(What’s this?! Is this a review I see? Why, yes it is!)

Title: Voodoo Season (LT)
Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes
Series?: First in a trilogy, readable as a stand-alone.
Basic Reason for Beginning: Because Chris loved this and my reaction was pretty much “Screw my budget, I’m ordering this right now.” And it’s been staring at me from where it was lying since. You know the kind of book. It stares and stares and demands you read it right now.
Basic Reason for Finishing: Because once I started, good and proper, I had to make myself put it down just so I was able to savour it instead of utterly devour it.
Texture: There’s a line in the book that says something about spiraling out from the centre. I think. Spirally is a good way to describe this.
Blurb: Marie Levant has come to New Orleans to work as an intern at a hospital, but there is more to Marie’s heritage than she knows. And when she finds a baby in a dead-not-dead woman’s womb and saves it, there is no way back for Marie. No way to avoid her fate as she tries t unravel who is behind these murders and why.
Book Rereadability: You know, I read over some parts of this so fast I had to make myself slow down and really appreciate it. I’d reread it purely to catch all the things I didn’t on this first read.
Author Rereadability: I was… not a quarter through this book before deciding that I wanted the rest of them.
Recommendation: I’m… not entirely sure. If you look up Chris’ review, it captures the atmosphere of New Orleans very well. And of course anyone interested in voodoo would do well to pick this book up. Aside from that, it’s a fantasy mystery kind of book, although I’d guess that if you’re a mystery/crime reading buff you may find it a little lacking. Not that it matters because you’ll just get swept up in the book and be too busy going “Want more, please!”

Pages: 288
ISBN: 0743483278
Challenges: Ha! I wish.

Thoughts, Burbles, Etc

I have been having this horrible, horrible book rut lately. The books I did finish (and which everyone loved) did not wow me, the books I didn’t finish I just couldn’t get into… And Voodoo Season was staring at me. Going “Read me.” Like a cookie or a bottle from Alice in Wonderland only more seductive. And I was scared. Because Chris loved this book and I’d been having such a rough time with books and it’s my first Chris-recommendation read. And he was worried too, for possibly the same reasons.

But there was no need for fear! This is easily the best book I’ve read so far in 2009!

I do/did have a few nits. Such as Marie smoking without much explanation on the same page as we’re told she’s not a smoker. A lack of showing of the development between Marie and Reneaux which I would really, really have liked. (Their relationship is believable, but more would’ve made it stronger and have more overall impact.)

And that’s my nits, which just proves how insanely picky I am because, truly, I loved this book. This review should be a whole load of SQUEE READ THIS RIGHT NOW. With compulsory caps.

Seriously, you are doing yourself a disfavour not reading this. (I mean it. If you read no other books in 2009, make it this one. It is that awesome.)

I don’t even quite know where to start with this review gushfest. So let’s start with the city! Because when you start reading the book one of the first things (aside from, you know, Marie) that’ll jump out to you as a living, breathing, wonderful thing that draws you in and wraps around you like a snug, well-fitting comfy coat is the city. The book just breathes atmosphere and character (and, you know, plain awesomeness, but I’ll try not to repeat that). I loved the multiculturalness. I loved the mix of languages that feels natural (even when my lack of comprehension drives me batty.)

Marie is… Marie is this awesome person. She’s so wonderfully, beautifully human, the blend between her scientific self and the part of her that knows so clear and strong and her compassion… This whole book is suffused with life in a way that many books just fail to capture, even when/if they delight the heck out of me.

I have to admit, sometimes the switching between the ‘real’ world and the ’spiritworld’ were a little confusing, but don’t let that stop you! It’s all new to Marie too and probably just as disorienting. There is love here and betrayal — and voodoo.

Which is nothing at all like what I grew up knowing about it, so I’m very glad about this correction of my perception. Corrections of negative presumptions are always a good thing.

Also, did I mention there’s a dog? (*hinthint*) He’s a lovely dog. He’s called Kind Dog and he’s A. Dor. A. Ble. (See? I didn’t say how awesome the dog is yet. Because the dog is awesome. The whole thing is awesome. In this big, epic way that in the end just kind of makes you want to curl up and cry with the sadness and hurt and cruelty of it all, but what do you do but live on and do the good you can, eh?)

And there’s Ellie and the bayou and DuLac whose name I’m probably mistyping because I’m fail at remembering names. Anyway, point of this all is — this book’s made of complete awesome and I urge you all to read and convince yourself of the awesomeness.

Just be prepared to tear up over how humans can be.

There are many things I learned from this book. Some things historical, some things more spiritual and some things just plain personal. Which isn’t something I generally expect to notice a book doing as clearly as I did here, which is a mark in its favour, in my opinion.

I repeat: This book is made of pure AWESOME and you’re doing yourself a disfavour if you’re still reading this and haven’t rushed off to buy it already.

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