​I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while. Not because I’m a fan of vampire stories, but because I absolutely adore Moreno-Garcia’s writing. And her imagination. And her style.
Sure enough, on all those accounts the book did not disappoint. To be fair, this is her earlier work getting republished and so it doesn’t quite have the same sophistication as her later novels, but it is still very much undeniably a Moreno-Garcia book.
From the characters that grab you and drag you along with them on their crazy adventures, to the spectacular world-building, to the use of Mesoamerican mythology and Mexico as location and a character in and of itself – yeah, pure Moreno-Garcia.
Did it take me longer to get into than her other novels? yes, it did. Because, like I said, I’m not all that into vampires. But having that been said. If I am to read a vampire story, it should be this one or ones just like it.
The vampire thing here is very elaborate and intricate and requires its own min-encyclopedia at the end. Essentially, there is a number of subspecies, all descendants of one race but split up across centuries and continents, and now with significant differences.
The lead of this book, Atl, belongs to an ancient Aztec race, the youngest in her line, and hunted by the same vampires (from a vicious European clan) that killed her mother and sister. She finds assistance (her Renfield) is a seventeen-year-old kid off the streets, Domingo.
For him she is the best possible choice, no matter the danger. For her, he is a mere convenience, at first. But as their situation gets more and more dire, their relationship becomes more and more complicated and involved.
There is so much more going on in this novel, oodles of exciting side characters, both vampiric and non, action, suspense, intrigue. It’s a novel of a chase, a novel of survival, in its dynamic and is as thrilling and as exciting as you’d ever hope for. But then it also packs a wallop of an emotional gut punch…just so you never forget how good this author is. And it’s all got this shiny neo-noir style that Moreno-Garcia does so expertly.
Very entertaining. Great read. Recommended.

From the Norwegian author who busted onto the scene so auspiciously with You Let Me In a while back comes a new tale of witches, possessions, and childhood rivalries gone toxic.
Get ready, it’s a doozy.
Apparently not an especially well loved one, going by the other reviews on GR, so let’s see if I can weight in for the other side.
To be fair, yes, I can see how this might not be an easy book to love: its storylines are very different and are dizzyingly woven into a cohesive sum total, its protagonists are unlikeable, the overall narrative is complex and tricky and does its best to mess with the readers.
And yet, while though things may have precluded me from outright loving the book, they were the very things that made me appreciate it.
It may not be a hug-it-and-love-it-book, but it’s viciously clever and that sort of thing goes along way with me.
Yeah, the protagonists are tough to enjoy – both the obnoxious, hashtagging, yogi-like new age guru who comes back to sort her uncle’s estate and her once upon a time bestie turned bitter rival obsessive raving lunatic of a local.
The rivalry is all about a book both of they seem to be writing. And the book is all about a local witch accused of killing some kids ages ago and (metaphorically) pitchforked by the villagers for it. The witch is…well, you know where she is, the title tells you. Or perhaps, not just there, but also in the souls and minds of two very different women obsessed with her.
Wanna see how far their obsession will take them? Read the book.
Its appeal may not be so wide as to cover all genre fans, but those who prefer their thrills with a darkly psychological, profoundly messed up, wicked and wickedly clever spice to them, ought to be pleased. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

​The title is apt. Lots of seafood, all weird. None edible, really, because none should be. Seriously. I don’t know how anyone can look at any of the strange, magnificent creatures that live in the sea and go, hey, that looks tasty.
They don’t look tasty, do they? They look weird. Interesting, exciting, otherworldly. Kind of like an alien world without leaving Earth.
This book takes that concept and goes really far with it, impressively far.  The creatures that populate this novella are spectacular, sentient, stunning.
The main protagonists are a squid-like deep sea dweller scientist from a race of deep sea dweller and a seal-like whale rider who travels close to the surface and had the soul of a rebel and a power of a siren.
So, you now, your average, wildly untraditional odd couple, opposites attract and make for a great friendship sort of thing.
And then the two have to consider the terrestrial beings, who are a. very real, b. very destructive. Question is to put up or rise up?  And consider, what sort of an uprising would that be if the ocean rises up?
This novella firmly belongs and perfectly exemplifies the branch of science fiction that’s all about climate. As such, yes, the message of it can get quite heavy for the plot, but kudos to the author, it never really overpowers it. There’s simply too much going on.
The world building alone is spectacular. Like the best of David Attenborough Blue Planet show that inspired it. So vivid, so well thought out, so intricate.  Pure wow.
The titular weird fishes are as personable, charismatic and compelling as any non-finned protagonist and the emotional engagement here is good and proper.
I’ve tried to stay away from aquatic puns in this review (it’s tough, it really is), but suffice it to say these are the waters you want to swim in. A wildly original, clever, and exciting story. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.