You know what kept coming to mind the entire time I was reading this fantastic book? Koschei the Deathless, the tale of the Firebird and Princess VasiYou know what kept coming to mind the entire time I was reading this fantastic book? Koschei the Deathless, the tale of the Firebird and Princess Vasilisa, the tale of Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf, and The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky. Koschei the Deathless was an immortal sorcerer-king, Princess Vasilisa was a very beautiful, stubborn, and insistent young woman, in the tale of Tsarevitch Ivan he’s one of three brothers (although in that tale they’re in competition to inherit a kingdom, not coexisting rather peacefully like in this book), and the Firebird Suite is a beautiful masterpiece of Russian opera and ballet music, but was staged as a ballet. For some reason, I could hear the persistent violins of the piece in my ears as I read… and I wasn’t even listening to music when I was reading it.
There’s something about this book that’s dark, mystical, ethereal, and downright intriguing. It’s both opulent and somehow gaunt, like a masquerade ball held in a hollowed-out castle. It’s got that gothic intrigue-feel I like that I’ve come to associate with some of my favorite non-romance novels of the past year or so, too. As far as dark fantasy romance comes, you don’t get too much better than this. The spice is also dark and sometimes violent, and that struck the completely right chord when it came to the tone of this book.
This book is only book one of the series, and it does end in a whopping cliffhanger, but I wasn’t too mad because I was already invested in continuing the series before we got to the end. ...more
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing of this book. It is truly, 100%, a solid and well-written paranormal/supernatural YA dramedy novel There is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing of this book. It is truly, 100%, a solid and well-written paranormal/supernatural YA dramedy novel that tries very hard to be true to the tone and spirit of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show. And that would totally work… if you didn’t grow up watching that show while it still played on the television. If you didn’t watch it every week from when it started in 1997 to when it ended in 2003. If you didn’t follow it as it jumped from one network to the other. If you didn’t agonize over the Bangel vs Spuffy debate.
What I mean to say is… I was excited to read this book because I thought it would be magical and fantastical to read… but it wasn’t. But I highly suspect that the only reason it wasn’t was… well… me. I’m not the target audience for this book. This book is about a new generation of slayers and scoobies, and it’s FOR a new generation of fans of the slayer canon. This is for the children of parents (like me) who spent their young adult years watching Sarah Michelle Gellar and the rest of the cast spout some of the best dialogue ever written for television week after week.
But Kendare Blake is not Joss Whedon (or any of the other fabulous writers who wrote scripts for Buffy). To be exact: I don’t want to compare Kendare Bkale to Joss Whedon, for a great many reasons. Writing style is among the least of them.
What I’m saying is this: It’s a solid start to a series, it’s a solid YA novel for those of YA age, but it wasn’t for me....more
It’s no secret I’ve been enjoying the Ember of Night series. I love Molly E. Lee’s writing: she gets a lot of comparisons to Cassandra Clare, but I liIt’s no secret I’ve been enjoying the Ember of Night series. I love Molly E. Lee’s writing: she gets a lot of comparisons to Cassandra Clare, but I like Molly’s flair for dialogue and her sometimes unconventional choices (the antichrist is female and the hero and I am here for it) more than Clare’s sometimes melodramatic and overly complicated choices.
This is the final book in this trilogy, and it was a good way to end it. The book wasn’t too long, but the end did feel a touch too rushed. I was sitting at 80% wondering how they were going to wrap everything up without either a deus ex machina or just cramming everything in. Lee kind of went for a sideways approach to it all, if that makes any sense. That’s kind of the only way I can put it without spoiling everything. Although, there was one glaring plot hole (I’m going to call it a plot hole for a lack of not knowing what else to call it) that stalked through this whole book that might as well have been holding up a neon sign that said, “Look at me! I’m obviously something you guys need to be questioning way more than you are!” that drove me crazy, and when everyone was surprised about it at the turn? I did audibly groan because it was so obvious.
There’s a lot of character and relationship evolution in this installment, which is justified for the last book in a series. Readers need to know who is going where and who is going to be tied to whom at the end… or at least in which direction they might be headed at the very least. And Harley gets a cute new pet. I won’t say more on that. Spoilers.
What just keeps sticking out to me is Harley and Ray. Harley and her incredible capacity and ability to love and take people in under her wing, even though she has so many trust issues. She just can’t say no when someone’s in need. She’s indefatigable: she just keeps going, marching to some beat inside of her heart and soul that keep driving her and propelling her, reminding her of all the people who love her and need her and of all the times she’s been kicked down and bloodied and told she’s worth nothing. Nothing but spite, snark, sarcasm, love, and a need to prove she’s worth the faith people have put in her and the choice so many people have made to have her back keeps her taking step after step until this whole thing is over. She has many miles to go before she can sleep. And she doesn’t care.
While Harley is indefatigable, Ray is tenacious: Ray keeps at whatever she sets her mind to in order to get what she wants, and she holds onto the people she loves tightly. She never forgets and she never lets go. She never stops trying. And as hard as she tries for the people she loves, she will turn that tenacity against the people she hates. Woe betide those who hurt Ray or those she holds dear.
It’s the female characters in this novel (and the other two installments of this series) that Lee knows and writes best. Does that leave the numerous male characters at a slight disadvantage? Yes. But it’s hard to hate Lee for that when Harley and Ray shine so bright.
Thanks to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and Entangled Teen for allowing me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
This book has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 since it was announced last year, and it absolutely did not disappoint. I loved Laura SThis book has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 since it was announced last year, and it absolutely did not disappoint. I loved Laura Sebastian’s 2021 release, “Half Sick of Shadows”, and this book, the first in a trilogy, outshines even that excellent read.
I’m not a reviewer who rehashes synopsis or a huge amount of the plot you can read on any blurb you can easily find on any bookseller or review site. You can go ahead and read that for yourself if you’d like. What drew me to this book from the very start and made me pre-order it as soon as it was announced (this was even before I had an early opportunity to read it, thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Delacorte Press) were certain keywords and phrases that always perk my ears and catch my eyes: seduction, conquest, grave mistake, no innocents, trained since birth, deception, violence, secret skill… There’s almost nothing I love more than poisonous pretty girls. It may explain why I have such a fondness for Bond girls, courtesans, female assassins, and historical figures like Lucrezia Borgia. The princesses in this series were born and raised to be weapons of their mother’s design, to be armed, deployed, and fired in order to destabilize and bring down foreign countries. These princesses are their mother’s own equivalent to the CIA, and I am here for it.
What makes this book even better, though, is how the triplet princesses’ tight-knit relationship (as well as their own hearts and minds) lead them in different directions, cause them to make different decisions, and forces them to become very different people altogether once they are away from their homeland and out from directly under their mother’s thumb. These sisters all find themselves thrust into situations they were not expecting, and all that’s left to do is to try and rely on one another and their own wits. Sometimes this works out in their favor. Other times? Well…
It’s an excellent book, and a very promising start to a new series. I’m beyond excited to see what happens in the next book. A careful warning: this book does end with a cliffhanger. I’m fully invested in seeing what comes next, and I know I’ll be ordering the next book as soon as it’s announced. I can’t wait. ...more
“Wicked As You Wish” is a quick-witted and fleet-footed romp through an alternate Earth in which every folk tale, fairy tale, myth, or legend you can “Wicked As You Wish” is a quick-witted and fleet-footed romp through an alternate Earth in which every folk tale, fairy tale, myth, or legend you can think of is completely true… and it’s just as bizarre and fascinating as you’d expect it to be. Because who knew ICE agents would still be a huge thing in Arizona even when the refugees they’re hunting down are magical ones?
This book is definitely meant for the younger portion of YA readers. I’d even posit that this book would be a great read for middle-schoolers as well. The language is clean, there is no spice, there is a tiny bit of tension, and there is a whole lot about familial love (both biological and found) and friendship. There’s a lot of frenetic action scenes with narrow escapes, fascinating descriptions of different locations and creatures, and a whole lot of good humor.
If you want to read something bubbly, irreverent, witty, sweet, diverse, whimsical, and get a little bit swept away with the story, then this book with give you that. And it will make you crave Filipino food hardcore. Trust me. ...more
No solid review to be given. Review finally posted because I'm about to read the ARC of "Forestfall" and wanted to make sure I had a rating of "LakeseNo solid review to be given. Review finally posted because I'm about to read the ARC of "Forestfall" and wanted to make sure I had a rating of "Lakesedge" posted before I did so. I actually do own this book, lol....more
I’ve had this book on my shelf since last Christmas, but when I found out it was the first book in a duology I decided to waReal Review: 3.5 / 5 Stars
I’ve had this book on my shelf since last Christmas, but when I found out it was the first book in a duology I decided to wait until it was time for the second half to come out before I read it. Since this week is when the second book, “Defend the Dawn” (plug: watch for my review on THAT title tomorrow!) is live in bookstores and on bookseller websites, I decided to finally pick up “Defy the Night” and read it before I pick up “Defend the Dawn”.
See, the thing is, I love tales of revolution, and I also happen to love folklore and mythology centered around plots of “stealing from the rich and giving to the poor”. I mean, I’ve had a Robin Hood obsession my entire life. I also hate capitalism. What’s a socialist to do? That’s right. Love books where the rich get their hoarded wealth taken away and it’s distributed in a more equitable manner among the people.
The thing is, even though this book sort-of alludes to a Robin Hood-like premise, along with just a general atmosphere of rebellion and resistance in the name of the common people, it feels very muddled. The whole tenor of this book is very muddled. There are a few plot holes and a few places where it’s so glaringly obvious what should be done that it's kind of insulting that Kemmerer just left the loop open like that. It’s the literary equivalent of not keeping your fists up in front of your face: it just leaves you wide open to be jabbed.
That being said: I read Kemmerer’s “Forging Silver Into Stars” earlier this year and absolutely loved it because while her plots could use some content editing and streamlining, she’s a genius at creating unique characters we care about, developing those characters in a realistic and holistic manner, and writing compelling and realistic dialogue for them. That’s why, even though her plots are a little loose, I still enjoy her books.
“Defend the Dawn” was released on September 20th, 2022, and I will have that review for you tomorrow! ...more
This is going to sound so, so, so cliche, but one of the primary thoughts I had while reading this book was that infamous quote from “The Dark Knight”This is going to sound so, so, so cliche, but one of the primary thoughts I had while reading this book was that infamous quote from “The Dark Knight”. You know the one: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
“A Mirror Mended”, as if you weren’t aware, is the follow-up novella to the absolutely brilliant “A Spindle Splintered”, which introduces us to Zinnia, a young woman just about to turn 21 and who is quickly on her way to dying of a terminal disorder/syndrome/malady she developed in the womb from pollution in her hometown. Basically, she’s got only weeks to live. But her lifelong obsession with the tale of Sleeping Beauty and her degree in folklore leads to her bestie throwing her a themed 21st birthday party, complete with a spinning wheel she found at a flea market. And what do you know? Prick your finger on a spindle for funsies and all of a sudden she’s hurtled across space and time like a fairy tale version of Doctor Who (yes, I am repeating a joke from this book) and discovers that there is, essentially, a Sleeping Beauty multiverse. (Insert the rest of the plot of that book here.)
Well, here in “A Mirror Mended”, I guess you can kind of tell right away that Zinnia isn’t in Sleeping Beauty multiverse land anymore, right? You’d be correct! She’s in a bathroom at a wedding, looks in a mirror in the bathroom, and there’s a woman asking her for help. Before she knows it, she’s being pulled through the mirror and–lo and behold–there’s a multiverse full of Snow Whites too! Only Harrow doesn’t focus on the princess in this installment. Zinnia was pulled through the mirror by who we usually identify as the “Evil Queen”.
There’s a whole lot going on in this fast and clever read, but it never feels like Harrow is cramming in too much for us readers to be expected to extrapolate on our own or to keep up. She doesn’t just throw information and plot at us and expect it to stick as she hurries on her way to the next scene. It’s simply that these books don’t take place over a long period of time. It’s maybe a day or two. Most of that is spent traveling with Zinnia’s inner narrative to provide exposition, entertain us, and to keep us thinking about what Harrow is trying to convey. Some of it is spent on emotional and sometimes witty dialogue scenes that serve as social and cultural commentary, and maybe a glop of it is spent on action scenes.
Both of the books in this series spend a lot of time with the idea of agency and crafting your own narrative, and that brings me back to “The Dark Knight” quote. Zinnia comes to the realization early on that the Evil Queen was once just a girl whose father made her decisions for her and she obeyed like she should. Then she became a queen who obeyed a king she didn’t love and then became the object of his anger when she could not produce that which he required of her. She had lived so long doing the things everyone told her were the right things to do that when she had the chance to do something for herself she found she couldn’t give that independence up… making her the villain of her own story. Zinnia herself finds out that even though she has been traveling throughout the multiverse trying to save as many Sleeping Beauties as possible from their terrible fates (if they wished to be saved) while simultaneously outrunning her own disease that will eventually kill her if she stays in her own timeline for too long, there are serious repercussions to her actions that are going to make her into a villain before she knows it if she doesn’t stop playing the hero. She has to write herself a new narrative for a new life in her own timeline and let her story end where it may. It may not end happily ever after, but may it end happily.
Overall, I liked “A Mirror Mended” slightly less than “A Spindle Splintered”, but that could be my Sleeping Beauty bias (yes, Princess Aurora is my favorite and she always belongs in the blue dress). But both books read back-to-back (I read the first one yesterday) is a really stunning read altogether. If you haven’t read these yet because they look like children’s books, I can assure you they are not. I highly, highly recommend them.
Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Tordotcom for granting me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. ...more
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