The Golem and the Jinni

RECOMMENDED: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker is $1.99! This is a fantasy historical and reader favorite. Carrie reviewed this book in June 2013 and really liked it. She says it doesn’t have romance as its primary plot, but it’s a beautiful read:
I loved this book, but not so much for the love story. I loved the mythologies, the settings, and the characters. The neighborhoods were incredibly detailed and vivid and interesting. The cultural and religious communities felt real and fascinating. I love books that let me see into another world, and this book gave me that feeling many times. The characters were all mesmerizing. I felt like I was in each setting, meeting these real people.
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop.
Struggling to make their way in 1899 New York, the Golem and the Jinni try to fit in with their immigrant neighbors while masking their true selves. Meeting by chance, they become unlikely friends whose tenuous attachment challenges their opposing natures, until the night a terrifying incident drives them back into their separate worlds. But a powerful menace will soon bring the Golem and the Jinni together again, threatening their existence and forcing them to make a fateful choice.
Marvelous and compulsively readable, The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of folk mythology, historical fiction, and magical fable into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.
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The Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini is $1.99! Thanks to everyone who let us know about this sale! Carrie read this nonfiction book and gave it a B:
As far as I can tell, it’s quite faithful to the events of Ada’s life and the relationship between her and her mother. However, as the book progresses, it starts to skim over her vices and dwell on Ada as a good wife and mother who wants to do math but also do her motherly duties. The story ends with nice emotional resolutions, but for those who are familiar with her whole biography it cuts off suddenly.
The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. Estranged from Ada’s father, who was infamously “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” Ada’s mathematician mother is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada’s mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination—or worse yet, passion or poetry—is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes.
When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize that her delightful new friendship with inventor Charles Babbage—brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly—will shape her destiny. Intrigued by the prototype of his first calculating machine, the Difference Engine, and enthralled by the plans for his even more advanced Analytical Engine, Ada resolves to help Babbage realize his extraordinary vision, unique in her understanding of how his invention could transform the world. All the while, she passionately studies mathematics—ignoring skeptics who consider it an unusual, even unhealthy pursuit for a woman—falls in love, discovers the shocking secrets behind her parents’ estrangement, and comes to terms with the unquenchable fire of her imagination.
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Love’s Charade by Jane Feather is $2.99! This is a historical romance that takes place during or close to the French Revolution. There is an age difference, if that’s your catnip. This book was also first published in 1986 and reviews on Goodreads say it’s pretty well slathered in crazysauce. Expect a lot of purple prose. Have any of you read this?
From New York Times bestselling author Jane Feather comes a thrilling romance of surprise and suspense, as one man discovers falling in love is the most dangerous thing he has ever done. . .
When Justin, Earl of Linton, found a half-starved child on the streets of Paris in the highly charged days before the Terror, his only thought was a bit of charity. He never imagined he would find an incomparably lovely young woman beneath tattered boys’ clothing–or that she would inspire in him a passion more intense than any he had ever known. But the beautiful Danielle had more secrets in store. . .and Justin would soon learn that one of them was a need for vengeance that might endanger them both.
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The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey is $2.99! This horror, science fiction novel comes highly recommended, though I believe trigger warnings need to be issued. I can’t find the comment previously on the site, but I know a reader mentioned there’s animal abuse within the book. Have you read this one? Did you love it or hate it?
Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her “our little genius.”
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.
Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children’s cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she’ll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn’t know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.
The Girl with All the Gifts is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin, and Neil Gaiman.
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Riven by Roan Parrish is $1.99. Contemporary MM with rock star hero. TW for talk about substance abuse
What I Did for a Duke is 1.99
Scrolling through the article glancing at the book covers, I thought the title of the third one was “Jane Feather Loves Charades” which, OK, you do you, Jane.
And I’m thinking “The Girl With All the Gifts” is going in the TBR list!
Just so we are clear “The Girl With All The Gifts” is a zombie book. And so the animal harm comes as a zombie eats an animal. I think it is still alive and struggling, so if that is going to bother you, you might exercise caution. Also, no romance in this story. Which is a good thing.
If you do like zombie books, I highly recommend it.
How is the Jane Feather book not a plagiarized version of Heyer’s These Old Shades? The plot sounds identical even down to the hero’s first name.
I adored “The Girl with All the Gifts.” It was my favourite book of the year when I read it, and I gifted it to everyone I know.
@Cassandra: My first thought on reading the blurb was shades of “These Old Shades”. Glad to know I’m not the only one who picked up on that. Curious, but not curious enough to read it. There can only be one Avon.
I think I’m the only person who’s read “The Girl with All the Gifts” and didn’t like it. I skipped from about two thirds of the way through to the Wikipedia entry to see what happened.
I thought THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS had a fabulous premise and set-up, but lost its way once the essential mystery of who Melanie and her classmates were was solved. Full disclosure: I don’t read much zombie fiction, so there might have been themes or tropes I missed.
I adored The Golem and the Jinni. And there’s going to be a sequel out sometime next year. I wrote on Goodreads (I’m redacting anything remotely spoilery): A page-turning genre bender. I really enjoyed how Wecker brought late 19th century lower Manhattan to life – it felt like its own character. I was particularly moved by the slowly developed friendship between Chava and Ahmad, and the idea that a true friend accepts who you are, but also challenges you to improve. I also liked the meditations on whether we can change our innate nature, or whether we should even want to. I thought about this book long after I finished it, in fact I’m still thinking of new, interesting things from it weeks after I’ve finished it. It’s surprising to me that this is Wecker’s first book. Very well done.
@Amanda, Enchantress of Numbers is fiction, not nonfiction as the blurb says.
Single Malt by Layla Reyne is $1.99 (again? I’m unclear, but I recall this possibly being featured recently). Contemporary MM with FBI partners, first in a series. The major mystery plot isn’t wrapped up until book 4, so just be aware the couple isn’t in a great place at the end of this book.
@BKmeggie:sequel, you say?!?!?!?!!! On my 2019 spreadsheet right.now. (Yes, I have a tbr spreadsheet. And it’s colour-coded, because I have no shame.)
http://www.harlequin.com has a sale today and tomorrow . Buy 4 or more books get 44% with the coupon code THANKYOUBKS.
@Nerdalisque: Fixed! Thank you!
I used to love Jane Feather in the late 80s/early 90s. There was a lot of crazysauce in there.
@nicolette You are not the only one. Ib really liked the short story that the girl with all the gifts waa expanded from, I did not like the full novel. It was definitely better the first time.