ARC Review: Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

Title: Deal With The Devil
Series: Mercenary Librarians #1
Author: Kit Rocha
Source/Format: Bookish First; Bound ARC
More Details: Science Fiction; Romance
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor Books; July 27, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Orphan Black meets the post-apocalyptic Avengers in the vein of Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series by USA Today and New York Times bestselling author duo Kit Rocha 

The United States went belly up 45 years ago when our power grid was wiped out. Too few live in well-protected isolation while the rest of us scrape by on the margins. The only thing that matters is survival. By any means. At any cost. Nina is an information broker with a mission: to bring hope to the darkest corners of Atlanta. She and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to help those in need. But altruism doesn’t pay the bills—raiding vaults and collecting sensitive data is where the real money is. Knox is a bitter, battle-weary supersoldier who leads the Silver Devils, an elite strike squad that chose to go AWOL rather than slaughter innocents. Before the Devils leave town for good, they need a biochem hacker to stabilize the experimental implants that grant their superhuman abilities. The problem? Their hacker’s been kidnapped. And the ransom for her return is Nina. Knox has the perfect bait for a perfect trap: a lost Library of Congress server. The data could set Nina and her team up for years... If they live that long.

Deal With The Devil is the first book I’ve read by Kit Rocha. It was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it was a wild, action-packed dystopian novel. There were plenty of science fiction nuggets packed into this book too, including enhanced super soldiers, clones, and corporations that were up to some not so good things. It was dark and gritty story with hints of romance, set against the backdrop of a devastated and crumbling version of the US.

For starters, I enjoyed the world building in this story. Rocha did an excellent job of quickly establishing the rules of the world, while also maintaining a consistent level of ruin and corruption scattered throughout every part of the setting. Even the first chapter established how cutthroat and unforgiving society had become since an incident called the Flares, and the details about how certain areas were rebuilt and governed were also quite interesting.

In general, the story was a good one. There was a good deal of travel going on. That being said, the action started basically immediately, and there was a bit of a mystery about who had kidnapped the Silver Devils’ hacker. Needless to say, I was hooked from start to finish.

Another part of the reason why I enjoyed Deal With The Devil so much was because of the characters. The characters were personable. Nina was a standout in the story. I enjoyed the chapters from her perspective, and a highlight of the story was the dynamic between Nina, Maya, and Dani. They each brought a skill to the table, and honestly I just liked the friendship and camaraderie between the three of them. I also enjoyed the chapters from the POVs of the secondary characters. It offered a different perspective to the events of the story, and gave those characters a moment of much needed development outside of Nina and Knox’s perspectives.

Deal With The Devil proved to be an excellent start to the Mercenary Librarians series. I’m excited to see what Kit Rocha has in-store for the next book.

About the author...

Kit Rocha is the pseudonym if author duo/cowriting team Donna Herren (@totallydonna) and Bree Bridges (@mostlybree). They are best known for their gritty and sexy dystopian Beyond series. Bree and Donna met while writing X-Men fanfic in 200, which is the best meet-cute in history for writing BFFs and coauthors, and have been penning original work since 2007. They currently live three miles apart in Alabama and spend their nonwriting time caring for a menagerie of animals and crafting handmade jewelry, all of which is chronicled on their various social media accounts....

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tor Books) via BookishFirst for this review, thank you!

ARC Review: Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

Title: Axiom's End
Series: n/a
Author: Lindsay Ellis
Source/Format: Publisher via Netgalley; eARC 
More Details: Science Fiction
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press; July 21, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

An extraordinary debut from Hugo finalist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis... 

Truth is a human right... 

It’s fall 2007. A well-timed leak has revealed that the US government might have engaged in first contact. Cora Sabino is doing everything she can to avoid the whole mess, since the force driving the controversy is her whistleblower father. Even though Cora hasn’t spoken to him in years, his celebrity has caught the attention of the press, the Internet, the paparazzi, and the government—and with him in hiding, that attention is on her. She neither knows nor cares whether her father’s leaks are a hoax, and wants nothing to do with him—until she learns just how deeply entrenched her family is in the cover-up, and that an extraterrestrial presence has been on Earth for decades. Realizing the extent to which both she and the public have been lied to, she sets out to gather as much information as she can, and finds that the best way for her to uncover the truth is not as a whistleblower, but as an intermediary. The alien presence has been completely uncommunicative until she convinces one of them that she can act as their interpreter, becoming the first and only human vessel of communication. Their otherworldly connection will change everything she thought she knew about being human—and could unleash a force more sinister than she ever imagined.

Axiom’s End is not the first book about first-contact that I’ve read, and it won’t be the last. It was one of my most anticipated releases of 2020—so my expectations were on the higher side. The story had a lot of promise in its premise from the beginning, and I ended up having an inordinate amount of fun reading this novel. Plus I thoroughly liked Ellis's take on first-contact.

Axiom’s End was good. It deals with first contact alongside an alternative and politically tumultuous version of 2007, where a memo about aliens gets leaked to the public. During the ensuing fallout is where the story begins and where the main character, Cora was introduced. From the start, the premise was a pretty exciting one, and I thought the author did a good job with developing the different parts of the story. In particular, I liked the details about Cora’s connection to the memo—through her estranged father—because it added tension to the earlier parts of the story even before aliens got involved. It also added a personal edge to the conflict, and I thought it presented an interesting contrast between Cora and other characters in the story—particularly for those who weren’t her family members—and how different their reactions to the memo were.

I also enjoyed Ellis’s take on aliens. The ones features in the story were kind of cool to say the least, and they were by far one of my favorite aspects about Axiom’s End. Since Cora becomes an interpreter for one of the aliens, there were plenty of details about them—such as how they looked, some of their societal norms, the reason why they were there, and their technological advancements. It was an interesting bit of world building that fleshed-out the aliens.

Cora was a pretty entertaining protagonist, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective. I liked how the author approached her character, including her conflicted feelings about the aliens as well as her father. It grounded her character amongst the extraordinary circumstances of the story. It was also an interesting emotional contrast, with the fear, confusion, and determination she experienced throughout much of the story. I did enjoy the few scenes Cora had with her other family members though, particularly with her aunt. Cora’s father was a different story. Some of his tactics and writings leaned more towards manipulative, and it was clear where his concern was focused.

Overall, I enjoyed Axiom’s End. There was a lot to like about the story, and the end wrapped up the plot in a satisfying way. I will definitely check out more work by this author in the future. Have you read Axiom’s End? Do you plan on reading it?

About the author...

LINDSAY ELLIS is an author, Hugo finalist and video essayist who creates online content about media, narrative, and film theory. After earning her bachelor's in Cinema Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, she earned her MFA in Film and Television Production from USC's School of Cinematic Arts with a focus in documentary and screenwriting. She lives in Long Beach, California, and Axiom's End is her debut novel.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by St. Martin's Press (publisher) via netgalley for this review, thank you!

Music Monday (123): Zella Day, Van Hunt, Meghan Trainor, Alice Francis

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Recently I've been listening to music by Zella Day again. It's been a while, so I haven't kept up with much of her more recent music. One of my favorite songs so far is People Are Strangers.

I'm also listening to music by Meghan Trainor. Make You Dance is one of my favorite songs by her.

Adri: I've already featured Alice Francis, but I've been listening to Electric Shock in full. I love the whole album, but my picks today are Falling Star, Follow the Instruction (Interlude), and Electric Shock. 

Electric Shock isn't actually fourteen minutes. There's another verson of Beatptized at 10:17

Andrea: This week I'm listening to What Can I Say (For Millicent) by Van Hunt. Although this song isn't new, this is the first that I've heard of this artist. I also fell in love with Her Smile. Although, it is an unreleased track, there is a link to the song on Van Hunt's Facebook page from 2013. I hope everyone has an amazing week. Stay safe!

What are you listening to this week?

I Listened to Ungodly Hour by Chloe X Halle

Initially I wasn’t aware that Chloe X Halle was going to have a new album out this year—until a few days before it was released—and I have to admit that it was a welcome surprise. I was more than excited to give it a listen, and Ungodly Hour was a fantastic album. It’s a solid addition to their body of work, and it continued to showcase the kind of consistent talent—lyrically and vocally—that Chloe X Halle have already demonstrated in the past. That was especially evident with their album The Kids Are Alright.

Ungodly Hour was a blend of Hip-Hop and R&B sounds with a touch of Pop. It’s not necessarily a new sound for Chloe X Halle, but the tone and subject of the music was markedly different. The change was nice, and overall Ungodly Hour was refreshing to listen to.

The intro was brief but a strong beginning to Ungodly Hour. It really set the tone for what was to come next. While the sound of the album’s three singles—Do it, Forgive Me, and Catch Up with Swae Lee featuring Mike Will Made-It—are already familiar. The beat combined with Chloe X Halle’s vocals, made Tipsy by far one the catchiest songs on the album. The same could also be said about the titular song, Ungodly Hour, as well as the rest of the track list. The outro, ROYL, was one of my top-favorite songs from the album. The beat was catchy, and I liked how the whole song came together. It was also the perfect note to end the album on.

Fun and lyrically great, Ungodly Hour is one of the best albums I’ve listened to so far this year.

Ungodly Hour was released on June 11, 2020. Have you listened to music by Chloe X Halle? Are you planning to give this album a listen?

Favorite Recipe: Refried Beans

Typically when I have tacos or burritos, I don’t eat it with refried beans. I usually mix in drained/rinsed black beans from a can, and cook it all together with the taco seasoning. I like it that way, but recently I was in the mood for refried beans, just without it being so oily. Once I had the thought, it turned into a craving. I did not have any, of course, and I also didn’t want to go to the store to get it. So my choice was clear: I was just going to have to make it.

With the powers that are a quick google search, I found this 10 minute Refried Black Bean recipe from Joy Food Sunshine. This recipe was truly simple to assemble, and even quicker to cook. There wasn’t much effort involved at all, and it came out perfectly. [**Note: the only changes I made were doubling the recipe and I also didn’t add any cilantro. It really depends on how many people you’re making it for. Otherwise the basic recipe is fine as is.]

As for the taste it was fantastic. I paired it with simple chicken and cheddar cheese, and it was delicious. It tasted just like the stuff from the can. Except, I got more of the flavor from the seasonings that were added, and there was no extra oil in this recipe. Even the texture was similar. [Note: I used a masher to crush the bean and broth mixture in the pot, but it was soft enough to use a fork or spoon if I’d wanted to.] I also think it would pair quite well with whatever taco or burrito mixture you want.

Ultimately, I see myself using this recipe again. What have you been cooking recently?