Reviews and Comments

This book is about a housekeeper planning a heist of all luxury goods from a mansion that she works in. But there are plots within plots. Built around some very sordid history that nobody talks about when they talk about the "good old days" when lords were lording. I really enjoyed reading this book.

one of the annoying parts of the steampunk universe, to me, is how white it is. Luckily for us authors like P. Djéli Clark & Valjeanne Jeffers are here to offer worlds that are more authentic without erasing the racism, classism & homophobia but simultaneously offering courageous Black women protagonists. Really love this even though there is a touch of misogyny in this series (man wont marry a woman who is "better" than him).

Ostensibly about a Filipino-jewish woman who lives in Monterey who has a high powered real-estate agent & Filipino American mother with cancer who joins her in solving a murder. I really do not like copaganda and sadly this book tries to include a Native American cop who does the "right thing" but still how is that not copaganda? Also there is almost nothing Filipino in the book about ostensibly 3 Filipino American protagonists.

The book is very readable though. My quest for mysteries without copaganda continues.

Not only did he operate with great financial constraint but he was also constantly ignored by sociologists of his time. This pioneering work won a gold medal at the exposition where these charts were showcased. What a beautiful set of charts. Worth learning from and seeing in detail. I was gutted by the chart that showed how dramatically Black population increased after civil war. To me that was the sign that a lot of violence / death impacted the enslaved people. So much pain hidden in one chart.

The author bases their main character on their friend's son who has spinal muscular atrophy. I appreciate how positive the writer shows this young man to be. They do show police to be incompetent as they usual seem to be in real life which was good but the end was very cinematic and I didn't quite like that. Otherwise a great slow burn thriller!

It has been SO RARE to read fantasy that is based on Black & African traditions. I am so delighted that P. Djéli Clark has woven yet another set of worlds that is delightful & action packed. I feel this is a book that would be suitable for young teens and above. What a wonderful tale. Not one dull moment.

Enjoyed this romance couched as a murder mystery featuring monsters & a very healthy dose of derision for private equity & hedge funds.

This murder mystery vividly portrays how Indigenous children are taken away at some pretext or the other and their lives destroyed by social workers. Unfortunately, it has a way of centering a white kind cop which to me feels like making a myth of friendly cops and so I do not love that.

I have been more interested recently in murder mysteries that are set in different genres as I cannot tolerate reading any murder mystery involving sympathetic cop / detective. This is a murder mystery based on fantasy that punches up and involves a satisfying victory of the poor over the rich.

The key takeaways for me: - Organize in groups based on actions you take with those things. E.g. have a coffee station with ground coffee, French press, coffee mugs. Or group all stuff that is used for breakfast together - Label these groups! Very important. Otherwise you wouldn't know how you grouped them. - Dont stuff in things unless they belong to the group. This means your shelves will be a little sparse as the stuff gets used. DO NOT FILL IT WITH OTHER THINGS - Make sure you have a place to put every item you buy BEFORE you buy it. It's a good way to curb my shopaholic tendencies.

Also TIL Arizona gov Katie Hobbs used to help run a domestic violence shelter

TIL police jail victims of sexual assault or other violent crime to force them to testify against abusers.

These stories give a more full depiction of the horror visited upon the Iraqis with the American invasion. One story is about a man who leaves a mental asylum not knowing who he is – other than what is in his file – because the Americans demolished the walls thinking it was a military facility. Another is about how horrific it was to be a woman under the Baathist regime to be a leftist person who does not believe in Baathist regime ideals. I learned how close Iraq is to Iran and started looking for news about both the countries. I learned 3 Iraqi women who were influencers have been killed in Iraq www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/27/iraqi-tiktok-star-om-fahad-shot-dead-in-baghdad-night-attack and how Iran began a crackdown on women who did not cover their heads at the same time they launched their missiles on Israel military targets. www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/24/iranian-women-violently-dragged-from-streets-by-police-amid-hijab-crackdown