as a success as I was connected to the characters and I wanted them safe. There's a diverse cast of characters, there are queer characters, characters of different races, of different economic backgrounds, etc. All these things are important to the characters, yet also utterly unimportant in the face of furious great white sharks driven mad with bloodlust. Though Naomi is the de facto protagonist, there are numerous perspectives, some more major than others. Chris Jameson really managed to capture the right balance there, giving each character their own voices and motivations.

The plot moves along quickly and once teeth start gnashing at the characters, your heart starts pumping, in simultaneous dread and excitement. It's a wild ride from start to finish, thrilling even. Definitely a great summer book, but maybe not one you want to be reading by the seaside.

BEAUTY AND THE BOSS BY ALI VALI {ARC review}

ebook

Expected publication: September 1st 2017 by Bold Strokes Books

Rating: ★★

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I don't usually pick up lesbian romances because they're largely not to my tastes, but Beauty and the Boss sounded quick and fun. Unfortunately for me, it was neither.

Ellis is a famous fashion designer and Charlotte is an single mother and aspiring designer granted an internship with Ellis. Ellis, Charlotte and Charlotte's 10 year old daughter Sawyer, already a talented artist, soon take off for New Orleans to prepare for fashion week. Almost immediately one of two copies of the all important book of designs for fashion week is stolen by Ellis' vindictive coworkers and the entire line needs to be replaced. The tension rises as Ellis and Charlotte battle their pasts and their romantic feelings for each other, all while tirelessly work towards salvaging their fashion week.

The main characters, Ellis and Charlotte, work together and fall madly in love quickly, for no real reason as far as I can tell. The emotion just wasn't there. I couldn't connect with them at all and that was a huge disappointment for me. I wanted to like them so much but they were never elevated to vibrant characters who feel real.

Stylistically, the writing didn't do much for me. There are a few things that Vali did that I find amateur-ish, like how a character is always introduced in ways that felt like high school creative writing style.

Fashion designer Ellis Renoir...
Her best friend and partner Rueben Maddox...
"Do you have everything set?" Jennifer Eymard asked Dalton Burton as they had lunch at the Clocktower restaurant.

This sort of thing always pulls me out of a story, as it's an awkward and amateurish way to introduce characters and starts to stick out the more it's used. The sentences were in a simple, almost a fanfic-style, that prevented me from ever really connecting with the characters that I really wanted to connect with. I actually had a really hard time differentiating between who was speaking at any given time, that's how similar every character's voice was. The 10 year old girl sounded the exact same as worldly journalists and international fashionistas.

The main antagonists, Jennifer and Dalton, are hollow, evil caricatures when they're introduced and remain that way the entire story. I don't particularly expect villains to grow and change in the same way I expect the protagonists too, but there was no real explanations for their hatred of Ellis. Despite having a multitude of perspective chapters, I never felt like I understood more about them as people. They were both willing to enact horrible betrayals, ruin families and commit crimes, but their motives lacked any real emotional correlation. Why give them perspectives within the narrative at all if there's no complexities within the characters at all?

In the end, these things made what was actually a fairly short book feel like I was slogging through it, finishing more for completion's sake than enjoyment.

TRINITY, VOL I: BETTER TOGETHER BY FRANCIS MANAPUL {review}

Trade paperback, 144 pages

Published June 13th 2017 by DC Comics

Rating: ★★★★

Trinity isn't the absolute best DC Rebirth has to offer, but it has a lot of heart and that made it really enjoyable to read. This first trade paperback contains a self-contained story that is about building trust and friendship between the DC trinity and, for me, that really works.

To say I'm not a fan of Batman is a bit of an understatement but Trinity actually made me temporarily like him which is a wonder in and of itself. Batman's wanky dreariness is evened out by the goodness of Superman and Wonder Woman, the weight of the emotional burden he carries lifted when he is with people who have known pain as he had and carry the same burden.

The first and last issues are narrated by Lois Lane, who has asked Bruce and Diana to come to the Kent farm for dinner in order to facilitate a friendship between the three. The story is simple, featuring fan favourite anti-villain Poison Ivy, and a plant-induced dream world that forces Bruce, Diana and Clark to visit their pasts and interact with their younger selves.

The story is simple but pure, about parenthood and friendship. And features Lois Lane driving a car through a barn door in true Lois style. Manapaul's beautiful art really enhances the story as well, making reading the book a really enjoyable experience. I like heart and Trinity Volume 1 had it in spades.