Bitter Orange by Marshall Moore

After having his life turned upside down by 9/11, Seth leaves his lavish lifestyle behind to move all of the way across the country to start his life all over again. He has a roommate named Sang-Hee who is the only person who knows about his secret. Seth can become invisible, and if he is not invisible, he can deceive people into believing whatever he says. He is able to pay for an iPod with only a few dollars, and he is able to steal chips from a casino in Vegas. Seth can do basically anything he wants, but is that enough for him?

Seth was an interesting guy. He touches on the topic of having a good job in New York City that he left after 9/11. He doesn’t go into detail about it at first, so the reader isn’t completely sure what he had done in his past. Once I learned more about Seth, he became an even more unique and interesting character that was fun to read about.

Sang-Hee was a great supporting character. I liked their conversations. They flowed well, had good chemistry, and were mostly funny. Sang-Hee could have had a bigger role, but he was also good as he was presented.

I liked how Marshall Moore incorporated gay characters into the book. The main characters are gay, but that isn’t the storyline. I feel that a lot of the books I have read in the past with LGBT protagonists, the writer relies on this to form the story. They are usually love stories. But, in Bitter Orange, it was almost like it was a side note, “Oh, by the way, Seth is gay. Now lets move on with the story.”

With the push for more diverse characters in books, I feel this book should be mentioned more just for that reason alone.

The storyline really kept me hanging on until the end. I had to figure out if the reason for Seth’s sudden powers were ever explained, and they were. It was nothing like I was imagining, but I didn’t really have any theories in mind to begin with. It was a nice surprise, and the twist at the end was a little crazy.

It definitely leaves it open to a sequel.

3.5/5 stars. A little slow at times, but it is ultimately worth the read.

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Vigilare by Brooklyn James

When the authorities do not handle cases in an acceptable way, who is going to get justice on those who have caused irreversible damage to a victim’s life? Who will step up when no one else will to punish rapists and sex offenders? Vigilare.

Vigilare is watching over everyone in Vanguard. Vigilare punishes sex offenders for their crimes when they get off too easy in the court system.

When Detectives Gina DeLuca and Tony Gronkowski are assigned to a case that appears to be serial murders, the details get weirder and weirder. There is talk of a vigilante, a superhero of Vanguard who is punishing these men for raping women in the city. The name they give this superhero, Vigilare.

They talk about Vigilare having glowing green eyes that captivate its victim. It can look into their soul.

When Detective Gronkowski goes investigating on his own one night in pursuit of a known molester, what he finds turns the case completely upside-down.

This book is completely different from Brooklyn James’s other book that I reviewed recently, The Boots My Mother Gave Me. That one was heavy and memoir-esque.

Vigilare is pure fiction mixed with paranormal and science fiction story lines.

It builds suspense well, and while I guessed the twist, I was never 100% positive that was it until it happened. I always love a good twist.

Also I am a sucker for a good courtroom scene, and this book delivered that.

The writing was great. It pulls you in right from the beginning. I really like how Brooklyn James goes into plenty of detail in her books, but it isn’t so overdone that the chapters drag on. Every detail is important to the story in some way and that really keeps it interesting.

It ended sort of abruptly, but there is a sequel to it so it makes sense to leave off where it does.

The character development was spot on. I liked the characters that you are supposed to root for, and I disliked the ones you are supposed to be skeptical about.

The dialogue flows naturally, it doesn’t feel forced which is one of my biggest turn offs with reading sci-fi/paranormal books. Sometimes the dialogue is really forced and hinders the flow of the novel. The dialogue complements the novel and was written very well.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you are a fan of sci-fi books or “superheroes” you might want to pick this one up.

It has a very strong female character, so if you like all of those things, I do not think you will be disappointed with this read.

4.5/5 stars

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