Review: The Memory Hunters

The Memory Hunters by Mia Tsai
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars



I got hooked into this story and had a hard time putting the book down. I kept grabbing for it whenever I could, so despite its page length I read it fairly quickly. However, the last part of the book spoiled some of the story line for me.

The world building was very interesting, loved the concept of people being able to dive into the past and see things that happened before just by using some mushrooms. Our main character, Key, was particularly gifted and had perfect memory.

Kiana Strade, known as Key, came from a famous and rich family. Her grandmother was form head curator and founder of the Institute of Human Memory. Her mother was head resifix (like a priest) for the city of Asheburg and her father a ctiy councillor. Her mother hoped Key would follow her and not her mother. But Key wanted to work for the museum, do field work, and get away from all the demanding public in the city.

All hunters had guardians, and hers was Vale, a fierce stout woman that was quick to anger. Vale came from the south, where the storms were frequent and lived with losing ones home to the waters happened too often. She was poor, her family depended on her to send money home.

The story begins with Key finding something very interesting about the deep past, and perhaps the beginning of the rituals. The memory was also very strong and wouldn’t leave Key’s mind. This could happen to memory hunters, being haunted by a dive. Yet this find of Key’s seemed so important.

This is a start of a series, but I may just leave it there. In any case, I have to wait until the next book, and I'm not too big on series in general.

Review: Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution

Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution by Molly Beer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This year one of my reading goals was to include more history, particularly early American history. I also wouldn’t mind to read about the women involved, and this book fit that category nicely.

Angelica Schuyler Church should be a more well known figure from the revolutionary time particularly coming from a prominent family, except women were expected to be primarily caretakers of the family, mothers and daughters. At a time when the new country was writing a constitution, some women advocated for women to not be overlooked, to be included in having a voice, but that did not happen. Instead women continued to experience the tyranny of the husband and father.

At age 20 Angelica wanted to marry John Barker Church who went by John Carter, but could not get her parents approval. Her father, General Schuyler was busy with war efforts, Carter spent ten weeks with him and still could not gain the approval. Angelica made her own “democratic vote” and eloped. Her parents were embarrassed. Yet, they remained together and the couple ended up having eight children.

Most of the book is about the history of the time, and following the timeline of Angelica’s life until she died in 1814. In 1783 the Church’s went to France as John was the U.S. envoy to France. A few years later John bought property in England and served as a member of the British Parliament until 1796. Meanwhile Angelica went to New York in 1789 to witness the swearing in of the first United States President George Washington. In 1799 they returned to America permanently and founded a town in New York and called it Angelica.

Angelica’s brother-in-law was Alexander Hamilton and she was friends with Thomas Jefferson and other important figures at the time. Without getting much longer in this, the book often veers to the history and other people. There are details of life during these years, such as how the price of butter and other goods were affected by the war. The research done is incredible. The author was born in Angelica, New York and likely was her inspiration for book.


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Review: Still Needs Work: A Novel

Still Needs Work: A Novel by Ellen Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I tend towards books on work, fiction or not, but more towards fiction. This book falls in the fictional category. The book opens with Marianne attending a conference in San Francisco, when she gets a heads up her job, and her entire department is being eliminated. She finished up the conference with this new status and heads back home.

Marriane is living back in Kansas City, her old childhood home, which has now turned into not a great neighborhood. She had been working remotely after her house in California burned down, apparently not long after her husband died.

Now she is trying to find a new job and continue fixing up her house, and now being careful with money. Her neighbors and her dog are prominent in the book. As Marriane tries finding a new job she seems to work well with finding work or business ideas for those around her.

The book is told simply, and on a day to day basis. The book grew on me, despite how often it is brought up what a bad neighborhood, being East of Troost. And yet I still liked the character and the neighbors as portrayed.

After finishing the book I found out there are several books about this character, guess it’s a series, but not labeled as such. In any case this book works as a stand-alone.


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Review: In Trees: An Exploration

In Trees: An Exploration by Robert Moor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Five

Five by Ilona Bannister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A different sort of thriller type book. Takes place in the underground tube of London and the reader is told one of these five main characters are going to die with the next train coming into the station in five minutes.

The five characters are a mother with her uncontrollable child, and a man approaching her, who appears to be shady. Later we find out they do know each other very well. The other two characters are an older lady who ends up having a heart attack and a young man who helps her. There are several other characters in the train station, several others that help out of the catastrophe not just of the woman on the ground, as several people end up on the tracks.

Most of the book is the backstory of each of the five main characters, while in-between is the current moment at the tube station where there is quite a lot of action going on. The book poses morality question for the reader, which of these characters do you want to die? All have flaws that may have the reader rooting for one character to not make it.

With the way it was presented and the author breaking the fourth wall too often, I wasn't much of a fan of the style. It was a quick read.

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