Hidden Sun | Jaine Fenn

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

Rhia Harlyn is Shen noblewoman and a secret scientist in the hidden network of Shadowland Naturalists. She has to keep her scientific activities secret or face the wrath of the church. When she discovers a mission to rescue her wayward brother from Zekt she forces her way into the group to go with them, putting her life at serious risk. At the same time, Dej, a Skykin child, not yet given her transformation, is living in the creche with others like her. Well, they're not exactly like her. They were given parting gifts from their parents while Dej, and her best friend Min, were not. This makes them the subjects of quite a bit of ridicule which Dej uses as an excuse to be a sneak thief. When Dej is finally called to go to her transformation an even more difficult life begins for her as she finds out the consequences of not having a parting gift.

Review:

This book was an intriguing introduction to an interesting world. It is well written and has some interesting characters and plot developments. The travel from Shen to Zekt provided some insight into the differences between the Shadowlands and the Skylands, the Skylands are on plateaus and are dangerously bright and hot for Shadowkin. And these plateaus and flatlands are in a honeycomb kind of pattern. You never get two Shadowlands or Skylands next to each other.

In order to survive the Skylands, Skykin children must undergo a bonding ceremony and be bonded with what is called an animus. This changes their physical and psychological nature. It gives them a magical talent (i.e. pathfinding) and gives them the kind of scaly skin, muscles and reflexes needed to survive the creatures of the Skylands. And if you have a damaged animus, you have to join the clanless, the lowest caste in the Skylands. The clanless tend to live down to that reputation.

This book wasn't really easy for me to get into. I had problems visualizing the world.  I get it, but it was still difficult for me to visualize. I guess I was at odds with myself while reading because Rhia mentioned seeing a building built by the ancients and all I could think of was that this was a post-apocalyptic Earth or space colony and I was waiting for the big reveal. I accidentally made it more difficult on myself to get into the world.

That being said, I still liked the book. It's got an interesting blend of characters and three different, interesting, intersecting story lines. I really felt for Dej. I was encouraged by Rhia's scientific curiosity. I was intrigued by Sadakh's role in everything. I know there is more going on than meets the eye and it's well worth a read. 3.5 hoots!

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The Healing Power of Mindfulness | Jon Kabat-Zinn | Mini-Review

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Review:

I picked up this book because I've recently been trying out mindfulness meditation to help with my anxiety and depression issues. It's been kinda working so I decided to read this book to see if I couldn't get more structure in my meditations and get some guidance. While there is some of that in here, the majority of the book is Kabat-Zinn's history with mindfulness in a professional medical setting. From helping patients undergoing treatment for psoriasis to working with psychologists to incorporate the meditation in their treatments. It was still a highly informative book and had several chapters on what I was looking for. The biggest flaw, however, is the number of paragraph long sentences. Several times I would read a sentence that went on for way too long only to have to re-read it because I couldn't figure out what Kabat-Zinn was trying to say. Maybe it would make sense in an audiobook, but reading it left my brain feeling frustrated. I never did figure out one or two of them, and I had context from the book. Overall, the book is okay and definitely informative. Kabat-Zinn just needs to tone down some of the wording. 3.5 hoots!

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Daughters of Forgotten Light | Sean Grigsby

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

The city of Oubliette, floating in space, had originally been meant to be used by the rich to escape the climate change. Once resources were diverted for the war, it became a women's prison city. The territory is divided into three gangs and there is a thin agreement to truce. Between a baby showing up in the one of the shipments to the city and the government wanting another option if they lose the war, things are about to get even more interesting, and bloody, in Oubliette. 

Review

Long story short, this is a book that shows multiple ways of being a bad ass woman. Each character perspective we get, Senator Linda Dolfuse, Lena "Horror" Horowitz, Sarah Pao, each of them is a bad ass in their own right. Admittedly Dofluse and Pao kinda need some time to grow into it, but when they get there, you're rooting for them. Lena is introduced as the leader of the gang Daughters of Forgotten Light, maintaining her cool when confronted by the other gangs, the Amazons and the Onyx Coalition. She's got your attention right from the start.

I'll admit, I thought the whole baby-triggering-maternal-instincts would be a worn out stereotype at play, but it really only ended up being a couple of characters triggered. Heck, for some of the women, the baby was just something new to break the monotony. The book does focus on women characters because there's an international war going on and all men, or boys sold by their parents, are shipped off to the military. That means women make up the remaining roles, government, business and other. 

Oh yeah, in this world, parents legally own their children. At the age of 11 they can have their children shipped off to join the military or to Oubliette. Some parents are forced to do this to pay their debts. Others do this because they can't handle the kid. One of the first cases we see of this is in the latest shipment of girls to Oubliette. A little girl who showed symptoms of autism. It was guessed she was shipped out because her parents couldn't handle raising her. Other times it's simply if the child does something the parents disagree with. Spangler knew his parents would've sent him to the military if they found out he was gay.

I have no problems saying that the world this took place in was incredibly interesting. Not just the dystopian stuff. In Oubliette, everything is made from glass. Their motorbikes (which run silent) are completely glass. Even their leather is made from glass! It's something different that I absolutely loved. Then there were the weapons that the gangs had, called rangs (short for boomerangs because the ammunition comes back to you). It was definitely something different.

I will warn you, this is not a book for the faint of stomach. It's not grossly detailed, but there is a lot of fighting, blood and cannibalism. Don't worry, only one gang consists of cannibals and the book does actually cover some of the health problems associated with that diet. But, yeah, be prepared for blood, foul language and violence.

In case you can't tell from how long this review is, I really did enjoy this book. And the ending is quite what I wanted, but I was very happy with it. 4.5 hoots!

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