Book report #5
Sometimes, bad bitches read bad books.
I choose what to read based on a combination of serendipity and a slow hunt for titles I’ve gathered over time. I can’t help but pick up books off the street. I grab books that seem interesting from the free table at work or the giveaway pile in my apartment building. I have a list of books to pick up should they appear at a used bookstore, and I save books I hear about or are recommended in my holds on Libby or on my wishlist on Libro. I don’t do too much research, either, because I want to decide for myself what I like. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes I’m saddled with a book that’s not that great. You may wonder why I would continue reading or listening to a book that’s not good, and honestly, that’s because often a bad book is better than being left alone with my thoughts. Post election, these thoughts are even darker than usual, and so, I listened to 17 hours of drivel as I went about my commute and my chores.
Wrath & Reign by Nikki St. Crow 🎧
Genre: Paranormal Romance
What’s it about: At some undetermined time in the past, a powerful demon named Wrath traveled to Earth from his own realm and threatens death and destruction to anyone who gets in his way. Even though he is villainous (as everyone will say five million times in the book), he is also hot, so he is a celebrity that everyone is obsessed with. Rain Low is a bored photographer, and one day while on assignment, she crosses path with demon king and she finds that she is immune to his power. After she is caught between Wrath and his minions, who want her under their control, and a number of groups who want to use her to kill Wrath. Rain is determined to do what she needs to survive, if she can only keep from being seduced by the sexy demon.
Was it any good: No, unfortunately. Wrath & Reign is actually an omnibus of three separate books, and the main characters show no internal growth across all those pages. When I read paranormal romance, I make space for the obvious tropes and even enjoy them. Genre books and their tropes provide a familiar framework that a good author can use to explore character and different ideas about people and humanity and feelings and the world around them. This book doesn’t really do that. Once Rain realizes she is Special, no one ever makes a sane decision again. I struggled to follow why Wrath was doing anything or why anyone had feelings for each other. This book is also a best seller, so…my thoughts became darker.
Highlights:
I was interested in her relationship with her somewhat absent mother. They were cute.
There is some very feeble wordplay that the entire story hinges upon and I groaned out loud at the reveal. I think it was worse on audio.
There are many sex scenes (yay!) but they get repetitive (boo).
The main character, Rain, has a gay best friend who is dating a black guy. They mostly exist to humanize the main character so they are either in danger or they are fretting because she is in danger. Yay, diversity!
A re-read: Feed by M.T. Anderson 🎧
Feed, published in 2002, takes place in a near future where nearly all of humanity has an implant in their brains that gives them access to an enormous computer network run by corporations. People are able to direct message, shop, and enjoy entertainment in a shared virtual space. Corporations now run the schools, which function to teach people how to optimize the use of their feed to make their lives easier. Titus is a teenaged asshole who questions none of this until he meets a girl named Violet, whose unique ideas about the Feed and the world around her simultaneously thrill and disgust Titus.
This book was very formative to me as a teenager, and I’ve read it so many times. I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently as I’ve considered my relationship to social media and how my habits have changed as a consumer. Shopping is gamified now, and so it’s easier than ever to compulsively reward yourself. Sometimes, it feels like if I have a thought about something I’d like to wear or own, I’ll see it on Instagram within the week.
So, I decided to listen to it on audio. It’s just as good as I remember, and scarily prescient. It is also extremely sad, which I hadn’t quite remembered. I’m glad I revisited it.