Steph Post

This book is what happens when a nice girl takes on hardboiled crime fiction. Tough guy turned loner, James, heads back to his home town after his father's death just in time to get caught up in his younger, stupider brother's criminals mishaps. And there's a tough but vulnerable dame.

The settings were highly detailed in places and yet failed to convey an atmosphere. There were genuinely strong descriptions of places and people but the characters themselves were not as fleshed out as as their attire was. In the moments that I *was* given a chance to get to know them, they felt shallow as if pulled from the pages of a Lifetime Movie.

It's a paint-by-numbers noir set in white trash America. It wasn't terrible at all but the writing felt like a cheerleader who decided to get tough and dressed herself up in black and said "Now I'm goth." It's a all a bit Sandy at the end of Grease.

A Tree Born Crooked never rose above readable for me. What should have taken me a couple of days to read took me over a week because I just didn't really care. I'm not sure how I even found this book. Maybe it was suggested to me after reading something else although I can't imagine what that was. But I did manage to finish it and I'm not kicking myself about it. Hence the 3 star review.… (más)

With an intriguing cover, "Miraculum" doesn't really lead you to any conclusions about itself from the cover alone. However, it does say in the first few pages, that this is a book where no one wins. I would say that's absolutely true. Set in 1922, this isn't usually a book I would read, not being a huge fan of historical fiction, but this was a game changer for me. I've read a few books about a carnival in the last few years, and I really enjoyed them all, so when I saw this book, that meant I was immediately interested, and I'm glad I got to check it out.

Check out my full review here!

https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/02/15/miraculum-by-steph-post-...… (más)

This book had its moments. It's no secret, I am a full fledged sucker for a good Circus/Carnival-centric book. Reading this synopsis had me feeling like this book had my name writtem ALL over it! I was super excited to start but unfortunatly the first thing I noticed, right off the bat, was that there were GLARING editorial mistakes. The misuses, omissions and all around lack of proper editing chopped up the flow everytime I came across them. Bad grammar is a pet peeve of mine and it smacks me in the face...HARD... every single time I come across some. That being said, I tried to move on and let them slide with only a wince and a minor curse to mark their passage BUT move on I did.

As for the actual story, the plot moved along nicely. It definitely gave off a strong Carnival T.V show (circa 2000-2003) vibe. That was a great show and so too was the scaffolding of this story...the meat and potatoes, they were tasty. I really enjoyed how rich and vivid the imagery was BUT there was some info dumping with regards to the Gods origin stories, their interrealtedness and the actual Voodoo practices. Because of those areas the plot was a bit choppy at times. Otherwise, the pacing was on point. It kept me interested and involved enough to see it through until the end. I waded through the editing woes and the spotty info dumps and even some semi-transparent plot twists and came out the other end rather pleased with the whole story. That was until the end...

That ending felt like a copout. It was wholly dissatisfying...underwhelming... a fizzle where a BANG should have been. With how thoroughly the Geek decimated our kick ass heroine's life, that ending seemed like a pittance... a hail mary to an intercepted fumble. Yes, I can appreciate how realistic/diplomatic that finale seems, for there is never really a true victor in the war between Good and Evil, BUT come on.... if your life was torn asunder, I believe a little bloody retribution would have been on the menu.... there wasn't even a slap. I don't know. This was a mixed bag for me. I loved the imagery. I loved/loathed some of the characters BUT those editing mishaps and that whimper of an ending have this book precariously perched on the ratings scale. I believe that with a good editing scrub and a tweak here and there regarding the info dumping, this could be a really great book.

Oooohhhhh but that ending...

Overall impression: This was a fun read. The writing was captivating and the characters were robust and really...those are the factors that matter most, right?

*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***… (más)

There are times when I write a review that I know exactly what I want to convey and at other times words defy me. Can I just say that I loved this book and let it go at that?! Really, a story where no one wins? A story that has an overwhelming otherworldliness to it that you have to wonder about the possibilities.

Pontilliar’s Spectacular Star Light Miraculum and all its attractions are deeply layered, intermingled and all so believable that I couldn’t help but get lost in the story. Pontilliar the owner and Ruby Chloe the snake charmer are tied together by guilt and necessity, January the lead dancer in the Girl’s Revue is Ruby’s best friend, Samuel once the Wild Man of Borneo is now the money and detail manager and keeps a careful watch over everything especially Ruby, Hayden is Ruby’s on again off again boyfriend, and Daniel Revont the new geek, always in a black suit and crisp white shirt, is Ruby’s nemesis. There are many other characters who add to the story and move it along at a fast page turning pace.

Much of the action takes place on the Carnival’s midway, but there are very interesting excursions into the Bayou to the Village of the Lost where cults live and celebrate their rituals. There are look backs and remembrances of previous centuries. There is disruption and disorder for that is the nature of the Trickster who feels everything and nothing. There is darkness and light, a score that is never settled and a game that goes on.

I loved this book. Thank you NetGalley and Polis Books for a copy.… (más)