Book Review- Midnight Water City 3.5/5 stars

 I finished this book quite some time ago- as part of my water themed reads. I was hoping I'd discovered a new series that I'd love.  In the end, while I think it's a book and series for someone, it isn't one for me. That said, it might be for you! 

This is an action packed story set in the future, where cities no longer scrape the sky, but instead are built down into the sea. The reader is treated to a unique mix of Sci-Fi, Noir crime, and horror as they follow a sprightly - but world weary- 80 yr old detective as he seeks to discover the murderer of a woman known as the savior of the world. 

Published in 2021, McKinney - a Hawai'ian author, seems to draw some inspiration from the Covid-19 pandemic in the early days - when people were spilt about the virus- was it a pandemic, was it a media plot to disseminate panic? Was the vaccine real or imagined?  But instead of dragging out an imagined disease (THANK YOU Chris McKinney- we had ALOT of Pandemic fiction) he Shows us a natural disaster - averted by technology that's not well understood- leaving all the same questions. Was the disaster real? Was it made up to terrify folks? Did the technology work or was it just a ploy to control the population?  

Now, I couldn't find anywhere that he said this exactly, so, it's really my own conjecture and reaction to the novel - He did say to  KHPR (Hawai'i Public Radio) in an interview that 

"I think a part of it was sort of the lockdown, and just not wanting to write about the world in its present state, and sort of pressing my imagination to speculate what all of this looks like 100, 150 years in the future" 

 

What I loved about this book?

- Well written. McKinney  does a nice job of showing, rather than telling the world he created that's essentially lived underwater, Set obviously in Hawai'i but not in any specific Island or area. 

-Unique story line - I cannot recall reading anything exactly similar to this. I've read a lot of water books- people that dwell under the sea, mermaids, sirens, you name it.  This was unique, and since it was also well imagined and written it was painless to read. 

- Atypical characters.  There's no clear cut Hero/ine in this novel.  I do read a lot of romance, and some days- I'm mighty tired of the orphan who discovers they have special powers and only they can save the world. And that orphan is excited to "do or die" immediately.  Instead, McKinney's characters are flawed, imperfect and relatable to an extent. In some ways they are so bad, they give the reader a sense of relief, as we know in comparison we're pretty good! 

What I didn't love about the book? 

Well, essentially I won't be continuing because for whatever reason, I really just couldn't connect with any of the characters. In the end, it was an interesting story, but I found I didn't feel the itch to get the next book. All of the characters were fairly unlikeable (to me) and so with an opportunity to read more, I sort of tabled the idea. I mean, I might still go for it.  I think I liked it more than I disliked it overall! 

Who do I think would love this book? 

Readers who enjoy both Noir, and Sci-Fi with a side of body horror. This is most definitely the book for that reader, especially if they don't need the character connection that I apparently want! 

STATS

First Published 2021

Pages: 305

Available as an Audio Book : YES

Trigger Warnings:  Medical situations, Murder, natural disaster, child death, death, gun violence, parent death, prison, environmental disaster, terrorism. 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)

February Reading wrap up!

 Well. February is a short month, but I still managed to finish a whopping 21 books.  I'm not really "trying" to be a power reader, but I admit, the library only having a 14 day loan on a lot of audiobooks has put a bit of a fire under me. 

Credit: https://lccn.loc.gov/98508191

Of course, reading a lot of books at a rapid pace really can ruin the enjoyment and not leave a lot of time for thought.  Lucky for me, some of my choices were purely enjoyment novels and didn't tax my noggin. Others though... Well... lets see what happened! 

Some Statistics!

Books in translation:  2/21  A low number indeed, but that brings my total for 2025 to 5 books in translation, so I've got room for more! 

Books by Diverse Authors: 57% of my reading was a book with an identified diverse author.  I had a bit of help from Black Booksky  over on bluesky for finding books by black authors that I really wanted to read (you can check out Black Booksky too!)  

What was my TOP read? 

Well... after some thought (like about 8 minutes of thought...)

 It's a TIE! (I make all the blog rules so why not!)

I could not decide between Cordova's The inheritance of Orquidea Divina or  Highway's Kiss of the Fur Queen. 

Both books feature a unique narrative featuring magical realism and some introduction into cultures that are not the normative culture that I live within. I have not stopped thinking about either one, and when pressed to really decide, I just couldn't. So there they are.

Non-Fiction- not my favorite genre, but I did read one non-fiction book. 

Black water by David Robertson. This is an interesting memoir of a Creen man growing up unaware of his indigenous heritage. While an important piece of writing, I think I highly preferred Tomson Highway's work of fiction, which just flowed better for me and was much more engaging. 

I started few other non-fiction water books but never quite got into them and they all remain unfinished. 

Speaking of my Water theme! 

Books read for the great 2025 Water theme! 

To be honest,  none of these topped my list for really awesome reads.  I will put of a review for McKinney's Noir book set in a future world where instead of building to the sky, we build down in to the ocean, in just a bit.  This month's Watery reads really had me questioning my choice of themes, but I've since gotten some recommendations, so hopefully my enjoyment level will rise in March! Water City is really worth a read, if you like Noir detective type novels, and it is a series, it was fun, but somehow didn't grab me like I had hoped. 

Advanced Reader Copies :

I was able to read one Advanced reader copy- 

This is the United Planetary Systems Book one To Avenge a Fallen Star.  It goes out on sale on March 25th and I wish Qillana Quinn all the best with the release of her novel. 

This lead me to requesting... errrr... several more books on NetGalley, breaking my Audio only rule and I am sure in March I will regret it. 

Book Club Books: 

 I read one in a series of Sci -Fi that I won't mention on the blog. I enjoyed the book, but the author is problematic  and thus... no discussion of that. 

Within the Stabby and Smoochy Book club, we have been CONSUMED  by The Broken Bonds series by J. Bree 

This isn't great literature, but the pacing is pretty good, and the story is so engaging. I have yet to figure out why we have the insects on every cover, so if someone knows, please let me know! 

We will be finishing off Book six soon and starting a new series or book. So far, a member has suggested  A Broken Blade - the Halfling series and I'm definitely ready for that. As always we love readers at Stabby and Smoochy so, feel free to hop in. Fable is free to join and it's a really responsive reading site with great visuals! 

BUDDY READS:

We loved reading the conclusion to the Ruinous Love Trilogy, it was everything and more.    This was definitely a good time featuring all sorts of things, cocktail olive picks, clowns, fortune tellers, crochet, and LOVE, of course. 

We have started to buddy read an ARC entitled Well, Actually  which we have dubbed "the hot dog book". So far, I think it's super polished and very funny, not sure how/what my reading buddy thinks/feels yet. 

 A book that sort of fell out of all of my "categories"  but deserves a mention is the heist novel Hammajang Luck. 

This book was so excellent on audio, the pacing was great, and it just moved along through a heist, which involved so much trauma, love, found family and trust, that I really found a lot to love about it, I just... didn't love it quite as much as my two tied favorites. 

The only other HUGE accomplishment for me was finishing off Bester's The Demolished Man.  That book has dogged me for months! We have moved on to 1953's Hugo award winner, which is a huge one, and I'll be sure to put up a review when I finish that - let's just say there are Firemen involved. 

The rest are all a blur of romance, space based romance,  and honestly some books that, I dont think I liked enough to want to re-mention them! 

What did you enjoy most in February?  What are you looking forward to in March! let me know in the comments! 

Book Review: Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto 4.5/5 stars

  I FINALLY  got the audiobook copy of Hammajang Luck from the library!

 Honestly, I am a wee bit salty about this one, because I requested it on NetGalley  as an ARC, but got no response from the publisher.  Usually, I get acceptance or rejection pretty fast, but in this case it just sat there in requests until I finally withdrew the request.  I may have requested it too close to the release date, but still.... I really wanted to read it, so thankfully the library came through. Whoo Hoo Libraries! 

The cover is... well, I LOVE it. 

This is a heist novel with a side plot of "relationship" it features  a F/NB relationship; lesbian main character; trans main character; BIPOC main character; lesbian side characters; trans side characters; and BIPOC side characters. Although set it space, it pays homage to Hawai'ian life with use of  traditional Pidgin (mix of Hawai'ian, English, Japanese, Portuguese, and Cantonese- and some other languages), and introduces some concepts of family that are somewhat unique to the Hawai'ian Islands. I did find myself forgetting all the time that it wasn't set in Honolulu. So if you are looking for hard Sci-Fi world building- this likely isn't your novel.  

We follow Edie as they are unexpectedly released from space prison, by a person for whom she definitely has mixed feelings about. Edie is determined to not end up in prison again, but like many people released from prison, the cards are not in their favor. 

Edie is soon involved in a complex, sophisticated heist involving a team of players who are all testing and gauging the trustworthiness of the team. They are the best of the best, and it's a pleasure to read as they progress through all the steps of the heist.  Edie has to choose, almost every step of the way, between trusting someone who has not been the most trustworthy in the past,  or setting an entirely new path that seems to be also a bit of a "bad" choice. As I was reading I was consumed by the lack of options offered- so much like real life, even in this decidedly not real setting and situation!   I was on the edge of my seat as things went wrong and the team had to improvise! 

  I do not think I personally would make the choices made by Edie, and that really was something that I, as a reader, am not entirely used to, and it made me a little uncomfortable overall with the book- which I liked. I was challenged to think through things I hadn't and examine some family/friend relationships that I've had that were also challenging. I'm still kind of mulling all of that over. So, of course, that's a good book. 

    This is a great book  for discussion as there's a lot to talk about, not only does it highlight a cast of queer characters, but it also takes subtle jabs at capitalism, the US (I assume) Prison system, and even medical research as it is performed today. So, for the right book club this could be a winner.

I read this audio book in 4 days!  This is record for me, I just kept checking in on what was going to happen next!  So, for me, the book was highly readable, and easy to make my way through.    Jolene Kim did the narration, and I thought it was perfect.  I really enjoyed the way she voiced all of the Hawai'ian Creole, as I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten the cadence of the language as well if I had been reading it off a page.  It enhanced my enjoyment of the entire book.

Is Hammajang Luck on your To-Be-Read list, or have you already finished it?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments!