The Scent of Burnt Flowers

 Tell me a story... about the fall of a president... with a mystical twist

The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule

Publication date: June 28, 2022

Date read: May 20, 2022

December, 1965. After a violent event in the US sends Melvin and Bernadette on the run from the police, they decide to flee to Ghana, where Melvin's old school friend now happens to be the president, Kwame Nkrumah. After arriving in Ghana, the couple come across Kwesi, one of Ghana's most beloved Highlife musicians, who is himself headed to a performance for President Nkrumah. But Melvin and Bernadette left one world in turmoil only to enter another, as President Nkrumah's regime is fighting off coupes at every turn. Steeped in magical realism and African history, this book blends truth with fantasy in a story about a couple trying to find peace and evaluate their relationship with each other.

This book is part historical fiction, part magical realism. If you don’t like magical realism, this book is not for you. I just want to get that out of the way right now. And if you’re not familiar with what magical realism is, this book uses real-life events and people living in the real world, but also, there are mermaids and bird soldiers. 

There is a lot I liked about this book, but there is also a lot that I could see other refers not taking to. This book takes a lot of tangents, leaving the main story to go into backstories of minor characters and history. I didn’t mind this, because I found the tangents really fun and interesting. But I could also see how this can throw off the pacing of the main story and potentially bother some readers. 

I really liked Bernadette and her inner turmoil about the choices she had to make. I didn’t like the men as much, but I’m also not sure I was supposed to; I did like their stories, though. Without giving anything away, I was on the edge of my seat to find out how Melvin’s story would play out, and he was the least likable character of the bunch. 

Another note, is that the book does not wrap itself up until a nice little bow, leaving the story a bit open-ended. I liked it, but again, can see how some readers wouldn’t. 

I thought the writing was very well done, pretty without being flowery, and the magic was woven in beautifully. This is Bazawule’s debut novel, and I will definitely be looking for more from him in the future. (I also just found out that he is a hip-hop artist and director, working on the 2023 musical adaptation of The Color Purple. Who knew?)

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I think that most readers of contemporary or historical fiction will, if magical realism is a genre they can get behind. One of my favorites of the year so far. 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: slavery (mentioned), alcoholism, accidental amputation, racism, bombings, murder, racial slurs, assault, attempted suicide, torture

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. 

Carrie Soto is Back

 Tell me a story...about a comeback 

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Expected publication date: August 30, 2022

Date read: June 27, 2022

Carrie Soto was raised to be a professional tennis player, and she succeeded. Her drive and determination made her the best player in the world, with twenty Grand Slam titles to her name. But her fierce style of play and unfriendliness to her fellow competitors has also made her unpopular with the other players. Then, at thirty-seven, six years after retiring, Carrie is watching the 1994 US Open as Nicki Chan ties her record. Despite her age, her injuries, and her reputation, Carrie decides to come out of retirement for one season in order to beat Nicki and take her record back. 

We first met Carrie Soto in Malibu Rising, as the other woman in Nina’s relationship. She was unlikable by virtue of her position, but in her one scene managed to come off as funny and intriguing. So when I saw that Carrie would be getting her own book, I was intrigued. 

This book did not disappoint. I loved Carrie Soto. She’s a mostly unlikable person, and if I met her in real life I would hate her, but she’s funny and driven and knows what she wants. I found myself rooting for her so hard as she attempted her comeback. 

The beginning chapters of this book are a little tough at times. They’re a little slow, but more because of the excitement to get to the present day. Mostly it’s just hard to watch Carrie as a child being denied any part of a childhood. The scene where she’s 9 years old and asks her dad to take her for ice cream, but he makes her run in the sand for conditioning instead is heartbreaking. While the first half of the book is a little slower than the second, this insight into why Carrie is the way she is allows her to be sympathetic despite her unlikability. 

From the point where Carrie announced that she was coming out of retirement, however, I was hooked and didn’t want to put this book down. The final match was predictable in that we knew who the players would be, but I still had no idea how the author would play it out. 

It is not necessary to have read Malibu Rising before this book, nor is it necessary to understand or like tennis to read this book. While it is tennis-heavy, the rules are explained in the book. I have never cared for tennis, and I even field like I would watch tennis now. 

Overall, this book is a delight. It features an unlikable main character and shouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is, but it’s fantastic. This is the mark of a great writer, and i will definitely be reading more from this author in the future. Even if you read Malibu Rising and didn’t like Carrie, don’t let that put you off from this book. It’s a great story by a wonderful author. Highly recommended. 

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Content warning: death of a family member, child abuse* (I don’t personally think that what Carrie’s father put her through for training constitutes child abuse, but a reader with a child abuse trigger might, so I will include it here.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

U4 - Koridwen

 Tell me a story...about the teens of the apocalypse 

U4 - Koridwen by Pierre-Paul Renders

Publication date: January 7, 2022 (originally published in French)

Date read: July 11, 2022

A virus has wiped out almost everyone on Earth, leaving only teenagers left. No one knows why. Koridwen is left alone, except for the farm animals, and a mentally-disabled cousin that she loves like a brother. That, and a message she got before the internet went down, to meet someone named Khronos and try to save the world. 

There are four volumes of this comic - Jules, Koridwen, Stephane, and Yannis - that can be read in any order. The conclusion - supposedly called Khronos - should be read only after reading the first four. *I say “supposedly”, because it looks like it was called Contagion in the French release…

(Yes, I copied a lot of that from the Jules review. Trying to keep it consistent.)

And, yes! To anyone who read my Jules review, the next volume has been released in English! I’m very happy. 

I really enjoyed the character of Koridwen. She’s strong and independent, but also seemed realistic. She knows how to survive like this, but that doesn’t mean she wants to. And I loved her relationship with her cousin. 

It was also pretty fun seeing Koridwen’s and Jules’s interactions with each other from the point of view of Koridwen this time. I do still recommend starting with Jules first, although starting with Koridwen would be fine as well. I just felt that the introduction to this dystopian world is a little more complete in Jules. 

The same artist did both volumes, and as before, I really liked the style here. It’s simplistic but incredibly expressive, and the style allowed for death and violence to be shown without it getting gory.

I’m looking forward to finishing this series, and now that it appears that the complete set will be released in English at some point, I can fully recommend it. I think comic fans - especially fans of science fiction and dystopian comics - will really enjoy this one. Highly recommend these books. 

Rating: 5/5 stars

Content warnings: mass death, pandemic, images of corpses, death of a family member, nudity, murder, child endangerment 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.