Book Review: Love in the Balance by Marianne K. Martin

Love in the Balance by Marianne K. Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a BookCrossing book I nabbed from a shelf in the Lasipalatsi gallery space in lieu of Pride merch, because most of said merch was already gone. Sadface. In truth, I would like to give this novel 2½ stars. Here is why.

Although the romance itself was quite lovely and, yes, occasionally titillating, there were some aspects of the plot that I simply did not care for — especially in the last third or so.


SPOILERS!

After our lovers are happily established, a side-plot comes careening out of nowhere in which two of their close friends, a slightly older lesbian couple, are shot to death by their neighbour. A bit of reflection revealed this to be (in my opinion) a poorly executed Chekhov's Gun. The threat to shoot any animals that might wander onto the neighbour's property is mentioned only a couple of pages before. The event might work better if it didn't appear slapped on like a sticker. Honestly, it reads like the author was running out of plot and decided to just tack this on without much to connect it to the rest of the story. Also, Kasey's reaction is unintentionally amusing:

"Nooo!" Kasey screamed. (http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com)

Much social commentary ensues, flavoured with a bit of interpersonal drama. They eventually win the court case, though. Two years later, Connie asks Kasey to marry her. Happily ever after?


In conclusion: It's a nice read, and the development of the relationship between Kasey and Connie is quite lovely, but if you don't care about a hefty dose of (poorly integrated) socio-political commentary with your fluff, you may wish to skip the last third or, you know, the whole book.

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Book Review: The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss

The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I must have spent less than ten hours altogether reading this novel, and that in a single day. It has been a while since I finished a book that quickly. Then again, I do my fastest reading when travelling and today I spent approximately six hours sitting in a car. That accounts for most of the novel.

What to say of the story itself? I liked it a great deal, and although there were some twists I saw coming long beforehand, the form those twists took was unexpected. The narrative is in first person and past tense, which is never the easiest thing to pull off but fits this particular story splendidly. Lucifer Box is conceited as anything — and it is very difficult not to adore him. His relationship with Charlie Jackpot is marvellous, and I hope it remains as wonderful in the sequels. Yes, I will be getting my hands on those sooner or later!

I admit that I expected much from a book written by Mark Gatiss. I was not disappointed.

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Book Review: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish Goodreads supported half-stars in its rating system. For me, this book wasn't quite a four but still slightly more than a three. Oh, well.

More than a decade has passed since I last read this novel, and I have the sneaking suspicion that I did so in Finnish. (I only started being picky about translations sometime after HP 5 came out. Read that in English, have endeavoured to do so ever since — when the original is in English, obviously.) Thus, my memories of the story were vague at best.

What struck me most was how very unlikeable Lessa is for much of the book. She has her reasons, certainly, and many of the entirely frustrating things she does are, in the end, quite understandable. Nevertheless, this realisation threw me off balance for a while. It's a bit discomfiting when you find yourself unable to like the main character. Then again, that is probably one of the strengths of this novel; McCaffrey manages to make the reader sympathise with someone whom, for a good stretch, you feel like throttling.

Honestly, I'm much more fond of F'lar and F'nor.

The lore discovered throughout the story is revealed at a good pace, not too slow and not too fast. No awkward infodumps here! Also absent are overly detailed character descriptions. Clothing and appearances are described, yes, but those parts feel much more organic than they often do. It's a skill many writers should spend time honing.

I'm glad I reacquainted myself with this series, and quite look forward to reading more of it.

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Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here's the thing about seeing a book praised, especially by your friends: It creates expectations it is pretty impossible for the real thing to live up to.

Don't misunderstand me. I liked this book. I really, really did — just not quite as much as I expected wanted to. I wanted to love it, not only because of those aforementioned friends but also because I consider myself a Nerdfighter. Alas, it was not to be. Further skewing my experience was the fact that, being late to the party, I had encountered spoilers. I knew about the big twist long before I even acquired the novel. Sad, that.

To the point, now? Yes.

CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Book Review: Women & Ghosts by Alison Lurie

Women & Ghosts by Alison Lurie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A little gem of a collection, Women & Ghosts held me enthralled with its tales. Ten women come face to face with something not quite of this world and find themselves wondering if they have in fact gone mad. We cannot be sure, and that's part of the charm.

I have lately come to appreciate the supernatural genre, so when I found the little paperback in a box of our late professor's books that had been donated to my student guild, I decided to pick it up and see whether it was a good read. Now I'm glad I did, and will probably try to get my hands on Lurie's other work.

While I did indeed like this book, it's an unfortunate fact that I have way too many in my possession already. Thus it shall be freed.

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Book Review: Catch of the Season by Barbara Benedict

Catch of the Season by Barbara Benedict
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So here's the thing. About a decade ago, romance novels were a sort of guilty pleasure of mine. Barbara Cartland was my favourite, although I did read some Danielle Steel as well. That phase of my bookwormdom was rather short-lived (only a year or two at most), but it remained with me. It was a fact. I had read romances and liked them.

A couple of days ago, I decided to stop pretending that it wasn't a thing I still wanted to do every now and then. I picked up a free-to-grab book at uni and proceeded to find out whether the genre was still something I could stomach.

The answer is, perhaps a little to my chagrin, yes.

Catch of the Season is a bite-sized novel that goes by quite fast. It made no great impact, but it was entertaining enough and well-written enough to keep my interest. I have no intention of keeping it; despite being a sweet, cheesy little morsel that I did enjoy, the novel has no place on my bookshelf. There will be others like it. Instead, the story shall be released once more unto the world to find someone else who sometimes likes to indulge in a bit of syrup.

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Book Review: Brain by Robin Cook

Brain by Robin Cook
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Let me begin by stating that I did enjoy this book significantly. I for some reason had a preconceived notion that the story would be much trashier than it turned out to be, which might have influenced my opinion in a positive way; I was pleasantly surprised, ergo inclined toward a kinder review. My grievances are, in the end, minor ones, even though they did affect my reading experience negatively.

Edge of Seventeen

Oh my lord. My heart has been shattered into itty bitty pieces by this film. It's from 1998, but set in 1984–85. Eric, upon meeting an openly gay guy at his summer job, is catapulted into a sexual discovery of his own. Too bad that in the process he ends up hurting a few people — mostly himself and his best friend. Many of the decisions he makes during the film are far from smart, but let's remember we are talking about a gay adolescent in the mid-80s. The boy is freaking terrified. I loved it, even though the pacing may seem a little slow in places. Then again, that's not a bad thing here. If you like coming-of-age stories of the lgbt variety, do see whether you can get your hands on this. It's definitely worth the watch, methinks. A trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Gen Silent

This wonderful, beautiful documentary broke my heart and warmed it at the same time. These people have gone through so much hardship, yet are so strong. As they repeatedly say in the film, I cannot possibly comprehend what these elders have experienced — not only because of the age gap, but because of the country I live in and the fact that I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by people who could not give a crap about whom I love. Yes, Finland has not always been and is still not a perfect haven for queer folk, but to me it seems a hair better than USA is even today.

I'm truly grateful that I was given the chance to view this film. There is no DVD for the general public, and the libraries don't have a copy. The viewings are usually rented for events, one such being tomorrow night as part of the Helsinki Pride programme. Problem is, I'm going to other happenings. Last night, I filled out the contact form on the Gen Silent website and hoped for the best — and lo, they responded! I was given a link and a password for a private viewing. So tonight, I sat down to watch it.

At points, I was in tears. At others I smiled. There were even a few chuckles in there, mostly when Lois and Sheri were talking. Those two are brilliant. But, again, so are the rest of them. I want to look up Lawrence Johnson's poetry. The fragments of it recited in the film seemed captivating. I want to hug every one of them still alive, speak with them, go out for the night. March with them.

This is a poignant and most of all important piece of film. If you have the opportunity, go watch it. It's an hour long and worth every minute.