I was going to just do the last couple July books and call it a day, but then a couple of them were moved to August, and with Conageddon, it just seemed like a lot to do for one month so. Enjoy July and some August books!

Master of Iron by Tricia Levenseller
Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher
Three Miles Down by Harry Turtledove
The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta
The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill
Eversion by Alastair Reynolds

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Master of Iron by Tricia Levenseller
Series: Bladesmith #2
Published by Feiwel & Friends on July 26, 2022
Pages: 400
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

Eighteen-year-old Ziva may have defeated a deadly warlord, but the price was almost too much. Ziva is forced into a breakneck race to a nearby city with the handsome mercenary, Kellyn, and the young scholar, Petrik, to find a powerful magical healer who can save her sister's life.

When the events that follow lead to Ziva and Kellyn's capture by an ambitious prince, Ziva is forced into the very situation she's been dreading: magicking dangerous weapons meant for world domination.

The forge has always been Ziva's safe space, a place to avoid society and the anxiety it causes her, but now it is her prison, and she's not sure just how much of herself she'll have to sacrifice to save Kellyn and take center stage in the very war she's been trying to stop.

In Master of Iron, the conclusion to Tricia Levenseller's exciting Bladesmith YA fantasy duology, a magically gifted blacksmith with social anxiety must race against the clock to save her beloved sister and stop a devastating war.

Tricia Levenseller legit never disappoints. Doesn’t matter the topic, I am always entertained. This sequel offered a few nice recaps woven into the story seamlessly, which I definitely appreciated since my memory is generally trash. Then we get right back into the world and action from the first book!

Ziva is still a reluctant yet wonderful heroine. She struggles with anxiety (and can I please heap high praise on the author for fabulous anxiety rep in a fantasy series), and is kind of terrified of being in the spotlight, yet she finds herself there regardless. She’s incredibly gifted with the ability to magic any items she blacksmiths, and of course, powerful people have decided that she could be used for their military benefit. Since Ziva isn’t a total monster, she doesn’t love the idea of fashioning magical weapons for sociopaths, so she’s on the run. She’s also trying to keep her sister alive, as well as their friends/traveling companions/maybe-lovers, and it is a lot.

This book, like its predecessor, has a perfect blend of action and character development. The story does delve pretty deeply into the political landscape of the kingdom, which was not quite my favorite part, but it wasn’t too heavy a focus to take away the enjoyment of the story. I loved watching Ziva grow as a character, too. She has the best of intentions always, but learns some really important lessons about herself and her relationships along the way.

Bottom Line: Overall, it was an incredibly satisfying conclusion to an overall great duology. Can’t wait to see what the author has in store for us next!

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Dead Water by C.A. Fletcher
Published by Redhook on July 19, 2022
Pages: 512
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

From the author of A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World comes a haunting and suspenseful story of isolation and dread within a small island community.

There's something in the water...

On the edge of the Northern Atlantic lies a remote island. The islanders are an outwardly harmonious community—but all have their own secrets, some much darker than others. And when a strange disorder begins to infect them all, those secrets come to light.

Ferry service fails and contact with the mainland is lost. Rumors begin to swirl as a temporary inconvenience grows into nightmarish ordeal. The fabric of the once tight-knit island is unnervingly torn apart—and whatever the cause, the question soon stops being how or why it happened, but who, if anyone, will survive.

Okay, so I am back again with a bit of the mixed feelings, friends! I was really exited for this one, and it wasn’t bad, but it did drag a bit. So let’s break down what I liked versus what didn’t quite work for me!

What I Liked:

• The atmosphere was perfect. You knew you were on a creepyass island, and you knew it wasn’t going to go well, from page one. Basically all the things that can go wrong on the island do, and you have a very real sense of ominousness from the beginning.
• I did grow to really like the characters and their stories. Despite having like, roughly three hundred and thirty five points of view characters, I ended up quite enamored with some of their stories! Not all, mind, because again, so many, but the more significant ones certainly.
• The story really picked up around the 75% mark. Here’s the thing: it did get good! And I did end up feeling more positive about it than negative. But really, how many readers are going to stick with it through the slow bits? I can’t say much about the end obviously, but it was at least an exciting conclusion.

What I Struggled With:

• Honestly it was just too slow. Especially at the beginning, I was just flat out bored. We’re hearing from every fool on this island and I felt like it was overkill. Too much description, not enough plot movement. And the thing is, it really did have some good moments, that would have packed a lot more of a punch had some of the extraneous bits been pared down.
• The whole island had a turn to be a featured character. Look, I can deal with a handful of POV characters. But genuinely characters who really ended up either having nothing whatsoever to do with the plot, or whose stories didn’t end up being resolved in the end, had chapters of needless narration. There were even some POVs from birds and you guys know how I feel about that.

Bottom Line: Certainly atmospheric, and with a cast of characters that grew on me, this one moved a bit slower and with much detail- for better and for worse.

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Three Miles Down: A Novel of First Contact in the Tumultuous 1970s by Harry Turtledove
Published by Tor Books on July 26, 2022
Pages: 288
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

From New York Times bestselling author Harry Turtledove, the modern master of alternate history, a novel of alien contact set in the tumultuous year of the Watergate scandal.

It's 1974, and Jerry Stieglitz is a grad student in marine biology at UCLA with a side gig selling short stories to science fiction magazines, just weeks away from marrying his longtime fiancée. Then his life is upended by grim-faced men from three-letter agencies who want him to join a top-secret "Project Azorian" in the middle of the north Pacific Ocean—and they really don't take "no" for an answer. Further, they're offering enough money to solve all of his immediate problems.

Joining up and swearing to secrecy, what he first learns is that Project Azorian is secretly trying to raise a sunken Russian submarine, while pretending to be harvesting undersea manganese nodules. But the dead Russian sub, while real, turns out to be a cover story as well. What's down on the ocean floor next to it is the thing that killed the sub: an alien spacecraft.

Jerry's a scientist, a longhair, a storyteller, a dreamer. He stands out like a sore thumb on the Glomar Explorer, a ship full of CIA operatives, RAND Corporation eggheads, and roustabout divers. But it turns out that he's the one person in the North Pacific who's truly thought out all the ways that human-alien first contact might go.

And meanwhile, it's still 1974 back on the mainland. Richard Nixon is drinking heavily and talking to the paintings on the White House walls. The USA is changing fast—and who knows what will happen when this story gets out? Three Miles Down is both a fresh and original take on First Contact, and a hugely enjoyable romp through the pop culture, political tumult, and conspiracies-within-conspiracies atmosphere that was 1974.

First thing you need to know: This book is light on the actual aliens, heavy on the political and moral implications of the possibility of aliens. That said, I did like the book! But if you are looking for a focus on first contact itself, this probably isn’t it. In Three Days Down, we’re introduced to Jerry. He’s a grad student in the 1970s, moonlighting as a sci-fi writer. He’s pretty comfortable in his life, has a fiancé, steady job, a modest apartment.

One day, Jerry gets a visit from some CIA fellows who’d like him to accept an opportunity. He doesn’t know anything about it, but come on, who exactly would be able to turn down… whatever it is? Not Jerry, anyway. So he agrees, and finds out piece by piece what his mission will entail. He’s going down in a submarine to basically fish for Soviets. Only when Jerry gets there, he finds out he’s fishing less for Russians, and more for extraterrestrials.

The bulk of the story deals with Jerry’s journey, both internally, and as it relates to the mission. The government is a giant mess, and no one can agree on how to proceed. Jerry’s ideas are certainly the most appropriate and humane, yet Jerry wields very little power for decision making. Even so, Jerry’s ideas clearly have value to the program, and he’s got to make some very serious decisions. How far will he be willing to go to get the answers he craves? Will he be able to change the minds of any of the hardheads he’s dealing with? Will their decisions doom humanity?

The story is certainly thought provoking, as you can’t help but wonder what you would do in a similar position as Jerry. In addition, Jerry is dealing with his own mundane life stuff, that certainly many of us can relate to. I will say, it did feel a bit like this would have a sequel- or if it wasn’t intended to, we’re really not going to know how the alien storyline plays out, so be warned. That was probably my major complaint, that would lessen a bit if I knew if this was to be a series or a standalone. As it stands now, it is a story mostly dealing with the lead up to alien relationships, and contemplating the moral ramifications of such contact. Interesting and thought provoking no doubt, but also without answering the question.

Bottom Line: Provided a lot of introspection on what would happen if aliens were found, and the political ramifications of such an event, and look into how one man’s life would change, and the choices he’d have to make.

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The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta
Published by Titan Books on July 5, 2022
Pages: 368
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

A gripping sci-fi mystery wrapped in an LGBTQIA love story that bends space, time, myth and science.

Lumi is an Earth-born healer whose Mars-born spouse Sol disappears unexpectedly on a work trip. As Lumi begins her quest to find Sol, she delves gradually deeper into Sol’s secrets – and her own.

While recalling her own path to becoming a healer under the guidance of her mysterious teacher Vivian, she discovers an underground environmental group called Stoneturners, which may have something to do with Sol’s disappearance. Lumi’s search takes her from the wealthy colonies of Mars to Earth that has been left a shadow of its former self due to vast environmental destruction. Gradually, she begins to understand that Sol’s fate may have been connected to her own for much longer than she thought.

Part space-age epistolary, part eco-thriller, The Moonday Letters is also a love story between two individuals from very different worlds.

The Moonday Letters gave me a very Nina LaCour vibe- quieter, lovely yet unimposing at the start, but the characters and story sneak up on you and you find yourself very invested. The story is told through letters, mostly from Lumi to her spouse, Sol. Lumi is tracking Sol across the known inhabited universe for signs of their whereabouts after she cannot contact Sol.

The story evolves into a mystery when Lumi finds that Sol has been involved with a group that could be labeled as pro-environmental or eco-terrorists depending on who you ask, and Lumi goes on the hunt for as much information as she can. Along the way, she keeps Sol apprised of her search and her feelings via a book of letters. It is easy for the reader to see how much their relationship means to Lumi, even if we don’t see Sol’s thoughts and feelings. We do get brief glimpses from Sol, via short notes they leave for Lumi, but nothing really to tell us who Sol is outside of who Lumi tells us Sol is.

I really enjoyed Lumi as a character, and I definitely appreciated her relationship with Sol (at least what we see of it through Lumi’s memory). I also loved reading about Lumi’s journey, not only to find Sol, but her journey as a character. The worldbuilding was great, I was really invested in the world and what was going on. I won’t say too much as it is part of the mystery itself, but I loved finding out little tidbits. I especially appreciated that the author used real places as space landmarks- I was able to look them up, and really get a good idea of where things were.

There was a bit of magic in the book, and that was probably my least favorite element. I didn’t quite grasp where it fit into the story, but it was a smaller component, so I was able to kind of gloss over that. The story ultimately really pulled on my heartstrings, and I found myself wholly invested in the outcome for Lumi and Sol.

Bottom Line: Quiet and lovely, this story snuck up on me and I found myself quite ensnared by the world and Lumi.

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The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill
Published by Wednesday Books on August 2, 2022
Pages: 400
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

There’s always been a mystery to Vika Hale’s life. Ever since she was a child, she’s had an unknown benefactor providing for her and her family, making sure that Vika and her sister received the best education they could. Now, Vika longs for a bigger life than one as a poor barmaid on a struggling planet, but those dreams feel out of reach. Until one day Vika learns that her benefactor was a billionaire magnate who recently died under suspicious circumstances, and Vika has shockingly been included in his will. Invited to live on a glittering neighboring planet, Vika steps into a world she can hardly believe is real.

The only blight on Vika's lavish new life is the constant presence of Sky Foster, a mysterious young man from Vika's past who works for her benefactors. She doesn't like or trust Sky, but when she narrowly escapes an explosion and realizes someone is targeting the will's heirs, Vika knows Sky is the only one who can help her discover the identity of the bomber before she becomes their next victim. As Vika and Sky delve into the truth of the attacks, they uncover a web of secrets, murder, and an underground rebellion who may hold the answers they've been looking for. But Sky isn't who he seems to be, and Vika may not escape this new life unscathed.

In The Stars Between Us, Cristin Terrill sweeps readers away to a Dickensian-inspired world where secrets are currency and love is the most dangerous risk of all.

The Stars Between Us was entertaining. The Stars Between Us was also wildly predictable. These things can coexist at the same time; they are not mutually exclusive. And as such, I did end up liking the book even though I kind of knew what was going down. So I’ll break down what worked for me versus what I struggled with, as one does.

What I Liked:

• Like I said, it was just entertaining. You have a girl plucked from obscurity to be a princess. That is cool right there! Then, it’s set on some random planet that is a mess, and I am sold! Then the girl goes to the Fancy Planet™? Um YES please! There is a lot of stuff that this book does have going for it, just in the synopsis alone basically.
• Character growth. Okay, we’ll get into this a bit more below, but I kind of hated the characters at the start? But! There is a really good amount of growth, so I can get behind some degree of unlikability if characters can become… you know, less shitty.
• The world itself was really cool- and quite relevant. Obviously, it is clear to see the inequalities mirrored in our own society. While people have clearly expanded to space in this story, they still haven’t given up on classist crap, which is super evident. I also really loved the idea of being able to take a quick space shuttle to a different planet- how fun is that? I maybe would have liked a bit more world backstory, but what we did have I enjoyed.

What I Struggled With:

• Seriously, so predictable. Like- my Kindle notes were all my predictions, followed several chapters later by “knew it!” So suffice it to say, I was not exactly shocked by this story. Even when I wasn’t totally right about something… I was still mostly right. I can deal with some predictability, obviously, but this was a little much for me to overlook.
• Wow did I loathe the characters at the start! I almost called it quits early on, if I am being totally honest. I really did not like Vika. She was incredibly vapid, and just unlikable. When a love interest stated his feelings for her, I was so lost, because why? She certainly fancied herself lovely, so maybe it was her looks, but then my dude, how shallow are you? She was treating this guy like absolute trash, and he keeps coming back for more! I couldn’t understand his motivations, and I certainly couldn’t understand why she was the way she was. She did grow as the book continued, which helped. She was never my favorite, but at least she was tolerable by the end.

Bottom Line: I was absolutely entertained, but it was still lacking some excitement in its predictability.

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Eversion by Alastair Reynolds
Published by Orbit on August 2, 2022
Pages: 432
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

From the master of the space opera, Alastair Reynolds, comes a dark, mind-bending SF adventure spread across time and space, Doctor Silas Coade has been tasked with keeping his crew safe as they adventure across the galaxy in search of a mysterious artifact, but as things keep going wrong, Silas soon realizes that something more sinister is at work, and this may not even be the first time it's happened.

In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it's up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.

I don’t know what I expected when I started Eversion, but it certainly surprised me. And frankly, continued to surprise me throughout. You’re better off going into this with very few preconceptions, and I actually wish I’d gone in blinder. As such, I am keeping this brief, because I really think that the best part about this book is the twists and unexpected turns it took.

I’ll give you the basics, which is that we follow Dr. Silas Coade and the team that he cares for as a physician. They’re on a mission to find… well, something. But they are met with many obstacles along the way. In every way, in every incarnation, things go wildly wrong. And that’s all you’ll get from me for a synopsis. Trust me, it’s better this way.

I will also say this: I wished I had paid more attention to the details I had erroneously deemed somewhat unnecessary in the earlier chapters. When there was a lot of character/plot/world description, I kind of wrote it off, but there is a purpose behind most of it. That said, I really did enjoy the characters and their interactions from the start. They’re certainly an interesting bunch, and I definitely enjoyed that aspect.

We are in the dark for a pretty large chunk of the story. Sometimes I get frustrated with that, which is wholly on me, but I also really liked that the story felt like it was leading somewhere, so I wasn’t all that frustrated in this case. And while there were a few times (mostly in the earlier chapters) that I felt things were dragging a bit, the payoff in the latter part of the book is absolutely worth the journey.

Bottom Line: This book certainly surprised me time and time again!

Have you read any of these books? Plan to? Let us chat about them!