An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I loved Alexis Henderson's debut The Year of the Witching and I even interviewed her for this blog back in 2020. And although House of Hunger left me disappointed I was interested in seeing what she did next in the fantasy space. I didn't get the chance to read before release but when my library hold came through I pushed aside the rest of my TBR to jump right in. So keep reading for my full thoughts.

Lennon Carter is a 24 year old woman who has recently gotten out of a bad relationship where she lost herself and her ambition to playing housewife. With her acceptance to Drayton College, she is given the chance to start over. Drayton is a mysterious University located in Savannah, Georgia but also invisible to and undetectable to those outside of it's campus. Here Lennon discovers  she and other students have the power of Persuasion and she starts working closely with Dr. Dante Lowe to cultivate and control those abilities. 

The first half of this book moved very slowly as far as plot progression but we also didn't get much character progression either. Which made the book feel like it was attempting to coast on vibes only. Having read Catherine House, another novel set at an elite university with mysterious things happening unbeknownst to students and a rather passive mc; I felt like that book did a better job with showcasing how students can easily become seduced by that environment. It helps that that book is a lot more descriptive. Everything is presented so vaguely here right down to character descriptions. Characters are defaulted to white unless stated otherwise and usually described with vague features like a shaved head or blonde hair or having an Antebellum accent. Even the descriptions of Lennon and Dante do little to paint an image of them in my mind.

"Lennon couldn't place his race but could tell that, like her, he was mostly Black but mixed with something else. White, maybe?"

What was odd to me was that race never really comes up in regards to how she navigates this environment aside from a time when Lennon feels her position at the school is threatened. And even that was very briefly. 

Lennon's actions were confusing. She comes to campus ready to start anew but on the first night has sex with a random student on the main concourse. This person is never presented as a potential love interest and we're too assume she was just trying to get over her ex Wyatt but the only time it's addressed again is as a way to slut shame her. We're told later on in the story Lennon has a history of promiscuity but there's never any explanation given for why. Why does she fall into sexual relationships with authority figures and codependency? We're told she doesn't have the best relationship with her family but again there's no explanation for what happened between them. Even when readers do finally meet her family on page they seem relatively normal but Lennon can't wait to escape them.

The book focuses so much on building this slow burn relationship with Lennon and Dante while dancing around the power imbalance. She's infatuated well before he ever makes a move on her and other students notice he treats her differently. But despite the slow build we little to nothing from them aside from him helping her learn to wield her powers. I wish Alexis Henderson would've leaned in more and had Dante actually seducing Lennon. Lennon was acting as if she was his girlfriend well before he even touched her which wasn't until the last quarter of the book. I had to keep reminding myself she's supposed to be this experienced woman in her mid 20s because she read like a naive girl fresh out of high school. 

The implications on the magic of Persuasion and its effects on the world are never outside of the campus are never realized. Details about the school's overall purpose and the way in which it affects society outside of the school are glossed over.

If you're looking for a sweeping campus fantasy with lots of world building I suggest passing on this one.  With both this book and House of Hunger it felt like Henderson had unique ideas but wasn't sure how to develop them into a plot and rushed to tie those ideas together at the end. Where House of Hunger relied mostly on skin crawling descriptions this relies on shock value after shock value reveal dominating the second half of the story. The reveals feel unearned because there's no build up and the few answers we get still leave questions. It felt like a tv show that was greenlit because of it's cool premise but then the writers were unsure how to execute it beyond the initial first episodes and started throwing things in to see what resonates with viewers. 

Interview with Louangie Bou-Montes

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's fall and I've been in a paranormal show and books mood. And nothing screams fall like New England which is where Louangie Bou-Montes hails from and where her recently published Till the Last Beat of My Heart is set. Keep reading to hear about her publishing journey, her love of horror, and some pretty cool hobbies of hers!

When did you decide to pursue publishing?

I decided in a kind of unofficial way to pursue publishing in 2018. At that time, I had just finished the first draft of TILL THE LAST BEAT OF MY HEART and I decided to do something with it since I had never written a novel length work all the way to the end before. I wasn’t sure if it was going to get anywhere, but it felt like it was worth a shot since I got that far. 

How would you describe Till the Last Beat of My Heart and what was the inspiration behind it? 

I would describe TILL THE LAST BEAT OF MY HEART as a romcom with a healthy dose of drama and spooky vibes. I don’t know if anyone but me would call it a romcom, but I think there’s a decent amount of humor and kind of ridiculous situations as well as romance. The inspiration behind it is kind of varied…I would say it’s heavily inspired by New England and Western Massachusetts specifically because I’ve always found the area I live in and the sort of inherent spookiness of fall and winter in this area inspiring. It’s inspired by sort of campy or horror like Death Becomes Her and Idle Hands, as well as the show Pushing Daisies which has necromancy and romance tied together and the movie Paranorman which was New England-y and heavy on the atmosphere. 

Was Jaxson’s love of horror movies inspired by your own? And if so, do you remember the first horror movie you watched?

Jaxon’s love of horror movies is inspired by my own in a way, but he’s a lot braver than me about it. I had to purposefully train myself to tolerate horror movies without getting too terrified to sleep for a few days afterwards. As a kid, I really struggled with horror…the first horror movie I remember watching was Pet Sematary when I was still in elementary school and I’m pretty sure I was sleeping in my parents’ bed for like a week afterwards.

Why did you decide to make Titi Clio a vegan?

Honestly, I think about veganism all the time for different reasons so it was just something that came about organically. Veganism is really popular where I live, one of my dear friends is a vegan, and it helped me figure out the person Titi Clio would be in some ways. She was a vegan before I knew what her abilities were, and then I started thinking about what her relationship with living things was like. It went hand in hand for me that she naturally has kind of an adverse effect on living things so she avoids eating living things. 

Do you ever feel a pressure to write your characters a certain way based on your culture?

I think yes and no. I think of my own experience and my own perspective as Puerto Rican and Latinx enough—I didn’t feel like I needed to write a particular brand of Latinidad that would be recognizable to non-Latinx people. I wrote it with Latinx people in mind, for Latinx people to see themselves rather than the shorthand ways we’re expected to be portrayed in things. 

However, my characters don’t have my exact identity. Jaxon is bicultural Puerto Rican and Dominican, and while I have Dominicans in my life that I know and love, I feel “pressure” to make sure I’m putting a concerted effort into making that part of him feel true and grounded in authenticity rather than cheap. Likewise with Christian being Afro-Mexican; that’s an experience that I don’t personally have, so I felt “pressure” to make sure I was doing the work to make him feel true. But I think that kind of pressure is good pressure because theoretically there are people who will read my book that share their identities and I think I want those readers to feel seen, not to feel like I just slapped a random ethnic label on the characters.

What has been the most surprising part of the debut experience?

Honestly, I think what’s most surprising for me has been how ready and willing so many people around me have been to uplift me when I’m down and to help me have the best possible experience. It’s not like I’m surprised that people in my life want to help me, but rather just the lengths my friends and family and even people I’ve just recently met have gone to for me. Debuting has been an emotional rollercoaster and I think, just like every other part of publishing, having a community that wants to take care of you and hold you through the good and the bad is so important. I’d be a wreck without the love and effort my people have put in for me. 

How do you find inspiration on the brink of burnout?

This is a great question and I wish I had a good answer for it. I think there’s something to be said for the idea of “refilling the well” by re-absorbing things that have inspired you in the past, but I don’t think that always works for me. I think first and foremost you just have to make sure you understand WHY you are burned out and make sure your most basic needs are met. I’m just coming out of a looong writing dry spell and I think a big part of it was I had a lot of anxiety and insecurity from a fairly recent period of time when some of my basic needs were either not being met or under threat of not being met. Once you’ve addressed those needs, that’s when I think it makes sense to do things like rewatch an old favorite or read something you’re excited about from your TBR to get the creative juices flowing.

And, in general, beating yourself up about being demotivated never helps. Have patience with yourself and give it time. 

What hobbies do you have outside of writing and reading?

I like taking up hobbies based on what I’m working on, so I have a lot of hobbies that ebb and flow over time haha. Right now, I’ve been into film photography and teaching myself a few instruments (ukulele, keyboard) because I’m working on something where some of the characters do those things. But my hobbies shift all the time. 

What countries are on your travel bucket list?

Ireland, definitely. Mexico, Cuba, DR. I’d like to see the Netherlands someday too.

What can we expect next from you?

As of right now, I have no updates on what might be next! But if I get the chance to share something with the world again, you can almost certainly count on something involving New England and the Latinxs who love it.

Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Is there a book you see often on social media that it feels like everyone is reading and enjoying? Sweetness in the Skin was one of those books for me. Inescapable between my mutuals and my explore page on Bookstagram. 

In Jamaica, 13 year old Pumpkin lives with her granny and Aunt Sophie in a small home in downtown Kingston. Pumpkin and Aunty Sophie have dreams of moving to Paris on day and granny encourages them to move up their family's social standing. Pumpkin's mother Paulette dips in and out usually choosing not to stick around for long. However plans change when Granny dies. Sophie gets a job with the embassy in France while Pumpkin must stay behind until she's able to bring her over. Pumpkin's mother Paulette moves into the house bringing the father she never knew, Akil with her. Pumpkin peddles her baked goods at school and at local shops with the hopes to raise enough money to take the French exam and move in with her aunt.

This book almost felt like a checklist of commonly referenced topics in lauded Caribbean literature. The topic of colorism came up with Granny, Sophie, and Pumpkin being lighter than Paulette who was seen as the darker skinned less pretty one. However we never get a sit down between Paulette and Sophie to address this even though colorism divides the sisters. The author uses it as weak motivation for why Paulette is abusive and neglectful to Pumpkin. Abusive mothers often appear in acclaimed Black Literature not just in Caribbean stories but in other diaspora as well. However Paulette and Akil are downright evil towards their child and we never got good explanation why. There are plenty of neglectful parents out there who never wanted children. However many neglectful people simply stay away from their children and would be happy to have someone taking care of their child. These two both didn't want her but didn't want anyone else to want her and were jealous of her. 

There were plenty mentions of the uptown vs downtown dynamic that is present in Kingston which needed to be explored more. Reading this book it felt like an uptown author writing a story about downtown living via hearsay. We get glimpses of the dynamic via the school Pumpkin attends with her wealthier peers but nothing feels quite fleshed out. And it doesn't help that Pumpkin's environment is a stereotype of what "ghetto" life is. 

Even the conclusions Pumpkin comes to at the end seemed based off moments that happened off page because she suddenly had this open-minded outlook based upon how everyone else's lives had been going but not one solid conversation happened on page to warrant that conclusion. The ending felt too neat and tidy for the journey the story took readers on and this reader was left feeling unsatisfied. This type of story has been done before and better with more complexity. 

Beware the Heartman by Shakirah Bourne

Welcome Back, Booklovers! We're back in Fairy Vale, Barbados alongside Josephine again in Beware the Heartman where this time she faces a new villain. Keep reading for my review of this new installment in the series. I received an arc from Shakirah Bourne in exchange for an honest review.

Josephine has settled back into her regular life after the events of book one with Mariss. After almost a year, her father has been dating Miss Alleyne  and she's actually happy for him. She's a starting player on her schools' cricket team and they're getting close to the championships. Plus she may have a crush on one of her teammates. Things are going well until she takes the Common Entrance Exam and gets into Queen Mary instead of Lamming with her best friend Ahkai. Even worse is he's befriended a girl named Lynne who claims to be from overseas and is clearly trying to steal her best friend. Then things in Fairy Vale are really shaken up when her cricket coach disappears and all signs point to The Heartman, a fabled being who is known to kidnap people after dark and steal their hearts. Josephine and her friends must hurry to defeat the Heartman before they end up his next victims.

In book two readers are introduced to another figure from Bajan lore though not everyone in the village believes the Heartman is anything more than tales made up to scare children. I liked how some of the theories about the Heartman and his rumored society of secret men were included in a way that made sure to address the theories surrounding and bring the creep factor without being too much. We also see some of the lore from book one come full circle. 

One thing this series does really well is infusing comedy. Josephine is hilarious as always with a witty quip always in her arsenal. And she and her friends talk like real tweens in a way young readers will be able to relate. Her friend Ahkai is autistic but it's never treated as a hinderance. Though he doesn't like too much attention and touch, Josephine struggles more than him when it comes to fitting in with the other children and the prospect of attending a new school alone. It's very refreshing when I come across media with children with disabilities where those children are treated as just regular children.

Fast-paced, easy to read, and engaging Beware of the Heartman is a fitting sequel that keeps up the momentum of Josephine Against the Sea and leaves room for another installment. 

Till the Last Beat of My Heart by Louangie Bou-Montes

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Just in time for spooky season and Latinx Heritage Month we have a YA fantasy debut. I received an arc from HarperCollins for Till the Last Beat of My Heart, a queer contemporary fantasy whose release is perfectly timed with the start of spooky season and Latinx Heritage Month. 

Jaxson Santiago-Noble is very familiar with death. As the son of a mortician, he's seen his fair share of bodies pass through his family's morgue. But nothing prepares him for when the body of his former best friend, Christian is brought in after an accident. Unaware Jaxson accidentally revives him and discovers he comes from a long line of necromancers. Suddenly it's as if Jaxson is one of the stars in his favorite horror movies. Bringing back the dead comes with a catch and it's a race against time as Christian is fading again and Jaxson is trying to control his newfound powers with the help of his Titi Clio. 

With Christian back Jaxson reconnects with him and has to face some of his social anxiety as Christian pulls him into his world of Spirit Days and Homecoming celebrations. We get this story of two boys who have always had feelings for each other but are now realizing they should explore that more because life if short and not promised. Though wacky things are happening throughout the story they're happening alongside regular days at school. 

The relationship between Jaxson, his mother, and his Titi Clio really shines here. So often in these types of stories the teens stand alone and their house is nothing more than a place they sleep at night. We might brief conversations with the parents in passing. The involvement here from the adults in his life feels very realistic. When it's not his mother or aunt looking out for him it's close family friend's within the neighborhood. While the power over life and death is generational, this book takes a slightly different approach by not tying it to any cultural specific legends or religion. Additionally Jaxson lost his father when he was younger and is learning more about who his father was outside of the authoritarian he remembers.

Louangie Bou-Montes delivers some slight horror, humor, and a queer romance you can root for.